Bucs Training Camp 2023 Practice Notes Day 4
July 30th, 2023So the Bucs were bottomless today.
In full underwear football, Bucs players only wear cleats, jocks and helmets. Today in Day 4, the Bucs wore shoulder pads, but no pads below the waist. So it was half-underwear football but the same underwear football rules applied: No hitting of any sort.
Some football folks refer to this as wearing “shells.”
So yes, it was still flag football without the flags at One Buc Palace today. Pads come on tomorrow.
A totally packed house came out today at One Buc Palace. The bleachers were full. Dozens (hundreds?) of fans packed the patio behind the south end zone beside the Glazer Shed.
* Early in practice first-round pick defensive tackle Calijah Kancey suffered what the Bucs believe is a calf strain. Joe’s full story is here.
* For the first half of practice, Joe had a terribly obstructed view. So for the first hour or so of practice, Joe’s notes are abbreviated.
* The Bucs threw more deep passes today than they have in the previous three practices. Right away Baker Mayfield gets things going by hitting Kade Warner along the right sideline.
* Kyle Trask fires a short pass to Rachaad White who runs up the middle for a little.
* Mayfield fakes a handoff to the left and fires down the left sideline for Trey Turner and it is incomplete after Turner fights with Kedrick Whitehead (Deleware) for the ball.
* Trask wings a ball down the left sideline for Chris Godwin and it’s too far.
* Trask then connects with Mike Evans over the middle. It sure seemed as if Trask got the majority of snaps this morning.
* Ko Kieft comes down with a pass from Trask along the right sideline.
* Trask throws the ball away to the left sideline after heavy pressure. Live to fight another down.
* Trask tries to connect with Godwin who was on a crossing pattern from the right side. Carlton Davis was on Godwin like a blanket.
* Trask to Deven Thompkins on a short pass to the left. Thompkins is really getting a lot of passes thrown his way with Russell Gage battling a mysterious injury. Gage was back on the field today.
* Mayfield with a quick throw to Thompkins on the right sideline.
* Ryan Miller catches a Mayfield pass for a nice gain down the left seam.
* While on the sidelines when other quarterbacks are on the field, Joe noticed Trask mimicking snaps and passes while he waits his next turn running the offense.
* Trask goes long trying to hook up with Thompkins and the ball is overthrown.
* Trask throws over the middle for Evans who was coming in from the left side and Trask led Evans just a bit too much as the ball is off Evans’ hands.
* Warner catches a pass over the middle from Trask.
* Trask goes long down the right sideline and Evans hauls this one in.
Goal line
* David Moore catches a pass from Trask over the middle. Joe couldn’t catch the number of the defender (obstructed view) but someone jumped the route and nearly got a hand on the ball.
* David Wells catches a touchdown in the short left corner of the end zone from Mayfield.
* Trask is flushed out of the pocket and runs straight upfield and hurdles over the goal line for a touchdown.
* Thompkins catches a pass over the middle from Mayfield.
* Ronnie Brown runs to the left.
* Mayfield throws short to the left and the ball falls to the ground, incomplete.
*Big moments for the immortal No. 3 QB John Wolford. He fires a low rocket to the right front pylon and Chris Godwin snags it for a score. Then Wolford comes back and throws high to Mike Evans in the left side of the end zone. Undrafted rookie Christian Izien, who stands 5-8, was no match for Evans’ crazy leaping catch. Wolford clearly was fired up for his first-team duty. The crowd roars its approval.
Field Goals
* Field goal time! Back-to-back perfect days for veteran kicker Chase McLaughlin, the man signed to replace Ryan Succop. He was tight from various ranges.
* Interesting: Bucs intentionally had McLaughlin and some blockers sprint in for the field goals simulating as if time was running out or there was a last-minute decision to kick by a coach.
* Bucs did the same when competing kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was kicking. His session ended when he missed wide left from 45 yards. Blankenship didn’t get to kick from 50-plus like McLaughlin did.
Red zone
* After field goal drills, the Bucs offense lines up on the sideline in front of the bleachers. This gets the crowd excited as they break into applause.
* Mayfield fires a quick out to the left side. Touchdown David Moore, the veteran free agent from the Seahawks.
* Mayfield checks to a run, before firing a TD through the hands of undrafted rookie receiver Rakim Jarrett. Joe is calling it a drop. Jarrett was wide open.
* Mayfield throws low to Thompkins on the left side but it is incomplete.
* Big moments for No. 3 QB John Wolford. He fires a low rocket to the right front pylon and Chris Godwin snags it for a score. Then Wolford comes back and throws high to Mike Evans in the left side of the end zone. Undrafted rookie Christian Izien, who stands 5-8, was no match for the Evans. Wolford clearly was fired up for his first-team duty.
*Lots of first-team snaps for Kyle Trask today and he looks to be thriving. He fields a low snap from center Nick Leverett (Ryan Jensen is on limited duty) and Trask throws a strike to Deven Thompkins to the right side.
*Short out route complete, Trask to Evans.
*Slant from Trask goes incomplete. Lavonte David pulled up but still ran into the receiver he was trying to avoid.
*Baker Mayfield throws short to tight end David Wells.
*Mayfield launches deep left, a 35-yard completion to Chris Godwin, perhaps the play of the day. Godwin leaped over camp meat cornerback Keenan Isaac out of Alabama State.
*Mayfield comes back short again to Wells complete.
*Wolford is flushed from the pocket and play is blown dead. Bowles is screaming out the down and distance he wants on the next plays.
* Trask returns and he’s complete to the right side to Jarrett.
* Playcaller Dave Canales is yelling a countdown play clock to force tempo.
* Trask fires to Evans on a slant, but Evans drops it with cornerback Don Gardner covering.
* Trask tries to hit Thompkins on a slant from the right and old warrior Lavonte David breaks it up.
* Wells catches a pass from Mayfield along the right sideline. Wells cuts inside after the catch and gets a good gain.
* Batdown! DL Willington Previlon bats down a Mayfield pass.
* Mayfield fires to Jarrett incomplete after a one-hand grab attempt. Mayfield is demonstrative in his annoyance, seemingly at himself.
* Mayfield makes an out-route throw to Kaylon Geiger, Sr. Seems like a drop by Geiger but a fan booed Mayfield.
* Short completion Mayfield to Jarrett.
* Trask in play-action dumps off to Rachaad White.
* Godwin is having a helluva camp. He adds to that with a tremendous play down the left sideline Mayfield launched a deep pass. Godwin goes up high in tight coverage by Keenan Isaac and Godwin brings it in. Pretty sure his bum knee is a thing of the past.
* Trask has a pass broken up in the end zone by cornerback Zyon McCollom. Antoine Winfield was a free blitzer on the play.
* Trask is complete to Jarrett with Devin White bearing down on a blitz.
* Wells catches a pass from Mayfield near the right sideline.
* Trask to Rakim Jarrett to the right sideline.
* Trask tries to connect with Evans to the left and it appeared Derrick Pitts (North Carolina State) broke it up.
* Lots of first-team snaps for Trask today and he looks to be thriving. He fields a low snap from center Nick Leverett (Ryan Jensen is on limited duty) and Trask throws a strike to Thompkins to the right side.
* Slant from Trask goes incomplete. Lavonte David pulled up but still ran into the receiver he was trying to avoid.
* Mayfield throws short to tight end Wells.
* Trask throws low to Evans to the left and Evans goes low to pull it in.
* Trey Palmer goes deep down the right sideline and Trask overthrows him. Good thing as Palmer was triple-covered.
* Mayfield has another pass batted down at the line.
* Mayfield overthrows Jarrett down the left seam and he got a hand on the ball but here comes the yellow hanky. It seems Dee Delaney got busted for holding.
* Pretty play: Trasks hits Cade Otton down the right seam who was wide-ass open for a touchdown.
* Trask leads Jarrett too far as Jarrett was coming inside from the right side.
* PICK! Mayfield made his first really ugly play of training camp that Joe can tell. The snap rolled to Mayfield who appeared to force the pass as soon as he scooped the snap up, in part because there was a pass rush, and rookie linebacker SirVocea Dennis picked it off. That is Dennis’ fourth interception since being drafted.
* Mayfield connects with Jarrett to the right who puts an impressive spin move on Zyon McCollum and scores.
* Mayfield connects with Jarrett again but in real football, Greg Gaines would have had a sack.
* McCollum makes up for getting juked earlier by turning a touchdown into an incompletion. Thompkins got behind McCollum in the middle of the end zone and Trask hit Thompkins in the hands. But as Thompkins was pulling the ball in, McCollum ripped the ball out of his hands, saving six.
* Evans with a big gain as he came in from the right, catching a pass from Trask.
* Miller catches a pass from Mayfield near the right sideline, shoves Ryan Neal out of the way and scores.
* Patrick Laird runs up the middle for a short gain.
* Mayfield throws a rope short of the end zone to undrafted rookie receiver Ryan Miller. Joe hears a fan say, “I told you Scotty Miller was still on the team.
* Mayfield ends his day throwing wide of Kade Warner, who at the 3-yard line. Joe’s not sure who to blame there.
July 30th, 2023 at 12:53 pm
Sounds like the defense got the better of both QBs today – although the offense got some good plays in.
July 30th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
I’d rather have a brain injury than be photographed with those stupid things they put over their helmets now. It’s embarrassing.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:03 pm
You can thank concussion lawsuits
July 30th, 2023 at 1:08 pm
Excellent!
Thanks for taking one in this heat for the JBF fans !
July 30th, 2023 at 1:11 pm
Trask.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:11 pm
A couple of names we didn’t hear……..Sneak & Myron Lewis……
July 30th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Good to see Trask getting work with the 1s. Now let’s see em in pads!
July 30th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
I had to finally do a search to find Devin Whites name pop up once. I guess you don’t want to peak too early in your big contract year!
July 30th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE TRASK IS COOKIN?!??!!!
July 30th, 2023 at 1:16 pm
Great recap as always Joe, I really appreciate these detailed daily reports.
It’s really going to be something if they hit on SirVocea Dennis and he turns out to be a ball hawk coverage LB.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:22 pm
Is it me or is Baker just a good salesman? He’s got the marketing down but the product seems below average. Trask is closing the gap each day.
Also I can’t wait to see if Sirvocea Dennis picks one off in a game. If he keeps it up he’ll be pushing to be on the field sooner than later.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Seems like Trask is putting pressure on Mayfield and as a result, Mayfield is pressing. I had a feeling that would happen when Trask started to run away with the competition.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:34 pm
The difference between shells and full pads is literally 2 tiny foam sheets…it was basically full pads today….I don’t believe NFL teams tackle each other fully in practice anymore especially the quarterback.
All the more reason to start Mayfield….we have no idea how Trask will react to getting hit over the course of a 17 week season…3 weeks of training camp 2 hand touch doesn’t prep you for the violence on Sundays…..I highly recommend watching Quarterback on Netflix to see what Kirk Cousins went through last year.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:36 pm
Rod Munch Says:
July 30th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
I’d rather have a brain injury than be photographed with those stupid things they put over their helmets now. It’s embarrassing.
They’re called Guardian Caps and they’re not stupid because they help prevent brain injuries. You’d probably feel different about it if your son or loved one were risking permanent brain damage playing football. The whole point of of wearing helmets and shoulder pads is to prevent injuries so we can continue to watch our favorite athletes play the game they love and so they can live a better quality of life after they retire.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:40 pm
Sounds like a good time.
July 30th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
Jack Clark – OK, nerd.
July 30th, 2023 at 2:12 pm
Tbbucs3 Says: “All the more reason to start Mayfield …we have no idea how Trask will react to getting hit over the course of a 17 week season.”
LOL. One of the biggest Trask haters here can no longer attack Trask’s COMPETENCE so he pretends that he is concerned about Trask’s HEALTH and THAT is why Mayfield (who has a history of injuries himself!) should start! You can’t make this chit up! LMAO!
July 30th, 2023 at 2:20 pm
Exactly Jack Clark!
July 30th, 2023 at 2:30 pm
“ In full underwear football, Bucs players only wear cleats, jocks and helmets. “
One would assume that they also wear a T shirt and some form of shorts
July 30th, 2023 at 2:48 pm
Throwing ints and getting balls batted down at the line is a concern for me with Mayfield…He’s already shorter than you’d like your QB to be and he compounds this issue with his low release point/sidearm throws/crappy footwork…
One big advantage Kyle has over Baker is while he has less game experience than Baker, he does have plenty of experience going against Todd’s Defense…For that reason alone, I expected Kyle to look better than Baker in training camp…
July 30th, 2023 at 2:57 pm
Jack Clark – no one is forcing them to play NERD. They’re getting paid handsomely to play. You can always CHOOSE not to play. Spare me the lame soapbox lecture like this is a virtuous, noble act and that the players are heroic or something. This is merely a product of lawyers getting involved, and the Junior Seau’s of the world are the extreme exception. Not the norm. You must be the type that gets a huge boner whenever an NBA player sits out another game because of “load management.”
July 30th, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Great notes Joe. Noticed that David Wells got a lot of opportunities today (4 passes in your notes; 4 catches). All were from Mayfield. Went back to the other practices & he was only mentioned once … a completed pass, from Mayfield again. Hey, that’s 5-for-5 through the first 4 days of camp for some pretty impressive gains. No idea how good he really is (or if he can block), but I like his size (6’6″ & 260 lbs).
July 30th, 2023 at 5:10 pm
Sounds like we may have a legit future inside LB to go next to white once LVD retires in Sir’Vocea Dennis
July 30th, 2023 at 5:12 pm
Gofortheface30 – correct. We literally don’t even know what the rate of CTE is in the general population, so we have no idea if football players are higher than lower than average. The whole CTE thing is just a way for people to make money, nothing else. So you play your career, making millions, waste it on drugs and women, then want another handout.
Everyone knows getting hit in the head isn’t a good idea, and that’s why these guys make a lot of money. If they don’t like that deal, then they can use that college degree to get a job sitting in an office, because it’s much more healthy to drive in rush hour traffic every day, then sit in a chair for 8 hours making $12/hour. I’m sure they’d prefer it, and it would be so much more ‘safer’. Meanwhile, what’s the rate of men having health issues that sit in a chair all day for a living? WAIT, what a great point, there should be a way to make some money off that as well! Yeah, they too are victims!
July 30th, 2023 at 5:22 pm
Thanks Joe, though it is strange for you to write that Trask was thriving. I will be glad to see if he can win you over by just being a consistent QB with little flash.
July 30th, 2023 at 5:49 pm
“Camp meat CB Keenan Isaac”???
Word from the Bucs is he’s legit. Probably our #4 CB this year. Not exactly camp meat.
July 30th, 2023 at 5:59 pm
Seems like Trask to Jarrett is becoming a common theme. Interesting.
July 30th, 2023 at 6:01 pm
AnonBuc76 is right:
“One big advantage Kyle has over Baker is while he has less game experience than Baker, he does have plenty of experience going against Todd’s Defense…For that reason alone, I expected Kyle to look better than Baker in training camp…”
It’s going to be into the preseason games before things are clear. Rah Rah Canales will have an important decision to make.
A couple of years ago, who’d have thought the central drama for this franchise would be…Baker Mayfield vs….Kyle Trask.
July 30th, 2023 at 7:50 pm
wow, u really write up all n i mean all of Trasks missed passes as well he just overthrew it, or he led his receiver 2 far or he jst didnt quite put it in there or its all on the wr; whats the deal???? u really that into ur inexperienced guy or just that biased against Baker; seems like despite being unfamiliar with Todds defense, that Baker was every bit, in fact, a tad better than Trask, whats up with ur descriptive kinda ‘jaded’ writing??? I really thought u were all about the BUCS WINNING?????Is this not the case??? i agree with the poster who said perhaps u need 2 hope that Trask just gets consistent????
July 30th, 2023 at 8:07 pm
Soon they will be pumping AC/DC thru the PA system to get ready for the preseason game at Jets and Game 1 @ the Vikings.
This is the only place where Baker might have a true advantage. Half of his career games were on the road and he had to deal with fans cheering. Half of his career Home Games he had to deal with Fans Booing.
July 30th, 2023 at 8:20 pm
So Munch have you ever met a former NFL star who was going thru the CTE evaluation program? And then listen to his wife tell you he can’t come to the phone anymore and doesn’t have long to live. He passed shortly after. Physically he was still an impressive looking athelete in middle age but he had almost no memory . He died a couple years later. The NFL and players association are desperately trying find anything that can reduce repeated injuries to the brain.
July 30th, 2023 at 9:01 pm
Wild Bill – So what’s the CTE rate in the general population? What’s the stats on that compared to NFL players? BTW, have you ever talked to the wife of a husband who dropped dead at 47 because of a heart attack related to having a stressful job? Where do they go to get their millions? Why don’t you care about them? Oh right, because the people on TV are more important, got it.
July 30th, 2023 at 9:13 pm
Guess you missed all the passes he completed? So who is the one with the bias here?
Joe was trying to do play-by-play because readers seem to like it. Not every pass against an NFL defense can be completed. Joe would hope his readers want to full picture. Otherwise, why should Joe even put this together from each practice if all you wanted to know is “Trask completed a pass?”
July 30th, 2023 at 11:27 pm
Joe,
WE LIKE AND WANT IT!
Neglect his Nonsense!
You Are Killing It with Out of the park reporting brother and Not Only do We LOVE it, We NEED it!
You Have THE Support of Hundreds (maybe thousands) vs every one joker BECAUSE You’re the Best Game in town.. There is Not a True fan that would deny you that.
Keep it Coming!
(P.S. Try to get better seats)
GO JOE, GO BUCS!
July 30th, 2023 at 11:37 pm
Thank you for the kind words. 🙂
July 30th, 2023 at 11:53 pm
Hey man, you EARN IT!
July 31st, 2023 at 3:43 am
Awsome job Joe I like what your seeing out there!
July 31st, 2023 at 7:43 am
If Gage cannot practice, he cannot play. What is his problem? He has been like this since he’s been here. Look, this is underwear football. If he is too injured to practice, I think the Bucs need to cut ties and move on from him.
July 31st, 2023 at 8:08 am
Thanks Joe you indeed are Killing it.
A D White sighting!
On a lighter note…”Bucs players only wear cleats, jocks and helmets”
Not the mental picture I wanted from camp Joe.
LOL
Go Bucs!
July 31st, 2023 at 10:27 am
This is first time I see Trask with a chance. Sounds like he played well and Mayfield did not. I wonder if the two are related.