Not Getting Physical
May 21st, 2013
Rookie Akeem Spence learned a very quick NFL lesson Monday during the Bucs’ first practice of OTAs.
If anything, Greg Schiano loves physical football. Just his lineage suggests so.
But in OTA practices, teams can’t get physical. It’s a difficult balance. You have guys in helmets, practice jerseys and shorts going at it. They are not programmed to play powder puff football, much as NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell wishes that were so.
Guys are playing for their positions, their jobs, their careers, their livelihoods. This does not add up to practicing half-arsed.
So when Akeem Spence and Jeremy Zuttah went all WWE on Spence’s first snap of OTA practice, Schiano had to put a stop to that right away.
In other words, be physical, be smart, but don’t be too physical. Got it?
“It is critical that we hold each other up and move side by side so we can execute plays,” Schiano said. “But stay off the ground; keep our headgear and our shoulders out of it. Just use the hands and kind of work with each other so we can execute plays. I thought the guys did an excellent job of that. That is something that we have to do all spring to stay healthy and allow us to keep getting reps.
“It is very tough. Not only do we want to do it for safety, it’s mandated by the rules. You can lose OTA, you can get fined, there’s all sorts of stuff. We are very, very clear with it, we show examples. We try to get guys to understand.
“Now, when you put 22 guys going against each other, if it happens it gets corrected. [The Spence-Zuttah dustup] was a rookie mistake and it got adjusted and there was no issue.”
As for Spence, Schiano didn’t seem to upset. If anything, Schiano likes what Spence brings to the table.
“He is physically very, very developed, maybe one of the strongest guys in this league as a rookie,” Schiano said. “Just a strong guy.
May 21st, 2013 at 10:16 am
I like Spence….spending his time in the weight room instead of shooting his Mom’s boyfriend, popping Adderall, smoking weed and driving around drunk.
Get nasty, angry….
Means “I don’t like nobody touching me”
Slap Zuttah, Dotson, Penn, Nicks, Joseph & Stocker…it will just make them tougher.
Slap Schiano a couple of times while you’re at it!!!
LOVE IT!
May 21st, 2013 at 10:39 am
As a not-so wise man once said:
“You take off your underwear, you put on your big boy pads and you put your face on people.”
May 21st, 2013 at 11:13 am
all this talk of strength, but we never see any #’s
Joe,
you ever hear what these guys bench, squat, deadlift etc??
May 21st, 2013 at 12:08 pm
@ Robert
Akeem Spence had 37 reps @ 225 lbs at the combine….ranking him #2……top was two at 38 reps.
He is a very, very strong guy.
May 21st, 2013 at 12:19 pm
Pretty sure Zuttah is no slouch in the strength department. He is one the more powerful on the team.
Spence needs to continue playing hard, Zuttah needs to continue to lead rookies in all facets of the game, including OTA’s, and practice.
Would bet both of them are ok now, LOL.
May 21st, 2013 at 12:20 pm
This guy is built like a truck. I was stunned by how thick his overall body was when i seen him in the one on one interview. I know it means little in a football perspective but if they can develop him, this guy should be able to replace Miller and then some.