Under an overcast sky, the 2013 Buccaneers took the practice field to kickoff the start of training camp with all players in attendance at One Buc Place.
Eyes were fixed on all-world corner, Darrelle Revis, as he took part in 11 position drills before hitting the locker room with roughly an hour left in the practice. There was some speculation that Revis “gingerly” walked off the field at that point, but that appears to have been a false alarm, as he returned in a T-shirt and appeared to walk fine. The murmurs emitting from the media area were that of surprise as to the amount of work that Revis received. Many thought the wet playing surface would have been enough for the Bucs front office to holster their new weapon until the skies cleared, but Revis showed up to work, even rushing the edge on field goal defense.
The team as a whole showed good tempo throughout the practice. The field was wet, but that did not seem to have an effect on anyone. Here are the rest of the notes from Day 1 of Buccaneers training camp:
- Mike Williams made the play of the day by reeling in a deep pass down the seam, with one hand. He and Vincent Jackson looked to form, despite a couple drops during passing lines. V-Jax caught a nice ball on a 10-yard curl, that he wrestled away from the defender.
- Nate Byham beat Keith Tandy on a double move to the corner and made a sliding catch for approximately 20 yards. He and Zach Miller each had 2-3 intermediate receptions during 11-on-11 scrimmage. Luke Stocker worked out with heavy ropes on the far field and I was unable to see anything from Crabtree.
- Chris Owusu made two deep catches over the middle of the field off of playaction. Owusu and Derek Hagan both looked fast and sharp in drills. They might have a bigger dog in the fight for the slot competition than anyone had expected.
- Freeman looked like he may have added a few pounds of muscle during the offseason. He was his usual self, making some deep throws down the field, overthrowing a bit at times. His performance was a bit of a mixed bag, as can be expected with first-day jitters, but he looked comfortable. He was sharp while taking snaps under center. To my knowledge he didn’t botch a single exchange despite the damp conditions.
- Glennon, despite his unit being flagged for a few false starts, looked respectable. He also handled the wet conditions under center well. His passes were fairly accurate, once even showing up Freeman by tossing a dart of a 15-yard out, immediately after Josh threw the same pass a couple feet out-of-bounds. For a rookie, Glennon looked very comfortable with the tempo of the practice, which I found impressive.
- Dakota Watson took most of the first-team reps at strong-side linebcker. DT Gary Gibson was shaken up on a play, but returned to the field during a later drill.
- Doug Martin looked like the same explosive back that we saw last year. Peyton Hillis did not see any carries due to his brief engagement with the playbook.
Warren Sapp was roaming the sidelines with a crew from NFL Network. He spoke with Revis after the practice in an exchange where Sapp detailed the meager beginnings of the franchise he was drafted by and will represent very soon in Canton, Ohio. Revis thanked Sapp for ‘building’ such a beautiful facility for the 2013 Bucs.
That’s all I have for today. Check back for updates for Day 2 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp.
