Camp Diary: Day 2

Hello again good folks. All was right in the universe and I got out to camp for the first time in this 2013 season. I, like you, was excited to see what all the new groceries would look like on the field. As you are aware, I am a veteran of these camps so, for whatever value you feel they provide, I can at least compare them to previous camps. I have a fan moment (which I have all too often) as the voice of the Buccaneers, Gene Deckerhoff shared my table for the morning. If you have not met this man he is almost reason enough to come to camp for long time Bucs fans brought up on his voice and calls.

 

Anyway, on to my notes:

• Overall, this practice was flat. There was little urgency on either side of the ball in my opinion. This was particularly disappointing
• Early on in individual drills, Carlton Mitchell and Chris Owusu looked very good. Later on Mitchell regressed letting too many passes get into his chest. Owusu continued to impress.
• All receivers had highs and lows today. Mike Williams made a few nice grabs but like the other receivers, let too many passes hit the grass in a practice with no contact. At this level and at their skill level, passes on air should rarely be dropped.
• Vincent Jackson, while not spectacular, was clearly the best receiver on the field. That is fortunate because that is exactly what he is paid to be. He was also interactive with the crowd imploring the sparse turnout to get into the practice.
• All QB’s looked about the same. Ups and downs. The interceptions I tweeted about were both pretty well thrown balls, one by Freeman and one by Glennon. Both times the CB (Banks on Freeman’s pass and Adams on Glennon’s) made an excellent play to go get the ball.
• There were questions about CB depth and the depth I saw today was predictable. Revis,
• Banks, Johnson. All looked pretty good with Revis clearly still getting up to speed but Banks looking very rangy in coverage and Johnson looking extremely comfortable
• As for the SAM Linebacker spot, I was not able to see enough snaps to say it matters by Dekoda Watson seemed to take the bulk of the snaps.

I will be posting a video tonight and we will be having a show as well. The practice had a lot of individual time and sessions for read and recognition of coverages. There was a LOT of coaching going on which I normally like. The offensive line, as I Tweeted, looks very athletic. It is hard to see how strong they are but right now, the work they are doing on combo blocks and pulling are showcasing foot speed and position which should bode well for Doug Martin and anyone else who totes the rock.

I look for a LOT of energy at the night practice (Weather permitting). I am skipping the presser now to get this posted but I hope there is discussion of the energy level. Like I said, it wasn’t HORRIBLE and it did not seem lazy/disrespectful. It looked like a bunch of guys who were tired and I get tha. I don’t like it, but I get it.