Everybody knows that rainbows appear after storms. Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium, a double rainbow appeared in the dark grey sky after a 30-40 minute rain delay at the Bucs’ night practice. It was the perfect metaphor for the 2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The majority of the 30,000 fans that walked through the stadium’s entrance between FanFest and the practice witnessed for the first time a new coaching staff, several new players, and a new attitude. They were patient through the delay, much like they have been the last few seasons, and hope what they saw Saturday night is a sign of good things to come.
Before the lightning strikes that halted the practice cracked in the distance, the crowd watched as the Bucs gathered at center field in a huddle, broke into groups for warm up drills, and lined up perfectly across the field and began the team stretch. People in the stands used words such as “disciplined” and “organized”, while others told general manager Mark Dominik while he was shaking their hands how much they approve of what the organization is doing.
When practice was over head coach Greg Schiano met the media on the field and talked about Saturday’s experience. One thing Schiano said in particular is what some Bucs fans have been waiting to hear for what seems like an eternity.
"The biggest thing I like is that they are trying to do what we're asking them to do.” Schiano said. “And a lot of the stuff we're asking them to do is very hard, physically and technique-wise so as long as they'll keep trying and we'll keep helping them, they'll get there eventually."
Over the course of the last eight practices, most of the players have noticeably improved from day to day. The team isn’t perfect and they never will be, but they work hard to be as close to perfect as they can be and most importantly, they do it as a team. After a long week, the players seemed to be rejuvenated by the crowd at hand.
"It was good for the players.” Schiano said. “This is the second, fourth straight day we've gone in a row. I didn't have to bring the energy, the fans did. That was good, they had a lot of fun tonight."
The players indeed had fun. During one of the warm up drills, safety Ahmad Black pretended to tackle Schiano from behind, which startled the coach just before he let out a loud laugh. While the second team unit was on the field Mike Williams, Vincent Jackson, LeGarrette Blount, Doug Martin, and Dallas Clark stood in a circle with one hand behind their backs, while they caught and tossed a football to each other. If you dropped it, you were out; Jackson was the last man standing every time. Several times Blount would turn to the crowd and raise his arms to pump up the fans, as a roar would erupt from the spectators.
Although fans were the focus of the night, the players practiced hard and Schiano was pleased with the night’s events.
“I think what we got out of it was no major injuries.” Schiano said. “That was one of my concerns. We got the young kids an opportunity to actually play live football in front of some people. So Friday night will not be their first time playing in an NFL stadium and actually playing. I thought it was pretty good. It was good for us coaches to be on the headset. You know going through game like situations. Although some of us have been together in other places, the unique chemistry when you put it all together is good work for us.”
This Friday the Bucs head south to take on the Miami Dolphins in the first preseason game. It will be the first time we will be able to gauge how the hard work and long morning practices are paying off. There are still some wrinkles that need to be ironed out and the live game setting for many players will be reviewed, a lot of which the coaching staff will address in the film room in the days to come.
"I'm anxious to see the tape too, because even though it doesn't count, it is a different setting. In front of a crowd, in the stadium, certain guys have that - the lights go on, they go on."
If Saturday’s practice was any indication, more than just lights will be on in Miami Gardens Friday night.
The majority of the 30,000 fans that walked through the stadium’s entrance between FanFest and the practice witnessed for the first time a new coaching staff, several new players, and a new attitude. They were patient through the delay, much like they have been the last few seasons, and hope what they saw Saturday night is a sign of good things to come.
Before the lightning strikes that halted the practice cracked in the distance, the crowd watched as the Bucs gathered at center field in a huddle, broke into groups for warm up drills, and lined up perfectly across the field and began the team stretch. People in the stands used words such as “disciplined” and “organized”, while others told general manager Mark Dominik while he was shaking their hands how much they approve of what the organization is doing.
When practice was over head coach Greg Schiano met the media on the field and talked about Saturday’s experience. One thing Schiano said in particular is what some Bucs fans have been waiting to hear for what seems like an eternity.
"The biggest thing I like is that they are trying to do what we're asking them to do.” Schiano said. “And a lot of the stuff we're asking them to do is very hard, physically and technique-wise so as long as they'll keep trying and we'll keep helping them, they'll get there eventually."
Over the course of the last eight practices, most of the players have noticeably improved from day to day. The team isn’t perfect and they never will be, but they work hard to be as close to perfect as they can be and most importantly, they do it as a team. After a long week, the players seemed to be rejuvenated by the crowd at hand.
"It was good for the players.” Schiano said. “This is the second, fourth straight day we've gone in a row. I didn't have to bring the energy, the fans did. That was good, they had a lot of fun tonight."
The players indeed had fun. During one of the warm up drills, safety Ahmad Black pretended to tackle Schiano from behind, which startled the coach just before he let out a loud laugh. While the second team unit was on the field Mike Williams, Vincent Jackson, LeGarrette Blount, Doug Martin, and Dallas Clark stood in a circle with one hand behind their backs, while they caught and tossed a football to each other. If you dropped it, you were out; Jackson was the last man standing every time. Several times Blount would turn to the crowd and raise his arms to pump up the fans, as a roar would erupt from the spectators.
Although fans were the focus of the night, the players practiced hard and Schiano was pleased with the night’s events.
“I think what we got out of it was no major injuries.” Schiano said. “That was one of my concerns. We got the young kids an opportunity to actually play live football in front of some people. So Friday night will not be their first time playing in an NFL stadium and actually playing. I thought it was pretty good. It was good for us coaches to be on the headset. You know going through game like situations. Although some of us have been together in other places, the unique chemistry when you put it all together is good work for us.”
This Friday the Bucs head south to take on the Miami Dolphins in the first preseason game. It will be the first time we will be able to gauge how the hard work and long morning practices are paying off. There are still some wrinkles that need to be ironed out and the live game setting for many players will be reviewed, a lot of which the coaching staff will address in the film room in the days to come.
"I'm anxious to see the tape too, because even though it doesn't count, it is a different setting. In front of a crowd, in the stadium, certain guys have that - the lights go on, they go on."
If Saturday’s practice was any indication, more than just lights will be on in Miami Gardens Friday night.
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