No indoor practice facility. No man-made heat. No summer storms in the sky.

Just football — on grass and in pads.

The Bucs were back out on the field for Tuesday’s practice, but it seemed like a rookie rest day, as many of the first year players weren’t participating

We know that Anthony Nelson (knee) and Scott Miller (hamstring) were sidelined for minor injuries, but the rest of the group we weren’t sure. Guys like D’Cota Dixon and Mike Edwards looked fine, so maybe this was just a coincidental rookie rest day.

On the bright side, wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge was practicing for the first time this camp, as he has been sidelined with a pre-camp hamstring injury.

Vea Goes Down…

Bucs second year defensive tackle Vita Vea has been having a really good training camp. He’s looked explosive, confident and strong. He’s played roles from nose tackle all the way to 5-tech defensive end. He and fellow interior defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh have been a very good one-two punch in the middle through the first two weeks.

But on Tuesday, we had a scare with Vea, one that we don’t know the fully diagnosis to yet.

Vea was going up against two offensive linemen in a double team drill, and at the end of it he sort of just fell down and grabbed his leg. He was able to get up and walk off under his own power, but he did have a limp to him.

Right after that drill was over, Vea was taken to the locker room (didn’t need a cart) and did not return. After practice Arians said that he did not see the play and had no update.

Offense Flies High

Oh baby, was the offense cooking on Tuesday.

There were a handful of playmakers consistently showing up big during practice, and one of them was new comer Breshad Perriman. Perriman is proving to this team that he isn’t just speed. He has the hands to go with it. That was Perriman’s big problem in Baltimore, but it seems he’s putting things together a lot more cleanly in Tampa Bay, catching the ball with regularity.

Though Perriman had some nice catches, the catch of the day likely went to wide receiver Matthew Eaton.

Eaton is a rookie out of Iowa State, and with a few more plays like that he could be getting some extra time with the second team.

You knew it couldn’t be an offensive party without the star of the show getting in on it. When it came to the deep ball, Mike Evans got his highlight reel catch, too.

Evans was dominating all day. In the 1-on-1 goal line drill, Evans worked every cornerback he faced. That Winston-to-Evans connection seems to be as strong as ever.

Finally, we had to leave you with the play of the day. It didn’t go for the most yards and it wasn’t even a touchdown. But this ball from backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert to wide receiver Justin Watson was about as pretty as could possibly be.

Defense Goes To Work

It has been a good camp for the young cornerbacks, and third year player Vernon Hargreaves III is leading the way.

That matchup win shown above wasn’t the only clutch play from Hargreaves at practice on Tuesday, which falls in line with the great training camp he’s having. He’s showing that playing a starting outside cornerback role might not be too much for him after all.

Speaking of guys stepping up, second year defensive back M.J. Stewart has been really impressive in camp.

Last year Stewart struggled with speed assignments. They tried to line him up in the slot, but the open space seemed to be too much for him. This year, as he is allowed to get his hands on receivers more, he’s become much more effective in coverage.

The play above was probably Stewart’s best moment on Tuesday.

Not only was it a great play, the whole defensive back group celebrated with him. This young defensive back group has come together to form a really strong bond. They have yet to go through in-season adversity, but it’s a great sign that these guys are all coming together already.

White Watch – Another Great Day

Bucs rookie middle linebacker Devin White is entering his first NFL training camp in Tampa Bay this season. With some high expectations for the fifth overall pick in the draft, White has already been installed as the play-caller of a brand new defense. PewterReport.com will chronicle each of White’s practices during training camp in the White Watch.

It was another phenomenal practice from Devin White today, with most of his impact coming during the team’s first 11-on-11 period. With pads on, allowing him to play free, physical and at full speed, White has really seemed to come into his own. He did overcommit on one read early, but his speed allowed him to recover in coverage and make a play to bring down tight end Antony Auclair.

If there is one thing that has become abundantly certain through this point in camp, it’s that White will be used very, very frequently as a blitzer. If these practices are any indication, he’s going to do it well. He has good instincts when attacking his gaps, gets to the backfield in the blink of an eye and he’s a force once he’s back there.

On this play, White got in the backfield and put Ronald Jones on the ground during a run up the middle.

Shortly after, he was able to make another strong read-and-react play in run support, getting off of his blocker and in position to make the stop.

Later on in practice during another one of the team’s 11-on-11 drills, White made what was perhaps his best play of the day. Lined up at his base middle linebacker spot, he made a great jump off of the snap, came screaming through the B-gap and got to Jameis Winston for the sure sack. Winston stayed on his feet – clearly because it’s not a live tackling drill and he gets to rock the orange non-contact jersey – and completed a nearly impossible reception to O.J. Howard. However, in an in-game scenario, White unequivocally comes up with the sack.

Bruce Arians has been pleased with how his rookie linebacker has been progressing thus far into training camp, and mentioned how Deone Bucannon has helped White get up to speed with the defense after playing with Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles in Arizona. Arians spoke about White in his post-practice press conference.

“I couldn’t ask any more,” Arians said. “He knows what he’s doing, he’s playing fast, he’s playing physical, he’s running the show and he’s not missing checks. Deone is helping him a little bit now, Lavonte [David] is helping him a little bit but he’s doing fine.”