From the moment the Bucs training camp schedule was released this day was circled on the calendar. This was the day the Miami Dolphins came to town for the first of two joint practices before the teams’ preseason bout on Friday night.

It was the same injury list for the Buccaneers on Tuesday. Justin Evans, Vita Vea and Lavonte David were the big names who were sidelined. Scotty Miller, Mike Edwards and Anthony Nelson were also still sidelined — head coach Bruce Arians said after practice that Miller needs to “get his ass back on the field.” But Ndamukong Suh was back at practice, as was the Bucs newest member of the team, safety Darian Stewart, who was signed yesterday.

The biggest matchup of the day was between the Bucs wide receivers and the Dolphins’ top cover man Xavien Howard.

Howard picked off a pass early on in 1-on-1s, but when Mike Evans got his first crack at him, Evans won that battle — to be fair, Evans got the better of basically any defensive back who he went up against the entire practice.

Howard also had the chance to go up against Chris Godwin in the 1-on-1 format. It’s worth noting that 1-on-1 is a drill that heavily favors the wide receivers, but Howard is still a great corner, and Godwin beating him is still a nice note.

But Howard, as is often the case, didn’t let a few reps get him down. Once the teams went to the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods, Howard really bounced back. He picked off Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston on more than one occasions.

After practice Howard admitted that Winston got the better of him early on, but that he had to get him back. Winston came up to Howard after practice and gave him a fist bump out of respect for a good practice.

Another promising note from practice, this time coming from the offensive line, was the improvement that is evident from right guard Alex Cappa. During 1-on-1 drills from the Bucs’ offensive line and the Dolphins’ defensive line Cappa had a strong showing. The reps in that format are limited of course, but Cappa held his own when thrown into the gauntlet.

Through all the videos and picture at practice, though, this one was the biggest highlight.

Bucs fans got to see a familiar face on Tuesday, as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was at One Buc yet again. Fitzpatrick, who led the Bucs to a 2-0 start last season, made himself at home by bringing his family out to the field after practice, just like he had done so many times during his tenure in Tampa. He was greeted by so many teammates with smiles and stories. It was a great moment to see.

We’ll be back at it tomorrow for one more day of joint practices before a day off on Thursday and the Bucs second preseason game on Friday.

White Watch – Flashes Of Great Blitzing At Start, But Over Pursued In Run Game

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.

Tuesday’s practice was the next opportunity to play against a live opponent. This is a great experience for the rookie to look at different blocking schemes, protections and how other teams will try to pick up his blitzes.

White maybe had the adrenaline going a little too much to start practice, as he overpursued on the first couple run plays in the opening 11-on-11. He ran past his assigned gap, leading to a long run for the Dolphins at the beginning. At times he looked slightly overwhelmed, but that quickly changed later on.

The following session was a 7-on-7 where White primarily played zone, but the next 11-on-11 sessions was his best of the day. The rookie linebacker got his legs under him here, and was one of the best players on the field as the Bucs manhandled the Dolphins offensive line.

He recorded his first sack on a blitz straight up the middle going untouched even though the Dolphins linemen saw him coming. Maybe it was a mistake by them on assignments, but White flying up the middle straight at you is a scary sight for a quarterback.

He followed up the next play by barreling over an offensive linemen, mucking it up behind the line of scrimmage and forcing the quarterback to move from a comfortable spot. White ended up with one more sack before the session was over.

After that was done, the Bucs defense went to another field for some more 11-on-11, and the offensive line started fairing better against the rookie out of LSU. He was aggressive once again, but also started over pursuing once more.

White’s blitzes were successful early on, but when a lineman was able to get a helmet on him now, he was was stuffed up at the line and not able to get to the quarterback. He by no means was overmatched, but it just shows that not every time he can just rely on his speed and power, and will at some point start adding in some more pass rushing moves. His pass coverage was solid as he was put in a lot of zone coverage. He was beat on one play covering the running back, but other than he played well.

Practice took a turn and both teams headed inside for the rest of practice. There were a number of pass plays, but none went his way. One of the few knocks on White during the draft is that he tends to overpressure, which is what was seen a bit during practice. It’s correctable, and it shows he’s aggressive, but it something that needs to be worked on.