The Headline From Camp Today: “Just A Horsesh*t Practice”

The Bucs returned to practice at the AdventHealth Training Center on Friday, July 30 after having Thursday off. And when the players took the field they looked sluggish, which did not sit well at all with head coach Bruce Arians.

“Really not pleased,” Arians said. “I thought we were really, really sluggish. We talked about it before we left and took the day off. We came out and I don’t know if our receivers caught a pass. Same thing defensively. We didn’t stop anything over third-and-9. It was just a horseshit practice. Hopefully we’ll get better in pads tomorrow.”

Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady, who threw an ill-advised interception to safety Mike Edwards in double coverage, concurred with Arians.

“Communication, execution, missing throws, missing reads,” Brady said. “Overall just a poor day.”

Friday’s practice was a mixture of poor throws, dropped passes, coverage busts and players not showing much of a sense of urgency. Arians said that the practice was not up to Bucs’ standards.

Tampa Bay will look to rebound on Saturday morning when the team dons full pads for the first time in training camp.

Bucs Players Out Of Practice

Bucs S Raven Greene – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Outside linebacker Cam Gill missed his second straight day of practice. Wide receiver Chris Godwin returned to practice after missing the last two sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday and was a full participant. Tight end O.J. Howard was also suited up with a helmet as he eases back from Achilles tendon surgery. Howard was held out of 11-on-11 drills, but did participate in individual drills and 7-on-7 work. Brady, center Ryan Jensen, tight end Rob Gronkowksi and outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul all returned to practice after missing Thursday due to a veteran day off.

Safety Raven Greene practiced with the team for the first time after missing the first four practices this week. And safety Jordan Whitehead was at practice, but not participating after returning from the COVID/reserve list. Defensive lineman Will Gholston and linebacker Lavonte David had scheduled veteran days off on Friday.

Bucs Practice Notes

While Arians and the players may not have liked how practice went on Friday, there were definitely some highlight plays to take away from the day. Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn made a nice diving catch to try and set the tone early. Not long after, fellow running back Leonard Fournette made a terrific catch, as fellow LSU alum Devin White was right next to him in coverage. The backs had it going on early in the receiving  game to start practice.

Bucs C Robert Hainsey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

One of the miscues that Arians was referring to in his comments after practice would be from another botched snap that involved rookie center Robert Hainsey. This is the second practice in a row where Hainsey and his quarterback had a fumbled exchanged. On Wednesday, the first snap of practice was botched when Hainsey worked with Blaine Gabbert, but that was a very rainy day. On Friday, the weather was as good as it could be for a summer day in Tampa, and yet something went wrong in an exchange with Ryan Griffin. Hainsey transitioned from right tackle in college to center in the NFL after not playing there before, so his snaps will be a topic to monitor moving forward.

Brady looked to get everyone involved during practice and came out the gates on the same page with Godwin, who returned to practice. Brady found Godwin for a 20-yard reception down the field on the first play of 7-on-7’s. Later on during the same session, Godwin beat safety Ross Cockrell, who’s having a great camp, deep down the field to get wide open for a touchdown. Three days off seemed to do him some good.

Not to be outdone, it was also a big day for Antonio Brown as he connected with Brady on multiple occasions. He had a great play towards the end of practice where he pulled a double move on rookie cornerback Cameron Kinley to get wide open in the end zone for a touchdown. Brown then proceeded to dunk on the field goal post following the score. Mike Evans had his moments as well, leaping into the air and coming down with the ball for a touchdown in the back of the end zone as defenders tried to slap the ball out of his hands. It’s no surprise why Evans has so much success at the goal line.

Brown got open on another ball deep ball down the field, getting past safety Chris Cooper, but didn’t get his head turned around in time to come up with the catch. It was just another example of the execution and communication that Arians wasn’t happy with.

The competition for the fourth tight end position has been well documented, and Tanner Hudson was the one that had the best outing for practice. He saw multiple targets from Gabbert and then reunited with Griffin for some big plays. The two have been a dynamic duo as they’ve tag-teamed to dominate the preseason in year’s past. Hudson capped it off with a good reception touchdown over the middle.

Bucs rookie quarterback Kyle Trask took a big step forward on Friday. He was reading the defense quite well and getting the ball out of his hands in a timely manner. He didn’t throw any interceptions on the day and had one play in particular where he recognized the blitz and quickly threw the ball to Jaydon Mickens for a big gain. Trask also connected with Travis Jonsen, who made his presence felt with multiple receptions.

Bucs QB Ryan Griffin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Inside linebacker Devin White picked off an underneath route and took it to the house for a pick-six on Griffin. Safety Javon Hagan is a player that’s trying to solidify his role as the fourth safety behind Whitehead, Antoine Winfield Jr, and Mike Edwards. He made a splash play, stripping the ball away from tight end De’Quan Hampton after his catch.

In other safety news, Winfield was making plays all over the field, diving at one point for a pass break up after Carlton Davis III blitzed on the play. But Winfield also dropped a would-be interception on an errant throw by Brady.

A scary moment occurred as well where Edwards intercepted a deep ball pass from Brady that was intended for Scotty Miller with Davis in coverage. As Edwards came down with the ball after jumping, he stayed on the ground for a bit, looking like the wind get knocked out of him. He slowly got up to his feet and walked off the field. We’ll see if Edwards is out there on Saturday.