The Headline From Camp Today: Bucs, Titans Clash In Tampa

The Buccaneers and Titans held the first of two joint practices at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa on Wednesday. Skies were sunny and conditions were hot, but things never got heated between the two teams. That’s because Bucs head coach Bruce Arians and Titans head coach Mike Vrabel set the tone with their players and told them not to fight in practice.

While there weren’t any fists flying on Wednesday, there were plenty of passes flying through the air … and hitting the ground incomplete. Neither team was sharp in the passing game and there were plenty of drops in practice from both teams – in one-on-ones and in 11-on-11’s.

The electricity was palpable for the fans in attendance at the Advent Health Training Center as soon as the Bucs and Titans lined up against each other to start practice in one-on-one drills. Watching the Bucs wide receivers go up against the Titans’ corners had the crowd in a frenzy.

Bucs WR Antonio Brown and QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert firing off throws one after another, the Bucs’ first two reps started slow, but very quickly ramped up. Mike Evans, who had a practice he’d like to forget, beat his man during the first rep on a slant, but dropped the pass from Brady. Antonio Brown was then held egregiously at the line of scrimmage, forcing an incomplete pass.

It was Chris Godwin that got the Bucs going, as he gave Titans first-round pick Caleb Farley a “welcome to the league” moment. Godwin raced by the rookie for a long touchdown reception from Brady, and the Bucs offense dominated from that point on.

Brown, frustrated by being held on his first rep, torches the Titans defensive backs with several hard-breaking routes, creating massive separation. Tyler Johnson made a couple great contested catches in the middle of the field, as did Cyril Grayson. Then Jaydon Mickens toasted another defender deep, and the lid came off the Bucs fan section.

Johnson then made perhaps the catch of camp, a leaping one-handed grab on a back shoulder ball vs tight coverage. Godwin caught every ball thrown his way, and the Titans finished the session with just one pass breakup and one pick. The Bucs did have three drops, and Evans adjusted poorly to two balls he should have caught. Scotty Miller roasted Briean Boddy-Calhoun deep, but let the ball go through his hands. A very rare drop for Miller – but that wound up being the theme of the day.

After the 1-on-1’s, dropped passes reigned supreme again. Jaelon Darden dropped at least two passes on the day, and tight ends Rob Gronkowski and O.J. Howard dropped a pair as well. Gronkowski’s worst drop was a dime down the seam from Brady, which should have been a touchdown. On the play before, Evans had a shot at an adjustment catch for a touchdown, but failed to finish.

At one point in the next series, Ronald Jones II dropped a wide open pass in the flat, Darden dropped an open slant and then Ke’Shawn Vaughn dropped a screen pass. Even Brown dropped a wide open dig route in the middle-of-the-field, the first drop we’ve seen from him in camp. Tight end Jerell Adams also let an uncontested out route go off his hands near the boundary.

In fairness, many of the drops have been by the Bucs’ depth players, and Godwin, Brown, Miller and Giovani Bernard have been among the team’s most sure-handed players. But Gronkowski, Howard and Evans both had ugly practices in terms of finishing on the ball (they got open consistently), which marred the day. In a practice where we should have been talking about how Tennessee’s defense had no prayer against Tampa Bay’s weapons, instead we’re talking about the Bucs beating themselves with mistakes.

Bucs Players Out Of Practice

Safeties Jordan Whitehead and Raven Greene, OLB Cam Gill, RB Troymaine Pope, WR Travis Jonsen and TE Tanner Hudson were all out of practice today.

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

The big return was offensive lineman Robert Hainsey, who was in pads and practicing for the first time in over two weeks. Much like many of the other players that returned from injury, the Bucs eased Hainsey back into practice as he participated in individual drills warming up, but wasn’t involved in any team drills against the Titans. Howard returned to practice as well after a day off.

Practice Notes

• Bruce Arians was critical of Brady after practice, saying he “wasn’t sharp” and didn’t “wow anybody.” It wasn’t Brady’s best practice, but I think Arians’ criticism is a little dramatic. Brady had several big-time throws, but did miss a couple passes low that he usually hits. He was also intercepted twice in 11-on-11’s, although one pick looked like a route bust with no one in the area. It definitely wasn’t Brady’s best, so we’ll see what tomorrow holds.

• The team sessions brought about mixed results due to the team’s sloppiness, but Tampa Bay won the 1-on-1 periods handily. In the Bucs OL vs. Titans DL matchups, Tampa Bay won almost every rep. That’s almost unheard of in a drill where offensive linemen are at a disadvantage.

Titans second-year defensive tackle Larrell Murchison did beat Ali Marpet with a rip move to open up the session, but got stonewalled on a spin on the next rep. Right tackle Brad Seaton washed out edge rusher Derick Roberson twice, capping a good practice for the tackle.

But the highlight of the session was Nick Leverett. After losing a rep to Kyle Peko, Leverett bounced back and didn’t give an inch on the next one. John Molchon stepped up for the next rep, but may have pulled a hamstring as his feet slid back in his pass set. Leverett jumped right back into the lineup to replace the injured center, tossing defensive tackle Anthony Rush to the ground after a dominant win.

• Aaron Stinnie and Josh Wells are having good camps in pass protection, and it showed again on Wednesday. Stinnie shut down Woodrow Hamilton on two rushes, then Wells shoved Ola Adeniyi wide on a pair of attempts.

• While other wide receivers struggled, Tyler Johnson had a great practice. He made a couple really difficult catches, then adjusted to a couple of low throws in the red zone period for scores. After dropping a pass or two that he shouldn’t have the past few days, Johnson was awesome on Wednesday.

Bucs WR Tyler Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Despite the drops, the Bucs still excelled in the final red zone period. The first team offense went 2-of-3, with Brady finding Johnson and Brown for scores. His third pass whistled through Bernard’s hands on a low throw near the goal line. You know it’s a bad day when Bernard is dropping the ball.

The second team offense also went 2-of-3, with Johnson catching the first touchdown from Gabbert. Johnson also caught the next ball, but was tackled just outside the end zone. On the final play, Gabbert found Codey McElroy late in the back corner of the end zone for a score.

• Defensively the Bucs and Titans probably had a draw in both the 1-on-1’s and in the team sessions. Like Tampa Bay, Tennessee had its share of misfires in the passing game with errant throws and dropped passes. The Bucs coverage was okay for the most part, but not dominant by any means. Tampa Bay’s secondary got bailed out plenty of times by passes that were either dropped or too far in front of the receivers and tight ends. It’s fair to say that the 1-on-1’s were a draw as neither the Bucs defensive backs nor the Titans receivers and tight ends dominated.

• Cornerback Jamel Dean made a nice diving interception off a pass that was tipped at the line in the 11-on-11 period. Reserve safety Ross Cockrell dropped what would be a pick-six while covering an out route a few plays later. But Cockrell did get beat deep once in 1-on-1’s as it’s apparent that he doesn’t have a second gear in man coverage. Dean was beaten in 1-on-1’s as well, but he does have recovery speed and caught up to the receiver for a pass break-up at the goal line.

• The Titans were without starting receivers Julio Jones and A.J. Brown on Wednesday, but another pair of Tennessee receivers – Marcus Johnson and Chester Rogers – had some nice catches and touchdowns against Tampa Bay’s secondary. Rogers caught a touchdown in the end zone in red zone work between safeties Antoine Winfield, Jr. and Mike Edwards.

• In the 11-on-11 period Todd Bowles used some exotic looks up front and that allowed linebacker Lavonte David to come free on a blitz to “sack” quarterback Ryan Tannehill. On the next play defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and safety Javon Hagan, who was run blitzing, made a nice stop in the backfield.

• Tampa Bay’s run defense was exceptional for the most part in Wednesday’s practice, which is encouraging because Tennessee is so adept at running the ball. In the first play of red zone drills, nose tackle Vita Vea, defensive end Will Gholston and inside linebacker Devin White converged on former Bucs running back Jeremy McNichols in the backfield.

• Bucs rookie outside linebacker Joe Tryon had a decent practice lining up on the left and right side. Tryon looks more comfortable playing on the left, as he did for the Cincinnati game on Saturday night. Tryon held his own for the most part, but did give up a touchdown in coverage as he got lost on a wheel route while lining up on the right side of the formation. Titans fullback Khari Blasingame beat him down the sidelines in the red zone for a touchdown as cornerback Dee Delaney was late to get over to try to make the play.

• One of the Bucs’ best plays in the red zone came in man coverage when Hagan blanketed tight end Jared Pinkney, diving to break up the pass in the back corner of the end zone.