Day two of Bucs training camp saw practice take place outside for the first time. Once again there were plenty of fans in the bleachers to see the Bucs hit the field. What they got to see was a dominating performance from a player that they have waited for to truly break out, but more on that in a bit.

Earlier in the day, press conferences were held for outside linebacker and new offseason acquisition Shaq Barrett along with rookie safety Mike Edwards. Both players are in their first training camp with the Bucs, as Barrett previously played for the Denver Broncos.

First up to the podium was Barrett, and he was preaching about how much he wants to prove himself to the coaches, fans, and anyone who may doubt him. He’s shown in the past the ability to get to the quarterback, but with Von Miller playing on the same side as him, the Barrett’s opportunities were limited. Now with the Bucs, he’ll have the expanded role that he wanted.

“I always, no matter what [or] who was in front of me, whenever I get on the field, I’m ready to play,” Barrett said. “I’m always ready to make an impact on the game. I know in our room, our outside linebacker group we [are] taking the challenge, we [are] ready to show the people that believed in us that they believed in us for the right reason and to prove the doubters wrong. So, we’re just ready to make our impact on the team.”

He then discussed how the team will move forward without Jason Pierre-Paul.

After Barrett was Edwards, and he went into what it’s like being a professional in the NFL. Along with patience, he mentioned that one of the bigger changes was the amount of meetings that take place at this level.

Once the players began practice, Vernon Hargreaves was seen slightly limping around during some 7-on-7. He was briefly out with a foot injury before returning and participating in full in practice.

Staying with the topic of corners, it was a big day for rookies Sean Murphy-Bunting, Lukas Denis, and second-year player Carlton Davis. Davis had an interception during 7-on-7 drills along with Denis, who also recorded a sack later on. Murphy-Bunting also had an interception in a strong outing in coverage that included two pass breakups during goal line drills. The breakups came along with a little swagger in celebration after the plays were made. Overall, Murphy-Bunting looked confident as he lobbies to win the nickel job.

Outside of an early 7-on-7 period and an install session, the Bucs predominantly stuck to one field and played a ton of 11 on 11. One competition battle that has heated up already was between the receivers for who will claim the 4th and 5th wide receiver spots. Justin Watson got the ball rolling by connecting on a large pass from Jameis Winston. He later added a touchdown as well.

Later on in practice it was Bobo Wilson that stepped up and put his hat into the ring for this competition. There’s been a lot of buzz lately for Watson and rookie Scotty Miller, but on Saturday Wilson reminded people what he’s capable of doing. He ended the day with two touchdowns, including a highlight reel catch.

The true star of practice though was absolutely Noah Spence. Matched up against Donovan Smith all afternoon, Spence had the upper hand most of the time. He could be seen really controlling his own aging Smith, using a combination of both power and speed to win against the opponent.

On this play, he flattened Smith in pursuit of Jameis Winston knocking him to the ground.

Then it happened one more time. It was certainly one of the best practices that Spence had. Granted, it’s day two of training camp without any pads, but for those that been waiting for Spence to make progress, this was a window of optimism.

Spence spoke with Pewter Report about his performance after practice.

“We’re not in pads yet, but certain moves are going to translate when the pads come on,” Spence said. “I’m just trying to come out here every day and be my best and work. Donovan beats me, and I beat him. We just try to make each other better. I’m just glad to be out here playing football again.

“Last year I was trying to put on the weight and it took away from me a little bit I didn’t really get to see [the advantage of the weight gain] because I didn’t really get to play. This year I feel like I’m at the weight I’m supposed to be – 248 – and I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. It feels great.”

In the kicking battle it was Matt Gay’s turn to get a shot after Cairo Santos took all the kicks on Friday. He went 8-of-9, missing from 47 yards, but did show off his powerful leg by hitting from 52 and 57 yards.

Coach Bruce Arians was just as busy after practice as well. Through his Bruce Arians Family Foundation, Arians along with multiple Bucs players handed out backpacks with school supplies to over 100 kids while they signed autographs. Arians and his son Jake both spoke about the foundation and the event after.

Winston Watch – Looking Better On Day Two

Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston is in a critical contract year and is learning a
new offense for the first time since arriving in Tampa Bay in 2015.
PewterReport.com will chronicle each one of Winston’s practices during camp
in the Winston Watch.

It was another day of practice, still without pads, and another shaky start from QB1 Jameis Winston. In early passing drills Winston overthrew Mike Evans on a corner route before laying off two easy screen passes. He then went deep down the field to Scotty Miller but it was underthrown and Carlton Davis dropped what surely should have been an interception.

As the team moved to their 11-on-11 period, Winston seemed to have calmed down. On the first pass of the period Winston hit Godwin, being covered by Davis, in stride on an in route that went for a long gain and might have gone for six in a live situation. Then it was Evans turn to line up against Davis and Winston threw a strike for a completion on an out route. Winston continued his struggles trying to hit Miller in the period – after a miscommunication caused an interception yesterday and an underthrow led to a near-pick today – as Miller ran an unexpected route and couldn’t bring in the pass before Winston missed him low on the very next play. To end the period, Winston hit Justin Watson deep for a touchdown on a corner route and found Godwin downfield again while finally connecting with Miller on a short screen pass.

Throughout the next half hour Winston came in for two very short periods, one being 7-on-7 drills in the red zone and another series of 11-on-11 drills. Both periods were relatively short and while the Bucs’ starter began the 7-on-7 period a little slow, he would find Godwin for a nice completion, O.J. Howard over the middle for a touchdown and Ogunbowale for a touchdown to cap it off.

Winston would again find his groove later on in a two minute drill, connecting with Howard again for a big gain, Breshad Perriman three separate times to move down the field in chunks and Evans again to end the period strong.

The last passing segment of practice saw the team up at the goal line for first down, with Arians saying in his post-practice press conference that the situation had the offense down eight points. Winston started the period off with two incompletions and some confusion that led to a timeout, but the next two plays he found Godwin streaking toward the pylon for a touchdown and Andre Ellington on flat route to score once again.

White Watch – Uneventful Day For The Rookie

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 an uneventful day for rookie middle linebacker Devin White on Saturday. White made his share of pass breakups and racked up a few interceptions during the OTAs and mini-camps during the offseason, but was unlucky in coverage in Tampa Bay’s second training camp practice.

White actually looked confused a couple of times in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills. The first period was 11-on-11 and he did a decent job blitzing, but didn’t get home. In the third 11-on-11 session, White looked lost on one rep, starting to drop in zone coverage, then charging ahead a couple steps to blitz and then realizing he made a mistake and dropping in coverage again.

This is to be expected from a rookie middle linebacker in his second-ever training camp practice. When in coverage, White did a good job sticking to tight ends. He only gave up two catches, a 10-yarder to O.J. Howard in man coverage and a short crossing route to Dare Ogunbowale in zone coverage in the 7-on-7 session.

In the next 11-on-11 drill, White showed some more hesitancy and he bit on a play-action pass from Jameis Winston. The rookie from LSU had a really nice run fit in pursuit, chasing down Ronald Jones II on an outside run. White also did a nice job of blitzing the B gap on the next play and came close to getting a sack.

In the final 11-on-11 session, White exclusively covered running back Andre Ellington out of the backfield and also when he was lined up in the slot. Winston didn’t throw the ball in Ellington’s direction, presumably due to White’s tight coverage. White did have a nice blitz in the final session but was picked up by Ellington at the last second.

The pads come on tomorrow and White will get to hit for the first time as a Buccaneer. Should be interesting.