There’s always good news and bad news with training camp performances. Since it’s Bucs versus Bucs, one side of the ball will get praised and the other will get criticized. It’s part of the give-and-take of camp.

On Monday, it was definitely the defense getting the praise.

Before practice kicked off, second-year cornerback Carlton Davis took to the podium and was asked about the new wrinkles in the Buccaneers defense under defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

In doing so — I assume in a way that was not intentional, just the truth — he sort of took a shot at the old regime he played for last season.

Allowing players to play to their strengths and be comfortable? Sounds like it should be an obvious strategy, but last year it didn’t feel like that at all. Davis said it truly does this year.

Davis also praised the schematic work of Bowles, calling him a “genius” at one point. Davis explained that this new defensive playbook they have involves a lot of different looks, and a lot of different ways to dial up pressure because of it.

Injury Update

The injury list was a bit longer on Monday, but for the new names present, such as Ndamukong Suh, Cam Brate and Demar Dotson, they appeared to be sitting out due to scheduled veteran rest days. They’ll likely do this in rotation with some of their bigger name players to make sure they’re not worn out by the end of camp.

New Age Defense

The first sign of new blood in the defense came from the physicality we saw when the pads came on. On Sunday, the first day of pads, we saw players cracking helmets and getting physical. But, on Monday, that was taken to another level, as you can see in the video above.

Even though they’re on the same team, these guys are definitely going to know what it’s like to get hit by the time camp is over — something that was not the case last year.

Bowles has not been holding anything back against the Bucs offensive line through the first two days of camp with pads on. He’s been throwing blitzes at them from all different angles, and so far the offense hasn’t been ready for it.

In the play above, safety Kentrell Brice came screaming off the edge and would have absolutely flattened the quarterback if that would have been a real game. What’s noticeable in practice already is the timing these blitzing players have. I understand that they’re going against their own offense, so they sort of know the cadences of the snap count, but still. Their confidence with pressure is impressive in such a short time on the field together with their new playbook.

Arians wasn’t kidding when he said this coaching staff knows how to teach.

Whenever pressure improves up front, the secondary usually elevates their game, too. That was certainly the case on Monday, as many defensive backs made their presence known.

In the play above, cornerback Vernon Hargreaves knocked the ball out for a fumble, which gives him forced turnovers in back-to-back practices.

The play of the day on defense, if you will, was the play shown above by rookie safety Mike Edwards. Edwards had two interceptions on Monday, one that was a result of a miscommunication on the offense, but the second was the beautifully read pick-6 you see there.

It was definitely the defense’s day on Monday.

Welcome Back, Jack

As if the highlights weren’t enough reason to get excited about the defense, the Bucs welcomed back linebacker Jack Cichy to the practice field on Monday.

Cichy tore his ACL against the Browns in October last season, and Monday was his first day back. As you can see in the clip above, he’s going all-out already, and likely won’t be holding back or need any extra tie to ease himself in.

The Bucs have one more day of pads before a well-deserved day off on Wednesday.

We’ll be back at One Buc tomorrow to give you all the updates.

White Watch – Still In The Learning Process

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 ugly start to the beginning of practice for White. In the opening drills, the linebackers went up one-on-one against the running backs in the passing drill and he was burned by the 30-year old Andre Ellington. He looked flat footed out of the break and Ellington went right by him. White quickly shook it off, though, and rebounded on his next rep, covering starting running back Peyton Barber and winning that matchup with a pass breakup.

After he got his bearings about him, White held his own in 11-on-11’s. Early in the session, White stuffed Barber again on a run play at the line of scrimmage, laying a strong hit on his opponent. He followed that up by maintaining his assignments in pass coverage with no passes thrown his way.

The rookie out of LSU is still processing different looks and formations at the NFL level. In the goal line period, White over pursued on a play action, but was quick enough to get back and make an attempt at stopping the pass. The ball ended up being overthrown, but it would have been a close call for if White would of been able to knock it down had the pass been accurate. In a bunched up setting, he ended up covering Ellington on one play and then receiver Chris Godwin on another, hence the different set ups he’s been getting.

Whether it was by design or out of necessity due to limited space in the indoor facility, the second and third stringers received a bulk of the reps in the following two 11-on-11 drills. There were also plenty of nickel formations that took White off the field, as well.

When on the field, White was seen mostly blitzing once again. At times, they would stack up him up at the line, putting all their cards on the table. His rushes had their effects, but more often than not he was either picked up or a second too late to the quarterback. He did have a nice blitz toward the end, albeit against a screen pass, but White was in the backfield before the linemen could even make their break out for the screen. There he forced an errant pass by Jameis Winston that ended up getting intercepted by defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter of all players.

It’s still in the early stages for White, who is getting his feet wet but hasn’t had a major impact yet. As he learns more and gets comfortable in the system, his natural athletic ability will take over and do the rest.

He’s coming along fine in an important role for this team.