As the Bucs entered their fifth straight day of training camp, the bodies were tired, the sun was beaming, and it was time to see which football players really wanted it more.

Before the players hit the field, though, both of the Buccaneers coordinators, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, took to the podium to answer questions from the media.

Since this is their first year in Tampa Bay, we don’t know all the intricacies of the Bucs offensive and defensive strategies during training camp. As the offense has struggled to keep up with the defense so far, Leftwich assured the media that all of that is according to plan.

Leftwich wasn’t saying that it was a good thing the offense was struggling, but made sure to emphasize to the media that he and Bowles are working together to throw everything they can at the offense to make them very uncomfortable. It’s about how they respond and making sure they’re seeing things they’re not expecting. That is important right now. Leftwich said the results will come.

Leftwich echoed that sentiment when talking about quarterback Jameis Winston specifically. He said that he is happy with where Winston is, at this point. He made it known that his message to Winston (and us) is that it’s not always about making the money throw, but rather, making the money decision.

The first week of camp is all about setting up the right train of thought to come to the right decisions.

Pre-Practice Injury Update

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was back out at practice on Tuesday, as was offensive tackle Demar Dotson and tight end Cam Brate. Their presence out there today basically confirms that their rest yesterday was likely a scheduled rest day, not due to any sort of injury.

The only veteran taking a day off on Tuesday was guard Evan Smith.

Hargreaves Coming Into His Own

Though the offense got the better of the defense on Tuesday, that didn’t mean there weren’t a handful of big plays made on the defensive side of the ball. The most notable one came from third-year cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III in the form of the leaping interception you see above.

Hargreaves has really started to come into his own this training camp. He’s recorded a turnover in three consecutive days now, and is showing an improved level of confidence as well as execution.

Rumbling RoJo

Not only was Tuesday Winston’s best day of practice (we’ll get to the highlights of that), it was also the best day of practice for running back Ronald Jones.

Whether it was the weight gain or just a new sense of comfortability, RoJo has been running hard, physical and fast all camp, something that was not present at all last season.

After practice, head coach Bruce Arians praised Jones, saying how explosive of an offensive weapon he is. Arians went on to say that it is very much an open competition for who will be the starting running back between Jones and Peyton Barber.

Winston Wins The Day

We touched on this a bit in the section above with Leftwich, but the defense has been overwhelming the offense so far in camp. But, on Tuesday, the offense punched back, and the man leading those swings to punch back was their starting quarterback Jameis Winston.

Winston was on the money on Tuesday. He was hitting his wide receivers in short, intermediate and deep areas of the field, especially his favorite target Mike Evans.

The Winston-to-Evans connection was going strong on Tuesday, and that is certainly great for the confidence of both Winston and his offensive coordinator Leftwich. Maybe Winston is further along in learning what to do in this offense than even Leftwich thought.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows with Winston and Evans, though, as Evans was seen being carted off late in practice. Evans looked to be in a considerable amount of pain, but Arians later confirmed that it was just a bad body cramp for Evans, nothing more serious than that.

To cap off this Tuesday recap, the play above was by far the craziest play so far this training camp. In it, Ronald Jones had the best run I’ve seen from him in a Buccaneers uniform, breaking four different tackles. But then he fumbled it at the end of his run before he could reach the goal line.

But the craziness didn’t stop there. As the defender picked up the ball to run it back, who was screaming down the field to make the tackle? Quarterback Jameis Winston. Winston even made a diving attempt at the ball carrier but came up empty.

After practice, Arians was asked about the decision to go for the tackle on a meaningless play in practice. He laughed and said, “that’s enough of that… love the effort, though.”

That’s Winston for you.

The team gets a well-deserved day off tomorrow before getting back at it on Thursday.

White Watch – Bucs’ Rookie Shows Off Sure Tackling

Bucs rookie middle linebacker Devin White is entering his first NFL training camp with the Bucs this season. With some high expectations for the number five overall pick in the draft, White has already been put 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.

Devin White returned to Bucs training camp for his third day in pads and first day with fully live tackling drills.

For much of the day, when White saw the field he was dropped into coverage but used sporadically in blitz packages, primarily either lined up in a double A gap scheme alongside Lavonte David or shooting the middle from his base middle linebacker spot.

After their opening drills, the team moved over to 11-on-11 drills where White started the day strong, taking down running back Peyton Barber with a solid tackle on the first play from scrimmage.

Later in the same drill, he showed out again, finishing a play in coverage with a solid open field tackle.

Moving on to the redzone drill, while White was on the field, he was primarily dropping into coverage and rarely tested, with the exception of one play where he was matched up one-on-one with tight end Jordan Leggett.

He largely wasn’t tested again until the team’s final period where they finished practice with a period of simulated game scenarios. White came in hot up the middle and his pressure from the edge forced Jameis Winston to step up. White was there to convert the sack.

White did get in on a diving tackle on a run play to the edge later in the period, but running back Ronald Jones also shook him clean off during a big play down the sidelines.

Although most of White’s reps came dropping back into zone coverage, with the occasional rep sent on a blitz or lined up across from his man, the most important thing that he showed on Tuesday was sure tackling. White hasn’t been in pads with a full session of live contact since he played at LSU, so this was a critical day in his development as the season draws closer.