FAB 4. What To Expect In Arians’ First Training Camp In Tampa Bay

When the Bucs take the field to start their 2019 training camp it will be the 24th training camp that I’ve covered in Tampa Bay, dating back to my first year as a young writer for Buccaneer Magazine in 1995. Bucs training camp was at the University of Tampa back in those days and I remember when the NFL had two-a-day practices and hitting galore in the month of August.

I recall Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp skipping around the practice field and nodding his head up and down when it was time for live goal line drills under the Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden regimes. Sapp and his defensive teammates couldn’t wait to lay the wood in live contact periods.

Bucs DT Warren Sapp with DBs Dwight Smith, Brian Kelly and DT Booger McFarland – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR

I remember the sweltering days in Orlando when the Bucs practiced at Disney’s Wide World of Sports under Gruden. Summertime in Orlando was like Florida’s desert – hot and sunny with very little breeze. To me, those were the good ol’ days of Bucs training camp.

The last five years of Bucs training camps under both Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter have been some of the softest.

Koetter won all three of his season openers as a head coach, but was no better than 2-3 in any season once the Bucs got to the sixth game of the year or 3-4 once the team reached the eighth game on the schedule – even in 2016 when Tampa Bay rallied to a 9-7 finish.

The same could be said of Smith’s last year in Tampa Bay in 2015 – a 2-3 start and a 3-4 record by the time the Bucs got to their eighth game. And of course we know Smith started off 1-8 in 2014, his first season as head coach in Tampa Bay, before getting its second win of the season and then losing the final six games of the year.

The Bucs need a more physical training camp than they’ve had under the last two regimes and thankfully that will happen under Arians, who will actually have live tackling periods – something that never happened under Smith or Koetter.

“Oh yeah,” Arians said. “You can’t learn how to tackle unless you tackle. It’s just being smart [about] who you’re tackling.”

Arians was excited about what his team accomplished during the offseason, but is curious to see what he’s got once the pads come on in camp.

“I really couldn’t ask for the effort, to enthusiasm, to attendance, that’s all that you get in the spring,” Arians said. “We got smarter, we got better. Now, can we be more physical? That’ll come in July and August.”

Bucs GM Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Arians will continue his practice of running two practices simultaneously to not only give the starters more reps to get them in better shape and accelerate their learning of the new offensive and defensive schemes, but also to aid in the rapid development of the team’s rookies. Not only will Arians hit the practice fields with the biggest coaching staff ever assembled in Tampa Bay, he’ll also have the help of five former NFL players in former Chiefs fullback Kimble Anders, former Lions and Bears running back Kevin Jones, former Broncos, Lions and Browns offensive lineman George Foster, former Colts, Cardinals and Ravens cornerback Jerraud Powers and former Steelers and Titans wide receiver Nate Washington as members of the Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship.

Arians will also have Sapp – and perhaps a few other former Bucs – come out to training camp to help coach.

“Sapp will probably come in for a day or two and work with D-linemen,” Arians said. “I’ll have those guys around as much as possible, but we pretty much have five guys now that are helping out.”

Aside from a more physical atmosphere, more coaches and two practices going on at the same time, Arians has also changed up the practice times. Gone are the early morning practices at 8:30 a.m. under Koetter. Most of the practices will be in the late afternoon, which is something Smith tried unsuccessfully due to the daily afternoon thunderstorms that typically roll through the Tampa Bay area in August.

“We’ll have practices between eight in the morning and four in the afternoon to 6:30,” Arians said. “Four, because that’s when we kick off two games home in September. Six-thirty is as close as we can get to eight o’clock kickoff – Thursday Night Football. So, we’ll mix it up. You don’t want to get into that dead routine and not be able to match up when your game times are. So, as much four o’clock practices so we can get ready for the first two home games.”

Smith didn’t have the benefit of the indoor practice facility to use when inclement weather struck, but Arians wants to keep his team outside and away from the air conditioning as much as possible.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I hope not,” Arians said when asked if he’ll practice indoors to escape the Florida heat – or rain – during camp. “I like to be right out here, because that one [pointing to Raymond James Stadium] doesn’t have a roof on it. So, if it rains and there’s lightning, we’ll be in there.”

Arians is expected to continue not blaring music during practice, which is a departure from the days of Smith and Koetter, which had music playing nearly every period. If Arians decides to play some music it will be during warm-ups, but he’ll want it quiet during the teaching periods of installation and individual drills, as well as 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods.

This Bucs training camp under Arians is expected to be a complete departure from what the previous several coaches have run in Tampa Bay over the last couple of years. More importantly, Arians hopes that the shake-up in August will lead to much different – and better – results during the Bucs’ regular season.