Even though it was only three days, it was a long three days for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers participating in the team’s mini camp before the great football drought of about five to six week of no practice before training camp starts – though the players can certainly workout on their own.

These have also been the first three practices in which all 90 players on the roster have been on the practice fields at the same time – minus the injuries, but they were all still present. Because of that, there have been some things to workout, both in chemistry as teammates and as individuals learning the playbook.

But, on day three, we got to really see things open up for both the offense and the defense. The offense finally had a good grip on what the defense was going to give them, and, on the flip side, the defense saw more of what the offense’s tendencies were. Because of this, the media was able to see some good football being played on both ends.

The practice began with an 11-on-11 drill, but with a twist. This was no ordinary drive. The rules of the drill were that of a one-minute drill to try to simulate the end of a game. There were no timeouts available, and the offense had to get in the end zone starting from the opponent’s 40-yard line.

Here’s how that entire drive played out for the first-team unit.

First Play

The first play was as good as you could draw it up.

On an out-route to the sideline (which was, of course, important because the team had to think about the clock), Adam Humphries was able to get separation, make the grab and tip-toe the sideline for a 23-yard gain. We touched a bit on how good Humphries has looked during the practices, so this kind of production was good to see, but not surprising. He’ll be reliable for them.

Second Play

On the second play, now well within the red zone, the team went to one of their go-to targets, Mike Evans.

On another out route, Evans got ten more yards for himself by working Vernon Hargreaves for space. With limited safety help behind him because of the tight end on the field, Hargreaves had to playoff coverage in order to not get beat deep over the top by the taller Evans. So, that’s why the space was given and Evans was able to get the yards he did. Good by the offense to recognize the coverage.

Third Play

On the third play, Winston went back to Evans on his matchup with Hargreaves.

With less space to work with, Hargreaves was up closer to Evans at the line of scrimmage, which, in turn, opened up a fade route to throw to the taller receiver, giving him the obvious advantage on a jump ball. The pass ended up going off Evans’ fingertips, but an offensive pass interference call was made on him that would have negated the touchdown anyways. That backed the offense up five yards.

Fourth Play

On the fourth play of the drive, the team got what they came for.

With more space to work with, wide receiver DeSean Jackson was able to work his way around the safety in coverage with a hesitation move and get behind him for six.

To recap, there was plenty of time left on the clock, as no plays were made and downed within the sidelines to keep the clock rolling. That’s a good sign of command by Winston. He seemed very in control the entire way, and knew where to go because of how he read the defense in the pre-snap.

Scoring in the red zone and finishing drives with six instead of three points will be important with this team. They’re too talented to not finish drives, and today we saw a good signs of Winston being able to conduct such an outcome.