Mini-camp review day one

Yesterday [June, 4th] was day one of mini-camp and Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians couldn’ t be more pleased with what he is seeing at Advent’s indoor training facility. Mini-camp is a great place for fans to go out and see all the guys on the field and getting work as it differs from OTAs, which is not mandatory.

“Really pleased with this practice. A lot of effort. A lot of attention to detail. Defense had some really good moments. Offense had some really good moments. So, the Bucs win. It’s never a good one when one side or the other wins the whole practice. But, overall, I thought it was really solid.”

Ndamukong Suh made his first appearance in his new digs, rocking the #93, jumping right into practice. He picked up the defense quickly, as expected. Now, he just needs to learn the play calling. Arians trusts that Suh will grasp the play names with ease and then earn a “C” on his chest, in no time.

During day one of minicamp, Safety Mike Edwards is doing well, picking off Jameis Winston despite some thinking that the ball the ground. Edwards got his doors blown off by O.J. Howard, much like everyone else who goes up against the tight end, but Winston’s pass went right through his hands. The rookie was saved from having a TD scored on him that time.

Speaking of picking off Winston: he was intercepted three times yesterday.

What’s new right? Winston is known for throwing some picks in practice and on the field during the season. Although, this time the defensive packages are different, and the younger receivers are not used to them, which results in them being in the wrong place at the wrong time quite often. Can’t blame Jameis too much for that one. Of course, Arians will review the footage from practice and break down how the interceptions occurred in order to correct them. I trust the process.

Arians gave props to wide receivers DaMarkus Lodge and Anthony Johnson.

“Yeah, you know, both he and Johnson did really well on the other field. So, with injuries, they got a chance to get up on field one, and they’ve looked really, really good. They’re tall, their fast, they feel comfortable now, so they’re running a lot faster. So, yeah, they look really good.”

Blaine Gabbert seems to be the front runner for the #2 spot. As he should be. He’s played in Arians’ system before and knows the offense, unlike Winston who is entering into his 5th season and his third head coach and another new system. Gabbert will help Winston ease into the new offensive system because as Arians said.

“There’s no better coach than the backup quarterback.”

Also, it certainly does help the process when your offensive coordinator has experience playing in the very same system.

Training camp isn’t even in full swing yet, and I’m already liking what I see and hear out there! The difference between this regime and the last one is night and day. I think we are in for something very exciting this year and leave that nasty 5-11 in the past. Let’s never speak of that again!