Buccaneers Training Camp Notes Day Two

The Buccaneers will hold a press conference on Monday to announce that Lee Roy Selmon will be the first inductee into the club’s Ring of Honor. Selmon will be inducted during the Packers game on Nov. 8.

The team made its first roster move since the start of camp. Offensive guard Maurice Miller has been released by the team and replaced by former South Florida guard Ryan Schmidt.

While there are no official attendance statistics, it appeared more fans were in attendance for Sunday’s practice session than om Saturday.

During seven-on-seven, QB Luke McCown looked solid throwing the ball. His best completion was an over the shoulder pass to WR Cortez Hankton, who made a fingertip catch.

CB E.J. Biggers made his biggest play of camp so far by intercepting a Josh Freeman pass and returning it for a score.

In 11-on-11 drills, S Donte Nicholson reminded fans why he is still in Tampa by leaping over WR Joel Filani to pick off a Byron Leftwich pass and then returning the pick for a score.

One of the highlights of the day came during 11-on-11 drills when Leftwich launched a 70-yard completion to WR Michael Clayton for a score. The Bucs are definitely more willing to throw the ball down the field, at least in training camp.

TE Kellen Winslow showed off his hands and footwork by making a perfect fingertip catch off a nice pass from Leftwich and then snuck in both feet before landing out of bounds.

Leftwich looked pretty good controlling the offense. At one point, he couldn’t find an open receiver so he checked down to a wide open RB Clifton Smith, who then broke a few tackles with some ankle-breaking moves.

RB Carnell Williams continues to impress and still shows no sign that his knee is giving him any problems.

Freeman threw a picture perfect pass to WR Brian Clark who was in mid-route when he caught the spiral.

DE Louis Holmes walked around practice with a boot on his injured foot after injuring his left leg during Saturday’s practice. 

Filani, Clayton, and WR Maurice Stovall stayed late after practice to continue to work on catching the ball.

WR Dexter Jackson stayed late after practice in order to get some extra work fielding punt and kick returns.

RB Clifton Smith and Jackson did everything within their power to please the fans and stayed even later after getting some extra work to sign autographs for all the waiting fans.

Originally Published at BucsBlitz.com

Buccaneers Training Camp Notes: Day One Morning Practice

 

Over 2,500 Fans showed up to practice and were welcomed by players who signed plenty of autographs both before and after practice.

Buccaneers’ players wore full pads for today’s morning practice.

As announced yesterday, Arron Sears who did not show up for Training Camp and has been placed on the Reserve, Did Not Report list due to a private matter.

The only player to miss today’s practice was Defensive Tackle Greg Peterson who was unable to participate due to a knee injury.

The first player to step onto the practice field was Luke McCown. Coincidentally, he also took the first snaps with the first team offense when they faced off against the defensive backups during 11-on-11 drills.

The infamous bungee cord drill returned from mini camp but did not last for long after Ernest Graham snapped the cord while attempting to bulldoze forward for some extra yards. This drew perhaps one of the largest cheers from the crowd for the day.

WR’s Kelly Campbell and Brian Clark made some excellent catches during 7-on-7 drills. Most notably, Clark made a finger tip grab of a perfect deep ball thrown by Luke McCown.

Aqib Talib showed off his speed by reaching the QB nearly every time he was sent on a CB blitz and still appears to be one of the most vocal players on the team.

Nothing seemed to excite the fans as much as when Michael Clayton reeled in a few receptions. His most impressive was a one-handed grab while streaking down the sideline.

 

Jerramy Stevens showed off his toughness after catching a short pass from McCown, and then proceeded to throw a defender off of him before taking the ball up field.

Josh Freeman seemed to be a little nervous at times, but still made some impressive plays including a play-action pass downfield to Antonio Bryant, who beat Ronde Barber to make the reception. Freeman and Bryant connect again a few plays later by beating Elbert Mack on the play. Also, Dexter Jackson beat double coverage to make a beautiful catch thrown by Freeman downfield to reach the end zone.

Not to be outdone, Byron Leftwich threw a play-action pass of his own while rolling out of the pocket to his right before launching the ball down field to Antonio Bryant, who made one of the nicest catches on the day, while beating Kyle Arrington in the process.

Even though it is only the first day, it seems like the Bucs are much more willing to throw the ball deep then in previous years.

RB Cadillac Williams made a successful return to practice, and looked smooth while making cuts and participating in drills.

CB Elbert Mack appeared to be one of the stars of the morning practice who, along with a few breakups, had a picture-perfect leaping interception of a Leftwich pass and then brought the pick back for a score. Mack did an excellent job of catching the ball at its highest point. 

The only player who suffered an injury was defensive end Louis Holmes, who was carted off the field after appearing to injure his left knee during 11-on-11 drills.

Fans expecting a kicking competition between Mike Nugent and Matt Bryant were in for a treat, since both kickers were perfect for the day, each connecting on five attempts from at least 40 yards away.

This year there will be no cool down area for the Bucs. In previous seasons, the team would head inside to cool down to simulate the halftime experience. Coach Morris pointed out in post practice press conference that the locker room is never that cold during games and that the team needs to embrace the heat especially since every home game kicks off at 1 P.M.

Lastly, in the post practice press conference, Coach Morris said that he has expectations for Gaines Adams to have double digit sacks this season.

 

Buccaneers Training Camp Notes: Day One Morning Practice

 

Over 2,500 Fans showed up to practice and were welcomed by players who signed plenty of autographs both before and after practice.

Buccaneers’ players wore full pads for today’s morning practice.

As announced yesterday, Arron Sears who did not show up for Training Camp and has been placed on the Reserve, Did Not Report list due to a private matter.

The only player to miss today’s practice was Defensive Tackle Greg Peterson who was unable to participate due to a knee injury.

The first player to step onto the practice field was Luke McCown. Coincidentally, he also took the first snaps with the first team offense when they faced off against the defensive backups during 11-on-11 drills.

The infamous bungee cord drill returned from mini camp but did not last for long after Ernest Graham snapped the cord while attempting to bulldoze forward for some extra yards. This drew perhaps one of the largest cheers from the crowd for the day.

WR’s Kelly Campbell and Brian Clark made some excellent catches during 7-on-7 drills. Most notably, Clark made a finger tip grab of a perfect deep ball thrown by Luke McCown.

Aqib Talib showed off his speed by reaching the QB nearly every time he was sent on a CB blitz and still appears to be one of the most vocal players on the team.

Nothing seemed to excite the fans as much as when Michael Clayton reeled in a few receptions. His most impressive was a one-handed grab while streaking down the sideline.

 

Jerramy Stevens showed off his toughness after catching a short pass from McCown, and then proceeded to throw a defender off of him before taking the ball up field.

Josh Freeman seemed to be a little nervous at times, but still made some impressive plays including a play-action pass downfield to Antonio Bryant, who beat Ronde Barber to make the reception. Freeman and Bryant connect again a few plays later by beating Elbert Mack on the play. Also, Dexter Jackson beat double coverage to make a beautiful catch thrown by Freeman downfield to reach the end zone.

Not to be outdone, Byron Leftwich threw a play-action pass of his own while rolling out of the pocket to his right before launching the ball down field to Antonio Bryant, who made one of the nicest catches on the day, while beating Kyle Arrington in the process.

Even though it is only the first day, it seems like the Bucs are much more willing to throw the ball deep then in previous years.

RB Cadillac Williams made a successful return to practice, and looked smooth while making cuts and participating in drills.

CB Elbert Mack appeared to be one of the stars of the morning practice who, along with a few breakups, had a picture-perfect leaping interception of a Leftwich pass and then brought the pick back for a score. Mack did an excellent job of catching the ball at its highest point. 

The only player who suffered an injury was defensive end Louis Holmes, who was carted off the field after appearing to injure his left knee during 11-on-11 drills.

Fans expecting a kicking competition between Mike Nugent and Matt Bryant were in for a treat, since both kickers were perfect for the day, each connecting on five attempts from at least 40 yards away.

This year there will be no cool down area for the Bucs. In previous seasons, the team would head inside to cool down to simulate the halftime experience. Coach Morris pointed out in post practice press conference that the locker room is never that cold during games and that the team needs to embrace the heat especially since every home game kicks off at 1 P.M.

Lastly, in the post practice press conference, Coach Morris said that he has expectations for Gaines Adams to have double digit sacks this season.

 

Bucs Ask the Experts: Which QB?

Bucsblitz.com presents, “Ask the Experts,” an occasional feature in which Scout.com experts present their opinion on questions that impact the Buccaneers. Today, Bucs and Scout.com NFL experts debate which quarterback should be the Opening Day starter for the Bucs on Sept 13.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that Luke McCown will be the top QB on the depth chart when Buccaneers training camp starts on July 31 in Tampa. But who will be the starter when the Bucs open at home against Dallas? Will it be McCown, Byron Leftwich or rookie Josh Freeman?

To read entire article and other opinions CLICK HERE

The fact that the Buccaneers have three quarterbacks competing for the starting spot is impressive in itself. Any quarterback race can be intriguing, but a three-way race can be a very rare thing to watch.

The question is who will be the starting quarterback for the Bucs this season. Will is be Luke McCown, Byron Leftwich, or the rookie Josh Freeman?

I think McCown is the right choice.

This is a player and he’s been waiting in the wings for four years now. He thought he was going to get his shot on more then a few occasions, but there was always someone in his way whether is be Brian Griese, Jeff Garcia or Jon Gruden.

When given the opportunity in the past, McCown has risen to the occasion and I believe the time is now to see whether he is capable of leading this team.

McCown’s most successful year in the NFL came in 2007 when he played in 5 games, including 4 starts for the Buccaneers. That year, he completed 67.6 percent of his passes with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

He made a great first impression with the fans after leading the Bucs to a 27-23 victory over the Saints in his first start. During that game, he set career-highs in completions, attempts, and passing yards while tying his previous high of 2 passing touchdowns. ‘

That was the high point of his season though as McCown would continue to play well, but lost his next three starts to Houston, San Francisco, and Carolina. Since then, McCown has only thrown one pass in a game.

Adding Leftwich in the offseason was a smart move, but that does not mean he should be named the starter. He is a reliable backup to have on the team in case of an injury. Unless he can prove that he still has the skills and potential to be the same player who was dominant while in Jacksonville, he should remain with the second team.

When the Bucs used the 17th overall pick to select Josh Freeman out of Kansas State, they hadn’t planned for him to see the field his rookie season. Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik should stick to this plan. The statistics are against Freeman succeeding as a rookie. While some claim he should use this season to learn on the fly, taking the chance of ruining his confidence is just not worth it if you ask me.

To read entire article CLICK HERE

Originally Published at BucsBlitz.com

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010