The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't get every play right during their two-hour joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They didn't win every rep or dominate every one-on-one matchup, but they will probably be a better team for it.
There's only so much the designer of an offense or the architect of a defense can learn going against the same opponents and same schemes every day, as the Buccaneers have been doing since kicking off training camp in late July. An unfamiliar opponent with different tactics can illuminate areas of both offensive and defensive schemes that might not be effective against everyone.
"The biggest thing is fundamentals and technique," said Tampa Bay Head Coach Todd Bowles after the first of two shared field sessions the Bucs and Jaguars are holding this week. "What people see our weaknesses are and what we can gather and gain from it and change some of our schemes on both sides of the ball."
Bowles echoed safety Antoine Winfield's post-practice opinion (or perhaps Winfield was relaying what Bowles told the team in the final huddle) that his team came out a little flat on Wednesday morning and took some time to get to the proper energy level. A scorching sun and increased reps for some players played a part in that. Bowles could only assess the Bucs' offense, as he spent almost the whole practice on the field that pitted that crew against Jacksonville's defense. He will catch up on what happened on the other field with some tape study later in the day.
"I thought we had some plays," said Bowles. "I think there's some things we've got to get better at. As the guys that didn't play get more reps and the sun comes out, we need to get in better shape there, mentally and physically ready to play. But I thought they fought hard.
"I thought the energy was good late. I thought in between they were struggling to catch their breath a little bit, but that was probably both sides. They've got to be better; as they get more plays, they've got to be better."
Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix was on hand for the practice and highlighted some of the Bucs who made notable plays during the day. Less happily, Tampa Bay pass-catchers noticeably let the ball get through their hands more often than usual, which Bowles saw as a symptom of the mental struggles noted above. As for starting quarterback Baker Mayfield, who didn't play in the preseason opener in Cincinnati and probably won't play in Saturday's game in Jacksonville, his outing was about the same as the offense as a whole.
"He had some plays he threw in there," said Bowles. "He had some he'd like to have back. Obviously, it's a very good defensive front we're going against right there. I've got to see the tape to be sure, but he ran the offense well."
Bowles stayed with the offense all day because the teams wanted to have one head coach overseeing each field and keeping things in check of tempers flared. Jacksonville's Doug Pederson observed his offense against the Tampa Bay defense for most of the day. As it turned out, the Buccaneers and Jaguars were able to get their work in without letting their anger out.
"No, there was some good work done," said Bowles. "Doug runs a good program, we try to run a good program. There was some good work done on both sides. We got to see different schemes, and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to make each other better. Physicality is part of the sport [but] we did a good job of taking care of each other today.
"It was football. It was good football – there was some physicality up front. Everybody took care of each other. We don't need to fight to play good football."
