The goalposts at Pepin-Rood Stadium, reflected in the sudden puddle buildup, were spared a workout by the Bucs' special teams
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were going to work on kickoffs and kickoff returns on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Considering the team's performance in Miami in that regard – 37.6 yards gained per kickoff returned, 14.0 yards allowed per Dolphins kickoff return – maybe this is one practice the team could afford to miss.
Hopefully, that's the case, because a short but massive rainstorm hit South Tampa around 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, turning the Bucs' practice field at the University of Tampa into a quagmire. Rather than risk injury on the slick turf, the Bucs decided to call practice off and reconvene on Monday morning at 8:30 p.m.
That's when the Bucs will begin preparing for next Sunday's third preseason game, at New England. Head Coach Tony Dungy confirmed on Saturday that the team's starters would play into the early part of the third quarter, as has been the team's custom in the third game of the preseason slate.
"It should be the same way," said Dungy. "We have a long week to prepare. We want to take the starters into the third quarter so they can get used to coming out after halftime and making adjustments."
The Bucs will have two more practices at UT's Pepin-Rood Stadium before heading back to team headquarters. After Monday morning's workout, the team will reconvene at 7:30 p.m. for the only night practice of camp (the first scheduled one, on July 26, was also rained out).
