By the time Josh Johnson had nailed the last golf-cart-mounted target with a pigskin...by the time the last player had leaped up to the edge of the stands, Lambeau-style, to embrace the fans...by the time an array of offensive fireworks had given way to the real thing over the north end zone, one of the most memorable nights in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history had finally come to an end.
It was Night Practice at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, and it was unlike any practice the team had ever held before. Even last year's night at the stadium, a franchise first and a very well-received event, was only a precursor to the treat offered up to Buccaneers fans on Saturday evening.
Eight days into their 2010 training camp, the Buccaneers held a two-hour workout at their usual game-day home, turning on the RJS lights and opening the gates to all comers. Entry was free, parking was free, hot dogs were only one dollar and the fans showed up by thousands. An estimated 24,000 people packed the first two levels of the stadium, pouring in as soon as the stadium gates were opened at 5:30 p.m. Most of them were clad in red and pewter.
The Buccaneers arrived at 6:45, with the Voice of the Buccaneers, Gene Deckerhoff announcing their run onto the field. Cannons blasted from the Pirate Ship, Buccaneers Cheerleaders formed a tunnel onto the field, music blared and the atmosphere was unmistakably game-like.
The Buccaneers plan to make it the first of a lot of exciting days at Raymond James Stadium this season.
"We had great support last year, too, but for all these people to come out here, for the parking lot to be as full as it was tonight, that makes us all excited," said Head Coach Raheem Morris. "That makes our coaching staff excited, our players excited. For everybody who missed it, we want to bring this to you throughout the season, so come on out and see us. It will be awesome."
Morris scheduled a complete, two-hour practice in full pads, with several live-tackling drills. The Bucs are just one week away from their first game of the preseason, so every practice at this point in the summer is important. The team came to Raymond James Stadium with the intention of getting some real work done.
But they were going to have fun, too.
In order to make this practice as entertaining as possible for the fans packing the stadium, the team inserted a number of skill challenges and one-on-one competitions into the usual practice run-down. The very first activity on the field, for instance, was a punt-catching challenge between about five of the receivers and running backs. In a reprise of a post-practice exercise that has become popular at camp this year, Micheal Spurlock, Clifton Smith and several others took turns seeing who could catch the most successive punts without putting any of the balls down. Spurlock won - and set a new team record - by somehow holding onto seven footballs.
Later, kickers Connor Barth and Hunter Lawrence conducted a field goal version of HORSE (they called it BUC); selected offensive and defensive players competed in a series of one-on-one "premium matchups," and the three quarterbacks tested their accuracy by throwing chalk-tipped footballs at a series of targets mounted on moving carts.
It's not something the team would do often on the practice field, of course, but then again it's not often that 24,000 fans are yelling themselves hoarse at a practice as if they were watching the Bucs take on the Panthers.
"It went really well," said Morris. "It was really entertaining for the fans. There were a lot of fun things. Early on we had the punt-catching, and to watch Spurlock catch seven punts in a row was pretty impressive and that was a lot of fun. There was a lot of heavy hitting, a lot of heavy competition. The offense did a great job tonight in the goal line. The defense did a really good job in one of their two-minutes. It was really exciting and a great time and I'm glad the fans had an opportunity to come out and enjoy it."
Smack dab in the middle of the two hours was another intense competition, though this one was more about will and strength than fine skills, and it was a drill that actually surfaces from time to time at NFL training camps. It was a version of the famed Oklahoma Drill, this one pitting one defensive player against two offensive players. Within a tight column made by a pair of dummies, the defender had to fight off a block by the player at the line and tackle the oncoming ballcarrier before he made it over the line.
Safety Sabby Piscitelli got the defense fired up when he successfully stopped the runner on the first Oklahoma rep, but the offense ruled the rest of the drill. That was something of a theme on Saturday night, as the offense also prevailed in the live goal-line drill and set off the cannons repeatedly during a red zone 7-on-7 period. Even amidst all the unusual drills and crowd-pleasing additions, the Buccaneers offense had one of their most meaningful practices since camp began. It was definitely something on which to build.
"The offense had a great goal-line period," said Morris. "They had a couple good one-on-ones and they won some segments in the Oklahoma Drill. The offense really came out to play and I was really proud of them, the way they responded, how physical they were on the goal line especially. That's what we've got to be, that type of team. If we can continue to do that we'll make a lot of these people [at the stadium] proud of us."
And, as the evening came to an end, a lengthy and inspiring fireworks display lit up the sky over the stadium. Fans lingered in their seats to catch the colorful bursts, then lingered a little more. Many seemed as if they weren't ready to leave, even as the players boarded buses in the stadium tunnels. Fortunately, football will be back at Raymond James Stadium in just two weeks. And if Saturday's ground-breaking night practice was any indication, it will be exciting.
