After two weeks of camp, the Buccaneers will finally get to put their training to work on Thursday night against the Ravens. Here are some matters to keep an eye on when the Bucs hit the field at Raymond James Stadium.

Hard-hitting safety Dashon Goldson took mock offense to a "touchdown" call on a run by Brian Leonard during the Night Practice at Raymond James Stadium, believing he had the play wrapped up near the line of scrimmage. There's not much Goldson or his fellow defenders can do about it, though, as there is almost no live tackling during practice and officials or coaches must make the decision whether or not to blow the whistle. Not so on Thursday night. The Bucs and Ravens will go "live" on Thursday night, and it will be worth watching how much pent-up aggression such punishing hitters as Goldson and fellow S Mark Barron have.

Asked about the state of his tight end corps, which hasn't had the services of potential starter Luke Stocker for most of camp, Head Coach Greg Schiano rated it as, "steady, not spectacular." Schiano wasn't exactly damning the group with faint praise, as he followed up by saying, "I think as a group they're doing a solid job and that's, right now, what we need them to do." Still, there's little doubt that the Bucs' could get more out of their tight end group, and that in turn would make an already strong passing attack even more dangerous. The question is, do the Bucs have the players on hand to make that happen, and if so who specifically will it be. With Stocker unlikely to play, the candidates are Tom Crabtree, Nate Byham, Zach Miller, Danny Noble and Tim Wright.

A question such is this could never be answered by a single preseason game, especially the opener, in which 70 or 80 different players could see action. Even if Baltimore's reserve running backs end up with good numbers, that won't mean the Bucs' greatest strength of 2012 has evaporated. Still, it may be possible to get a hint as to how well that asset has been maintained and/or improved during the 2013 offseason. How active is the first-team defensive front? How much of an impact can newcomers like Akeem Spence and Derek Landri make? Are the edges of the run defense still as strong with some new men manning the defensive end spots?

Starting wideouts Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams are not likely to play much on Thursday night, as first-teamers are usually pulled early in the preseason opener. That will open up plenty of reps for the likes of Kevin Ogletree, Tiquan Underwood, Chris Owusu, David Douglas, Derek Hagan and Eric Page. The Buccaneers came into training camp looking to determine who their primary third receiver be, and how many pass-catchers in total they wanted to keep on the 53-man roster. They are surely closer to the answers to those questions after two weeks of camp, but the results of Thursday's opener and the rest of the preseason schedule will likely be the determining factor. Which young receiver or receivers can begin to separate themselves on Thursday night?

The Buccaneers have had a strong kicking game over the past two seasons with the pairing of kicker Connor Barth and punter Michael Koenen. However, Barth will miss the 2013 season with an Achilles tendon injury, which prompted the Buccaneers to sign Lawrence Tynes, an established veteran with a strong track record. Complicating matters this summer have been minor injuries to both Koenen and Tynes, and that has meant lots of practice field reps for the first-year duo of kicker Derek Dimke and punter Chas Henry. It will be interesting to see how much Koenen and Tynes play and whether Dimke and Henry can take advantage of an opportunity to show what they can do.

Chances are, quite a bit. In fact, Schiano said on Tuesday that Glennon "needs" to play a lot in the preseason, and the reasons for that are obvious. The Bucs have to determine how their QB depth chart is going to shape up behind starter Josh Freeman, whether they will keep two or three passers and whether the rookie can be counted on to be next into the game if Freeman goes down. Generally, starters come out of the preseason game quickly, which means Glennon could even get some time against the more established players on the Ravens' roster, if he is the second man in.

There are a number of veterans who obviously are not going to be exposed to Thursday's live action, some of whom are in the process of returning from 2012 injuries and some who have taken hits during training camp. That list includes CB Darrelle Revis, G Carl Nicks, G Davin Joseph, DE Adrian Clayborn and FB Erik Lorig, all listed as starters on the Bucs' first depth chart. All may in fact be starting when the regular-season opener arrives, but for now their spots will be filled by…well, that's the question. Those men who step in to first-team roles on Thursday may be ones the team is counting on to be their primary reserves in September.

As Earnest "Insurance" Graham can tell you, some running backs who rarely if ever get carries during the regular season are handed the rock repeatedly in August. With teams protecting their presumptive starters – as the Bucs likely will do with Doug Martin – somebody has to execute the running plays, and sometimes that can even fall to a backup fullback. In the Bucs' case, the extra reps to spread around will be very useful, as they attempt to figure out how to arrange their reserves behind Martin. Since such backs as Peyton Hillis, Brian Leonard and Mike James are all considered versatile enough to play tailback and fullback, it will be intriguing to see which ones end up in which roles on Thursday night.

This much is undeniable: It is more important for Thursday's game to help the Buccaneers win regular-season games than to end in a victory itself. That said, the collective competitive spirit of the Bucs' players and coaches – and, surely, the Ravens too – will make that "W" a coveted goal on Thursday, too. How will Schiano and his staff divide up the reps among the 80 or so players who will be available for action? If the game is on the line in the fourth quarter, which players on the depth chart will be trying to bring home that win for Tampa Bay?