A year ago, then-rookie RB Doug Martin took training camp by storm, showing the fans who came to One Buc Place why Head Coach Greg Schiano had installed him as the starter on Day One. Martin looked extremely sharp on the practice field and he carried that into the regular season, putting together one of the best campaigns ever by a rookie back. This year, he says he approached camp the exact same way, and it shows. Though it is no longer much of a surprise, Martin looks like he's ready to dominate again in 2013.

Buccaneer fans won't get to see Dashon Goldson's full impact until the games start and he can start doling out some hits. Still, while Goldson has had to hold back in terms of contact on the practice field, he has let loose with this leadership qualities, immediately taking over a young secondary. Goldson will likely share that leadership role with Darrelle Revis once the veteran cornerback gets fully back into the practice mix, but it's already abundantly clear that the Bucs got more than just an All-Pro performer when they signed Goldson away from the 49ers.

The end-of-summer roster cuts are never easy, particularly the one after the final preseason game that trims the roster from 75 to 53. However, it looks like it will be tougher this year than it has been in a while, because the Buccaneers have done a good job of rebuilding their roster depth over the past two offseasons. Head Coach Greg Schiano has already said that he expects to have to cut some players who are good enough to make it in order to get down to 53, and has pointed to safety and the offensive line as two spots with enough depth to make those decisions difficult.

Almost every Buccaneer practice ends with two or three move-the-ball drills starting inside the two-minute warning. Schiano comes up with new scenarios each day – one day the offense may need a field goal to tie and have just one minute left, the next they may have to get a touchdown but have a few more timeouts, etc. – but the basic premise is the same. So many games during the regular season come down to the final minutes that it's important to become familiar with the different possible scenarios and to learn how to remain calm and collected in crunch time.

Last year, Doug Martin, Lavonte David and Mark Barron combined to record 48 games started as the Buccaneers rookie class made a huge impact on the team's fortunes. It's not every year that the rookie class sees that much action, but 2013 could be an instant replay. Among the NFL newcomers who could win prominent roles are CB Johnthan Banks, DT Akeem Spence, RB Mike James and DE William Gholston. In addition, rookie QB Mike Glennon is currently running as the top reserve behind Josh Freeman.

With 80 or more players practicing for several hours almost every day, often in pads, some amount of injuries are unavoidable. For the most part, a team simply hopes to avoid the season-endangering mishaps that have already befallen players such as Philly's Jeremy Maclin and Baltimore's Dennis Pitta. Some Buccaneers like Darrelle Revis are still working their way back from 2012 injuries, and others like Adrian Clayborn have pulled muscles or strained tendons since camp started. Still, when a prominent player misses a few days, that means more reps for men behind him on the depth chart, as has been the case for such defensive ends as Daniel Te'o-Nesheim and William Gholston in recent practices.

During practices that are open to the public, the Buccaneers run all of their full-team drills on Field Three, within a few feet of the fan-filled bleachers. Some of the biggest cheers are reserved for when Josh Freeman hits Vincent Jackson deep downfield, or when a defensive back comes up with an interception. Still, with no real tackling and a ban on hitting the quarterback, it's sometimes hard to determine which side would have one any given play. Not so when the offensive and defensive linemen square off for their one-on-one rush drills. There, one angry pass-rusher battles one very large blocker, the intensity level shoots the roof and you can usually tell who won each rep.

The Bucs came into training camp needing to sort out a few things on the depth chart, among them the starting right cornerback, the primary nickel back and the third receiver who will join Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams in three-wide offensive sets. Those spots have been contested hotly. A group of young cornerbacks have taken turns making big plays during team drills, including Leonard Johnson, Johnthan Banks, Michael Adams and Rashaan Melvin. Some of the receivers have made splashy plays, too, including Kevin Ogletree, Chris Owusu, Tiquan Underwood and Chris Owusu.

No matter who wins those cornerback jobs, it appears likely that Tampa Bay will improve upon its biggest deficiency of 2012. The Buccaneers obviously put a lot of effort into shoring up their secondary during the 2013 offseason, and even without Revis fully in the mix yet those efforts appear to be paying off. The Buccaneers' secondary has had several noticeably strong practices and overall appears to be more adept at getting its hands on the football.

Let's face it, practice is practice. It can be entertaining, for sure, as thousands of Buc fans have found out during the last week-and-a-half. However, without any real live tackling, it's difficult to know just how far the team has come since the end of last season. Despite that, there is clearly a high level of optimism about the upcoming season within One Buc Place, and that feeling appears to be shared by the fans, as well. There's a palpable buzz building around the Buccaneers' 2013 season.