Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Photos: Five Mini-Camp Observations
Five takeaways after the completion of the Bucs Mini-Camp last week.
Buccaneer fans will be happy with any variation of a high-octane offense, and it's already clear that this year's attack will feature a gang of very-big pass-catchers. That's good. But it would be really good if there was also a dangerous speed element to the offense, and there are some interesting possibilities including WR Robert Herron, RB Jeff Demps and WR Chris Owusu.
Buccaneers starting quarterback Josh McCown looked particularly adept at dropping passes into tight spaces between coverage last week. When it came to timing patterns, particularly on the sideline, McCown often slung darts that looked like they were headed to empty space before the targeted pass-catcher suddenly sprinted into the picture.
Since arriving in Tampa as a first-round pick in 2010, McCoy has never shied away from being a team leader. Some can chafe under that role if it's thrust upon them; some can try too hard. For McCoy, it seems to come naturally.
The defense looks promising, and there were moments during mini-camp, even with four or five of the team's top cornerbacks sidelined by injury, when the defense was a suffocating presence. They had no pads on, however, and there was no intentional contact. Will the Bucs' defensive backs be the physical presence around the line of scrimmage they need to be to excel in this defense? Are Barron and Goldson hard-hitting difference makers? Is McCoy about to go off? It all looks good on paper. However, last week's mini-camp proved just how little we know until the pads go on and the hitting begins.
Before the start of last week's offseason-capping mini-camp, we proposed five camp storylines on which to keep an eye. This came with the usual caveats; to wit: "As Head Coach Lovie Smith has said on multiple occasions, there is only so much his staff can evaluate when the players are in shorts and avoiding contact. There will be no final decisions made on starting jobs or roster spots this week. Still, we can gather some evidence pertaining to the following issues that must be resolved before the start of the season." So, did we gather that evidence? Eh...kinda. See the full recap in the "Five Mini-Camp Observations" article on Buccaneers.com to see the question-by-question breakdown.
