Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ten Camp Developments to Watch
From Darrelle Revis's debut in the Bucs' defense to the battle for the third receiver position to a crop of young tight ends, the Buccaneers' training camp is full of intrigue this summer.
The Buccaneers will have at least two new starters on the defensive front, as DT Roy Miller and LE Michael Bennett must be replaced. How well Da'Quan Bowers takes to a starting job, who emerges as the starting nose tackle and how thoroughly Adrian Clayborn is recovered from his 2012 knee injury will be major points of interest for the Bucs in this year's training camp.
Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams are entrenched as the Bucs starting wideouts after combining for 2,380 yards and 17 touchdowns last year. The competition for the third receiver spot is wide open, however, with key candidates including Tiquan Underwood, Kevin Ogletree and Chris Owusu. The Bucs want more production from that spot in 2013.
The Buccaneers made the most dramatic move of the NFL offseason, trading for former Jet Darrelle Revis, widely considered the best cornerback in the NFL. Since the trade, Revis has continued his rehabilitation from a 2012 injury that cost him most of last season. Buc fans are eager to see Revis take the field as part of the team's new-look secondary.
Last offseason, the Bucs made a splash in free agency by signing All-Pro guard Carl Nicks away from the Saints. The team envisioned fielding the top guard duo in the NFL with Nicks pairing with 2011 Pro Bowler Davin Joseph. However, injuries cost Joseph the entire 2012 campaign and Nicks all but seven games. The Bucs are eager to see an interior line of Nicks and Joseph framing center Jeremy Zuttah in 2013.
Tampa Bay ranked 19th in punt return average and 30th in kickoff return average in 2012 and have been looking for a spark in that phase of the game since the brief but impressive emergence of Clifton Smith. Roscoe Parrish is gone and the Bucs are looking at such returner possibilities as Chris Owusu, David Douglas, Eric Page and Michael Smith. Could Jeff Demps join the team and find his way into that mix?
Josh Freeman is entrenched as the Bucs' starter at quarterback, but the team used a third-round pick on North Carolina State passer Mike Glennon, so the rookie will certainly receive a lot of attention in training camp. Depending upon Glennon's level of play and grasp of the offense, the Bucs will have to decide whether to keep two or three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster and whether Glennon could push Dan Orlovsky for the #2 spot.
After having established NFL vets Kellen Winslow and Dallas Clark as the #1 tight end for the past four seasons, the Bucs will be looking for a young player – or perhaps two or three young players – to emerge in 2013. Third-year man Luke Stocker and 2013 free agency addition Tom Crabtree are the most likely to grab prominent roles but the Bucs will also look at Nate Byham, Danny Noble, recent receiver convert Tim Wright and several others.
There has been outside speculation that Head Coach Greg Schiano, having established a new culture and a "Buccaneer Man" template in 2012 will "ease up" to some extent in 2013. It is highly unlikely that the team will significantly change its practice tempo or put any less emphasis on TBA (trust, belief and accountability) but it will be interesting to see if there are any notable changes in the work atmosphere.
Safety Mark Barron, the seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft, had a strong rookie season, starting every game and contributing 89 tackles. However, many believe that he will emerge as even more of an impact player in his second season now that he has been paired at the back of the secondary with All-Pro Dashon Goldson. Will Barron spend more time closer to the line of scrimmage in 2013, punishing opposing ballcarriers?
The Buccaneers' offense set team records in 2012 for yards and points accrued in a single season. Doug Martin was a rookie star, Vincent Jackson was everything the Bucs had hoped for and more and Josh Freeman eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark. All of the principles return in 2013 and presumably will be able to dig deeper into offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan's offense, perhaps to even greater results.
