SB Nation - Greg Peterson

Cannon Shots: Quick Update on Thursday's (short) morning practice

Buc Wild — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:12:43 -0000

Thursday was scheduled to be a special teams practice, but ended up being a full squad ~~practice~~ walk-through. Some quick notes

- Dirk Johnson was signed to replace Bidwell (for now). DT Greg Peterson was told to hit the road to make room.

- No pads were worn as this looked to be a quick walk through to get ready for this evening's closed practice.

- Clifton Smith and Jerramy Stevens were back at practice. No worries there.

- No other real injury news. Fans seem to be pretty worried about the injures mounting up right now. Don't worry, it's bound to happen. We need to stay away from the 8 week or season long injuries, but the 2 week injuries or "tweaks" are gonna happen.

- Tonight's practice will be a run through with the head coach on the sideline, and the coordinators in the booth. They want to make sure they have the timing down, that they are on the right page. First real run through for them.

- The QB battle continues to interest me. I could definitely see the guy who "loses" the battle between McCown and Leftwich getting cut. Only problem is that leaves us with no veteran backup, but if either of the two vets don't take the lead, it may open the door for JJ or Freeman.

Not much to report from the walk through. Two days from the first live action.

Cannon Shots: Friday practice over, Morris to take team out

Buc Wild — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:50:20 -0000

The early morning session for the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's is over, meaning the players are free the rest of the day, sort of. More on that later. Let's take a quick trip around the Buc's Friday morning practice.

- Buc 'Em brought you the story of Mario Urrutia being signed to the squad. Well on this first day of practice, in 2 minute drills, he caught a slant from Josh Johnson and took it to the house. He also caught passes from Leftwich over Torrie Cox and Tanard Jackson. Welcome to the team.

- An update on some injuries. Michael Clayton is still out with the hamstring injury. Antonio Bryant did make it back to practice today (more on him later). Kelly Campbell, Jeff Faine, and Angelo Crowell all missed practice, though this was expected. Some new injuries. Greg Peterson hurt his left knee again, Clifton Smith pulled up with a hammy injury, and Jeremy Trueblood hurt his back. None are expected to be major and are just part of playing the game.

- Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson did get some good reps in, but the reports are so-so. Nothing really on Johnson, which makes it seem like he's an after thought. Freeman did throw a TD pass in drills but also overthrew Stovall (all 6'5" of him) along with some other over throws. When Byron Leftwich came in to replace him in the drill, the offense started moving. Leftwich hit Bryant on some nice plays, including one where Bryant got tagged, but held on to the ball. Also made a nice one handed catch.

- McCown was again, steady but not spectacular. It's a two dog race and I'd imagine that the first game Leftwich or McCown run with the ones, and the second game they flip flop.

- The team ran a few special teams sessions, but no kickers were dressed. Just run throughs

- Raheem Morris sounded happy with how the QB's did today, and said that Freeman and Johnson were impressive. Take it for what it's worth.

- As reported yesterday, the Bucs will have Friday afternoon off. The 4:45 practice was canceled. Sounds like Morris is still planning on hitting a movie with the squad. They'll be back at it on Saturday, with two full sessions.

That will do it for Friday. The first full week of practice is in and we've escaped major injuries thus far. Keep it tuned to Buc 'Em for all your Bucs info.

Training Camp Has Arrived! Tampa Bay Bucs report to camp

Buc Wild — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:50:34 -0000

In just under a few hours, the Tampa Bay Bucs will be out on the practice field at One Buc Place for their first practice of the 2009 training camp. This kicks off the intro to the pre-season where jobs will be won and lost, careers will be altered, and the team will be molded. There are several high profile camp battles going on (Quarterback, linebacker, defensive line) that will have a huge hand in shaping the Buc's season.

With the players reporting yesterday, there were a few odds and ends to tie up.

- Every man on the 80 man roster reported. Arron Sears was the lone non-attendee, which was expected. It doesn't sound like Ra or Dominik expect him soon. A team can fine any player for not showing up for camp, but the Bucs have elected to not fine Sears, for now. Get well soon big guy

- Everyone is healthy and the only limitation appears to be Greg Peterson, who will be practicing, just not involved in all the reps

- Cadillac Williams has been cleared to practice. This is (another) stunning turnaround for the young Auburn Tiger. I'll be rooting openly for him to be a key factor this year. He deserves it.

- Every player had to pass a conditioning test to enter camp, which is slightly unorthodox. Each player had to run several drills in a timed event to qualify. If they didn't meet the time, they have to do it everyday until they pass. Even Morris ran the drills, though no report on his time.

- Players will be going full pads in the AM practice at One Buc Place and shells only in the night practice at Raymond James Stadium. This is a HUGE change from years past (I'll have a brief article on this sometimes this weekend)

Things look to have changed for the Bucs. We have another young, energetic coach, but he is approaching camp differently. I'm all for it, go with what you think will work for your team. Ultimately, it's Morris and Dominik who are responsible, so why not shake it up a bit? It's early, but it's encouraging.

Bucs fans, welcome to the 2009 season. Keep tuned into Buc 'Em for training camp updates and info.