Allgemeines » Highlights From Training Camp: 7/28/18

The first day of padded (well Authentic Mike Evans Jersey , somewhat) practice was today and damn, it was hot. An early breeze quickly faded as the day progressed and soon enough, my ginger-self was roasting like a marshmallow over a campfire.That didn’t stop the Bucs from making some good plays in training camp. It’s still early, but it’s encouraging to semi-starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick connecting with receivers early-on for big plays. It’s encouraging to see MJ Stewart stepping up and making plays. And it’s encouraging to see the coaching staff get creative with major pieces like Jason Pierre-Paul.My excellent cameraman skills caught some today’s big plays just for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy them below!MJ Stewart sacks Ryan FitzpatrickAs mentioned above, both players are making plays early in camp. On this play, Stewart comes from Fitzpatrick’s blind side and well, if this were a game, Fitz would’ve eaten some dirt - take that to the bank. It’s also worthy to take stock in the fact that this was during an 11-on-11 drill. Stewart’s versatility is coming in handy thus far. Mike Evans’ awesome sideline grabMike Evans made two major plays today on the sideline. Check out Pewter Report’s awesome video of his first catch over Brent Grimes. He then later made a spectacular, acrobatic catch on the sideline where he tip-toed his way to a complete catch. The first play was with Fitzpatrick throwing the ball and the second was with Jameis Winston. The only difference was one drill - Fitzpatrick’s - was an 11-on-11 while Winston’s was a 7-on-7. Regardless of quarterback or situation, it’s good to see Evans finding chemistry with whomever, whenever. Gettin’ physicalI’ve watched this play over thirty times and even though it’s hard to tell which two players are involved Youth Kwon Alexander Jersey , I think it’s Alan Cross and Nigel Harris.The supposed-Harris comes flying in like a missile and the maybe-Cross does just about all he can to ward him off. Football’s back, baby.Fitzpatrick finding the right spotWe all know that Fitzpatrick is a veteran who has seen just about everything in the NFL. On this play, even though it’s 7-on-7, we see him just sit back and find the open man. One is led to believe that if this play is blocked correctly, then oftentimes this will be the final result. Even more encouraging is the fact that it’s Adam Humphries that’s on the receiving end of this one. Fitzpatrick loves to spread the ball around when he can and nothing’s changed.Winston and Brate doing their thingOne of the more effective quarterback-tight end duos in the league, Winston finds Brate on a quick pass for a moderate gain. Winston needs all the time he get with the first-team players. The moment of truth came last night for the Bucs and coach Dirk Koetter. With 2:49 to play and facing fourth and 10 from their own 20, would they punt while trailing 30-27, or would they go for it?The critical decision received scant attention during the broadcast, with ESPN’s Jason Witten simply saying, “You’ve gotta punt it here,” and with ESPN’s Joe Tessitore not disagreeing. But did the Bucs have to punt it?They could have gone for it. If they’d converted on fourth and 10 http://www.buccaneersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-donovan-smith-jersey , the drive toward a potential game-tying field goal or game-winning touchdown would have continued. If they’d failed, the Steelers would have had the ball in Tampa Bay territory, with the Bucs having a pair of time outs and the two-minute warning to preserve time while also hoping to hold the Steelers to a field goal, giving the Buccaneers one last chance to win the game, trailing 33-27. Obviously, the Buccaneers would have needed to keep the Steelers from getting a first down.Instead, the Bucs opted to give possession back to the Steelers under similar circumstances — needing to keep them from getting a first down. And the effort failed, in part because the Steelers made the gutsy decision to throw on second and long, risking an clock-stopping incompletion or drive-killing interception but delivering the setup for the knockout blow, with a first down that, one play later Gerald McCoy Jersey , became another first down (thanks to a James Conner run), clinching the game by allowing the clock to be drained.If the Buccaneers had gone for it and failed, there’s no guarantee the Steelers would have made an eventual field-goal try. Chris Boswell already had clanged a pair of kicks off the upright; maybe he would have missed another attempt.Of course, the conventional move was to punt, to try to stop the Steelers, and to try to launch another drive with no time outs and less than two minutes to play. The unconventional move was to go for it. But even though coach Dirk Koetter understands the wisdom of taking chances on fourth down, he knows that making the unconventional move and failing could result in the head coach looking for a new job.So, like many other coaches, he’d prefer to go with the conventional approach and fail than the unconventional approach and simply risk failure. Until Koetter quashes that fear, the Buccaneers will never fully live up to their swashbuckling reputation — and perhaps will never migrate as deep into the postseason as they could.