Spence And Zuttah Square Off
May 20th, 2013
The Bucs’ first OTA practice of the year had some very early fireworks, as rookie defensive tackle Akeem Spence got into a fight with Jeremy Zuttah that left the fourth-round pick jerseyless this morning.
It took a while to break up the pile up, as flags flew from the practice referees on the sun-drenched fields of One Buc Palace.
Spence told Joe after practice that it was his first snap of practice and he didn’t have a good grasp on how hard to explode off the ball — newsflash, there’s not supposed to be contact during these practices — and it seemed Jeremy Zuttah let the rookie know quickly what it’s like in the big leagues.
It took a while to resolve, Spence said, because “I’m never going to back down.”
“Hopefully [Zuttah] respects me for that because I want to be a part of the team,” Spence said. “It’s just me not knowing the speed. … Now I know I need to throttle it down a little bit but at the same time get my work.
“I’m not going to back down from nobody so I mean I had to let that be known here on the first day here. So, hey, there it is.”
Joe couldn’t pick a winner in the scrum, though it seems the Bucs have a rookie that will play hard until and unless somebody tells him to dial it back.
May 20th, 2013 at 12:23 pm
This is all good but we need no injuries before the start of real camp..
May 20th, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Puts a Smile on my face ….. Luvin’ it.
May 20th, 2013 at 12:30 pm
53 raging lunatics, all pointed in the same direction, with the same fierceness to compete, is what it will take to make the playoffs.
“Country Club days are over.” – Thank you Davin Joseph!
May 20th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Great sign of intensity! I do agree with @Nate no injuries please.
May 20th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
How about showing people you don’t back down by how hard you work, instead of by getting in dude’s grills just because it’s the first snap of underwear football.
Get in someone’s grill on the first snap of preseason game 1, and tell your opponent what’s up, not the starting center on your own team.
May 20th, 2013 at 12:32 pm
I love this. Don’t back down rookie. Just don’t hurt anybody remember we are all on the same team lol
May 20th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
No harm, no fault! Kid is trying to make a good first day impression. Evidently Zuttah was not impressed!
May 20th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
this is funny, stupid and encouraging all in one.
how stupid does one have to be not to know it’s not a BLOW up the other guy on the 1st snap drill. I’m sure someone said this somewhere in a meeting or prior to practice LOL
(Sapp sure is hell isn’t a rocket scientist and he turned out decent)
Funny in that….well when someone does something stupid you laugh
Encouraging in that he’s balls to the wall. love that.
May 20th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
You have to expect scrums like this in practice, maybe not the first day but this stuff happens. These are all a bunch of alpha type guys and things happen.
Here a rookie wasnt sure about protocall (I rather him go hard than soft) and a vet putting him in his place. I see nothing wrong here.
May 20th, 2013 at 12:47 pm
the best of the best ……. cool beer
May 20th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
I see nothing wrong, but I don’t see reason to be impressed either. Spense scores no points for effort when the other guy is easily overcome because of protocol.
At the same time, I can understand his mistake. Zuttah probably earned some respect though.
May 20th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
He knew, he was sending a message
May 20th, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Nice to see the vets keeping the rooks in check. Sounds like Spence was trying to show off and Zuttah was having none of it.
May 20th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
flmike Says:
“He knew, he was sending a message”
I don’t think that is the case, but if it is, the message is
“I don’t care if a teammate gets injured as long as I look good.”
May 20th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Rookie mistake and a Veteran reprimand. Nothing to get to worried about as long as they can move past it!
I love that Spence shows he is going to play ball from the very first snap
May 20th, 2013 at 1:16 pm
He’s just lettin people know he’s here to play hard nose football. Got everyone’s attention. It’s a good thing, far better than sucking up. Let’s move on.
May 20th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
941 said it best, but you have to remember right now it’s the guys who have jobs against the guys looking for jobs. Won’t be pretty either way!
May 20th, 2013 at 3:55 pm
Other media sites have suggested that Schiano might be breaking the rules by having contact practices when no contact is allowed. Spence fired off the ball and made contact, that’s the reason for the scrum. Nothing more to it than that.
May 20th, 2013 at 6:13 pm
That’s just rubbing…and rubbin’s racin’
May 20th, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Go Strong Viking!!!!!!! Sound like a typical FWB Boy!!!! People from the fla panhandle are rugged cats man some of the tuffest people i have ever known.
May 20th, 2013 at 9:01 pm
That O line is pretty big and strong. They are also pretty tight and the rookie may get some from Big Carl & Davin when he isn’t looking or ready. I wouldn’t want to p!ss those guys off again, but I like how he is trying to earn his keep.
May 20th, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Hopefully Spence brings some nasty to the d line. They certainly need it.
May 20th, 2013 at 10:57 pm
MTM…that’s what I was thinking too. A little toughness with attitude on the dline would be a welcome change as long as it is backed up with production in the field. Got no problem with how things played out today.
May 21st, 2013 at 2:00 am
[…] [Zuttah] respects me for that because I want to be a part of the team,” Spence said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “It’s just me not knowing the speed. … Now I know I need to throttle it down a little bit […]
May 21st, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Nothing wrong with a lil” hello” to the Vets.
Bet they know Akeem spence is in camp!
I really like it. They said this guy lacked fire- hope this is a sign that he wants to end that image!
Go get’em Akeem! See if you can get Golston fired up too!
That would raise that draft grade up to an A!!