Lotta highs and lows in the defensive backfield

Our beloved Buccaneers were in shorts and shells Sunday in their first practice since the preseason opener. It was inside the Glazer Shed and here is your need-to-know, with manbeast JoeBucsFan.com intern Zachary Seifter doing the heavy lifting.

*Back in practice was rookie cornerback Jamel Dean. Linebacker/DE Shaq Barrett was held out today and was noticeably limping before practice. Also, out were Vita Vea, Lavonte David and Mike Edwards.

*Individual drills precede the first 7-on-7 session of the day.

*The DB’s are having a hard time covering the sidelines, allowing a few easy completions.

*M.J. Stewart is the first guy to step up, undercutting another out route to the sideline and nearly picking it off! Chris Godwin is able to knock the ball away to force an incompletion.

*Good read by safety Isaiah Johnson. Hargreaves lets Cortrelle Simpson slip past him as he drops down into the flat to cover a check down. Jameis Winston fires for Simpson but Johnson flies over to force the incompletion. Great communication between Hargreaves and Johnson.

*QB’s and WR’s begin on individual drills on one side of the 50 while the defense heads to the other side.

*The offensive line, RB’s and TE’s each take over a portion of the end zone to get to work on their drills.

*The horn blows and the first 11-on-11 session gets started. The offense gets going early as a short flip from Jameis to Ronald Jones goes for 13 yards and a first down. Hargreaves has an angle on the play, but Donovan Smith came swooping in to open up space for RoJo to work.

*Great play by cornerback De’Vante Harris. A quick screen pass from Blaine Gabbert to Spencer Schnell was immediately read by Harris as he came up to make the tackle for no gain.

*Jameis looking sharp early as he delivers a strike to Chris Godwin breaking toward the left sideline. Carlton Davis following the trend today, as these DB’s are struggling to make plays along the sidelines.

*Jameis lines up in the shotgun and sees the mismatch of Mike Evans against Ryan Smith on his left. He launches the ball deep downfield, but Smith keeps pace with Evans and knocks the pass away and the ball lands into the arms of Johnson! Great play by Smith on the slightly underthrown ball. In a real game, Evans probably makes an acrobatic effort. Not need to get hurt in camp.

*Red zone works starts with a draw, as Peyton Barber breaks a tackle from Deone Bucannon and takes off to the left side for a solid gain.

*Inside the 10, Jameis runs a play-action fake and finds an open Breshad Perriman streaking across the middle for a TD! Jordan Whitehead wasn’t able to keep pace with the speedy Perriman.

*Hargreaves is really taking the reins on being a main communicator in the secondary. Hargreaves is yelling at Whitehead to slide over in case Bobo Wilson runs a crossing pattern over the middle. Wilson does in fact run his route over the middle and Whitehead is there the whole way. The coverage forces Gabbert to go to his check down for a short gain.

*Here come the kickers. After sending a 55-yarder through the uprights at Heinz Field on Friday night, Matt Gay is the featured kicker today — and he looks fantastic. He hits every single kick, including shots from 55 yards, 59 yards and 61 yards back-to-back-to-back. He is kicking with serious confidence after Friday’s showing.

*Back to 7-on-7: Jameis goes deep early to Evans down the left sideline but Hargreaves tracks it the whole way and comes away with the pick! This camp, he’s been showing the ball-hawking skills that made him a first-round pick in 2016.

*Sean Murphy-Bunting looks a little bit lost covering Chris Godwin. And remember, Murphy-Bunting was called out for being a bit lost against the Steelers on Friday night. Godwin breaks toward the left sideline and Murphy-Bunting is hesitant to follow, though he eventually does. Gabbert finds Godwin for the easy completion.

*Schnell lines up in the slot opposite Stewart. Schnell makes a quick break toward the left sideline that trips up Stewart freeing up Schnell. Ryan Griffin is unable to put an accurate throw on Schnell, however, launching it over his head and out of bounds.

*The first team comes back out. After a solid pickup by Peyton Barber on a carry up the middle, RoJo gets a carry to the right side. RoJo hits another gear and flies for a huge gain.

*USF cornerback Mazzi Wilkins went 1-on-1 against Mike Evans and was shown why Evans is an elite receiver in the NFL. Evans grabs what could’ve been a pick by Wilkins out of the air on a slant and just bounces off him before taking off down the field.

*On the next play, Jameis looks over the middle for Perriman but the pass is undercut and intercepted by Harris. A good read by Harris on the play as he navigated his way through traffic to intercept the pass.

The defense holds its ground in a couple of goal line plays, showing speed to break up a few passes to end practice.