Day 1 Training Camp Practice Notes
July 29th, 2026
Ahhhh, the sweet smell of cut grass at One Buc Palace. Practice is on and Joe is taking notes.
*It’s a complete underwear football session and will be all week. No pads. No real football.
*It’s “friends and family” day at One Buc Palace with about 500 people in the stands. It’s a rather subdued group, though Joe is near a young kid (12 years old?) cheering every catch in warmup and barking out the receiver’s first name. Joe teared up.
*Music lasted only through pre-practice and a few minutes in. Serious practice calls for silence, it seems.
*Baker Mayfield and the quarterbacks start by working on handoffs. Only Connor Bazelak mishandles a snap.
*Bucky Irving seems to have an easy friendship with Kenny Gainwell.
*It’s just warmup, but Chris Godwin and Mayfield really seem to be in sync.
*Still no gloves for Cade Otton.
*Vita Vea and Todd Bowles stand together and chat during early drills. Vea takes a moment to hold blocking pads during a drill.
*Jake Browning has nice touch on the ball. No pressure, of course.
*Jason Licht and Todd Bowles spend a good 7 minutes chatting on the field.
*Tristan Wirfs has an excused absence because, Todd Bowles said, he tweaked a hamstring running yesterday. Lots of Justin Skule at left taackle.
*11-on-11 opens with play-action, Mayfield to Jalen McMillan complete.
*New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is calling plays
*Jacob Parrish working at outside cornerback and Keionte Scott at nickel. No surprise.
*Bucky Irving gets the first handoff. No pads or contact allowed today, so don’t ask Joe who looked good on the run.
*Rueben Bain drops in coverage! Play turned out to be a handoff to Kenny Gainwell.
*Nice rollout connection Mayfield to Godwin short.
*Browning to Tez Johnson for 12 yards.
*Dumpoff, Browning to Durham.
*Everything complete so far.
*Nice quickness by Jayson Jones on defense.
*Browning to Kameron Johnson short and over the middle.
*Rookie Kadarius Calloway gets a run.
*First incompletion of the day goes to Jalon Daniels. Poor throw.
*Special teams period starts with unit working on punting out of the back of the end zone. Talk about details!
*Man, this special teams period sure looks different than what Joe is used to seeing. Lots of pace.
*Back to 11-on-11: Mayfield complete to Otton short. Everything short so far.
*Inside run stuffed quickly. A’Shawn Robinson and YaYa Diaby congratulate each other.
*Calijah Kancey in Mayfield’s face. Got by Luke Goedeke. Throwaway for the first incompletion of the day.
*Damarion Williams gets a sniff at cornerback with the first team.
*Bucky Irving catches a dumpoff.
*Jake Browning low and away from the defender to Ted Hurst. Unsure if it was a catch or not. Hurst seemed to think so.
*Third-team offensive line seems to false start.
*And here comes the rain at 9:20 a.m. Players now getting and on-field break and a good soaking.
*Another special teams period emerges.
*9-on-7 starts and it’s Mayfield to Godwin short.
*Then it’s Mayfield to Godwin on the other side.
*Mayfield to McMillan, next to Gainwell.
*Browning to Hurst. Man, Hurst sure looks the part.
*Prickly Pete Prisco sighting. The CBS analyst is patrolling the field.
*Every Mayfield throw complete in practice — drills, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 — so far.
*Back to 11-on-11 and it’s Mayfield complete to Otton short right.
*Diaby breaks up a wide run by Bucky Irving.
*Coverage sack!
*Bucky drop. Over the middle. Maybe throw wasn’t perfect from Mayfield.
*Browning to Hurst. Deepest throw of the day. Nice touch. 20 yards over the middle.
*Tez Johnson drops a well-throw bomb — 50 yards in the air! — from Browning. C’mon, Tez!
*Sack! Rueben Bain beats Luke Goedeke clean off the edge as 11-on-11 returns. Mayfield threw late, knowing a sack had been called. Interception, not a real one, by Zyon McCollum. Bain’s bend shows up.
*Bauer Sharp, the rookie tight end, with a catch in second-team work.
*Touchdown! Veteran cornerback Kemon Hall gets beat by Tez Johnson for a 40-yard touchdown from Browning. Tez redeems himself.
*Throwaway by Browning.
*A Chris Braswell sighting with the second-team. Nice rush. Pass still complete by Browning.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:10 am
*Rueben Bain drops in coverage!
—-
LMAO And here we go.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:10 am
Of course, Bain dropped in coverage, yep, get ready boys and girls LOL!!!
July 29th, 2026 at 10:11 am
No wonder Big V wants out!!!!
July 29th, 2026 at 10:14 am
Bowles just can’t help himself. The scheme will never change.
Hope we can score 50+ per game or else 2026 is going to be a rough ride.
Buckle up fellow Buc fans.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:16 am
GREAT observations. Tysm.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:21 am
A lot of people sleep on Braswell but he had some decent highlights for the limited snaps he had. During our slump I think we should have put him in earlier so he could get more experience since we were already heading for disaster
July 29th, 2026 at 10:23 am
“Rueben Bain drops in coverage” I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. SEE. THIS. EVER!!!!
July 29th, 2026 at 10:27 am
ok, let me be an optimist….Todd’s well known(pass rushers into coverage) is, of course, to be paraded during “open” camp to the public….may even spill over into most preseason games….drop the pit bulls into coverage, yada yada yada. THEN when it matters most, release the bull rush game one against Cinci!!! Thats what im hoping for anyway….uhg! But we all know Todd. Past behavior predicts future behavior.
my gosh, please Todd, dont do this to me again this year……
July 29th, 2026 at 10:28 am
Appreciate the notes! Great to have Buccaneer football back less the drama.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:33 am
Yippee!
The first bullet points of the season!
🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
July 29th, 2026 at 10:34 am
Hey Joe, do we have sightings of David Walker, JJ Roberts and Ko?
July 29th, 2026 at 10:35 am
Put VV on a bike
Just like Kieth McCants !
July 29th, 2026 at 10:40 am
Did you get a look at David Walker?
July 29th, 2026 at 10:41 am
Blowzos scheme is trash….Bain was probably pissed at the draft because he was going to Tampa. Plays soft with guys that excel in press coverage, drops guys that excel in getting in the backfield. Sounds logical.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:42 am
Here is the official AI answer to “what is wrong in the NFL when you drop an OLB into coverage?
It removes your best pass rusher from the pass rush, wastes their specialized skills, and creates a mismatch if they are forced to run with fast slot receivers or tight ends in space.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:42 am
Todd “I need a pass rusher”
Jason “Bain is dropping to us”
Todd “Let’s see how well he can cover RB’s and Receivers…”
July 29th, 2026 at 10:44 am
No mention of Morrison?
July 29th, 2026 at 10:44 am
Name a single team that does not drop a OLB at times!
July 29th, 2026 at 10:45 am
And, Hopefully next year the answer will be….
It removes your best pass rusher from the pass rush, wastes their specialized skills, and creates a mismatch if they are forced to run with fast slot receivers or tight ends in space. *unless the OLB is Ruben Bain of the Bucs…..”
July 29th, 2026 at 10:48 am
“Here is the official AI answer to “what is wrong in the NFL when you drop an OLB into coverage?
It removes your best pass rusher from the pass rush, wastes their specialized skills, and creates a mismatch if they are forced to run with fast slot receivers or tight ends in space.”
LMAOOOOOOOOO
Imagine needing AI assistance to understand FOOTBALL, the game has literally been around since 1869
Some of you guys out yourselves griping about rudimentary football actions and it tickles me.
Great notes Joe, can guarantee you it won’t be the last we see of Bain in space, playing football, like football players do
July 29th, 2026 at 10:49 am
Bain beat Goedeke for a sack on his first day…nice! That’s not an easy thing to do. Although, of course the pads aren’t on…
July 29th, 2026 at 10:51 am
Bain in coverage day one! Todd wastes no time lol. Good to see Ted and Tez getting active.
July 29th, 2026 at 10:57 am
I just love fans that see with their own eyes us dropping D-Lineman into coverage and getting burned repeatedly then acting like its no big deal. “Just keep doing it Todd because everyone else does it!” LMAO the stupid is strong here.
July 29th, 2026 at 11:01 am
“I just love fans that see with their own eyes us dropping D-Lineman into coverage and getting burned repeatedly then acting like its no big deal.”
It’s not that big a deal, if it happens 10 times for a player that’s playing hundreds of snaps it’s barely even on occassion.
Some of you are just football illiterate and don’t even realize all 11 assignments on a given call are interwoven.
I don’t hear complaining about blitzing CBs or bringing safeties in the box right, aren’t those guys’ job to cover? not do what LBs and DLmen are there to do? right? LOL
July 29th, 2026 at 11:02 am
Goedeke thinks to himself, “Dang, this Bain kid is legit!”
As Joe always says, let’s see what happens when the pads come on.
Great notes, thanks!
Go Bucs ! ! !
July 29th, 2026 at 11:10 am
Football illiterate says the dummy who doesnt think adjusting the defense when a specific problem keeps reoccuring. But sure keep spinning your stupidity as intelligence dummy.
July 29th, 2026 at 11:11 am
When you complain bout dropping defensive players into coverage all it does is demonstrate your lack of football knowledge. It is the defensive equivalent of play-action in that it is designed to confuse the QB and the OL about where the pressure is coming from. As was previously noted, every team does it at this level. You know what is worse than dropping pass rushers into coverage- a completely predictable pass rush for which the offense is totally prepared.
July 29th, 2026 at 11:18 am
@couch fan.. LOL LOL LOL We all thought the same thing.
July 29th, 2026 at 11:21 am
Thanks Joe!
July 29th, 2026 at 11:22 am
“Football illiterate says the dummy who doesnt think adjusting the defense when a specific problem keeps reoccuring. But sure keep spinning your stupidity as intelligence dummy.”
I can almost guarantee you couldn’t tell me the circumstances in which teams justify dropping OLBs w/o a search engine. Nor tell me what the rest of the defense is doing in order to make it a thing, but you sure will complain about it
July 29th, 2026 at 11:22 am
Bowles giving a big middle finger to Joebucsfan posters.
July 29th, 2026 at 11:41 am
Stanglassman Says
“Did you get a look at David Walker?”
I would like to know as well. If he can stay healthy we might need him
July 29th, 2026 at 11:43 am
I mean, everyone knows the best play callers in the league have their players do the same thing every time they’re in there.
July 29th, 2026 at 11:44 am
3rd and 28, 4th and 14….always remember you dummies!!!!
July 29th, 2026 at 11:49 am
Todd Bowles is as hard headed, arrogant and obtuse as Lovey Smith was during his 2 year tenure as Bucs’ HC. The guy keeps on trying to put the round peg in the square hole and it never works. If one were to ask AI who is a great example of being unaccountable in the NFL; Bowles picture would be prominently displayed. Hey Joe, are there any futures odd on first head coach to get launched? Bowles has to be high on the list even if the Glazers have never launched a head coach in mid season but they did get rid of Mike Smith due to ineptitude and arrogance. I want the Bucs to win, but having Todd Bowles as your head coach seems to be like a 3 win handicap on the team minimum as his sheer negligence is going to cost this team at least 3 or 4 winnable games as it has every season he has been the skipper of the Bucs.
July 29th, 2026 at 11:49 am
Calijah Kancey in Mayfield’s face. Got by Luke Goedeke
does that mean Kancey was playing on the outside?…hope so lol
GO BUCS!!!!
July 29th, 2026 at 12:17 pm
Can a news reporter / journalist please start asking Bowles why he drops Defensive lineman into coverage so often? The play stinks. Please. STOP!
July 29th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
Ahhhhh. Football is around the corner! September can’t come fast enough.
July 29th, 2026 at 12:45 pm
More hamstrings???? Is there something in the water?
July 29th, 2026 at 1:11 pm
“WillieG Says:
July 29th, 2026 at 10:23 am
“Rueben Bain drops in coverage” I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. SEE. THIS. EVER!!!!”
————–
Too bad bro it’s the modern NFL. He’d also be practicing drops on about 3/4 of the teams in the league. The joes have made some of you believe it’s a Todd thing but it absolutely is not.
Couch Fan Says:
July 29th, 2026 at 10:57 am
I just love fans that see with their own eyes us dropping D-Lineman into coverage and getting burned repeatedly then acting like its no big deal. “Just keep doing it Todd because everyone else does it!” LMAO the stupid is strong here.
REPEATEDLY? Can you give me ONE single specific example of a play we were burned by dropping a lineman into coverage. We’ll wait
July 29th, 2026 at 1:18 pm
Here we go with the hamstrings right out of the gate. And the first of many goes to the Bucs best player.
No, it is not something in the water. There is something very wrong with this training staff.
July 29th, 2026 at 2:04 pm
The only people that get confused in the d scheme we run is our own D. The scheme we run has proven to be either not good or too complicated to run for our players.
July 29th, 2026 at 2:13 pm
Oh Snap! Warren Lynch with a left hook of common sense! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!
July 29th, 2026 at 2:14 pm
This is what you call ” Edgy Analysis ” UGH!
July 29th, 2026 at 2:36 pm
Godlovesbucs Says:
July 29th, 2026 at 2:04 pm
The only people that get confused in the d scheme we run is our own D. The scheme we run has proven to be either not good or too complicated to run for our players.
———————–
Another narrative around here…. But nobody who says it can even name, or describe our scheme/s. Any NFL scheme is too complicated for most of us, BUT especially for the constant critics.
July 29th, 2026 at 3:01 pm
Day 1 Training Camp for the whiners came a day after the SB! Now its time to bring out their expertise!! Lol! The only thing they know about schemes is how to spell it ! Thank goodness for prediction! If it wasn’t for the phones they wouldn’t know diddly!
July 29th, 2026 at 3:08 pm
Time for Godwin to step up as number 1. I have a feeling he will have the best year of the 3.
July 29th, 2026 at 3:09 pm
Times like this you glad our 1st round pick is a Miami guy They grow up tougher and nastier down there and they like the humidity and the heat.
July 29th, 2026 at 4:12 pm
“Rueben Bain drops in coverage!”
What a joke!
July 29th, 2026 at 4:56 pm
@Joe(s): were you able to compare notes with Prickly Pete? He might be a good guest on Ira’s show. Would he ever come on to give his impressions? Would he pout at being called “prickly”?
July 29th, 2026 at 4:56 pm
I really don’t know how many other teams drop linemen into coverage or how often they do it. I do know the Rams did it to us when they beat the living crap out of the Bucs last year.
July 29th, 2026 at 5:01 pm
Thanks for the notes Joe – I feel like I was there!