The Bucs were sweating big time in the glare of the west-central Florida July sun today to prep themselves for when the real hitting begins in September.

Below are video clips of Practice No. 4 of Bucs training camp 2014. [read more]

Bucs OT Demar Dotson showed his dance moves while scoring a touchdown after a botched snap on a field goal attempt today.

Call it the Double-D Dance. And no, get your heads out of the gutter. This has nothing to do with bouncy, unwieldy objects in a clothing-optional establishment.

It was the Demar Dotson touchdown celebration. It was part-Beyonce, part Deion Sanders and all 6-9, 315 pounds of Bucs tackle Demar Dotson. [read more]

Bucs G Patrick Omameh trusts OL coach George Warhop to be able to solve the riddle of the Bucs’ starting guards.

Just by reading comments on this here corner of the interwebs, Joe knows Bucs fans are staring at the ceiling deep into the night trying to figure out how the Bucs will replace departed left guard Carl Nicks.

One could argue the Bucs also had a hole at right guard after Davin Joseph departed. Consider one of the candidates to win a starting job, Patrick Omameh, not overly concerned. [read more]

No helmet and pads for Pro Bowl corner Alterraun Verner today, just a floppy hat.

A day off today for All-Pro cornerback Alterraun Verner is no big deal on the surface, but on a deeper level it’s not a good thing, given Verner’s learning curve.

Lovie Smith’s defense was foreign to Verner when he was signed as a big-money free agent in March.  [read more]

DT Clinton McDonald also graded himself, and today’s practice

Lovie Smith’s handpicked nose tackle, Clinton McDonald, has a shiny new Super Bowl ring, but the time isn’t right to share the “bling of the ring” with his teammates, McDonald said after practice today.

No, that won’t be good motivation yet. [read more]

It was another day of training camp for your favorite team, and Joe’s got all the sights and sounds of practice. [read more]

Recently, the Bucs let go of defensive back D.J. Moore who seemed perfect for the new defense under Lovie Smith because he played for Lovie in Chicago. Alas, he was waved goodbye to hours before training camp.

So it seemed there was some clarity in the secondary for the Bucs. Apparently not. Per Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, the Bucs are bringing back a familiar face: Anthony Gaitor. [read more]

Strong safety Mark Barron (no, his number is still “23”), looks to have more freedom to make plays in Lovie Smith’s defense.

Joe knows true Bucs fans, and NFL fans in general, monitor NFL Network daily, and not just to gawk at Molly Qerim’s overall goodness and/or Amber Theoharis’ legs. Any time there is football talk it is a good thing.

Sunday, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp hosted live coverage of Bucs training camp on NFL Network. There (as well as on Saturday when Sapp regaled a handful of Tampa Bay pen and mic club members) he talked about how he thought the Bucs safeties would blow up in Lovie Smith’s defense. [read more]

Damn, if this NFL Network video won’t get you jacked up for Buccaneers football, then you might want to check your pulse.

The good folks at the Man Channel were at practice yesterday (Joe can still hear Warren Sapp in his ear; them man never shuts up.) and they “mic’d up” Lovie Smith. [read more]

The thin stretch of shade at practice found was quickly. Safeties Major Wright, Dashon Goldson and Major Wright gathered for a brief break and chat in it yesterday.

There’s a reason Buccaneers have been getting super close to fans attending training camp. There was about 20 inches of shade on the practice fields of One Buc Palace yesterday, and defensive players managed to find it. [read more]

Defensive tackle Clinton McDonald, and his shiny new Super Bowl ring, have made a huge impact already.

The explosion off the Tampa Bay defensive line from new nose tackle Clinton McDonald was evident to those watching practice yesterday, the first of the season in pads.

McDonald, however, is a quiet guy off the field, very reserved around media but an open book and intensely driven with teammates. [read more]

The typical day in training camp means arriving for work at 7 a.m. and leaving at 10 p.m. Players travel from the local Tampa training camp hotel by bus and stay together. It’s a grind.

A major change this season has players more awake and ready for practice, says Doug Martin. [read more]

The absence of guard Carl Nicks has the offensive line in a state of flux

The Bucs and left guard Carl Nicks parting ways Friday shocked few Bucs fans. And it shouldn’t have.

Nicks had played sparingly in the last two seasons, his only years with the Bucs, and rather than wearing a helmet, Nicks often was seen wearing a floppy hat watching OTAs and minicamp from the sidelines this spring.

The same folks who were surprised Nicks couldn’t make a go of it are the same people who are surprised it gets hot in Florida in July. [read more]

Who else but the bounty-loving Saints would hand out baseball bats in the locker room? That’s about as surprising as Josh Freeman oversleeping.

But those baseball bats are a memory of the Carl Nicks that Bucs fans saw little of after he signed a massive free agent contract in 2012. [read more]

Bucs GM Jason Licht told Tom Krasniqi and Ronnie Lane of WDAE-AM 620 that DE Da’Quan Bowers was in the best shape of his life.

Not quite a week ago, Bucs general manager Jason Licht made waves when he bluntly stated in a townhall meeting with Joe’s good friend “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, live from the Tampa Clear Channel headquarters, that fourth-year and under-performing defensive end Da’Quan Bowers had to “prove” he wanted to be on the team.

It seemed clear that the gauntlet had been thrown down. Bowers had to either fish of cut bait, that Bowers’ Tampa Bay days had come to a T-intersection. [read more]

It was a fun day at One Buc Palace Sunday. The pads came out and this was the first time Joe saw someone get drilled since he watched the Super Bowl.

Long live football!

Mason Foster made a nice pick. Tommy Streeter showed up again. Jeff Demps roasted another linebacker. All kinds of cool things to watch. [read more]

Lovie Smith said it’s too early to panic about the Bucs guards

Joe understands many Bucs fans are still hungover after trying to drink away news that All-Pro guard Carl Nicks is done. The beers were swilled, but in the morning, Nicks was still gone and the ugly hangover was all too real.

Now, the Bucs are looking at guards Jamon Meredith, Oniel Cousins and Kadeem Edwards as starters on the front line. That bottle of Tums fans are eating is not just to kill that hangover. [read more]

Ah, it was the second day the Bucs had a full training camp practice, and Day 3 of training camp overall. It was also the first day in pads.

Wide receiver Tommy Streeter seems as though he came to play with a second strong day of making plays. Jeff Demps again left a linebacker eating his cinders for another touchdown. And Mason Foster had a pick that was, well, too easy. [read more]

MLB Mason Foster talks about offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford

When Bucs middle linebacker Mason Foster heard Tampa Bay brought in former Cal head coach Jeff Tedford in as offensive coordinator, he figured it would be fun for coaches and bad news for guys like him.

Thus far in training camp, Tedford’s offense is everything Foster thought it would be and maybe more. [read more]