By Tom Krasniqi

It was the moment the players have been waiting for.  The constant grind of training camp is enough to break down the biggest and baddest of players.  From Day 1 of camp, head coach Greg Schiano paved the foundation for his regime—Trust, Belief and Accountability.  Building a football team from scratch is a daunting task.  He accomplished it at Rutgers and now he’s trying to rebuild the Buccaneers back to respectability.  Training camp was his way of getting the message across.  And that message is: We won’t tolerate mistakes.  The intensity and tempo of practice will be high. 

Yes, the weather was at times oppressive, especially during the last two days of camp.  The hot and humid conditions combined with Schiano’s way proved to be a daily challenge for the players, both mentally and physically.  Rookie safety Mark Barron mentioned that even though camp is over, the hard work still remains ahead for the team. “We’re going to keep working so it probably won’t be too much of a difference”, says Barron when asked about camp ending.

Coach Schiano made it clear from the day he took the Bucs job that he was going to do things his way.  During Monday’s practice, the coach became furious when mistakes, penalties and fumbles were taking place.  He shouted “We’re gonna do things one way!  We’re not gonna compromise!”   He got his point across.  Buy in or get out.  Rookie linebacker Najee Goode is buying in.  “I like Coach Schiano.  I love what he’s doing with us,” says Goode.  The rookie out of West Virginia says Schiano has been tough, but also protects his players at the same time.  “The best thing about it is that everybody wants to play for him and everybody is buying into it”.

Schiano met with reporters after Wednesday’s practice and says training camp may be over in theory, but hard work still remains.  “Next week is kind of a modified training camp I guess,” says Schiano.  “They worked very, very hard.  That’s what I was most excited about.  My vision of where we’ll be a year or two or three from now….much cleaner and crisper.” 

But at least players can go back to their own homes for a change and sleep in their own bed.  Only problem is, camp may be over but “modified camp” is lurking next week.

News & Notes:

• The 2^nd preseason game is Friday night against the Titans at Raymond James Stadium.  The game will be blacked out locally but Schiano isn’t worried about that.  “I don’t really think too much about that stuff.  I think if we take care of our business, all that stuff will take care of itself.  I really believe that”.  You can catch the Bucs-Titans game live on 620 WDAE and U.S. 103.5 FM beginning with the pre-game show at 5pm with Ronnie Lane.
• Schiano says the distribution of reps for the starters “will change a little, but not a lot” for the Titans game on Friday.  Schiano is trying to evaluate some of those players that are on the bubble.  The first cut down from 90 to 75 doesn’t take place until Monday, August 27 so the team still has time to look players over.
• The team split up the squad for a spirited practice on Wednesday to close out camp.  Once again, WRs Mike Williams and Tiquan Underwood stood out.  You never want to say a guy is a lock to make the team, but Underwood right now is pretty damn close to it.
• CB E.J. Biggers (broken bone in foot) should be out “until the early part of the season” says Schiano. 
• Interesting quote from RT Jeremy Trueblood about the offensive line’s progress.  When asked if they are where they need to be, he replied “No, not even close.  We have a lot of work to do.  [Last week against Miami] was a step forward, definitely not a step back.  But there’s still a lot of stuff to do for us to become a better offensive line and running team”.  Trueblood says the line is progressing but they need more “fine tuning”.
• The team did confirm their interest in former Florida Gators standout and Olympic sprinter Jeff Demps.  Schiano says the team was talking to Demps before he went to London for the Olympics.  “Hopefully if it’s meant to be, it’ll work out”, says Schiano.  The Bucs appear to have a good chance to landing Demps.  There are other teams interested as well. 
• The annual rookie talent show will take place Wednesday night.  LB Najee Goode looked solid in practice on Wednesday with a nice interception of backup QB Brett Ratliff.  Goode says he has something special planned for the show and it involves his two position coaches: linebackers coach Bob Fraser and defensive assistant Bryan Cox.