By Tom Krasniqi
Here’s something you don’t see every day at One Buc Place. Bill Belichick roaming around the facility. Tom Brady lofting passes to Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski on the Bucs practice field. Huh? What the hell are the New England Patriots doing here?
One of the most successful NFL franchises is in the town the next couple of days to give the Buccaneers something to shoot for. The Bucs and Patriots began their joint practice sessions on Wednesday here in Tampa. At the very least, it allows the Bucs to observe and maybe emulate how the Patriots go about their business in the preseason. “They’re the most consistent team in the league”, says Bucs Pro Bowl guard Davin Joseph about practicing against New England before the teams meet in preseason play on Friday night at Raymond James Stadium. “There’s a lot we can learn from them”.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s glowing endorsement of Greg Schiano was a factor in Schiano getting the Bucs head coaching job. Belichick believes Schiano can make that transition from college to the NFL. “I think he’s a very experienced guy. He’s won a lot of games. He’s coached NFL players…the Vince Wilforks…the Devin McCourtys…all the guys he’s coached. He’s coached in the NFL [assistant with the Bears] so he knows what he’s doing. He’s going to be fine”, Belichick says about Schiano.
Schiano has admired Belichick for years and now they share the same practice field together the next two days. According to Schiano, Belichick is one of the best in the business in terms of utilizing personnel and simplifying schemes. After practice, Schiano wasn’t too happy with how his team practiced. “We made more mistakes than you can shake a stick at”, says Schiano. Schiano did say the experience is valuable for his team in terms of trying to get better and emulating how the Patriots go about their business.
As for the practice itself, many would think it’s just a walkthrough in order to prepare for Friday. Not so, says Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn. “Guys were getting after it”, says Clayborn. Running back Doug Martin agreed. “There was definitely lot of competition out there for both sides. Everybody is getting antsy to play this game and we can’t wait”, says Martin.
News & Notes:
- RB LeGarrette Blount says his groin is fine and will be ready to go without limitations for Friday’s preseason game.
- Blount was asked again about sharing the load with rookie Doug Martin. “It doesn’t matter if I’m the starter or the backup”. He says there will be plenty of carries to go around.
- CB Eric Wright is fine after leaving practice yesterday with an apparent back injury. Schiano says Wright did practice on Wednesday.
- Schiano says TE Luke Stocker was back on the field practicing with the team. He’s been hampered by concussion-like symptoms the last two weeks.
- Patriots RB/KR Jeff Demps says the decision to sign with the Pats over the Bucs wasn’t that difficult. Demps says the Patriots had a “family based” feel. There are a number of former Gator products in New England, notably Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Spikes.
- Pats QB Tom Brady says the Tampa visit is “all business” for New England. No team activities are planned. So I’m guessing they won’t be at the beach.
- Josh who? Brady was asked about Josh Freeman and said he hasn’t seen Freeman in order to have an opinion. “Honestly, I haven’t seen much of him. He’s in the NFC”.
- The final preseason game for the Bucs against the Redskins next Wednesday night has been changed to 7pm. It was originally scheduled for 7:30pm.
- The teams will practice against each other once again on Thursday before their preseason game on Friday night at Raymond James Stadium. The game is blacked out so the only place for live play-by-play coverage is on 620 WDAE, your home of the Bucs.
