After a poor showing against the Jaguars in Wednesday’s joint practice, the Buccaneers returned to Jacksonville for a rematch on Thursday. They wore full pads in the first practice, but in the second, both teams wore helmets, shells and shorts. Tampa Bay looked better on Thursday, more focused and less lethargic than when they arrived in Jacksonville.
Thursday’s joint practice The event took place from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. under partly cloudy skies and a breeze with temperatures in the mid-80s F. On hand this morning were Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Adam Slivon from Pewter Report, and photographer Jeff Jones. Below are their observations.
Bucks not practicing
Several more Buccaneers players were added to the injured list following Wednesday’s joint practice with the Jaguars. Tight end Payne Durham suffered a minor knee injury on Wednesday and is being considered for evaluation. Undrafted free agent cornerback Tyreek Funderburk injured his foot in the first practice and was seen in a walking boot. Wide receiver Raylee Webb is also out. Additionally, backup left tackle Justin Sukur, defensive tackles Kalijah Kansey and Mike Green, wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Rakim Jarrett are also out. Safety Jordan Whitehead, running back Chase Edmonds and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby remain out.
Outside linebacker Joe Tryon Soyinka continued practicing by doing everything but 11-on-11 drills, as did inside linebacker Servoshia Dennis. Neither is expected to play in Saturday night’s preseason game.
The Jaguars secondary intercepted the Buccaneers quarterback.
Wednesday’s joint practice between Jacksonville and Tampa Bay produced no interceptions, but the Jaguars defense looked opportunistic on Thursday.
Starting quarterback Baker Mayfield had a pass intended for running back Sean Tucker intercepted when Jaguars safety Andre Sisco stole it. Sisco jumped the route to recover the pass for an interception six. It was Mayfield’s second interception this week; Buccaneers cornerback Keenan Isaac had one on Monday.
Tampa Bay backup quarterback Kyle Trask had two interceptions on Thursday. Trask’s first came when he overthrew a pass to tight end Ko Kieft. Jaguars cornerback Eric Hallett II threw an errant pass. Trask’s second came when a pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage and deflected into the air. Hallett rose to the occasion again, scoring his second interception of the day for a touchdown.
The Buccaneers secondary continued to struggle covering the deep ball.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles and co-defensive coach Casey Rogers – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Overall, Tampa Bay’s defense played better in the 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 sessions Thursday against Jacksonville than they did Wednesday. The Bucs’ seven defenders forced more checkdowns and even had a couple of cover sacks, but the Jaguars’ two-man weapons continued to plague the defense.
Rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. continued to torment Buccaneers defensive backs with another deep touchdown Thursday after scoring four touchdowns on Wednesday, including two on deep balls and two in the red zone. On Thursday, he ran a sluggo seam route to score a touchdown, flicked past slot cornerback Tykee Smith with a fake slant and then drove up the field and past free safety Kayvon Merriweather, who was beaten deep on Wednesday, for the score.
“He’s a great receiver, that’s why he was a first-round draft pick,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said. “We know he’s got speed, we know he’s got talent. [that] “Every week, those types of guys come up. We’ve got to hit the deep ball.”
Thomas’ touchdown was a kind of revenge against Smith, who on the previous play had made some great coverage in the red zone and forced an incomplete pass into the end zone.
Another Jaguars receiving threat who got open deep against the Bucs was tight end Evan Engram, who first beat free safety Antoine Winfield Jr. downfield for a 30-plus yard play-action pass. Engram then got open against Lavonte David, who evaded Tampa’s two-coverage and outran the Bucs linebacker for a touchdown deep between the safeties.
Lawrence and Engram also scored touchdowns against the Buccaneers secondary in a 7-on-7 drill in the red zone.
The Jacksonville defense was on a roll Thursday, recording three interceptions, while the Tampa Bay defense didn’t record a single interception after recording 22 in the first 13 training camp practices.
The Buccaneers’ run defense was excellent again.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson and Buccaneers forward Vita Vea – Photo courtesy of USA Today
While the Buccaneers’ pass defense was suspect in Jacksonville, Tampa Bay’s run defense was solid. Last Saturday night, the Buccaneers defense held the Bengals to just 36 yards rushing on 13 attempts, and Tampa Bay’s run defense continued to dominate against the Jaguars.
“Yesterday, when our guys were in the right position, we played well,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said. “There were some plays where guys were in the wrong position and we got an easy advantage because of our positioning. For the majority of the game, guys were where they were supposed to be.”
Generally speaking, Bowles has been impressed with his team’s run defense overall during training camp.
“So far it’s been more about passing than running,” Bowles added. “We haven’t seen the running that we expected or the different personnel placements on that run. So far they’ve been good at executing the plays that we’ve seen.”
#Buccaneers The run defense has been contained so far today, and Todd Bowles’ unit has been more focused in this joint practice. #Jaguar.
— Pewter Report
(@PewterReport) August 15, 2024
Baker Mayfield talks about dropped ball in Jacksonville
In Jacksonville, the Buccaneers’ receivers dropped more passes than they would have liked, with second-year wide receiver Trey Palmer being the biggest culprit, followed by rookie Jalen McMillan. Palmer dropped at least three passes on Wednesday and McMillan dropped two.
On Thursday, McMillan didn’t drop any passes and had fewer pass targets, while Palmer didn’t drop any passes and had two that were on the ground. Undrafted rookie Kameron Johnson also went 11-for-11 with a dropped pass.
#Buccaneers WR Trey Palmer dropped the ball again during individual warmups. He’s dropped too many balls in camp. Palmer is a good receiver when he catches the ball, but he needs to get more consistent catching the ball.
— Pewter Report
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and RT Luke Goedeke – Photo courtesy of USA Today
After practice, Buccaneers starting quarterback Baker Mayfield was asked how he, as a team captain, goes about talking to his receivers about drops and holding them accountable.
“That’s one of the things I learned early on,” Mayfield said. “The worst thing you can say to a guy is, catch the ball. He’s not trying to drop the ball. At the end of the day, did he take his eye off the ball? Were his hands in the right position? It goes back to the basics of catching the ball and seeing where he went wrong. I know everybody’s trying to catch the ball.
“Most of the time it’s because you’re not fully focused while you’re making the catch. You have to pick the ball up and tuck it in. You have to do those little things, especially when you’re playing against a guy coming in for the ball. There’s going to be collisions and they’re going to try to take the ball away. For me, it’s just, ‘Make sure you keep your eye on the ball while you’re making the catch until you tuck it in.’ That’s it.”
Observations and highlights from Day 15 of Bucks Camp
• Buccaneers wide receiver Kameron Johnson overcame an early drop in Thursday’s game to catch several passes, including a spectacular touchdown in the corner of the end zone.
Buccaneers WR Kameron Johnson – Photo: Jeffrey Jones/PR
After practice, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield praised his rookie receiver.
“Cam Johnson is a great player,” Mayfield said. “I didn’t even know where Barton University was until a few weeks ago. Whatever I told him, he worked. He’s a polished receiver. He doesn’t say a lot, he stays focused and does everything right. For us, he’s a kid that listens.” [When] “Physically, he’s very smooth on his routes and explosive. I think he’s going to do a lot for us. He’s another great guy on our team and he’s going to motivate the rest of us to continue to raise the bar at receiver.”
• Tampa Bay’s offense was up and down in Jacksonville, but the Buccaneers’ offensive line was really good in pass protection against the Jaguars defense.
“Really solid,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said of the offensive line. “Obviously, they’ve got a couple of bookends on the side, but I thought they were really solid for us. Obviously. [don’t have] They had pads on, but I thought they looked really good yesterday. I thought they did a good job with the stunts and passing the game inside. They’re getting better and better. [with] The more iterations they go through, the more they grow.”
• The Buccaneers’ new kickoff coverage unit is, as expected, made up of defensive players other than Co Kieft. The Buccaneers tight end was a mainstay on the kick and punt coverage unit last year and is one of Tampa Bay’s better special teams tacklers. The Buccaneers’ secondary kick coverage unit also features two offensive players in big wide receivers Cody Thompson and Ryan Miller.
