Bucs Update

Goal line situations were the focal point of Wednesday's morning practice. The defense came out on top in the battle to find the endzone. How does QB Josh Freeman feel about the play of the defense? What defensive players also saw time on offense? Find out the answers and more in this article.

The Bucs offensive and defensive line squared off in eight goal line plays that the defense won 6-2. Pewter Report will have all the details in our Pewter Insider report later this afternoon, but Bucs head coach and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris was a live wire during that session and was talking plenty of smack to the offense. The defense played outstanding and deserved Morris' praise.

"They do a really good job of keeping low," Bucs QB Josh Freeman said. "There were a couple arguable spots where we thought we scored on and the ref thought we scored on, but with Raheem being the head coach he vetoed that and forced us to run another play. It went well. The intensity was up. It was our first real live experience at camp. We got to see a lot from a lot of different guys.

"Obviously, we wanted to score every time we are down there. At the end of the day we are all teammates and it's great to see those [defensive linemen] do such a great job."

Running back Cadillac Williams seemed to agree with his starting quarterback saying that Morris is a little biased being the defensive coordinator as well as the head coach. All that does however, is make the offensive hungrier to get the upper hand, according to Williams.

"It is [frustrating] at times, but it just makes us feel that much better when we actually get the best of them because he (Morris) is always cheering on the defense," said Williams.

With the defense dominating the opposition today, Morris believes that his young D-Line is starting to show some resemblance to the prominent ones in the Bucs' past.

"That D-line is looking real similar to one of the great ones that we've had," Morris said. "If they can just figure some of the stuff that goes with that for when a guy like Sapp comes in here and Sapp tells you, ‘We rush together.' You don't know what that means until you sit around him for a while and you start to understand what he's talking about. Those guys have to figure that out - how to rush together and how they can all stop the run on the way to the quarterback. That's got to be their belief. They'll grow together. I'm excited."

During the session, the Bucs used DT Roy Miller as a goal line back for Earnest Graham and LB Adam Hayward also got some snaps at fullback in short-yardage (but not goal line) situations.

"I played a little fullback today," said Miller. "It is something that we have to continue to work on. I did it a little bit in college. I just want to fine tune it, and be able to help this team out whenever they need me at fullback."

Williams likes the idea of having Miller and his 310-pound frame leading the way for him and the rest of the running backs.

"You know, he actually has experience there," Williams said. "We brought him in last year where once we get to the goal line we stick him in there. I mean he is a big guy. Once he gets going downhill he is going to move the pile.

"Once you have a guy that's 300 pounds - that's agile like that, that can move like that - it [excites me]."

Miller had a busy morning on Wednesday. When he was not lead blocking in a power package that featured FB Earnest Graham as the lead ballcarrier, he was in on three or four reps as the starting nose tackle on defense. Miller said it was his head coach's infectious attitude that fired up the defense to go out and stop the offense from getting into the endzone.

"Rah is a high energy guy. Players mirror the coach as they say," said Miller. "He's hyped up. We want to go out there and stop the run even more for him. He's just a ball of energy for us."

Now the Bucs are just hoping they can take that defensive intensity and carry it over into the regular season.

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Buccaneers running back Derrick Ward said he believes that Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman has developed beyond being a second-year quarterback. Ward came into the NFL in 2004 with the New York Giants and played five seasons with the Giants before signing with Tampa Bay in March of 2009. Ward came into the NFL with Giants quarterback Eli Manning, and watched Manning develop into a franchise signal caller.

"The kid is light years ahead of any quarterback I've seen going into his second year," said Ward. "I was telling him the other day that I got drafted with Eli and Eli going from his first year to his second year he is light years ahead of Eli. Eli has won a Super Bowl and been to the Pro Bowl. [Freeman] is doing great. I don't want to get his head too big, but he is very grounded for a franchise quarterback."

Last year Ward ran for 409 yards and averaged 3.6 yards per carry with one touchdown. Ward, 29, said he is looking forward to having a bigger impact this season, and said he has never looked forward to a season as much as he's looking forward to this year. Ward said the Bucs have more playmakers on offense than any team he has been on in his career.

"There are a lot of pieces (to the offense) if I was going to describe it in one word it would be explosive," said Ward. "It is a little bit a West Coast offense, we have a power game, we have a little bit of everything. We throw the deep ball the short ball. We can run the ball with any of our backs. This year is going to be very special for us from the offensive side. We were disappointed in ourselves last year. We can't have another year like that. We're ready to go."

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A lot of praise is being thrown around right now regarding the two rookies holding down the Buccaneers' interior defensive line.

From Gerald McCoy's lofty draft status to Raheem Morris recently saying that Brian Price "wrecked practice", the expectations are sky high for the Bucs new-look D-line.

One guy who has been in the thick of things in the trenches says it's a tad too soon to anoint McCoy and Price as saviors for the defense.

"It's a little early to say, ‘Yeah, these guys are going to be All-Pros and they're going to be Hall-of-Famers,' but I think they have a lot of natural, raw ability," said center Jeff Faine.

Faine is right. While McCoy and Price are expected to help the Bucs defense return to the NFL's elite, no one can know for sure until they actually perform well on Sundays.

"It's just something you have to see in a game type situation where it is not scripted, where it is not an inside run period or a pass period, where they have to react, where they basically have to use their wits out there...," said Faine. "I think they have a ton of talent and as they keep progressing and keep getting better they just have put it all together come game time."

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Heading into the 2009 season, the Buccaneers decided to embark on a youth movement. They overhauled the roster shipping out the older vets and brought in fresh faces throughout the organization.

The result was an inexperienced coaching staff and team that went on to have a disappointing 3-13 season.

After what looks to be another successful draft class to help build around, there is more optimism heading into general manager Mark Dominik and head coach Raheem Morris' second season.

Even though the team is the second-youngest team currently in the NFL, you won't find Morris using that as an excuse.

"You will never hear me use youth as an excuse," said Morris. "We should win games. I don't like to make excuses, period. I don't like to talk about injuries. I don't like to talk about youth. I don't like to do that. I won't do that."

Morris is putting the team on his shoulders for everyone around him, including the media.

"It is my job to win for Ronde Barber," said Morris. "It is my job to win for the ownership. It is my job to win for Mark Dominik. It is my job to win for [the media's families] or you will write bad stories about me and you will get fired too."

If the Bucs' young players don't perform, it looks like Morris won't put the blame anybody but himself

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Competition is a must if you are trying to get the most out of your players. That is what training camp is all about. You want the best players out on the field for the start of the regular season.

That is why the Buccaneers brought in guard Keydrick Vincent. The 10-year pro was signed a few weeks before training to battle Jeremy Zuttah for the starting left guard position.

Before thunderstorms forced the Bucs to cut their afternoon practice short, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound Vincent was taking reps with the first team offense.

This shows that the team has confidence in Vincent's abilities - especially in the running game - and he might now be the favorite to start when Cleveland comes to town in Week One.

"He is an intense young man," said head coach Raheem Morris. "He brings a certain intensity to us, that Carolina demeanor - we are going to run the ball and they are not going to stop us."

During his press conference, when Morris was asked about Vincent he playfully joked, "Have you walked by him?"

"I always knew he was big when we played against him with Carolina, but I don't like to get that close to him because I don't want to be the coach that gets bear attacked," said Morris. "He's a big man. He is able to move people. He is slowly picking up the offense and he is getting comfortable. He is showing his physical play. He is showing what he does best and I think he likes football a lot."

Jeremy Zuttah better step up his play or that bear wearing a No. 66 jersey is going to take his spot.