Enjoy the training camp notes I gathered off twitter and elsewhere for Friday's training camp practice.
- Mason Foster was running with the first-team defense. According to Stephen Holder, this was the first time that happened. If Foster can get the defensive assignments down, he will probably win the starting job.
- Luke Stocker was off his crutches for the first time since his injury a week ago. If he progresses well there's a chance he plays at Kansas City.
- Unfortunately, another injury popped up: Gerald McCoy hurt his shoulder while pass rushing and had the trainer look at it. They later wrapped and iced the shoulder.
UPDATE: According to Mark Dominik it's 'not scary' and Gerald McCoy is day-to-day. That's good news. - In a two-minute drill, Quincy Black and Geno Hayes were the nickel linebackers. That sounds like the Bucs are back to a 4-2-5 as their nickel package, dumping the 3-3-5 while still having Quincy Black on the field as a possible blitzer. Having the MLB off the field (Foster or McKenzie) makes sense for the Bucs this year, as neither player is experienced in coverage.
- "Ball security is job security!" was WR coach Eric Yarber's message today. I like it.
- Defensive end E.J. Wilson looked good in today's practice. His name has come up a couple of times these past few days, so he may be pushing for a roster spot. Wilson was a fourth-round pick with the Seahawks last season.
- Arrelious Benn wasn't catching the ball all that cleanly. He isn't completely back yet.
- Gerald McCoy was blowing up his double teams in two-on-one drills.
- Mike Williams is destroying Aqib Talib in drills, and that's been the message for days now. That's good news for Mike Williams of course, but it may be bad news for Talib too. In general, the DBs were losing to the WRs.
- Davin Joseph and some of the other O-linemen look 'very fresh' and are 'hitting with authority', to quote Roy Cummings.
- Jeremy Trueblood is taking snaps with the first team. That's bad news in my book.
- DE Michael Bennett looked very good, according to What The Buc? and Pewter Report. Bennett was basically assured of a roster spot because the coaching staff loves him. It's good to see that he's also proving he's worth it. In fact, DE is a pretty competitive position right now.
- Roy Miller also looked much improved, taking on and holding up against double teams with regularity.
- The Bucs' lone external signing in free agency, Michael Koenen, looked very good.