Buccaneers players praise Lovie Smith to media

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will win a championship. That's what Lovie Smith told the team today, Doug Martin told Pewter Report. One recurring theme throughout these player interviews was a universal love for Lovie Smith, and positive comments about the new vibe around the team. Of course, no player is going to bash his employer on the first day of work -- but it's still good to see.

Doug Martin said he will "love" Jeff Tedford's offense, per Scott Smith. He also called him an "offensive genius", via Pewter Report. Doug Martin was cleared for practice earlier this month, and he noted today that he has a full range of motion in his shoulder, per Pewter Report. He also noted that Mike Williams' off-field issues were "a misunderstanding", per JoeBucsFan.

Connor Barth was also cleared for practice, and he told Scott Smith that he has completely recovered from his Achilles injury. Barth also said that Lovie Smith is "awesome" and that he treats his players like men (apparently unlike certain previous coaches), while also noting that Josh McCown is a "veteran leader" who bring a "different feel" to the team, via Mark Cook.

One amusing note: apparently Connor Barth thinks that kickers should not be in the NFL if they can't make 38-yard kicks every single time, or so he told Scott Smith when asked about possibly moving the PAT back. I guess Barth thinks he should lose his job, as he's missed four kicks of 38 yards or less in his career.

Vincent Jackson was very high on the team's offseason preparation, predicting 95% participation in voluntary workouts and noting that the team wants to have the offense installed before training camp, so they can just fine-tune it there, via Scott Smith. He also praised Lovie Smith, per Pewter Report. Shocking.

Mike Glennon told Pewter Report that Jeff Tedford's terminology was completely different, and noted that he thinks he can still win the starting job, even though he's the backup right now. He's also looking forward to the competition and to working with Josh McCown, of course, per Scott Smith.

One common thread throughout these player interviews is that they all love Lovie Smith. Lavonte David told Scott Smith that there's a "real cool vibe" at One Buc Place. He was surprised at the amount of roster turnover this offseason, though, per told Pewter Report. Scott Smith also noted that Mason Foster and Lavonte David put in a lot of extra work on their own initiative this offseason, and that Lavonte David hopes to get stronger and get a better understanding of NFL defenses this offseason.