Dirk Koetter is upping the intensity in Buccaneers preseason

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hold their second joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars today, one of several joint practices we'll see over the next few days and weeks. Dirk Koetter apparently really likes these joint ventures, though what they add isn't exactly clear yet.

Yesterday's practice was mostly uneventful, but today's might see some changes: the Bucs are going to be in shells, which means we'll see a little more contact. Which also means we'll be able to better judge where the Bucs are in comparison to their intra-state rivals. Of course, being better than the Jacksonville Jaguars might not be all that meaningful given recent results.

Mostly, we'll get a better view of where the Bucs stand on Saturday evening, when they actually play the Jaguars. Next week they'll take on the Cleveland Browns in both joint practices and on the field in the third preseason game of the year, traditionally the most important one. That's when first-team player get the most playing time, though Dirk Koetter said yesterday that the Bucs would give their starters quite some playing time this week, too, after giving them several series last week.

In all, Koetter appears to be trying to up the intensity this offseason. More joint practices, more competitiveness, more attention to the first team in preseason games. We'll see whether that leads to better play, more fatigue, or more injuries -- but so far, things look fairly promising.