Buccaneers Win Day 1 of Joint Practices with Dolphins
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TAMPA, Fl. -- Before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins began their joint practice on Wednesday, the two teams met on the field to discuss what we assume were joint directions from coaches to keep the activities clean and free of fighting.
And if that is what happened, the message didn't land.
READ MORE: Russell Gage Leaves Bucs Practice with Injury
"Todd Bowles said Bucs practice got a little chippy at the end & they’ll have to be mindful of that but they got a lot of good work," a tweet from The Draft Network's Carmen Vitali stated. "He was on defensive fields & they were able to present a lot of different looks with MIA in here. Said he didn’t see as many mental errors today."
The Bucs offense started the day on the practice field nearest the fan bleachers while the defense went up against the Dolphins' offense on the next field over.
As Bowles said, the defense looked fast and closed in quickly on everything Miami tried to throw at them.
While Tua Tagovailoa was able to complete some of his passes, none went for what would be considered explosive plays, and most of the run calls were bottled up before gaining significant yards.
Both cornerback Carlton Davis III and linebacker Devin White came away with interceptions, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. had an impressive pass breakup as well during the practice.
That's not to say the unit didn't get their blows in as Dolphins running backs found the edge on a couple of occasions, and given a live setting some of the shorter passes may have turned into bigger gains with runs after the catch.
Regardless, Tampa Bay defenders were around the ball consistently and looked smart at all three levels.
On the offensive side of the field, James Yarcho of the Locked On Bucs Podcast came away most impressed with Julio Jones and noticed the fans in the bleachers were especially excited to see No. 85 get involved in the offense.
At the end of the practice, the two teams each conducted a two-minute drive, the only real chance to put points on the board - where the winning and losing really take place.
Simply put, the Bucs put a field goal on the board despite the absences of receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, and Jones in that final run, and tight end Cameron Brate.
READ MORE: Scare at Center Position Caps Off Day 1 of Joint Practices
Meanwhile, the Dolphins, with their full complement of weapons tried to rush the field goal unit onto the field for a scoring opportunity and failed to do so before time ran out.
Unfortunately, the Buccaneers didn't get away complete winners as Gage left the field with an apparent hamstring injury and center Robert Hainsey left at the end of practice on a cart.
Head coach Todd Bowles said he didn't have the exact statuses of either player, but we expect to hear more on Thursday.
For more on this and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!
