Buccaneers: Remember to treat training camp for what it is
Don’t get too overhyped by Buccaneers training camp news. Doing it against live opponents is what counts.
Isn’t it nice to have Buccaneers football back? The news is in our social media timelines. The sights and sounds are back coming out of Tampa Bay. The information about season preparation is flowing like water. All of our teams are even and it is getting closer to kickoff. For those of us that aren’t the biggest fans of summer, it means that Fall is just on the horizon. And who among us doesn’t believe that football season is the best time of the year?
After all, there is a game this week! That’s right, the Hall of Fame game is on August 3, marking the beginning of the preseason.
Every day there will be information to follow. It will be well-documented, both here and all over the landscape. As you go through each day of workouts, if you keep your eyes open to your feeds, you will know as much about training camp as the likes of Greg Auman and others that are in attendance.
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The information will also flow about the various competitions going on around the field. We will sure hear a lot about Nick Folk vs. Roberto Aguayo. After all, coach has already talked about them (via the Pewter Report):
"“I had them both four-out-of-five. I had both guys four out of five, but I’ll be honest, I was kind of watching the alignment up front. We’ll look at the tape. Like I said, I didn’t watch it that close. I thought they both missed their last one, but I could be wrong.”"
It will be more than just the kickers. There will be reports on Chris Godwin. The safety battle will heat up and we will hear about it. How is Ali Marpet doing at center? It will be a big point of discussion as the days go by. So will DeSean Jackson, who already is a big topic and for all the right reasons.
This, of course, is good. When it comes to the competitions, however, make sure to remember that it is just camp. Take it for what it is. It is interesting to read and feel like we are at camp. But when it comes down to it, not a lot of decisions are made based on these workout sessions.
The four most important days on the preseason docket are August 11, August 17, August 26 and August 31. Those are the four times the Bucs will take the field for games. They are preseason games, granted. But the coaching staff wants to see these guys play at game speed. The rest of it is preparation, game time is when these roster decisions are going to be made. They aren’t made at 8 AM at One Buccaneer Place. Watch Folk and Aguayo do their work during the game. That will tell us who wins.
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Fans, if you are going to make roster predictions, make them based on the games, and the “eye test”. The rest is interesting, but not what will make or break the player.