Devin White Leading the Defense, Split Field Practices & Cornerback Depth | Bucs Insider Live

see the rookies in here. So first of all, I want to just hear your thoughts of after seeing rookie mini camp and and actually seeing some guys out there a little bit more football scenario than we had in Phase one and Phase two. What were some of your initial thoughts. Well, the rookie camp, it's really there's not a lot you can get out of that because you're basically you have about half the team that's out there

was on tryout contracts. There's they're not really they're trying to absorb some of the playbook and they're trying to get a look at some of these guys that maybe would be slight upgrades to the roster. And indeed they did find forward to sign, so you know it was a success. Again, I think much more telling was the beginning of a t as yesterday. And now you're seeing the rookies and the veterans together, and you're seeing where

guys play. You know, there's it's a new defense. So there's outside linebackers now instead of defensive ends, and all the defensive linemen you might call d t s or or bigger d s are called d l's and guys like Lavonte David are called inside linebackers now we've always thought of him as an outside linebacker. And just seeing

where they're playing. And also even though the Buccaneers went inside to the indoor facility yesterday because they thought it was going to rain and in fact it did, um they still did the the only one field work with. They still did the plan of breaking practice into two. And you had like Jameis Winston and you know, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans and all the what should consider the veterans and the first line guys on one half and then a bunch of really young guys on the

other half. And they got in a lot of work and it was a lot to watch, to be honest with you, but you're kind of starting to get a feel for who fits where. Okay, cool um, And speaking of that, Alan wants to know what's going on with the backup quarterback situation. Have we been able to tell much about who's taking what reps there? Yeah? Well again, because they split them into two, everybody's getting a lot

more reps um Blaine Gabbert. Okay, so there were four quarterbacks, right, Blaine Gabbert joined Jamis Winston on the side with the mostly veteran players, and on the other side you had Ryan Griffin and Nick Fitzgerald. I don't know if that says anything. That was one practice. Perhaps today they'll flip fits. Uh Griffin, you lose Fitzpatrick, but you still have a Ryan and now even Fitzgerald. Yeah, I was gonna say I was super impressed you actually got it right that

first time. I was like, if like, we're gonna mess that up all? Yeah, So you might switch Griffin. I don't know, we'll see today practices is actually pretty soon from now, maybe a switch Griffin and blame Gabbert. But that first one would seem to indicate that Blaine, and I think because of his experience actually playing in the regular season and playing in this offense. Before you know, you connect the dots. He seems like the obvious first

choice to be the number two quarterbacks. One thing that was interesting is that Nick Fitzgerald when they first I walked into the building and they were doing um, the quarterbacks were doing drills with Clyde Christenson and there were only three of them, and like, who's missing all it's

Nick Fitzerald, Like wonder why he can't be here. They used to have some some schools that were on quarter systems couldn't come back this early, but I didn't think Mississippi State was that, and in fact, they changed that role last year, so it's not even rule anymore. Uh. The reason he wasn't there is because he was doing special teams. I was doing punt and you know, we're really not supposed to reveal a lot of details about where guys are playing, but so I won't say exactly

what he was doing. But he was playing. He was practicing with specialty. That's pretty awesome. And he said he wanted to do Yeah, that's pretty cool. I like that. All right. Andrew said, what do you think will be the major change on the field coming this year. So of course we know that there's a new coaching staff.

I don't think he just means what has changed, but just what what will be the biggest changes when you go to a game and watch with this project, Well, it's a new defense, and it's it's on one hand, it's very true and we said it many times and the coaches have said it that every team plays some three four and some four or three looks, and when you're in sub packages often you have four down linemen. So even though we're called a three four now, you're

gonna see a lot of this. You know, you're still going to see a lot of four or three looks. You're still gonna see plays with four guys with their hands in the dirt and all that. But that being said, it is a new defense. I mean we have guys specifically playing what you'd call outside linebacker, so Karl Nasset standing up, rushing the past or maybe dropping into cover some Anthony Nelson the rookie um. And is this a better defense for Noah Spence? He looked good yesterday, fast

off the edges um. And then it's supposedly it's going to be more aggressive. Apparently that you're gonna get more pressed from the corners, which I think our fans are gonna like, because there were times where when things were going badly, it was easy to point at what looked like a passive approach to defense, especially on the outside. Now it's an easy thing to get upset about and forget that. The Bucks have also used that sort of defense in a very successful way many times, and I

think it can be done. Maybe it's not used. You know, the cover two as your base and as you're in all the time, as the great Buck defense was in the Super Bowl era isn't really in vogue right now, and maybe that's you know, so you don't see a lot of teams playing like that a lot, so when things were going badly, that's certainly was something you could point on. Go man, our corners were playing ten yards off on on third and seven. Right now, it's whether

or not that was good football knowledge or not. It certainly, as a casual fan, looked not great. So I think our fans are gonna enjoy seeing a more aggressive defense. And because it's this three four with outside linebackers and even inside linebackers like Devin White and La Monte David that they think can blitz. I think you're just going to see a lot more aggressiveness, a lot more variety, a lot of different types of blitz is, and I think that will be fun to watch. It's a more

aggressive defense. Is a risk of your demons, You know that. That's the difference between the philosophy of hey, make them grind it all the way down the field and they'll mess up at some point against let's make a big play on defense and get the ball back quickly. Sometimes that means you give up big place. Right. Yeah, that's a great point. I know we've only had a couple of days of rookie Minicamp, but Kevin said, does it seem like Devin White is starting to emerge as the

leader that Bruce arians expects and hopes him. Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt that that's gonna happen. He was vocal on the field yesterday and that was his first practice mixed in with the veterans. So it really didn't mean much if he was the most vocal guy in the in the rookie minicamp, because he's the star of that right, the first overall pick, and it's all rookies. Uh.

He was apparently vocal on the field. Coach Arean so that afterwards, and I don't think that's going to go anywhere. I mean, you've met him, right, I met him. He's very outgoing, yes, yeah, and he was a leader at an early age at L s U. He was a leader with guys that were a couple of years older than he was. And it's just some guys are just like that, you know, and you can be a talker, but people tune you out. I mean a it helps to be very very good and being what you're saying

is important and how you deliver that message. Of course, he's also playing right next to Lavante David, who is a team captain for years and probably will be again, and so he's got a veteran leader right next to him. It's just that Lavante maybe isn't quite as vocal of a guy, right, Yeah, that makes sense. Um Frank said, who has been the most impressive so far from the football we've gotten to watch? Mm hmmm, we've seen one practice. Well, I don't know if he's most impressive, but I'll tell

you two guys. One one that won't be surprising. I saw several really nice plays from O. J. Howard, And of course it's a big interesting thing to see how well and how much Bruce Arians, who has never had tight ends like O. J. Howarden Camber right before, how much he's going to use them, and how well and how much Downfield. And I think any coach, no matter what his system is, would find a way to get O. J.

Howard downfield saw a couple of those plays. And on the other side, as when the young guys were practicing uh first year tied in, Donnie Ernsberger seemed like he was making a big catchdown field like every other play, So that's kind of off the you know, a little off the off center one for you like that. And then it was good to see Breshad Perriman getting deep and getting behind guys and getting a step on guys. Um. I don't know if they completed a ton of them.

They completed one big one for a touchdown in seven on seven and there was another one down the middle, but he was getting separation and getting behind the defense and Jamis was reading it and throwing to him and Bruce Arians on one there was a deep ball straight down the middle that ended up landing in the end zone a couple of feet in front of Brashade. But Bruce really praised Jamis for his read on that plane, his decision and said, actually it was a pretty good throw.

He just things Bush looking back lost in the scene inside, and so, um, it was a good decision. That's a good thing because Jamie's thrown the deep. All betters couldn't make this often take a big step forward. And then another guy, Scotty Miller. Everybody, I think there are people and it's probably way he's available in the sixth round that are concerned about a guy of his size about five n um how he's going to hold up in the NFL. But he is definitely quick. Yeah, I mean

he is really quick. So that's gonna be awesome. Uh. Justin said he's watching from looks like no, not Justin Watson. Uh he said, what three games are you looking forward to the most this season? And why? Well, m hmm, I'm trying to go back to the schedule in my brain. I know, of course the London game right off the bat is just that's gonna be cool, especially since it is a division game. Those are always exciting anyways, and then you throw it in London. How about the first

game back at home after those? I know we'll be looking forward to that in the middle of those seven weeks. I hope I'm looking forward to. Our final game is at home against Land I think so. Yeah, I sure hope I'm looking forward to that one. That would mean it's very meaningful. What else we got, Oh, yeah, we have. The Buccaneers have not played a game in l a sin. So that'll be neat. That's really cool. I like that one. That would have been that we get to go to

Seattle too, don't we. Okay, well, that's always a fun trip. Yeah, that'll be cool. Uh. Lewis said he's watching from Guadalajara, Mexico. Is Cosin Daniels in the O t A s Yes, Yeah, absolutely, And that's that's a great story. I imagine he knows the story if he's asking. But you know, Cousin is a guy that at the age of five got in an accident with a scooter and lost the site in his right eye, but never stopped him from playing sports

and being really good at it. And he went to Charleston, I think, and in West Virginia, and he he basically didn't really let a lot of his teammates and coaches know.

I mean, I think some of the coaches knew there was an issue, but didn't really realize he was completely blind in that, all right, And it didn't it wasn't even really well known until there was a story it just a week or two before the draft, um by one of the sites, CBS Sports or something and um, and they kind of did the whole story, and then everybody knew. And then you know, Bruce Arian said he didn't know until a week before the draft. So the

guy is, he's here, and it's a great story. And you know, with the uncertainty about Jason Pierre Paul, which I'm sure we would get asked about at some point anyway, it's an open question who how the those outside linebackers, how many are you gonna keep? Which one you're gonna keep? There some opportunities maybe for a guy like him or the guy we signed after he tried out, David Kinney. Um, there's a lot of there's gonna be a lot of

jacking for position. I think you're gonna want some depth there five or six guys, So there's an opportunity for some guys like that, right, Dion said, how is Scotty Miller coming along? And do we think he could be the next Adam Humphries. You know, it's a little too easy, and I don't want to do either of them a

disservice by just making that direct comparison. In fact, when Scotty was talking the first day he met the media here during training, he said, I think I'm really more like DeShawn Jackson, you know, a little more like that size. I don't I don't think people realize how yoked up Adam Humphreys is. I mean, he's a really solid guy. And uh, I think just based on their forty times,

Scotty is probably faster. Um, So they're not really the exact same sort of player, But you don't have to have the exact same sort of player to have some success both in the slot, which is what everybody expects Scotty to be because of his size and quickness. But I think the Bucks actually see him as a guy they can also play on the outside and really take the top off the defense. Right. That's a great point. Rob said, with all the new dbs, should anyone be concerned?

I guess he means the guys that were on the roster last year at dB. So. Yeah, so I think competition, and they keep saying they want to foster as much competition as possible at every position, and that right now nobody is guaranteed a starting job, so everybody should be concerned. But that's good thing, you know. Uh, And I don't know if I've ever said this before, but I don't think you can get enough depth of cornerback. So that

may be the first time I've ever mentioned that. Um So even if even I look at it the other way around, I don't look as like, oh my gosh, now we have too many corners, and I think it just means you've got you've got more talent to choose from there, and you're gonna end up with a with a deeper crew overall, because as our coaches, the new staff has pointed out several times, the problem, the main problem with the secondary last year was when guys got hurt,

and we did get a lot of guys hurt. The the experienced and ready to play depth wasn't there, So you got to get more of them and coach them up. Right. Yeah, that's a great point. Um, I'm going to combine like eight questions into one. Here we had a whole bunch of stuff about jpp Gerald, Karl Nessab, Noah Spence, all this stuff. So overall, let's just take a look at the defensive line, at what we know as of now, what we don't know, what that could end up looking like,

and what this offseason will need to tell us about that. Well, there's two different questions really, because Joe McCoy is really separate from the other people that were mentioned there. He's more in this defense down lineman. He'd probably be a perfect three four defensive end um and it wouldn't be a whole lot different than what he's used to doing. And as he said, which I think is accurate, he

can play in any defense. Um. But still, as you can see on a roster if you go to the website now where finally the positions that correspond to what these guys would play in this defense have been have been added. So like if you saw a guy named Jeral McCoy next, his name in previous years has always ad DT for defensive tackle. Right now it says d l uh Will Golston, who has been known as a defensive end. It's just as d L. But that's because he's one of the bigger front seven guys who will

be having his hand in the dirt. So when you're in your base three four you get you basically have a nose and to three four defensive ends, and those are bigger guys that might be called defensive tackles and a lot of defenses. So you got guys like I

think you have decent depth there. Obviously, I can't ignore the fact that there's some uncertainty about the future of Gerald McCoy and he's not here now, and and all that coach is saying about that now, which is what every coach would do in this situation, is Hey, I'm gonna talk about the guys that are here, ok so um if and when Gerald's here, then he becomes more of the conversation. But right now, who's here that plays

those down linemen. It's primarily your first round pick from last year, Vita Vea, who coaches can play all over the interior line but also does seem to be an extremely perfect fit as a nose tackle in the three four. Then you've got guys like Will Ghoston bow Allen and some younger guys or guys that really haven't had a shot yet, Like don't forget we still have Stevie two Colavato on this team. Uh, there's a bunch of other guys, Rocky Nunez Roches who played last year, Nacho is what

they call him. Um, So you've got those guys, and I think there's still a lot of depth, at least by numbers. We'll have to sort out which guys are really right to the top there. And then you got your outside linebackers, which is what Jason Peter Paul and Karl Massim and the others that you were saying there they comprise, and uh, those guys have to be a

little bit more versatile, like and Anthony Nelson. The rookie can stand up and rush off the edge, or he can put his hand in the ground when you're in sub packages in a four man line, or maybe even get some snaps as a three four to and svent a little farther inside. So they think he can do a lot of different things that are just confronted out what he does best. So it's there's a lot to

be sorted out there. Because it's a new defense with some new assignments and they're just getting their first looks at which guys are are really good at which responsibilities, Like maybe Noah Spence happens to be really really good at standing up and rushing off the edge in the three fore front, and so when you're in stamps like that, he gets still play more when you're in more of a four or three look than he doesn't. So we'll

find out. But there's a lot of depth. I don't think we're lacking for depth, but it's fair to say that there's not a lot of proven depth yet because if you look at it and you go, who amongst all these guys is going to give you five to seven sacks? Who's gonna give you ten sacks? I mean, if you're Jason Pierre Paul is not in the picture for some amount of time because it was a neck injury, that was your tin sack guy? Uh? Is it Karl Massive? I mean he would seem like the main one. Maybe

Noah Spence emerges. What does Anthony Nelson give you? Is vita vea pass rushing presence in the middle. A lot of questions still to be answered, and maybe it's just sends up being you get a decent pass rush out of a bunch of guys getting five or six sacks, plus some sacks from your linebackers when they're blitzing, your your safeties when they're blitzing, and things like that. So there's a lot to be sorted through there. That is

very true. All right. Well, thanks so much for joining us on this edition of Buccaneers Inside Are Live presented by Miller Lytton, and we'll see you next time.