OTA Summary - Wednesday May 13

The press was let inside the OTA yesterday, so I was able to get a little scoop about what happened there.

There were actually several players not in attendance besides just Kellen Winslow. Brian Griese, Barrett Ruud, Arron Sears, Maurice Stovall and Josh Bidwell were all missing. Again, these are voluntary, but with new schemes on both sides of the ball, you’d think Ruud, Stovall and especially Sears would be interested in getting as much exposure as possible. Bidwell doesn’t matter so much and Griese is most likely on his way off the roster anyway.

Byron Storer was also missing, but he has apparently been injured.

Luke McCown still looks like the sharpest quarterback. Byron Leftwich was all right, but his timing with the receivers is off. Lots of balls thrown behind guys and several were batted away and not put in good position. Josh Johnson is still not that accurate, although he seemed to be throwing with more speed.

Derrick Ward is an excellent receiver and sets up his screens nicely.

Clifton Smith took plenty of reps with the offense. I hope they find a way to use him in more than just special teams. But he did also field punts from a JUGGS machine.

Dexter Jackson also fielded some punts as well as run with the offense. He may not have a spot on this team if he doesn’t pick it up. I am told the defensive backs took turns beating him to the ball. Torrie Cox, even with two reconstructed knees, is faster than Dexter Jackson. If he doesn’t have speed and he doesn’t have hands and he doesn’t have size, what good is he?

Antonio Bryant played with a vengeance. His transitions are so smooth and he catches absolutely everything.

Kelly Campbell is faster than advertised. He got behind everyone in a hurry to catch a well-placed ball from Leftwich deep.

I asked about Michael Clayton but didn’t get any news about him except regarding his socks. See above.

Rod Wilson played in place of Ruud. I actually didn’t realize the Bucs were so thin at middle linebacker, but I guess Wilson is the best backup. Almost everyone else is an outside linebacker. Isn’t Niko Koutouvides supposed to work the middle?

Jermaine Phillips is the starting weakside linebacker. Joe Barry commented that the “experiment” with Phillips is over and he is now officially a linebacker. He still wore #23, though.

Quincy Black is ready to hit stuff. I’m told he was disappointed that these are no contact. He may be feeling heat from Angelo Crowell, although Crowell was limited in practice.

Tanard Jackson looks faster than last year. He is taking these OTAs very seriously. Unsurprisingly, Sabby Piscitelli played first string at the other safety position.

Right now, Ryan Sims is the first string under tackle. Is he even called an under tackle anymore in this new scheme? He’s playing next to Chris Hovan, whatever you want to call him.

For a big guy, Jimmy Wilkerson can jump.

That’s the last OTA for the week. They’ll pick it up again next week.