August 26th, 2026
Joe already shared deep details of the Bucs-Jaguars 11-on-11 work to close practice yesterday.
And Joe delivered feedback on the sad state of practice from Josiah Trotter and Baker Mayfield. And Joe shared other practice stats and impressions. But wait, there’s more!
While there was success (video here) in 1-on-1 pass rushing from the Bucs defense, it was messy from the Bucs’ 1-on-1 pass blocking.
The offensive line seemed to lack an edge collectively. Joe noted being particularly disturbed by Graham Barton and Ben Bredeson. And fourth-string left tackle Paul Rubelt, who is getting a ton of first-team Wirfs because of injuries, looks so out of place. Joe believes Rubelt very much blew up the Bucs’ second preseason game and he had a significantly negative impact on practice yesterday overall.
Below are various additional nuggets from the offense’s day:
*Kameron Johnson dropped a punt. That won’t go over well as he tries to stick on the roster.
*Whaddya know, Tristan Wirfs takes his small handful of snaps — the Bucs are being careful with his healing hamstring — and Tampa Bay runs successfully behind Wirfs with Bukcy Irving.
*Baker Mayfield hits Chris Godwin on the next play with a 20-yard out route. Godwin was shoved hard out of bounds right at Joe. Thankfully, Joe still has the lateral quickness of Bobby Rainey.
*Bauer Sharp is a first-team tight end today and didn’t embarrass himself. He has a 12-yard catch in this session.
*All the “fights” Tuesday — and they were all minor compared to what the Bucs experienced with the Jets two weeks ago — were between the Bucs defense and the Jags offense.
*A dumpoff pass to Kenny Gainwell goes for no gain.
*Ted Hurst is special. He looked six inches shorter making the first defender miss on a receiver screen. Short gain but Hurst got the most out of it.
*Nothing special out of the Bucs’ run game today.
*Sean Tucker catches a nice short throw from Jalon Daniels.
*In red zone work, Baker Mayfield hits Payne Durham about the five-yard line. He fumbles but it’s ruled incomplete after the whistle. Joe was right at the five-yard line and sure looked like a catch and fumble.
*Rubalt allows very easily. This Rubalt is very easy to pile on.
*Joe wrote about the Ted Hurst fade catch here but it’s worth noting how damn talented Hurst is with the ball in the air. Todd Bowles was right.
*Incomplete to Tez Johnson. Joe’s not a big fan of Tez in the red zone.
*Sweet TD run by Tucker showcasing his shiftiness and power.
*Tristan Wirfs returns for a few snaps and, no surprise, it’s 30 yards down the seam for Hurst from Mayfield.
*Chris Godwin is hit going up for a pass, ball is tipped and it’s picked. Joe’s just happy Godwin isn’t hurt.
*Hurst for a 20-yard catch.
*Sweet sidearm Mayfield throw to Bucky Irving for a five-yard gain.
*Dead play. Play blown after like 5 seconds. Nobody open.
*Hurst runs a sweep. Fun! Very different look than when Sterling Shepard got the call.
*Hurst lays out on a 20+ yard ball to right side. Incomplete.
*A Mayfield completion to Tez Johson is a sack in the real world.
*Bredeson gets mauled on a stunt by Josh Hines-Allen.
*Mayfield short to Sharp.
*DROP! Bad one by Gainwell.
*Nice 15-yarder to Godwin down the seam. Get him off the field! Godwin is in “mint” condition.
*Mayfield with a throwaway followed by an old school slant to Godwin.
*Joe enjoyed chatting at practice with former Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and the guy who Todd Bowles replaced in 2019, former Bucs defensive coordinator Mark Duffner. Man, Duffner has stories to tell from The Lost Decade.
Leave a Reply