One down, 33 to go
The Bucs wrapped up their first practice, and here are some initial impressions:
The battle between Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall is going to be worth watching. Clayton, looking smooth and fast on his feet, caught everything he could get his hands on, including a ball thrown behind him in traffic. All that, only to be upstaged by a leaping catch by Stovall that earned ooohs from the crowd and high-fives from teammates. Stay tuned. If the first practice is any indication, the competition at No.2 receiver will be a highlight of camp.
Quarterback Chris Simms took what amounted to second-team reps during team drills, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11, taking his turn after Jeff Garcia and before Bruce Gradkowski. We'll see if the order changes in future practices. But coach Jon Gruden, when asked about Garcia, went out of his way to praise Simms' performance.
Overall, players caught a break with cloudy skies that kept temps in the 80s. We'll see what the thermometer reads at about 3 o'clock.
(Pictured: Michael Clayton. Times photo - Brendan Fitterer. Click to enlarge.)
Bucs Beat is the online destination for Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans interested in the latest news about the team. St. Petersburg Times reporters Rick Stroud, Stephen Holder, Dave Scheiber and Joe Smith will provide regular updates. Readers can comment on players, coaches, the front office - all of it.
hey how about that something positive came out of gruden mouth about simms. it is about time!
Posted by: aaron | July 27, 2007 at 12:36 PM
chris simms has a chihuahua
Posted by: phil simms | July 27, 2007 at 05:35 PM
SIMMS still has the strongest arm deep. GRAD does not have that, and GARCIA does not have that. clayton is on a mission to beat out stoval and i hope he does.
Posted by: ken chance | July 28, 2007 at 02:36 PM