TAMPA, Fla. — Wide receiver Vincent Jackson has never seen anything like this.
The veteran of seven NFL seasons, all with the San Diego Chargers, brings a fresh perspective to the Bucs and the inaugural minicamp of rookie Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano. And like the rest of his teammates, Jackson has been impressed by the thorough, high-energy style of the new regime.
“Honestly, this is the most efficient approach I’ve ever seen,” the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Pro Bowler said after a workout this week during the three-day voluntary camp. “Everything – the workouts before we started doing the organized things, the way he has the training staff working, our meals, our meeting time – is so precisely done and well-planned for the benefit of the players and the benefit of the team to maximize our time together. And it’s going to pay off.”
Jackson doesn’t even mind one back-to-basics drill Schiano has instituted: starting out on all fours, leaping up and then bursting into a full-out, 30-yard sprint.
“That’s fine for me,” he said, smiling. “I go out here and work just like everybody else. It’s refreshing for me to come out here and have that enthusiasm – I’m trying to get the young guys and have them chase me around. It’s exciting, and I think that energy is only going to continue to breed throughout the summer.”
While Jackson settles in with his new team, Bucs fixture Ronde Barber has been busy adjusting to a potential new role with his team of 16 seasons: shifting from corner to safety.
With the release this week of the hard-hitting Tanard Jackson, Schiano asked Barber to give safety work a try, and the 37-year-old iron man didn’t balk.
“I’m fitting where needed,” Barber said. “They know I can play corner. They know I can play inside. I’m where there’s a loose spot right now, which I’m all right with right now. There’s a lot to learn, but it’s good.”
Barber also gives a thumbs up to Schiano’s methods.
“The tempo’s good,” he said. “It seems like everybody is focused, which is what you want. He doesn’t leave any wiggle room. We’re a young football team, and we need some guidance. And he’s giving it to us. There an expectation level he has, and so far we’ve lived up to it.”
Accountability is one of the keys, Barber says.
“For a team that has as many young guys as we have, it’s hard to police yourself when there aren’t enough veteran guys to do (that),” he said. “So this is just what we need.”
From a personal standpoint, Barber says the transition has been easy during camp to playing the safety role. “There’s no transition – what I’ve done so far in this camp is really no different than me playing down in the box all these years,” he said. “… It’s just slowing my feet down from corner feet to safety feet. It’s a little bit of a learning curve with the verbiage and the assignments. But it’s nothing I can’t handle if need be.”
Schiano was particularly impressed how Barber has embraced the possible change.
"In my short time with Ronde, he is the epitome of a pro football player," Schiano said. "Having coached in this league — even though it was 15 years ago — I remember having the opportunity of being blessed to coach a few true pros. And Ronde is one of those guys.”
He singled out one particular play during practice that typified Barber’s professionalism: “There was a play that is kind of an everyday play you could go through the motions, and he did it like a first-year rookie trying to impress the coaching staff. And that, to me, is what a true pro is. He's trying to perfect his craft. I like what I see out there. I don't know if that's where he'll stay or not. But I really like the way he's attacking it. In the scheme we play, I think he can do it."
A sense of optimism has pervaded much of the proceedings, with players eager to put the 4-12 misery in the past. One such Buc is defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, whose season ended early last year due to a torn biceps muscle for the second straight season. He’s missed 13 games since Tampa Bay drafted him third overall in 2010. But McCoy says he’s on track to be ready by late July.
“I can’t give you a number now, but by training camp I’ll be 110 percent,” he said. “I’ll be plenty ready.”
McCoy doesn’t need to wait, however, to know how much he likes Schiano’s aggressive defensive scheme, oriented to stopping the run.
“We’ve been going through this going on three weeks, and we’ve kind of got it rolling,” he said. “We kind of have a feel of what it’s going to be like. And it really takes discipline to play this defense. It’s going to eliminate a lot of the mistakes we’ve had in the past. … We’ve kind of gotten a small view, and I think it’s going to be great for us.”
His description: “It’s just hard-nosed, just every gap is filled. And it’s not like every gap is filled. It’s like every gap is destroyed in some way. People running the ball on us – it’s not going to happen. That’s his mindset.”
Offensively, Jackson is excited about coordinator Mike Sullivan, hired away after working as quarterbacks coach for the Super Bowl champion Giants.
“He’s great – he’s a smart guy and obviously has great experience,” Jackson said. “I can see the excitement with him in every meeting we have. So it’s fun playing for a guy like that.”
Jackson feels the same way about Schiano and his detailed approach, especially in a league in which winning and losing can hinge on inches.
“It’s so important,” he said. “Every meeting you have, every opportunity you have to step out on this field – whether it’s a walk-through or a full-speed practice – you have an opportunity to get better. You have an opportunity to learn something. You have a meeting, and it’s an opportunity to write something down you’ll need in November in the third quarter.
“That’s what he wants us to do. That’s what he harps on – everybody give him their eyes, follow the speaker. When you’re tracking the speaker, you understand and receive things better. Just things like that are new for all of us, but it’s great.”
NOTES: Schiano dismissed an Internet rumor that the Bucs are shopping controversial cornerback Aqib Talib, whose felony firearms trial in Texas has been moved to June. “Only because there are some extenuating circumstances, I am going to comment on this – usually I won’t,'' Schiano said. "Because in this day and age with all the blogs and Internet deals, if I commented on everything, it would be an every-day task. But because there is a little bit of a history with Aqib, all I can tell you is there is absolutely zero thinking on our part as far as wanting to do that.
"I want him to be a Buc. I understand there have been issues before I arrived. I do know that. And I'm not naïve to the fact that some of those are a heck of a lot bigger than just playing football. But I am really hopeful that that clears itself up, because I met him for the first time, he’s done everything I’ve asked and he’s practiced well and prepared well. I try not to judge people other than on how they’ve treated me, and he’s treated me well. So I don’t how how that all got started, but no, there’s no truth to that.
Schiano says he and his staff are finished dissecting last year’s tapes and are eager to focus on new tape going forward: “I don’t even want to watch last year’s tape. Now we finally have our own tape, and that’s what I want to watch. We’ve studied ad nauseum last year’s tapes – offense, defense and special teams. We’re kind of moving forward now.”
He added that he couldn’t wait to watch Wednesday’s footage, especially of quarterback Josh Freeman “because he made two or three throws out here were big-time NFL throws.”
