redskin56 Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 Being geographically challenged to attend the only real training camp going on in the NFL in Ashburn, I decided to attend the Bucs training camp to see what the defending champs look like. I also wanted to see Tupa and Groom punting. I figure that one of these guys are going to be released and possibly picked up by the Skins to give Barker a run for his money. This is what I saw: Tampa did not impress me that much. Their team speed on offense did not seem to be impressive. The fastest WR looked to be Keenan McCardel (sp?). The defense was fast as hell. Their secondary blanketed the receivers in 7 on 7 drills and 11 on 11. They ran a lot of blitzes in the 11 on 11 drills. Brad Johnson would have had his head taken off a few times by Lynch and Barber. Brad Johnson's deep balls had a ton of air under them and the WRs were forced to run deep crossing patterns or flag patterns and catch the ball on the sideline to keep the defenders away from the throws. One player that really stood out during the 7 on 7 drills was Chris Simms. He's a lefty but has a great arm. He looked confused at times in the 11 on 11 drills and had one picked by Barber, but overall his armstrength and accuracy impressed me. Now for the reason I attended camp this morning. The punters..... I know I've only seen one practice, but, IMHO Tupa has the job locked up. He was hitting punts of up to 70 yards in the air (55 yards from the LOS). Just about every single punt he hit was a spiral that turned over. Groom was inconsistant. He had a few very good punts, but overall, he lacked distance and hang time. Tupa was booming punts that had atleast 4.5 to 5 second hang times. Groom's punts, although some of them were long, were more of a line drive with little hang time. He clearly was outlclassed by Tupa. I don't know how Barker has looked in this camp, but trust me, based upon what I saw today Groom may not be the answer. He had more end over end punts than spirals. Just my two cents. If anyone has any questions, I'll try and answer them. By the way, I'm jealous of all the posters here that actually have gotten to attend the Skins camp. I almost wore my Skins shirt to the practice today but more level heads prevailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeCarl Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 You probably would have gotten away with a Brad Johnson Redskin jersey. Nice report. I wish the Titans were practicing somewhere other than Nashville - I still might go, but I like isolated training camps. How were the crowds at the Bucs' camp? I'd imagine the reigning Super Bowl champs would be a draw, but training camps are surprising. Were you able to meet any of their players? I really enjoyed Carlisle because you had a realistic chance of striking a conversation with one of our guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Williams Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 being as that i was a punter for the past 7 1/2 years i understand the mechanics of a punt....... the goal of every punters kicks is to make it go end over end and enough hang-time for little or no return.... the only time a kick goes spiral is when you shank it or side swipe it on purpose....which takes away distance.......ex: tupas 6 yard SB kick.... it's actually a common misconception that a punt should go spiral....and that end over end kicks are bad ones.... only against the wind should you kick a spiral..... an end over end kick goes up and down fairly evenly....like a rainbow.....but a spiral kick goes up and falls rapidly. as for the punt that went spiral and turned over in mid-air I have never seen this happen and won't believe it till i see it. not even in an NFL game. a spiraled kick goes up spiraled and falls still spinning it doesn't turn over.....my old physics also couldn't explain how it could be done either.....when a spiraled kick hits the ground it turns over and goes forward....but not while in the air if you wish to argue this point about a punt turning over feel free to come over and show me how its done..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskeypeet Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 Did you by any chance see Thomas Jones? I'm actually curious for fantasy purposes. Was he running with the first team? Either way how did he look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDSKNfaithfull Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 About Punters Barthalomew has been blasting them out of the endzone the six practices I attended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsknbill Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 Who cares. Sorry but really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskin56 Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 How were the crowds at the Bucs' camp? I'd imagine the reigning Super Bowl champs would be a draw, but training camps are surprising. The stands were full. Probably about 600 people. The camp is at Disney's wide world of sports and the fields are surrounded by covered bleachers. Lots of people. I did get to meet John Lynch. I respect him as a player, but I wasn't thrilled because he isn't a Redskin (and I'm still pissed about that interception in the NFC divisional playoff in Tampa in 99). Did you by any chance see Thomas Jones? I'm actually curious for fantasy purposes. Was he running with the first team? Either way how did he look? He was running with the first team. He actually looks very good. He was fast. The had him shifting out of the backfield and going in motion settling into a split end set. He ran some good crossing routes and a few sideline fly patterns. He caught about a forty yard touchdown over one of the second string DBs from Brad Johnson. Overall I'd say that he'll probably start and play well this season. One other thing I forgot to mention, Shawn King looks better than I've ever seen him play (admittably I haven't watched many Tampa games). He sometimes looked better than BJ. His throws were crisp and accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskin56 Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 as for the punt that went spiral and turned over in mid-air I have never seen this happen and won't believe it till i see it. not even in an NFL game. OK I'll bite on this one........ Look, I see you say that you were a punter, that's great. At what level did you play? I was a long snapper throughout my football career (which included Division I NCAA). I spent more than my share of time with the punters and kickers, I believe that your comments about punting are a tad bit off. When I say that a punt turns over, this is what I mean. When the ball is kicked (and yes, in order to get a spiral it must come off the outside edge of your foot) the front nose of the ball is pointed skyward. At the apex of the ball's flight the nose "turns over" and points towards the ground. In essence the only part of the ball that "turns over" is the angle of the nose of the football. I have seen many, many punts. And I do say that if a ball is kicked with the same force and one is an end over end rotation and the other is a spiral, you will get more distance on the punt that is a spiral every time. As far as hang time goes, the farther the ball is kicked and the higher it goes, the more hang time you'll get. Simple physics will tell you that less wind resistance will allow the ball to travel through the air more freely and easily. A spiral travels with less wind resistance than an end over end kick. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a punter that can consistantly boom spirals 60 yards downfield than one that kicks an end over end punt that dies in mid air after 40 yards. Its only an opinion 2cents: , and your more than welcome to disagree. I'm just gald that we're both Redskins fans, atleast we can agree on that! : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Dollar Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hey thanks for the report. Very different from the others I've heard from Buc fans (imagine that ) BTW you should have wore your Skins Jersey. This is not Philly, We welcome fans and the Skins are no threat from a fans standpoint anyway, actually you'd probably get greetings because of Spurrier. You'd get more boos if you wore a Packer jersey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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