The Heat Is On at Bucs Minicamp

“I don’t think anybody is where they need to be right now,” said Bowles. “It’s Training Camp where you need to be where you’ve got to be. So right now, there are guys that are in shape that could afford to lose a few pounds and there’s guys out of shape that are really under-weight. So, we’re trying to take care of that right now [and] we’ll worry about it in Training Camp.”

This week’s minicamp, the only mandatory part of the offseason program for veterans, will bring an end to that program and players will be on their own for about seven weeks before the start of training camp. This part of the year is for laying the foundation so that when training camp does arrive the players will be in position to begin competing for jobs. Those competitions become harder when a player is also battling the heat. Fatigue sets in quicker, which can affect a player’s performance both physically and mentally. Bowles hammered that second part in particular to start this week.

“Today he was just big on playing fast and playing smart,” said Jensen. “The message has always been to play smarter. Playing gritty and playing tough is part of the game, but also playing smarter. That’s one of the things that has been preached.”

Overall, Bowles was pleased with the team’s efforts on Tuesday.

“The effort was there,” he said. “The effort was there, and guys were enthusiastic about it. We got some things done fundamentally, but we still have a long way to go.

“Physically, they were fine. Mentally, they understood everything. Just seeing it and getting back into the flow of things is what they’ve got to get used to. But for the most part, they were good.”

There was another factor besides the weather adding intensity to the Buccaneers’ work on Tuesday: Tom Brady. The Buccaneers’ quarterback had not taken part in OTA practices but was back in the action and in midseason form, motivationally-speaking, on Tuesday.

“Besides Tom as the player – Tom as the leader, that’s what he does,” said Jensen. “He…