David Walker will receive significant action when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to New York for joint practices with the New York Jets next week. The second-year outside linebacker has impressed during training camp with daily wins and would-be sacks during team periods. Head coach Todd Bowles said Walker will get an expanded opportunity against the Jets.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel north Monday afternoon for the joint practices before playing a preseason game Friday. The sessions will give Walker additional opportunities to compete in New York. Bowles also said the coaching staff will begin dividing players into first-, second- and third-team groups after the Jets game.
“He works in with some of the other pass rushers at times but from a rep and rest standpoint, we have to kind of keep it equal right now,” said Bowles. “Right now, there is really no first, second or third team, we will start divvying it up after the Jets game. He will see a lot of action in New York against their guys as well.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense sets top-10 goal
Yaya Diaby said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense is hungry and has set a goal of finishing the season among the NFL’s top 10 defenses. He pointed to the contributions of A’Shawn Robinson, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches and Walker while describing the energy within the group. Diaby also said the energy helps more than the defense.
“Everybody is hungry,” noted Diaby. “It is like a little bit of everything. We got A’Shawn, we got Nacho (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches), everybody is hungry. David Walker has been having an amazing camp, Rueben is doing his thing and we just all bounce off each other, and it has just been good…I love the energy and it helps everybody, not just the defense…I want us to finish top-10 in defense.”
Robinson, Bredeson use battles to improve
A’Shawn Robinson and Ben Bredeson have used their repeated one-on-one battles to identify and correct weaknesses in their techniques. Robinson said the work allows both players to recognize flaws and learn ways to counter different styles. Their preparation will continue to provide a point of emphasis when Tampa Bay works with New York next week.
“We see everything and the flaws of our game and each other, seeing what other teams are going to see when they come by, we are looking at, ‘Hey, you are oversetting. Your inside hand is a little wide, when you come here, why don’t you just keep it inside the wrist and work inside?’” described Robinson. “We just teach each other ways of beating each other so that when we get that chance of going against somebody else with a different style or technique in a game, then we have all seen it and we understand it together and we are never behind the 8 ball.”
Source: Original report