TAMPA, Fla. -- Five altercations broke out on Day 2 at joint practice between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TBC) and Tennessee Titans (TN), despite Bruce Arians, the Bucs coach, and Mike Vrabel declaring that they had zero tolerance for fighting prior to the practices.
"A lot grown men compete with emotion. These things happen. "Just got to protect my brothers," Devin White, Bucs' inside linebacker, said.
Jamel Dean, Bucs cornerback: "It is hot, intense and we are just competitors. Yesterday, I felt like we didn’t play up to our standards. So there was a lot of emphasis on getting out there today.
Many Bucs players agreed with Dean, saying that they felt the Titans were practicing more intensely Wednesday. The Bucs appeared to be in control on Thursday, as Arians said that starters wouldn't play Saturday, and they needed to practice Thursday.
Chris Godwin, wide receiver, stated that the intensity was higher today. "It felt like it is always on the second day at joint practice in the heat."
Vrabel said, "It was awful." From what I saw offensively, we did not do well. I don't believe we competed as well today. There are many reasons. They are just not good enough. They were clearly better today. We'll watch how we react and then take to coaching and play Saturday.
Things heated up quickly
Bucs wide receiver Antonio Brown complained to Titans cornerback Chris Jackson that he was being held during a one-on-1 match. Brown confronted Jackson and tore off his helmet before Clayton Geathers tried to stop it. Louis Murphy, a Bucs intern at training camp, pulled Brown away from Jackson. Brown briefly left the practice for cooling down, before returning.
The next was a fight between Titans wide receiver Fred Brown, and Bucs cornerback Herb Miller. It took place during a punt time that was ended on the ground with Brown winning. K.J., the Bucs' inside linebacker, was injured in a special team play. Britt and Titans linebacker Nick Dzubnar had to be separated.
White and Titans wide receiver Cam Batson wrestled to the floor during a run play. White claimed he was only protecting a teammate. Vrabel ran to help, as teammates surrounded him.
"I was trying to help one my brothers. White stated that he had just witnessed one of his brothers get tossed about, so he was just trying to help him. "We all started tossing around. ... It was one of our corners or one of our DBs. It happened after a play. It was after a run play. These emotions were going. You compare your jersey to two jerseys of the same color. You just want your guy to be happy.
The fifth spat was when defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons got in a fight with Bucs running back Leonard Fournette. Simmons refused to let go, and Bucs center Ryan Jensen responded.
Simmons stated, "That's something coaches talked about yesterday before our first get out here." It's football. It's very competitive. Many men want to be competitive. We are competing for jobs and a spot. It's football, the most competitive sport in the world. There will be men talking trash, and guys chipping away. We don't want to see punches or any other type of violence.
Both coaches took a firm stance against fighting during the practice, but they played down Thursday's incidents.
"The fighting?" Arians stated that he didn't see any fighting. "A lot of pushing, shoving. However, I didn't see any fists."
Arians may not have seen Brown punching in practice, as there were multiple simultaneous ones. It was captured on camera during the practice session that allowed still photography. Arians replied, "Nah." Waving flies."
Arians shrugged when Arians was asked if he would issue punishments if, after he watches the tape again, it appears that punches were thrown, or things got outof control.
Vrabel and Titans veteran guard Rodger Safold downplayed the drama.
"Our job is perform football plays. Vrabel stated that there will be no sidebars or altercations. "I get it. It's very hot out there. It's hot out there. These things happen."
"I'm too old to be a man. It's so old that I can't even see it. It's only 50 yards away, so I just rested and chilled," Saffold stated. It's part and parcel of the sport. They were on fire today. Yesterday was a great practice. This is what you want. It's a race. It's very hot. It's hard work, but it's worth it as long as no punches are thrown.
This report was contributed by Turron Davenport, ESPN.
