LAKE BUENA VISTA - It didn't take the Bucs long to realize just how advantageous it is to have a climate-controlled indoor practice facility to run to when the heat is on.
Though they haven't used it for even a week yet, the Bucs already are seeing how their new indoor practice tent is allowing players to stay healthier and practice better.
Bucs coach Jon Gruden said it was not unusual in past years for a dozen or more players to require intravenous fluids after both the morning and afternoon workouts.
This year, with the Bucs retreating to their air-conditioned tent each afternoon, the number of players requiring IVs after the morning workout is way down and the number requiring IVs in the afternoon is zero, Gruden said.
"Cramping has been much reduced," said Gruden, who admitted to his team having a "very serious dehydration" problem last year. "Our new domed stadium has been very productive for us."
The Bucs are using the tent every day for about an hour, sometimes more. On Thursday, their entire afternoon workout, which consisted mostly of a walk-through of plays, was held indoors.
An indoor facility is something Gruden has wanted for years. In the past, whenever a storm crept up or the heat index reached triple digits, the Bucs retreated to a gymnasium, a hotel ballroom or canceled practice altogether.
This year they head for their new tent, which is set up just behind their regular practice fields, and even the players believe the benefits will show up come the regular season.
"I'm the kind of person who likes hard work, likes to be on the field, likes to sweat a little bit and get the grind going," safety Jermaine Phillips said. "But I think it's definitely beneficial."
Quarles: Lynch 'Ultimate Pro'
The news that former Bucs safety John Lynch had left the Broncos over a dispute about playing time didn't come as much of a shock to one of his former teammates.
Former Bucs linebacker and current Bucs scout Shelton Quarles said Lynch is not the kind of player who will hang around just to be a part of the team.
"John Lynch is the ultimate professional," Quarles said. "He's an unbelievable team guy, and he's not going to hang around until the wheels fall off. He's going to go out on top."
Lynch was expected to gain his release from the Broncos today. He's believed to have some interest in trying to catch on with another team, but there's a good chance he will call it quits and go into broadcasting.
Fullback Askew's Call To Duty
Like any other running back, the Bucs' B.J. Askew loves to score touchdowns. The problem is, he doesn't get the chance very often.
As a fullback, Askew seldom gets the chance to carry the ball, much less score. So Askew's biggest thrill nowadays is throwing a key block so someone else can score. And he loves doing that.
"I love to see a linebacker one-on-one in the hole, because I know the guys behind me are going to do what they have to do," Askew said. "Delivering a big, crushing block and seeing Earnest Graham running down there scoring a touchdown, that's my joy now."
The former Michigan tailback believes he could still score, too, if asked.
"I'll tease the other backs about it sometimes," he said. "We'll get back in the huddle and I'll tell them, 'Man, I would have broken that tackle. C'mon.' And I do lobby the coach a little bit and tell him I can do some goal-line running now."
Been There, Done That, Doing It Again
Jermaine Phillips is entering his seventh season as a member of the Bucs defense. He doesn't act like a seven-year veteran.
Phillips says he goes into every training camp acting like a rookie, because that's the best way for him to stay on top of the details that make a player successful in Monte Kiffin's Cover 2 scheme.
"I look at it like it's time for me to fight for a job, to fight for a roster spot," Phillips said. "So I'm in meetings taking notes just like I did when I was a rookie, even if it's things I already know.
"You never know it all. And I see Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber and they're doing the same thing. If they're doing it, there must be something right with it."