TAMPA, Fla. -- For all the attention the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense got this offseason, the defense has stolen the show at the start of training camp, even before the pads have come on.
On Saturday, safety J.J. Wilcox picked off a Ryan Griffin pass that bounced out of wide receiver Freddie Martino's hands during 7-on-7s. Wilcox also swatted the ball away from tight end O.J. Howard on a jump ball from Griffin.
"He made a couple plays on the ball today, getting it out," Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said of Wilcox. "He about took [wide receiver Bernard] Reedy's head off on one of those last ones. He's a big hitter."
Cornerback Brent Grimes leaped up into the air and plucked the ball out of Martino's hands on a pass from Jameis Winston. Grimes stripped the ball on what was initially a catch on an underneath pass to tight end Cameron Brate, and cornerback Javien Elliott broke up a pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Safety Chris Conte, who's been lining up with the first-team defense, broke up a deep pass and had a fumble recovery on back-to-back plays during 7-on-7s.
"That's confidence," Koetter said. "Our defense believes they can take the ball away and they feed off each other. Today, it was Vernon Hargreaves. He got it out a couple of times. It fires the other guys up."
During 7-on-7s, Hargreaves jumped a route on a pass from Winston intended for Donteea Dye Jr. During 11-on-11s, he knocked the ball away from DeSean Jackson on a deep pass downfield.
On an inside hand-off to running back Doug Martin, linebacker Kwon Alexander came right up the gut to stuff him.
To be fair, Jackson did get the best of the defense on two deep balls, with Hargreaves and safety Keith Tandy about a mile apart on one. There was much tighter coverage on the second, which was a juggling catch by Jackson.
But combined with the interception from Robert McClain and the fumble recovery by Robert Ayers on Friday, the unit is off to a strong start. The hope is that they can pick up right where they left off at the end of last season, even with some new faces.
"It's encouraging, growing our confidence early," linebacker Lavonte David said. "We are a lot farther along than we were at this point last year. It's amazing the progress we've had from last year until now."
In the first eight games of the season last year, the Bucs forced 11 turnovers, tied for 11th in the NFL. From Week 10 through Week 17, they forced 18, the most in the league. Thirteen of those turnovers came on interceptions, also a league best.
A big part of their defensive turnaround last year was communicating more effectively, which continues to be a huge point of emphasis.
"That's the way the defense rolls," David said. "Everybody's gotta talk, basically over-communicate, so that's what we're trying to do. Everybody, from the D-line front end to the back end, everybody is talking. ... That's the way [they are] trying to get this thing rolling, making sure everybody's on the same page."
Knocking the ball loose is also an area of focus. The pads don't come on until Monday, but it's a way the defense can assert itself at this point in camp.
"Attacking the football -- that's the way our defense plays," David said. "We've gotta attack the football, create turnovers and create punch-outs."
