Tampa Bay Buccaneers: What We've Learned Through Week 2 of Training Camp

The practice fields at One Buc Place are littered with the remnants of offseason rust and back-to-football jitters, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have wrapped up their second week of training camp.

Now looking ahead to their first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night, the Bucs are starting to gain a clearer picture of their 90-man roster after plenty of full-pad action despite the attempts of persistent rain to derail practice plans.

Tampa Bay has plenty of fresh faces on both sides of the ball, from rookies to veteran free-agent additions, as well as a new offensive scheme to break in under coordinator Dirk Koetter. The defense looks more comfortable in its second year in the Tampa 2, but depth at key positions could still be an issue as the Bucs inch toward the regular season.

What have we learned about the Pewter Pirates through two weeks of training camp?

Jameis Winston Showing Steady Improvement

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Many Bucs fans expect Jameis Winston to be the savior of their basement-dwelling franchise, but just a few practices into training camp, the top overall pick in this year's draft was struggling to adjust to the speed of NFL defenders in full-team drills.

But with some more full-speed action under his belt, the former Heisman Trophy winner is already showing signs of improvement, as Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com points out:

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Winston has shown noticeable improvement with his ball control this week compared to the first week of camp. The Bucs believe that improvement is only going to continue. The team likes to say that Winston has gotten better with each practice, and that's not a stretch. There has been steady progress, but Winston is far from a finished product.

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Fans should temper their expectations for the rookie quarterback—especially since he hasn't even taken a preseason game snap—but there's already plenty of progress to be cautiously optimistic about. It's a marathon, not a sprint, for Winston, but it looks like he could trot out to an early lead to start his NFL career.

Doug Martin Finally Healthy, Ready to Return to Rookie Form

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After an incredible rookie season that saw him rack up nearly 2,000 total yards and earn a Pro Bowl berth, Doug Martin has been plagued by injuries over the past two seasons and failed to live up to high expectations.

But the former first-round pick says he's ready to return to his 2012 form, and it all starts with staying healthy, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times:

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I've got to take care of my body. If I take care of my body and stay in my playbook, I'll be just fine. (Spending) more time in the training room, even if I'm not injured. It's all about injury prevention. That's something I'm going to do better.

Sky's the limit this year. A lot of potential going into this year with this team. We have a lot of weapons, a lot of guys with fire in them that want to be successful. I just can't wait to get out there with them.

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Martin has dropped 20 pounds since last season, which should allow him to be more explosive in his third NFL season. If Tampa Bay can improve its offensive line play, Martin could be in line for a resurgence in 2015.

Ali Marpet Getting a Crash Course, Not Buckling

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He may have been a second-round pick, but many expected the Bucs to bring offensive lineman Ali Marpet along rather slowly, considering he played his college football at tiny Hobart College in New Jersey.

But not only has Marpet already earned first-team reps at right guard, he's also pulling double duty and learning to play center. The Senior Bowl standout acknowledges it's quite a challenge, per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune:

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Teams only dress seven offensive linemen (for games), so your backup guards have to be able to play center. So that’s something I’m going to work on moving forward. I mean, learning to play guard right now is hard enough. Learning to play center is a whole other animal. But I’ll do my best and try to learn it from Evan (Smith) and the other guys.

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Marpet came out of nowhere to put on a fantastic showing during Senior Bowl week, and the Bucs wanted him so badly they traded back into the latter part of the second round to secure his services. They're throwing a ton of work at him early, but if he can handle it mentally, he has all the physical tools to become a quality starter sooner rather than later.

Bucs Have Athleticism at Linebacker Required of the Tampa 2

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Lavonte David is already a household name in Tampa Bay and a perfect fit in the Tampa 2, but the Bucs' other linebackers are starting to prove they have a strong unit across the board that's ready to take the next step in 2015.

Danny Lansanah is holding off rookie Kwon Alexander for the starting job on the strong side, showing his ability to play the pass so far in training camp, per Zach Shapiro of PewterReport.com:

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His strong performances throughout camp have clearly caught the attention of coaches, who now hold him to even higher standards. Despite forcing a turnover and providing great run support all afternoon, Lovie Smith pinpointed his two deflections (dropped INTs) as an aspect of his game that still needs improvement.

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In the middle, free-agent signing Bruce Carter is also the kind of rangy, athletic defender the Bucs need to man the deep middle in the Tampa 2.

Carter knows David's abilities set the bar for the rest of the unit, and he's taking advantage of being instructed by one of the best middle linebackers in Bucs history, per Shapiro:

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But (David) brings a lot to the table as far as his athleticism. My thing that I like about him is he is a playmaker. He can cover a lot of ground, he’s batting balls down, picking up balls, stripping, all that type of stuff. That’s what we need out of every player on our defense.

It’s great having a former player as a coach, especially a guy that played the position in Tampa. You can’t ask for anything more than that. Coach Hardy is a very demanding coach. If you are not doing it right he is going to let you know about it right then and there and I think the guys in the room really look up to that.

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Getting the right personnel together is vital when it comes to changing schemes on either side of the ball, and it looks like Tampa Bay's linebackers are ready to take it to the next level in 2015.

Bucs Not Ready to Give Up on Garrett Gilkey

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Garrett Gilkey had an opportunity to carve out a starting role with the Bucs last season, but he played about as poorly as an offensive lineman can, making mental errors and committing a penalty every 23 snaps.

Even Gilkey himself won't deny how badly he played, per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune:

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I’ve seen guys get cut in this league for a lot less.

It was a horrible year, truly horrible. I made a lot of mistakes, and when I look back on it I realize that all the problems were really self-inflicted, because I allowed some things that were going on in my life to supersede my focus on my work and that was evident on the field. It showed every weekend with the way I performed.

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Those things that pulled Gilkey's focus away from the game included losing a family member, who took her own life just before the former Cleveland Brown was set to start at center in place of an injured Evan Smith.

But the Bucs haven't given up on Gilkey, who has the versatility to play all three positions on the offensive line. Position coach George Warhop—who coached Gilkey in Cleveland—recognizes he's made improvements during training camp, according to Cummings:

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We drafted him (in the seventh round of the 2013 draft) when I was in Cleveland because he’s so big and he moves so well. And he’s a real smart guy, too.

Coming from a small school, I always thought he was a guy that just needed some time to figure things out up here, and now that he’s really getting an opportunity, he’s making the best of it.

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Many Bucs fans would shudder to think of Gilkey being in the starting lineup in 2015, but it looks like the team will give him every chance to bounce back from a terrible 2015 campaign.