Anthony Piroli & Jessica Pastuf: The Strive for Success | Bucs Total Access

Team Reporter Casey Phillips sits down with Buccaneers Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Anthony Piroli and Director of Performance Nutrition Jessica Pastuf following the Week 14 game against the New Orleans Saints. They discuss the responsibilities each player holds, the science behind the data, and the importance of sticking to a schedule.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Three. What's three? This is Buccaneers Total Access with head
coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
That the hell of a job going back, go back, Go.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Robin bag of those are sideline route.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
It is pot Pauw, Pop Paul, my Cabots or the
guy try all over it touch down, Tampa Bay Fire,
the Canets, get up going. Talk to you by Advent
Health whether you're in the stands, on the field, or
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Speaker 3 (00:32):
Make sure you're ready for game.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Day and every day feel hole with advent Health Exclusive
Hospital of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fire the Cannons. Now
your host, Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips and head coach
Todd Bowles.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
Welcome into the Todd Bowl show Casey Filter here with
head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 5 (00:51):
Tough one at home. I know division opponent.

Speaker 4 (00:53):
What were just your big picture takeaways in the message
to the team in the locker room afterward?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
The biggest thing is wait did next acute? When we
had a chance to execute? We had plenty of chances
in all three phases to make plays. Starts with myself
coaching included. All the coaches got to do a better
job and the players got to execute better. The biggest
takeaways were too many plays left on the field.

Speaker 4 (01:14):
Is it almost kind of a blessing in disguise to
be on a Thursday week because of the fact that
you get to just turn around so quickly to try
to rehab a game like that, Or is it tough
to not have a little bit more time to diagnose
and sort out.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
No, it's a blessing that you get to play right
away and try to get the taste out of your mouth.
But it's tough preparing because you still have some bitter
feelings from the last game and you got to try
to get rid of those.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
So, I know, run game became, you know, it's always important,
became even more important with the rain and the conditions.
You guys got over one hundred rushing yards for the
ninth time this season, which is tied for the fourth
most by any team this season.

Speaker 5 (01:49):
What did you think of the run.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
Game overall, using all three of your backs and how
each of them looked.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
I thought it went in spurts. I thought in the
first half we struggled a little bit. I think once
Sean went in initially in the second half, we got
things moving and then Bucky got going and Rashat he
got going after that. But I thought it struggled a
little bit in the first half. It picked up someone
in the second half.

Speaker 4 (02:09):
Yeah, Shawn Tucker's touchdown, there's that drive. You know, he
and Rashad were getting a lot of work, especially in
the rain, and seemed like a really good answer to
their touchdown drive as well. What worked well that specific
drive and what you saw from Shawn's touchdown run.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
He did a good job getting downhill. I thought the
offensive line came alive, and he runs great behind his
paths and he's tough to bring.

Speaker 4 (02:27):
Down after Yeah, starting the day with thirteen carries for
just twenty yards, then Bucky ended up with a touchdown,
and he got that one thirty two yard run with
about seven and a half minutes left in the game,
which was his longest carry of the season to this point.
What did you see is the difference in early on,
when Bucky wasn't necessary getting those yards per carry that
were kind of accustomed to him, to then kind of

(02:47):
exploding a little bit more at that thirty two yarder.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
I think he had to adjust early on with the weather.
He's trying to jump cut and do all the side
of the side stuff, and you know, in that type
of weather, you got to get going downhill. And I
think he adjusted well in the second half and started
getting downhill.

Speaker 4 (03:01):
We saw at one point he came out limping a
little bit, but then clearly went on to do amazing
things in the game after that. So is he good
to go health wise at this point?

Speaker 5 (03:09):
After that game, he's good to go.

Speaker 4 (03:11):
And then three of thirteen on third down offensively, I
know those are not the numbers that you would strive for.
What did you see in terms of whether it be
third and short, third and long? Was it kind of
the same issues across the board with it or unique
situations a little bit different?

Speaker 2 (03:25):
They covered some, we dropped some. We got to execute
better a lot better on third down. We had a
chance to keep some drives going between third and fourth down.
I think you know, I was part of the ball
game not with the tailtail right there. We just couldn't
execute and get it done.

Speaker 4 (03:40):
How similar or different was the situation on fourth down?
Because I know you guys ended up two of seven.
What were kind of some of the biggest struggles to
convert there?

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Their biggest ones EARLYI were fourth and one. You know,
we got to be able to get a yard. You
want us think in this league that you can get
a yard, and they kind of stuffed us the first game,
and they stuffed us this past game too, So we
got to get better there from either blocking it or
scheming it. Either way, we got to get better there.
As it got down later in the game. The fourth downs,
we had to go for a couple of them. We
had one, we dropped one but we didn't execute, and

(04:10):
we were close on one that we didn't get. But
we got to do better on fourth down.

Speaker 4 (04:15):
Yeah, I mean that was going for seven of them,
tied for the most fourth down attempts in franchise history.
I know, like you said, some of the late ones
you had to go for because of game situation. But
leading into it, what are all the factors making that decision,
and especially when it comes to the weather that day
and what was going on offensively, and what made you
guys end up in a situation where you did have

(04:36):
to go for so many fourth downs.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Well, first of all, no matter where the ball is
on the field, you know, if it's fourth and one
and the ball is that around midfield or even past midfield.
Those are easy decisions. You try to go for that
because you want to get one yard and you want
to keep the drive alive. You don't want to go
back and go for it if you're on the minus
twenty or even to minus thirty unless it's really fourth
and inches and those type of things. So as it

(04:58):
gets across midfield, then extend to maybe fourth and two
or fourth and three are those type of things. As
long as you're not going forward on fourth and eight,
nine and ten and have those type of chances, you
have a pretty good chance and a pretty good field
that you're going to get those. In that kind of weather,
you don't know how many chances you're going to get
down there and get across from that side of the
field again, and there's a difference when you're not in

(05:19):
field goal range yet, but you really don't need to
plant it either. So few of them decisions were made
that way. Obviously I made them all, and you know,
they just didn't work out.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
Baker started the game eight for eight and then went
zero for five and just in general struggled with completion
percentage and production a little bit after that opening.

Speaker 5 (05:37):
Stretch, What did you see as the way.

Speaker 4 (05:39):
He was able to start pretty hot from the eight
of eight standpoint, and then what seemed to shift.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
The weather picked up, especially in the second quarter after
the first drive. I think the weather picked up pretty good,
and you know, we dropped a few guys were slipping
here and there, and we just couldn't get in the
rhythm offensively throwing the football, doing the things we wanted
to do.

Speaker 5 (05:57):
What did you see that happened on his interception?

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Really in that second half, it looked like to me,
Cam pulled up a little bit. I thought he made
a good break on it, bake it, throt on timing.
I think the receiver pulled up a little bit and
it was unfortunate and they made a heck of a play.
I know.

Speaker 4 (06:12):
Overall he ended up finishing fourteen to thirty one twenty two,
one touchdown, one interception. A big picture of his game,
how would you evaluate what he was able to do
despite a lot of the circumstances.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
I think the circumstances I thought he played tough. He
played tough. Obviously the numbers weren't going to be great
in those conditions, but minus the turnover, he played tough.
He gave us a chance we just couldn't execute all
the way around.

Speaker 4 (06:34):
He ended up converting two different third and eighths with
his legs, got his sixteenth and seventeenth third down conversions
of the season with his legs, which is second most
only to Josh Allen, who we know is pretty stellar
at that How did you see that part of the
game looking, knowing that there have been stretches where health
wise he wasn't quite able to do that as much,
even last week saw I'm maybe sliding a little bit more. So,

(06:54):
how did that part of his game look this week
compared to in recent weeks?

Speaker 2 (06:58):
I think in the last two weeks, even feeling a
lot better. You can see him moving a lot better.
He's not taking as many chances, but when he does,
he makes some great runs for us. So I'm very
happy with his scrambling.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
When you look at the final offensive drive to in
the game, just missed it by just this tiny little
amount on that last conversion there. What stands out about
that drive and that final play and some of the
things that you think the offense will take from that
and learn moving forward, Well.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
First and second down didn't help us. You know, we're
incomplete on first and second down. You want to get
five to five here and there. I think the downfield
throws really put us in bad situations. So we got
half back on third down and we came up pulled
up just short and fourth down.

Speaker 4 (07:36):
Casey Phillips here with head coach Todd Bowles. Benjamin Chuck
Wooma getting his first start in place of Tristan. Just
yet again, another offensive line combination to throw in there over.

Speaker 5 (07:47):
The course of this season.

Speaker 4 (07:48):
Tell me a little bit about the decision that was
made to have him there as compared to Charlie Heck
and win. Throughout the week, you guys started realizing that
this was going to be the decision and not have Tristan.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Well kind of new Tristan was pretty sore. When Tristan's sore,
you know, that's tough because he can handle a lot
of things. But she had a great week of practice.
He's been practicing well all year. We think he's a
diamond in the rough. He's a very good athlete. He's
a very strong player, and as he got more comfortable
with the system, you can see him practicing better and better.

(08:19):
And I thought out there, I thought he played great.
I thought he played a great ball game going up
against Chase Young, who was having the heck of a year.
But you really held his own and he made some
plays for us, and I think we got one right there.

Speaker 4 (08:30):
How much had that sort of affected the game planning
as well of when are you trying to maybe have
tight ends or running backs for other people help out
on that side, And at what point did you feel
like maybe you could trust him a little bit more
on his own out there.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
We trusted him going in, but you really don't know.
Obviously you want to chip just to see just in case.
But he held his own very well and he played
a good ballgame.

Speaker 4 (08:51):
And then of course, losing Bretison midgame. It's one thing
when you're losing a guy before and you get a
chance to game plan a bit and be prepared, and
then not only is it a new guy there, but
now Brettison, the guy next to him, goes down as well.
How did you see Michael Jordan's step in and just
overall what losing Brettison meant midway through the game, where
now that that whole side is a little bit different,
you lose.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Some communication obviously with you being new and now Jordan
going back in after Ben takes all the reps, and Ben,
along with Graham, makes a lot of calls up there,
so it really affected us from a communication standpoint. But
Jordan came in and battled. Obviously, he battled, and he's
very good in the pass pro and he made some
good run blocks as well.

Speaker 4 (09:28):
I know we saw a Mecca have a drop at
the end of the game, and just in general recent weeks,
the production hasn't been quite what it was to start
the season. He's had to take a lot of the
wide receiver one reps in recent weeks as well. What
have you seen of why his numbers haven't maybe been there,
And just the message to him after a tough drop
like that as a rookie.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
Well, teams adjust to you after they see you you're
playing well the first couple weeks of the season, they're
gonna make adjustments. And with Mike going down and Chris
and j Mack going down and you're kind of being
enemy number one to everybody else from opposition standpoint, they
pay attention to you. So some of the production went
down that way. The drops. We trust him. He had
some of the best hands on the teams, just uncharacteristic

(10:10):
and I'm sure he'll shake that and get over it.

Speaker 4 (10:13):
Zion got his first interception of the season. What did
he do well on that play and just what that
meant to get him that interception as well?

Speaker 2 (10:20):
Did a very good job press Bail and I think
the quarterback and receiver on different pages as well. The
receiver stopped, the quarterback kept throwing the ball, and Zion
kept running and made a heck.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
Of a play.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
Tell me through the ups and the downs of the
season for him, where you see him playing at now
that we're entering that crunch time of the season, and
just where he's at kind of mentally and what he's
been doing x's and o's wise of to finish out
this season.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
I thought it was one of his better games in
the last three or four weeks. I thought he played
a lot better. His confidence was back, his feet were quick,
he was aware of some things. You can tell he
knew what was going on, and he looked like the
guy to start the season.

Speaker 4 (10:55):
And then the same time he got that first interception,
we saw Chris Braswell get that first sack of the season,
and for him, what did he do well in that play?

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Brad's played one of the toughest games up there. He
really came off the ball this game. He was very
physical with the offensive lineman and he was in the
backfield most of the time when he was in there.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
Are they two of the guys that you see kind
of hitting their stride at the right time, and in general,
who are some of the other guys that maybe, as
we're hitting again that crunch time, you feel like are
really hitting some of their better football this season.

Speaker 2 (11:22):
I think bat is playing very good football. He's really
hitting his stride going forward coming in there. Levonte's been
steady the entire time. Win's been playing at a high level,
really playing at a high level for a long time.
It was great to see when we had been back,
Brettison was playing some really good football, so you wanted
to see that. But between Sean and Rashad and then

(11:43):
Bucky coming back, I think those three guys are playing
at a very high level.

Speaker 5 (11:47):
We saw the braswell.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
Sack. Vita got a sack, Greg Greg Gaines got a
sack after he had to escape the pocket a little bit.

Speaker 5 (11:54):
What is it to you to see those sacks all.

Speaker 4 (11:57):
Kind of coming from your front four typical positions and
how did you feel about the pressure from them as
compared to maybe having to blitz as much.

Speaker 2 (12:04):
Starting to work together? You know, before the weather got bad,
they were starting to work together and they were really penetrating,
helping each other get back there and creating those sacks.
I think Yah yah helped create Veto or Greg Sach
going up and under and having those guys wrap around
come under there. So when they start doing those type
of things, you really see more from the interior, so
you know they're working well together.

Speaker 4 (12:23):
And then I know that in general, you guys have
had to have the third highest blitz rate in the
league going into this game. How much do you feel
like that is still something that you need to rely
on or do you feel like now you're front four
you can trust a little bit more to get it
done without having to rely on that as much.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
You want to trust them a lot more. We've trusted
them a lot more, so we've backed off a little
bit from the past ones that we've been doing. With
the front four getting there and more and more and
what guys banged up on the back end, we're going
to need to rely on those guys a lot more.

Speaker 5 (12:51):
I know that again, that opening drive.

Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's tough when you're having to start defensively with that
kind of field position. After that kick return, what did
you see is what the defense kind of struggled with
to be able to get that stopper turn into a
field goal after starting already kind of buying the sticks
of it.

Speaker 2 (13:07):
Oh, once you start that way, it's just a matter
of not trying to let them get any more. So
now you're playing not to give them any yards. So
any checkdown that goes for five yards, you got to
make sure you don't blow your top on that type
of deal, and you got to try to put a
lid on it as fast as possible.

Speaker 4 (13:22):
After that drive, you guys held them to just seventy
four total yards of offense in the first half. What
did you feel like you guys were doing well defensively
to be able to manage a number like that.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
Well, stopping the run was number one, limiting them from
running the football, and then making sure we tackle the
quick throws because we knew he was getting the ball out.
I thought that was critical to start the ball game.

Speaker 4 (13:41):
I know you guys were able to stop them on
a turnover on downs with one minute left in the game.
That was obviously an incredibly important defensive drive at the time.

Speaker 5 (13:48):
And what did you see that worked?

Speaker 4 (13:50):
Well? That lets you guys do that to give the
offense that last chance.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
Well, they were running the ball. We knew it was
a pride thing. We had to stop the run and
we had a chance on third down to make a
play on the eye lines of the ball went through
our hands. Got to come down with those plays.

Speaker 4 (14:03):
I know both Taike and Hassan were injured on that drive.
Where do they both stand for this next week? And again,
knowing it's a short week without a lot of time
to recover injury wise, We're.

Speaker 2 (14:13):
Going to see how they feel and take it day
by day. Right now, they're day by day and we'll
know more on Wednesday or Thursday morning.

Speaker 4 (14:19):
If Taike isn't able to go, He's been such a
consistent presence on that defense plane at such a high level.
What are the ways that you feel like you would
try to make up for that both and just putting
you know, Christian Izzi in out there potentially, but just
all of the ways that other people might have to
alter to try to, you know, make up for someone
like Taike who's making such big plays well.

Speaker 2 (14:39):
Izzy would definitely go out there. We have full trust
in him and we know he could play. They're different
type of players, but we would have to tweak some
things here and there defensively, so nobody will really have
seen that yet, so it'll probably be to our advantage.

Speaker 4 (14:51):
I know that Shuck had the thirty four yard rushing
touchdown on the first drive of the second half and
then that thirteen yard one with about eight and a
half left in the game. What went wrong in both
of those plays and what was he able to do?

Speaker 3 (15:03):
Well?

Speaker 2 (15:03):
Oh, misfit, There were really two misfits. He ran it.
Give it credit to him, but we were always supposed
to be those plays that don't happen.

Speaker 4 (15:11):
And then I know we talked a little bit about
the struggles of that opening kickoff and the position to
put the defense in. But what did you notice about
the actual kickoff return itself? And has it been similar
issues to other ones where they were large kickoff returns.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
It was similar because it went outside somehow. We always
seem that it starts in the middle and goes outside.
We got to do a much better job on the outside,
or we just got to start kicking it out.

Speaker 4 (15:34):
How about the rest of the special teams units and
Chase and Riley and what you saw from that whole
group during the game.

Speaker 2 (15:40):
Chase and Riley had been great. Riley keeps putting it
inside the twenty, obviously, Chase makes all his kicks, and
you know, we just got to keep moving from there.

Speaker 4 (15:47):
What did you see is the effect the rain had
on each side of the ball and how you felt
like everybody handled it. I know you said you guys
had done somewhat ball drills leading up to it. Did
it feel like guys were handling it as well as
possible or were there things maybe that we learned about
being able to play in the rain more effectively.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
We handled it well. You know, it's just a matter
of adjusting your entire passing game we're played that you
want to run, you can't really run, and it's more
or less screens or boots or quick throws or short
throws or more catching run type of deals as opposed
to down the field throws where you know that rain
or the win is going to take it out of
it and you don't have that kind of timing and

(16:24):
everything's a little bit off and the receivers are slashing around,
so you got to make adjustments understanding what kind of
game you want to play. I thought for the most
part we played a tough game, but when we had
to throw, we just couldn't execute.

Speaker 4 (16:37):
And then, I know, we haven't gotten a chance to
talk to you since Baker was named the Walter Payton
Man of the Year nominee for the team, and I
know you got to introduce that.

Speaker 5 (16:44):
At huddle after practices last week.

Speaker 4 (16:46):
Just tell us a little bit about what he's meant
on and off the field of the team and how
proud you are to see him get that nomination.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
I mean, I'm sure he doesn't care one way or
the other, but he does so many things and tries
to avoid all the attention when he does it. He
does so many things in the community and from a
charity standpoint, his own charity or anyone else's charity at
that And whether it's players in the locker room, whether
it's maintenance here, whether it's people in the cafeteria, whether

(17:13):
it's people he sees out on the street, he tries
to help everyone. And he does it when the camera's
not around. And that's when you know it's genuine. When
guys don't look for the attention and do the things
that he's doing and just does it out of the
goodness of his heart. You know, he's a heck of
a guy and couldn't be more deserving of it.

Speaker 4 (17:31):
Casey Philips here with head coach Todd Bowles. So now
facing the Falcons. Pros and cons of when you have
a short week it being against a division team. Is
there some familiarity that helps or is it almost tougher
because how important it is?

Speaker 2 (17:43):
Well, I think it's one and the same. I think
they're all important in a short week no matter what.
Both teams have it. You just don't want to do
the traveling. So we're not doing the traveling. So that helps.
But you got to go out and play and it's
going to be a very fundamentally sound game and it's
gonna you got to fundamentals and technique to win this
ball game.

Speaker 4 (18:03):
Looking back at the last matchup, what are I mean?
It feels like forever ago now and a lot has
changed for both teams. What are the biggest similarities and
differences that are standing out to you as.

Speaker 5 (18:10):
You game plan?

Speaker 2 (18:12):
They play great on defense, they fly around, they really
get after it, and obviously you got to stop Bijon
being number one. Pits has really come on as a
receiver with London being out, so a lot. Not much
has changed as far as what we got to stop
and what we gotta do on offense against their defense.
And it's a division game, it's a dog fight. It's
a game we need. We can throw our own destiny,

(18:33):
so we gotta fight.

Speaker 4 (18:34):
And then Kirk Cousins, you know, not exactly the typical
backup quarterback to be coming in to face. What have
you learned about him over the years and what can
make him particularly challenging to face?

Speaker 2 (18:43):
Extremely smart, very accurate with the football, understands the offense
inside and out. It's probably seen every blitz known to man.
Knows where to go with the ball. So we gotta
be tight. We got to tighten our screws in all aspects.

Speaker 4 (18:56):
I know, guys like Xavier watch Jesse Baits five interceptions
between the two of them, what do you see on
their back end? It's so tough to face from an
offensive standpoint.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
Instinctive and intelligent. You know, they work well off of
each other. When you got an instinctive and tough tandem
like that, they don't get fooled by much.

Speaker 4 (19:13):
I know, Drake London, if healthy, definitely a crazy weapon
for them. Kyle Pitts creates his own stuff. So you
mentioned you know, of course Beujon is the focal point
for a lot of things, but what about some of
the other weapons in the ways that you've seen that
they can really contribute.

Speaker 2 (19:25):
Well, they got money back, obviously, he's a deep threat
for us and for him, and he's very quick as well.
And they got Devin Tompkins that can make some reverses
and play for him. And Stills has come on and
become a heck of a receiver for him as well.

Speaker 4 (19:38):
And finally, just kind of this schedule for players and coaches,
what are the things that you guys try to do
to make sure they're recovered. But that also everybody is
as prepared as possible.

Speaker 2 (19:46):
You got to hydrate, number one. You got to make
sure you get your treatment and take care of your
body best you can. It's going to be a mental
week obviously, it's not as much physical going on with
the game yesterday, and then we got to be ready
to make sure were fresh on Thursday.

Speaker 5 (19:59):
Well, coach, thank you very much for the time We
appreciate and good luck this week.

Speaker 2 (20:02):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (20:02):
Coming up next on Buccaneers Total Access is head strength
and Conditioning coach Anthony.

Speaker 5 (20:07):
Paroli, brought to you by advent Health.

Speaker 4 (20:08):
This is Buccaneers Radio Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you
by advent Health, Exclusive Hospital of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Speaker 1 (20:18):
Dropping back the role we've threatened, the blitz of coming
after the home Plus he sacked from the backfield at
the forty two yard line. Petavea has his fourth sack
of the season. Now more with Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips.

Speaker 4 (20:29):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by
AVN helth first half of the show, we had head
coach Todd Bowles on. Now I'm so excited to be
joined by head strength and conditioning coach Anthony Paroli.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
AP thanks for being with us, Thanks for having me, Casey, I.

Speaker 5 (20:42):
Am very excited about this.

Speaker 4 (20:43):
First of all, I just think strength and condition is
something that a lot of fans probably would love to
hear about what it's like to train these players. Before
we even get into all that, you came in with
what you said were receipts, and I thought you meant
like in a like trash talking receipts way, and then
I found out you.

Speaker 5 (20:56):
Meant literal receipts, So I have to start with this.

Speaker 4 (20:58):
First of all, we had Luke on our show last
week and we joked about how he has complained to
you that there are not heavy enough dumbbells, which is
ridiculous because they go up to one hundred and fifty pounds.
So like for people just have some frame of reference,
I would like them to already know you have dumbells
that go up to one fifty. And then your rebuttal
to this of the fact that he has complained that

(21:20):
they're not heavy enough dumbells.

Speaker 6 (21:21):
Oh yeah, I mean since he he did publicly complain
and we do have our receiets literally and figuratively.

Speaker 3 (21:27):
But Luke's dumbells will be on their way.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
So brought your actual receipt of ordering Luke's dumbbells? Like,
are we going to put his name on them?

Speaker 5 (21:34):
Like these are? No, we're not.

Speaker 3 (21:35):
We're not going to put his name on who probably
won't be at the top of that list in that regards.

Speaker 5 (21:40):
So what weight is it? Is it one sixty? What
did you word?

Speaker 6 (21:43):
We'll go up to one seventy five for now got
for meute?

Speaker 3 (21:46):
Yeah, we won't go the whole way up.

Speaker 4 (21:48):
But it's so crazy seeing what these guys can lift.
That is just mind boggling to me. So tell me
first of all. Also, recently we had the debate online
about the O line and D line and which group
was stronger, and so I thought, what a perfect time
to have you on here, because I'm your You could
be the judge of this better than anyone I imagine.

Speaker 5 (22:08):
So what tell me your thoughts on this debate?

Speaker 3 (22:11):
Who they'll probably.

Speaker 6 (22:12):
Laugh about this, but because it will be very much
on par for how to respond to them. But uh,
I would say that all the strength stuff is very
relative to what they have to do. I think that
Vita probably answered it the most realistic of the bunch.
They trained for what they're preparing for, and they they're

(22:34):
trying to improve.

Speaker 3 (22:35):
Upon those things.

Speaker 5 (22:37):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (22:38):
With that being said, you know there's going to be
highs and lows across both rooms.

Speaker 3 (22:44):
I definitely have to stay neutral in that regard.

Speaker 5 (22:47):
You are Switzerland over here.

Speaker 6 (22:49):
There's there's a lot more numbers obviously in the offensive line,
just out of the number of players in that room.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
In comparison to the defensive line.

Speaker 6 (22:59):
With that being said, I do think a few of
them that were very strongly favoring the offensive line would
be a little bit shocked if they saw a few
of those numbers across the board. So maybe maybe this
offseason we'll get to see something see some of that.

Speaker 4 (23:14):
Yeah, when you told me you felt like there was
even another position group that could potentially give those guys
a run for their money, that might surprise people.

Speaker 6 (23:22):
Well, yeah, definitely when when you're talking about some of
the strength numbers that they were discussing our outside linebacker
room as a whole, especially a good core group that's
been around for a number of years here.

Speaker 3 (23:38):
From absolute values.

Speaker 6 (23:39):
They definitely would fall underneath both of the line groups,
but not by much. And from a relative standpoint, it
would probably force to pass it.

Speaker 3 (23:49):
And you know, that just goes to with the work
that they put in.

Speaker 6 (23:53):
And I guess kind of the overall relative size of
the guys where you're not too big, not too small
around and a lot of the strength movements that they
would do really favor. I guess the measurables that those
guys have as.

Speaker 3 (24:08):
Across the room.

Speaker 6 (24:09):
I mean, you have guys that are pretty much in
the same ballpark from a body weight standpoint. Lever length
definitely differs across the room, but it doesn't really show up.
It's in the gate any of the longer lever guys
in comparison to the shorter stock here guys by any means.
But yeah, I would say that that room's right up
there with the best of them as well.

Speaker 5 (24:28):
That's so interesting.

Speaker 4 (24:29):
We're talking to head strength and conditioning coach Anthony Paroli.
So also, you and I got into an interesting discussion
after we'd watched You talked about that video that Tes
Johnson of course has to pipe in with some of
his numbers and what he thinks he may or may
not have tell me what you were saying about how
Tes's strength would probably surprise people. Obviously wouldn't surprise him,
Tes already goes, but how much it would surprise other people.

Speaker 3 (24:52):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 6 (24:53):
He you know, it's definitely going to be misleading to
look at his frame and you know, just like the
way that he he actually moves on the field, and
to come up with the I guess assumption that tests
would be weaker, that definitely would be misleading. Uh, he
is from a relative standpoint. Obviously he's he's a strong guy,
but overall he would definitely surprise you, especially from a

(25:17):
you know, a total body strength standpoint.

Speaker 4 (25:19):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (25:20):
And again it's specific to what he has to do,
how he has to move, but he can definitely create
some force in a very short amount of time. And
those numbers are pretty pretty shocking to the group as
a whole, you know. With that being said that, the
bench press question, uh, it's really neither here nor there
with me because he's a wide.

Speaker 4 (25:41):
Receiver and yeah, you're not trying to get him to bench.

Speaker 6 (25:44):
Yeah, so I mean those values are all over the place,
but I'm definitely not gonna, I guess, go into that
that standpoint because if I was chasing that, I'd.

Speaker 5 (25:55):
Be chasing the wrong thing, the wrong thing.

Speaker 4 (25:56):
So let's talk a little bit about what you are chasing.
Tell me how you do make the plan for the
different position groups and individuals, because again it's like you
have so many people that are working out in there,
and you do have a Tez Johnson whose goals are
obviously going to be very different than a Tristan Worse
And so how do you guys try to with one
weight room and the limited time you have make plans

(26:17):
for each individual guy and know what they need to
be doing in that process.

Speaker 6 (26:21):
Well, I would say that the plan that's in place
with the limited amount of time, obviously, all that stuff's
going to be worked on for the hours and hours
when we're not on the floor with the guys throughout
the off season. All the information that we gather on
incoming prospects after the college.

Speaker 3 (26:38):
Time's done, there's a whole lot of information that comes in.
There's information that comes in.

Speaker 6 (26:44):
From our entire performance department sports science wise, medical as
well as measurables that we're measuring in the weight room itself,
and everything from the coaching staff and the scouting department.

Speaker 3 (26:54):
Again for the incoming.

Speaker 6 (26:56):
Guys, there's a lot of valuable feedback that we get
in the continually evolving field that we're currently in. The
amount of data streams that you can be having come in,
uh are pretty much endless. Uh, if not, you know
a little bit too much so so uh, we're using
a lot of that information and making sure that we

(27:16):
just better the player for what type of player they are.
You know, we're not getting guys that are uh just
out of high score or.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
Anything like that.

Speaker 6 (27:24):
Uh, by the time they make it here, they made
it here for what they're great at. And a lot
of the stock that we're putting into how we developed
them or further developed them, is gonna be geared towards
s just making them a better version of them, their
themselves that they already came in as as opposed to
purely fill them buckets.

Speaker 5 (27:40):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (27:41):
Uh, that are perceived weaknesses, like they're not necessarily at
this level for what their weaknesses are.

Speaker 5 (27:46):
Hm.

Speaker 6 (27:46):
And with the exception of if it's gonna be a
weakness that could lead to a detrimental outcome down the
down the line, in that case, we probably uh reverse
course and go a little bit more towards that end.

Speaker 3 (27:58):
But uh, yeah, that's definitely a load of question.

Speaker 6 (28:01):
There's a lot of different points of that because this
season has a lot of a lot of moving parts.
It's a long season and things change on the fly,
so we very much a plan B program. Those those
things change based on the outcome of the game and
based on the outcome of the day just how the
player comes in. But we make sure myself and the

(28:23):
entirety of the strength staff we're.

Speaker 3 (28:25):
Really conscious on what we're getting when.

Speaker 6 (28:27):
The guy walks in that day and we know what
the potential outcomes could be for how we train them
that day, throughout the week and throughout the season as
a whole.

Speaker 4 (28:37):
Yeah, we're talking a head strength and conditioning coach Anthony Paroli.
So I mean a guy coming in obviously it's the season,
you're not wanting him to be worn out for game day,
but especially in a week, you know, like this next
one coming up that has the Thursday night game and
it's a short week. How do you try to make
sure that guys maintain the level of strength that they
need while also not you know, wearing them down too much.

(28:58):
As the season goes on and some of these guys
even come out of college, it's a longer season then,
how do you balance those things of gaining and maintaining
strength versus also just the demands on them already with
the rest of what they're doing well.

Speaker 6 (29:10):
Definitely on the back in the spring, whenever this season's
schedule comes out, it's really where it starts. The moments
league drops that schedule, you already notice start mapping out
what the season is going to look like.

Speaker 3 (29:23):
From the standpoint of.

Speaker 6 (29:24):
Our periods of heavier fatigue, our periods that give us
opportunity for more loading on our end on the field itself.
And obviously with that, you know, from that standpoint, you
know where your Monday night games are, and you know,
like heading into those weeks are longer weeks, a little
bit shorter on the back end, heading into your Thursday weeks,

(29:44):
they're extremely short.

Speaker 3 (29:45):
But it's a reprieve on the back end of that.

Speaker 6 (29:48):
Luckily from our standpoint, having the bye week where we did,
and then obviously over a month later having a Thursday
night game. You know, on one end, it does seem that,
you know, it could be a lot of volume and
a short amount of time. On the other end, you know,
it's really thinking ahead to what we get back in
return after the Thursday night game. So taking a little

(30:11):
step back in that week actually ends up being a
blessing in disguise. Where it's really less is more as
we're trying to get out of the guys. If anything,
it's going to be a lot more of a primer
on our end that week. We're definitely more stress managers
in that regard really throughout the season as a whole,
But when it gets to a short week like that
even more so so it's one of those weeks that

(30:33):
we you know, circle on the calendar, we're going to
be pulling back, deloading, per se. And there's other weeks
throughout the season that you know, the opposite is true.

Speaker 4 (30:43):
And you talked about how much data plays into it
now and knowing how much you guys work with, like
you said, sports science and you have the rehab and
you have the training staff and everything, what is the
data that you typically use to try to make some
of your decisions? What are some of those ways that
you guys measure it from your side in particular, because
I mean, I remember seeing the first time that y'all's

(31:03):
squat racks and bench racks and everything have all these
you know, these things that are showing all these numbers
and stuff. As people are doing it, You're not just
they're not just picking up a weight sometimes without any data.

Speaker 5 (31:12):
What are you guys kind of tracking as far.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
As that goes?

Speaker 6 (31:15):
So in the weight room itself, just like you mentioned
the you know, the the primary moves that the player's
doing on that day are going to be tracked from
a load and a velocity standpoint, and Ultimately, the same
goes for any of the jump information that we're trying
to get on the forest place themselves, and rather than
like actually changing load values based on the outcome of that,

(31:40):
that information is equally as important, if not even more
so to look back on.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
The year as a whole, to use those where we.

Speaker 6 (31:47):
Circle those dates on the calendar and see when we.

Speaker 3 (31:51):
Pulled back on volume or when we pulled back on.

Speaker 6 (31:53):
Load or added more volume, added more load. Do we
get the outcome that we are after looking back longitudinally
and that information there is really where that whole planning
gets uh. I guess you could say fine tuned each
spring when the schedule comes out by really understanding if
we had had any bottlenecks of UH issues that would
pop up, whether it be from travel itself, short weeks

(32:16):
UH or back to back away games, West Coast games
and such. So that information in the in the short
term can give us some valuable feedback into the l
long term. It's probably given us more than anything else has.
But UH, from the standpoint of like working together and
cross departmental it's uh, it's kind of been a blessing

(32:36):
in disguise from past places I've worked at where you've
had to wear m both hats uh strength and conditioning
and sports science, but then now to actually have people
just dedicated purely to that, being able to not just
uh measure all the stuff for us, but uh making
sure that the information is consumable because there's, like, as
you said, there's a lot of different things that we're

(32:58):
tracking on the field itself, and then obviously simultaneously looking
at our practice week field work in conjunction with what
the league provides for the game day data, and now
being able to look at that as if it's coming
from the same source makes things. It gives you a
whole lot more of a complete picture, and prior years
it didn't exist. So it's definitely a big step in

(33:20):
the right direction and making sure that it just aids
us and learning the players, especially the young players at
a lot faster rate so we can make sure we
have them on the correct track. But the off season
being what it is at this level, will prevent some
of that. So a lot of our learning with these
athletes really happens on the fly once training camp begins,

(33:43):
just do to the limited amount of time that we're
given in the off season.

Speaker 5 (33:47):
Now I know that I've gone in there.

Speaker 4 (33:50):
It's a very different vibe sometimes depending on what position
groups are in their sides of the ball. I feel
like you get to see this other side of a
lot of the guys of what lifting is like, and
they're tell me what it's like different groups, different guys.
The the vibe in the law in the weight room,
you know, the way the role music plays in it,
and your role even of getting guys excited about this
and just what the dynamics and camaraderie are like in

(34:11):
that weight room.

Speaker 6 (34:13):
Yeah, I would say it's definitely changed over the years,
just to make up of your roster and just just
a type of athlete that you have in the locker room. Luckily,
we are in a good scenario here where we don't
necessarily need the players that love that room to the
extent that we do just potentially love, uh what it
could do for them for the thing that they love

(34:33):
on the field itself. And you know, from that standpoint,
it I would be hard pressed to really say it's
a drastic difference, only because we across all the position rooms,
we got a cut quite a few core guys in
each room that really do love and just have high
energy regardless of the scenario. Obviously, whenever the offensive linemen

(34:58):
are in there, they tend to I want to listen
to a certain type of music, and it actually isn't
one type of music. I'm sure it's just a flavor
of the day that they're really after. And for the
most part, that usually rolls, except for when Lavonte's in there,
and that's been really I guess stamped hard. This guy

(35:19):
right here, Luke understands that. Now he checks to make
sure that Levante's not in the room before he goes.

Speaker 3 (35:25):
And change the music.

Speaker 5 (35:26):
Oh my gosh, I love it.

Speaker 4 (35:27):
What a good VET move and VET understanding that defer
to Levante on all things. It's a good rule of thumb. Well, Ap,
thank you so much for being with us. This has
been a blast to hear a little bit about. And
thanks for all the work you do to keep our
guys strong going into the rest of this.

Speaker 5 (35:40):
Season, and we really appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (35:42):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (35:42):
All Right, that's going to do it for this part
of Buccaneer's Total Access, brought to you by I've been Health.
But coming up next we're gonna have Director of Performance Nutrition,
Jessica past two with us.

Speaker 5 (35:50):
We'll be right back on Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 1 (35:53):
You were listening to Buccaneers Total Access with head coach
Todd Bowles and Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips, brought you
by advan Health, Exclusive Hospital of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Speaker 4 (36:06):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by
advent Health.

Speaker 5 (36:09):
First half the show, we had head coach Todd Bowles,
we had head.

Speaker 4 (36:12):
Strength and Conditioning coach Anthony Paroli, and now I'm so
excited to be joined by Director of Performance Nutrition.

Speaker 5 (36:17):
Jessica Pastuff. Jess thanks for being with us. Thanks Casey.

Speaker 4 (36:21):
I really thought this week would be a fun time
to talk to people like you and AP because our
listeners hear from coaches all the time, but there's so
many people that help make this team go and that
contributes what they do, and I think that what you
do is so interesting of helping from the nutrition side.
So for people who don't know, tell us just a
little bit about what your job entails kind of day
to day.

Speaker 7 (36:40):
I think I have the best position in the building
because I first and foremost am very integrated with the
food that I served for players from breakfast through pregame
meal any casion throughout the week. But I'm also integrated
with head Jathan conditioning coach, with our medical staff and
team operations, so working alongside Tim and Zach to facilitate

(37:02):
all things nutrition with all movements of the team. So
I think I get a good mix of a lot
of different capacities of the team, and like I said,
I get to be involved with the food and the
hydration throughout the week for our players.

Speaker 4 (37:13):
Yeah, so I tend to think of it as kind
of almost the three different spaces you might do it
in as well, of like what's happening at the actual
Advent Health Training Center, but then also at the home hotel,
and then also at the away hotel, or I guess
even fourth at the stadiums as well, because there's we
obviously have to feed these guys everywhere and anywhere. So
starting with what happens at actual adv And Health training center,

(37:34):
what does that look like throughout the week of how
many meals you're providing and the decision making that goes
into a week of the meals that are at the
actual training center.

Speaker 7 (37:42):
At our peak, we're talking about training camp, we could
be feeding the players up to twenty one meals a week.
But when we look at how we program our meals,
we're really thinking about what is happening with the players
and what do we want available for them, So the
one and the what at all.

Speaker 5 (37:56):
Phases of the day.

Speaker 7 (37:57):
So we're talking about preparation for practice in the morning,
immediately being into the fields, or pre practice during practice,
post practice later in the day. So again, our food
decisions are going to vary depending on where the players
are out in their phase of preparation, performance and recovery.

Speaker 4 (38:11):
Tell me a bit about what all is available to
them that isn't just a full meal that I feel like,
there's always snacks or recovery things like what are some
of the things the tools that you guys us, you know,
maybe going into and coming out.

Speaker 5 (38:23):
Of practice as well.

Speaker 7 (38:24):
Ideally wanted to take our nutrition recommendations, which are going
to be fueling with carbohydrates starting within an hour before practice,
so we try to make things really accessible. We have
little cups of fruit and pretzels and goldfish. Sometimes in
the earlier parts of the season we have morning practices,
we might put out cups of Cinnamatila's crunch or cereal
that the guys might just kind of shoot back really quickly.
But my goal is to have enough options where if

(38:46):
a player will grab two to three cups of our
snacks or fuel options, they're going to hand anywhere from
like thirty to seventy five grams of carbs, which, depending
on the size of the player, is going to get
a little boost heading out to the field. And then
even on field, I carry a small cooler with me
that's loaded with apple sauce and Choose and gummies and
different types of carb options to hopefully have an option

(39:08):
for everyone to get a little extra BOOSTO were out
in the field if needed.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
You talked about how you work with all the other
departments and football stuff. What does that kind of look
like of how you guys are working together and the
role you each play in influencing what the other does.

Speaker 7 (39:21):
Yeah, it's I think one of the most unique parts
of this position or being in this organization, because everybody
has a different perspective and relationship with our players, and
so there are times where I'm leaning on a counterpart
or someone in a different department to learn something about
the player, understand kind of where they're at in their
phase of preparation for a game or recovery from an
injury or what have you. But then there's also times

(39:42):
where maybe I don't have the best relationship or the
strongest relationship with that player, but I know a trainer
or a strength and conditioning coach does, and so it
might be something where I say, hey, AP or whoever
you know, would you remind player X to come get
their recovery shake or would you remind players Z to
go get their pre workout? You know, concoction, So really

(40:03):
leaning on those different department members to not only learn
more about the players so I can better serve them,
but maybe help facilitate some of the things we want
to implement to help them.

Speaker 4 (40:10):
So let's say you get a new player in how
do you Because I know it's not like you're doing
the exact same thing with every player obviously, the positions
and what situation they're in, you know, if they're trying
to gain or lose weight or maintain or there's just
so many different factors into what you'd be trying to
do with each individual player. You get a new person,
and what are the assessments, what are the tests, what
are the things that help you learn what you're going

(40:32):
to be focusing on and working on with someone new
coming in.

Speaker 7 (40:35):
So we start out with doing a nutrition assessment with
all of our players, so really just trying to get
an idea of what are their habits, what are their preferences,
what has worked well with them in the past, especially
if it's a player coming from a different team, and
helping them to understand our schedule, and maybe if they
came from a team that practice in the afternoon, helping
them shift their diet approach for more of a morning practice. Here,

(40:56):
we do an initial body composition assessment which helps us
understand where they're body is currently at versus where they
want to be and where they're comfortable at playing. So
that's a body weight certainly an area where we collaborate
a lot with strength and conditioning, where again they see
a different side of the player that I may not
in the weight room, so really understand from perform a
standpoint of how I can help them fuel to reach
their goals.

Speaker 4 (41:16):
I know data is obviously like everything now that technology
and the ways to measure stuff and track things is
so big. What are the different ways that you guys
try to use some of the data and analytics and
tech to figure out what you need to be working
on with guys.

Speaker 7 (41:28):
Yeah, I think that one of the biggest things that
comes into my roles body compositions. So we use a
Dexa machine which gives us a really detailed overview of
the player's muscle mass, body fat and also boom mineral
density and then.

Speaker 5 (41:39):
Want to know all those numbers about themselves. I'm sure
I love.

Speaker 7 (41:41):
Doing that some more than others, but that becomes a
really integral tool to help them understand their body and
where weight comes into play, but then becomes a really
really integral part if a player happens to be injured,
where we can then really track progress or turn to
play get feedback to the athletic trainers and docks that
are working with the players.

Speaker 4 (41:59):
Oh so like an ace maybe of like if they
had heard an arm, like being able to see the
difference between their two sides yep, and.

Speaker 7 (42:05):
The kind of track progress for just a small factor,
but in their return to play process.

Speaker 4 (42:11):
We're talking to Director Performance Nutrition Jessica past too, So
I know. Obviously dealing with the heat has to be
just a huge part of your job as well of
making sure that guys.

Speaker 5 (42:19):
Are hydrated and ready to deal with it.

Speaker 4 (42:22):
And you know, we've heard about some of the ways
that supports science and other departments try to counter it.
What is your role in trying to help the guys
be prepared for it and what you've learned over the
years even of being here in Tampa.

Speaker 7 (42:31):
Yeah, absolutely, Hydration is my favorite part of the job,
just because I would say, like, there are very few
things that are going to immediately take a player off
the field outside of rare currents of an extreme injury,
but cramping and lack of carbo hydrate stars and and
fluids on the field is going to be one of
the most immediate things that's going to take them out
of play. So something that I'm so passionate about, because
of course we can't control the weather, we can't control
the demands of practice. But if we can help a

(42:54):
player optimize their hydration status and give them the actual
opportunity to make it through practice or perform, give them
an edge up to perform a little bit better at
something I'm really passionate about.

Speaker 4 (43:03):
What would you say is the amount of weight lost
in water for either the average guy on our team
or maybe the most extreme of all the people and
what they might because not every guys the same.

Speaker 7 (43:14):
Yeah, I would say on average, we're looking at probably
eight pounds. However, we definitely have players who have in
an extreme case lost twelve, thirteen, maybe even fourteen pounds,
and like the most extreme, they're usually not doing great.
If that's yes, but we've seen it. We don't like
to see it. But yeah, I would say probably give
or take eight pounds. Again, you have smaller bodies that

(43:35):
aren't going to lose quite as much. So we look
at percentages of weight loss and typically we are going
to kind of expect you're going to say about two
and a half percent weight loss on the really extreme
practices of training camp, the higher weight loss is good
up to three four percent, and then you really really
have to focus on recover for the next day to
mitigate injury.

Speaker 5 (43:53):
That is crazy.

Speaker 4 (43:54):
All right, we're gonna take a quick break here on
book and your Total Access brought to you by Avon Health.
We're talking to Director Performance Nutrition Jessica past Us as Buccaneers.

Speaker 1 (44:00):
Radio Buccaneers Total Access with head coach Todd Bowles. Now
continues brought to you by Advan Health Exclusive Hospital of
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Speaker 4 (44:11):
We're talking to Director Performance Nutrition, Jessica pass Stuff, So
we talked a little bit about the meal side and
the food side when you're here, which I'm sure is
a lot easier to control. It's the same space, you
know everything, but on the road and at different places
all the time. What is that like to prepare and
plan for meals when it is somewhere you are not
physically there until you're there with the team and needing

(44:32):
everything to be right.

Speaker 7 (44:34):
Yeah, So our goal is to replicate the options available
at home on the road, so it's a very consistent
environment for our players, especially when we're heading to a
city where maybe some of them haven't been to, or
a new hotel and we don't know kind of what
options are around. Again, it is to replicate food options
that we have here, but ensure that players have something
that they're consistent and familiar with so that they know
how they're going to feel when they eat leaning into

(44:54):
a game. So in our preparation, we prepare what we
call an RFP menu, and so we put together our
base of food that we are requesting the hotel to
prepare for us for our night before game and our
game day meals. The base of this menu is going
to be the same to every city that we go to. Again,
to ensure that we have consistent options and the players
know what's going to be available, we do send a

(45:15):
base of recipes as well, so again we're hoping that
each consistent item is prepared consistently in each city, depending
on who's cooking it. But then we rotate a few options.
We have a little feature stations, so if for example,
we're in New Orleans, we might have a little jumbalaya,
if we're in Carolina, we might have a little bit
of barbecue available, so something to spice it up a
little bit, keep the guys engaged. But as part of
that process, we send our performance citition on staff a

(45:38):
few days in advance of the team, and so he
will arrive at the hotel, meet with the chefs, review
our menus, review products that they have, and ensure that
all of the drinks and the snacks and specific items
that we request are on site so that when I
show up with the team, we can hopefully rest assured
that what we've requested is executed.

Speaker 4 (45:56):
And you've talked about the pregame meal, you wanted to
even though you mix things up maybe the night before
the game, you know, for a little local flavor. You
want the meal before the game to be the same
basically every time, right, Yes, it's.

Speaker 5 (46:08):
Because people just need, like a regular, they need to
know what's there. Yeah.

Speaker 7 (46:11):
Absolutely, So we want a lot of different options. We
want them simple and familiar options. So we're our basis
of our meal is going to be white rice, pasta, chicken, steak, salmon.
We're gonna maybe change up the flavor of the chicken
each week to hopefully keep it a little bit interesting.
But we want that players to feel very comfortable with
what's available, to know that when they put it in
their body, they're going to know exactly how they feel,

(46:33):
and then they're not searching for the options that they want.
We have it set up in a very routine way
so that when they walk through the meal line, it's
set up in the same manner and they're not looking
or searching or kind of wondering where the options are.

Speaker 4 (46:43):
One thing that I would probably surprise a lot of
people is what's available the night before a game.

Speaker 5 (46:46):
And I know you and I have joked about this
before that.

Speaker 4 (46:48):
If people were to walk in that first of all,
there's dinner, and then there's something called snack, which has
always made me laugh because that implies like a granola bar.
Snack is much more than that. So tell everyone a
bit about what snack is and what all is available
and why it would surprise people what it is.

Speaker 7 (47:02):
Yeah, I joke with hotels every time we hop on
our initial call to describe this meal, we do call
it night before Game snack. I don't actually know exactly
why it is, but I've acquired it and I roll
with it, but we keep This meal is quite expansive,
as you mentioned, so we have anything from our pasta
action station where they can do made to order pasta
and rice bowls, chicken wings, flatbread pizza, grilled chicken wings

(47:23):
I should say grilled, not fried, flatbread, pizza, hamburgers, mac
and cheese, chicken tenders that are also grilled. And again,
the big concept of this meal is we want the
players to eat so they whether they're nervous or maybe
just in an unfamiliar city where they don't know where
to go out to eat, we want them to feel
very comfortable walking the meal room, have flavors that they're
gonna recognize and have a lot of different options available.

(47:47):
So again, if there are nerves or what have you,
hopefully something as simple as a lean, grilled cheeseburger will
be something that they're willing to take in. So we're
going to calories in them before the game.

Speaker 4 (47:57):
We're talking to Director Performance Nutrition Joica pass stuff. What
are the weird requests or things players want, the things
that you've had you do to try to accommodate, or
the things that would have been some of the bizarre,
interesting things that some guys want.

Speaker 7 (48:12):
Oh gosh, we've had players in the past that I
have requested hot dogs at halftime.

Speaker 4 (48:16):
I've heard maybe Tes Johnson might be one of those.

Speaker 5 (48:19):
He is.

Speaker 4 (48:20):
He said that on one of our shows, and I
was like, I'm sure Jess is thrilled about this.

Speaker 7 (48:23):
Not my favorite, but if that's routine and ritual and
so it's I think one of the biggest learning curves
I've had coming out of college, where you're learning about
the best nutrition practices and principles and then all of
a sudden you're you're put in the locker room at
halftime in real life and you see what they consume
at times. So we do our best to accommodate, you know,
giving our best recommendations, but also ensuring that the players

(48:45):
have their rituals and routines and I feel supported.

Speaker 5 (48:48):
And so if it's something where all right, if this.

Speaker 7 (48:50):
Player has to have a hot dog at halftime, maybe
I'm then compromising to ensure we've got a really nice
quality meal coming in after the game, or we make
sure that they have a really really great pregame meal. So, yeah,
the hot dog is definitely one of them. I've had
a request for pickled eggs. Did not facilitate, but I've
had the requests. Yeah, those are probably the craziest to

(49:11):
you that I've had.

Speaker 5 (49:12):
That's quite a request.

Speaker 4 (49:13):
And then finally, what do you feel like you are
usually yelling at players? Like what is the thing you're
having to constantly remind them of or tell them to do?
Like what's your nagging thing?

Speaker 7 (49:24):
Most of the time in training camp, it's to weigh out.
There's so much value in understanding where their way is
post practice from a hydration standpoint, where if we can
get them within a few minutes of practice, and that
to know again before they start checking gatorat or water,
to really know where they've ended practice from a hydration
state that it's so critical for them to see and
for us to understand how the practice impacted them and

(49:45):
what kind of work needs to be done to prepare
for the next one.

Speaker 4 (49:47):
So interesting, And I guess I also want to ask
eating during the game. What are the thoughts of from
whether the start to the finish, how much are guys
eating or not and what are your.

Speaker 5 (49:55):
Thoughts on that.

Speaker 7 (49:56):
Yeah, general recommendations, we want to see between thirty and
sixty grams of carba hour that can be met most
of the time with a can or two of gatorade,
But for some of the bigger bodies or the higher
kind of burners, let's say, to get some type of
fuel and them at halftime is really important not only
to sustain through the game, but to mitigate kind of
impact of recovery needs after the game. So we do

(50:18):
try to get rice, Chris retreats and bananas and some
quick kind of carb options to them.

Speaker 4 (50:24):
So interesting. Well, just thank you so much for joining us.
This has been super interesting, and thank you for all
the work you do with the team.

Speaker 5 (50:29):
Thanks Casey.

Speaker 4 (50:30):
All right, let's get do it for us on Buccaneers
Total Access brought to you by Avan Health.

Speaker 5 (50:33):
This is Buccaneers Radio.