Todd Bowles & Dave Hamilton on Recreating Success In Week 18 | Bucs Total Access

Reporter Casey Phillips sits down with Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles and Director of Performance Science Dave Hamilton after Week 17’s win vs. the Carolina Panthers. They talk about taking care of business against the Panthers, putting all energy into getting to the playoffs in Week 18 and ways the Buccaneers’ innovate with data

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What not three?

Speaker 2 (00:01):
What the three?

Speaker 3 (00:05):
Please?

Speaker 4 (00:05):
He's Buccaneers total access with head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 5 (00:09):
That the hell of the job, going back, go back.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Here, make field shot down?

Speaker 4 (00:16):
Look looks right, I'm about up.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Those fwarters left Codball Evans at the mine.

Speaker 4 (00:20):
Another three two touchdowns haven't by?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
There you go, fire the cannons, Mike Evits.

Speaker 6 (00:25):
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Speaker 4 (00:41):
Fire the canis now your host.

Speaker 6 (00:43):
Bocks team reporter Casey Phillips and head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Welcome into the Todd Bowles show Casey Phillips here at
head Coach Todd Bowles. First of all, tell me what
this win meant to the team and what it felt
like to have such a complete game like that at
the end of the game, even before you knew what
it was going to mean playoff wise, that game itself.

Speaker 5 (01:01):
What that felt like, No, we knew if we didn't
win this one, it didn't matter what the night game
was going to be. So we had to come out
and play inspired football, and we had.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
To play a complete game.

Speaker 5 (01:11):
We thought we'd get another crack at the division, and
we got to win this week coming up as well.
But going into the game, I thought everybody was focused,
everybody played hard. We're not gonna play perfect football, but
everybody played hard, and everybody played tough, and everybody played
smart for the most part.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, let's talk about Baker's game. He had as many
touchdowns as incompletions. That's already a pretty wild stat to have.
He now has four games with at least four passing touchdowns,
which is tied for Lamar Jackson for the most in
the league. This year, he tied his career high of
five touchdown passes and has a new career high in
passing yards for a season. I could go on, there's

(01:47):
about a million other stats that I feel like, especially
in this game, he accomplished. Tell me about his performance
in this game, first specifically, and then also just what
some of those numbers suggest about the year that he's had.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
I thought it was great.

Speaker 5 (01:59):
I thought it came and he had control of the
game from the very first snap. He got us into
the right plays. He made some great throws. He waited
to get some people open. He bought some time, got
some other people open. He was very accurate. He spread
the ball around early. He did it the entire game.
He was in a good rhythm. Loved where he was
at the entire the entire game.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
I know. Also, the offense passed the five hundred net
yards of offense for the third time this season, which
is the most in the NFL. Three five hundred plus
yard games is tied for the second most in a
single season in NFL history. And the team hit the
forty point threshold for the third time this season. I
know there was the block punt score too, but it's
tied for the second most games by any team this season.

(02:40):
When you hear those kind of stats, and especially just
the point we are at the year of going into
the last week of the regular season, what does that
say to you about where your team is at and
where your team is at this time of year, and
how that can look going into hopefully the playoffs.

Speaker 5 (02:53):
We like to think we're peaking at the right time,
but it's one game at a time. We can't carry
those stats to the next game, go out and prove
what we have to prove. And we got to start
from scratch again this week, and we got to get
it done Sunday.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
I know Bucky now over one hundred rushing yards for
the third time this season, finished with one hundred and
ninety scrimmage yards, and now joins Saquon Barkley as the
only players this season with both a thirty plus yard
run and thirty plus yard reception in multiple games. So,
even with all the things that we've seen Bucky do,
I feel like this game felt like a special one

(03:26):
for him.

Speaker 5 (03:27):
Even for him, it was special for him because his
brother was there who was disguised as a duck on
the top, so they're about the same height.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Ask God gave him that boost.

Speaker 5 (03:39):
Oregon mascot gave him the boost though. But Bucky takes
advantage of every opportunity. He loves to play this game.
He's very mentally tough, he plays physical on the inside.
He can catch the ball, he runs with it. As
you can see, he can make great cuts, he can
make people miss, and he's been great for us all year.
So Bucky's been phenomenal since he's coming league for us.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
What stood out about some of his chunk runs specifically,
and then who else was contributing to those.

Speaker 5 (04:06):
Well, the offensive line obviously, those guys can get around
the corner, Tristan Luke, Ben Cody, those guys can really
get around the corner along with Barton, and they set
up some blocks for him that he can make two
cuts and get out in the open and run. If
you look at him for the first four or five
yards on those runs of those screens, is at least
two big guys in front of them. So the design
of the play was outstanding. Then they did a great

(04:28):
job blocking for him.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
I know. Also, he passed one thousand yards rushing this year,
first time for the franchise since Doug Martin back in
twenty fifteen, and first rookie to do it since Doug
Martin did it in twenty twelve. Over the last five years,
only five rookies have reached one thousand yards. What does
that say about him, the team overall, and just what
all has come together to create something that obviously doesn't

(04:50):
happen very often for a rookie.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
He's a very good runner.

Speaker 5 (04:54):
His maturity coming into the league was far beyond most
rookies that come in the league. Says a lot about
the offen offensive line and the offensive coaching staff, especially
the line coaches. Carved and Pikuchi do a great job
getting those guys ready, understanding where they got to be
and how they got to be and a harp warmant.
They practice it, they drill it, and there's a culmination
between working with the tight ends, the receivers obviously the

(05:17):
quarterbacks as well, and those guys do a great job executing.
They do a great job game planning, but they do
a great job executing.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
And Jalen McMillan talk about executing six touchdowns in four games,
two in this game. So first of all, just take
us through those couple of touchdowns he was able to get.

Speaker 5 (05:34):
Now, the first one he got in the back of
the end zone, Baker pumped it twice and saw him
open in the back.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
He broke free, which was great.

Speaker 5 (05:40):
And the second one he got, he was wide open
for about fifteen yards, was a five yard pass. He
kind of high step into the end zone. Really coming
into his own right now, like where his confidence is,
understanding the scheme, understanding what he has to do being
a pro, and it's really paying dividends for us, and then.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
It's just been such an evolution for him. It feels
like in recent weeks, what do you remember from the
beginning of the season when you guys drafted him and
the expectation of who he could be and how this
looks like.

Speaker 5 (06:07):
That When we drafted him in the spring, he was outstanding,
and even in summer camp he was outstanding. And then
he got nicked up and he got hurt, kind of
set him back mentally. He was trying to force it
and pushed through and he was kind of trying to
go too far before he could get on his feet
under him. But he finally settled down, He settled in,
he understood everything, He got a feel for us, We

(06:29):
got a feel for him and start moving around. He
started getting more confident as he went and right now he's.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
Just taken off.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
And then as much as we talk about these young
guys contributing, Mike just continues to put up some big games,
acting like he's one of the young Whipperson Avers on
the team. Here ninety seven yards, two touchdowns, sixth time
he's hit double digit touchdowns in a season, including four
of the last five years. Eleventh consecutive season with at
least sixty catches, the longest streak to begin any player's career.

(06:58):
Tell us first just about his role in this game
and how important he ended up being.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
It was huge.

Speaker 5 (07:02):
I mean, he makes some big boy catches, especially down
for the touchdowns. Farley's a pretty tall corner, so to
outbody him for touchdowns is pretty good. But he ran
some routes inside he can play quick, and the slot
he can play big. On the outside he can catch
him run.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
With the ball as well.

Speaker 5 (07:18):
So it was huge for us because it kind of
opened some of the run lanes for Buckie.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
And of course it would be nice if this game
just didn't matter and you could just throw to mic
a thousand times to make sure he gets his thousand yards.
One of the challenges of when you know about milestones
like that that of course everyone wants for him, but
of course you still have to just prioritize the winning
of this game. So how aware of a thing like
that is everyone going into this last week.

Speaker 5 (07:39):
We're very aware of it, but we're also aware we
have to win the ball game, so within the scheme,
we have to try to get him those yards, and
everybody wants them to get them, but we want to
win the ballgame just as much.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
Even more so.

Speaker 5 (07:50):
And he can do that and get him his yards,
that'll be great.

Speaker 2 (07:54):
Acey Phillips here with head coach Todd Bowles, so pain
durham first career touchdown. Need to talk to him about
what to do with the football after a first career touchdown.
But it all got sorted out. I think two catches
for thirty six yards and of course the longest reception
of his career. How important was his role in this game?
Without Kate Onten out.

Speaker 5 (08:11):
There, His was huge because I'm sure they hadn't seen
him catch too many balls, so they weren't paying too
much attention to him. So the players we had designed
for him, he came through big time. He has outstanding hands.
He was a great college red zone player getting in
the red zone as far as receptions and getting touchdowns
because he had to bake catch radius. We just started
taking advantage of that.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, and tell us about his touchdown and what stood out.

Speaker 5 (08:34):
Oh, the first one, it was really easy. He ran
a seven round. Actually, him and Devin were open. Baker
had his choice right there. He was in the back
of the end zone. Again, he has great hands and
we do have to teach him what to do at
the football, but throwing it up in the stands, I
guess that works for him.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yep. Out of the excitement. And then Devin Kolp also
first career catches three for fifty two yards. What had
he done to earn those snaps? Separate from just kid
going down and what you saw from him in the
way he was able to step in in this first
big moment.

Speaker 5 (09:03):
He was always in his book, he was ready when
the moment came, and you know, he went the whole
year barely playing any snaps, so to get in the game.
He's probably the most athletic of the four. But to
him getting in the ballgame, coming up with those big
catches and acting like he's been there before and being
the pro about it was outstanding. I was happy to
see it for him.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, you ended up with getting seventy four receiving yards
in just the first quarter from your Titans without Kate Otten.
What does that say to you about this position group,
their depth, the future of this group with this team.

Speaker 5 (09:33):
They were paying a lot of attention to Mike and
j Mack on the outside. Yeah, those guys that got
a chance to work the inside a little bit.

Speaker 3 (09:41):
It was open for us.

Speaker 5 (09:43):
Liam designed some good plays and again they both have
very good hands.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
And then what did you see from the offensive line,
both in pass pro and the run game?

Speaker 3 (09:51):
They were huge.

Speaker 5 (09:51):
They gave Bigger a lot of time all day. He
wasn't hit that many times at all. And obviously in
the run game, like I said, if Bucky was making
a run, they were somebody. They were about two or
three guys in front of them almost every time. Those
guys have been tough all year. They don't get enough credit.
I think the run game goals as they go and
they've been outstanding.

Speaker 2 (10:10):
And then I know undrafted rookie Cam Johnson got some
of his first action after coming off of ir for
one play. What is his potential for the team.

Speaker 5 (10:18):
Oh, he's a very good athlete. He's a very good
return man, he's a very good receiver. We just gotta
get him healthy. He saw some of the ability on
the reverse that he ran, and he's just putting his
toe in award. When he gets comfortable and gets everything down,
he's gonna be a heck of a player.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
And then switching over to the defensive side of things.
I know that early there were some big plays and
touchdowns for Adam Feeling and then man, the defense really
just locked down after that for several three and outs.
What did you see is the difference in what shifted
from some giving up some of those bigger plays to
then what started going better, And especially those three and outs.

Speaker 5 (10:51):
Probably had some discussions at halftime that went certain ways,
and they came out in the second half and they played
it heck of a ball game after that.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
The discussions, were they coming solely from you or were
there also some other veteran players and coaches having discussions?

Speaker 3 (11:08):
It was solely from me, I'm sure that was fun.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
For everybody involved.

Speaker 3 (11:11):
That was great.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
It obviously worked. And then tell me what Adam Feelen
was still doing well and the challenges of trying to
cover him.

Speaker 5 (11:20):
The two covers he got open was routine. I thought
Zion should have looked for the ball on the deep one.
When he got deep, he pushed off, and they gonna
push off in football. He should have looked for the
ball earlier. And then Jordan's got a pedal a little
bit more on the other one and he got the touchdown.
Other than that we were okay, And how.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
Was Jamale playing before his injury?

Speaker 5 (11:39):
For his injury, he broke up a pass he was doing,
he was playing well, he didn't have much action, so
just got to see how he comes back.

Speaker 2 (11:46):
And based on what you end up finding out about that,
who do you see is kind of the main people
stepping in for that? And how did Josh Hayes look
when he came in there?

Speaker 5 (11:53):
Hayes came in and played well. I was very happy
for him. He played well, he played under control, he
did his job.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
And then when do you feel like we might know
something about just injuries overall for this next week, knowing
how important this next game is of who all might
be available or.

Speaker 3 (12:06):
Not hopefully by Wednesday?

Speaker 2 (12:08):
That's always again. How much does that influence for you
the game plan at this point or at this point
is it just you assume every man the next man
up because you've had to do so much shifting around.
Does it change much of how you game plan or
just hey, everybody has to do this job.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
It changes.

Speaker 5 (12:23):
We have to make several game plans depending on several people,
so we kind of tweak things as we go and
depend on what they tell us. Kind of which way
we kind of cater to and we just go with that.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
It's so sad you don't get paid per game plan.
You know, you'd have been killing it this year, so
many things you had to play.

Speaker 3 (12:42):
Make sure you get that out national.

Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah, as your agent, I'll make sure I mentioned that
Pacey Phillips head coach Todd Bowles. I know we briefly
mentioned one of those plays for Zion earlier in the game,
But overall, how did you feel like he played in coverage?

Speaker 3 (12:54):
I thought he was just okay.

Speaker 5 (12:55):
I thought his eyes got ahead of his legs a
little bit, and he needs to play more with this
feet and then with his eyes. And he understands that
we talked about it. He broke up some balls. He
didn't give up anything, but he could have given up something,
and that's what.

Speaker 3 (13:09):
We got to work on.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
And I know we had the blocked punt for a touchdown.
That's a pretty rare thing to have. Tell me what
your reaction was when you saw that play happen.

Speaker 5 (13:18):
Oh, it was great, doesn't happen much. Joe got through there,
made a heck of a play and jj scooped it
up actually without stumbling, which was great.

Speaker 3 (13:26):
For him.

Speaker 5 (13:26):
It was great to see for special teams that gave
everybody a boost.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
Why is that such a hard thing to do? Why
don't we see that more often?

Speaker 5 (13:33):
Rough in the punter is usually a problem with it.
But when you get through the middle clean and you
got a shout at it, usually they get blocked up there.

Speaker 2 (13:41):
And then I know, five sacks by the defense by
five different guys, which I know is probably kind of
music to your ears at this point. And what do
you feel like it was about this game, this matchup,
or these individual guys that let you guys be able
to bring that kind of pressure.

Speaker 5 (13:57):
I think those guys saw a shot come back and
everybody decided to get on, get on their.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
Horse and start rolling.

Speaker 5 (14:03):
Oh, if that's all it takes, then they need to.

Speaker 2 (14:07):
Keep it was already worth the signing right there.

Speaker 3 (14:09):
Right there.

Speaker 5 (14:10):
So they got off, They got off, they got.

Speaker 3 (14:12):
Off the ball.

Speaker 5 (14:13):
Chancy started it out with a great move up and
under move. Obviously Nellie got one. Yeah, I got one.
Uh Logan Logan had one, and Braswell got his first one,
which was great to see because he had some good
rushes just hadn't materialized, but he finally got one.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, I feel like for Yahya and braswell, but yah
Yah especially he's been getting so many pressures. Just the
sack numbers haven't been quite there. So what have you
seen of what has what changed? Maybe this you know
last week with the half sack and a full one
this week, of what maybe is starting to materialize for
those numbers.

Speaker 5 (14:44):
For him just coming off being more athletic at the
top of his rush. He's a very active guy, very
powerful guy, but they started relying too much on power.

Speaker 1 (14:53):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (14:54):
Coach Edwards did a good job working with him this week,
getting up the top with power and then coming off
using working the hand, and he was very active. He
had some great rushes in this ball game.

Speaker 2 (15:04):
And we've talked about how many of the rookies have
been contributing in such huge ways this year, and Chris braswell,
I think sometimes gets lost in the discussion about all
of that and then getting that sack. Where have you
seen his progression the most this year and what his
future could look.

Speaker 3 (15:15):
Like just understanding the scheme.

Speaker 5 (15:17):
I think out of all the rookies other than Barton,
he has the hardest position to learn because he has
the most responsibility as doing many different things. So he
can be a dropper, he can be a rusher. He's
got to play the run. He's got to do it.
He's got to play the pass. He can do a
lot of things, and it takes time in that position
to get everything down. It's kind of where ya ya

(15:38):
was last year and we started moving them forward a
little bit. But Braswell's coming into his own as well.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
And what did you see from your defensive line and
outside linebackers outside of the sacks.

Speaker 5 (15:48):
They've been doing a great job in the run game.
They've been doing a great job understanding formations and knowing
what's coming at him and doing a good job stopping it.
So those guys been getting pressure. Very happy for the
middle Russia we've been getting. We finally got some outside
pressure this game.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
We just got to keep it up and we got
Jordan whitehead back off of ir How did he look
and what were you thinking of what he could mean
to the lineup and how quickly he'd be able to
be coming back in shape and able to make a
big contribution.

Speaker 5 (16:16):
He didn't get a whole bunch of action the one
deep ball before the half. He could have played better,
but the communication that he was doing in the disguising
he was doing for everybody else and making them think
one thing and were doing another was outstanding.

Speaker 2 (16:28):
And then I know you also got kJ Britt back
as well from injury. What can that mean to the
defense and just the way you guys are playing some
of the different schemes and rotations of what you were
having to do with those players in the inside linebacker spot.

Speaker 5 (16:39):
A lot more energy, for sure, a lot more communication.
kJ is probably the most talkative one out there as
far as getting everybody and directing everybody where to go.
So him coming back and getting healthy and getting his
feet we was huge for us.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
You know, we earlier talked about that bringing Shack back
might have been worth it just to motivate everybody, but otherwise,
tell me what it's been like to have him back
from just a off the field standpoint, what he means
to this team, but also the hopes of what you're
thinking he could contribute in this last little stretch of
the season here.

Speaker 5 (17:08):
It's been great just seeing him around the locker room again.
Shaq has been so instrumental in a lot of things
we've done here on and off the field. You don't
see the things he does for the defense off the field,
as far as getting ready, getting guys ready to play,
understanding what's coming at him, and teaching them the final
points of past rushing or past drops or what to
look for in certain things. So, just getting him back

(17:30):
out there and getting him out there in practice this
week just to see how he can help us is
going to be outstanding. He's fired up, We're fired up
and can't wait to see him.

Speaker 2 (17:38):
And then I know that you know the Panthers games
that were fairly close together in your two matchups, it's
been a little longer since the last Saints matchup. What
are the biggest differences and similarities in this matchup now
with who they are and who we are at this
point versus the last game.

Speaker 5 (17:53):
Well, I think we're both It's going to be a dogfight.
They got some very tough guys over there, with Tomrio,
obviously Cam Jordan and obviously Tiring. They got a bunch
of guys Pennings over there. They got some guys they're
very proud for, and we know it's going to be
a tough game. We had to do this last year
against Carolina, going in with the last game to win
just to get in the playoffs. Now it's the Saints,

(18:13):
so bitter rivals but a ton of respect on the side.
But it's going to be a tough ball game and
we know that going in. We just got to approach it,
keep doing the little things right and play how we've
been playing.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
And I know also when it is I mean a
game where it all comes down to this, and then
it also happens to be against kind of your most
bitter rival. What are the ways that you try to
get guys to have the right mindset, attitude approach to
it where you don't want to be too high or
getting you know, letting your e motions get out of hand,
but still understanding the stakes of it. So how is
it affect it of it being so much writing on
this game and against a team that you are pretty

(18:46):
familiar with.

Speaker 5 (18:47):
Well, it's not doing so much. It's a matter of
what did you do to get here? You know, keep
doing the little things that got you here. Those are
the things that's going to help you win the ball game.
If you go outside and try to do extra, me
you weren't doing extra in the first place. You continue
to do what we've been doing. And I think we'll
be fine.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
And of course they've had a lot of injuries on
their offensive side of the ball in particular, who are
some of the big people that you feel like we
should be looking out for, and just things you've learned
from either that first matchup or since then about the
way that they're performing offensively.

Speaker 5 (19:18):
Well, I think Rattler's gotten significantly better. He was just
getting his first taste when we were kind of playing them.
Cedric Wilson on the outside about this scantling. They have
two veteran receivers out there. They got Clyde Edwards Hilaire
from Kansas City who's.

Speaker 3 (19:32):
Running the ball for him.

Speaker 5 (19:33):
So they got some names and they got some pretty
good players over there that they can still score points.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
And then if you were to say keys to the
game from based on our standpoint, what are the top
things maybe on each side of the ball you'd want
to see us do offensively?

Speaker 5 (19:46):
We got to control the line of scrimmage. We got
to control the line of scrimmage and we can't turn
it over. Defensively, we got to stop the run and
we can't give up big plays by trick place.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
All right, well, coach, thank you as always for your time.
We really appreciate it and good luck.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
Coming out next on Buccaneers Total Access, we'll have Director
of Performance Science Dave Hamilton, brought to you by Advan Health.
This is Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by ad Van Health.

Speaker 3 (20:10):
Shotgun. Look if you're at golf, Bill high Snapper keeps a.

Speaker 6 (20:13):
Pressure Peace sacked on the back field in the thirty
one yard line le Monte.

Speaker 3 (20:17):
David shoots like a watchin and got it.

Speaker 4 (20:19):
Phil Hi after roping. Now more with Bucks team reporter
Casey Phillips.

Speaker 2 (20:23):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access. First half of the
show we had head coach Todd Bowles. Now I'm so
excited to be joined by Director of Performance Science Dave Hamilton. Dave,
thanks for being with us.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
It's always a pleasure.

Speaker 2 (20:35):
Yeah, And you know, I mean, there was a big,
big win, big celebration. I'm sure there's a lot of celebrating.
So I feel like I appreciate that you're still willing
to come in in the midst of all the holidays,
in the midst of all the chaos. I very much
appreciate it, and I feel like your role is one
that our fans are super interested in, especially when we've
done some videos with you this last year at training
camp and some of the things. People are so intrigued
by all of the stuff that now encompasses sports science.

(20:57):
So I'm really excited to get into all of it.
And before we do that, I'd love to hear just
what it's like for you to be a part of
a big win like that. And we hear from coaches,
we hear from players, but there are so many other
staff members that are part of making games like that possible.
So what's that like for you?

Speaker 7 (21:11):
Yeah, I mean, anytime you get a win in this
league is always feels special because they're never given. But yeah, yesterday,
I think to bounce back from the previous week the
way that we did, I think was huge and it's
just nice to know that at this point there's a
lifeline and everything's still kind of going and moving in

(21:32):
the right direction we kind of want to be. So
it was a big win. And then obviously the game
after followed helped a lot. So yeah, all to play
for it's exciting, I think.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Yeah, it's a great time of year. I mean, you
just couldn't write it any better. In a lot of
ways than coming down to the last week against your
rival at home for the playoff spot. So for people
who aren't aware of Director of Performance Science, tell them
exactly what your role is here and kind of what
that means.

Speaker 7 (21:54):
It's so the role itself is really good around removing
subjectivity from performance decisions. It encompasses like working with multiple
departments to try and work with understanding how can we
mitigate the risk of injury, how can we make sure
athletes arrive at game day feeling fresh and ready to perform,

(22:16):
working with coaches on some of the intrinsic details of
practice load and kind of the macro look of how
we progressing through a season. And so we'll do things
like when athletes come and they join our program, we
want to understand from a profiling standpoint, what are the
physical attributes.

Speaker 1 (22:35):
That they have.

Speaker 7 (22:36):
Where are potentially some opportunities for us to make quick
gains so that they can perform more effectively on the field.
If we have any athletes who are unfortunate enough to
get injured, it's about how do we expedite that return
to play, working with medical and so to do that,
we'll do benchmarking and understanding of some sort of strength
diagnostic work, so we know where are they at right now,

(22:58):
where do they need to get to order be to
perform again. And then, like I said, a big piece
of it is worked for us is wearable. So we're
going to look at how guys are sleeping, how much
work they're doing on the field, how much work they
do off the field, and then ultimately what's the impact
of that work on their ability to perform on the weekend.
So it's kind of all encompassing to some degree. I

(23:22):
would break it down almost into three pillars. The first
pillar being let's make sure we have our athletes available
to compete, so that's a big kind of screening injury
prevention standpoint. Then we want to get the athletes to
be the best physical ethic they can be on the field,
so then you're looking at how to make them better
at their particular position or the demands of the game.
And then the third piece is when they arrive at

(23:44):
game day, we want to make sure that they're fresh,
because if they arrive at game day carrying any amounts
of fatigue, then that's going to impact their ability to
perform on the field. So it's kind of three pillars
that we try and manage across all departments and work
with everyone to put together a better program.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
And I imagine a lot of peopleople are like, how
do you get this job? What is the background for
someone to do something like this? So what was your
background and how did you get to this point? Is?
How does someone become qualified for sports science?

Speaker 1 (24:10):
The nephew of Jason L.

Speaker 2 (24:13):
No, that's a joke I could sense from the accent especially, Yeah,
there you go.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
I'm actually from Texas. So No.

Speaker 7 (24:22):
I did my degree in sports science in the UK,
and then I did my masters in exercise science or
strength conditioning through Edith count and Australia. I worked with
the Great Britain Olympic Team for two Olympic cycles. I
then worked for the USA Olympic Team for rio all
obviously doing what I'm doing strength conditioning, sports science. And

(24:44):
then I went to Penn State for three years and
then I was fortunate enough to land here at.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
The That's pretty cool. And what would you say is
a typical day or week for you? What would your
schedule look like in the way you're spending your time
to do all those things you mentioned earlier?

Speaker 7 (25:00):
Yes, so The first step is, let's say we've had
a game on Sunday, we kind of we're going to
come in on a Monday morning and we're going to
go through the game data. So we're going to look
through that, We're going to work out what was the
load for the players. We then go from an individual
standpoint and look at how did this week's game look
relatively to previous games they've had, how was their practice

(25:22):
load the week prior, And we look at all that
information start to garnish whether an athlete is potentially overworked
or underworked in a good place, and we'll make some
decisions there. We also have potential injuries that have occurred
on that game day, and we're just trying as best
we can start to piece together what is the pathway.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
Back the return to play for them.

Speaker 7 (25:46):
So Monday is very much about game data and then
getting reports out to all the relevant parties, so the
performance teaming to get information about player looad, how much
work people have done, who is now on our watch list,
like based on the information we've we've learned, like what
are we need to be careful of going into Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday practice a bigger picture or oversight of the previous

(26:06):
week is put together. Here's what we did, here, what
the outcome is, and here's some thoughts going into next week.
If we want to make sure we're in a good place,
and then Wednesday we're into practice as normal Wednesday Thursday.
So in that case, we're looking at individual athletes and
trying to manage some of their practice load if they
need it. So ultimately, based on that third pillar that

(26:27):
I spoke about, when they come to game day, have
we made sure they're fresh or have we made them fatigued?

Speaker 1 (26:33):
And it's not always easy to.

Speaker 7 (26:35):
Ensure that everyone's fresh because there's work that needs to
get done and coaches want to get their X and
o's completed, and it's a long season, and it's a
long season and a lot we're kind of looking at.
But to the best of our ability, we're going to
take those starters. We're going to try and tweak little
reps here and there and plays and elements of their
indie period to make them feel a little bit better
going into game day. Outside of that, we've got lift sessions.

(27:00):
We're going to do some analysis on what we call
neuro muscular fatigues. The guys will come in on the
on a Wednesday, they'll get on a fource plate.

Speaker 1 (27:08):
They'll do a jump for us.

Speaker 7 (27:09):
When they do that jump, we're looking at their effectively
their neuro muscular system, which is their ability to do speed,
power reactivity, and by the type of technique that they'll
use to complete the jump. They'll do it the same
as always, but we can see little changes underneath the
hood of their system that tells us whether there's fatigue.

(27:29):
So we'll use that to then have a conversation about
do we need to manage this athletes in a good
place or a bad place.

Speaker 2 (27:36):
Just from one jump.

Speaker 7 (27:37):
Essentially it's three jumps, but it's a lot of normative
data that we have for them, so we start to
understand is this a meaningful change positively or negativity for them.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
We'll do wellness, which is.

Speaker 7 (27:49):
Very much subjective their opinion on how much muscles once
they have, how much sleep did they have, what's their
mood right now, or energy, so we'll get an insight
into how they're generally tolerating the work. So we have
that on Wednesday Friday, we're going to look at some
hormonal data, so a saliva sample that will tell us
about their testoscer and causal. That's another indicator of whether

(28:12):
in a state of stress or recovery. And you're taking
all that information, you're looking at the practice load. Now
we're trying to refine what's going on Thursday Friday for
those individuals, and we're getting a nice pitch of where
the team is at as we progress.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
As you said through the.

Speaker 7 (28:25):
Season, they have all their wearables on the field, so
they've got the GPS. We can see how far they run,
how fast they run, how many times they accelerate, how
many times they decelerate. So all that information is telling
us at the front end of the equation, how much
work are they doing? And then the hormone stuff, the
jump date of the wellness, that's telling us how are
they responding to that? And that's the equation I was

(28:47):
talking about. That wasn't very clear about the beginning.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Yeah, no, this makes sense.

Speaker 7 (28:50):
But that's the equation. So then we're using that to
then have meaningful conversations.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
Very cool. We're talking to Director of Performance Science, Dave Hamilton.
How have you seen the ways that all the different
departments have to work together to accomplish what you're talking about?
I mean you have a nutrition team, you have a
sports science team, you have a strength and conditioning even rehab,
you have the training staff. That's a lot of people
all dealing with the idea of guys being at their

(29:15):
peak selves. So what are the ways you guys all
try to share data and work together.

Speaker 7 (29:19):
In that Yeah, I mean number one, it's where we're located.
So the fact that our offices and that workspace is
together always helps, having kind of those choral conversations or
those quick kind of conversations on an athlete. And then
another piece of it or a layer is constant updates
and reports every day. So every day there's a report
that will go out giving a quick little brief of

(29:41):
what happened and where everyone is now, kind of the
situ of the group.

Speaker 1 (29:46):
So if you see it like the first part of
the report is.

Speaker 7 (29:48):
Going to be where the team is at, then we're
going to look at here's some insights on position groups,
here's some insights or watch list for individuals.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
So that comes out every day.

Speaker 7 (29:55):
So immediately everybody's getting that email from coaches to personnel
to perform and staff. So there's kind of a clear
understanding of the data that we collect.

Speaker 1 (30:05):
Read the news. This is the news of the day.

Speaker 7 (30:08):
And then obviously everybody is an expert in their area
and they're going to start making insights, and those insights
will involve another conversation and just making sure that they're
drawing on all the right skill sets and make sure
all the right people and personnel know so that the
changes happen. Otherwise it's just a great idea that nothing
kind of transpires. So, yeah, the communication is fairly fluid,

(30:29):
but there's definitely a formal element of making sure everybody's
getting the same piece information.

Speaker 1 (30:34):
Singing from the same hymn sheet. That's a Christmas reference.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
I love that so timely and tell me also, I
have to imagine that getting coaches, in front office people
and players themselves to buy in is very important. What
are the ways that you guys have seen that from
this organization and the ways you even try to help
with the buy in to understand what you guys are
trying to do.

Speaker 7 (30:56):
Yeah, I think I think Jason Light very early on
had a clear understanding what he wanted to achieve with
regards to his performance staff and how they interacted with coaches.

Speaker 1 (31:05):
So I've been the role for six.

Speaker 7 (31:07):
Years and I believe it was kind of his baby,
this kind of concept of putting it in place. So
I think when you have that from ownership, they kind
of understand and appreciate that the world we live in now,
in the performance environment that we live in, is very
much data driven. Like there's no really hiding from it.
The NFL is promoting it. And so making sure you

(31:28):
have the right personnel who can take that data use
it effectively, and then have the right people on the
bus you know, who are going to want to work together,
is a big piece of it because I've definitely been
and I've seen in other locations where you can have
conflict and as much as you're trying to get the
data out there, it doesn't really go anywhere. So having

(31:50):
the right people on board is critical. And like I say,
having those senior stakeholders and ownership seeing the value in it,
it only.

Speaker 1 (31:59):
Helps us more effective to what you want to do
as a group.

Speaker 7 (32:02):
It's always a balance of once versus needs, like what
do we need to do versus what do we want
to do? And I think as you get closer to,
you know, the working end of the season, it becomes
more about needs, like we need to get this done

(32:22):
versus those additional ones. And the more you can prioritize
and think of what's gonna move the performance needle today
and pull away some of the junk stuff that's just
the fluff and really prioritize that becomes important. And that's
where working as a team to prioritize what's important is great.

Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yeah, we're gonna take you a quick break here. We're
talking to Director of Performance Science Dave Hamilton on Buccaneers
Total Access brought to you by Avan Health. This is
Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 4 (32:49):
You were listening to Buccaneers Total Access with head coach
Todd Bowles and Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips, brought to
you by ad Van Help.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access brought to you by
Advent Health. We are talking to Director of Performance Science,
Dave Hamilton. We talked about how obviously data is such
a huge part of what you guys do to be
able to do your jobs, and you mentioned some of
the ways you accept that data. I know that the
GPS one in particular is so interesting. What are all
of the things that it tells you and winter guys

(33:19):
wearing it and everything that comes out of the specific
GPS thing.

Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yes, So they don't work it gain ding.

Speaker 7 (33:25):
They use another system called Zebra, which is based through
a chip in their pads, and then there's many cameras
in the stadiums and we're able to take that data
and convert it into what we use with regards to
the readouts the metrics that you're talking about. So in practice,
they're going to wear a GPS unit. It sits between

(33:47):
their shoulder blades and it's GPS because it works with
the satellites in the sky, and so those satellites are
gonna be able to pinpoint where you are on the Earth.
And then because of the speed in which they're being
read ten hertz ten times per second, it knows where
you are. And then based on that, it's what we
call time motion analysis. So if you were here at

(34:08):
ten and now you're here at ten oh one, it's
able to calculate how far you were, the distance you
traveled using basic physics, and you're going to work at
the time at sorry the speed in which you got that,
et cetera. And then within that unit, there's also what
we call an accelerometer triaxl accelerometer, which means that it's
going to know whether you move this direction, that direction,

(34:29):
and up and down, and so that helps with player load.
So when a player gets hit or they accelerate, it's
picking up that G force of movement. Ah, So you
have the satellite you plus you have that. So then
what we're able to get from practice is a real
understanding of how fast you moved, how far you moved,
As I said before, how much you accelerate, how much
you decelerate. Because if I move fast physiologically, that creates

(34:53):
what we would call a strain on your central nervous system.
But if you have con that's now aedema, a muscle
damage different, So you've got one that's created like a
neural stress, one that's creating a muscle damage. And then
if you accelerate and decelerate, I run fast and I
stop as quick as I can. That's a lot of

(35:15):
eccentric muscle damage when you decelerate. So you're getting these
different physiological stresses and those the unit is able to
give us an idea of did they get exposure to
more of this, more of that, or more of the other.
And as a result of the physical stress these athletes
get and positions they play are different. So if I've
got a wide receiver, they run a lot. If I've

(35:38):
got a special teams player, they run high speed and collision.
And if I've got an O line, they don't run
a lot, and they shouldn't, but they do have a
lot of contact. So we're able to garnish from that
kind of what was the physical poke or stress that
you've got in this particular practice, and then the recovery
modality that we're going to advise is based on that

(36:00):
type of shock that your system had. So to go
you want to go a little bit deeper, I'm.

Speaker 2 (36:05):
All for it. Tell me all the things I'm learning
so much. I feel like I'm back at school.

Speaker 7 (36:08):
Okay, So if I had a lot of contact, then
I'm going to have a lot of inflammation within the
muscle damage, blood break. Yes, so then ice is a
great way to reduce inflammation. And therefore, if we ice
get you an ice bath, it's going to help you
be able to recover and get back to play again
the next day. If I did a lot of high

(36:30):
speed running, that's going to affect my central nervous system,
and that responds really well to contrast hot and cold
so in order to help that system replenish or recover,
you might want to use more contrast word huh. And
if I've done a lot of running well, that typically
results in muscle glycogen stores going down, so that the

(36:51):
energy source of the muscle gets depleted.

Speaker 2 (36:53):
Here we are. I was like, you lost me, you
got me back.

Speaker 7 (36:56):
So now if we put you in heat, heat's going
to increase circulation potentially support the replenishment of those energy source.
So it's important to understand what was this the physical stress? Yeah,
you were given and now be a little bit more
accurate with the recovery modality.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
That's amazing, And I'm sure we're talking to the director
of Performance Science, Dave Hamilton. I know that's all the
stuff that is the most useful. But I also know
our players to know where I bet all they care
about is who ran the fastest today? Am I correct
in that?

Speaker 1 (37:22):
You are?

Speaker 2 (37:24):
Tell me how much guys end up asking about this?
Do you use this as some helpful motivators? How much
are we are we giving the guys some of the
data about the competitive side that I know comes out.

Speaker 7 (37:34):
Yeah, so of all the fantastic data we do, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (37:38):
With all these deep, meaningful things.

Speaker 1 (37:40):
Yeah, they don't care.

Speaker 7 (37:41):
Yeah, so they care about who, like you said, me
the fastest. So what we do is, at the end
of every practice, we will post the five fastest skills,
the five fastest big skills, the five fastest bigs and
they get to see that every day on the board
of who who is the fastest? Now jokes aside, by
doing that practice of posting them at the end of

(38:03):
every practice, it's important in order to mitigate injury risk
that you expose yourself to high risk activities. And sprinting
is a high risk activity. So if you don't do
it very often and then you do it, there's a
chance that.

Speaker 2 (38:17):
You get hurt.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
Hurt yourself.

Speaker 7 (38:19):
You want tissue to be able to tolerate loads, yep.
And so by posting the speeds, we're promoting guides hitting
high speeds more often, which serves as a mitigating risk
factor for injury. So we're reducing the risk of injury
by having them like to run fast.

Speaker 1 (38:35):
Yeah, that's important.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
I like that. And how much can you tell us
about who ends up on those lists?

Speaker 7 (38:40):
Fairly often it's generally whoever puts the most cash at.

Speaker 1 (38:43):
My desk.

Speaker 2 (38:45):
Forget this GPS.

Speaker 7 (38:51):
No, so it depends on special teams. Guys generally get
an opportunity within practice to open up, so there's a
good chance those guys get up there. It's really not
actually the same five guys either side we do it.
I think we do a fairly good job as a
coaching staff and within practice that it's it's not always

(39:14):
the same guys. But also I think that's reflective of
the population in the group we have that there's a
good level of competition when it comes to speed.

Speaker 2 (39:22):
Yeah, do you know who's hit top speeds for practice
or games this year?

Speaker 7 (39:28):
This year, top of my head, we have had a
few guys in the twenty ones in practice.

Speaker 1 (39:40):
You want me to name it?

Speaker 2 (39:41):
Yes, I do very much. So do I do very
much want that?

Speaker 7 (39:43):
Okay, so Zion mccollumn one, yep. Josh Hayes would be another.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
Wow.

Speaker 7 (39:51):
One that may surprise people would be Sean Tucker I
think may have actually had the fastest practice.

Speaker 2 (39:57):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (40:00):
Cam Johnson.

Speaker 2 (40:01):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (40:04):
They would be for the skills.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
Yeah, that's pretty cool. I like that. So now also
we know, so Shaq Barrett comes back, has n't been
playing for a while. What are the roles that you
guys are sports science people can play and helping get
someone either whether it's coming back from an injury or
it's just coming back from being out for a while.
What are the things that you guys do to try
to help with that.

Speaker 7 (40:25):
Yeah, we're fortunate when it's an ex player comes back,
we have a lot of data on them already. So
immediately with Shaq, we were able to put him through
a little bit of a conditioning assessment, work out.

Speaker 1 (40:35):
Where he was, where is he right now?

Speaker 7 (40:38):
And we were also able to get him back on
the force play and quickly establish, particularly the guy who
plays on the edge, how his rate of force development is,
how his twitchiness is, how his power is. Getting him
on a force plate, we can quickly see where is
he now versus where was he, So we use that

(40:58):
to then target the way his prescription maybe needs to
look for the next week or two.

Speaker 2 (41:03):
That's so interesting And then I know, also, how much
is it you are creating individual plans for every player
versus just kind of like you said, what the team
needs to do. How individualized is everything that you guys
try to suggest, Yeah.

Speaker 7 (41:20):
I mean conditioning and medical do a really good job
Let's be clear, like it's not me doing that, it's
working with those departments to make sure that we're all
on the same.

Speaker 1 (41:28):
Page what needs to be done. But yeah, we as.

Speaker 7 (41:32):
An organization do a really nice job of trying to
individualize for everyone, and it's really not broad brush prescription.
Everything is tweaked for you for them so that everyone
feels number one that we care and number two that
they're actually making gains in areas that are important for them.
So everything's in individuali as best we can from a
recovery standpoint, from the stuff they do on the field

(41:53):
with the guys to trying to help educate coaches on
who can and can't.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
Go full today to the work they do in the.

Speaker 7 (42:00):
Weight room and the type of lift they'll have to
support that development.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
All Right, we're gonna take one more break here on
Buccaneers Total Access, talking a Director of Performance Science Dave Hamilton,
brought to you by Advan Health.

Speaker 4 (42:11):
This is Buccaneers Radio Buccaneers Total Access with head coach
Todd Bowles. Now continues brought to you by Advan Health.

Speaker 2 (42:20):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access. We are talking to
Director of Performance Science, Dave Hamilton. Okay, so tell me.
We know we play somewhere that it is hot a
whole lot, especially as they first come in. All the
things that you guys do to help manage the heat,
but prepare people for it, and then also how much
is it getting to be used to our advantage compared

(42:42):
to other teams.

Speaker 7 (42:44):
Yeah, so camp for us is the hottest time that
we've going to kind of deal with. So it's kind
of a two pronged approach. The first being that we
can't get away from the heat. But also we know
that heat offers a physiological benefit, so there are performance

(43:07):
benefits to training in the heat. But what we also
know is you don't need a lot of exposure in
the heat to get those benefits. So then anything we
do above and beyond that kind of threshold is now
just creating more fatigue for us. So when you practice
in heat to attempt as we work in, you typically

(43:28):
will see a twenty percent increase in physiological stress, but
a twenty percent drop in output.

Speaker 1 (43:36):
It's a big swing.

Speaker 7 (43:37):
So in other words, we're not moving very fast, we're
not moving very far, but it really hurts us. Now
that's great when other teams come because we will adapt
to this heat, which means that when we perform in
the heat, we're going to be a lot more efficient
than other teams, and that's a performance edge. But as
I was saying in the camp phase, if we do
that too much, actually all we're doing is work humulate

(44:00):
more and more stress, and that means that we're just
not going to perform very well. So then the balance
comes in. All the two prong approach I mentioned is
where we now have to say, Okay, we want that
heat exposure to a certain extent, and now we're going
to want to try and keep these guys as cool
as possible so we can keep performing and practicing and
get the quality practice.

Speaker 1 (44:21):
So then we'll use different cooling methodologies.

Speaker 7 (44:23):
We have the cooling benches which guys can sit on
pumping out cold air. That's going to help them subjectively
feel better. It's not doing a lot physically, but mentally
I feel like I'm sat in a cold bench, and
therefore I can give you a little bit more. The
pieces of equipment they're a little bit better, are things
like the cold sponges on the head, the ice towels

(44:46):
around the wrist, the avias which is the cooling tubes
we use which stimulates the arterial venus anastomosis in your palms,
which is the fastest way to drop your core temperature.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
So just by holding this cold, by.

Speaker 7 (44:59):
Holding the cold, it's going to work to kind of
circulate cold blood through your system a lot faster. So
it's one of the superior ways to cool down. Research
by guy called Craig Heller in Stamford, that's where it
came from. There's that, and then we have the cooling
box which sits at like twenty degrees that the players

(45:23):
can use as a kind of intermittent way to go
from the field cool down and then go inside as well.
So it's all kind of designed so there comes a
point where we get our heat exposure and now going
to start throwing a few cooling interventions at them so
that we can drop core temperature and still allow them
to practice effectively.

Speaker 2 (45:42):
Do you use any of those methods on game day
as well? Or is this mainly a training camp thing
in the hopes that by the time you get to
game day you don't need them.

Speaker 1 (45:49):
Yeah, this is where it's a benefit for us.

Speaker 7 (45:54):
But then also we'll sometimes see teams come and because
we do have the cooling benches. Both teams have the
cooling benches, plus they have the shades and they are effective.
And also the way the game is played, there are
always opportunities to get off the field, to sit cool
and get back on for three four six minute exposure.
So as much as it's an advantage for us to

(46:14):
practice in the heat, when teams play us in the heat,
the NFL do a really good job of making it's
even and that these guys are actually cooling down.

Speaker 1 (46:24):
I think we see more.

Speaker 7 (46:27):
Impact of teams playing us in the heat when there
are timeouts and they physically have to stand in the
heat for three minutes. Is where it's exhausting. Interesting because
they're on the field. They stood in the middle of
the field, there's nowhere to go in that the sun
is just beaten down on you. That's where we have
the edge, and that's when when they start playing after
a timeout, you'll see the benefit when actually the game

(46:48):
is on and off and they get to sit down
and come on actually quite cool, and it's going to
take the two or three minutes before their core temperature
gets elevated to a point where it's limiting performance. Well,
they may be off at that point or yeah, and.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
Then I know we're talking to director of Performan Signs,
Dave Hamilton. We also have the indoor facility here. How
do you guys choose when and how much to use that,
what temperature it's at and the inside and I know,
obviously lightning that's a separate thing, but just from an
actual performance standpoint, what are the thoughts of that.

Speaker 7 (47:14):
Yeah, there's a number of things we have to consider
when we use it in camp. We can do four
or five practices on the bounce. Going outside for four
or five practice part it doesn't make much sense, so
we would probably do two outside, one indoors to it.

Speaker 1 (47:27):
Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 7 (47:27):
Find a way to kind of somehow unload that heat
stress or sun tax as we like to call it.
And so by using the indoor as a way to
just kind of break up that exposure.

Speaker 1 (47:37):
Knowing that the other thing.

Speaker 7 (47:39):
I didn't say, but basically to get the physiological benefits
of heat, you need forty minutes exposure. That's all you need.
We'll practice for two hours, so that's why we use
the cooling devices. But to get the full benefit, you're
going to need fourteen to fifteen days within a month.
So if we're in a month and we've already hit
fifteen days, and we can start using the indoor a

(47:59):
little bit more because we know we've got the physiological
benefits and now we just want to make sure that
we're controlling the amount of suntext and exposure we're putting
on the guys.

Speaker 1 (48:08):
So that's how we use the indoor.

Speaker 7 (48:10):
But it's turf versus grass, and so now you've got
to look at the big guys and the way they
put their foot into the ground and how much turf
will disperse versus grass. They feel different loads. So typically
when you're on grass, you're going to find that it's
a little bit firmer, and so as a result, your

(48:34):
muscles and tendons work well together. The minute you're on
the turf and it gets a little bit softer with
that rubber, and it's kind of giving way. You find
that the muscles will overwork, they get heavier legs, so
there's always an impact to it. If you practice on
a turf all the time, it's no problem. But when
you're crossing over, if you have guys who have tendon issues,

(48:55):
then they typically start to flare up, so you have
to be really kind of careful with how you choose
and how often you do it, et cetera.

Speaker 2 (49:01):
That's so interesting. And then also, I know recently we've had,
you know, a west coast trip, we've had a night game,
a one pm game. That there's a bunch of different
factors when it comes to travel and then what time
they're playing. What are some of the things that you
guys do to mitigate that of whether it is a
West coast trip, whether it is a Sunday night, you know,
road trip, and then going right into a one pm game,
and how you guys try to.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
Adjust for that, Yeah, a lot of it.

Speaker 7 (49:24):
I mean going to Europe was a big one, and
that's not what you're asking about.

Speaker 2 (49:29):
But I like that too. I'm all for that.

Speaker 7 (49:31):
You're talking about significant time time changes, and so then
you've got to look at, Okay, how quick can I
get them to adjust to where we're arriving to what
are the impact what's the impact on our diurnal rhythm?
So hormone levels fluctuate throughout the day, and as a
result of that, hormone levels can be very favorable for

(49:51):
performance or they can be negative for performance. You want
to make sure when we play that they're in a
good place. That's where adjusting to the time zone is critical.
When we go to the West Coast, we're always gonna
feel like we're playing at four o'clock eight o'clock because
of the time difference for us, So one o'clock game,
there is like a four o'clock game, am I right? Yeah, yes, right, see,

(50:12):
we do it so much it is confusing, so that's
favorable for us. So really, when we go West Coast,
we don't want to go too early. We want to
go like this year, we got there and arrived midday.
That gave us a nice portion of the day to
adjust to being there where we don't feel rushed and
we're shoehorning everything in.

Speaker 1 (50:31):
It had like decent time between events.

Speaker 7 (50:37):
You're always gonna sleep well the first night because you're
just the time difference.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
You're staying up longer than normal.

Speaker 7 (50:42):
So then when you go to bed, you've got this
bigger Denzenine drive in your head that makes you want
to sleep. And then we're gonna wake up. Guys are
gonna wake up relatively early because we're three hours ahead,
so seven o'clock wake up. We may have guys waking
up at five or six, Well, that's great because for
a one o'clock game, there they've been awake for seven
or eight hours, and we know for optim performance being

(51:04):
awake for six to seven hours is perfect.

Speaker 2 (51:07):
Huh.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
So there are some favorable.

Speaker 7 (51:08):
Things to travel to the west coast, whereas if you
went west to east, I'd probably see it probably a
little bit more of a disadvantage.

Speaker 2 (51:16):
That's really interesting. And does it matter from a nighttime
game to a one pm game? Are there things you
guys try to do to affect that or is that
just their okay?

Speaker 7 (51:27):
So there will be different kickoff time strategies that we
will use with the players. So if it's a one
o'clock game, that morning routine and wake up and activities
that we do are different to an eight o'clock game.
And in simple terms, if you have an eight o'clock
at night game, that's a very long day to have

(51:48):
an arousal stay right, Like, I know I'm playing at
eight o'clock. Come up, I'm thinking about it. You just
you know you're playing today and it goes for long time.
So what we try and do is if it's a
late game, we'll try and make it into two short days.
So we'll take a nap at like one or two o'clock.
So now you can wake up, eat activate, meet sleep,

(52:09):
wake up, eat activate one you know what I mean
in play, So you're trying to just cut up the
longer day into two short days. That way you're not
wasting energy, You're allowing yourself to get into a more
favorable place to perform.

Speaker 1 (52:22):
Yeah, that's the art of it, I think the art
and science.

Speaker 2 (52:24):
So yeah, I love that. Well, thank you so much
for coming on with us. This has been so interesting,
and thank you for everything you and your department do
for the team. Pleasure all R right, that's gonna do
it for us. On Buccaneers Total Access brought to you
Vivan Health. This is Buccaneers Radio