Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby says team's practice habits need to change

Buccaneers outside linebacker Yaya Diaby says the team's disappointing season was due in part to practices that weren't intense enough to prepare the team for the physicality of game day.

Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles used a lot of lower-intensity walk-through practices because so many players were injured, but Diaby says practices in the NFL can't always be easy, or else the players aren't ready for the rigors of a game.

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“We had more walk-throughs this year than any other year,” Diaby said, via PewterReport.com. “I’m not going to lie. I’m a straightforward guy. That’s one of the things I do want to talk to Coach Bowles about, especially with me possibly being a captain next year. Just letting him know that has to change. We need to prepare the right way. We have to prepare to win. I know injuries are a big thing in this league, but being ready for a game is just as important as anything else. Me, I love practice. This whole year, the practices that we’ve had that we’ve actually run through, I take it super serious. His point is to have mental reps, and I understand the mental reps. But at the same time, football is a physical game. You have to be in it. You can’t just walk through everything. I feel like that’s the next step, especially with me being here three years and seeing what we’ve done good and what we’ve done bad. That’s the next step.”

After making the playoffs the last five years, the Bucs fell short this year. Something has to change, and Diaby thinks it's the way the team practices.