The Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster is young and their head coach is heading into his first season leading an NFL team. So the opportunity to learn from arguably the league’s top franchise of the last decade, the New England Patriots, could prove invaluable.

The Patriots joined the Bucs for workouts at One Buccaneer Place on Wednesday, giving players and coaches alike a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a franchise that has been the envy of many around the NFL for years.

There were many positives to holding the joint practices with the Patriots, coach Greg Schiano told Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. “There are a lot of reasons for it, but, No. 1, you do get into a little bit of a lull here, and so this is something that excites the players; heck, it even excites me," Schiano said. "You get a championship organization to come down and practice against, you get to watch as you are doing it how they do things. So, it was really a good experience."

But forget the whole idea of changing the routine -- simply rubbing elbows with the Patriots and watching their star players go through their daily work could pay dividends for both Schiano and his players. Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune noted Schiano has a unique opportunity to learn from Bill Belichick, a man who apparently can be both inspiring and intimidating:

"I don't get nervous around a lot of people," Bucs defensive lineman Gerald McCoy said. "But (Belichick) was walking through the hall earlier, I dang near turned the other way. I don't want to look this man in his eyes. There's something about him. He has a presence about him."

Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times said Schiano isn’t the only one who should be taking notes. After a 4-12 season a year ago, it’s clear the Buccaneers have plenty of learning to do, and the young players should have some excellent role models to watch with the Patriots in town.

“It's like being in a garage band and trying to master the C chord on your guitar and all of a sudden Jimi Hendrix walks into the room,” Shelton wrote.

  • Bucs, Tampa Sports Authority battle over $11.6 million: The city of Tampa plans to reclaim $11.6 million in money earmarked 16 years ago for the Buccaneers to build a practice facility, and the organization isn’t happy about it, reports Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. The team ultimately built a facility with its own money to ensure it, and not the Tampa Sports Authority, would own and control the facility, but franchise representatives insist the team’s lease agreement at Raymond James Stadium calls for any unused money to be kept for stadium improvements. The city has said it plans to take back the money for now but will honor the agreement and repay in full whenever such improvements need made. The franchise made some moves to earn public goodwill this offseason -- spending more in free agency, lowering some ticket prices -- but may jeopardize those efforts by taking a hard line against the city, writes Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune.
  • Clark could be featured prominently against Pats: Tampa Bay has deliberately limited the work of tight end Dallas Clark this preseason in the hopes of keeping the veteran healthy, as he has played only 17 games in the past two seasons due to injury issues. But Clark, one of the team’s key offseason acquisitions, expects to see more time Friday against the Patriots, and he hopes to show off the chemistry he has built with quarterback Josh Freeman, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. 

For more from Tampa Bay Bucs blogger Patrick Southern, follow @CBSSportsNFLTB on Twitter.