Greg Schiano takes great pride in being an obsessed-with-details guy. So one must wonder why the head coach recently chose to chat with a Chicago-based national sportswriter about the possibility of rookie Mike Glennon winning the Bucs’ starting quarterback job just hours before the first 2013, full-squad practice this morning.

For a commander of Schiano’s intellect, surely his comments were a calculated media move — and Joe can only speculate it was done to light a raging fire under the buttocks of Josh Freeman.

The only problem is the notion of Glennon starting “if he wins the job” (Schiano’s words) is utter nonsense. Freeman knows it and thinking fans know it, too.

Glennon has zero chance of winning the QB job out of the preseason, and barring injury to Freeman he’ll only get to start if, in Schiano’s mind, Freeman has lost the job during the regular season and the organization wants to move on from No. 5.

Freeman will earn $8.4 million, plus incentives, this season. There’s absolutely zero chance he’s riding the bench out of training camp unless Schiano has completely lost his mind.

So why did Schiano invite a writer to spread baloney about Glennon winning the job?

It’s a great question and one the head coach surely would chalk up to craving competition at all positions and simply expressing his philosophy on team sports. That’s nice, but it’s misleading. Freeman has as much chance of starting the season on the bench as DaQuan Bowers or Adrian Clayborn.

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Maligned Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has had a more productive NFL career thus far than Josh Freeman.

In recent months, Joe has heard former NFL coach and player personnel man Pat Kirwan, who co-hosts “Movin’ the Chains” with Tim Ryan on SiriusXM NFL Radio, harp a few times on Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.

In Kirwan’s eyes, Dalton still has a lot to prove and is not an established NFL quarterback. Kirwan believes this year is a do-or-die season for Dalton as a starter and the Bengals likely will go quarterback shopping after this season if Dalton does not improve.

Why does Kirwan believe this? Kirwan specifically cites Dalton’s record as a starter against teams with winning records, a paltry 3-12.

Why does Joe write this? Because Kirwan is a firm supporter of Josh Freeman, yet Freeman’s record against teams with winning records isn’t much better than Dalton’s.

In three and a half years, roughly, as a starting quarterback, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, Freeman’s record against opponents with a winning record is 6-15.

If one was to nitpick, two of those wins came in the final week of a season after the opponent (New Orleans in 2010 and Atlanta last season) had already secured their postseason positions.

Ironically Sunday morning, Evan Silva, the superb NFL analyst for both NBC Sports and Rotoworld.com, was Twitteringlike a man who just slugged down an Americano Grande about Freeman and Silva linked both Dalton and Freeman.

@evansilva: Buccaneers playing serious mind games with Freeman. Response will be critical to his career. Seems mentally fragile based on on-field play. … 2 most deceiving QB stat lines in 2012 were Josh Freeman & Andy Dalton. Neither played remotely that well. In fairness, Free has big issues.

Before Joe’s readers starting furiously typing that Joe is a Freeman hater, slow down! As Joe has written several times before, the absolute best chance for the Bucs to make the playoffs is for Freeman to not just start (ahead of rookie Mike Glennon), but to play well.

To Joe, it is very telling that Freeman struggles more often than not against good teams. Yes, yes, players should struggle against good teams. But upper echelon players rise to the occasion and don’t wilt under the pressure of, or vanish in the face of, a tough opponent.

No, Dalton’s numbers are not good at all against winning teams. But to his credit, Dalton has done more in his two seasons than Freeman has in four: Dalton has led his team to the playoffs twice.

And like the NFC South during Freeman’s career, the AFC North is annually dominated by two teams often battling for a Super Bowl, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Today is the first OTA practice of 2013 for the Bucs. And yes, Joe will have loads of content from this morning’s practice.

Today is the day for Freeman to begin playing on Dalton’s level. The level of a playoff quarterback.

For Freeman, that trek begins this morning.

Start your day with the Morning Cup of Joe from HootersCalendar.com. And don’t forget to visit HootersCalendar.com for amazing videos, pictures and cool gifts. It’s Joe’s second favorite website.

Bucs news forthcoming.

You’d soil yourself too if you ate six steaks, shrimp, a birthday cake, drank a few beers and inhaled 57 cans of Reddi Whip. [WAVE]

Joe doesn’t watch music award shows, but if more people in attendance get leg-dropped like this, Joe might start. [Deadspin]

A drunk in a bar couldn’t butcher the National Anthem this badly. Carl Lewis is outraged. [YouTube]

NASCAR won the weekend with this ad. [TheBigLead]

So Buffalo’s offense (the Bills, that is) is easier than Florida State’s? No wonder the Bills have been so miserable! [PFT]

It seems Wil Myers has just a bit of an attitude problem. [RaysIndex]

Joe sees that the story linked below has gone viral on the interwebs today after good guy Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune got a hold of Greg Schiano, who said rookie QB Mike Glennon could start for the Bucs this year.

But Schiano qualified his statement saying, “If he’s needed.”

Translation? Glennon starts if Freeman gets hurt or is Trent Dilfer-like miserable beyond words, which no one really expects, as Pompei wrote for National Football Post.

Schiano, who also recruited Flacco years ago, sees the comparisons. “Their body types are similar,” he said. “Joe is probably a little more mobile. Both are kind of deadpan guys, not screamers. They are kind of flat line that way, but in a good way. Intense competitors, both of them. Glennon has a heck of a lot of playing and production to do before he can compare to Joe in that way, but coming out of college there are some similarities.”

What will matter for Glennon moving forward isn’t how he compares to Flacco. It’s how he compares to Freeman. No one expects Glennon to beat out Freeman this year. But it’s not out of the question.

Schiano said he believes Glennon “can play quickly” if he is needed. “But our situation will be only if he’s needed,” he said. “Or if he wins the job. Look, I’m not against that. We have a starting quarterback. It’s not like we’re looking to find a starter. But competition is competition. Mike Glennon is a fierce competitor. I knew that when he was coming out of high school. Now being able to work with him a little, you can see it on the practice field.”

It’s the final paragraph (the third-last paragraph of the story) of the quote above that has many abuzz on the interwebs. Even Pompei knows that Freeman will be the starter this year, barring injury or a complete and total meltdown by Freeman.

Look, the absolute best chance for the Bucs to have a winning season much less a playoff appearance is for Freeman to shine. He has all the toys he needs. It is now in his lap; no more excuses, no more pointing to bloated stats. Win games. Now. Period.

If the Bucs rely on Glennon this season, it’s a very good bet the Bucs are in a world of trouble.

Legendary NBA analyst Hubie Brown loves to say, “You can’t teach height.”

And that philosophy is part of what has the Bucs all jacked up about the potential of fourth-round pick William Gholston.

The big defensive end is listed at 6-7, 285 pounds, and Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik thinks his college success rushing inside could translate well to the pro game, even if it doesn’t equal sacks. Dominik explained on a recent NFL.com podcast.

“Coach Schiano is a great head coach for a guy like Gholston,” Dominik said. “I think the versatility of him, too, is what’s going to make him become a better player and have a chance to be dressed and start playing more and more early in his career. I feel like he can certainly play left end. He can give you some snaps at right end, but he also did a good job at moving inside. And I think a big guy like that, that can be inside, can disrupt the passing game whether you’re sacking your quarterback or just getting your hands up and making the quarterback moving his launching point, even a half and inch to an inch ends up being a foot down the field. And so I think Gholston has a chance to do really do a lot of different things. And that’s what makes him attractive, and that’s why we’re excited we drafted him.”

Sure, Gholston’s got potential, but in a league that worships pass rushers, there’s not a huge likelihood of a great one slipping to the fourth-round out of a big program like Michigan State.

Gholston seems like a project a project-type investment that is more likely to pay dividends in 2014 and beyond.

Joe would love Gerald McCoy and the Bucs in the playoffs, but even with an improved secondary, there is much work to do for a playoff berth given how strong the NFC should be this fall.

With the revamped Bucs defensive backfield, the Bucs should have their strongest team since the flirtation with the playoffs in 2010, and quite possibly the Bucs could have their best team since Chucky roamed the sidelines and cursed at everyone.

Some national football types are smitten.

Saturday, beat writer eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune noted some think the Bucs are a playoff team because of a suddenly stacked roster, so he said on ”The End Zone,” co-hosted by Howard Balzer and Zig Fracassi, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

eye-RAH! Kaufman: There are a lot of Bucs fans down here thinking that this is a playoff team. And you know what? I’m not so sure they are wrong right now.

Howard Balzer: Well the thing was Ira, last year, at whatever point of the season it was, they were in position to at least be there in the playoff hunt and then, I think, they lost five in a row and the bottom just fell out and then [Josh] Freeman had a couple of bad games, a couple of four-interception games and all of a sudden the season ended badly. Obviously, they showed something there that first half of the season to get themselves into that [playoff hunt] and now they just have to be able to finish and be consistent the whole season.

Kaufman: No question. Greg Schiano had his share, guys, of growing pains in Year 1 after 11 years in the college circuit at Rutgers. They were missing two Pro Bowl guards. They have nine players guys – nine! – on this roster that have made the Pro Bowl. Now, one of them is [wide receiver] Steve Smith from the Giants and he is probably not going to make an impact this year but the others, Carl Nicks, David Joseph, Vincent Jackson, Doug Martin, Gerald McCoy, [Dashon] Goldson, [Darrelle] Revis. There is talent here guys.

There is talent but Joe’s not talking playoffs. Not yet. Why? Just look at the NFC landscape.

The conference is as top-heavy and loaded as Joe can remember in this century. Only six teams qualify for the playoffs; four division winners and two wild cards.

San Francisco, Green Bay, Seattle, New York, Atlanta, Minnesota, Washington and New Orleans are teams Joe believes will be the strongest in the conference. Yes, the Bucs beat Minnesota last year, but it was the Vikings, not the Bucs, who played in January.

Then throw in a few teams with enough talent to challenge for a playoff spot, like Chicago, Dallas and Detroit (which has dangerous weapons), and it’s easy to see how the Bucs could be vastly improved but watching playoff games on the couch.

On paper, the Bucs sure are improved. But to expect a playoff berth, Joe isn’t going there. That’s too much of a leap to predict with the NFC so packed with strong teams.

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Some think Joe is fueling the drama/controversy/perceived competition surrounding Josh Freeman and rookie Mike Glennon.

Actually, Joe is doing what he always does, delivering what Joe finds interesting. And what Glennon may or may not have to offer once the pads come on in July is interesting, especially since rockstar general manager Mark Dominik confirmed that Glennon will have a huge workload come August.

Glennon joined Movin’ The Chains on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday and was asked to explain where he needs work by co-host Tim Ryan.

“Right now, I mean obviously, it’s about learning this new system,” Glennon said. “That’s the No. 1 thing on my mind right now is to learn our system and what we’re trying to accomplish as an offense. And then once I’m able to do that, when it comes to the football side of execution, I think I just need to continue to get more accurate, to be more consistent, and then finally develop more foot speed and my overall athletic ability.”

It was interesting to Joe that Glennon mentioned improving his athleticism. Glennon is no young rookie; he’ll turn 24 during this season. Of course, he can improve his physical ability, but Joe’s not sure how much is realistic unless Glennon was in a situation at North Carolina State where he wasn’t focusing on it.

Regardless, Glennon is not the athlete Freeman is. It feels like ancient history, but there was a time (2010) when Freeman was the league’s No. 2 rusher at QB and a guy who could win a game with his body.

There’s a reason nearly 7,000 people were at Derby Lane in St. Pete for the Kentucky Derby. And it’s going to be hopping again today!

Watch and wager on the Preakness Stakes and soak in the amazing live greyhound racing action, highlighted by the Gold Trophy Stakes tonight. And the Derby Lane poker room? Well, it’s the best around and open 24/7 on weekends.

Various national and local media keep pushing a line of thinking that Greg Schiano and Josh Freeman have a lukewarm relationship.

Joe, however, has heard from multiple sources that Schiano and Freeman are actually tight and respect each other very much.

Freeman addressed his relationship with the Bucs head coach yesterday on the WDAE-AM 620  ”Sports Page” show.

“Actually, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Coach Schiano’s office [this offseason], talking with him around the facility,” Freeman said. “Just, you know, getting to know him better, talking about aspirations, what we’re trying to do with this team, you know, the direction.  I actually feel like my relationship with coach Schiano is probably the best of any coach. I got to know him extremely well.

.

“Like with anybody, the more you get to know them, the more you find out what they’re about, their morals, just what they stand for. And you know Coach Schiano is all about doing things the right way. It’s been an awesome relationship.”

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