So it seems Raheem The Dream did, in fact, name Jimmy Wilkerson the starting defensive end across from Gaines Adams.

Journeyman Wilkerson being named a starter was reported previously by the Bucs bedfellows with the colorful magazine and Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune. However, neither of their stories quoted anyone of authority to back up the claim.

Surely, Joe thought, Raheem The Dream wouldn’t consider naming a starter in June when he claimed he wanted a violent, competitive environment. What would be the point?

Now, finally, there is hard evidence Wilkerson has been told he’s starting. Pat “Vacation Man” Yasinskas, of BSPN.com, quotes a great source, Wilkerson himself.

“It’s up to me now to keep that starting job,” Wilkerson said. “Someone is going to have to outwork me and outperform me to get that starting job away from me.”

Vacation Man writes a nice little feature about Wilkerson. And Joe is surely rooting for him.

But naming Wilkerson the starter now seems pointless, unless he’s the kind of dude who needs extra hugs and love and appreciation to stay motivated.

But the whole thing seems to run contrary to The Dream’s desire to have his young team fighting for jobs at every position. A contradiction in place for Sabby Piscitelli, as well.

The weekend is here!

For some reason Joe has the Budweiser jingle ringing in his ears. Strange.

While Joe always reminds his loyal readers about his Facebook account and his Twitter account, Joe also wants to remind readers that Joe and his hockey-crazed sister Amanda will be covering tonight’s NHL draft on JoeBoltsFan.com like a blanket.

Expect waves of posts when the Bolts pick No. 2 overall, or even if they trade the pick.

Joe’s all about instant analysis.

Antonio Bryant is one of the reasons Bucky Brooks thinks the Bucs will have a dominant offense.

Bucs fans have reason to be apprehensive about the upcoming season. With an unsettled quarterback situation and a scary (in a bad way) looking defense, there’s no reason to be overly excited.

But Bucky Brooks of NFL.com is geeked about the potential of the Bucs offense. The way Brooks writes, the Bucs have a shot of having one of the best offenses in the NFL.

With an offense incapable of scoring points in bunches, the Bucs were forced to play a ball-control style that put the onus on their hard-hitting defense to keep the score down for the team to win games.

However, that philosophy may be a thing of the past with new offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski assembling a potential juggernaut. Jagodzinski, who arrives in Tampa after compiling a 20-8 record as the head coach at Boston College, is set to unveil a dynamic offense anchored by a downhill running game and a big-play aerial attack. As a proponent of a zone-based scheme, Jagodzinski is intent on building a physical rushing attack that punishes defenses between the tackles. He was part of the Atlanta Falcons coaching staff that built a league-leading running game behind the scheme, and the team’s athletic offensive line positions the Bucs to have similar success utilizing the system.

In revamping the team’s passing game, Jagodzinski will feature a vertical passing game designed to take advantage of the eight-man fronts that defenses will use to defend the Bucs’ potent rushing attack. With single coverage on the outside, the team will look to take more shots down the field, which should yield bigger plays in the passing game and result in more points.

While Jagodzinski’s brilliant command of the X’s and O’s should fuel the optimism in Tampa, it’s the wealth of talent at his disposal that has the Bucs primed for an offensive explosion.

The problem with an offense built on vertical passing is that you have to get the ball to the receiver. Does anyone with a sober mind think a quarterback who averaged over an interception a game as a junior last year will suddenly not have a problem with NFL defense?

Joe sure isn’t of that mind, and he’s yet to have a beer.

Yet!

Joe wonders whether Kellen Winslow's lovely wife Janelle accompanied him on a charity mission to Texas this weekend. No particular reason.

What a trooper this Kellen Winslow is.

A matter of days after hosting his own youth football camp in Tampa last weekend. Winslow has marched himself out the small-town country of Jacksonville, Texas, to help his buddy Luke McCown.

McCown is hosting a quarterbacks camp there today with his brother. It’s a low-cost annual event that brings some star power to the local kids.

McCown apparently drafted Winslow as part of a handshake deal to help Winslow in Tampa last weekend. McCown was a coach here with Winslow’s young troops.

Winslow sure is doing all the right things these days.

As for staying healthy and being a good teammate during the season, Bucs nation will learn a lot about him in the next four or five months.

Great racing. Big giveaways. Hot poker action.

It’s another great Saturday planned at Derby Lane greyhound track in St. Petersburg. So make your plans today. Admission is free.  

For Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday, 10 lucky fans will take home $500.00 each in drawings held during Races 1 – 10. Race 10 is the 83rd running of the classic St. Petersburg Derby.

Don’t miss it!

The heck with the quarterback and the apparent quest to add a veteran wide reciever.

The key to the 2009 Bucs offense will be the running backs, so says Bucs general manager Mark Dominik.

Dominik talked about the focus on the running game and the zone-blocking scheme on The Sports Animal, 620 WDAE-AM, last week.

JoeBucsFan.com analyst Bob Fox takes a look at some of Dominik’s quotes and offers a refresher course on zone blocking. Click here to read it in the Features section here at JoeBucsFan.com.

A highly intelligent Stanford alumni says the New England Patriots’ complex playbook rivals Jon Gruden’s notoriously fat, oft-blasted playbook used with the Bucs over the last several years.

That Stanford man is former Bucs tight end Alex Smith, who was traded to New England weeks ago. The dude was a standout academic in high school and college.

Smith has a good shot to adapt to the New England system after spending four years playing for Gruden’s multifaceted offensive scheme.

“It’s different, but at the same time, there’s a lot of similarities as well,” Smith said. “Gruden had that very complex offense as well, with lots of formations, lots of personnel groupings. You see a lot of similarities here. There’s a lot of volume here. I thought Gruden had a lot, but it’s definitely a lot of plays, a lot of switching in and out. But fortunately, I’m able to come with a bit of a background with Gruden.”

Smith said New England’s tight ends have to read and react more to defenses, and they’re also held accountable for everyone else’s assignments. He thinks he has gotten off to a good start in the Patriots’ organized team activities and minicamp.

Joe finds this very interesting. Smith almost implies the Patriots playbook is tougher than Gruden’s. Mighty New England demands their players learn an overly complex playbook? How could this be?

Chucky was mauled over the years by players and media for having too much fat and needless confusing garbage in his playbook, to the point some players reportedly just couldn’t figure it out.

Now perhaps the Patriots playbook is just filled with loads of important stuff, whereas Gruden’s features 40 different ways to gain five yards on 3rd-and-6 and endless shifts that don’t confuse the defense.

But Joe suspects the Patriots have a lot of stuff that would be blasted by media and players, as well. Except the Pats win, so nothing is questioned.

It’s a good lesson for Raheem The Dream. Just win, baby.

Joe obtained an interview that Joe is confident readers will enjoy as Bucs fans prepare for the fast-approaching Fourth of July weekend and then counting the days to the start of training camp at One Buc Palace.

Rick Brown, Bucs beat writer with the Lakeland Ledger, who Joe has affectionately referred to as “Backwards Hat,” for his ever-present stylish lids, was gracious enough (and his editors kind enough to allow him to speak to Joe) to answer a few questions about the 2009 Bucs.

Brown is in his second season on the Bucs beat and shared his thoughts with Joe. Make sure to follow Brown’s work at the Ledger’s website.

Joe: What’s your assessment of how much patience the Glazer Boys will have with Raheem Morris, in terms of wins and losses, and developing Josh Freeman? How much time does Morris have and what are the benchmarks he has to hit?

Rick Brown: Whenever there is a coaching change, most owners realize there has to be a transitional period. It is hard and unrealistic to believe that change can happen overnight. It can, but that is the exception and not the rule. Therefore, I believe Morris is playing the first year and maybe part of the second year on house money. The third year is when the team will want to see improvement. They have to be competitive and the young players should be growing into more leadership roles. Does that mean Freeman will be the starter by then? That will depend on the progress of Luke McCown. Remember, although Luke has been in the league five years, he has only played 12 games. That is not a full NFL season. The playoffs should be a realistic goal by year three. More than anything, there should be stability in key positions.

Joe: You’ve observed Antonio Bryant, the Bucs franchise player, in the locker room and on the practice field. What are your impressions? You think he’s a loose cannon?

Rick Brown: By no means do I believe Bryant is a loose cannon. When he was younger, he made mistakes. But that year away from the NFL really forced him to grow up. Bryant is not a bad guy. He is a highly competitive person and one who wears his emotions on his sleeves. Plus, he’s a hard worker. It never seems he takes plays off, even in practice and he expects that same dedication from his teammates.

Joe: Raheem has made no secret he wants Plaxico Burress. He apparently floated his desire to see if Marvin Harrison was available. That tells Joe there’s something wrong with the receivers. Is Bryant or Michael Clayton stinking the joint up in OTAs? If not, why take a major gamble on Burress/Harrison when the Bucs have already dumped a truckload of cash on Bryant and Clayton?

Rick Brown: The Buccaneers would not have been doing their jobs if they didn’t at least look into Burress or Harrison. Both have shown they are outstanding receivers that can help any team. You have to see if Harrison has anything left (although he will be 37 when the season starts). Burress is a little interesting. Sure, on the field he can help the team, but will his other issues follow him? The Bucs have had some good fortune with other reclamation projects. Does a new regime want to have too many projects when you’re building a team? That is the question they have to answer.

If you look at Tampa Bay’s current wide receivers, only three — Bryant, Clayton and Kelly Campbell — have any real NFL experience and Campbell hasn’t played in the league in a while. It isn’t an indictment on the young receivers (the Brian Clarks, the Maurice Stovalls, etc.), the Bucs were simply taking a look.

Joe: On paper, the Bucs defense appears to be pretty pathetic. If anything the defense, which clearly wasn’t the best in the last month of 2008, has been weakened by cuts, internal moves and attrition. What’s your take?

Rick Brown: We all know that if we went by everything we saw on paper, the Washington Redskins would have won a few more Super Bowls. No one is going to know what the Bucs have on defense until they put on the pads and go against other squads. What we do know is they are younger and they are counting on the draft choices (Miller, Moore) to help immediately. Tampa Bay does have questions but does that mean they will be weaker than in 2008? The regime believes they have the pieces to make it work. Time will tell on both.

Joe: You always look sharp around the RayJay press box and in those videos on TheLedger.com. How does a guy like Joe go about grabbing some style and looking a little sharper for the ladies?

Rick Brown: Joe, can I tell you and you alone a secret? It takes long minutes, if not seconds for me to get ready for a Bucs game or a Ledger video. But I have to come clean. My wife checks me out from head to toe most times before I leave the house. And if I sneak out before, she has video to check out the style and then gives me a critique. The only thing she doesn’t have control over are my hats (a man has to stand up at some point). So, my suggestion will be to get a bunch of hats — Kangols, berets, sombreros, Fedoras. They definitely add flair or at least cover up a bad haircut.

Joe has serious doubts if face-stomper Albert Haynesworth was 100 percent coherent in his interview with Sirius NFL Radio's Adam Schein Wednesday.

Joe noticed yesterday that Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times posted an item concerning offseason free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth saying on Sirius NFL Radio that the Bucs offered him more cash than any other team.

Though Joe doesn’t know for sure, Joe suspects Sirius Radio sent Auman excerpts of the interview, not a complete transcript.

As avid readers of JoeBucsFan.com already know, Joe is addicted to Sirius NFL Radio. Joe listens to it daily (along with Howard Stern). So Joe was in the midst of transcribing the Haynesworth interview, as Joe is wont to do on interviews related to the Bucs, when he gave up.

The interview got to the point where Joe didn’t think Haynesworth was sober. Or maybe he was experimenting with foreign “cigars?” Or maybe he just woke up from a nap and was still groggy?

For example, Haynesworth claimed, initially, that the Bucs offered him the most cash followed by the Giants and then the Redskins, where Haynesworth eventually wound up.

When co-host Adam Schein heard that, Schein tried to pin Haynesworth down asking, “So let me get this straight: The teams that offered you the most money were the Bucs followed by the Giants followed by the Redskins, is that right?”

Haynesworth replied, “Something like that.”

Something like that? Which was it Albert, were you wrong or did Schein misunderstand what you said? Something like that? What a cop out.

It got worse/better.

Later Haynesworth claimed he never spoke with Redskins general manager Vinny Cerrato until the day of his press conference at Redskins Park after Haynesworth signed his contract. This took Schein aback and he asked Haynesworth, “So you’re telling me you never spoke with the Redskins general manager until you showed up to the press conference?”

Haynesworth replied, “Not really.”

What do you mean, “not really?” It just came out of your mouth that you didn’t talk to Cerrato. You either did or you didn’t. You either lied or you didn’t. “Not really,” really?

At that point Joe quit taking notes. Haynesworth was all over the map and Joe had no clue what was the truth and what wasn’t. In Joe’s eyes, whatever Haynesworth was babbling about, it had no relevance to Joe.

Joe has his suspicions that Haynesworth was talking nonsense confirmed Thursday night when a source with intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Bucs front office told Joe that he knew “for a fact that the Bucs dropped out after the bidding got ridiculous.”

Joe is not calling out Auman. He likely just received a press release via e-mail with a couple of quotes highlighted. Joe seriously doubts Auman would have used those quotes if he heard the interview in its entirety live as Joe did.

Now that Bucs general manager Mark Dominik has confessed to being a fan of Star Wars, Joe trusts he doesn't go to conventions dressed as Darth Vader -- or even worse, dressed as Princess Leia.

Since being named the Bucs general manager in January, Mark Dominik seems to have tried to stay in the background, save for a radio interview here and there and his appearance at Fan Fest.

Joe still has to apply salve on the wounds where Dominik’s stare at Joe burned holes in Joe’s head. Hey, at least Joe recognizes Dominik is a Jayhawk.

But Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune — not a former roommate of Dominik’s — was able to get Dominik for a sit down and Dominik shared some cool elements about his career and his personal background, including being a fan of Star Wars.

Dominik talked about being the Bucs’ “Turk,” the ultimate bad news guy who informs players in training camp they are cut.

Q:You were once the so-called ‘Turk,’ the guy who had to knock on players’ doors and notify them they were about to be cut during training camp?

A:I was the ‘Grim Reaper,’ ‘Turk,’ ‘Bad Guy’ for 12 years, from 1995 to 2007. I finally kind of passed the torch on to Justin Sheridan.

Q:What was that job like?

A:I took it very serious, though, when I sat down and talked to them. I would try to provide guys honest feedback of where and what happened and why it ended in Tampa.

Q: How do you prepare yourself to handle such a job where you have to bring somebody’s dream to an end?

A: I realize, these people, they walk home and they have a wife or a child or a girlfriend or a parent and they’re crushed. I tried to be very straightforward and honest with the guys. It was never enjoyable, no matter who the player.

That’s got to be the pits: Telling a guy who has busted his tail for his entire life that his dream is done. In a sense, Dominik was the Darth Vader of the Bucs.

Yesterday Joe brought you video of multimedia specialist Pat Kirwan speaking on CBSSports.com about the prospects of Bucs quarterback bust-in-waiting Josh Freeman becoming a starting QB.

Well, Kirwan has put fingers to keyboard and typed up his thoughts on NFL.com.

The Buccaneers have to play the NFC East this year, and all four of those games come before their bye. Last year, the NFC East led all divisions in the NFL with 173 sacks, or one every 11.8 passing attempts. Albert Haynesworth, a big free-agent addition by Washington, is now part of the division and Osi Umenyiora returns to the Giants after missing last season due to injury, meaning the pressure will be intense. The Eagles (No. 3), Cowboys (No. 5), Redskins (No. 7) and Giants (No.  Eight) were all ranked in the top 10 in pass defense a year ago, and asking Freeman to face those four teams in the first five games of his career would be tough. After all, he threw 34 interceptions in 32 college starts.

If Raheem the Dream throws Freeman to the wolves in the first half of the season, folks, this will be brutal and may in the long run cost The Dream his job.

As Joe has pointed out previously, The Dream’s success with the Bucs is on Freeman’s shoulders. If Freeman blows up, so too will The Dream’s days in Tampa Bay. Having the rookie go up against the Cowboys, Giants, Redskins, Beagles, Panthers and Patriots, that would be brutal.

During the 35-minute drive from Clearwater to Tropicana Field last night to catch the Rays-Phillies game, Joe saw three billboards touting available Bucs tickets and heard a radio commercial pounding the same message.

That got Joe wondering, ‘Just how putrid are Bucs ticket sales?’ Of course, that’s a military secret.

But given the popular, over-hyped teams visiting the Bucs this year — Jets, Giants, Cowboys and Packers — plus the division rivals in the mighty NFC South,  Joe finds it very curious the Bucs are making a growing investment in trying to sell tickets.

Perhaps part of the answer lies at Tropicana Field, where Joe couldn’t avoid legions of red-clad Philly fans in the pathetic crowd of 18,000+, which followed a similar sub-20K crowd on Tuesday.

All the attendance excuses are out the window for Rays fans. This was the World Series rematch, kids are out of school and there is zero competition on the sports calendar. And both teams are still very good.

Joe just can’t wrap his brain around the Bucs having a blacked out game with such a sexy home schedule in 2009.

But apparently the braintrust at One Buc Palace is more tuned into reality.

Joe’s colleague Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru at ProFootballTalk.com, has done some of Joe’s dirty work today.

So Joe has decided to delete what he was working on and instead link to Florio’s story about Mark Dominik’s suspect claims about the Bucs offseason spending.

“We started free agency with over $80 million in cap room,” Dominik said.  “And we’ve spent almost $60 million.”

Um, really?

For starters, the notion that the Bucs had $80 million in 2009 cap space far exceeds all estimates and reports of their actual spending room.

The suggestion that the team has spent $60 million this year seems flat-out incredible.

As in not credible.

Early this morning, Joe transcribed Dominik’s exact quotes from his recent radio interview with electronic media czar J.P. Peterson.

The stated numbers struck Joe as very surprising, too.

But for fans, Dominik’s accounting interpretations don’t mean a whole lot. Playing GM is pretty cut and dried: Keep the good players, ditch the crappy ones and don’t draft losers.

And spend your money. It does the product no good in the bank.

A sports scribe worth two bits cannot avoid it: At some point he is going to piss off someone. Such is the case recently with Vacation Man of BSPN.com.

As summertime filler in the waning weeks before training camps start, Vacation Man has been ranking the top ten players at each position in the NFC South. But a recently ranking of defensive backs didn’t sit well with the team that resides at One Buc Palace.

Vacation Man left off Tanard Jackson and the Bucs apparently let Vacation Man know he was, um, misguided.

Mac (Tampa): What do you think of Tanard Jackson? I thought he should have gone to the pro-bowl as a rookie but had an unsteady sophmore season.

Vacation Man: That’s what I thought too and that’s why he didn’t make my list of top 10 dbs in the NFC South, even though I caught hell for that from fans and the Bucs.

Memo to the Bucs: Worry about your players on the field first and the fourth estate will come like lost, hungry puppies at the back door.

Joe remembers a long time ago a high school basketball coach he knew scolded his team who was upset that the team didn’t get enough ink. The coach told the team, “If you win, you will get attention. Worry about winning first.”

Someone at One Buc Palace should take that to heart.

Joe has already touched upon how and when the Bucs could team with the Florida Lottery to sell scatch-off cards for additional revenue (again, if Rachel Watson appears after the scratch-off, you win!).

Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com discusses how teams are selling their practice jerseys to advertisers, not unlike NASCAR and the tens of millions the Glazer Boys snatched from AIG to stick the corrupt finance company’s logo on Machester United jerseys.

Are regular season jerseys sacrosanct? Florio discusses.

Mark Dominik said linebacker is the Bucs strongest position on the football field. Who knew? ... Joe is in stunned disbelief.

Bucs general manager Mark Dominik sat down for chicken wings and an interview with electronic media czar J.P. Peterson of 1010 a.m. on Wednesday.

Joe has transcribed some of the more interesting audio from Dominik’s 30-minute interview.

Among the gems, Dominik says the Bucs are spending big money, and Josh Freeman is best left on the bench to start the season.

J.P. Peterson: You got all the money to spend, why aren’t you doing it with [Barrett Ruud].

Mark Dominik: “I understand the frustration [of fans]. … I still see (Ruud) as a longterm Buccaneer and one of the leaders of our defense …The misnomer is that we started free agency with over $80 million in cap room, and we’ve spent almost $60 million of cap room. So we’re not a football team that stands pat and doesn’t do anything. We’ve got players, obviously Kellen Winslow which was a big contract that everybody talked about. But Derrick Ward. Keeping Michael Clayton. Franchising Antonio Bryant. Signing a couple of quarterbacks. We’ve spent some money, but we’re also holding back some of the money that you talk about in terms of having cap room available for the Barrett Ruuds, for the other players we’ve obviously identified on this football team that are guys we want on this football team for 10 years not just four or five.”

Peterson: Tell me about the new strength and conditioning coach, Kurtis Shultz.

Dominik: “…Part of the two things that we felt we really needed to improve on the football team were core strength and body fat. Those were two areas that we really felt like hurt us down the stretch. Maybe hurt our condidtioning down the stretch. …[The new plan] has been a lot of fun for players. We’ve got players coming back. Ronde Barber made a lot of the offseason program. He hadn’t been part of the offseason program in a long time because he had done his own thing and kept himself in shape. I think he bought in to what Kurtis is doing, and that’s been important for us.”

Dominik on Kellen Winslow: “He’s brought a competitive fire to the offense that we haven’t seen around here very much.”

Dominik on Josh Freeman: “With the first team, he’d get two maybe out of 12 reps. He took advantage of the little bit of time he got and he turned everybody’s head like you would expect him to do as the 17th pick in the draft. The longterm plan, I see a guy, it doesn’t hurt for him to sit a little bit. Let these other guys really battle out for the quarterback spot. Let this young guy develop as a quarterback we want to talk about for the next 10 or 12 years.”

Dominik on Arron Sears: “Right now I’m not sure whether Arron will be back or not because of the personal issues he’s going through. …Right now it’s a little early to say. We’ve still got a month before training camp. We’ll see what happens.”

Dominik on linebackers: “It’s probably our strongest position on our football team, suprisingly I bet to a lot of our fans. That our depth and our talent is pretty good there. So that’s a good battleground to watch during training camp if you want to see some real competition.”

Maybe its not a coincidence the Bucs are breaking out the old orange jerseys for a game this season?

While training camp has yet to begin, some publications have made season predictions for NFL teams.

Though Joe is not a gambler (with the exception of harmless NCAA basketball pools), Joe ran across something called BetFirms.com.

This site breaks down the Bucs, and naturally states the team’s two biggest weaknesses are defense and quarterback. Well, duh.

Regardless, the site expects the Bucs to lose double-digit games.

Prediction: 4th NFC South (6-10) This division is known for teams turning around at a very fast rate, but I think its unlikely the Bucs are able to pull off the trend in 2009. The other three teams in this division are loaded with talent, and the NFC South really has a tough schedule having to play both the NFC East and AFC East this season.

Joe can’t really argue with this. Joe hopes the Bucs have a great season, but with a weakened defense that wasn’t so great the last four games of 2008, Joe is bracing himself for a long season.

Even Luke McCown knows the starting quarterback job is up in the air.

Joe has too much respect for former NFL general manager Charley Casserly to call him an “ignorant slut.”

Joe has too much respect for his health to call former NFL and Florida State offensive lineman Jamie Dukes an “ignorant slut.”

But in the spirit of the  “Point/Counterpoint” segment on the old 60 Minutes, famously parodied in the early years of Saturday Night Live, NFL.com has Casserly and Dukes go at it as to who the Bucs should start at quarterback when the season opens.

Dukes is a Leftwich kind of a guy.

I know that my colleagues Warren Sapp and Rod Woodson like to talk about Leftwich’s long throwing motion and delivery. All I know is that when Leftwich gets in a game, he plays hard and his team wins. He’s big, and he’s tough.

Casserly said the race is wide open.

Leftwich is the more experienced player, McCown the more athletic player. McCown really has to improve his decision making and accuracy. Leftwich is a good decision maker, but doesn’t give you the mobility McCown does. Right now, this job is clearly up in the air. Training camp will decide it.

Though Joe has no facts to base this on, Joe just has a hunch it will be Leftwich.