So Joe’s sunning himself on a lounge chair drinking Beck’s Dark and reading BSPN The Magazine’s NFL Draft issue today. And what does Joe come across? Analysis by some noted stats geek explaining how Blake Bortles’ hometown zip code is part of the equation of why he’ll be successful in the NFL. (more…)

The next O-line upgrade?

The Bucs walking away from this week’s NFL Draft with a guy the team believes can be a stud offensive lineman is among the surest prognostications you could make.

A name Joe has seen pop up many times as a potential Buccaneer is known tough guy Joel Bitonio. (more…)

One reason why anticipation of the upcoming draft is both annoyingly long and fun, is that there is no telling what the Bucs will do just five days from the first round.

The Bucs could go quarterback at No. 7 (Johnny, please!) or wide receiver or offensive line or, hell, maybe defense only, because Bucs coach Lovie Smith is a defensive guy. As Joe has stated before, argument could be made for a dozen different guys to be drafted at No. 7. (more…)

A look at Lovie Smith’s drafts with the Bears.

Yes, most believe there is no closer disciple in football principle to Father Dungy than Lovie Smith.

Just recently, when asked (again) if his philosophy of ground-and-pound football with a stingy defense was the way to win after sitting out of football for a year, Lovie shook his head, smiled and emphatically stated he’s convinced his way is the way to win. (more…)

The former Colts GM sees Lovie Smith through his many years with Tony Dungy

The man who labeled the Bucs’ trade for Darrelle Revis the worst in NFL history, former Colts general manager Bill Polian, has made a confident call of the Bucs’ selection with the No. 7 overall pick next week.

Polian sees Lovie Smith and remembers working closely with Father Dungy on the great Colts teams of the last decade. Polian believes he knows where Lovie’s heart and mind lie. (more…)

Former Bucs G Ian Beckles was rated as one of the franchise’s best value picks.

When Bucs general manager Jason Licht was hired, he talked a great deal about value during his introductory news conference. When asked about free agents, he said he wasn’t opposed to shopping for unwanted players (remember the old saying, if a team wants you, they will find a way to keep you) so long as they merit “value.”

In other words, Licht wasn’t going to break the bank.

Licht spoke of value so much, Joe has a hunch this plays into how he will draft. This is why Joe is so convinced the Bucs won’t pick a receiver at No. 7. (more…)

Recently, former Bucs wide receiver and a key member of the Bucs Super Bowl winning team, Keyshawn Johnson, was pinched for allegedly committing domestic violence. Well, it turns out Keyshawn won’t be charged.

That’s the info. coming out of BSPN. (more…)

One player who fascinates Joe in this NFL Draft is Jackson Jeffcoat. College football’s 2013 sacks leader out of the University of Texas has the pedigree and production but not the love from scouts.

The Big XII defensive player of the year and Ted Hendricks Award winner (best DE in the nation) is widely projected as a third- or fourth-round draft pick. And that’s where he appears as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer in the latest mock draft from NFL Network draft guru and former NFL player Bucky Brooks. (more…)

Joe disagrees with this Bucs draft take by former Tampa Bay beat writer turned Sports Illustrated national scribe Don Banks.

Should the Bucs really invest in a wide receiver not named “Watkins” at No. 7 overall? In the deepest draft for wide receivers in ages? Enjoy the video.

Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Even the crustiest Bucs fan would be warmed by the sight of a young girl exclaiming, “Wow!” after putting on her first-ever pair of glasses before hundreds of her classmates waving Bucs flags and cheering.

Clear vision is a gift Gerald McCoy and the Glazer Family Foundation bestowed on 29 kids yesterday in Oldsmar.

Joe watched as McCoy ran through the Forest Lakes Elementary School cafeteria high-fiving students at an assembly honoring the 5,000th pair of prescription glasses donated by the foundation locally. (more…)

Odell Beckham and a package of picks?

NFL Network full-time draft guru Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout, outlined “sensible” draft-day trades to look for next week.

Yes, the Bucs were among the premier sellers. (more…)

If the Bucs trade back in the first round, would that set the table for Jason Licht to pick UCLA G Xavier Su’a-Filo?

Whenever a new coach and a new general manager comes in, what they think of players isn’t a secret very long. Players the new leadership isn’t fond of are nearly always traded, cut or benched.

So let there be no doubt how Bucs coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht felt about the offensive line. Only one full-time starter* from last year returns, right tackle Demar Dotson. (more…)

OK, it’s Friday and it’s time to knock off this nonsense. Joe can’t take it any longer and he sure as hell is not going to carry this rage over into the weekend. Enough is enough.

To win a Super Bowl in the NFL, more than once every 40 years, you need a quarterback. No less than an average quarterback. At some point, your team needs to score, unless you bank on six pick-sixes a game. Wanna lay money that happens? (more…)

As Bucs fans join Joe in counting down the six days until the 2014 NFL Draft, Joe wants to share some good stuff from former Browns and Rams scout Russ Lande.

Lande has been a longtime draft analyst for various outlets and now works as a personnel executive in the CFL. (more…)

NFL.com writer Michael Silver got exclusive time with Jason Licht and Lovie Smith for a new feature on the Bucs’ head coach.

Silver was all pitchforks for Greg Schiano shortly after he was hired, but Silver is all-in with Lovie. He paints a picture of nirvana in the bowels of One Buc Palace. (more…)

There’s a decent chance the Bucs could draft an offensive tackle like Jake Matthews with the seventh overall draft pick next week.

But then what? Would Matthews, new left tackle Anthony Collins or Demar Dotson move inside to fill one of the Bucs’ apparent holes at guard? (more…)

Bucs QB Josh McCown’s contract is only guaranteed for 2014.

When Joe looks at the Bucs’ roster, sure he sees holes, but Joe believes new Bucs coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht have done a fine job upgrading.

The defense, in Joe’s eyes, is set. On offense, Joe is worried as hell about the thin offensive line. A wide receiver or two will sure help in this deep receiver draft. Then there’s quarterback. (more…)