What’s fair and just is not the NFL’s top concern. (more…)

The Bucs have spoken with Penn State OT Donovan Smith “many times.”

Back at the NFL Scouting Combine, Joe talked to Penn State left tackle Donovan Smith and shared that Tampa Bay already talked to Smith several times.

Since then, Smith, a true manbeast at 6-6, 338 pounds, climbed draft boards and is looking like a second-round pick. (more…)

If one suggested the Bucs had the worst offensive line in the NFL last year, Joe wouldn’t argue. The lone decent guy was right tackle Demar Dotson, who led the NFL in penalties at the position. (more…)

In recent weeks, NFL Network’s top draft guru, Mike Mayock, has really turned on Jameis Winston. Not sure what got into Mayock but it is getting comical.

Joe gets why Mayock had a bug up his rear end about Winston for the longest time, and it is a fair issue — Winston’s behavior off the field. Again, that is fair. (more…)

Everyone is welcome at Joe’s draft party at Pete & Shorty’s in Clearwater, but there have been requests for reserved seating. So Joe’s making a limited number of tables available now.

Here’s the deal: Your paid reservation for four, for example, gets you a guaranteed table (before 7:45 p.m.) and four $10 gift certificates to Pete & Shorty’s. So you’re really not paying anything, just buying gift certificates you’ll use anyway.

Buy now, and you’ll get email confirmation and separate details via email within 12 hours. The Bud Light girls, Joe and former Bucs DE Steve White look forward to seeing you there.

The Bucs would certainly be wise to upgrade the slot receiver position from Robert Herron.

The Bucs have one of the best, if not the best, one-two punches in the NFL at wide receiver in Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. After that, the wide receiver group drops off the cliff when your No. 3 is Louis Murphy. (more…)

So what kind of prospect is Jameis Winston when compared not just to Marcus Mariota, but all quarterbacks drafted in the first round since 2011?

One of the NFL’s top analysts took on this subject. (more…)

Former Tampa Bay tight end and current ESPN college football analyst Anthony Becht has been diving into game film and is all pumped up about an SEC pass rusher he thinks the Bucs could use immediately. (more…)

Miami linebacker Denzel Perryman will not play for the Bucs simply because he cannot defend the pass.

Often, Joe places more credibility on former NFL players evaluating talent versus guys who were/are just suits.

But as Joe learns more and more, being able to play football and being able to judge football talent are two very different things. (more…)

Gerald McCoy is only too happy to show next week’s No. 1 pick the ropes in the NFL.

Joe isn’t sure where this word “mentor” got started, as it relates to football rookies and young quarterbacks. It’s like NFL teams are supposed to hire child care professionals and place them on the 53-man roster.

When did the NFL become KinderCare? (more…)

Joe chatted off the record with a decision-maker for a team other than the Bucs at the NFL Owners meetings last month.

The discussion was about Marcus Mariota, and Joe asked about the typical Mariota concerns. (more…)

New Bucs free agent defensive end George Johnson said this week that he’s happy to be in Tampa but “more excited after watching the tape.”

Of course, Joe had to ask Johnson what he was seeing on film. (more…)

Joe remembers NFL Network tormenting football fans with the Titans versus the Jaguars late last season. Both teams were beyond abysmal. It was an insult.

Joe, supreme football nut, refused to be swayed. Joe never watched one play. Not. One. Play. (more…)

So Lovie Smith will have a new job — or no job — if he can’t develop Jameis Winston in two years, says former Bucs defensive tackle Booger McFarland.

Joe saw Booger drop that take on Twitter yesterday, and Joe immediately had another thought: (more…)

It appears Bucs general manager Jason Licht is a popular guy these days. No, not because he needs a beer.

You see, Licht holds the key to acquiring Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. Licht wants him. Other teams want him. The Bucs need him. But apparently, quite a few general managers also covet young Jameis. (more…)

Damn, Joe thought with an upgraded defense, and a franchise quarterback (finally), the Bucs would pull themselves out of the worst record in the NFL next season.

They certainly couldn’t be worse than their 2-14 season last year, could they? (more…)

Buying a used car is a gamble.

So is throwing $600 at Phoenix hookers when they’re not interested in working.

And spending money every week to play fantasy football is gambling, too. (more…)

A bunch of Bucs fans are willing themselves and chewing glass hoping somehow Jason Licht has a change of heart and drafts quarterback Marcus Mariota. (more…)

Some view the Bucs as a 2-14 team that came off a 4-12 season, a team that sits on just 30 wins in its past 100 games.

For a lot of fans and analysts, Joe included, that means the Bucs are far from being above average. (more…)

Joe isn’t much for predicting the outcomes of games before the draft even takes place much less before a training camp has opened.

Who will be drafted? Who will be hurt? (more…)

“As a general rule, you know there’s a reason why there is a salary cap. And we want to use all of our resources to get as many good football players in here. It’s kind of as simple as that. We want to be right up; we don’t want to have a lot of money in reserves. No one does. I mean you want to use money to get as many good football players. And it takes money to get good football players in here. So that’s our approach.” — Lovie Smith, January 2014 (more…)