Joe ran into Super Bowl-winning coach Brian Billick at Media Day during Super Bowl week. The current NFL Network/FOX analyst gave Joe his thoughts on the current state of the Bucs. While Billick likes new Bucs coach Greg Schiano, he stated blaming Raheem Morris for the grotesque 10-game collapse is unfair.

JoeBucsFan: Your thoughts on Greg Schiano as the new Bucs coach?

Brian Billick: Yeah, I have known Greg a long time, back when he was in the NFL. Hopefully that is the thing that will distinguish himself. College guys coming into the NFL of late have not done real well as of late, Jim Harbaugh notwithstanding, but I think that led a little bit to that. “Well yeah, this could be a good thing.” But you have to remember Jim Harbaugh had 15 years in this league. So he had a different perspective [than other college coaches]. But I think the time Greg Schiano’s experience in the league will help his approach and transition than typically college guys have.

Joe: It seems like Schiano is a big fundamentals guy…

Billick: … yes…

Joe: … and he probably got that from Joe Paterno…

Billick: … oh, absolutely …

Joe: … and this is something the Bucs sorely need, fundamentals.

Billick: Well, [the Bucs] are an excellent young team. We saw that two years ago. Obviously, that didn’t quite turn out this year. I think you have to be careful that once you make a change, “Oh, now we are going to be fundamentally sound.” You know what; they were fundamentally sound under Raheem.

Joe: Really?

Billick: Oh, sure. Raheem is a good coach. The thing is to believe just because you make a change, “Oh, now we are going to be OK.” Then five years down the line if things don’t work out you make another change and then again say, Oh, now we’re going to be OK” – so I don’t know if that is a fair criticism. But there is no question in my mind Greg will do a good job and [fundamentals] will be a priority.

Joe: Can you put a finger on what triggered the Bucs collapse? They were 4-2 with wins over two division foes, both playoff teams.

Billick: I think what we saw last year is what we expected two years ago. If that happened two years ago, we would be saying, “Oh, yeah, that makes sense. They are a young team, they are transitioning.” And then to have the year two years ago and 10-6 and maturity shows up and not turning the ball over. Then last year it kind of got juxtapositioned. I don’t know the specific reasons why so I can’t point to it but this is a very good young team that has a chance to come together and now mature as a young team and be pretty good.

Joe: Do you think then that wins over the Saints and the Falcons and jumping out to a 4-2 record were a mirage?

Billick: No, there is no such thing as a mirage in the NFL. You earn every win you can get. It showed their capability. The ability to sustain it over the season, that is when you show the maturity of your team.

Remember when the Bucs fired successful offensive line coach Pete Mangurian, the man who had James Lee, Derek Hardman and Ted Larsen ready to jump off the bench and help win games in 2010?

Well, one theme heard after Mangurian’s exit from various pundits and media types was that Mangurian, a disciplinarian and a longtime colleague of Raheem Morris and a former Patriots tight ends coach, was not a Greg Olson guy. Olson didn’t hire him, and the Bucs were throwing Olson his guy when they hired O-line coach Pat Morris last year, who was one of the highest-paid O-line coaches in the NFL in Minnesosta before he came to Tampa.

So that got Joe wondering, as names of alleged new Bucs assistant coach hires are spread around the Interwebs. If these names have indeed committed to the Bucs, then they weren’t hired by their respective defensive and offensive coordinators.

Is that a problem? Joe doesn’t know. All coaches should be able to be professional and successful — that goes for the coordinators and the assistants — but certainly chemistry with a boss/direct report is important. For example, if the Bucs do hire John Shoop to be offensive coordinator, will he be on board with P.J. Fleck as receivers coach for a very young receiving corps?

Recently, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik referenced Monte Kiffin’s patience and knack for hiring superior assistant coaches from the college ranks. That’s great, but it seems the Bucs’ new defensive coordinator might not be afforded the same opportunity to find the right fits.

Joe’s far more concerned about the chemistry of the coaching staff versus how long it takes the Bucs to find coaches.

One thing does seem certain, the “one voice” Greg Schiano referenced in his opening news conference seems likely to be reflected in the coach-hiring process. The voice will be Schiano’s, as he’ll have made nearly all, if not all the hires.

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Without any upgrade to the secondary, it is a very real possibility Myron Lewis will be a starting cornerback for the Bucs this fall.

Amid all the rumors and guesses people have about who will join Greg Schiano on his first coaching staff with the Bucs, one thing remains certain for Joe: the Bucs secondary needs a great deal of help.

This is not lost on the ProFootballWeekly.com crowd, which has the Bucs secondary as a unit of top concern for the Pewter Pirates.

It’s not clear if Ronde Barber will return, and Aqib Talib’s future is uncertain, too, so there could be major changes on the way at this spot. Those two have been the Bucs’ top corners, and the Bucs don’t have any other players at the position who they think are ready to be full-time starters. Corner will be a priority early in the draft. … Sean Jones, who has started every game at strong safety since the Bucs signed him before the 2010 season, is due to become an unrestricted free agent and he may not fit into the team’s plans. The Bucs are looking for an upgrade here – both vs. the run and in coverage. Jones simply didn’t make many plays, and his performance declined over the course of last season.

Let’s be honest here: It’s quite possible the Bucs will have an completely new secondary come August. Joe doubts Ronde Barber will be back — nothing more than a hunch. Even if — a key if — Aqib Talib escapes both jail time and the court of NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell, is he really worth all the drama? Schiano may not want any part of him.

Then there are the safeties: Tanard Jackson, after a fine first game, sure looked like he had been out of the league for a year and with one more slip up and he is gone for good. Jackson sure didn’t look like a capable NFL starter the final two months of the season. And yes, Jones may very well be gone too.

So it’s possible that the starting lineup, without any additions, come August will be E.J. Biggers, Myron Lewis, Cody Grimm and Corey Lynch.

This just reinforces Joe’s point that the Bucs need to get their mitts on Mo Claiborne, the studly talented corner out of LSU.

My, how things change in just a year’s time.

Last year when the Bucs finished the season with a 10-6 record, nosed out of the playoffs on a tiebreaker by the eventual Super Bowl champs Green Bay Packers, Bucs fans throughout the globe were geeked as it finally seemed like the Bucs had a potent passing game.

Quarterback Josh Freeman combined with electric rookie No. 1 wide out Mike Williams appeared to be a lethal tandem for years to come.

But days after introducing Greg Schiano as the Bucs new coach after the entire team collapsed in 2011, largely due to bad coaching, now it appears the Bucs are of the belief Williams is not a No. 1 receiver. That’s the word from Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune in a recent Bucs TBO question-and-answer feature.

Q: I agree with some of your recent comments about free agents. What do you think the possibilities of luring Dwayne Bowe here? I think Williams is a No. 2 in this league and Benn would be great in the slot. Your thoughts?

Craig, Tampa

A: I think you’re absolutely right about Mike Williams. Even more importantly, the Bucs feel the same way. As for Benn, the Bucs believe his speed is a big asset that might be wasted in the slot. He’s a faster No. 2 than Williams, but still a No. 2 probably. The Bucs definitely need a deep threat to finish off what is a decent receiving corps and Bowe could help there. He’s worth looking at, so he’s someone to keep on the radar as free agency rolls around.

– Woody Cummings

Well. Joe is happy to read that the Bucs braintrust figured out the weekly Benn’d-around play was not exactly the best way to utilize Arrelious Benn’s talents. Whew.

However, if that is the case, that Bucs coaches were not utilizing Benn properly, why are we to make the leap that this same coaching staff was using Williams appropriately as a No. 1 receiver?

Joe’s of the mind that neither of these receivers were used correctly — that the Bucs’ offensive coaching staff simply couldn’t devise the correct schemes in order for both Williams and Benn to utilize their best skills.

Joe finds it a bit curious that the team has dismissed Williams as a No. 1 receiver after just a few months under poor coaching.

Chucky’s old QB coach John Shoop (2004), a former Bears offensive coordinator (2001-2003), is the latest name to swirl around the Bucs and their many coaching vacancies.

Alex Marvez at FOXSports.com — does this guy have One Buc bugged? — recently Twittered that Shoop is interviewing with the Bucs today for the offensive coordinator gig.

At least Shoop lived and breathed quality NFL football with the Bears back in 2001, when Chicago went 13-3 with Jim Miller and Shane Matthews as QBs before losing to Philadelphia in the playoffs. Coaching under Dick Jauron, Joe suspects Shoop was no puppet for his defensive head coach. Shoop was fired after the Bears went 7-9 in 2003, when they tried to revive Kordell Stewart’s career — bad idea.

Does this mean Ron Turner is a no-go? Joe sure hopes so.

Hopefully Shoop believes the Benn’d around play is something that should only be seen at Mons Venus.

The creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, the great Mike Florio, discusses the state of the Bucs in this NBCSports.com video. Florio offers a theory that the Bucs’ “chickens have come home to roost.”

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Joe never imagined he’d become so obsessed with Rutgers football.

Reason 1: The last time Joe was on the Rutgers main campus he left fleeing slow-footed dorm security following a brawl Joe didn’t instigate, though Joe did throw a couple of roundhouse rights. 

Reason 2: Rutgers football has improved drastically, but it hasn’t been exciting since Ray Lucas was making plays.

But alas, Joe is now, temporarily, obsessed with Rutgers football as well as Bucs football. So it’s very intriguing to Joe that recent Rutgers offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, Jr. is now the St. Louis Rams’ quarterbacks coach, so reported Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.

Cignetti, a former Saints and 49ers QB coach, was rumored to be on his way to Tampa Bay. Joe’s not going to assume the Bucs lost out on this guy, but that wouldn’t look good if they did. Joe certainly hopes Cignetti didn’t go to St. Louis because alleged Bucs offensive-coordinator-in-waiting Ron Turner didn’t want him.

As for a tight ends coach, per the Rutgers campus newspaper, The Daily Targum, Rutgers tight ends coach Brian Angelichio is likely to head to Tampa. Angelichio coached tight ends at the University of Pittsburgh before joining Rutgers. Prior to that he spent 10 coaching at Division III Ithaca Collage.

Joe wonders how Kellen Winslow would respond to that guy.

Bucs fans are growing restless with the deliberate method by which Greg Schiano has taken on the task of filling the Bucs’ coaching staff with credible men.

Fear not Bucs fans, you should not feel guilty. It seems eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune believes your fears have merit.

Tuesday, speaking on “Primetime” co-hosted by Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi on WHBO-AM 1040, Kaufman suggested the Bucs and Schiano in particular are up against a tight deadline to fill staff vacancies without repercussions to the team.

“I believe by the end of this week, [the Bucs] will have a complete offensive staff or a complete defensive staff or even more. Guys, the clock is ticking. People say, what’s the big deal? Well, it is. You have to send your guys down to Indy in a couple of weeks for that combine. You have to start making preparations. You want your coaches involved in free agency deliberations. There is a time factor here. I don’t think they have another month to put this thing together. It’s a little bit discouraging what has gone on so far. Not jumping the gun and saying this is going to be a terrible staff. I will be shocked, gentlemen — shocked — if the entire staff is made up of college coaches. Then the Bucs will merit criticism.

It doesn’t appear the Bucs will have all college coaches, as one of the names rumored to join the Bucs on the offensive side of the ball is the notorious Ron Turner, who frankly should have stayed in college.

Joe’s of the mind that if Turner is to be named offensive coordinator, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik should immediately get on the phone and call Jacksonville quarterback coach Greg Olson to ask (beg?) if he will return as the Bucs offensive coordinator.

Earlier today, Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com reported Bucs new coach Greg Schiano is nearly finished compiling his new staff.

One name that popped up is defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley. It seems like that is a done deal for Hafley to come to Tampa Bay. Bucs defensive back Larry Asante is Twittering that Hafley is indeed the Bucs’ new defensive backs coach.

Hafley comes from — wait for it — Rutgers! Prior to joining Schiano last season, Hafley worked for Dave Wannstedt at Pitt.

LeGarrette Blount doesn’t get too much time in front of the camera, so Joe wants to be sure you see this recent NFL.com/NFL Network interview of the Bucs’ beastly running back.

Just click on the link and the video will open.

You’ll see great NFL Films views of some of Blount’s runs, plus Blount clearly is excited by the thought of a head coach that is committed to running the football.

Joe hopes this isn’t true. Let Joe explain.

Alex Marvez, who is a very-well-plugged-in NFL type who writes for FoxSports.com and works for SiriusXM NFL Radio, just posted a report that new Bucs coach Greg Schiano has his staff just about set.

A source told FOXSports.com that Ron Turner and Bill Lazor are among the candidates being considered at offensive coordinator. Schiano also will be adding three of his former staff members at Rutgers University — Bob Fraser (linebackers), Brian Angelichio (tight ends) and Jeff Haley (assistant defensive backs coach).

This frightens Joe to his very bones. Ron Turner is a horrible quarterback coach and has — at best — an underwhelming resume as an offensive coordinator. Unless a guy’s name is “Mike Martz,” why in the world would anyone want a jettisoned Bears quarterback coach?

Currently, Turner’s career highlight is developing Kurt Kittner.

Oh, and he got run from Illinois for having a putrid offense as well.

Joe is crossing his fingers this report is inaccurate, if for no other reason than for Josh Freeman’s career.

Gerald McCoy has been awfully chatty of late about jettisoned Bucs coach Raheem Morris, which sheds more light into how and why the grotesque 10-game collapse took place.

Last week from Indianapolis Joe brought word, via “The Godfather,” Gil Brandt, that GMC told Brandt how he hopes new Bucs coach Greg Schiano is organized.

Now comes more GMC critique of his old coach, this time via popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, beer-chugging Peter King of Sports Illustrated, tucked away in his must-read “Monday Morning Quarterback” column, where King also wagged a finger — like Joe — warning GMC to stay away from that old hag Madonna.

I think that was a cringing moment, when Gerald McCoy, working for whatever that Chad Ochocinco channel is, got up at the Madonna press conference and asked her for some career advice. Ouch. But I hand it to McCoy for his honesty when I saw him during the week. I told him new Bucs coach Greg Schiano would bring hardline discipline and organization to Tampa Bay. “Good,” McCoy said. “We need it.” We saw that last year.

Man, things must have been a nightmare the way things are slowly seeping out of One Buc Palace and from Bucs players chattering about Morris to others.

Maybe Schiano’s organization can garner the Bucs a pair of wins this season no matter how many college coaches are on his staff.

No relation to the legendary big man who changed the NBA forever, Packers tight ends coach Ben McAdoo joins the growing list of coaches the Bucs were interested in but won’t be hiring.

Green Bay has exercised its right to deny the Bucs a shot at interviewing/hiring McAdoo for their offensive coordinator gig, so claims Jason La Canfora, of NFL.com.

Schiano recently lost out on his top choice for offensive coordinator when Arizona refused to let then-wide receivers coach John McNulty interview; McNulty eventually became the quarterbacks coach.

Schiano could end up having to hire a number of his former Rutgers staffers. The overall inexperience of former coach Raheem Morris’s staff was a big issue for Tampa and led to his eventual departure. Tampa began its coaching search by interviewing almost exclusively veteran NFL coaches with significant pro head coaching experience.

Clearly the Bucs are paying a price diving into the assistant coach search late in the game, and/or rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Greg Schiano are being incredibly thorough and deliberate.

McAdoo was in the mix to become the Packers new offensive coordinator, but Tom Clements was promoted into that gig late last week — another name the Bucs can cross off their list.

Joe realizes there are throngs of conspiracy aficionados out there convinced that Team Glazer and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik would rather be waterboarded than aggressively shop for free agents.

So with those tin-foil hat types in mind, Joe is calling attention to an in-depth look at NFC South free agency that published yesterday on Buccaneers.com. The 1000+ word piece is extremely well done, and focuses on who might stay or go from the Saints, Panthers and Falcons. Here’s a snippet:

DeCoud is another starter on the Atlanta defense who needs a new contract, and also another member of the Falcons’ 2008 draft class. That group also included Douglass and Biermann with later picks, and the ability of all four of those draftees to carve out important roles is partially why the team’s pending free agent class has so many prominent names. DeCoud is coming off a career-best four-interception season but both he and Sanders, a part-time starter the last three years, are free agents. The Falcons may have to choose between them, or they could dip into what appears to be a fairly deep pool of free agent safeties this year. 

Like the Saints (see below), the Falcons have two wide receivers both hitting free agency at the same time, though both are reserves behind entrenched starters Roddy White and Julio Jones. Both Douglas and Weems hold value for the Falcons, but in different ways. Douglas has improved his catch and yardage totals each of the last two years after missing 2009 due to injury, and last season he was a productive third receiver with 39 receptions for 498 yards. Weems hasn’t figured much into the passing game in his four seasons in Atlanta but is one of the league’s more dangerous punt and kickoff return men, and has been to the Pro Bowl. It might be difficult for the Falcons to get both of them back, particularly if they go hard after the likes of Grimes, Lofton, Gonzalez and Abraham.

Again, Joe found the piece to be excellent reading. (As for Weems, if the Bucs aren’t going to use Micheal Spurlock, and Preston Parker has fumbling issues, then Weems would be an exciting pickup.)

As for the Buccaneers’ official website exciting fans about free agency and offering a great education on the NFL’s version of March Madness, Joe wonders how some Bucs fans will interpret that.

Joe’s not so sure Arrelious Benn isn’t a stretch-the-field deep threat, but merely a victim of a maddening, subpar offensive coordinator.

That written, loads of Bucs observers believe the team needs a burner in the receiving corps to open up the field. Even Donald Penn playing general manager wants the Bucs to score a speedster on the flanks.

One wide reciever coming to the free agent market is 25-year-old Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham, and Tampa Tribune beat writer Roy Cummings says Manningham “fits the description” of the deep, vertical threat the Bucs need to finish off their receiving corps.

 “If Manningham can be that, then the Bucs have to have some interest in him,” Cummings said Monday on Primetime on WHBO-AM 1040. “If he’s on the market, they’ll have a lot of interest, I think. Yes, he’s the kind of guy that they would like to have. But you know there’s probably a dozen of those guys out there.”

One thing certain about Manningham is that he’ll be overpriced leaving the Giants following his Super Bowl heroics. There’s a lot to be said for performing under the game’s greatest pressure, but Manningham is hardly a Pro Bowl receiver.

If Joe had to choose, Joe would rather see the Bucs invest their free agent dollars on the defensive side of the ball and use the draft to focus on the offense.

Without immediate, established help and leadership arriving for their defensive front-7, Joe might go into convulsions. The thought of another season of getting gashed up the gut in the running game would be too much to bear.

The search through college football to add to new Bucs coach Greg Schiano’s staff continues. Schiano apparently put out bait for Florida defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, but Quinn will stay put with the Gators, per longtime Gainesville Sun Gators beat writer/columnist Pat Dooley on Twitter.

@pat_dooley: According to my sources, UF DC Dan Quinn interviewed for Tampa Bay Bucs DC but turned it down.

Joe is hoping two things here:

1) Part of the delay (?) of grabbing assistants is the Bucs and Schiano are, in a term Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik used, exercising “due diligence.”

2) The Bucs plan to interview coaches on Bill Belicheat and Tom Coughlin’s staffs.

Quinn would have been an interesting hire as he has roughly 10 years of NFL experience, mostly as a defensive line coach.

As many of Joe’s regular readers know, Joe is addicted to SiriusXM NFL Radio. Perhaps the most in-depth X’s and O’s show on that channel is “Movin’ the Chains,” co-hosted by former NFL executive and NFL coach Pat Kirwan and former Bears defensive tackle and current FOX NFL analyst Tim Ryan.

For NFL fans more interested in strategy as opposed to ticket sales or how much money an owner spends, this is your show. It is no less than fascinating… riveting in fact.

Last offseason, it was Ryan who beat the drum about how the Bucs were making a grave mistake in letting Barrett Ruud walk. Ryan went on to say that if Ruud were to leave the Bucs, “the Bucs defense would collapse.”

How’d that analysis work out, huh?

Last week at Super Bowl Media Day, Joe had a chance to speak with Ryan, who was gracious enough to give Joe his time while at work during a commercial break. Ryan is not a member of the national chorus that has thus far given the Bucs a thumbs-up for hiring Greg Schiano. Color Ryan skeptical.

JoeBucsFan: Did the Bucs paint themselves in a corner waiting so long to hire a coach?

Tim Ryan: I don’t think so. I think they did their due diligence and talked to guys who have done it before and who have had success in this league. And they decided to go with the young guy, which is very interesting to me, especially when you look at [Schiano’s] track record in pro football. And he may be a great guy, and I will give him the benefit of the doubt. But there are going to be tremendous obstacles to say the least in my opinion trying to be competitive and win games in that division when you start looking at the Saints, you start looking at Carolina, look at Atlanta, the coaches on those teams not to mention who is going to coordinate his offense. He will probably have his mind on defense since he is a defensive guy. I know they are still trying to get John McNulty out of Arizona. They seem hellbent on at least pursing that as long as they can pursue it. I think there are a lot of questions marks left in Tampa after the hiring of Greg Schiano.

Joe: A lot of Bucs fans are concerned about his lack of NFL experience. Sure, he has been with good coaches. Yeah, he worked with Butch Davis. Yeah, he worked with Joe Paterno. Yeah, he worked with Dave Wannstedt, who is a good defensive coach. But he only has two seasons in the NFL and there is talk he’s going to bring a bunch of college guys in.

Ryan: Well, good luck with that and again, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and we will wait and see what happens. I have talked to a lot of guys who have been in this league a long time, and I have seen what this league is all about. This is a league that is won — everyone has athletes — you win with strategy, you win with a “what-if” list that is a mile deep. Pro football is a whole different animal. I have heard from a lot of guys that have been in the business for a long time and I say, “Your thoughts on the Schiano hire?” and they give me one name: Bobby Petrino. And when I hear that, that is what some of the people from the outside looking in kind of are thinking. I know he has promised to reattach to the fanbase. The only way to reattach to the fanbase and fill seats is to win games. So we will see what happens.

Joe: When you reference Petrino, what are you inferring?

Ryan: Just a college guy with limited NFL experience, when you are talking about college guys running both sides of the ball. We will wait see what happens with Butch Davis who can certainly coach defense. I have known him for years, he recruited me in high school. He’s an extension of Dave Wannstedt also from the Cowboys. [The Schiano hire] created for me more questions than buzz and excitement.

Like every other fan, Joe hears that the NFL is a copycat league.

And now that the Giants have won two of the last five Super Bowls, twice beating the offense-first Patriots, perhaps the Giants model will become the NFL’s hot new flavor.

Of course, the Bucs are not the Giants, but on the surface the Bucs do appear to be trying to build the Giants way.

Tom Coughlin is a discipline-first head coach who likes to pound the football and take shots downfield. Greg Schiano is that guy.

The Giants succeeded with a very young receiving corps, a first-round pick (Hakeem Nicks), a third-rounder (Mario Manningham) and an undrafted guy (Victor Cruz). Sounds familiar.

The Giants have stockpiled talent on the defensive line and built their 4-3 defense around what those guys can do. That sounds like what the Bucs are attempting, and Mark Dominik recently called Schiano a “4-3 fundamentalist.”

Despite the NFL’s statistically worst running game, the Giants use a punishing beast in the backfield to set up the passing game. The Bucs have their own beast.

And the Giants have a strong-armed quarterback that can make all the throws. The Bucs have one of those, as well.

Also, unlike their New York/New Jersey counterparts, the Giants tread very lightly in free agency. Quick, name the Giants’ big name free agents.

Now Joe knows full well that the Bucs should not be confused with the Giants; no way. But there definitely are similarities in the approach, and nobody can argue the Giants way isn’t working.

Predictably, NFL fans howled in protest about how so-and-so was not elected to the Hall of Fame Saturday, and how the outfit is a travesty, yet the same angry crowd often refused to explain who they would have eliminated (a maximum of five can be elected per year, not counting senior nominees), nor did they take to time to read how Eddie DeBartolo and Bill Parcells canceled each other out as did Andre Reed and Cris Carter.

Well, it’s going to get even  tougher for those denied to get in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as several Bucs will be eligible in the coming years, notes humorist Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune.

That’s right _ the men behind those great Tampa Bay Buccaneers teams and a Super Bowl win begin coming up for the Hall in 2013. The great Lee Roy Selmon, Hall of Fame class of 1995, is sure to get company _ but how much?

Next year, Warren Sapp and John Lynch will most likely be Hall finalists. In 2014, it will be Derrick Brooks and Tony Dungy. Assuming Jon Gruden doesn’t go back to coaching, he’ll be up for the Hall in 2014, too. And Ronde Barber should also be eligible five years after he retires in 2019 or 2029, whenever it is.

Just a guess from Joe, but Derrick Brooks gets in right away. Sapp might have to wait a while as may Lynch. Sadly, it’s difficult for cornerbacks to get in the Hall. Shoot, it took Roger Werhli forever to get elected. Joe doubts Simeon Rice will ever get elected.

And if Ronde Barber isn’t a Hall of Famer, Joe doesn’t know what a Hall of Famer looks like.

As all football fans wait for today’s Super Bowl, Joe brings you, courtesy of the NFL and its Internet partner Hulu.com, a Super Bowl nine years ago that Bucs fans had keen interest in: the NFL’s No. 1 defense vs. the NFL’s No. 1 offense. Defense wins championships.

Chucky-blaming, stone-hands, one-year-wonder, legendary blocking icon Michael Clayton is a happy man.

Joe would be too if he fleeced the Bucs for $10 million guaranteed back in 2009.

Clayton’s also on the New York Giants roster — injured reserve (not hurt while making a catch)– and he’s all giddy about what an impact he’s had as a mentor to his Giants teammates. In what really was a classic interview this week, Clayton sat down with Steve Duemig, of WDAE-AM 620, to talk about how great he is and how blessed he is. Pop a cold one and take a listen below.

Sadly, Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has his detractors. One just needs to read the comments on this site for evidence.

Joe always enjoyed his interaction with GMC and likes how open GMC is with fans. He’s a good dude.

That’s why Joe was aghast that this week GMC tried to become intimate with that disgusting old hag Madonna.

The NFL trotted that old bag out last week as the league sunk to a new level having her, ahem, perform at halftime of today’s Super Bowl, a halftime show Joe can assure you he will not watch one minute of.

Apparently, per the Associated Press, GMC wanted Madonna to express her affection with him, in a manner of words.

McCoy, working as a reporter for OCNN – Chad Ochocinco’s network – showed a lack of fear that would impress Bucs fans during the music legend’s Super Bowl news conference Thursday in Indianapolis.

He asked Madonna for a smooch, and was quickly shot down.

The back-and-forth began when a bold McCoy, sitting among hundreds of media members, told Madonna, “I’m only 23, but I love you.”

DUDE! There is sssooo much better talent out there to pick up — just walk through International Plaza on a Wednesday night — than this old untalented battle ax.

Joe never, ever understood this Modannoa phenomenon. So she wore a bra over her blouse. Big deal! With talent like that, one can get a gig working weeknights at The Oz in Clearwater.

Joe is no less than outraged that Van Halen, about to embark on a nationwide tour, isn’t playing halftime.The nerve of NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell to turn his back on David Lee Roth and the Van Halen troupe in favor of this over-aged businesswoman.