Yes, it is quite possible the Bucs have gone from the worst secondary to the best secondary in the NFL. Joe is doing his best to try to forget that heinous pass defense last year, but it’s like having one of those nightmares where you swear your old man is yelling at you for something, only to wake up.

The Bucs’ horror show of a pass defense is seared into Joe’s brain and likely no amounts of alcohol or hours of counseling will be able to purge that from Joe’s memory banks.

Although one could argue — for how many years now? — the Bucs pass rush is a question mark, Rotoworld.com NFL guru Evan Silva believes free agent pickup Darrelle “Robin” Revis is such a good cornerback (when healthy), he will even help the Bucs’ pass defense. Silva explained while fielding NFL questions last night from his Twitter followers.

@dustinbuescher: Think Bucs have legit playoff shot? Does Revis make secondary that much better?

@evansilva: Yes x 2. He makes pass rush better.

Now this is something the co-host of “Movin’ the Chains,” Tim Ryan, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, told Joe this spring. Ryan said Bucs cornerbacks were so miserable, and wide receivers were so open at the snap of the ball just coming off the line of scrimmage, that opposing quarterbacks were able to get the ball off quickly, making it all but impossible for Bucs’ defensive linemen to even breathe on a quarterback.

Ryan’s theory, and Silva’s as well, is that Revis (and likely, Johnthan Banks) will be able to cover receivers coming off the line right away, which will at least give Bucs’ pass rushers a prayer of disrupting quarterbacks, or making them eat dirt.

One of the highest-drafted safeties in NFL history, Mark Barron showed extreme highs and lows on the field last season. One could say it was a typical rookie year.

But the Bucs didn’t draft Barron with the seventh overall pick in 2012 to be typical.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and former chieftain Raheem Morris often said an NFL player makes his biggest leap in development between his first and second seasons, and Barron needs to do just that. He was drafted to cover the new-era “basketball” tight ends like Jimmy Graham, and be a punishing force in the running game.

The table is set perfectly. The Bucs scored a versatile All-Pro safety via free agency, Dashon Goldson, to play alongside Barron, and they grabbed the NFL’s best cornerback, Darrelle Revis, to shorten the field.

Now all Barron must do is live up to his draft status.

Revis has nicknamed himself “Robin” and Goldson “Batman.” While the presence of those two superheroes should be enough to make the Bucs’ secondary respectable, the Bucs can be dominant if Barron can assume more than the role of “Alfred.” 

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Which QB is the better bet for the Bucs on opening day, Geno Smith or Mark Sanchez?

It’s rare than an annoying, overhyped New York Jets topic would have so much interest for Bucs fans. But the Bucs’ season-opener in two months is against Rex Ryan’s ugly club, so Joe is paying attention.

There’s loads of New York and national buzz these days about whether the Jets and their new west coast offense will start Mark Sanchez or rookie Geno Smith on opening day.

NFL Network attacked the topic this week, and both former Pro Bowl center Matt Birk and Brian Baldinger thought the Jets have to go with Sanchez. Birk implored the Jets to go easy on Smith, “Don’t get him shell-shocked,” Birk said, referring to demands of a Jets QB on and off the field.

Former Jets QB Ray Lucas and notorious Adam Schein have a different view in the SNY-TV video below. Lucas has no problem with Smith if he wins the job. Schein, a notorious Sanchez detractor, thinks the Jets’ new offense is perfect for Sanchez.

Joe would rather see Sanchez taking the snaps against the Bucs. Joe will take the known versus the unknown any day.

;

No, Donald Penn and Adrian Clayborn are not dating. They’re shown here at Gerald McCoy’s recent wedding.

Several times, Joe was lucky enough to be just feet away from Adrian Clayborn when he went one-on-one with Buccaneers offensive tackles during training camp of his rookie season.

Damn, Clayborn was practicing with the intensity of a man possessed, or a man who chugged three Red Bulls  just for fun. Clayborn was ferocious coming after Donald Penn and many others, and Clayborn kept his motor revved– in games and practice — until he blew out his knee last September.

In a mere 20 days — 20 days! — Clayborn is set to the return to the practice field with no restrictions. And, per Greg Schiano, Clayborn has reworked his body in a good way and a Pro Bowl season is the goal.

This is not lost on Donald Penn, who took to Twitter recently to remind Bucs fans that Clayborn drives him to new heights.

@DPENN70 – At my boy @Geralcdini93 wedding wit my boy who gets me better everyday at practice @AJaClay bout 2get it lol

Clayborn returning with a mission and Penn in the best shape of his career should make for more fun stuff in training camp, and hopefully make both players better.

One very smart man knows nearly everything about the New Schiano Order and will have a microphone to tell Bucs fans all its inner secrets this preseason.

That would be Bucs icon Ronde Barber, who now is officially the color analyst on Bucs preseason games broadcast by WFLA-TV, Ch. 8. Barber’s new role was confirmed this week, and it has Joe wondering how candid Barber will be.

Barber is a very sharp cat and he’s got to know he can make a name for himself in broadcasting by not only being intelligent and on point with his Xs and Os takes, but by being edgy and revealing when it comes to his insider knowledge and assessments of players and coaches.

It is Joe’s understanding that the approval of Barber as a broadcaster comes mutually from the Bucs and Ch. 8. And Joe suspects Barber will be free to offer whatever commentary he deems interesting. That could raise some serious eyebrows, especially if Barber takes a page from his brother Tiki’s playbook of former-team bashing.

Yes, Ronde Barber loves the Bucs, but Joe’s observed/studied/talked to Barber over the years, and Joe would be very surprised if Barber will fall into the Chucky mode of praising every player and coach on the field.

Bucs fans might very well learn more about the team during the opening preseason game from Barber, versus what they see on the field against the Ravens.

Few people have both the access and the knowledge to break down countless hours of NFL film to determine players’ pros and cons.

Greg Cosell of NFL Films comes to mind. He’s en elite football mind, but if one was to nitpick, one could make the empty argument that Cosell never played in the NFL. Well, neither did dozens if not hundreds of NFL coaches. Bill Belicheat never played in the NFL, either, nor did Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells or Chucky, to name a few.

This cannot be said about former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski.

Better known as “Jaws” on BSPN, he too is an employee of NFL Films and he brings his considerable NFL experience as a signal-caller to breaking down quarterbacks.

The four-letter is slowly releasing Jaws’ quarterback rankings each day and, to be polite, Jaws is not enamored with Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. He has Freeman, who he referred to as “an enigma,” ranked No. 21, documents Marc Sessler of NFL.com.

During a midseason stretch that saw the Buccaneers go 5-1 last season, “Freeman played with a swagger,” Jaws said. “He was always willing to pull the trigger, attacking all levels of the defense. What I really love was the anticipation.”

Then Freeman tumbled off a cliff. “He was erratic with his accuracy. He had many communication issues with his receivers,” Jaws said.

Jaworski pointed out a disturbing figure: Only Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets had a lower passer rating when facing pressure. That’s when we saw Freeman mightily struggle at reading coverages and making split-second decisions.

Mark Sanchez?!

This is exactly the problem Joe has with Freeman, not counting his 6-15 mark against teams with a winning record (one of those wins came against a team that already locked up home field advantage for the playoffs). The guy simply wilts under pressure.

Joe points to the Broncos game last year. The Bucs’ defense may have played its best half of football, all but bottling up Peyton Manning in the first two quarters with the Bucs holding a narrow 10-7 halftime lead. If the Broncos were ripe for an upset, it was this game. But given a chance by the defense for Freeman to lead the Bucs to a thrilling, signature win, Freeman turned impotent against the Broncos pass rush, thus enabling the Broncos to rally for a win.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s what defensive pressure is supposed to do to quarterbacks. The bad ones. Ben Roethlisberger seems to thrive under heat. Same with Joe Flacco. Pressure doesn’t seem to rattle Aaron Rodgers too much. Joe could go on.

During a run at a Super Bowl, a quarterback naturally is going to be under heat from a defense. The elite quarterbacks get past that and find ways to win, create plays.

Thus far, Freeman rarely shows that ability against good teams.

Now to be fair, Jaws was knocking Freeman for lack of communication. Joe vividly remembers after a weekday practice last season, receiver Mike WIlliams, as nice a guy as there is, went off on how he and his fellow receivers were not “on the same page” as Freeman and much of the criticism lodged at Freeman should instead be dropped on the receivers; it takes two to communicate and it isn’t always the quarterback’s fault.

Freeman can make the plays. Joe has seen it. There are two plays that jump out at Joe, both elite plays. One was a touchdown pass against the stinking Panthers on the road, and a second on the road against the Dixie Chicks where Freeman absolutely threaded a needle, throwing a blazing heat-seeking- missile-like pass for a score.

Those are the types of passes Freeman needs to be more consistent with. They were both works of beauty, both coming on the road, both under pressure, both against division foes, both in close games. If Freeman can throw more passes like those two, and not like this, with another year under his belt in Mike Sullivan’s offense, there is no reason to believe Freeman cannot be a better quarterback, and perhaps an elite quarterback.

Joe reads the comments on this very corner of the Interwebs, hears the callers on sports talk radio, talks to the fans at various watering holes, etc.

Bucs fans are so anxious for a postseason berth this fall, they can taste it.

Well, so does Bucs coach Greg Schiano. In a podcast on NFL.com, Schiano strongly implied he expects the team to be better this season and he’s hungry to satisfy Bucs fans’ appetites for the playoffs.

“You know, I don’t really put a time limit on it,” Schiano said about turning the once hapless Bucs around. “It’s a win-now league. So, we were trying to win yesterday. I think we did some things our first offseason [winter of 2012], some acquisitions that really helped. And without a doubt, we did it again this year. So with Mark Dominik our GM and everybody involved, I think there is a commitment to winning from the top down, from the Glazer family down and that’s the most important thing. That is what I sensed when I sat down to interview with them. They are very serious about winning and winning championships. That’s why I thought it was a great situation.”

Yes, Joe too believe the Bucs should be better this year. The team very well may have gone from one of the worst secondaries in the NFL to the best. They have a running attack, a powerful offensive line, dynamic receivers. Yes, this team should be better.

Playoffs? Joe’s not going there yet. The only way the Bucs could guarantee a playoff berth is winning the division and Joe can’t go there yet.

The NFC is so damned stocked this year with top teams, it wouldn’t shock Joe one bit if a team won 11 games and missed out on the playoffs  (Joe is not saying that will happen, but could happen). The NFC is the best Joe has seen since Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells and Mike Ditka roamed the sidelines.

The Bucs very well could have a tremendous season, winning 10 games, and be watching the playoffs at home. That’s how good the NFC should be this year.

Former Bucs great, and in a few weeks a Pro Football Hall of Famer, Warren Sapp, generally despised anyone who wore a different colored jersey than the red and pewter (or, creamsicle). If you lined up against Sapp, you were a mortal enemy and it did not matter what team you played on.

But for a brief period of time, Sapp did have a most loathed team, a squad that fueled a special kind of hatred. And that was a certain green-clad team from the City of Brotherly Love.

“For three or four years, it was the Eagles,” Sapp told Joe and other media. “I mean, you are losing wild card, wild card. We were supposed to play them [the Sunday after] 9/11 and they moved that game. I wanted to crucify their [arse]. They moved that game to the end of the year and now it didn’t mean [anything] and they still beat us. Then we have to go up there to play them again in the playoffs and they beat us.

“For a while, it was the Eagles. But for the longest time, Tony [Dungy] put us on the path of chasing the Green Bay Packers because we had a three-time MVP [Brett Favre] in our own division. Everything kind of switched when they switched divisions. But you know, it really didn’t matter. Home, road, whatever. Let’s go.”

If anyone watches the Buccaneers episode of “America’s Game,” one can almost feel the rage in Sapp when he talked about constantly losing to the Eagles in the playoffs, until that magical Sunday where Ronde Barber is still running in Joe’s head, down the sideline all alone, sending the Bucs to their only Super Bowl appearance.

During the fancy video introduction of Greg Schiano’s appearance on NFL Network this week, a cut was played of Schiano “miked up” against the Chiefs, a scene in which he patrols the sideline and gives a firm order to Mike Sullivan.

“We got the wind at our backs for this play, Sully. Take a shot right now.” Schiano said into his headset.

Joe had seen the cut many months ago, but it really stood out this time. Essentially, Schiano was taking a very heavy hand with the offense, especially for a defensive head coach who takes pride in his delegation skills.

The next cut shown on NFL Network was of a Bucs touchdown and Schiano screaming into his headset and pumping his fist, “What I’m talking about Sully! Thattaway!”

Now it’s unclear whether that TD was the “shot” Schiano demanded or not. Joe’s not going to assume the magic of TV editing is accurate.

Regardless, it was an interesting glimpse into how the head coach rolls on gameday. As Joe’s written many times, Schiano’s coaching prowess is a huge X-factor for 2013, specifically his ability to outcoach division foes Mike Smith and Sean Payton.

Jamon Meredith got valuable snaps for a backup last season which offensive line coach Bob Bostad believes strengthens the line.

Yes, Joe knows the headline is a no-brainer. The Bucs never realized their true potential when David Joseph went down with an ugly knee injury early and Carl Nicks never made it to midseason with his nasty toe.

Bucs coach Bob Bostad really believes the offensive line will be stronger this year, not so much because both Joseph and Nicks will return, but the backups last year got so many snaps, so reports intrepid Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.

“Last year, you have to give the players all the credit,” said Bostad. “I thought those guys did a tremendous job – Jamon Meredith and Demar [Dotson] and Ted Larsen moving around and playing multiple positions in a short amount of time, with short turnaround…being able to be the next guy up, so to speak.

“Hopefully with those reps we dumped into them, they’re going to be able to either be there for us right off the bat or step into that same situation that happened. It was a really good investment. Last year was a good investment that way.”

This is an interesting point. Though Larsen is a former starter, a guy like Meredith got a lot of experience that simply cannot be duplicated in practice.

Though Bostad was being modest, let’s not fool ourselves, part of the reason the Bucs weathered much of the storm with the injuries up front and the benching of Jeremy Trueblood is that the Bucs very well may have the best offensive line coach in football.

Last year’s bye week, which came after a 1-3 start by the Bucs, may have indirectly saved Greg Schiano’s tenure with the team.

Most NFL players and coaches would suggest they would prefer to have a late bye week. That way, the team is more fresh for the stretch run and even if a team is not in the playoff race, a late bye means players can see light in a dark tunnel.

Last year, the Bucs had an early bye week in Week 5. In a recent NFL.com podcast with Dave Dameshek, Greg Schiano implied that last year’s bye week, coming after the Bucs started out 1-3, may have saved the season from becoming a 2011 Raheem Morris-like circling of the drain.

Dave Dameshek: Was there any doubt, starting the season 1-3 and some heat on you, college ways transferring to the pros, you ever thought, “I shoulda stayed up in Jersey?”

Greg Schiano: No, it was all good. We played some tough football teams and [the games were] close, but close isn’t good enough. We saw improvement. We thought things were going in the right direction. The thing that helped us was getting to that bye week and kind of regrouping as a team and as an organization and taking a deep breath and saying, “We’re close but how do we get over the hump?” Being able to play good football right after that was critical in the guys believing and moving things forward.

In retrospect, Joe can see how the Bucs might have imploded if not for that early bye week.

Imagine you had survived the purge, going from a lax coach to one who demands attention to detail. You put in all of that work and sweat and blood and toil and you look up and you are starting a season worse than the previous year, one that saw your coach run out of town just hours after the final game.

Joe could easily see how players would have checked out, thinking no matter what they did, the same terrible outcome was a near certainty.

This just goes to show that football is every bit mental as it is physical.

Joe is a summer kind of guy. It cannot get too hot for Joe. In fact, you will never hear Joe whine about the heat. Winter sucks. Summer is the opposite: Fun, water, beach, cold beer, scantily-clad, well-tanned frauleins and a harbinger of the coming football season.

What the heck is there not to like?

The Fourth of July is like Christmas, Thanksgiving and St. Patrick’s Day all rolled into one for Joe. Brats, chicken, copious amounts of alcohol, the beach and fireworks makes Joe feel like a little kid.

Joe hopes all of you enjoy Uncle Sam’s birthday today. Joe knows Curly’s ready to throw down some brews.

Joe has a whole lot of Warren Sapp quotes stashed away that he has yet to use, so the rest of this month, Joe will try to have a Sapp nugget or two as Sapp nears his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.

Sapp cherishes the fact he won a ring with the Bucs. Though growing up a Cowboys fan outside of Orlando, he knew just how terrible the Bucs had been after watching the Bucs at their pinnacle, before he and Derrick Brooks and John Lynch turned the chumps into champs.

“It means more to me that we built this from the ground up,” Sapp said about the 2003 Super Bowl champions. “I was at home when the Bucs played that rainstorm game against the Rams. I remember waiting for my brother to get off the bus to tell him, ‘They lost!’ I couldn’t wait.

“You talk about a Florida boy growing up loving this game and understanding what it was for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. My first game [at the old Sombrero], the 24-17 [1979 playoff] game versus the Eagles was my first game ever. Ricky Bell was my guy. That’s why I wanted to put him in the Ring of Honor.”

As just about every Bucs fans knows, Sapp, the second Bucs player to make Canton, watched the first Bucs player to make Canton, Lee Roy Selmon, beat the Eagles that sunny day.

Joe thinks it is cool that Sapp was all too aware of how far the Bucs had fallen not long after that Eagles playoff win, and how far back he helped bring the Bucs.

Farther, in fact, than Selmon did.

When the Bucs played under Raheem Morris, things around One Buc Palace were somewhat easy-going, relaxed for the Bucs.

In some cases, that’s a good thing. For the Bucs, it proved disastrous as the heinous 2011 record demonstrated, including the final weeks of the season where the team clearly packed it in and couldn’t wait to jump on a plane after the belt-whipping administered by the Dixie Chicks to end the campaign.

In comes Greg Schiano, the polar opposite of Morris, to lay down the law, instill the New Schiano Order and hold players accountable for toeing the line.

In retrospect, Schiano said in a podcast on NFL.com, the transition from the party atmosphere under Morris wasn’t that difficult for most players (sans Sgt. Winslow).

“To tell you the truth, at that point, things had gone kind of rough and the season ended poorly for them,” Schiano said of taking over the Bucs. “Guys were looking for a change. Now, I don’t know if they were looking for that big of a change.

“As we got going guys really did a great job of buying in and working extremely hard. We had a tremendous strength coach in Jay Butler and that was the first thing they were exposed to and it was a lot different. I think one of the things that the guys saw over time was the benefits of hard work and structure and all of that stuff. That it does pay off. As they get more and more familiar, they don’t have to keep it so tight either. So it goes both ways.”

So when Schiano said earlier this spring that he was going to back off a bit on the Bucs, he really meant it. He already has his stamp on the Bucs. Players now know what to expect from him, and Schiano knows what to expect from his players.

During OTAs and minicamp, Joe noticed there was less hollering from Schiano and, as the Bucs coach even noted, there was more monitoring of assistants.

Only time will tell if Schiano needs to be more forceful or if pulling back is the right thing.

When Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune, vacationing at home, killing time golfing, gardening and watching his moribund Cubs, heard Bucs coach Greg Schiano give Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman a vote of confidence this week on NFL Network, it came as no surprise to him though it seemed to surprise others.

This was one Bucs topic discussed when Cummings appeared on “The Fabulous Sports Babe Show” Tuesday night on WHFS-FM 98.7.

Fabulous Sports Babe: What about Schiano saying “We have only one quarterback?”

Woody Cummings: They have, like, five on the roster or four on the roster. You know what, I am not surprised by that I think he really – I have to be honest. I think he really misjudged the way that whole situation was going to be taken when he first said, “I just don’t know about Josh, I don’t know if he is our guy,” at the end of the season last year. I think he mischaracterized or misjudged just how that was going to be taken by the media and the fans and ever since, he has been trying to come off that statement. I thought he did it at the combine, he said basically the same thing. “Look, we went back and looked at the tape and think Josh Freeman is our guy.” I know they drafted Mike Glennon because they have to have somebody back there to develop just in case he isn’t the guy and proven to be not.

I am not surprised. It is a variation of a theme. It is the same thing he said at the combine. “We think Josh Freeman is our quarterback and we think he can take us where we want to go” which I assume it is a Super Bowl. He has been saying that, and variations of it, ever since. He said it after the draft. He said it at minicamp. He said it at OTAs. Now he said it again to the NFL Network. So every time he is asked the same question he gives the same answer which, you know what, I applaud him for consistency.

I just hope he is right. I just hope Josh Freeman proves he is the quarterback. I hope Josh Freeman, for his sake and the Bucs sake, goes out and proves to everybody, “Yeah, I was the quarterback all along here.”

It is almost like Schiano has been backtracking ever since he demanded competition at quarterback in his 2012 season-ending press conference. Like he let the back door open and a pesky gecko got through and Schiano’s been chasing the evasive reptile ever since.

Joe has written this time and again: the best chance for the Bucs to make the postseason is if Freeman has a good year, not if Mike Glennon is learning on the job.

Yes, Joe knows the Bucs’ marketing department is hardly engaged in communication with team trainers, doctors and Greg Schiano. But still, Joe can’t help but read between the graphics of the Bucs’ online ad campaign for the home-opener against the Saints.

Rehabilitating Darrelle Revis is the featured player in the latest ads pitching ticket sales for the game. So it seems the entire organization is confident Revis’ blown and repaired knee will be ready for action — even though he hasn’t strapped on pads in nine months.

“That’s what we’re banking on,” Schiano said of Revis’ opening-day return on NFL Network Monday. “If I’m a bettin’ man, he’s going to be ready.”

Joe’s banking on Revis, as well. Though Joe will feel better about Revis’ prospects after he’s seen a little live action.

Letdown cornerback Eric Wright has been keeping an eye on the $1-million-per-game savior of the Bucs defense, Darrelle Revis, and Wright loves the work ethic he’s seeing from No. 24.

Wright shared his thoughts on Revis’ dedication in one of his blog postings.

Of course, the other acquisition for the secondary this offseason was Darrelle Revis, and though he didn’t participate in OTAs on the field with us, he was down there at the facilities with us, putting in the time rehabbing and even extra time, trying to do everything he can to be ready to go when it’s time to go. He’s a true professional, and I don’t think any of us are worried about his recovery process. He has his timeline, and he’s going to be ready when he’s ready.

You can see the focus and the determination in the way he’s attacking his rehab and the way he approaches the game. I think he’s done a heck of a job of staying in the books and trying to make sure that he picks up the defense as much as he can even though he’s not on the field. That’s a hard thing to do, but he’s one of those guys that can do it.

Wright went on to talk about how Revis already is vocal and leading in the film room.

On NFL Network Monday, Greg Schiano repeated his admiration for Revis’ work ethic, saying again that he’s never seen anyone work on rehab like E.J. Biggers’ replacement.

Today, Joe will fantasize about Revis indeed being 100 percent physically for opening day at the Meadowlands. Mentally, it seems, he’s already there.

All the blitzes the Bucs used last year sure didn’t help out Mark Barron and the Bucs’ secondary.

Does Joe really need to remind you how Godawful the Bucs secondary was last year?

You know, the kind that got lit up worse than a Fourth of July roman candle against the Giants? The same lot that came but a mere 14 yard short of setting the NFL record for most yards puked up in an NFL season?

It was enough for Joe to throw an $8 cold beer on the field, and Joe wasn’t even drinking during Bucs games. Joe can only imagine how many glasses saloon owners had to replace last year.

Well, one could argue a reason for the garish amount of yards given up through the air was the amount of blitzes called, largely to no avail. BSPN believes the Bucs were one of the worst blitzing teams in the NFL last season.

Last season, no team blitzed its defensive backs more than the Dolphins, who did it 124 times for 8 sacks. The Bucs and Packers are the only other teams who sent their DBs at least 120 times last season but Green Bay experienced the most success out of the 3 with 14 sacks, tying the Broncos for the league-lead when utilizing the tactic.

Well, one could argue the Bucs got fried badly by all the blitzes. Part of the reason the Bucs blitzed so much could be twofold: Bucs coach Greg Schiano knew his secondary was a sieve and hoped to cover the stench by blitzing, and that the Bucs, once again, were woeful at putting heat on the quarterback and needed to bring in extra bodies to try to disrupt opposing quarterbacks.

If, as Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik believes, the Bucs can get pressure from Da’Quan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn from the edges, and with a revamped secondary led by Robin and Batman, perhaps the Bucs will dial down all the blitzes this season.

Greg Schiano told a nationwide audience of the lofty goals he has for Adrian Clayborn

Greg Schiano has something in common with former Bucs captain Jeff Faine. And no, it’s not that Schiano likes Saltines and anchovies. 

Both are smitten with Adrian Clayborn. Schiano said on NFL Network yesterday he believes  Clayborn can bounce back from injury with a Pro Bowl season.

“When we got there and evaluated, ‘this guy’s going to be a great player for us,'” Schiano said of studying Clayborn before the 2012 season.

“And we still feel that way. He’s rehabbed, and he’s back, and he’ll be ready. If he can kind of do what Gerald McCoy did, you know Gerald came back and played a full season healthy and was a Pro Bowler. We feel A.C. can do that.”

Also yesterday, Faine, who was pounded mightily on these here pages for his lousy loyalty during the 2011 lockout, told JP Peterson on WDAE-AM 620 that Clayborn is a “man-child” standout who should be improved, even coming off a major injury. 

“Clayborn, even though I was only there for his rookie season, I am extremely, extremely impressed with him. And I believe that he’s just going to become better and better and better,” Faine said. “He’s one of those guys that’s just a man-child playing out there on the edge. He’s a little different. He’s not going to out-athlete from the standpoint of running around you, but he’s going run right over you. And he’s got the speed to get the corner if you bear down on him too hard.”

While Faine’s endorsement doesn’t mean much, it’s crystal clear the Bucs’ braintrust believes Clayborn is a stud-in-waiting. It’s all part of the Bowers-Clayborn, no-Bennett dice roll of 2013. (You can catch the entire Faine interview below.)

The No Excuses Tour heads to Tropicana Field from Tampa Lee Roy Selmon’s locations. Click here for the schedule.

Catch the famous No Excuses Tour luxury bus departing Lee Roy Selmon’s locations in Tampa for this weekend’s White Sox-Rays series.

Your Paradise Worldwide Transportation chauffeur is waiting — and it’s only $9.95 roundtrip!

More than 1,000 fans have enjoyed this amazing service.

Lock your seat down NOW at NoExcusesTour.com.