Bucs wide receiver hopeful Tiquan Underwood, who played for New England last season, stood out during Day 1 of training camp Friday. And he didn’t even have to take his helmet off to do it. Underwood caught two deep balls and seemed to be a tireless worker while others wilted in the heat.

Joe caught up to Underwood for a few questions.

JoeBucsFan.com: You were in Bill Belichick’s training camp last season. How does Greg Schiano’s compare?

Tiquan Underwood: Two great coaches. Very demanding, very strict. Similarities and differences. But they’re two tough camps, so I see why both coaches have had the success they’ve had. The toughness is for a reason. It’ll pay off in the long run.

Joe: You had a great standout day [Friday]. How do you feel about your play?

Underwood: I thought it was ok, some high points some low points. I’m just going to go out and try to get better and be more consistent. Take away some of those bad plays that I had.

Joe: Wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck is one of the wildest personalities on the field. What are your impressions of him?

Underwood: Very energetic and he loves his job, man. He’s very passionate. As receivers, we feed off of him. He gets us hyped, gets us ready for practice, and we’ve all grown to love it and embrace it.

Joe: Does he think he can still play? (Fleck spent 2004 & 2005 as a 49ers WR)

Underwood: Absolutely. He’s out here with his cleats running up and down the field challenging us all the time. He definitely can still play, I believe.

Channeling his inner Johnnie Cochrane after a question about a recently dismissed wide receiver on WDAE-AM 620 this morning, Greg Schiano talked about how a player must fit his coaching staff and the team way, “To me it’s all about a fit.”

Enjoy the solid interview below, with Schiano talking about “fighter” Gary Gibson and Amobi Okoye, his thoughts on how “discipline for discipline’s sake” is not the answer, and more.

Price still must pass a physical in Chicago

BSPN Chicago has penned a story about the Brian Price trade that includes three anonymous and allegedly neutral scouts saying the Bears scored very well in the deal.

The piece also quotes Adam Schefter saying the Bucs’ compensation was a seventh-rounder in 2013.

Three NFL scouts with other teams unanimously deemed the Price acquisition a strong personnel move for the Bears, who have a need for depth at defensive tackle and may have landed a potential starter. One scout considers Price to possess “Pro Bowl talent,” and another said he’d be “surprised” if Price doesn’t crack Chicago’s starting lineup “provided he’s healthy.”

“(It was a) very good move,” said one NFC personnel evaluator. “(He’s an) athletic guy that just needed a change of scenery.”

Price still must pass a physical, which still gives the Bears time to have buyer’s remorse. Joe wonders whether the Bucs would cut Price if the deal fell through, or bring him back to the team and put him on the PUP list and let him rehab in hopes of trading him later.

It’s much more likely they’d release him, but nothing is certain.

Dezmon Briscoe has moved on to a new home, where the core beliefs and things of that nature seemingly better suit his lifestyle.

Per the Washington Post, Bricoe was picked up by the Redskins today after getting cut by the Bucs yesterday.

Joe’s hardly surprised that Briscoe has a job. The kid is 22 years old and caught six touchdowns last season. And he should be real yungry in a new environment.

That Bucs-Redskins game in Tampa in late September keeps getting more and more intriguing.

Arrelious Benn, seemingly still trying to bounce back from a knee injury during his rookie season, suffered yet another setback today with a sprained knee and is expected to miss the next four weeks.

The creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, Mike Florio, has been tipped off by the always popular “league source” that Benn suffered a sprained MCL today.

The Buccaneers’ final preseason game takes place on August 29, so if he does miss four weeks he could return for the end of the preseason, although it’s possible that the Buccaneers will show caution and hold him out of live action until the start of the regular season.

A 2010 second-round draft pick out of Illinois, Benn started 14 games for the Buccaneers last season and caught 30 passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns. The arrival of Vincent Jackson in free agency this offseason has likely bumped Benn out of the starting lineup and into the No. 3 receiver spot, and this injury won’t do anything to help Benn compete for playing time in the Bucs’ offense.

This bums Joe out tremendously. Benn was just starting to blow up as a rookie when he blew out his knee against Atlanta. Last year he was still trying to recover. Now this.

Of course, Joe knows the haters will blame this on Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik because he is not a deity and therefore does not have access to a crystal ball that tells him when players will get hurt in the NFL while they are still in college.

Feel free to pile on during this steamy summer night in three… two… one!

Some sights, sounds and magic from Day 1 of Bucs training camp is brought to those who could not attend in this Tampa Bay Times video.

Ten months removed from a gruesome-looking knee injury, Cody Grimm participated in offseason practices and was back on the field for Day 1 of training camp without limitations. Joe talked to him about his health, having Ronde Barber take his starting job and more.

JoeBucsFan.com: How do you feel?

Cody Grimm: I’m feelin’ good.

Joe: 110 percent good?

Grimm: Yeah, I mean I’m feeling a lot better than I was this time last year with my other injury. It really started feeling a lot better about two or three weeks ago, and it held up today. No complaints. I’m feeling great.

Joe: How would you tell a fan how today was different than Day 1 last year?

Grimm: It was different. It was a lot longer [practice]. The good thing was we got out here earlier than we used to. So that heat wasn’t so bad until the later part of practice.

Joe: The pace seemed slower than OTAs and minicamp. Those were more go, go, go. Is that just the weather considerations?

Grimm: It’s early. Everyone is still getting accustomed to where they’re going on the field and stuff like that. I’d say it’s going to be pretty cranked up here soon. (laughs). A couple of guys cramped up today. It was pretty hard today.

Joe: There’s been so much talked about Ronde Barber moving to safety, essentially taking your position. What’s your take on that and how has that changed your approach?

Grimm: I’m just trying to learn both [safety] positions and do whatever I can to help the team. Ronde’s playing good at it right now and whatever helps this team I’m cool with. Hopefully I can play really well in the preseason and get a competition going. But right now I’d say it’s Ronde’s spot. I’m good friends with Ronde. We haven’t really talked about it, but he helps me and I help him if I can if he has any questions, which he usually doesn’t. We’re just trying to be the best we can be as a team.

Joe: You came into the NFL projected as a special teams ace. Do you expect to play more special teams this year or any different roles there?

Grimm: I hope so. I’ve pretty much played every special teams. Last year I was off a couple. But I’ve always been on punt and punt block, and until they changed the kickoff rule I was on those. So I’m hoping I can be on all of them still. I mean I enjoy playing special teams. I always have. Hopefully I’ll be on them, but it’s Day 1, Week 1. There’s a lot that can happen.

Joe: What was the deal with the conditioning test? Was it that difficult and different for guys?

Grimm: I’d say it was a little harder of a conditioning test [compared to last year]. But I think everyone passed it today that didn’t pass it yesterday. So it’s doable. Everyone’s in good shape and that’s the main thing. They just wanted us to get in good shape before camp and limit injuries so everyone could be on the field as much as possible in camp so we can be the best team possible. Pretty straight-forward stuff.

After watching OTA days and minicamp, Joe was struck by how much slower the tempo was during training camp today. Things were definitely down a couple of notches.

Perhaps that’s because of the heat and the team is pacing itself? Perhaps some guys were tired after a second conditioning test this morning? Perhaps it was just a byproduct of “installations” and lots of coaching? Regardless, practice wasn’t at the likely unsustainable pace of the offseason.

Cody Grimm told Joe today’s opening practice was long and tough, guys cramped up and he’s sure it’s “going to be pretty cranked up here” real soon. Grimm said things might have moved slower as guys learn more about where to be on the field.  Dallas Clark also talked about the grind of “all install” over the first few practices.

*Tiquan Underwood was a standout. He beat Eric Wright easily on a completed, 50-yard bomb, and he also drew a holding penalty on Aqib Talib late in practice. Underwood caught other balls and just seems to be working extraordinarily hard and has the fitness to sustain it. Joe gets the sense he fits the cliche “doing everything asked of him.”

*Regarding Talib, he was seen stretching on the ground during practice. And at one point Greg Schiano talked to him while he was stretching and Talib went in the building with training staff but returned within 10 minutes or so. When Talib held Underwood, blatant and called by practice referees, clearly Talib was gassed.

*Joe’s ready for pads to come on and guys to hit each other. Enough already with underwear and helmets football. On one play, Doug Martin caught a ball in the flat and was one-on-one with a closing Ronde Barber. Martin appeared to beat Barber inside and the crowd cheered, but there’s no way to tell if Barber makes the play when there’s no hitting allowed. Also, Barber did flush him inside, which is his job if he’s not going to make the tackle. It was just a great example of how it’s impossible to tell who will/can make plays without pads on.

*Joe saw some good things in pass coverage out of Jacob Cutrera (tipped pass) and Dakoda Watson. And some not so good things in pass coverage from Myron Lewis.

Joe will have more thoughts and interviews through the day and into tonight.

Joe’s good friend Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net resumes his daily video reports on the Bucs now that training camp has kicked off.

Yeah, Donald Penn is out for at least a couple of weeks with a calf strain, yesterday’s bad news. But that doesn’t mean Penn is shoveling finger sandwiches while his teammates went through a 2 hour and 40 minute practice this morning at One Buc Palace.

A rather svelte-looking Penn, wearing a black t-shirt at times (not the best idea Donald), was stretching and running on the field with Bucs training staff through practice. He walked off the field with a mild limp.

Joe didn’t see it personally, but a few people came up to Joe at training camp today to say they saw Josh Freeman throwing up on the practice field. 

Freeman did take a break during practice and later returned to all drills. Greg Schiano confirmed after practice that Freeman was “nauseous.” Extreme hard work was Schiano’s initial diagnosis.

No. 5 had some standout throws, one in particular a 50-yard bomb in stride to Tiquan Underwood who beat Eric Wright cleanly by a few yards for the touchdown.

The Bucs aren’t in pads yet — and there was no pass rush on that play — but even Schiano admitted the “nice flashy bomb” gets him “excited” like any other fan.

Joe hopes Freeman either had some bad scrambled eggs, or is just getting used to managing his newly toned physique.

Long before today’s opening training camp practice at One Buc Palace, those who did not pass the required fitness test under the New Schiano Order — and were physically able, attempted to repeat required full-field sprints.

And they passed, Greg Schiano confirmed.

That’s very interesting to Joe. You couldn’t pass yesterday but you got it done today? That tells Joe the guys that most if not all failed initially because they were missing the will to finish.

As Schiano said after practice today, “The track team is done.”

This morning, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik appeared on “The Sports Page,” co-hosted by Rick Stroud and Tom Krasniqi heard on WDAE-AM 620, which was broadcast live from One Buc Palace.

Obviously, Dominik talked training camp and what players Bucs fans who attend the practices should keep an eye out for. But Dominik also discussed the Brian Price trade yesterday.

“Everything we do as an organization we take time to make long-term decisions for this football team. It is all a book when you put it all together. Yesterday you could say [the conditioning tests] was a combine but a combine is not why you draft a player. We made some decisions yesterday based on this football team not just on the short term but the long term, what is best for this football team.”

Dominik went on to say how he feels for what Price is going through personally and how he has had to battle a major freak injury, but at the end of the day, Dominik said he had to look out for the Bucs first and Price second.

The full interview with Dominik can be heard by clicking below.

In the small hours of this morning, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times posted a blog item that Brian Price, after failing to run a specific number of sprints for conditioning yesterday, was shipped off to the Bears.

The Bucs former second-round pick from UCLA weighed in at 303 pounds Thursday, nearly 30 pounds lighter than he arrived at One Buc Place a year earlier. All that was left to do was complete the mandatory conditioning test administered by coach Greg Schiano, which consisted of 16, 110-yard sprints with a 45 second rest period between intervals, and he could begin to breathe a little easier.

But after finishing only four sprints, Price heard and felt a sickening pop, which was extremely painful. Trainers rushed to his side and later determined that Price most likely tore some scar tissue and would be good to go in a few days.

Apparently, Schiano had seen enough.

Now this is a great piece of information. Solid work by Stroud. Seriously, it’s a delicious nugget. But Joe wonders if the timing was pure coincidence?

Brag Biggs of the Chicago Tribune Twittered yesterday that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik had been trying to unload Price for some time, but Dominik’s asking price was too high.

@BradBiggs: Personnel man for other team tells me Bucs were trying to move Price for some time & were originally seeking mid-round pick. Found no takers

Well now, the plot thickens.

Look, Joe has no idea if Price being able to finish his sprints was the last straw for the Bucs or not. Still, unearthing this juicy tidbit was solid work by Stroud, who had to get up about three hours later for his radio gig at WDAE-AM 620.

The first practice of training camp is just about to end and already there is an injury, but Joe is not sure if it is severe.

Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib walked off the practice fields at One Buc Palace this steamy morning with what appears to be a leg injury of some sort.

Of course, details are slim and Joe hopes the Bucs may shed some light on the injury when Greg Schiano meets the pen and mic club after this morning’s practice.

The good news is that Talib walked off the field with a leg injury.

UPDATE: Talib later returned to practice. Joe hopes to have further information on Talib’s condition later.

Jimmy Raye talks offensive philosophy

Joe had a chance to sit down with the cerebral Jimmy Raye, the Bucs’ offensive advisor, and Joe finally got a smile out of him when he informed Raye that former Bucs and Jets tight end Anthony Becht credited Raye for kicking him in the ass to make him a good blocking tight end in New York back in 2002.

Raye said that Luke Stocker will get the same treatment because of how physical the Bucs offense strives to become.

“I’ll defer back to the philosophical approach and the physicalness of which you would like to play and the environment you create,” Raye said. “Anthony [Becht] was the beneficiary of a philosophy and an environment that dictated that the tight end position be played with a high physical intensity, which he benefited from and played a long time and can probably still play.

“So I think the parameters of that in the environment that is created here, I expect Luke Stocker will be the beneficiary of that, and along with the fact that the competition that’s created in the practice format in that environment will hold him in good stead.”

Translation: Stocker better learn fast how to be a crushing blocking tight end.

Raye also assured Joe that Greg Schiano is not trying to build a run-first, throwback offense similar to those of the 1970s.

“I think what the attempt will be and what the fans will see will be is a sound, fundamental executing offense that will have the ability to run the ball, which is necessary to win in this league,” Raye said. “Not that it will be a percentage of run versus a percentage of pass and a throwback. I think it’ll be all-inclusive, take care of the contingencies of the defense and it’ll give us the best opportunity to win the game in the end.”

Greg Schiano has clearly put his stamp on the Bucs roster

Joe cannot remember the Bucs making so much news and transactions in recent times as the team did yesterday, and training camp doesn’t kick off until later this morning.

BabyMama-loving, NBA reality TV star wannabe and largely offseason workout no-show Desmon Briscoe was jettisoned from the team, despite leading the Bucs in touchdown receptions the previous season.

This move was about as shocking to Joe as a Karlos Pena strikeout.

Then, Mark Barron-slugging Brian Price was sent packing to the Bears. We all know about Price’s struggles, both personally and professionally, but he too missed a lot of offseason training.

Previously, disc-spinning tight end Kellen Winslow was shipped to Seattle for not being a toes-on-the-line kinda guy.

These three Bucs now gone is not surprising to David Joseph, per Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times. The law is being laid down in this New Schiano Order and Joseph believes, the way the team played — and acted — last season, this new Parris Island mentality of the New Schiano Order is just what the team needed.

The Bucs have been been an immature football team for too long. Pro Bowl RG Davin Joseph says that’s changing: “We’re maturing a lot. Reality is a beast, and last year was reality. If you don’t commit to the offseason, if you don’t have structure, you’re not going to be very good. reality taught a lot of guys last year, potentially how short your career could be and, without wins, how miserable football can be. Guys are committed to putting football first and that’s exactly what we need around here. “

Wanna hang with NBA groupies while your teammates work out? Then you won’t be with the Bucs. Wanna spin discs at a Las Vegas pool just before blowing off working with your teammates? You won’t be on the team.

Only those who are commited to football and motivated to improve from a horrid 4-12 season are welcome in the New Schiano Order.

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One of the somewhat odd things about the release of Dezmon Briscoe was the fact the Bucs couldn’t/didn’t find a willing trade partner for his services.

Briscoe has a load of potential at 22 years old and caught six touchdowns last season.

Perhaps the Briscoe move was more of an impromptu decision than many believe? Surely, if the Bucs wanted him out after he skipped OTA days, they had ample time to deal him. 

It’s an interesting mystery, one Joe suspects will become a Bucs X file.

Greg Schiano was a top 1-AA linebacker in his playing days, and he went on to coach at Linebacker U. (Penn State) and big name linebackers Jonathan Vilma and Dan Morgan at the University of Miami while defensive coordinator there early in his career.

Yeah, Schiano knows defense, but he’s a linebacker at the core. So initially Joe figured Schiano would be pretty hands-on with the Bucs linebackers, especially given how dreadfully they performed as a unit last season.

Then Schiano brought in little known linebackers coach Bob Fraser along with him from Rutgers, and Joe wasn’t sure what to make of that hire given that Fraser had no professional experience.

Well, it seems Fraser was schooled heavily under the leader of the New Schiano Order, who will bring strong influence into all things Bucs linebackers.

“When you have a guy that’s so knowledgable, you’re crazy not to use his expertise. I’ve learned every day from [Schiano] how to coach linebackers and the proper things,” Fraser told JoeBucsFan.com today. “The nice thing is he’s a great resource when you need him. He’s able to see things, specifics and not just big picture. He’ll pull me aside and be able to say, ‘Hey Fras, you may want him to do this and that.’ It’s been tremendous the years I’ve been with him. He’s unbelievable.

“I played defensive line in college. I’ve listened to people and taught myself and learned how to coach linebackers. Defensive line, I’ve seen that picture. [Schiano] has seen what they see. He knows what they look at. He’s seen that picture from their view. You know, that’s certainly an advantage to anyone who coaches that they’re able to feel that. I can coach it. I can tell you what to do, but I haven’t felt it. He’s felt it. He knows it that well. He’s an unbelievable linebackers coach. It’s a tremendous advantage for us.”

As detail-obsessed as Schiano is, Joe suspects his focus on quality and discipline will be a notch higher for the linebackers. How could it not be?

Given today’s roster moves, Joe can’t imagine that any linebacker’s position — giant contract or not — is safe.

Dezmon Briscoe has been evicted for the second time

Dezmon Briscoe missed optional OTA practices under the New Schiano Order, and now he’s been cut.

You do the math.

Joe is hardly surprised. Briscoe just wasn’t the new kind of Buccaneer Man, too busy with baby-mama drama made public on Twitter and a third-rate reality show.

Amazingly, Briscoe was evicted from his Westshore area apartment during the 2011 season. Eviction proceedings began in September and concluded uncontested in October, per Hillsborough County civil court records.

Good luck, young Mr. Briscoe, who is still just 22 years old. Joe hopes you can discover responsibility with your next team.

The New Schiano Order has delivered another hammer of a personnel move.

Brian Price has been traded to the Bears. There’s no word yet on the compensation coming to Tampa Bay, other than that the deal is pending a physical and the Bucs would get an undisclosed 2013 draft pick.

This is a stunner first and foremost because it’s hard to imagine what rockstar general manager Mark Dominik could have scored in return for Price and his many injury issues. But these are the same Bears that Dominik fleeced for a second round pick during the 2009 midseason trade of the late Gaines Adams.

But it’s also quite a wake-up call to every Buccaneer.

Maybe Price wasn’t fit? Maybe the Price-Barron altercation was more to Schiano’s dislike than he let on?

Somewhere Roy Miller is cracking open a cold one.