What happens when you put Tampa Bay sports radio icon Steve Duemig and Joe in the same studio to talk all things Bucs for an hour?

Find out tomorrow at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620. The new, Wednesday “JoeBucsFan Hour” rolls on. You don’t want to miss this.

Joe knows there are many Gators fans who were of the belief that track star Jeff Demps, like Superman, would swoop in just as the regular season starts, not in football shape, and become the second coming of Devin Hester and lead the Bucs to double-digit wins by returning kickoffs. Well, said blue-and-orange sunglass wearers may go to bed hugging their pillows tonight.

Bucs commander Greg Schiano, when asked about Demps today during his daily post-practice press conference, seemed to let out a bit of frustration on the subject of this mysterious Demps arrival. It appeared to have touched a raw nerve.

In no uncertain terms, Schiano appeared irritated that Demps is not in training camp and all but suggested the experiment of a track star helping the Bucs (this season) is a long shot at best.

“(Sigh). I’m not, ah (pauses) — supposedly he’s coming. I don’t know. We’ll see. I don’t worry about guys that are not here, you know? So he’s not helping us get better right now. He’s out there running track somewhere. So, if he’s going to do that — if he gets here and helps us win he will be part of it. If he gets here and can’t help us win, he can go back and run track. We are here to win games.”

Joe thought it was a borderline joke that a guy, clearly not in football shape, could waltz in on the cusp of the regular season and be handed a critical position on a football team all because he can run in a straight line really fast.

Such a stunt may have been embraced on the loose ship USS Raheem Morris, but under the disciplined ways of the New Schiano Order, it’s borderline preposterous.

If Bill Belicheat thought Demps was an asset, Belicheat wouldn’t have thrown Demps in as an afterthought at the last second in the LeGarrette Blount trade.

The Buccaneers’ newest veteran defensive end already has impressed Gerald McCoy after one practice.

Trevor Scott, signed hours ago after three sacks with the Patriots last season, was in pads and in the mix today at One Buc Palace. Scott told Joe he had a tryout with the Bucs yesterday and signed on the dotted line.

During seven months as a free agent, Scott had other looks around the NFL and didn’t fatten up on the couch. Joe can attest that Scott looks to be in impressive shape.

“I’ve just been training every day, weight training, conditioning, that’s pretty much been my life,” Scott said.

Gerald McCoy said he got only a few looks at Scott today, but McCoy came away impressed.

“From the little bit I’ve seen, we do a drill where we work on our hand speed, and he has real quick hands,” McCoy said. “From what I’ve seen he’s pretty quick.”

Scott said he had no connection to the Bucs prior to signing other than his college bond with fellow University of Buffalo DE Steven Means, a Bucs rookie.

Scott likely will get a good bit of work against the Dolphins on Saturday, assuming the New Schiano Order likes what it sees in practice.

With the addition of Kevin Ogletree, left, the Bucs may have the deepest group of wide receivers in franchise history.

No, Joe just cannot peg the Bucs as winning the NFC South. Atlanta is too strong and the Bucs simply have too many question marks for Joe to go there.

Greg Bedard, one of the platoon of writers hired by Olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King to type for his website, theMMQB.com, took copious notes when the Bucs practiced with the Pats in Bedard’s former stomping grounds and believes one thing the Bucs could have is a strong bevy of wide receivers.

I think I had two overriding thoughts as I watched the Buccaneers go through two padded practices and a game against the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., this past week, and they revolved around the offense. If the Bucs are going to go anywhere, they need two things to happen: Two players not named Doug Martin and Vincent Jackson are going to have to emerge as weapons, and quarterback Josh Freeman is going to have to be more consistent. On the first point, receiver Mike Williams has been a consistent contributor over his first three seasons—65, 65 and 63 receptions, respectively—but will he be the same player after receiving a big contract this offseason? He was nothing more than average against the Patriots last week. Conversely, free agent pickup Kevin Ogletree (who never had more than 32 catches in a season in four years in Dallas) was outstanding, so that bodes well for receiver rotation. As for Freeman, he looked to be the same player he’s always been—a wildly inconsistent but physically gifted quarterback. Most of his problems seem to stem from his footwork; specifically, his strides appear erratic. If Freeman finally gets it, and the Bucs get constant contributions from Williams and Ogletree, they’ll be dangerous.

The wide receiver rotation should be a Bucs strength. With Ogletree and Tiquan Underwood, and hopefully Chris Owusu can stay healthy and overcome his fear of bright lights, this very well may be the deepest the Bucs have been at wide receiver since Chucky’s first year with the Bucs, which ended in Chucky holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy aloft in victory on a February San Diego night.

It’s a far cry from the lot of receivers Father Dungy trotted out for the Bucs in the late 1990s.

During training camp, the unquestioned leader of the secondary was safety Dashon Goldson. The free agent from San Francisco took the younger Bucs secondary members under his wing like a mother goose.

Wherever and whatever Goldson did, the young Bucs followed and obeyed. Now this is not to suggest that star cornerback Darrelle Revis’ voice didn’t hold weight. It sure did. But Revis, on a rehab program, was not always on the practice field. In fact, he was rarely on the practice field. Goldson was.

So when Revis returned to a full practice (albeit, a practice without pads) yesterday, Goldson beamed afterwards about the return of Revis.

“He looked better than we all thought he would,” Goldson said. “He showed some good things out there. It was good to have him out there – his presence on the football field. I think he’s still getting better. He’s still got work to do, but we’re glad to have him out there.”

But aside from Goldson being happy for the Bucs, he was happy for Revis. It seems the worst is behind him.

“First and foremost, it is more important that he gets healthy, period. Of course we want him out there, but we want to make sure he’s feeling right, he’s confident, and that the staff and trainers are confident in his injury to be back out there with us,” Goldson said. “We would love to have him out there, but we understand where he is.

“Just doing the one-on-one drills – a lot of one-on-one drills. He was out there, he did some good things, read the quarterback pretty well, broke on the ball. It was surprising to see.”

This is extremely good news. The Bucs secondary, even with talented newcomers like Johnthan Banks and Rashaan Melvin, needs Revis back there. Now it appears Revis playing in in the season opener against the Jets is little more than a formality.

Bucs fans paying attention to the trenches can see that rookie nose tackle Akeem Spence is no slouch on the first-team defense. The fourth-round pick targeted to be a 16-game starter by the organization seems to be on track.

Joe was impressed by Spence snuffing out a Patriots screen pass last weekend, and Joe knows Gerald McCoy raves about Spence’s work ethic.

Is Spence ready to start? Joe asked Greg Schiano yesterday.

“Akeem’s getting better. Whether he’s ready to start, you know I’m not ready to even consider all that yet. He’s makin’ plays. He’s doing his job most of the time,” Spence said. “Rookies, you get a little tired, you know they can let go of their job. And in his job it’s a very nasty, dirty job. And you gotta win that A-gap. And there’s a lot of stuff that goes on, a lot of stuff that tries to keep you from winning that A-gap. So he’s pretty good at it. But he’s got to be more consistent at it. He’s going to get a shot again Saturday night to do it. I sure hope so. Because he’s very talented.”

Barring injury or a complete breakdown, Joe is confident Spence will be the opening-day starter at nose tackle. Whether he gets spelled by Gary Gibson or stays in on passing downs is up in the air.

Regardless, so far, Spence seems like he was worth the trade-up in the fourth round needed to nab him.

Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton offered a scathing review of Josh Freeman today

Former That’s Incredible! host and Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton verbally clobbered Josh Freeman today during an interview on WDAE-AM 620.

“He just plays God awful. … Josh Freeman has proven to me that he can’t play,” Tarkenton said.

There’s a lot more in the audio below. In case you were wondering, Tarkenton, 73, is not senile. Rays fans also might find it interesting that Tarkenton compares Freeman to B.J. Upton.

As Joe wrote yesterday, fan and media sharks are circling around Freeman. Joe doesn’t expect this to stop until Freeman has a strong September — if he has one.

One could speculate on a conversation between Greg Schiano and Bill Belicheat when the Pats and Bucs spent three days together last week

Schiano: Bill, whaddya think of Da’Quan Bowers and what he can do this year?

Belicheat: Who?

Schiano: No. 91 at left end.

Belicheat: Trevor Scott is still out there.

Of course, that’s pure guesswork by Joe, but Scott is now a Buccaneer, per the Bucs’ media relations team.

Scott (6-5, 260) comes to the Buccaneers after playing for the New England Patriots last season, where he recorded 14 tackles and 3.0 sacks. Scott spent the first four years of his career with the Oakland Raiders. The five-year veteran has played in 72 games, with 18 starts, totaling 111 tackles, 16.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass defensed.

A native of Potsdam, New York, Scott played collegiately at the University at Buffalo. He entered the NFL as a sixth round selection (169th overall) of the Oakland Raiders in 2008.

Interestingly, Scott is out of Buffalo, the same school where rookie DE Steven Means played college ball.

A veteran like Scott getting signed this late in the game usually means a team is looking for help and not just filling space on a roster. The situation bears close monitoring. Here’s a link to a short feature on Scott following his two-sack game against the Dolphins in December.

One of the great beards in Bucs history has returned.

Mike Williams’ facial garden is again gracing his jaw. Grady Wilson would be proud. Williams now looks darn close to this photo from last year’s training camp.

Williams shaved early last season but told Joe yesterday that the new beard might make it past Christmas.

“I don’t know. It depends how this third preseason game goes right here. I get more playing time in it, so it depends,” Williams said.

A big training camp theme was the health of stud cornerback Darrelle Revis. The Bucs were cautious with Revis since arrived, held him to a rigid workout program, and he has yet to hit anyone in drills.

But that changed Monday. Revis participated in normal drills and afterwards, Bucs coach Greg Schiano said that if Revis insisted, he wouldn’t stand in Revis’ way of playing Saturday at Miami. Tom Krasniqi of WDAE-AM 620 delivered additional details of how far Revis has come in a short time.

In his own words, Revis took a “huge step” forward with his rehab on Monday. He took part in team drills and says his knee feels fine. “No soreness at the end of practice and no swelling. I think it’s a huge step,” Revis said. Revis says he matched up against Vincent Jackson at times during practice. His reps were limited and it was a no-contact day for Revis.

Schiano says they’re trying to ease Revis back in. “What we need to make sure is that when we do get him back to playing that’s it’s not full-bore, right out of the gate because he hasn’t trained to do that,” said Schiano. “We’re going to have to be smart. But I think we’ve handled that well and we just have to continue and so much of it depends on Darrelle’s feedback to us. He lets us know how he feels and we adjust accordingly. I can tell you, there’s nobody in the world who wants to play more than Darrelle Revis.”

This is nothing but good news. As rancid as the Bucs secondary was last year, and after seeing Pats quarterback Tom Brady carve up the Bucs last week, Revis is sorely needed.

Revis very well could turn the fortunes of the Bucs’ poor pass defense around if he is healthy. Dude is that good.

Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620 have loads and loads and loads of audio from today’s locker room session. You will want to dig in because there is so much good stuff here.

Included in the audio clips are cornerback Darrelle Revis, safety Dashon Goldson, defensive tackle Akeem Spence, cornerback Rashaan Melvin, wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, wide receiver Mike Williams, guard Davin Joseph, wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, running back Mike James and for the Mike Glennon Mob, backup quarterback Mike Glennon.

Last but not least, the post-practice press conference from Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

Again, all audio courtesy of WDAE-AM 620.

Blistergate has now sounded an alarm heard across the nation.

Carl Nicks’ newly infected foot blister, not his surgically repaired foot/toe, could keep the All-Pro guard out a month, reports BSPN NFL guru Adam Schefter, via RotoWorld.com.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on NFL Insiders Monday that Bucs LG Carl Nicks (toe infection) “could miss about a month, based on what I’m being told.”

Nicks is dealing with an “infected blister” on the same toe that he injured midyear last season, costing Nicks the final nine games. The Bucs need to take their time in order to avoid future setbacks, so Nicks is looking highly doubtful for Week 1. If he misses a month from now, Nicks could still be back early in the season. Look for Ted Larsen to stand in at left guard.

Former Buccaneer Ian Beckles isn’t sold on Josh Freeman’s decision-making.

Longtime former Gaines Adams and Barrett Ruud basher Ian Beckles seems to have turned his harsh-critic daggers to Josh Freeman. Beckles, the former Bucs guard (1990-1996) turned popular radio host, has offered harsh assessments of Freeman lately.

And they’re the kind that leave little hope that Freeman will become a great player.

Today, Beckles broke down one way Freeman holds on to the ball too long and he said Freeman has talent but no “football IQ.” You can catch the full Ron and Ian audio below.

Joe’s not sure what set off the masses, but Freeman took a beating on various local radio stations this morning. Right or wrong, it’s going to get ugly around these parts if Freeman has a rough September.

While small pets ran and hid from their masters this past weekend, cowering in fear of being drop-kicked because their masters were so frustrated with a Bucs loss — a preseason loss — the calm amid the hysteria is Bucs commander Greg Schiano.

Among the topics that had Bucs fans running to their liquor cabinets after the loss to the Patriots was the play/non-play of defensive end Da’Quan Bowers. He’s a player who has a pile of Bucs eggs in the team basket. Fans see Bowers eggs beginning to crack, per Bucs personnel; he is not living up to the demands of Schiano.

Bowers has struggled so much to become that every-down lineman the Bucs need, he didn’t even start the preseason game at New England.

But Schiano states, unlike Bucs fans, he is not rattled by Bowers’ play.

“Da’Quan’s embracing the opportunity without a doubt. I’m not frustrated, you know, I’m not frustrated,” Schiano said. “There are certain days that I’m disappointed that we didn’t do more, that we didn’t get it better, but he’s making progress and as long as he keeps making progress he’s going to be a great player. It’s just we have to keep making progress. I actually thought he did some things Friday night that we haven’t seen him do, so I thought he played better. We just have to keep making progress with him and he will. I mean, this guy wants it badly and he’s willing to do what we ask, so it’s just a matter of time.”

That’s the key element in this subject. Bowers has taken to Schiano (and his assistants) and is as driven to succeed as the coaches. If Bowers was sulking (like LeGarrette Blount did) or moping around grumbling (like Sgt. Winslow did) Bowers would likely be traded or cut by now.

When coaches begin ignoring you, that’s when it is time to worry. The coaches have not ignored Bowers one bit. And he is doing his best to appease them and improve his play. That’s a giant first step.

There seems to be buzz beginning among Bucs fans who wonder aloud why the starters (sans, Da’Quan Bowers, if indeed he is a starter), are getting so few reps in preseason. Joe will address this in another post but there’s one Bucs Pro Bowler that is all but begging Bucs coach Greg Schiano for more reps, and it isn’t Darrelle Revis.

No, that player in question would be one Doug Martin, the Bucs’ stud running back.

Martin has logged just five plays through two preseason games. One reason is he had his bell rung — no official concussion — when he took a knee to the head early in the loss to the Patriots while blocking.

“Got a knee to the head, got a little dazed. I practiced today. I am fine. I definitely want to play (against Miami). Previous two games I only got five plays. I would like to get two or three quarters in,” Martin said today.

Joe wonders if this limited action for so many starters is smart or not. Of course, Schiano said it is all part of a precise, well-thought out plan. Everything is going as expected, Schiano said today.

Usually, the third preseason game is when the starters play most. It will be interesting to see just how many plays both the offensive and defensive first teams of the Bucs will log in Miami Saturday.

To hear more of Martin, click the arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620.

The Bucs’ $1 million-a-game man, Darrelle Revis, explained for the 427th time that his status is day-to-day and he doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring, so Revis told media today at One Buc Palace.

Revis practiced more intensely today — he called it a huge step — and says he’s completely confident in his knee. So Bucs fans can and should remain hopeful. Revis went on to say he worked full speed against Vincent Jackson and that football is a simle game, “like an alley fight.” (Listen to the entire Revis audio below, via WDAE-AM 620)

Joe knows there is no subject Bucs fans want to pounce on more than Josh Freeman (and the secondary subject pushed by the Mike Glennon Mob, replacing Freeman with an untested rookie third-round pick).

There have been debates both pro and con about whether Freeman can finally turn the corner and be the elite quarterback Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik thought him to be when he traded up in the first round to grab the Kansas State product.

In what Joe believes is one of the most exhaustive studies of Freeman, good guy Doug Farrar of SI.com broke down film as well as consulted with noted quarterback gurus Greg Cosell of NFL Films and former NFL quarterback and film junkie Ron “Jaws” Jaworski. Farrar, like just about everyone else, has no idea if Freeman will be “Evil Josh” or “Good Josh” this season. That has been the nagging tag on Freeman his whole NFL career but one: inconsistency.

Farrar believes Freeman’s current problems lie in two areas: mechanics and Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan’s scheme.

Scheme and opportunity

Another comparison between Freeman and Flacco – former Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron preferred isolation routes for his receivers, leaving Flacco with a lower margin for error when things went wrong. When Cameron was fired on Dec. 10, Flacco had seven games in the regular season and postseason with new offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell, who brought more diverse concepts to the table. Flacco’s stat line in seven games under Caldwell: 122 completions in 210 attempts for 1,737 yards, 15 touchdowns, and one interception. That includes a postseason with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions, something that only Joe Montana (1989) has done in a single stretch.

Tampa Bay’s offense frequently uses the ISO concept as well, and though the Bucs have receivers who can execute physical wins over cornerbacks in Jackson and Williams, it still leaves Freeman with fewer escape routes than he would have in a more varied offense.

Joe strongly encourages Bucs fans to click the link above and read this article. It is both very fair and very enlightening.

To be fair about how Freeman seems to play much better when rolling out or freelancing, Joe had noticed in training camp several designed roll out plays that the Bucs were practicing, so perhaps Bucs commander Greg Schiano and Sullivan saw on tape what Farrar also noticed. Joe will state again for all the world to read: The absolute best chance the Bucs have at a playoff berth this winter is with Freeman starting. He has already proven he can win double-digit games but has also proven that he hasn’t led his teams to the playoffs.

Freeman, through and through, is a confusing lad to figure out.

Kevin Ogletree is seen regularly as the Bucs’ No. 3 receiver, so Joe’s just going to call him that from now on until somebody important tells Joe differently.

The free-agent pickup from the Cowboys dropped a third-down pass — a first-down throw — from Josh Freeman on Friday that killed one of the Bucs’ two drives with the first-team offense.

(Joe can’t believe the idiocy heard on sports radio today speculating that Josh Freeman might not have executed that play well. It hit Ogletree square in the hands!)

However, Ogletree rebounded to make great catches and look like the spark/upgrade the Bucs are seeking at the position. Today, Joe asked Ogletree to grade his game against New England.

“I think what comes up right away is the first opportunity I got on third down. And I just didn’t get my hands together and, you know, that play sticks out,” Ogletree said. “But I think for the most part, [I] was really good with assignments, you know, in the right spots, just kind of getting in that nice rhythm with Josh [Freeman] as well as Mike [Glennon]. So it was, you know, a good preseason game.”

Ogletree is an X-factor in the Bucs season. The guy clearly has legitimate playmaking ability and has gotten a load of reps through the preseason.

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Mike Glennon’s confidence is growing. Joe can hear it in his voice.

Of course, that’s all part of the plan — for the Bucs to develop Glennon into the best No. 2 quarterback in football and the best he can be.

For months, Joe has been asked frequently whether Glennon is executing the entire Bucs offense or just what he can handle.

Before the Bucs’ preseason opener, Glennon told Joe he was still in a learning curve with the offense and he expected Mike Sullivan to call a game tailoired to his comfort level. Today, Glennon was far more confident and very upbeat about his advancement.

“Are there any plays that you’re not running?” Joe asked.

“No, I think it’s pretty open. I’ve been able to pick up everything pretty well,” Glennon said. “I think that’s more a question for the offensive coordinator, though.”

Glennon’s apparent development is great news for Bucs fans, whether you’re a member of the Mike Glennon Mob or a Josh Freeman fantatic, or just a non-lunatic Bucs fan.