Led by receiver Vincent Jackson, the Bucs offense is playoff-ready, based on a calculation by NFL insider Pat Kirwan.

Last year as the Bucs’ pass defense created a spike in local pharmaceutical sales for Nexium, Joe was of the opinion that it was Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman’s Six Flags ways that doomed the Bucs in a push for the playoffs.

Pat Kirwan seems to take a different side. The former NFL assistant coach and front office man who, among his many gigs co-hosts one of the best football shows in the free world, “Movin’ the Chains,” with Tim Ryan heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, pumped out a take that would seem to suggest Freeman’s vanishing act in the latter part of the season had nothing to do with the Bucs watching the playoffs on their couches last January.

@PatKirwanCBS: The 12 teams in playoffs last yr averaged 27 touchdown passes from offense..can your favorite team do that this yr?

Well, the Bucs — and Freeman did just that. The Bucs had 27 touchdown passes, the average Kirwan cites for a playoff team.

If one is to believe in numbers — which never do tell the whole story — the Bucs should have been in the playoffs.

But if one is to subscribe to Kirwan’s theory, the Bucs offense is playoff-ready as Joe types this, which sort of reinforces what Keyshawn Johnson told the Tampa Bay pen and mic club Saturday when he popped into One Buc Palace.

Johnson talked about how drastically the NFL has changed and that in today’s game, defense is almost an afterthought. He mentioned how the Packers lost but one game in 2011, with an NFL-record worst pass defense. Keyshawn also mentioned that Bill Belicheat doesn’t care if teams score on him because with Tom Brady, the Patriots can score just as easily if not quickly.

Now is Freeman the next Brady or Aaron Rodgers? No. Not yet, but it will be interesting to see how much he has improved with a second year under offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan.

For those who dismiss this, Joe only points to Alex Smith. Nearly run out of football, Smith had nothing but a revolving door of offensive coordinators and head coaches until he found stability with Jim Harbaugh. And what happened? He was a special teams fumble from leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

One ugly reality of the 2013 season is the status of offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan.

A West Point grad, Sullivan attended the Army’s Airborne, Ranger and Air Assault schools before serving as an officer and then embarking on a 20-year career in football coaching. Sullivan’s also got a couple of Super Bowl rings with the Giants, references, and he marshaled the ninth-ranked offense in the NFL last season.

Another season of strong Buccaneers offense, and Sullivan would be a hot head-coaching candidate, and a worthy one. Sullivan jumped at the chance to interview for the open Bears head coaching job last season.

Based on rockstar general manager Mark Dominik’s comments yesterday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Dominik believed Sullivan was a serious candidate in Chicago.

“I was a little nervous Mike Sullivan was going to be one and done here. You know, he had a chance to get hired, and that was big for us, selfishly,” Dominik said. “Mike Sullivan is a heck of an offensive coordinator.”

Of course, losing Sullivan would be disastrous. Josh Freeman and/or Mike Glennon would not benefit from a new playcaller in 2014. Yes, the Bucs have Greg Schiano’s former Rutgers offensive coordinator on staff now, John McNulty, the new quarterbacks coach. But Joe would like to see the Rugters defense shine in the NFL before Joe starts considering the Rutgers offense.

As for Sullivan, the Bucs can’t stop him from interviewing for head-coaching gigs, but they could try to make his decision more difficult with a fat raise after what is hopefully a successful season.

It was Joe who first brought word to the masses 11 days ago that Da’Quan Bowers was wilting in the Florida sun at practice. Joe had been studying Bowers all over the field and saw him succumb. Bowers also was seen fighting the hot-training-camp demons again another day.

Now, after Bowers has been publicly pushed and challenged by the New Schiano Order, yesterday the defensive end admitted he’s not yet adjusted to the pace of practice.

Huh?

Bowers was asked to assess what he likes and doesn’t like about his 2013 training camp performance.

“I think I’m still a little winded at times,” Bowers said. “I’m not in the best shape, still getting used to the speed of practice. But other than that, (training camp) has been decent. I wasn’t real happy with my game performance [against the Ravens.] A little banged up, no major injuries. But you know, I’m ready to go. Just got to get better and grind.”

Joe knows players are in a tough spot with the media. Raw honesty like Bowers delivered here isn’t such a good thing to feed the media sharks. However, in Joe’s mind, Bowers still getting used “to the speed of practice” this late in training camp is a true red flag. The guy’s 23 years old. He’s healthy. And Schiano has raved about Bowers’ work ethic and how he re-made his body — in a good way — when he was out part of last season rehabilitating a torn Achilles. Bowers shouldn’t still be adjusting.

You can listen to Bowers below. His quote above is in the final minute of the audio, courtesy of WDAE-AM 620.

With Da’Quan Bowers’ play below Bucs coaches’ standards, and Adrian Clayborn missing time with a sore groin, the door has opened for one of the Bucs’ rookie defensive ends to make a name for himself.

It seems Steven Means is, at least he has to Joe. The University of Buffalo product played OK in his NFL debut against the Crows Thursday night and in practice, he is making offensive linemen work, including left tackle Donald Penn.

Saturday, he got heat on Josh Freeman who tried to pass over Means. But Means simply jumped up and plucked the ball out of the air and jogged into the end zone for a pick-six.

“Coach [Bryan] Cox came out here and he told me, ‘Just go today. Just go,'” Means said. “He knows I know my plays, so all I’ve got to do is go out there and play my game. That’s pretty much what I was doing today. It excited the whole defense. A lot of the offensive players even came to me afterward and said, ‘Good job.’ It was a good feeling.”

Means is starting to get comfortable in that the he has adjusted to the speed of the game. Means thanked Bucs coaches for that.

“The fact that these coaches emphasize us coming out here and emphasize us coming out here with high intensity, it really wasn’t that much different from how I practice,” Means said. “Just to get out there and get the feel for it was amazing. I felt right at home. I’m looking forward to playing in a lot more games. The coaches just told me, ‘Get off the ball more. Get around the edge more instead of running down the middle of the man.’ That’s something that I took into consideration and I started applying it today.”

This is a critical time for the Bucs. It appears Means has done enough to earn time on sure-passing downs. Whether he plays more than just passing downs is up to all sorts of factors, including Bowers’ aptitude, Clayborn’s health and Means’ play.

Josh Freeman keeps getting high marks from the Bucs hierarchy.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik took to the SiriusXM NFL Radio airwaves yesterday with Zig Fracassi and Booger McFarland and was asked why he believes in Freeman in 2013. Dominik said his confidence comes from practice, and Year 2 of Mike Sullivan.

“I think he’s played smart all preseason long. I think that’s the main thing,” Dominik said of Freeman. “He’s been very good with the football, not turning it over not forcing throws. He did another good practice out there [Saturday], with the two-minute situation, four-minute drills, different ways to make sure that we’re moving the football. I think again, younger quarterbacks, I think they all need it, but, you know, consistency of who the playcaller is, consistency in the system are all important elements of it.”

So, there you have it. Freeman is playing smart and secure ball, and he’s got a comfort level in the offense.

Joe will add that Freeman is loaded with elite talent on his offensive line and at skill positions.

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Several Bucs were available to speak with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club after the final open practice of training camp 2013 today, including former Bucs Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Keyshaun Johnson.

Among those chatting it up were cornerback Rashaan Melvin, defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, cornerback Johnthan Banks, wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, defensive end Steven Means and Keyshawn.

Also here’s Bucs coach Greg Schiano’s full press conference. All audio from WDAE-AM 620.

Gerald McCoy seemingly is doing everything he can to return to the Pro Bowl — every year.

Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio today, McCoy talked about how hoops legend Michael Jordan is inspiring him. Jordan, per McCoy, came to Bulls training camp each year and pretended he knew nothing of the team’s famous triangle offense. Jordan took fresh notes in preseason meetings to force himself through the steps of re-learning the offense. McCoy says he’s doing the same things now to better understand the Bucs’ defense and to re-learn pass rush moves.

The words of Warren Sapp and Ronde Barber are also pounding a drum inside McCoy’s head. Sapp taught McCoy that there’s no greatness without consistency, as in year after year after year. Regarding Barber, it’s about the ultimate accountability.

“Ronde, when he retired, said he left this defense in my hands,” McCoy said. “I don’t want to disappoint him and, you know, make him wrong by leaving it in my hands. But not only that, not disappoint my teammates because they’re depending on me. They’re following me. So if I’m slouching, then they’ll slouch. So if I bring it, then I’m expecting them to bring it. And I’m bringing it, I think we’ve got a pretty good shot at getting after the quarterback.”

Not only can McCoy walk the walk, he can talk the talk. (Listen to McCoy on SiriusXM NFL Radio here.)

Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net has his take on the final fan-viewable practice of Bucs training camp 2013.

Keyshawn Johnson served up a shot at Raheem Morris today while assessing Josh Freeman

What a surprise treat! Just as Joe was about to bang away on his keyboard after the final Bucs open practice of 2013 training camp, in walks Keyshawn Johnson, the former Bucs wide receiver and current BSPN analyst who regaled the Bucs pen and mic club with all sorts of stories about the Bucs, Chucky, Tuna Parcells, and more.

In a long discussion about Josh Freeman, Johnson seemed sympathetic and believes Freeman has the Bucs over a barrel. “Who are you going to get?” Johnson asked if the Bucs would wave goodbye to No. 5. “Who is coming out in the draft? Teddy Bridgewater? Aaron Murray?”

When Joe asked Johnson if Freeman was similar to Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, a first round quarterback who is on the cusp of being a top quarterback but hasn’t (yet) put his team on his back, Johnson had an interesting answer.

“Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, same type,” Johnson said. “But [Bradford] has gone through three coaching changes, right? He is on his third head coach. Freeman is on really his first.”

When Johnson was quickly corrected that Raheem Morris was the Bucs coach when Freeman was drafted, Johnson had a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye and nodded, “Really, first.”

Translation: Johnson thought very little of Morris.

There is no question Bucs coach Greg Schiano has been a bit disappointed in the training camp practices of defensive end Da’Quan Bowers. The Bucs have put a lot of eggs in their basket, banking on the former Clemson star to finally deliver on his pass rushing potential, which made him a second-round pick.

Due largely to a combination of injuries and a lack of playing time, Bowers has yet to develop into that fearsome presence the Bucs thought he would be. Schiano has not shied away from saying he was expecting more from Bowers as an every-play defensive end instead of the pass-rushing specialist he has been.

Bowers himself is a bit disappointed in his progress this summer, and he has no issue with the Bucs head honcho using all means to help Bowers get on track.

“I’m an unproven defensive end in this league; I felt like I needed the extra work,” Bowers said of playing a full first half Thursday night in the Bucs’ preseason opener. “I talked to Coach [Schiano] about it. He agreed, I agreed, so we came up with the plan.”

Prior to the game, Schiano noted players who need work will get plenty of work. Bowers proved it.

“Coach is a straightforward guy and I respect him,” Bowers said. “It’s like you said, he said he wanted more out of me, so it’s my job to come out here and give him more, give him all that I have until I don’t have any more.

“There are a lot of improvements to be made, a lot of work to do before we go to New England, but, you know, it’s got to be done and I’ll get it done.”

Schiano said after practice that Bowers needs more work and must improve, but he believes Bowers has the talent to overcome.

“Well, Da’Quan has what we refer to as heavy hands, he’s strong,” Schiano said. “So, when he puts his hands on you, you feel it. When he plays with good pad level and does that, he’s a force. But when he doesn’t, he’s not a force. I don’t know if you can put your finger on one single thing. I think it’s just practicing being a consistent player.

“If he responded differently [to Schiano’s ways], he wouldn’t get any more playing time, and that’s what he wants. So if he didn’t want that, he might respond differently. But it’s certainly not anything personal, we both want the same thing; he wants the same thing; he wants to be an every-down player, and we need an every-down defensive end. We’re just trying to get there.”

Joe only hopes Bowers can turn the corner, unless Steven Means and/or William Gholston break through to be studs. Otherwise, the crying about the Bucs not signing John Abraham will go unabated until next year’s draft.

Greg Schiano gave undrafted rookie cornerback Rashaan Melvin quite an endorsement today

One happy story from Bucs training camp has been rookie CB Rashaan Melvin. He’s got first-  or second-round-pick size and athleticism but went undrafted out of Northern Illinois.

The Bucs have been high on him for a long time and he’s lived up to their hopes in practice. But the first preseason game was another story. The picture above showed a TD catch that should have been made, and Melvin struggled on special teams, per Joe’s scouting, and he just wasn’t the same player seen at One Buc Palace.

Greg Schiano talked about Melvin today and the head coach’s confidence wasn’t shaken.

“Solid. not as outstanding as he’s played at times in practice,” Schiano said when asked to assess Melvin’s play against the Ravens. “I have confidence that he will play at the level he did out there [at practice]. Because he was going against Vincent [Jackson] and Mike [Williams}. I mean it wasn’t like he was going against the down-the-line guys. He was going against the best and performing well. I think he just, the second shot will be real good for him. … He’s too good a player not to be fine.”

Man, that’s some high praise for an undrafted rookie.

Melvin is all but a lock for the roster, though not a lock for playing time. Yesterday, Schiano offered strong praise for veteran Michael Adams — without being asked. Danny Gorrer also was a standout Thursday, picking off Joe Flacco, and Leonard Johnson, Darrelle Revis and Johnthan Banks are ahead of Melvin on the depth chart.

Today was the last day of training camp for Bucs fans could watch the Pewter Pirates in person. A fair number turned out and here are some highlights:

* Pretty pass from JF5 to VJax on a crossing pattern Right. On. The. Hands.

* JF5 on a rollout on the numbers to Eric Page. Freeman is electric early.

* Mike Williams nearly comes up with diving catch from Mike Glennon.

* A sight Bucs fans do not want to see: Dan Orlovsky working with first-team offense.

* Doug Martin tries to run up middle but is rejected like a flimsy dollar bill from a vending machine by Mason Foster.

* Brian Leonard muscles up middle for a big gain. Schiano loves it.

* Leonard with another big run.

* Pleasant breeze in the shaded bleachers but it feels like the surface of the sun out there. Bucs (seemingly) getting longer water breaks.

* Freeman to VJax over middle short who turns play into big gain.

* Derek Hagan big catch along left sideline and later Tiquan Underwood catches bomb over the middle. Both passes from Glennon.

* Freeman perfect pass on go route to VJax. Getting redundant. 🙂

* Steven Means rushes Freeman and picked him off. Just reached up and grabbed pass like pulling a box of cereal off the top shelf.

* “Red Zone play!”

* Martin from Freeman immediately wrapped up by Mason Foster.

* GMC would have had sack of JF5. Had to pull up. Dreaded green jersey.

* Cody Grimm with a pick on JF5 off a tipped pass. Good pressure from left by William Gholston.

* Michael Smith short pass to left from Orlovsky belted by Keith Tandy.

* JF5 with a laser down left sideline for Mike Williams. All kinds of time, but remember, cannot hit the quarterback.

* Lotta hollering going on from coaches.

* Aaannnddd… here comes the fake crowd noise.

* Rashaan Melvin good coverage on VJax preventing him from making a play on ball along right sideline.

* Glennon steps up into pocket and rifles pass off hands of Tim Wright.

* Freeman threads needle along left sideline to VJax.

Regular readers here know Joe wasn’t big on the Bucs trading LeGarrette Blount for the NFL equivalent of a Subway Footlong and a bag of chips. That wasn’t because Blount deserved to take carries away from Doug Martin, hardly, but because Blount is a very talented football player and was a valuable backup earning peanuts.

Blount was dealt to New England, where he introduced himself to Patriots fans last night with a two-touchdown, 101-yard performance on 11 carries, including a highlight-reel run that you don’t see every day [video here]. (No. Joe’s not stalking Blount, merely keeping tabs on early Bucs regular-season opponents.)

Down in New Orleans, former Buccaneer Man and current Bucs basher Preston Parker caught the Saints’ only two touchdowns of the night, as he looks to rebound from being cut by Schiano last September.

In the Jets-Lions game in Detroit, DJ Toes On The Line caught two balls for the Jets, including a 24-yarder from Mark Sanchez, something the Bucs likely will see tried quite often on opening day in Gotham.

Of course, one of the most watched Bucs newcomers this season is cornerback Johnthan Banks. The rookie out of Mississippi State isn’t the object of attention just because he’s a rookie. No, the second-round pick likely will be starting and playing opposite of star cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Any corner playing on the other side of the field from Revis is going to be targeted. Banks’ inexperience, naturally, has Bucs fans wondering if he is up to the job.

In practice, he has been. But as wide receiver Chris Owusu, the star of training camp, showed Thursday night, the game is different under the lights with an opponent with a different colored-jersey.

In his day-after press conference, Schiano gave Banks a thumps-up in his debut as an NFL player.

“Well what I felt [Thursday] showed out on tape,” Schiano said. “It wasn’t too big for him, he challenged guys. You could see guys that are a little bit tentative out there at the corner, they’re going to give extra big cushion, they’re going to play with their eyes. The one thing that Johnthan keeps getting better at is he’s disciplining his eyes and that’s the hardest thing to do as a defensive back, is put your eyes where they’re supposed to be. If they’re supposed to be on the quarterback have them there, if they’re supposed to be on your man have them there and if you’re supposed to take them off your man at a certain time and put them on the quarterback. That sounds easy [but] it’s not when the guy is bearing down on you and there’s a crowd full of people waiting to see if you get beat.”

This is a good, first big step for Banks. But Joe is pretty sure Schiano will admit Banks isn’t a finished product. He must continue to improve.

It’s just a matter of weeks before Banks will be more popular for opposing quarterbacks than free beer and loose, forward women.

Bucs icon Ronde Barber was somewhat all over the place when it came to Josh Freeman, during his color analyst work on the Bucs-Crows preseason broadcast.

Barber gushed over Freeman’s skills, saying Freeman was a true MVP candidate before the Bucs’ collapse last season. Then, in nearly the same breath, Barber talked about how much he liked that the Bucs are “challenging Josh openly” to reach a star-quarterback level, and Barber referred to Mike Glennon as true “competition.” Yet Barber went on to say he believes Freeman will get a long-term contract from the Bucs because Freeman has the skills and work ethic to become great. However, Barber also raved about Glennon’s throwing skills and poise in just his first NFL action.

C’mon, Ronde. Tell it to us straight.

Joe’s not ragging on Barber here. The reality is that the state of Freeman is complex with many layers.

Glennon is real competition — for next year, in Joe’s opinion — when the Bucs will have to decide whether they want to pay Freeman around $18 million to $20 million a year to lead the team, or let Glennon take the reigns for $800,000 and use the salary cap money in other areas.

Loads of Bucs fans will watch the Bucs’ preseason loss to the Ravens for the first time tonight on WFLA-TV, Ch. 8.

While Joe only saw television replays in the press box of the real-life, Ravens-Bucs game, Joe did hear a snippet of TV audio on NFL.com. In that cut, color analyst Ronde Barber referenced the Bucs missing tackles and sloppy tackling.

Joe suspects that wasn’t the only time Barber offered that take during the broadcast.

Safety Keith Tandy and cornerback in danger Anthony Gaitor made it into Joe’s game notes for bad tackling. Cody Grimm got a negative tackle mark, as well, but at least in his case the tackle was made and he took the right angle. There are other offenders, including linebackers who look like they took block-shedding lessons from Barrett Ruud.

Tackling is something Joe will be studying during the tape-delayed broadcast. The New Schiano Order works daily on tackling and is a stickler for their methods. Remember, last year Gerald McCoy said the regime taught him how to tackle. Also, Mason Foster, a tackling machine in college and the rookie NFL tackle leader under Raheem Morris, has told Joe how much the New Schiano Order raised his tackling skills.

Those who aren’t tackling well will be in danger of getting cut.

As for those New Schiano Order tackling techniques, Johnthan Banks explains that it’s all about the “bite.”

Joe knows legions of Bucs fans are like Greg Schiano; they like to see, feel, hear and taste every last Buccaneer detail. So with the spirit of the crazies in mind, Joe brings you this video from Bucs beat woman Jenna Laine, who captured Peyton Hillis coming off the field after the Bucs-Crows game last night.

Hillis ran hard but ended up with knee injury. It’s “hyperextended,” so Laine Twittered this morning.

The leader of the New Schiano Order has watched the game film from last night’s preseason loss to the Ravens and offered insight to media this afternoon.

The highlights:

*Schiano offered clear praise for running back Brian Leonard, saying the Bucs need him to backup Doug Martin.

* “I thought he was solid,” Schiano said of Josh Freeman.

* Lavonte David drew high praise. Schiano said he picked up where he left off in 2012.

* Rookie cornerback Johnthan Banks also got love. “Banks did some good things, made some rookie mistakes,” Schiano said. “There was some stuff to build on there.” Schiano went on to say Banks’ biggest area of improvement is “disciplining his eyes.”

* Schiano confirmed that Chris Owusu has a sprained ankle and there’s no timetable for his return.

* On Da’Quan Bowers, “Some good, not so good. We’re going to get there. He’s going to get there.”

* Veteran cornerback Mike Adams, likely a lock to make the roster, was praised for his tackling by Schiano without a question about Adams from the media. “[Adams] threw his body in there. I had seen that on his Arizona tape,” Schiano said.

Selected in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft to backup/complement Steven Jackson in St. Louis, Bucs running back Brian Leonard then moved to the Bengals in 2009, when Cedric Benson began his first of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

One could make a case that Leonard never had much of a shot to get carries. But Greg Schiano talked earlier this summer about how Leonard’s low mileage on his body, but plenty of experience, is a good thing. Leonard is fresh after four years as a third-down back in Cincinnati. And Schiano, who coached Leonard at Rutgers, trusts him.

Leonard showed Bucs fans last night that he’s got some spark to his game. Leonard had a punishing, extra-effort short yardage gain, one that would have made one of Leonard’s boyhood heroes, Mike Alstott, proud. Also, Leonard showed versatility in blocking and out of the backfield. He finished with six carries for 23 yards, including a 13-yard gain.

If nothing else, Leonard looks to be a major upgrade to D.J. Ware, last season’s third-down back.

Listen to Leonard below, audio via WDAE-AM 620 and the Buccaneers Radio Network.