Yes, former Bucs great Warren Sapp was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last night, and the ceremonies continue today with his speech on national TV, televised by the Man Channel, NFL Network.

When the Bucs hosted an announcement that the team would retire Sapp’s number, several of Sapp’s former coaches and teammates gathered including Steve White. The former Bucs defensive end (1996-2001) is one of the most eloquent guys to talk football Joe has ever met, and Steve offered Joe his thoughts on playing for Sapp, and the legacy he left behind.

“At the time he was awesome because everybody game-planned for him. There is a thought out there that guys get double-teamed all the time. But very few actually get double-teamed,” White said. “Seriously, because it is hard to double-team a defensive end, for instance. It really is. But with an inside guy you can always send the center to help the guard. Always. Even when your protection is supposed to go the other way.

“When you have a special player like Sapp, they always send a center after you no matter what. And he still won. He still got to the quarterback. It was amazing. But you really didn’t think that far out like, ‘Man, I am watching a Hall of Famer, I am playing with a Hall of Famer for six years.’ It kind of brings it home. He’s a Hall of Famer. No one will ever wear his jersey again.

“When you think about it, that’s as it should be. It is crazy when you really sit to think about. You have a lot of great players through the years. But when you have a guy that every year [teams] are trying to find the next him, that to me defines a Hall of Famer.

“Every single year, whether it is the draft or free agency, everybody is trying to find the next Sapp and they really haven’t. They really haven’t. So when you have a guy who is that transcendent from the things he did on the field, it is only right that no one will ever wear that number again. He defined that numbe, no doubt. When you think 99, Tampa? Warren Sapp. When you say “99,” you know you are talking about Sapp.

“I think [retiring the number] is one of the best honors you can bestow upon a player and I don’t think there is anyone more deserving than Sapp.”

And so it is. Sapp is now the second Bucs player to be enshrined into immortality. Sapp and Lee Roy Selmon.

Derrick Brooks, you are next.

Longtime Bucs coach Herm Edwards and Merill Hoge talk all things NFC South in this BSPN video.

They agree that Atlanta is the favorite and that the Panthers and Saints have serious issues — and upside.

As the Bucs are about to take the fields at One Buc Palace for training camp practice Day 9, Pat Welter and Woody Cummings of TBO.com and the Tampa Tribune look back at Day 8 in this TBO.com video.

Friday was busy day in a sense that a lot of Bucs players were talking after practice, and Joe has their words to share.

Aside from Mike Williams, there may not be a player that is in midseason form on offense like Doug Martin. Offensive tackle Demar Dotson had a lot to share. Defensive end William Gholston is always informative. Jonathan Casillas talks about the battle for strongside linebacker. Wide receiver Carlton Mitchell talks about the fight wide receivers have at some a deep position. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy talks about how he believes it is responsibility to help out the rookies. Lastly, hear the daily post-practice presser from Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

As always, the audio is courtesy of WDAE-AM 620.

Tight end Nate Byham caught a TD for the Bucs last year and may be part of the Bucs’ troika of unproven talent at the position.

Who better than longtime tight end and current Buccaneers Radio Network analyst Dave Moore to explain the role of the tight end in the Bucs’ offense.

Speaking on the Ron and Ian show today on WDAE-AM 620, Moore dove into the Xs and Os (full audio here) of the tight end position in Mike Sullivan’s offense and explained that tight end is important in the offense but the system does not require or call for an athletic tight end like Jimmy Graham.

“The scheme will help them get open,” Moore said, explaining that’s how it’s been done on the New York Giants.

Joe hopes Moore is right. Luke Stocker finally staying healthy wouldn’t hurt either.

Bucs rookie defensive lineman William Gholston claims that pass rush coach Bryan Cox taught him a pass rush move, something he never had before being drafted by the Bucs.

Two Bucs coaches did a simply outstanding job last year. One was offensive line Bob Bostad and the other was (then) front-seven coach Bryan Cox.

For the most part, Cox was charged with upgrading what was a sieve of a rush defense, the worst in the NFL under (then) head coach/defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. By adding just one player to the front seven (linebacker Lavonte David), the defense went from the worst rush defense in the NFL to the best.

That, friends, is what Joe calls coaching.

This year, Cox’s title and responsibilities have changed. He is now in charge of trying to produce something resembling a pass rush. That’s all he does. One job, one responsibility, one focus: rush the quarterback.

Many defensive linemen rave about Cox. Akeem Spence already said Cox helped him develop a pass rush move, something Greg Schiano said Thursday that Spence didn’t show on tape at Illinois.

Another third day draft pick of the Bucs, defensive lineman William Gholston, is also singing the praises of Cox.

“I have a solid pass rush move,” Gholston told Joe of what he has learned since being drafted. “Before I got to the NFL, I didn’t have a pass rush move. But with the coaches, Coach Cox and Coach [Randy] Melvin, they have really helped me to develop a pass rush. Cox had helped a lot. Every day he is trying to help me, getting in my ear.”

Now this has Joe so happy he could go out and drink some beers (But Joe can’t. Too busy and Joe has to get up very early for practice tomorrow). Gholston has a world of talent but it apparently was not developed at Michigan State. If Cox can turn this guy around like many college football analysts feel is inside of Gholston, well, look out.

Are players going to throw their position coaches under the bus, especially before preseason games have started? Of course not. But you can tell by the smiles, the twinkle in their eyes and the body language. When you ask defensive linemen about Cox, he is already producing results.

And those are results that are sorely needed on the front line of the Bucs defense.

Audio courtesy of WDAE-AM 620.

Cody Grimm seems to have an edge over Keith Tandy.

Busy on the Bucs beat for SportsTalkFlorida.com, Jenna Laine got hold of a 2013 Buccaneers depth chart, something the team will need to release soon prior to Thursday’s preseason opener. (Click above to view)

Noteworthy to Joe is Cody Grimm ahead of 2012 draft pick Keith Tandy at safety. Also, Brian Leonard is listed as the No. 2 running back ahead of rookie Mike James, followed by Peyton Hillis and the captain of the inactive list, Michael Smith.

WR Eric Page, who flashed at practice today and is rarely talked about in the wide receivers battles, is listed as the No. 1 punt returner. Smith has the No. 1 kick returner spot.

Last year, Greg Schiano said depth charts don’t mean much but he acknowledged that changes to the chart reflect current views of the organization. Translation: the depth chart is, in fact, meaningful.

Pressed today to acknowledge the biggest hitter he’s faced in the NFL, Doug Martin pointed to a Falcons cornerback whose name he didn’t remember.

With a little research, Joe figured out it was Dunta Robinson, who is now on the Kansas City Chiefs.

“We collided many times. I think it was twice. We both knocked each other out that last Atlanta game last season. We both knocked each other out. I forgot who that is,” Martin said.

Robinson left the game with a concussion after colliding with Martin in the first quarter of the season finale. Joe’s going to assume Martin using the term “knocked each other out” means Martin didn’t actually have a concussion and it was just a figure of speech.

After that collision, Martin’s next eight carries before halftime netted just 10 yards. Martin exploded in the second half to finish with 28 carries and 142 yards and a touchdown. (You can catch the full Martin interview from the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM below.)

Joe believes there have been a handful of Bucs fans who have been thrown out of their local bars for slamming pints of beer and cussing out bartenders because the Bucs don’t expect their tilted nose tackle to sack the quarterback.

Many fans don’t understand, or don’t want to understand, that the tilted nose tackle’s two biggest responsiblities are clogging up the running lanes and taking on two or three blockers to enable Gerald McCoy to roam free, create havoc and get the every-popular penetration.

If a tilted nose tackle gets a sack, it usually means there has been a major breakdown in the opponent’s offensive line’s blocking.

Roy Miller was the epitome of the tilted nose. His replacement, rookie Akeem Spence, looks to be a Miller clone. But after a few practices with pads it appear Spence, too, may be able to sack the quarterback.

Bucs coach Greg Schiano noted in Thursday’s post-practice press conference that Spence had shown an ability to put a quarterback down that he hadn’t shown on tape from his days at Illinois. Schiano quickly noted Spence was never asked to be a pass rusher in college.

Spence himself talked about his quarterback hunting skills after practice today.

“Working one-on-ones, coach tells mehe knows I am quick,” the ever-smiling Spence said. “So getting a quick first step and trying to beat the center to a point. Then throwing my weight in there. Those are things I always knew how to do but I never got a chance to do at Illinois. I had to do something else.

“Here, I’ve got a little more freedom so I have been working on my pass rush and learning that stuff. That is big. I have been working with Gerald (McCoy) on working on my hands. I had the ability to [rush the passer]; I never had the opportunity to do it. It is fun, rushing the passer, that is what will get you paid in the league. You know, just learning how to do that and learning to stunt, that is big. With my power and my speed, that is good for me. Cannot get better. I have shown my coaches that when the opportunity presents itself, I need to go out there and execute and do it.”

As Spence pointed out, GMC has been a major help to him and Spence sort of looks up to GMC as a big brother.

“Gerald McCoy, he helps out a lot,” Spence said. “I mean, he is a veteran guy. He’s been through it. Had the struggles up and down. Through these last four days, we have had some tough practices and I have made some mistakes and [GMC] says, ‘Forget it and move on.’ With us young guys, we make a mistake and it drags down our whole day. Basically, what is done is over. You have to move on. [GMC brings] a comfort level out there knowing, they this guy has my back. That is big.”

Spence also gets sage advice from pass rush coach Bryan Cox.

“Oh, Coach Cox, he is crazy,” Spence said. “He is crazy but he is real and he is honest. That’s what I like. We were practicing pass rushes and he said, ‘Hey, that’s a good move. That’s a good move for you. Continue to do it and we will fix some fine points.’ But when it is a bad move, he lets you know it is a bad move and don’t you ever do it again. I like him.”

Nair in a jockstrap, tying guys to goalposts, performing and announcing humiliating measurements of players’ privates — Greg Schiano wants no part of that kind of stuff under the New Schiano Order.

Beyond rookies having to perform a song or carry pads for veterans, Schiano said he’ll have “none of that nonsense around here” when it comes to hazing. Schiano told media that today. It’s hardly news, but it is a peek inside the regime.

Wide receiver Eric Page is an intriguing wide receiver talent in Bucs camp. For those who attended practice today, he’s the guy who made a diving, fingertip grab over the middle three plays before the close of the session.

Greg Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik have talked publicly about trying to snag Page as an undrafted free agent last year, but the Broncos snatched him up. Still just 21 years old, Page was a legend at the University of Toledo but tore his ACL in Broncos training camp.

Page’s surgery was exactly one year ago, and his progression through the rehabilitation is something that has caught the interest of Darrelle Revis, who went under the knife for his blown ACL 9 1/2 months ago.

“Me and Darrelle talk a little bit. I’m a couple of months ahead of him [in rehab], so I’ve just been helping him out with what to expect. He’s further along than I was at his stage, and he’s going to be 100 percent when we need him. He works so hard. He’s just a great leader to me,” Page said.

Interesting to Joe is that Page, who has not been limited in training camp, says he’s healthy but not 100 percent himself.

“I’m just getting my football legs under me. You know, getting used to pads. I still think I’m fresh. I’ve a got a lot to go, a lot more I can show,” Page said.

The Bucs and everyone who bleeds pewter and red are banking on Revis being 100 percent in 37 days. Today, Revis had a scheduled day off, which means he was doing indoor training only.

Here are the sights, news and nuggets from this morning’s Bucs practice Day 8 of training camp 2013.

* Freeman already putting on a show with back shoulder throws on target to VJax, MW19 and Chris Owusu.

* Don’t see Revis. Must be his scheduled day off. (No sarcasm.)

* Kevin Ogletree fights with Carl Deveron to get separation for an over-the-shoulder catch and a TD.

* Tale of two corners. On successive plays, Rashaan Melvin covers like a second skin and Mike Adams is left in the dust on pass drills.

* Early in practice but it seems JF5 picked up where he left off yesterday. Really accurate. Looks like totally different QB from last week.

* Some savvy dad brought his toddler to practice and sits front row. Every cheerleader stops. Like bringing a puppy to a beach.

* Apologize for being repetitive. Freeman has been uncanny with his accuracy. Thrown one inaccurate pass but rest have been bulls-eyes.

* Sean Baker jumps a route on Kevin Ogletree and nearly picks Mike Glennon.

* Doug Martin tries to run up middle, no room, bounces outside right for nice gain.

* Hint: Mike James has had much more work with first and second team offense this week than Michael Smith. You do the math.

* Doug Martin is in midseason form.

* Nate Byham slow to get up from a pass play.

* Freeman to Ogletree on a screen and Mike Adams jumps the route to break up pass.

* Branden Smith had excellent coverage on Derek Hagan down left sideline but Smith failed to turn around and Hagan makes nice play four big gain.

* VJax walks to bleachers where crowd is in s humidity coma and fires up the fans. “Lets go, whoo!”

* Doug Martin joins in revving up the crowd.

* Fake crowd noise!

* Freeman steps into the pocket and with enough time for dental exam hits wide open Chris Owusu down left sideline. Helps to wear a green jersey as well.

* Donald Penn simply manhandled Steven Means. The rookie flashed yesterday. Not so much today. Then again, yesterday Bucs were in pads; not today.

* How loud is fake crowd noise? Glennon had to cover both earholes to hear play call.

* Without a green jersey, Glennon would have been planted by Te’o.

* Very smooth out route and catch by Kevin Ogletree, working on Leonard Johnson.

* Anthony Gaitor with an aggressive breakup on a short throw.

* Lavonte David with a nice pass breakup on Owusu over the middle.

* V-Jax body control and catch in front of Dashon Goldson leaves Goldson happy their teammates.

* Two sharp throws in a row by Mike Glennon.

* Dan Orlovsky threads a needle to Eric Page in front of Rashaan Melvin.

* A drop by TE hopeful Tim Wright in a catch and run drill, where the catch is uncontested and coaches try to strip the ball.

* Mike James juggles a catch in this drill. Joe’s noticed that James’ hands are a clear notch below Brian Leonard’s.

* Pass interference Rashaan Melvin.

* You’re a cornerback, turn your head around, Branden Smith.

* Tip-toe catch on the sideline by Owusu.

* Doug Martin joins Vincent Jackson in revving up the crowd.

* Yes, there are injuries. Anthony Gaitor and Rashaan Melvin as first-team cornerbacks is Exhibit A.

* Glennon with two more consecutive tightly thrown completions in the two-minute offense.

* Awesome layout over the middle and fingertip grab by Eric Page from Adam Weber.

* Owusu, now working with the third team, with a drop.

* The third-team, two-minute-drill period ends with an Anthony Gaitor interception after a tip by safety Sean Baker.

Annoying and hopefully minor injuries are piling up at One Buc Palace.

Johnthan Banks and Mike Williams stopped practicing today with hamstring issues.

Greg Schiano characterized both as minor, but he did say Banks might not return until Monday.

Banks’ hammy is most interesting to Joe. If the Bucs keep him out of Thursday’s preseason opener, that will give plenty of first-team work for cornerback hopefuls Michael Adams, Rashaan Melvin and others.

Well, with the Bucs coming off a rancid, historic rotten pass defense last year, a cynic could argue the Bucs had nowhere to go but up. True, if Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik decided to stand pat. He didn’t.

Adding safety Dashon Goldson and rookies Johnthan Banks and Rashaan Melvin to the mix, as well as star corner Darrelle Revis, the Bucs could go from worst to first in the defensive backfield.

The lone returning starter in the secondary is safety Mark Barron. This is a man unaccustomed to losing. While at Alabama, Barron had nearly as many title rings as losses. Speaking with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club yesterday, you could see both how disgusted Barron was with the pitiful pass defense last year, and how much improved he believes the Bucs secondary is this year.

 “Last year, that’s not what we want. That’s not what we want for ourselves,” Barron said. “We have a lot of guys making plays. We have some young guys making plays like Melvin and Banks. They have been stepping up the last few practices. We have guys all over the field making plays. It’s looking good and we are expecting a lot from ourselves.”

Notice Barron dropped the name of Rashaan Melvin, the same undrafted free agent both the Bucs organization and coaching staff is high on?

And this is still with Revis relegated to working on the far fields of One Buc Palace, guarding camp meat that will be an assistant general manager of Publix in the not too distant future.

Barron had his pride bruised last year. Combined with a season to redeem himself and key teammates now surrounding him, it sure smells like the Bucs’ secondary will be nasty for opponents.

If the Bucs pass rush doesn’t improve from last year, each one of those guys in the secondary will earn every penny they collect from Team Glazer.

Bravo to NFL Network for this very intelligent video breakdown of the state of Josh Freeman in the Bucs’ organization.

Joe has yet to see better from the media.

Brian Baldinger talks about his personal interaction with Freeman and the sense of urgency within the New Schiano Order, among other topics, and Jamie Dukes explains that another 4,000-yard season from Freeman won’t matter much without consistency.

Dukes is of the mind that Freeman could simply have a solid season and force the Bucs’ hand into the franchise tag, which would be worth a $20 million, one-year payday in 2014.

Joe wonders where Team Glazer stands on Freeman. The Bucs have made it clear through the years that ownership is part of major decision-making. Clearly, any future move regarding Freeman would meet that threshold.

“No, Rex. I’m not taking my cleats off for you again.”

The Bucs open the regular season against the Jets, which means the national hype machine for all things New York already is in full force.

In this NFL Network video, analyst Jamie Dukes and Andrew Siciliano look at the impact of Revis in that Week 1 game and how the Jets might respond. They also include Rex Ryan’s recent quote that the Jets won’t be throwing a “back side out” pass Revis’ way.

There is footage of Revis at Bucs practice, and Dukes says he’s confident the Bucs will not play Revis unless he’s 100 percent healthy. As for the Jets, Dukes explains how they might test Revis early in the running game.

Joe finds all this early and deep breakdown quite amusing on Aug. 2. Regardless, even without Revis the Bucs should be at least a touchdown better than the imploding Jets.

Yes, Bucs star cornerback Darrelle Revis was on the field, in pads no less, at Bucs training camp Thursday. But instead of pads, for the short while Joe watched him, he may as well have been in a Speedo.

Revis, when Joe monitored him, stood on the sidelines with fellow cornerbacks during position drills. Later, Joe learned via WDAE-AM 620 Bucs reporter Tom Krasniqi, that Revis was working against some wide receivers on a side field.

CB Darrelle Revis did the “passing tree” (defending against receivers) for the second straight day, according to Schiano. The Bucs are steadily increasing his workload but don’t expect to see Revis much, if at all, during the preseason.

Schiano made it clear, again, in his post-practice press conference that the goal is for Revis to be ready Week 1 at the Jets, not necessarily Week 2 of preseason at the Patriots.

Last week Revis did very little when training camp started, other than to participate in walk-throughs. Steadily, gradually, Revis is adding more and more work.

At least in the case of Revis returning to the field, patience really is a virtue.

The Bucs finished Day 7 of training camp 2013 on a high note. First, quarterback Josh Freeman had his best day of training camp by far. That made three straight days where Freeman visibly improved over his first week of lousy accuracy.

Bucs coach Greg Schiano also announced that the groin injury that Adrian Clayborn suffered the previous day was not as bad as feared. Some players that took time to speak with reporters were offensive guard Davin Joseph, safety Dashon Goldson, linebacker Dekoda Watson, safety Mark Barron, running back Mike James, backup quarterback Mike Glennon and of course, Schiano’s daily post-practice press conference.

All audio courtesy of Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620.

Tom Crabtree, and his 18 career catches, very well may be the Bucs’ No. 1 tight end when the opening kickoff is booted in 38 days.

Crabtree spent three seasons (plus practice squad time) in Green Bay and sports a Super Bowl ring. Despite time inside a championship program, Crabtree said today he’s impressed by the detail-oriented nature of the New Schiano Order and by how he’s learning new nuances of football.

“Man, [Greg Schiano] really leaves no stone unturned. That’s for sure. He really stresses being a smarter football player,” Crabtree said. “That’ll make us a better team. It’s been cool to learn a bunch of little things here and there that I might not have thought about or might not have known, for sure. So it’s been an adjustment but it’s all positive.”

Crabtree’s a straight shooter and Joe doesn’t think Crabtree’s just stroking the regime here. (You can catch the full audio of this exclusive Crabtree interview in the WDAE-AM 620 audio feed below)

During the little bit Darrelle Revis was on the practice field “defending” Vincent Jackson last week, Joe could just tell how badly Revis wanted to go full-tilt.

Whenever Jackson came off the line, even though it was a walkthrough, Revis would do something physical to him, whether it was jousting for position with his hands or just flat out stiff-arming Jackson, you could just feel how badly Revis wanted to drill someone.

Revis, sadly, isn’t the only one.

So too does Davin Joseph want to pancake a defender. The Bucs’ Pro Bowl right guard has been out of action longer than Revis; Joseph also blew out his knee — in preseason last summer. Revis blew out his knee in Week 3 of the season.

Like Revis, Joseph is under a specific, personal rehab program where he is being eased back into action.

“I am still itching to get started with a full practice but I have to be patient,” Joseph said. “It’s a process to be ready for Week 1. You want to compete and get better but you also want to help the other guys get better also. Building that chemistry on the line is important.

“I trust and believe in the coaches that this process will be the best for me. [Feel like could do more] but I don’t know if that is in my best benefit. That’s why I listen to the coaches and the trainers and stick to the plan. Whatever they say I will do. I don’t think I will miss the whole training camp.”

While working out on the sidelines, Joseph has seen his offense go through the drills and is impressed, especially with Thursday’s Josh Freeman Show.

“It looks to be scary good but we still have to put in the work,” Joseph said of potential firepower of the offense. “On paper we look really, really, really good. But we have to put in the work. So, that’s why we are to work hard and compete with one another to get each other better.”