Yeah, Joe knows, the rooks sweating it out at One Buc Palace this weekend aren’t playing real football because it’s just shorts and jerseys, oh yeah, helmets too.

How in the world can one judge a football player by not playing football?

Bucs coach Greg Schiano agrees with this philosophy, to a degree. Especially with defensive linemen. When asked today how he can grade defensive linemen, Schiano said one aspect is they need to be contortionists.

“It’s hard. What you try to evaluate is their sudden-ness, their explosion into a sled,” Schiano said. “There is an old saying among coaches that you have to beat a sled before you can beat a man. If the sled hits you back you have a problem.

“Then you look at their flexibility, how they turn their body. Defensive linemen, though they are big guys, they have to be flexible. They have to be able to contort their bodies in able to rush the passer that are not necessarily normal. We’ve gotten a good look at that.”

For some reason Joe never pictured a contortionist as a defensive lineman, but Joe totally understands where Schiano is coming from.

If you are just a big stiff who can’t move one way or another, you are pretty much nothing more than a sled with a heartbeat.

Earlier when the NFL announced rosters could go up to 90 players for the offseason, it seemed every team would try to take advantage of the boost from 80.

Sure, Bucs coach Greg Schiano wants to have as many players as he can as well. But as he remarked after rookie mini-camp practice this afternoon, just because the league has a roster max of 90 doesn’t mean the Bucs will have a roster of 90 players after rookie mini-camp finishes Sunday.

“We are allowed to have 90,” Schiano said. “We may mix in [players] already established [on the roster]. I don’t know what that number will be. It will be as many guys as we think can help us win.

“If we don’t fill the 90, that’s OK, too. It’s a continual process. We continue to bring guys in all the time, too.”

Joe has a hard time believing the Bucs won’t keep 90. As Schiano pointed out yesterday, he has brought in a lot of Big East players, partially because they know him maybe better than he knows them. Why not keep those guys around, if nothing else as a favor, so they can continue to work out with the Bucs?

Maybe one of them might blow up in OTAs enough to keep him around for training camp, or beyond?

The media got to watch Bucs rookie minicamp for 30 minutes yesterday and it seemed Tampa Tribune beat scribe Roy Cummings squeezed every last second out the allotted time to serve his readers.

Speaking to Tom Krasniqi on WHBO-AM 1040 yesterday, Cummings said as the media’s watch time ended he saw undrafted cornerback and former Largo High star Leonard Johnson was called away from the mass of tryout players and undrafted rookies to work with a “special group” of defensive backs coaches and draftees Mark Barron and Keith Tandy.

Cummings speculated that Johnson already impressing Bucs brass.

So what did the Bucs really get in fifth-round pick Najee Goode out of West Virginia?

Former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht, also an ex-Mountaineer, offered a scouting report during an interview with Tom Krasniqi on WHBO-AM 1040 Thursday.

“Goode’s a stout, strong, physical football player. Downhill, aggressive, you know, can mess with the big linemen and go make some punishing tackles,” Becht said. “He’s just one of those nasty guys, got an attitude, kind of a bad-ass attitude. That’s kind of the force and presence he brought for the West Virginia defense.”

Joe likes the sound of that. And Joe’s hoping/praying Goode can legitimately push Quincy Black.

On sixth-round cornerback Keith Tandy, Goode’s roommate at West Virginia, Becht called said his play was “nothing great but nothing average” and Tandy is “well-rounded at his position.”

Feast on Guava BBQ Ribs, Shrimp & Chorizo flatbread, Fried Banana Cheesecake (heavenly) and more at Besa Grill, 2542 N. McMullen Booth Road in Clearwater.

Joe loves this place!

And it’s the place to be Saturday night, Cinco de Mayo!

Enjoy KAH tequila, live music, great giveaways, and drink and food specials. Besa Grill is a contemporary grill with a modern american-latin twist, bringing vibrant flavors and fresh ingredients into the local culinary spotlight. Their food has exceptional flavor, and their hand crafted cocktails, unrivaled margaritas and full line of tequilas ensure Besa Grill delivers an experience like no other. Make reservations now!

It was a comment delivered in an upbeat manner but still one that made Joe take pause and reach for his bottle of Tums.

Bucs icon Derrick Brooks said the “odds are stacked against” Lavonte David because he’s “undersized.” No. 55 uttered the quick assessment during an interview with Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski on 1010 AM yesterday.

 David is listed at 6-0, 233 — nearly identical to Brooks’ playing size — and fielded does-size-matter questions at Bucs rookie minicamp yesterday. Stephen Holder of TampaBay.com took notes.

“On the size, I don’t care what anybody says,” David, 22, said.

“I’ve been doubted about my size my whole life. But playing in two different conferences (Big 12 and Big Ten at Nebraska), I (played against) better competition and prevailed in both and made All-American. I was doubted coming into the draft because of my size, but hopefully I can just improve on what I did in college.”

Now Joe’s been on the David bandwagon since December. So Joe’s not concerned, but it was still unsettling to hear the usually overly positive Brooks talk that way about a Bucs second-round pick, a guy many fans are hoping can revitalize the linebacking corps.

Just as Bucs players have learned that success and survival under the New Schiano World Order is about attention to details, it seems the Bucs media is getting a taste of that, as well.

Joe and other media types learned yesterday that Twittering any kind of play by play while viewing Bucs rookie camp is a crime against the new regime. Same goes for similar activity via Facebook and other social media, and presumably the edict extends to anything that violates the spirit of the order.

(There’s no truth to the rumor that Schiano insists media only use No. 2 pencils for notetaking. “Details! Details!!”)

FOX-13 TV sportscaster Chip Carter offered a theory on the Twitter order, via his Twitter account.

@chip_carter – Bucs have shut down media from tweeting during practice. No updates on Twitter or Facebook — they say too much wrong info was getting out.

Now Joe can’t speak to the exact reasoning behind the Bucs’ decision to put the clamps on live practice social media updates, and Joe surely can’t say that the order comes from Schiano.

Regardless, Joe doesn’t think it’s a big deal. It’s not as if the media is being censored in any way.

Much was made of Greg Schiano’s first recorded words coaching Bucs players at a voluntary workout recent when Schiano barked about “details,” specifically how players lined up for stretching exercises to begin each practice.

Schiano’s detailed philosophy also extends off the practice field as well.

Discussing the difference between his first NFL practice and the practices he was used to at Boise State, first round draft pick Doug Martin mentioned how players are to spend meetings.

“He wants us to have drinks,” Martin said. We’re required to have two drinks with us during every meeting.”

No, Joe’s not talking beers or cocktails.

“Water or Gatorade,” Martin said.

Schiano doesn’t care which drink a player chooses, or if they mix it up, so long as they have two drinks at arm’s length at all times.

This is, of course, to help keep players hydrated.

Feast on Guava BBQ Ribs, Shrimp & Chorizo flatbread, Fried Banana Cheesecake (heavenly) and more at Besa Grill, 2542 N. McMullen Booth Road in Clearwater.

Joe loves this place!

And it’s the place to be Saturday night, Cinco de Mayo!

KAH tequila, live music, great giveaways, drink and food specials are all on tap. Besa Grill is a contemporary grill with a modern american-latin twist, bringing vibrant flavors and fresh ingredients into the local culinary spotlight. Their food has exceptional flavor, and their hand crafted cocktails, unrivaled margaritas and full line of tequilas ensure Besa Grill delivers an experience like no other. Make reservations now!

In football there is a term called “self-scouting.” This is when an assistant monitors the tape of a game or a practice and pretends to put himself in the shoes of an opposing coach.

This way, said assistant may find things or tendencies that the coaching staff may totally miss on. It’s not unlike when someone proofreads another person’s work.

Even though it is rookie mini-camp, new Bucs coach Greg Schiano may have tipped his hand a bit on why he has so many guys from the Big East on the Bucs roster, or trying out for the Bucs.

Sure, one reason Schiano selected so many Big East players is because he knows them. But just as important, Schiano said after practice today, they know him.

Maybe too well.

“Some of the guys we coached against,” Schiano said. “There are some guys here from Connecticut and West Virginia, I have visited with them. “What are you thinking?” Try to gain some insight into how people are thinking” when they faced the Schiano-coached Rutgers.

Joe, along with the rest of the Bucs pen and mic club, was allowed to watch the first 30 minutes of practice on the first day of the Bucs rookie mini-camp Friday.

Now Joe prides himself on his photography but he must apologize. The team practice so far away from where media was allowed that Joe really needed a better lens on his camera. The following photos are usually below Joe’s level of quality, mostly grainy because Joe had to blown them up so much.

With apologies up front, here are some sights of One Buc Palace Friday.

Scene at Bucs rookie mini-camp Friday.

Per the loud, implicit orders of Bucs coach Greg Schiano, players had to run outside the end line and around a pylon after running each play.

Per the loud, implicit orders of Bucs coach Greg Schiano, players had to run outside the end line and around a pylon after running each play.

Ron Girault, who played for Greg Schiano at Rutgers, gets ready for a defensive back drill Friday at Bucs rookie mini-camp.

Bucs first round draft pick safety Mark Barron, 24, listens to assistant defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley Friday.

Chika Madu of Nichols State during a defensive backs drill.

The scene at One Buc Palace Friday afternoon.

Safety Tramaine Thomas of Arkansas during defensive backs drills as Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik watches.

"Run around the pylon!"

Safety Kenji Jackson of Missouri.

Running a play.

Former Largo High School quarterback and Iowa State cornerback Leonard Johnson skies for an interception.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and coach Greg Schiano chat.

The scene at One Buc Palace Friday afternoon.

Ready for the pickoff.

The scene at One Buc Palace Friday afternoon.

Joe hears the name Derrick Roberson and gets hives remembering him being overmatched covering Roddy White in a late-season close game in Atlanta back in 2009. What a brutally painful loss that was.

Aqib Talib was down with an injury (surprise) and the Bucs were forced to test their painfully thin depth.

It wasn’t pretty.

But Roberson, 27, is still clawing his way to a NFL career. He was a September cut from the Bucs in 2010, before landing in Cleveland that season. He played some UFL ball last year. And now he’s in “rookie” camp with some select other non-rookie bodies trying to beat the odds and make the Bucs’ roster. Roberson played for the Greg Schiano at Rutgers.

Here’s the rest of the undrafted names in camp on a “tryout” contract, per Buccaneers.com:

Today, for many draftees and free agents, it was their first taste of the NFL on the practice fields of One Buc Palace.

More importantly, it was the rookies Bucs’ first taste of the New Schiano Order.

New Bucs coach Greg Schiano laid down the law with the rookies right off the bat. After the players performed their requisite stretching before workouts, they were ordered to break into their position groups.

It didn’t take five seconds before the players felt the wrath of Schiano.

What was a somewhat peaceful, yet steamy afternoon, was soon pierced by Schiano’s shrill holler.

“You guys want to make the team and your are half-assing it?” Schiano bellowed.

The players were quickly ordered to get back to their original spot on the practice field and hustle to their groups.

Double-time if not quicker.

The players then sprinted in haste to their stretching spots and bolted to their respective position groups.

It was a clear, stark contrast from practices in past years. Everything was done with a purpose, quickly, no jogging, no loafing. There was only so many minutes the team practiced today and clearly coaches wanted to squeeze every precious second out of it to good order.

A New Schiano Order.

As Joe waits for Bucs rookie minicamp to kickoff, Joe just read this nice look back at Greg Schiano from Pete Schrager of FOXSports.com. Schrager explains that the Erik LeGrand story is just a symbol of how Schiano rolls.

Schiano also helped another former player for years following a debilitating car accident that cut his college career short.  

Rashawn “Rocky” Ricks was the lone survivor of the accident.

He was told he’d never play football again. His doctors said there was a chance he’d never walk again.

Greg Schiano, the man who recruited Ricks to play at Rutgers less than 12 months earlier, didn’t once question what to do with Ricks’ place in the Scarlet Knights locker room. He knew Rashawn Ricks would never play football again. He knew he’d never let that break Ricks’ spirit.

Rashawn Ricks not only walked again, but he walked right into Greg Schiano’s office less than a year later and told his former coach that he couldn’t let football go. He’d never make another tackle, but he just couldn’t give up the game because of an injury. Schiano wouldn’t let him, anyway.

Ricks kept his full athletic scholarship and was brought on to the Rutgers coaching staff in a managerial role. He worked with the younger linebackers and defensive ends, shagged balls, lugged equipment, and graduated with a degree in four years at Rutgers.

“Without their strength, without the strength of these coaches, I don’t think I’d have made it,” Ricks would later tell the New York Times. “I can’t find the words to explain the state I was in.”

Joe never finds himself thinking the Bucs missed out on Chip Kelly.

An intriguing nugget has emerged from the NFL Players Association grievance filings in protest of Roger Goodell’s punishment of Saints players involved in the BountyGate scandal.

Creator, curator and guru of ProFootballTalk.com, Mike Florio, has obtained copies of the grievances and says the labor union is claiming the NFL agreed to not punish players for actions prior to August 2011, therefore Saints players should have amnesty.

Whoa! Aqib Talib’s alleged Wild West gunslinging antics in Texas occured more than one year ago. So is he immune from Goodell’s wrath?

In one grievance, filed under Article 43 of the labor deal, the union initially argues that Goodell lacks the authority to discipline players for conduct occurring before August 4, 2011, the date on which the current CBA was finalized.  The grievance cites language releasing all players from conduct in which the players engaged before August 4, 2011

Essentially, the NFLPA is trying to take punitive power away from Goodell in BountyGate.

There’s possibly lots of gray area here. But one has to think Talib might very well be off the league’s radar as it relates to punishment for his Texas acts.

There’s always a chance, though, that Talib could say something at trial, or as part of a plea agreement, that could lead Goodell to suspend him.

The signing of Gary Gibson is really uplifting Joe this morning. Joe’s got a feeling this guy’s going to bring some no-nonense leadership and help bring a new level of intensity to the Bucs’ super-young D-line, in addition to being better against the run than what was currently on the roster.

A veteran presence, a guy like Gibson who has clawed his way to a seven-year career after being undrafted out of Rutgers, should be able to bring some good lessons to eager learners Gerald McCoy and Brian Price.

There’s not a ton of info. out there on Gibson, but here’s how former Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo described him in 2010, when Gibson started all season.

“Gary comes to work every day and he’s a pro,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “He’s one of them tough guys.  People I know…everybody around him knows they can count on him.  He does his job real solid.  He’s great to have.”

A “tough guy” hand-picked and brought into the New Schiano World Order? No surprise there. That’s been the theme of the offseason.

It’s a huge weekend for horse racing fans, and you can start wagering right now at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg. Gates are open!!

Be the hit of your Kentucky Derby party with real live tickets for bets on the race. And don’t forget there are full slates of awesome greyhound racing at Derby Lane tonight and all day and night on Saturday.

Last night when Joe learned the Bucs had signed Gary Gibson, many Bucs fans sounded like scared owls they asked “Who?” so often.

That’s exactly why Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller should be concerned.

It’s pretty obvious that the Bucs are either trying to light a fire under the backside of Miller or, likely unhappy with Miller’s lack of production, are preparing to cut ties with the Texas product.

Gibson was a backup on a miserable defense with the Rams, bagging only three sacks last year. But Gibson’s sack total with the Rams in 2011 matches Miller’s sack total in his three-year NFL career, missing but one game during that same span.

When the Bucs landed talented defensive tackle Amobi Okoye in March, many took this move as insurance against Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, who have a hard time staying on the field due to injuries.

Joe took it as more of a shot across the bow at Miller. Drafted in the third round of the 2009 draft, Miller has been a non-factor thus far.

New Bucs coach Greg Schiano has all but said how critical he believes it is for the Bucs to put opposing quarterbacks on the ground. His defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan, came from the Giants, where that is their specialty.

If the signing of Okoye wasn’t a wake-up call for Miller, last night’s signing of Gibson surely should have his attention. It’s time for Miller to make an impact or his Bucs days are numbered.

To Miller’s credit, he was drafted specifically to play a role in the heinous Jim Bates Experience. Bates is long gone and it’s a New Schiano Order now.

No one should be surprised to learn that the New Schiano World Order will bring many roster changes.

And another change is here.

Per ProFootballTalk.com, the Bucs signed veteran free agent defensive tackle Gary Gibson to a 2-year, $2 million deal with $400,000 guaranteed. Gibson, 29, played for Schiano at Rutgers and entered the NFL with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He was with the Rams for the past three seasons.

It’s a safe bet DT Amobi Okoye, signed in March, will be on the roster. And one should assume Gibson will be here, too.

Joe hopes this latest signing comes not as a result of concern for Brian Price’s health but is born from Greg Schiano being sickened watching tape of the Bucs’ run defense.

Luke Stocker is one guy Joe thought flashed strong blocking and solid route running in his limited action last season. (Of course, Greg Olson pretty much stopped calling his number, but that’s a song for a different day.)

The point is the Bucs must have a good feeling about Stocker’s blocking, as well, considering Kellen Winslow is a subpar blocker and they drafted a tight end in Drake Dunsmore, who has little experience playing smashmouth football at the line of scrimmage. Dunsmore explained to Buccaneers.com.

“If you turn on the tape of me, you won’t see me blocking that much over the last four years. But I’d say I’m an eager blocker. You’ll be able to tell that by the way I block as a receiver and a slot guy, and moving and going in motion. But I haven’t had the opportunity to block a lot in-line, and that’s something I’m really excited to learn from the coaches up there and the tight ends that are already in Tampa. I’m hoping to progress in that department.”

Joe, too, hopes the new tight end coach and offensive staff can really coach everything out of the Bucs’ young players.

Interestingly, ex-Bucs tight end Anthony Becht, a veteran of 11 seasons and a former first-round pick, said on WHBO-AM today that it took him three full seasons to learn how to block effectively at the professional level.

Joe’s got another post coming tonight, but this is just a heads up that Bucs rookie minicamp runs Friday through Sunday and Joe expects to be there and bringing you whatever is interesting. So come back early and often over the next few days.

Also, it’s a big weekend over at Derby Lane on Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg. Advance wagering on the Kentucky Derby starts Friday morning at 10 a.m. Joe finds the race a lot more enjoyable when he has a few bucks on it. There’s also a full slate of live greyhound racing at Derby Lane on Friday and Saturday.

And mark your calendars for a great Saturday night — Cinco de Mayo — at Besa Grill in Clearwater. You will not be disappointed. … Or just hop on the No Excuses Tour to the Trop and relax.