It was pretty clear that Bucs folk hero “Run Micheal Run” Spurlock wasn’t going to return to Tampa Bay in 2012, but it’s now official. Spurlock joins his ol’ pal Rich Bisaccia in San Diego, where he just penned a one-year deal.

Spurlock was one of three guys Bisaccia singled out when he bailed on the Raheem regime before last season. Joe wishes Spurlock well. The guy’s a class act through and through.

As Joe has written previously, Preston Parker was a below average kick and punt returner last season while Spurlock didn’t see a lot of action.

A healthy Sammie Stroughter is solid returner, but does he even make the roster? Will Morris Claiborne return kicks? More question marks for 2012.

Joe’s made the point many times that LeGarrette Blount has had limited time to develop and spent last season in the hands of a misguided offensive coordinator. Yet Blount still has a 1,000-yard season under his belt and has flashed brilliance throughout his two-year career, plus the guy caught 15 balls at 10-yards a clip last season with scarce chances.

In Joe’s mind, the Bucs clearly couldn’t figure out how to use Blount to maximize his extraordinary potential, so Joe must assume Blount literally can be a dominant running back with better coaching and discipline — something that appears to be in place at One Buc Palace.

Former Bucs defensive end Steve White (1996-2001) seems to be of a similar mindset, so he outlined on WDAE-AM 620 earlier this week.

“I just think the major thing is ball security,” White said of Blount. “Last year, if he doesn’t put the ball on the ground, we’re probably in quite a few more games and our fortunes may have changed in a few of them. Now would it have stopped the regime change? That’s hard to say.

“He was so phenomenal at times. The only thing that held him back was those fumbles.. … Then a lot of times when he’s fumbling the ball it’s at the end of a fantastic run. So if he can just keep the ball in his hands, I think that will go a long way. We really don’t know what he is as a third-down guy because he’s not really been given the opportunity to do it in a game. Coming from a system like Oregon, I would pretty much assume he can catch the ball. He probably can pass block; he’s a big enough guy to be able to do it.

“I remember there was a time when people didn’t think Mike Alstott could block as a fullback, and then he got a new running backs coach and became a pretty good blocker. So that’s something that can definitely can be taught. I think just the one thing comes down to it, just like we saw with Tiki Barber, who showed flashes of brilliance but couldn’t stop putting the ball on the turf. Once he did get over that hurdle he became a Pro Bowl running back. So I think the same kind of holds true for LeGarrette; he’s a got a ton of ability, he just has to be more on the details and quit turning the ball over.”

That said, White went on to say he would draft Trent Richardson with the fifth overall pick, if the Bucs don’t do anything else with the roster between now and the draft. White said the Bucs are so thin at the position right now they’re almost forced to pick Richardson if he’s available.

There’s no denying the Bucs will draft a running back, but Joe would far prefer the Bucs use their second round pick on a running back, scoop up the best remaining RB bodies, including a third-down specialist, in free agency and roll the dice with Blount has their true No. 1 back.

Before Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik went on a spending spree when free agency began not quite a month ago, landing among other players wide receiver Vincent Jackson, it was thought the Bucs were in the mix to land stud wide receiver Justin Blackmon out of Oklahoma State.

Since, Blackmon’s name hasn’t been tossed about much, and for good reason claims eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. Kaufman is of the mind that Blackmon is off the board on the Bucs’ war room mock draft, which Kaufman wrote on a recent Bucs TBO Q&A.

Q: Do you think it would be a bad idea, if available, to draft Blackmon at number 5? Then if LaMichael James is still there in the second round to grab him also? That would make our offense explosive for the first time, maybe even a top 5. I don’t believe our offense has ever been a top 5.

Bryan, Riverview

A: It’s been a long time since the Bucs were blessed with an offense that kept coordinators up until the wee hours. Your Blackmon scenario sounded plausible until the Bucs signed Vincent Jackson as a free agent to provide a deep threat. With Mike Williams and former second-round pick Arrelious Benn on the roster, I don’t see Tampa Bay going for Blackmon at No. 5. The thinking is Jackson will open things up for the other WRs and TE Kellen Winslow to do some damage over the middle.

— eye-RAH! Kaufman

Wow, with a three-wide set of Jackson, Blackmon and Mike Williams, with tight end Kellen Winslow involved, you are talking about a truly frightening passing attack.

Throw in LeGarrette Blount abusing linebackers for playing soft due to the passing threat, damn, talk about putting points on the board.

If LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne is selected before the Bucs are on the clock, Joe wouldn’t be so dismissive about selecting Blackmon.

Joe saw this half-asleep last night on Twitter and thought it may just be a random rumor.

But apparently it is not. It seems Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is wooing Chicago defensive tackle Amobi Okoye. That’s the scent that Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times has sniffed out.

We’ve learned the Bucs are interested in signing Okoye, interest that is said to be mutual. But Okoye has other suitors, too, including the Broncos, Bengals and Bears. It does not seem a resolution is imminent, though that could change quickly.

A return to the Bears seems less likely if you believe Chicago general manager Phil Emery, who was quoted in the Chicago Tribune saying, “Right now, Amobi is trying to decide which direction he is going. We’ve had conversations with him. So far, we have not been able to work out a deal. Amobi is probably going in a different direction.”

Okoye, if acquired by the Bucs, would fit nicely in a three-man rotation at defensive tackle. He would provide an upgrade over the current third tackle, Roy Miller, and would take some of the load off of Price, who struggled in 2011 to fight through his ongoing pelvic and hamstring issues.

Yes, this does add up. Price is trying to recover from an injury that is still very much a question mark. To date, though numbers prove he is valuable on the field, GMC has yet to play a full season. And pretty soon, Roy Miller is going to have to show something.

Yes, Joe wants a linebacker nearly as much as he wants to see Rachel Watson pulling herself out of the Gulf, crawling into Joe’s boat.

But if the Bucs can beef up the defensive tackles, it should help the linebackers out.

Lord knows the Bucs linebackers need a world of help.

Because he has had two season-ending arm injuries in as many years in the NFL, some Bucs fans are down on first round draft pick Gerald McCoy.

Joe has gone on record that the guy is disruptive, which sometimes is as important as a sack, except to the calculator guys.

Joe has been rounding mocked for this but, even though Joe scoffs at the numbers crowd, sometimes numbers don’t lie.

This is the message Evan Silva of Rotoworld.com put forth on Twitter.

@evansilva: Perhaps telling stat: Bucs are 11-8 with Gerald McCoy in the lineup over last 2 seasons. 3-10 when he’s been out.

The Bucs defense was 3-10 without him. Wow.

Joe has been harsh on the Bucs linebackers, and Joe thinks it is deserved. Name a worse set of linebackers in the NFL, please.

But Joe gives Mason Foster a mulligan for a number of reasons, one of which is the guy had zero help on either side of him.

Looking at GMC’s numbers per Silva, it was clear that with GMC off the field, Foster had no help in front of him either.

Joe's joining forces with Justin "The Commish" Pawlowski and Pete & Shorty's for stunning NFL Draft parties.

Holy cow! This is going to be awesome.

Joe is joining forces with NFL Draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, of WQYK-AM 1010, to host the biggest blowout NFL Draft parties known to man at Pete & Shorty’s in Pinellas Park, just one mile west of I-275.

The action kicks off at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, and then again at noon on Saturday, April 28.

Pete & Shorty’s has indoor and outdoor seating and EVERYONE will hear The Commish — and Joe and special celebrity guests — break down the draft live on the 1010 AM radio through the PA system at Pete & Shorty’s. There’s also WiFi access and great TV viewing.

This is going to be intense. Not only will Joe be there with jersey giveaways and screaming for the Bucs to draft Morris Claiborne, plus Joe expects to be flanked by former Buccaneers and maybe even some current Bucs.

There also will be beer girls, stunning Pete & Shorty’s food, glorious beer girls, and a lot more. Beer specials, food specials. Joe can’t wait. There’s even going to be a couple of VIP tables where a select couple of readers will get to set (more on that later).

And then Joe gets to do it all over again on Saturday afternoon, April 28, for Rounds 4-7 of the draft!!!

Save the dates! Tune into the Commish’s show today at 1:30 p.m. for even more information.

More fuel for the likelihood of the Bucs drafting Trent Richardson was dished out indirectly by Davin Joseph recently in a “Buccaneers Insider” video on Buccaneeers.com.

On his impressions of what the Bucs will look like this season after meeting with offensive coaches this week, Joseph over-emphasized what Greg Schiano has been telling everyone since his first moments on the job; the Bucs will pound the rock.  

“He made it very clear that we are going to major in running the ball. And so we’re going to run the ball. (laughs) And so we’re going to run the ball. And we’re going to have fun,” Joseph said.

Now Joe would enjoy watching LeGarrette Blount pound out 450 carries in 2012, however that’s completely unrealistic in today’s NFL. But the Bucs only have Mossis Madu on the roster at running back outside of Blount.

Surely the Bucs can find a studly scatback in the second or third round of the draft, but one would think the Bucs would want at least a 1a-caliber power back to share carries with Blount and/or back him up, if they are really going to be a run-first, smashmouth club.

Where’s that guy going to come from?

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company,America’s Best Quarterback. Plus, he’s a really cool dude.

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Hearing of Morris Claiborne’s Wonderlic results made me think back to taking this very same test and still wondering if it really predicts much of anything in the NFL.

It is one of many measurements for scouts and teams to weigh when making decisions, but many a combine “wonder” has moved up the draft board and bombed when they actually had to play football.

Troy Aikman didn’t score as high that year on the Wonderlic as either Jason Garrett (Princeton) or I did, but his bronze bust in Canton and three shiny Super Bowl rings seem to catch more people’s eyes than our 30+ scores on the intelligence test (mine 33, his 36 if I remember correctly).

As far as Claiborne goes, outside of kicker and punter, I can’t think of a position on the football field that requires less thinking than cornerback. Kickers only have to know one thing: kick it through the uprights. Punters two things: kick it as far as you can OR make it stop before the goal line. Cornerbacks rarely need to know much more than three things: cover deep, cover short or cover that guy wherever he goes. Defenses as a whole certainly do more than that with the front 7, but corners can only be responsible for so much.

If a player has had behavior issues in college and then also has an extremely low Wonderlic score, that should be a red flag for an organization to proceed with extreme caution, but if the player has good film and you’ve done your homework on his background, being successful on the kinds of things that are asked on that test just don’t translate to success on the gridiron.

Joe could entertain himself all day long blasting ESPN, but that’s not what this post is about.

Yesterday, Joe read ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas’ take on the Bucs and other teams potentially being featured on the HBO series Hard Knocks. Yasinskas, while assessing the Bucs slim chances of being on the 2012 edition, painted a picture of Raheem Morris asking his bosses to get his club on national reality TV last year. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were courted for the show last season and former coach Raheem Morris was lobbying for his team to be on the show. Ultimately, the Bucs declined.

This smelled all wrong to Joe based on Joe’s knowledge of the Bucs and Hard Knocks, and Joe has re-confirmed that, in fact, Raheem was dead set against his yungry bunch landing on Hard Knocks last season. Raheem himself spilled an explanation last year during an interview with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, on WDAE-AM 620.

“For us it was more about the first time we may get with our players could have been with full-fledged cameras in our face,”Raheem said. “And also, it could have been my first time seeing my team since [the lockout] or talking to them. And no matter what you might say, the guys shy away from you with a microphone on you.

“The one thing I didn’t want to do was push Mike Williams away from me, or push LeGarrette Blount or even Josh Freeman because those guys don’t necessarily don’t want to be on the camera.”

Raheem loved to call himself an “entertainer,” but even Ray Charles could have seen that putting the young Bucs on Hard Knocks last year was a bad idea and could have hurt the great chemistry coming off a 10-6 season in 2010.

That written, perhaps a TV microscope might have tightened the Bucs’ ship — the one Ronde Barber laughed about yesterday — and better prepared the team for the adversity that killed it last season.

The greatest deal in Tampa Bay sports history is back!!!

It’s the popular No Excuses Tour chauffeured luxury bus to Tropicana Field, courtesy of Paradise Worldwide Transportation and Lee Roy Selmon’s. Click on through to grab a seat for April Rays games and get all the details at NoExcusesTour.com.

Parking and driving to the Trop are sure to cost you a pile of dough. Why not get there in style and save some cash?
You can even drink beer and eat on the luxury bus!!

Watch the BayNews9 feature on the No Excuses Tour from 2011:

OK, it’s hard for Joe to get hot and bothered about preseason football. But in the early days of April, it sure seems like light years away and a welcome destination, sort of like when one lives in the frigid north and hears the words “pitchers and catchers report.”

The only difference is Joe isn’t suffering from frostbite in the Tampa Bay area in April and doesn’t have to scrape ice off of his windshield each morning.

Just released this afternoon is the Bucs preseason slate (dates yet to be finalized):

Week 1
At Miami
Week 2
Tennessee
Week 3
New England
Week 4
At Washington

This is the second consecutive season the Bucs are not playing the Jags, which is sort of strange. Tennessee replaces Kansas City on this year’s preseason schedule and, of course, it’s the return of the Belicheats and Washington.

It was a bizarre choice of words today by Ronde Barber after stating a minute or so earlier that the Bucs’ free agent signings had little to do with his decision to return in 2012.

“When I felt like that this team was going to make a push and try to win, that helped me make my decision to come back,” Barber said.

The comment begged the question, ‘Ronde, don’t the Bucs try to win every year?’

Regardless, Joe can’t quibble if Barber wasn’t eager to jump on a massive 2012 rebuilding project that didn’t include filling holes in free agency. Clearly, Barber can see the talented teams in the NFC South and knows the Bucs will need a great record to make the playoffs.

Barber went on to say he doesn’t know what his role will be and coyly said he’s too small to play safety.

Lots of great nuggets from Ronde Barber’s news conference this afternoon at One Buc Palace, but first Joe will give you Barber’s impressions of Greg Schiano.

Asked about the coaching staff, Barber’s body language said radical change is stirring.

“They have a very direct purpose, man. The ship’s a little bit tighter than it was last year. (laughs),” Barber said. “But that’s a good thing. We need direction. We got a bunch of young men that need guidance, and [Schiano’s] giving it to them. He was very direct about it, and I think that’s the way it should be. So I like the approach; I think it will work well for us.”

Barber went on to say, “when I look at [Schiano], all I see is football.” Barber says he likes that and says Schiano is brutally honest about what he knows and doesn’t know.

As for his impressions of defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan and Bucs supreme intelligence operative Butch Davis, Barber called Sheridan “great” and said Sheridan callled him immediately after he re-signed for 2012.

As for Davis, Barber said, “Butch, you don’t see him much, he sits in the back of the room and doesn’t say anything.”

While Joe’s had fun zeroing in on all things Trent Richardson and Morris Claiborne, there’s a real possibility that both players will be off the board once rockstar general manager Mark Dominik is put on the clock with the fifth overall pick in the first round.

The Vikings and Browns, in slots No. 3 and No. 4, certainly are unpredictable.

So if the Bucs face this scenario, do they dare take beastly tackle Matt Kalil out of Southern Cal with their pick? Do they snag blue chip receiver Justin Blackmon after commiting to Vincent Jackson, which Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn to roles that seemingly suit them best? Might they stretch out to snag LB Luke Kuechly?

A case could be made for any of those guys, especially with the rookie salary cap from prevents team from having to shell out gobs of cash to unproven talent.

Blackmon adds more firepower and competition to the receiving corps. A good offensive coordinator could go wild with those kinds of options. Kalil would light a virtual bonfire under Donald Penn and Jeremy Trueblood, which could only help short term and long term. And Kuechly would at least address what the Bucs desperately need most right now — talent at linebacker.

If it reached that point, Joe suspects Dominik would be saying silent prayers that his phone rings with a good trade offer for the No. 5 pick.

Fan favorite Adam Schein is outraged that the Wonderlic test results for a possible Bucs draft pick, LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne, were leaked yesterday. In this FoxSports.com video, Schein details how he would prevent these leaks from happening in the future. As usual for Schein, he pulls no punches.

Yesterday the big news of the day, especially concerning the Bucs, was that LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne’s Wonderlic test score was leaked (likely by a team hoping he slips in the draft).

Claiborne scored a four. That’s not good.

But the leak of the score has sparked unrest among many, largely because Claiborne has a learning disability that is well-known in NFL circles, writes Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com.

Schrager goes on to write that this learning disability did not hinder Claiborne on the football field — Schrager believes he is the best corner to come out of the draft since Darrelle Revis in 2007 — and Claiborne never ducked this issue and continued to go to class with the help of LSU tutors.

According to Greg Gabriel at the National Football Post, Claiborne’s disability — though not specified— isn’t a secret around the league. When he was recruited out of high school, it was made clear to the various big-time college programs courting him that he’d need academic advisors and assistance in the classroom once he selected a school.

After deciding to attend LSU, Claiborne didn’t fade away and let the rigors of the college environment swallow him whole. He worked with tutors and utilized LSU’s various on-campus learning resources to get the grades he needed to stay academically eligible and compete.

Claiborne’s time in college should be celebrated. Hell, it’d make for a decent movie. Local kid defies the odds, attends the state’s university, gets enrolled in the right classes and goes on to make millions starring in the NFL. It’s as feel-good a story as you’ll get in today’s world of college athletics.

Will this taint Claiborne in the eyes of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik? It shouldn’t. Claiborne has demonstrated again and again on the football field why he is a stud and is a no-brainer for Dominik to draft if he is available at No. 5.

The self-proclaimed Geraldini, everyone’s favorite Little Mermaid-loving defensive tackle, had his head coach drop lofty expectations on his fragile biceps last week at the NFL owners meetings, so documented Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com.

It seems Greg Schiano has looked at the game film and spots greatness in Gerald McCoy.

“He plays defensive tackle the way I like,’’ Schiano said at the NFL owners meetings last week. “He’s a penetrating guy who can change direction. We’ve got to keep him healthy because I think he can be a dominant force in this league.’’ 

There’s really not much to say about McCoy anymore. In Year 3, he has to stay healthy, step up, and deliver like a No. 3 overall pick.

Joe suspects McCoy will deliver, but the staying healthy part is a huge and legitimate question mark. With Brian Price’s fragile health, Joe would rest a lot easier if the Bucs had scored proven depth at that position already this offseason.

Joe is jacked up to soon roll out all the details of his blowout NFL Draft parties at Pete & Shorty’s in Pinellas Park, just one mile west of I-275.

The action will kick off at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 26.

This is going to be intense. Not only will Joe be there with jersey giveaways and screaming for the Bucs to draft Morris Claiborne, but Joe will be joined by a high-profile media partner that will turn the first night of the draft into an intense draft lovers paradise. Plus, Joe expects to be flanked by former Buccaneers and maybe even some current Bucs.

There will be beer girls, glorious girls, and a lot more. Beer specials, food specials, indoor and outdoor seating. Joe can’t wait.

And then Joe gets to do it all over again on Saturday afternoon, April 28, for Rounds 4-7 of the draft.

Save the dates! All the exciting details should be here very soon.

Another wise Bucs fan joins Joe in not wanting the Schiano-Dominik, two-headed monster to draft Trent Richardson later this month.

That Bucs fan would be LeGarrette Blount.

Blount was kind enough to express his opposition to CBSSports.com’s Will Brinson during the unveiling of the Bucs’ new jersey today in New York. “I would definitely not be happy with that pick,” Blount said.

If Blount were carrying his political correctness manual, he would have told Brinson that he wants the Bucs to draft the best players they can get no matter who they are. But Blount kept it refreshingly real — and every coach knows bell cow running backs hate sharing carries.

However, Joe hopes Blount realizes that competition is a great thing, the Bucs desperately need another talented running back, and his new offensive coordinator is a guy from a system that used two and three running backs effectively.

Raheem Morris was always involved in Bucs player personnel matters and publicly embraced the team concept of working with rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Team Glazer, but Raheem always seemed to be Robin to Dominik clearly assuming the role of Batman.

The Bucs not re-signing Cadillac Williams and Barrett Ruud last year appeared to be strong examples of Raheem filling that secondary role, as Raheem, coming off a 10-6 season and strong consideration for NFL Coach of the Year, had stated he wanted those veterans to return.

This year with Greg Schiano might present a different decision-making dynamic, if one is to read into Schiano’s comments on NFL Network last night.

Schaino was asked how “active” he expects to be on draft day as a first year head coach.

“Very active. I mean Mark Dominik and I, we kind of go hip-to-hip with these things. I can’t wait,” Schiano said. “We had a great run in free agency and looking forward to improving our team and strengthening our team in the draft. So I’m going to be very involved.”

Joe’s just guessing, but it sure seems like Schiano’s role in the draft will be kicked up a notch from that of his predecessor.

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