Second year-receiver Sammie Stroughter, who caught the Bucs first touchdown 2010, had a chance to chat on the Buccaneers Radio Network following the game.

“I felt good. We were tired of beating each other up [in practice]. Got to face some live bullets tonight. Made a lot of mistakes in the red zone but we will have to go look at that and study,” Stroughter said.

“The touchdown, that’s Josh being Josh. He is a big boy and is able to make plays. That’s the talent he has. He threw a dart and I just did the rest. That’s [Freeman’s] playmaking ability.

“I was the third read. It was a nice progression from Josh. He read that really, really well. He checked down from his primary. That’s Josh being Josh and making a play. It’s great to see that leadership quality.

“No, no, no… you could sense that [leadership] in the OTAs, the sense of urgency and leadership qualities. The sky is the limit with him He has all the talent in the world. I’m blessed to play with a guy like that.

“I’m not just happy being here. I want to use my abilities to take over. I want that on my shoulders. I embrace that. I hope we can continue to grow as a team.”

Coming into tonight’s game, Joe was very eager to watch Josh Johnson.

Josh Freeman got all the offseason glory for his unmatched work ethic, but all reports said Johnson was right there with Freeman, even joining Freeman for an extended tutoring session with Drew Brees.

So what did Johnson bring to the table after getting four starts last year and another offseason in the Bucs’ system? Not much.

Joe was very troubled by Johnson’s fumble and interception, which was beyond ugly. Frankly, the Bucs better hire full-time bodyguards and servants for Freeman. If that guy gets hurt, the Bucs are in a world of trouble.

Yeah, Johnson made one excellent throw and he flashed why the Bucs should find a way to get him the ball in open space, but the turnovers just can’t happen. 

Johnson’s just not a good backup QB for this team, and Joe has no confidence in Greg Olson’s ability to build an offense that suits Johnson’s talents.

Bucs fans saw plenty of Gerald McCoy in the Miami slop tonight. There were loads of reps for the No. 3 overall pick.

But what did we really see from McCoy?

McCoy left the game without his first NFL tackle.

Joe’s going to leave the D-line, in-the-trenches analysis to the best in the business, former Bucs defensive end Steve White, who writes the Bull Rush column on JoeBucsFan.com. White promises Joe he’ll be turning out a detailed look at the tonight’s D-line play coming soon.

For now, Joe’s going to say he really likes the motors on Tim Crowder and Michael Bennett, and Kyle Moore was pretty active and batted down a pass, although Moore got pushed around a bit.

Where was Stylez G?

Joe’s a Bucs fan like everyone visiting these here pages.

Hence the name JoeBucsFan.com.

So Joe can respectfully say that if you didn’t find hope filling your heart and mind when Mike Williams caught that first-quarter bomb from Josh Freeman — a tough catch with Vontae Davis in his face — then you need to turn in you Bucs fan card.

It’s really that simple.

Freeman was sharp. Williams put some good stuff on film.

And as the great Antonio Bryant likes to say, “Film don’t lie.”

It’s just one preseason game, and maybe it’s meaningless, but Derrick Ward looked so horrendous even THE OPTIMIST would struggle to find anything good about his performance.

Still in the first quarter, Ward (12 carries for 20 yards) was visibly moaning to somebody on the offensive line after another sad carry.

Then Ward fumbled and John Gilmore recovered.

That was followed by Ward complaining yet again, this time in the direction of Keydrick Vincent on the O-Line. And then on the next play Ward coughed up the ball for the Bucs’ second turnover of the night.

And it sure seemed to Joe that Josh Johnson’s sideline tirade near the end of the first half was directed at Ward, who wasn’t happy with Johnson’s attitude.

Yeah, Ward played behind the Bucs’ poor second-unit line — Joe would say Jeremy Zuttah looked like a tackling dummy at center, but blowup doll would be a more appropriate description — but Ward showed absolutely nothing. So Joe can’t give him the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe Ward is just done. If so, the Bucs’ running game is in a heap of trouble.

Preseason Week 1
Bucs at Dolphins
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
TV: WFLA Ch. 8, NFL Network
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 90.
Weather: It’s South Florida. It’s August. It’s gonna be hot and humid, duh. Joe’s kinda weather. Hot weather = boats, beer and scantily clad babes. Who doesn’t like hot weather? You don’t live in Cleveland! Fortunately for Joe, he won’t be playing. The Bucs and Dolphins, per AccuWeather.com, at kickoff thunderstorms are expecting with a temperature of 86. The thunderstorms should pass by halftime but the temperature will only mildly cool down to 83 by the end of the game.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Dolphins -3.5.
Outlook: This is a preseason game and even Raheem The Dream admits the starters will get limited work. So for Bucs fans, this will be the first opportunity to see the heralded rookies that are to be the backbone of future Bucs winning seasons, Gerald McCoy, Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn. Brian Price and Myron Lewis, also rookies with high expectations, did not make the trip due to injuries. Another rookie, safety Cody Grimm, who has been a pleasant surprise thus far in training camp, should see a lot of playing time.
Fun facts: The drop-dead gorgeous proof of a supreme being above is none other than Joe’s favorite Fabiola, who Joe is sure you will agree is Fab-u-lous. She, along with Tampa native and local traitor Jenn Sterger, were part of the original Florida State Cowgirls. To the best of Joe’s knowledge, unlike Sterger, Fabiola has not been a victim of Brett Favre’s sexting. There seems to be quite a few Florida State kickoff parties thorughout central Florida today so, partially in an ode to Seminole fans (more so to Joe’s lust), Joe decided to feature Fabiola. Enjoy!

Older than his head coach, Ronde Barber is surely the voice of reason on the Bucs, except when he’s bashing the media like a whiney crybaby.

While Raheem The Dream is trying to fire up his team installing a season rallying cry of “It’s a race to 10 wins,” Barber told the Sirius NFL Radio crew on Wednesday that “it’s more like a race to one or two.”

Barber went on to explain how desperately the Bucs need to rack up a victory on opening day or at least a couple of wins very early in the season, and how the confidence gained from winning is critical for a young roster.

Movin’ The Chains co-host Pat Kirwan pushed Barber to talk about why he often sits alone at practice and how he relates to his young teammates.

Pat Kirwan: I watched you closely to see how you’re running and playing, and then on the breaks I saw you two times take a knee all by yourself. What’s going through the mind of a guy older than the head coach takin’ a knee by himself watching a team full of 20 years olds.

Ronde Barber:  There’s very few people, especially on defense, that I can consider a peer. You know, so when [Derrick] Brooks was here or some of those older guys were here, I could sit down and talk ball to them. And I still talk ball with the young guys, but they usually don’t have any idea what I’m talking about. They haven’t seen what I’ve seen. So I take a knee, and I just take it all in.

Kirwan: [Brett] Favre said it one time, that when he was in this position, when he was 35, “I found myself unable to relate to my teammates.’ I don’t think that’s with you, but I was watching you by yourself, and you were definitely daydreaming. 

Barber: No, I wasn’t daydreaming, man. I was taking in the practice. You know, I spend a lot of time with Rah, and I give him a lot my input. …

Barber went on to explain that he meets with Raheem The Dream daily, as well as some veteran teammates that he did not name.

Joe couldn’t agree more with Barber’s “race to one” assessment.

The Bucs open the season with Cleveland, Carolina and Pittsburgh, before a bye in Week 4. Cleveland and Carolina won 4-of-5 to close 2009, and Pittsburgh finished 3-2 over its final five.

Joe doesn’t think the Bucs could recover from going 0-3 heading into the bye week.

In this BSPN video with Adam Schefter, last year’s first round draft pick Josh Freeman and this year’s first round draft pick Gerald McCoy discuss playing each other in college. McCoy also likes how people disrespect the Bucs. Oh, nice Rays lid there GMC.

While their cries have lessened, many Bucs fans are miffed that Tampa Bay didn’t make an offseason trade with the Broncos for wide receiver Brandon “The Beast” Marshall.

For some reason, these fans think a 26 year old wide receiver with 307 catches over the past three seasons would do wonders for the Bucs.

Marshall landed in Miami for two second round picks and is expected to see a lot of action in tonight’s preseason opener against the Bucs, per the Miami Herald.

Quarterback Chad Henne is slated to play at least one quarter against the Bucs, Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. He could play into the second quarter if the offense isn’t on the field enough in the first, which should please fans for one reason: He’ll have more than a few opportunities to connect with wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Despite a strong start to training camp, Henne and Marshall struggled in the team’s only game-like format — a scrimmage that took place last week. It was no reason to worry, but an exhibition against the Bucs could be the perfect way to prove it. Chemistry will be critical for the pair to flourish. They are getting along great, and Marshall seems to really like the way Henne throws the ball.

With the Bucs thin at cornerback tonight, Marshall shouldn’t have much trouble being effective. Unless, of course, the Bucs revamped defensive line can get to the quarterback.

Joe believes only a kicker can get overly excited about preseason football. Woody Cummings and eye-RAH! Kaufman disagree.

There was all sorts of football on the NFL Network last night and this morning and Joe didn’t watch much. No one loves football more than Joe but preseason football, eh, Joe can’t get into it.

It’s hard for Joe to get worked up, unless it’s the Bucs, with football played between guys who by the end of the month will be delivering Pepsi and selling aluminum siding.

Woody Cummings and eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune are of a different mindset. The duo, in the latest TBO Bucs vlog, explain why this preseason is vital to the Bucs in a number of ways, both on and off the field.

Kaufman may have uttered the best quote of the preseason when, referring to Bucs wide receiver Sammie Stroughter experiencing only three wins in his rookie season, “You have to show him the other side of midnight.”

Huge opportunity tonight for E.J. Biggers

Get ready to see what E.J. Biggers can do tonight as a cornerback with the first team against Miami.

Through training camp, Raheem The Dream has been very high on the Bucs seventh-round cornerback pick in last year’s NFL draft, saying he was in good competition for the starting nickel cornerback gig. Biggers was injured last season, and Raheem The Dream has said he considers him a rookie who “got a medical redshirt” for 2009.

Aqib Talib is staying home in Tampa. Stephen Holder, of the St. Pete Times, says Talib is not injured but is home because of a personal issue that has nothing to do with legal trouble. Holder says it’s not supposed to be something that will affect Talib long term. (Joe is nervous.)

Behind Talib on the depth chart is rookie Myron Lewis, but he’s still out with a hamstring injury. Lewis has seen limited action in training camp and also was sidelined for much of OTAs.

That puts Biggers in the spotlight.

Rookie Brian Price also is out (hamstring), as is Kellen Winslow (precautionary) and Clifton Smith (hamstring). No doubt will see a lot of defensive tackles Dre Moore and Ryan Sims, drop-happy tight end Ryan Purvis, and plenty of running back Kareem Huggins.

Veteran Bucs icon Ronde Barber had a fun chat with the Sirius NFL Radio Movin’ The Chains crew when it visited Bucs camp on Wednesday.

Admitting he’s dropped five pounds this offseason to play at 175, Barber talked to co-host Tim Ryan about the changes on defense.

Ronde Barber: We’re no longer Tampa 2. We’re Tampa 2-point-something. We’ve evolved a lot. And we still have our same bread-and-butter coverages. Some of the blitz schemes are the same. But Raheem’s really been creative this offseason, man. He has guys on his defense now that can handle everything. You got a great corner in Aqib. You have a great safety in T-Jacks. You got very athletic linebackers that can run and handle all the blitz shemes and some of the things that we’re trying to do up front. I’m excited for it.

You don’t know what we’re going to put on the field this year. Before, this defense was: line up, I’m sure everybody knows what we’re playing, and we’re just going to outwork you, we’re going to outhustle you, we’re gonna try to outhit you, and we’re going to win that way. This time around, it’s a little bit different. It’s the same formula, but there a lot more catches to it.

Joe’s excited to see Raheem The Dream’s new upgrades to his defense. Last offseason, defensive mastermind Raheem The Dream’s changes brought in the heinous Jim Bates Experience.

Joe’s hoping for much better this time around.

"Oh, Joe, will you be free at halftime?"

There’s a Bucs game tonight!

That nearly arouses Joe as much as bikini-clad Bucs cheerleaders arriving at his door for a swim.

For those new to JoeBucsFan.com, Joe delivers in-game coverage and postgame coverage like no other. 

Joe will be hammering away to bring you his assessment of the game, plus all kinds of takes from all kinds of sources.

So stock up on some extra cold ones tonight and stay with Joe through the wee hours.

Joe knows a lot of Bucs fans have wondered why Raheem the Dream doesn’t use career backup quarterback Josh Johnson in some gimmick offense, like a Wildcat.

There were times last year when Johnson did line up as a receiver but Joe doesn’t know if that was legit or if Johnson was going to be part of some elaborate gadget play? Generally when the backup quarterback lines up at wide receiver, it raises the antennae of defenses.

Taking a break from deleting Tweets covering training camp, The Mad Twitterer himself, Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times hosted a chat on the Poynter Paper’s site and he noted that a Wildcat offense could be on its way for the Bucs.

Matt (Lake County)

Has there been any progress on getting Josh Johnson involved with the offense?

Mad Twitterer

Great question. Josh Johnson, as you know, is the backup QB. But he’s such a great athlete, they’d like to find a package of plays to get him on the field. I think a Wildcat formation (Bucwild?) might be used sometime this year. He also can catch passes, so you might see him and Freeman on the field together for some gadget plays. They tried it last year. They have to be creative.

Joe personally believes this Wildcat nonsense is little more than the NFL flavor of the month, much like the run-and-shoot was. What Joe believes Johnson could really excel in is sort of a slash position, much like what Kordell Stewart played in his first few years with the Steelers.

Of course, thanks to the Jerry Jones rule, Johnson wouldn’t be able to play quarterback if Josh Freeman got hurt. But the Bucs need some speed in the backfield, and if Johnson could do that as well as be a receiver and throw the occasional pass on a reverse or option, all the better.

As the Bucs prepare to play their first preseason game of the 2010 campaign, comrades The Mad Twitterer and good guy Stephen Holder discuss what fans should keep an eye out for in this St. Petersburg Times video. Holder explains why the Bucs will play quarterback Josh Freeman sparingly.

When co-hosts of Sirius NFL Radio’s “Movin’ the Chains,” Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, along with special guest host Bill Cowher, descended upon One Buc Palace Wednesday, the Bucs were beyond accommodating to the trio.

All aspects of the Bucs training camp was open to them, whether it was dropping in on positional chalktalks with coaches, picking general manager Mark Dominik’s brain for information or eavesdropping on huddles during practice, the entire operation was an open door to VIP visitors.

At one point in the four-hour show, the discussion turned to the Bucs defensive front seven.

Bill Cowher:  Quincy Black is impressive to me. He’s a well-built guy. [Linebackers coaching intern] Greg Lloyd is very impressed with Quincy Black. This is a linebacker you have to keep your eye on. These guys can fly.

Tim Ryan:  I believe [the Bucs] are going to need second-level blitzes. The concern I have with this football team is the [defensive front] rush. If that isn’t part of your identity, there will be some growing pains. Will they stay with it? As it becomes your identity, they will have a chance to grow with this defense.

Pat Kirwan:  How much stunting will there be?

Cowher:  My sense is [Raheem the Dream] will let the [defensive line] play. ‘We have to penetrate. We have to get in the backfield. Yes, we have to cover the run.’ Yes, there is a base package and then you scale back.

I like the way they are thinking. You have to let them play. Let them penetrate and then let the linebackers play off of them and then use their disruption.

So there you have it: Three football minds Joe trusts a great deal believe Todd Wash will use just about every stunt and trick known to man to enable the defensive front to get penetration.

If that happens, it could be a snowball effect, keeping heat off the linebackers.

In this NFL Network video, Derrick Brooks sits down to relive the good moments with the Bucs and the one ugly moment, when he was thrown out with the trash some 18 months ago.

Also, former Bucs great and Brooks’ teammate Warren Sapp drops by to give Brooks some advice on what to do during retirement.

With the Bucs first preseason game mere hours away, Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune joined the Hebrew-sounding “King David” Show on WQYK-AM 1010 Thursday with co-host Toby David. Richardson covered all sorts of things Bucs.

Toby David: Who is standing out at Bucs training camp?

Anwar Richardson: Interesting about training camp so far is that they the Bucs have not gone live that much, meaning they have not gone full-speed at each other. They have pumped the brakes on that. They’ve gone live a few times, at the night practice at the stadium, for example.

They are more interested in getting quality reps [in practice] rather than going full-speed all the time at each other. But by doing that it’s somewhat difficult to judge who is standing out and who isn’t.

If they are going full-speed, you can see guys break tackles but at half-speed, eh.

We need to see them at full-speed going at each other. I’m still unsure how good this team will or will not be just going off of training camp.

David: Is that a mistake on the Bucs part, not going full speed because of the young guys?

Richardson: No, only because you have the risk vs. reward factor and the reward is more reps for Josh Freeman. He only played in nine games. He needs to get more reps. The last thing you want is for him to get hurt [in a preseason game]. That is the thing that can get a coach fired.

Most teams will pull starters after the first series or so. You don’t need somebody for the Miami Dolphins to go UFC at Josh Freeman and go all Brock Lesner. How do you explain that to the Glazers?

David: Tell us about the left guard battle?

Richardson: It’s a close battle. Coaches were not that happy with [Jeremy] Zuttah’s performance last year. That’s not a surprise. Keydrick Vincent brings a dimension to this team, mean, nasty, “We will run it on you,” throw the middle fingers up, we don’t care. He has that swagger and if he inserts his will and gets bullish, that caught the coaches’ eyes.

Zuttah has stepped up. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. Very close battle right now.

David: Tell us what you are seeing on special teams, such as the punter Brent Bowden.

Richardson: Richard Bisaccia is very hard on the players but they love him because he is fair. I have not seen Clifton Smith much, he’s nursing a hamstring. Not seeing him on the practice field and other guys are getting reps, I’m curious to see, with his injury and two concussions… he’s the most dynamic guy as far as kick return but we’ll see if he has the opportunity to come back or not.

Bowden? We will have to see what he does on Saturdays and Sundays. He has no one to compete against. The Bucs need a punter.

The special teams have always been a good, solid unit. It’s an area with a least amount of injuries.

David: Are Brian Price and Myron Lewis not going to Miami?

Richardson: The rookies need to get reps. Price was expected to compete for a starting job but right now he is way too far behind to complete for a starting job. Myron Lewis, there are high expectations of him but when you are nursing a hamstring injury, those are tricky sometimes. If you push it too much you do more damage. It’s frustrating to spend high draft picks on guys who can’t play. It’s not their fault. Their bodies are telling them not to go.

Price was a luxury pick who now cannot play. It’s frustrating.

David: To see [Maurice] Stovall on the depth chart as opposite of Mike Williams, he has never done anything. Clayton and Benn are fourth and third string?

Richardson: I’m not surprised at Stovall. Kind of expected him to get an opportunity. Maybe the light bulb has clicked? Interesting about Clayton, he’s not fourth string. There is no fourth string. After the third string the category is “Other.” I don’t know what “other” is. I think it might be you should look for “other” team. You can’t have a guy with that salary like that at third for fourth or fifth string. He’ll have to do more than block. Unless he is totally, totally, totally standing out in preseason, who is going to trade for him? Nobody will trade for him with that salary.

Tom Korun of WFTS-TV Channel 28 documents Derrick Brooks’ goodbye to his playing days in this video.

Joe’s not the only one bracing for blacked out Bucs games.

JoeBucsFan.com has learned that advertisers in the WFLA-TV, Ch. 8 broadcast of the Bucs-Chiefs home preseason game on Saturday, Aug. 21, have been warned the game might not be shown live. And, if blacked out, the broadcast would be rescheduled to air at 11 a.m. the following day.

Joe took a break from bringing you loads of cool information from the Sirius NFL Radio tour stop yesterday at One Buc Palace to do a bit of real journalism.

(Might as well dust off that damned journalism degree Joe has stashed in his office desk drawer at home).

Bucs beat writer Anwar Richardson, of The Tampa Tribune, said today there was a possibility of both Bucs home preseason games being blacked out, during an appearance on The King David Show on WQYK-AM 1010.

So Joe then started working his phone.

Under the condition of anonymity, a knowledgable source at Media General, owner of The Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV Channel 8, which owns the broadcast rights for Bucs preseason gams, delivered Joe some disturbing information that reinforced Richardson’s contention: that Bucs preseason blackouts are a strong likelihood.

This is the verbatim response Joe got from his source:

Joe: Heard Anwar on the radio suggest Bucs home preseason games may be blacked out. True or false?

Source: Very true. Only saving grace would be if the Bucs decide to eat the tickets at the last second. Everyone who bought ads for the broadcasts have already been warned. Blackout would cover Bay area/Orlando. Fort Myers and Tallahassee would be spared.

Joe then decided to call cool cat Dan Lucas, sports director for WFLA-TV. Lucas told Joe that games have up to 72 hours before kickoff to sell out. If the deadline is not met, the NFL has the option of blacking out the live broadcast of the game. Lucas said, however, that WFLA is proceeding with standard broadcast plans as normal unless told otherwise by the NFL.

If the Chiefs-Bucs game, for example, is blacked out, WFLA will broadcast the game on a tape delayed basis the next day, Sunday, Aug. 22 at 11 a.m.

Additionally, Lucas said, NFL Network games could be affected as well. The NFL Network rebroadcasts all NFL preseason games. If a Bucs home preseason game is blacked out, the NFL Network cannot broadcast that specific Bucs game until the local affiliate has first aired the game. So the first broadcast of all Bucs preseason games, live or tape delayed, will be seen on WFLA before being shown on  NFL Network.

Joe sees a preseason Bucs blackout as a great way for Team Glazer to shock the fan base into the real possibility of regular season games being blacked out locally for the first time since the mid-1990s.

After tens of thousands of empty seats at Bucs games last year, it’s clear that desperate measures will need to be taken to get the whole 2010 schedule on TV.

Clarification:  It is the NFL, not the Bucs, which deems a locally broadcast game to be blacked out.

Former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was on fire yesterday on Sirius NFL Radio, displaying a deep working knowledge of the Bucs; it almost seemed like he had a real passion for pewter and red. 

Joe was impressed.

Cowher had a lot to say about Josh Freeman and how Greg Olson needs to dial the offensive playbook way back for his young receivers on opening day because they just won’t be able to handle all the speed and complexities of the game by then.

Cowher also was concerned that Freeman is so coachable he could be overcoached and lose confidence.

“You look at Josh, I think Josh is someone that can sometimes take in too much information. I think you’ve got to be very careful and let him just play. That’s the thing with a guy like Josh, just play. Believe what you see. Trust it. And then make a reaction and go with it. If it’s wrong, he’ll learn from it. But don’t try to overmanage him,” Cowher said. “Because I think Josh Freeman is a guy who is going to soak up [everything told to him], so too many people in his hear could make him too mechanical.

“And that’s the only thing I would be concerned about with the guy. I think he has everything. I think you just got to let this kid play. Let him break the pocket. Let him improvise at times. Those are the greatest plays in the world, because the defense won’t know what you’re doing because you don’t know what you’re doing.

“Let him develop as a quarterback confidently and don’t question him. Be careful because potentially you could overcoach him.”

Cowher’s take makes sense on the surface, but Joe’s never developed a quarterback before.

One person Freeman won’t have to worry about being in his ear? A veteran backup.

Stuck at your computer while arguably the great Bucs player of all time talks to the fourth estate at 1:30 p.m. about his retirement?

Joe is here to help.

If one wants to watch the video of Brooks’ address, this link will bring you to Buccaneers.com. which is streaming the video live.

For those with nasty IT Nazis monitoring your every keystroke who cannot watch video at work, Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620 will steam the audio of the Brooks press conference live via their website.

Joe always looks out for his readers. You are welcome.

As an added bonus, Brooks will be a special guest of the dean of Tampa Bay sports media, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620.