Kyle Moore is lean and mean, and one of the legitimate reasons to be hopeful for the 2010 season, so says THE OPTIMIST. JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett.

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also wants you to get to know THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the team goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t.

It’s so close now you can smell it; or perhaps that’s the $1 hot dogs the Glazers grilled at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday.

Forget the half-empty stadium at the Falcons-Bucs season finale last year; hope springs anew here in August. But in order for hope to really be believed in, there must be tangible evidence for us to grab hold of. So I present to you some things to sink your claws into for 2010 that should get you not only excited for what could happen, but what eventually will happen this season and beyond.

The defense is not undergoing wholesale changes this year like it was last season. And players are not being asked to do something they were not built/prepared for, instead simply learning some new wrinkles to an old familiar friend; The Tampa-2.

At the heart of this defense is the engine that drives it all, the defensive line. Rookie Gerald McCoy is the key man in the operation, shooting and slicing his way into opposing backfields from his 3-technique stance the way Warren Sapp used to, and old No.99 has been in McCoy’s ear as of late, as well as Brian Price, the fellow rookie who can also provide a speed rush from the right DT position. But Price will man the left DT spot along with second-year man Roy Miller. This, Bucs fans, gives us the most hope we have had in a long time.

Gone are old vets and pinning hope on the recycled careers of Kevin Carter and Ryan Sims, guys who you knew what you were getting because they had given it before.

Now we have guys whose better playing days are in front of them rather than behind, and we get to watch the transition from one to the other on our TV sets (or radios if need be). Kyle Moore has lost the weight he gained from last year’s Jim Bates experiment (debacle) and can operate the left defensive end position, while old timer Stylez White will try to hold kids off the right DE job he has sunk his teeth into since the end of ’09.

These linebackers are no longer part of an experiment, either. Geno Hayes made enough splash plays last year to get another look at the Will linebacker spot, with Double Nickel giving him tips. Quincy Black is as solid at the Sam linebacker spot as Ryan Nece or Cato June has been for the last several years. And Barrett Ruud will get maybe his last full-season opportunity to prive he can be a major impact player as a defensive quarterback in the middle and deserving of the big, long term contract he so covets.

As for the strong secondary, safety Sabby Piscitelli will either put up or shut up at with free agent Sean Jones go head-to-head with him for his job. Some say Jones is already penned in on a depth chart on a desk somewhere, but that remains to be seen.

It is no secret which side of the ball drives this team, no matter what year it is. In 2005, the transition from Brian Griese to Chris Simms was a rocky one, but the No.1 ranked defense gave them time to fix their problems.

It didn’t matter how much productivity you had from the offense in 2006, because losing too many defensive coaches resulted in poor safety play and a poor pass rush.

2010 is no different; this team may sound like its relying on Josh Freeman or Cadillac Williams, or even Kellen Winslow Jr. It is NOT.

It is relying on Raheem Morris to coordinate that defense to keep the games close into the fourth quarter like it did against Seattle and New Orleans on the road last year. How well the rookies play on the defensive line may have the biggest say in how well the Bucs chase or catch the 10-win goal Morris has set for his team.

Some fans might think this news is about seven months too late, but Bill Cowher will be roaming the sidelines at Bucs practice tomorrow.

Cowher is a special guest analyst on the Sirius NFL Radio Training Camp Tour (not to be confused with The Blackout Tour), which stops at One Buc Palace tomorrow. Cowher will join Movin’ The Chains hosts Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan at Bucs practice and talk all things Buccaneers from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Surely, they will have plenty of Bucs guests and insider information.

Joe wonders whether Cowher will talk about who on the Bucs’ roster is a good fit for his a 3-4 defense.

Fanhouse.com NFL writer Chris Harry compiled this intelligent video preview of the 2010 Bucs.

It’s got plenty of training footage for those who can never watch enough blocking.

Watch more FanHouse videos on AOL Video

Is this your new goal line fullback?

Joe’s gotta give Raheem the Dream some credit. He’s thinking outside the box.

Remember the halcyon days of Chucky when he used Warren Sapp as a tight end? He even caught a touchdown. Raheem the Dream is taking a page from Chucky and perhaps writing a new chapter.

“Playing Both Sides Of The Ball”

Anyone who went to Bucs training camp last week or watched the Bucs carnival of football Saturday night at the CITS noticed Raheem the Dream trying different things, meaning players playing foreign positions. Roy Miller playing fullback, for example.

It’s those types of moves that Raheem the Dream hopes helps put the Bucs over the top in close games, writes Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Morris has to be as resourceful as his players because NFL teams can dress only 45 players for regular season games and quality depth can be an issue at one position, depending on greater needs elsewhere.

“That’s me thinking about game-day rosters. Us trying to be pro-active instead of re-active,” Morris said. “That’s us, forming our team. The more roles you can create for people on game day, the more roster spots you can have.

“Every once in a while people go down (injured) in these games. You have 45 guys and you have to figure out what you’re going to do. Do you just throw the (goal-line offense) package out the window and you’re done with it for that day? Or do you have guys that can go out and play and compete? We’re just setting ourself up for all those situations.”

Even linebacker Adam Heyward has practiced some fullback. Given that he’s a backup, Balog notes, Heyward is hungry to get any type of playing time; he even has a touchdown dance ready.

You’ll have to read Balog’s story to find out who Heyward patterned his celebration after. It’s a good read from a good guy.

JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett

Last year, Raheem The Dream made a handful of comments comparing his new regime to the early years of the Tony Dungy era.

Joe wrote a few times about how those were almost ridiculous analogies.

Today, speaking on The Ron and Ian Show, on WDAE-AM 620, Dungy talked about some of the challenges facing the Bucs and about how Raheem The Dream might be better served to play his first team a little longer than he plans to during the preseason opener in Miami on Saturday.

Raheem The Dream told the media that his first unit might only get one series against the Dolphins, so recorded Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman. 

Under Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay fielded a veteran team and Buc starters played sparingly throughout the four exhibition games. Although the 2010 Bucs have only two players older than 31, cornerback Ronde Barber and guard Keydrick Vincent, it appears the overall philosophy hasn’t changed.

Morris indicated Tampa Bay’s starters, including second-year quarterback Josh Freeman, may not play past the opening series.

“Every once in a while, you want to see a younger player go, so you let him out there a little longer, or if you’re trying a guy at a different position,” said Morris. “Hopefully, it’s a series apiece for the offense and defense … about 12 snaps apiece and get ’em off the field.”

Dungy explained how he set out to have his 1996 team establish an identity immediately and stick to it at all costs.

Dungy said the Bucs strayed from their plan last year and are trying to re-establish that core identity. For that reason, Dungy said, he would consider giving the Bucs starters more time in Miami so they could really form that identity on the field.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has a few things he loves about the Bucs. He also has a few things he hates about the Bucs.

In the immortal words of America’s voice of reason, Bill O’Reilly, what say you Bucs fans?

Fans got a look at Quincy Black improving in his first season as a starter last year, and Raheem The Dream has expressed very high hopes for the fourth-year linebacker this season.

Yesterday, Raheem The Dream explained in more detail during his news conference that Black’s growth on the field is part of a personal transformation — from slacker to hard worker.

“Quincy Black is a guy I talked to a lot. He told me. Admittedly so, He said, ‘i kinda coasted through those first two years.’ And he said, ‘it’s my own fault.’ He said, ‘then i developed just a hunger and an itch,” Raheem The Dream said. “Once he became our starting SAM [linebacker], you really started to see the kid get better and better every week. And developed into just a freak athlete man out there.

And now, he’s at that point of his career where he’s going to either, you know, ascend to just greatness, or he’s just going to be, you know, OK. And the decision he’s making right now has got all of greatness pointing towards him.”

Ultimately, players have to be self motivated. And Joe is as hopeful as the next guy about Black.

Joe does find it odd that Black didn’t have his head completely in the right place during the Monte Kiffin era. And Joe remembers the story of Gaines Adams not giving his all in the weight room at that time. And Geno Hayes saying that he didn’t watch film in 2008.

Given those three scenarios, it seems to Joe that something was going wrong when it came to Gruden, Kiffin and young defensive players.

Just hours after watching his father inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bucs rookie safety Cody Grimm was given an honor of sorts himself. Raheem the Dream has the seventh round draft pick working on the second team.

Which brings Joe to a question: Is Bucs general manager Mark Dominik trying to light another fire under Sabby the Goat?

No one, not even Sabby the Goat, will deny the Bucs starting safety last year struggled. Others may use more pointed, colorful words Joe doesn’t like to use without suffering ugly flashbacks of nuns and rulers. Sabby the Goat struggled so much last year that Dominik wasted little time in the offseason to sign a free agent strong safety to battle Sabby the Goat this summer, Sean Jones.

So if Jones and Sabby the Goat are getting equal reps on the first team, as Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune documents, and Grimm is planted on the second team, well, Joe’s not a math major but that’s three strong safeties on the first two teams.

Dominik has been no less than effusive for Grimm, waxing poetic with Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620 while deftly dodging any reference to Sabby the Goat and/or Sean Jones. Later, Dominik was equally giddy over Grimm in an article by The Mad Twitterer of the St. Petersburg Times.

And while Raheem the Dream spread some love Sabby the Goat’s way Monday (though not answering a question if Jones is pushing him), is Dominik trying to send a strong message to Sabby the Goat (and too, perhaps Jones) that he really needs to show marked improvement in this month’s preseason games, or could Grimm actually supplant Sabby the Goat on the Bucs roster?

Colleagues good guy Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times and The Mad Twitterer discuss in this St. Petersburg Times video Josh Freeman and the two-minute drill as well as injuries concerning the Bucs.

Former Bucs great and current NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp interviews Bucs rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy in this NFL Network video.

McCoy talks about a number of things including his roommate in training camp, what he feels his objective this year needs to be, hazing and who he looks up to for veteran leadership on the Bucs.

As for his rookie season, McCoy said the Bucs are on a “race to 10” wins.

Joe has long suspected that Raheem The Dream was running the Bucs’ defense before Jim Bates was kicked out of town, and now Mark Dominik has confirmed it during an interview on WDAE-AM 620.

Joe is doubtful Dominik mis-spoke during the interview, considering Raheem The Dream himself last year detailed how Bates convinced him what to call during a key moment in the Bucs’ Week 10 game in Miami.

Yet Bates was fired after Week 11.

Responding to Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620 on Saturday night, Dominik answered a request to evaluate his head coach’s peformance.

Here’s his reply verbatim:

Mark Dominik: Well coach Morris has done a very good job in the offseason program. And I think we saw a lot of it start by Week 10 last year when he took over the play calling.

You know, you saw a different defense, obviously, you saw a Tampa 2 defense that really got after people and was a lot more productive, a lot more aggressive and certainly we held opponents to a lower point total. I think from that point forward he really honed in on that head coaching job. I think that he really did a good job those final six weeks. What he parlayed that into is what I think is a great postseason plan.

…. We moved the offseason program, post-draft, to get all these rookies and these young players as many reps as possible. …I gotta hand it to Coach Morris and his staff and also our training staff… in terms of getting these guys through all these grueling weeks we live here in Tampa, as we know how hot these summers are, to walk out at the first day in training camp and have all 80 men suit up and go to practice. We are one of only two teams in the National Football Team, I believe, that were able to do that.

…So he’s done a great job of setting it up, and getting everyone on the same page with Coach Olson being here. …I’m excited.

No question Raheem The Dream had a huge learning curve last season. The guy basically got two promotions in a matter of weeks to became one of the co-masterminds of a new Bucs regime.

Of course, he then proceeded to show he was not up to the job after quickly harpooning his hand-picked coordinators and bungling the early development of his top draft pick.

But Raheem The Dream went on to show improvement, and Dominik now explains that Raheem The Dream “really honed in on that head coaching job” after Bates was defrocked. (Of course, that implies Raheem The Dream was over his head prior to that point).

It’s all old news, but many fans hang their 2010 happy hat on the Bucs’ improvement coming when Morris took over the defense.

Well, now it seems he took it over a bit earlier and kept running the two-gap system, essentially trying to jam the wrong personnel into it for two more games.

This is all very interesting.

Former Bucs great and future Hall of Fame player Warren Sapp unearthed an interesting piece of Bucs history this afternoon.

Twittering as he is wont to do, Sapp snapped a photo of some document that had a final list of names to call Tampa Bay’s NFL franchise which was awarded to the area in the early 1970s.

Seems as Buccaneers won out over Crackers.

@QBKILLA: Look What They Considered Naming The Buccaneers at One Time!! What I Miss??

Wow. Dodged the bullet there. The other names seemed strange too. Rough Riders is an ode to Tampa’s history, but just about everyone outside of Florida would have thought it was named after a Canadian Football League team.

Someone explain to Joe the significance of “76ers.” Joe hopes it’s not a take off on the non-basketball association team in Philly.

Various reports from the Bucs press corps on Twitter say Aqib Talib has a “tweaked” groin pull and some have suggested he is day-to-day (all together now: aren’t we all?).

This may be the least of the Bucs’ concerns with bad muscles. Talib could sit out most of the rest of training camp and Joe would bet a cold adult beverage Talib will be just fine when the Bucs open the season against the Browns.

Brian Price may be another matter.

The rookie defensive tackle from UCLA, who tore about training camp like a man possessed in the first few days, has been shelved due to a bad hamstring that has bothered him since this spring. It’s not a stretch (bad pun) to believe this may be a recurring issue for the season.

Putting Price on the sidelines for a few practices, or weeks, won’t help until that hamstring is fully recovered.

Talib will be fine. Price, maybe not so much.

Learning of Mark Dominik’s hefty praise of Reggie Brown Saturday likely caused cheers across the Bay area, as fans got to hear the writing scratched on the wall for blocking icon Michael Clayton.

Yes, Joe knows Dominik invested heavily in Clayton and still owes him a pile of money. But Dominik also has his name on Reggie Brown, and if Brown makes the team, that leaves no room for the blocking icon.

Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn,  Sammie Stroughter, Maurice Stovall, Reggie Brown are all ahead of Clayton for sure right now, especially considering Stovall’s special teams prowess and now Brown’s fresh love from Dominik.

Would the Bucs keep six receivers? Joe thinks that’s pretty doubtful considering the team’s likely desire to get Kareem Huggins on the roster.

Wide receiver Preston Parker seems destined for the practice squad.

The tea leaves are grim for the blocking icon. Perhaps only an injury can keep him around.

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"I'm not lethargic eye-RAH! I didn't have to call mom yesterday for a ride!"

Joe was under the impression that Raheem the Dream was giving the Bucs a break?

First, Saturday was hardly a practice; more like a football carnival. Joe understands all the players went through some drills but it wasn’t like a hard-hitting, intense two-hour practice in the middle of the roasting Florida afternoon sun.

Then, Sunday, Raheem the Dream gave the team the day off.

Joe assumes between the two decisions by Raheem the Dream, the Bucs would have refreshed legs and have a vibrant practice today.

That doesn’t seem to be the case for the offensive line. That’s the work Twittered by Tampa Tribune’s eye-RAH! Kaufman who scolded the Bucs offensive line on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed this morning.

Bucs OL looks sloppy and lethargic right now.

Interestingly, Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger noted practice this morning had some intensity, as he Twittered from One Buc Palace.

Maybe the offensive line decided to do some bonding yesterday, and perhaps bonded a bit too much?

JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett

What? Mark Dominik isn’t talking about a goal of 10 wins like Raheem The Dream is?

Talk about tempering expectations. What the hell is this? If the GM can’t be a voice of rabid optimism, who should be?

Of course, Joe gets Dominik playing it cool with a team full of rookies and young players, but it still would be nice to hear him more fired up about the chance of a great season. Oh well, Joe supposes that’s the job of the 49,000 out there on opening day against Cleveland.

Dominik explained the Bucs organization’s mindset on the 2010 season during an exclusive interview with Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620 on Saturday night. The GM also dropped some unsolicited love on Reggie Brown. (Goodbye, Mr. Clayton).

Mark Dominik: For us as an organization, for what our expectations are, is to be a very competitive football team and see the growth of this team that I believe we should have. I want to be competitive. I want to see the team that we were, especially those last three weeks. …I want to be a competitive footall team, and we need to be.

You know, we got to see the development from our quarterback position, obviously. But I want to see these young players come in and contribute, like Gerald McCoy, like a Mike Williams or Arrelious Benn, Sammie Stroughter, who’s had a really good camp. But I’m really excited about a Reggie Brown, too, that we traded for from the Philadelphia Eagles, whose come in here. He’s battling for the starting job also. Setting the tempo up front with the run game is important to us. I think all Buccaneers fans understand that, as well. There’s a lot of expectations on this organization and on myself included.

If Dominik wants to see the Bucs be competitive as they were later in the season — 3-6 after Freeman became the starter —  then it seems to Joe that Dominik will be satisfied with playing close games, winning six, and seeing a good percentage of his draft picks (2009 & 2010) shine.

Joel Glazer was right. Rebuilding is very painful.

When it comes to locking up talented young players to long term contracts, Mark Dominik doesn’t look at Davin Joseph like he did Donald Penn.

Joseph apparently has more to prove than Penn and his position isn’t as important, per Dominik’s comments Saturday night to Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620.

Justin Pawlowski: How does the CBA come into effect in giving Penn an extension and maybe not giving extensions to other guys that have one year left on their deals, like Davin Joseph or Jeremy Trueblood or Barrett Ruud?

Mark Dominik: We saw Davin in a little bit of different light. You know, obviously, he’s been tendered two years in a row. He’s kind of been on a one-year deal for his last three or four years. For us, obviously, the blind side of the quarterback, as Sandra Bullock decided to make so popular, is that important. And Josh Freeman is that important to this organization. And we felt like that Donald Penn did play well last year. An important thing for us was to meet with Donald the entire offseason. We sent coaches out there. We had him come to Tampa. We met with him in Tampa. We’re making sure that he’s doing the right things going the right direction. We felt very comfortable about that. The CBA does play a big part of it, in terms of how you want to structure a contract, how the payouts going to be, because there is the unknown coming into March of next year. I’m a big believer that at the end of the day we love this game, the fans love the game, the players love the game, so I think it’s going to be just fine. But you had to take that into account. And I think Donald looked at that, as well, and thought, ‘I want to be with this team. I want to have a long term career with this football team.’ …And we were able to consummate a deal that was a good deal for both sides that we both feel comfortable about. And we got him in here, and very happy about that. And we’ve got other guys on this football team that Coach Morris and I are very fond of and that we like a lot, and we’re ready to see some of those guys play some football and we’ll see what goes going forward.

Joe gets that left tackle (Penn) is a higher priority position than right guard (Joseph).

But after a 3-13 season in which the Bucs didn’t have much of a running game, wouldn’t that be the ideal time to get a good deal on Joseph, who clearly should be a cornerstone of the Bucs’ line of years to come?

Man, some people are so fixated on the draft, that not even the dawn of a new season can shift their eyes from April 2011 and the next draft. It really amazes Joe.

One query into the TBO Bucs Q&A feature believes the Bucs highest priority in next spring’s draft will be running back.

Q:  I believe next year in the 2011 draft our most pressing needs will be RB, DE and OT/OG. Do you guys agree?

I think depending on how Vincent plays this year or maybe a long-term replacement for Zuttah.

We need a splash playmaker with speed to burn at RB as Cadillac is a possibility to get re-injured, but Kareem Huggins could be the guy given a chance.

At DE, the opportunites for sacks and backfield disruption should increase with the inclusion of McCoy and Price, so Kyle Moore, White and Crowder need to have at least a 5-6 sack year.

Daman Khangura, London, England

A:  It’s a little early to be talking about the 2011 draft, but it’s hard to argue with your list of priorities. I think a lot of what the Bucs will be aimed at determining what their greatest need moving forward is. Will it be a RB, a LT or a DE? Hard to know at this point, but I’d be willing to bet that those will all be top priorities come next draft day.

— Woody Cummings

While Joe believes running back is a need, not so sure the Bucs should spend a first round pick on running backs. Selecting a running back early is an expensive move. The shelf life of a running back is limited but they cost much.

Better to wait until the second round where a team gets better value at running back.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Joe has heard this a thousand times: Team Glazer is cheap.

Though Joe could understand how fans screamed this in unison so much and so often it was louder that the summer afternoon thunderclaps in the Tampa Bay area.

Joe was skeptical of this cry last year, and believes that Team Glazer dropping $110 million on the first weekend of training camp should put this chant to rest.

Some fans don’t want to believe this, but Bucs general manager Mark Dominik is trying to stock the roster full of young talent for a long stretch run of winning.

Count Peter King as a believer. In his must-read Monday Morning Quarterback today, the Sports Illustrated columnist, after sampling salty oatmeal at One Buc Palace last week, sees parallels between Dominik and former Bucs general manager Rich McKay in building a winner.

The Tampa Bay management is getting creamed locally for not spending money — the prevailing theory is that the massive financial problem of the Glazers, who own the Bucs, with British football power Manchester United is siphoning money from the operation of the Bucs — but I get the strong impression Tampa Bay wouldn’t have spent in free agency this year anyway. “We want to build a team through the draft and keep it intact,” Dominik said. “Like Tony said when he coached: ‘I don’t want a revolving door. I want to show loyalty to the guys we brought in and build a team the right way.’ That’s the way Raheem and I are operating now. Now, with two draft classes, I think we’re on our way.”

I asked Dungy if he thought the two situations –Tampa in 1996 and Tampa in 2010 — were comparable.

“I do,” he said. “We got a lot of criticism back then with our plan at first, because we lost five in a row at the start, and eight of our first nine. They wanted us to bench the quarterback and make all kinds of changes. I read some of the same criticisms now — the fans want to win now, which all fans do. If they’re patient, I think it’s going to pay off. I like the guys they’ve drafted.”

While it’s clear the Bucs are trying to build through the draft, the question Joe is left with is if Raheem the Dream will be around to see the fruits of the draft ripen?

JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett

Veteran scribes eye-RAH! Kaufman and Roy Cummings turn serious in this Bucs Beat Video Blog on TBO.com.

No, these two men are not debating the cup size of their favorite Bucs cheerleaders, they’re talking wide receiver depth charts.

Joe’s not going to spill the beans on the video, but both see the blocking icon as quite a longshot to make the roster.

And eye-RAH! seems a bit wowed by the sheer numbers of receivers on the Bucs right now.

Check it out.

"Why did they draft a hard-hitting safety when they have me?"

One young Buccaneer seems to be front and center on the mind of Bucs personnel czar Mark Dominik.

That would be rookie Cody Grimm, the seventh round pick who was a linebacker/special teams ace in college and is projected as a strong safety and special teams stud with the Bucs.

Dominik, speaking Saturday night to good guy and fantasy football guru Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, dodged a question about the battle between Sean Jones and Sabby The Goat by talking about Grimm.

Asked about Sabby The Goat and Jones, Dominik volunteered, “I’ve been very happy with the progress of Cody Grimm. … [Fans] are going to see this missile coming down the field. …Like Ronde Barber, he’s very astute.”

Joe’s looking forward to watching Grimm debut on Saturday in Miami.