Lovie Smith is one of the all-time great optimists. The man could see light in a black hole. [read more]

What will Bucs GM Jason Licht do in the coming hours?

Joe has written it before and will write it again: There are nine potential spots where the Bucs could use an upgrade. And compared to some, Joe is being conservative.

We all know the positions; the most important are quarterback, offensive line and defensive end. [read more]

Former Bucs great Ronde Barber sounds off

Yesterday was a beautiful day to hang at the beach. Others thought it better to waste time at a golf course.

(Joe’s not a golf guy. Never grew up around it; never understood the appeal. Always thought it was ungodly boring. Joe tried golfing. Too many Arnold Palmer-wannabes trying to turn Joe into some PGA guy. Joe just wanted to chop up dirt and drink a cooler of Bud Light. Hell, Joe never even kept score. What’s the point? Golf just isn’t Joe’s scene. Way too snotty. Folks are just too uptight.) [read more]

Left tackle Jake Long, a former first round pick of the Dolphins, was cut last night by the Rams.

Yes, the Bucs need a left tackle, especially with the expected release of Anthony Collins.

The Bucs have been rumored to be linked to the courting of Packers tackle Bryan Bulaga, a monster who is injury prone. [read more]

Clarity emerges

Joe’s really getting a kick out of news tonight that the Cincinnati Bengals would want ghostly and ghastly Michael Johnson back, if the Buccaneers cut him and spare their fans another haunted season. [read more]

The Custodian of Canton, eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune, hit the national radio airwaves this afternoon with Mike Florio and highlighted the frustration of many Bucs fans. [read more]

In many ways, Tampa Bay’s 2014 season was more bizarre than the MRSA-infected, quarterback-gone-mental, Fire-Schiano-billboards campaign of 2013.

There were plenty of real Bucs mysteries last year, and Joe’s revisiting the most interesting of the bunch. [read more]

Giants free agent linebacker Jacquian Williams, a Tampa native, is on the Bucs’ radar.

A Bucs area needing help outside of offensive line is linebacker (sans Lavonte David).

Incumbent MLB Mason Foster is a free agent, and all signs point to the Bucs letting him walk. Danny Lansanah, an outside linebacker, could play in the middle, but lukewarm reviews from both Bucs coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier last season mean that is probably a last resort. [read more]

Titans free-agent-to-be starting defensive end Derrick Morgan just turned 26 and has 19 sacks over the last three years — three years in which he missed a total of just one game. [read more]

The spreadsheeters are really down on Bucs CB Johnthan Banks.

This is Joe’s take on analytics: It’s a piece of the puzzle. It’s information. But by no means should analytics dictate decisions by an NFL team.

Joe learned way back in high school one can twist numbers to reinforce any given premise. [read more]

Target for NFC South rival?

Updated 2:29 p.m.: As Joe has written for months, the days of Mason Foster playing linebacker for the Bucs are numbered. Joe does not write this with any glee.

Joe likes Foster. One of the best guys in the locker room. And who doesn’t like his devotion to Ric Flair? [read more]

Joe reads the buzz this morning, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports, that Tampa Bay is bidding with the Seahawks, Bengals, Seahawks and Patriots for the services of defensive end Jabaal Sheard. [read more]

Who will return kicks and punts for Bucs special teams guru Kevin O’Dea?

Joe would have a had a warm feeling if Ted Ginn, Jr. signed to play for the Bucs this year.

Tampa Bay needs a legitimate returner and could use receiver depth. [read more]

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, former national champion Jameis Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s daily nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback ever to wear No. 5 in the state of Florida. [read more]

Would the Bucs have pounced?

Despite a case of Jameis fever, Joe admits to being intrigued by chatter out of Houston last night that claimed the 49ers put franchise quarterback Colin Kaepernick on the trading block. [read more]

Given the Bucs’ lowly record and uncertainty at quarterback, it could take one helluva sales pitch by Bucs GM Jason Light to land any free agents.

The Bucs signed a lot of their own Saturday, four in fact. Still, as Sunday grew dark, later thanks to the glory of Daylight Saving Time, some Bucs fans began to grow irritated the team had not come to an agreement with any free agents. [read more]

Scrub Rams QB Shaun Hill is being courted by the Bucs.

What little hopes Bucs fans had for the 2014 season seemed to be washed away in the gutter during Week 2, when the Rams came into the Den of Depression (soon to be re-named Raymond Jameis Stadium?) and punked the Bucs. [read more]

You can argue who is better, Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy, all day long, but there is no arguing on who will get paid a lot more over the next six years. [read more]

Damn, they get really defensive in Oregon if you start asking how the Portland Timbers have sold out every game and questioning how Marcus Mariota will be prepared to run an NFL offense. [read more]

NFL Free agency is so darn fun.

It’s hope, frustration, excitement, fear and agent lies all rolled into a free-flowing mess. [read more]

Joe was stunned yesterday when he learned, by way of Houston sports radio yakker Jayson Braddock, that the Texans were trying to lure Bucs free agent defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, but the Bucs were trying to keep him. [read more]