After the virgin center experience of Garrett Gilkey last year, Joe has learned to embrace the little things, such as claiming a backup center today that has real NFL experience. [read more]

Last year, Joe deemed fifth-round picks of offensive linemen Kadeem Edwards and Kevin Pamphile the “Milk Cartons” because they were missing in action. Joe can’t remember one single block either made. [read more]

New Bucs QB Ryan Griffin.

Uh, oh…

Seems the drama torch at One Buc Palace has been lit. The Bucs released the list of players AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht selected off waivers. Among them is a new Bucs quarterback! [read more]

How will Lovie Smith counter and attack the Titans starting a rookie right tackle?

In seven days, Tennessee will start a rookie third-round pick at right tackle.

What are you made of, Lovie Smith, Bucs’ defensive shot caller? [read more]

Did the Bucs make the best choices for Jameis Winston?

Joe does not underestimate the value of coaching and the value of experience.

It’s one reason Joe scratched his head when the Bucs hired a first-time NFL quarterbacks coach for Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, and didn’t have a savvy veteran QB in training camp to help drive Jameis. [read more]

How does a second-year player who started 16 games last year at right guard get cut from a team that has only one guard on the roster with any NFL regular-season experience at the position? [read more]

Here’s the breakdown, position by position: [read more]

Lovie seems OK with the offensive line.

Nothing rankled Bucs fans this offseason quite like the offensive line. Despite AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht drafting two offensive linemen in the second round and signing a former first-round pick of an offensive tackle, fans remain irritated, as if they showed up at a bar sober and heard the awful cry, “Last call!” [read more]

However …

Tampa Bay Times beat writer Rick Stroud is Twittering that the Bucs have waved good-bye to 2015 sixth-round pick Kaelin Clay. [read more]

Word flowing around Twitter this morning is that the Raiders will cut former Vikings and Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder today. [read more]

Lovie preparing for what he refers to as the second draft this weekend.

It was common for Bucs fans to pace so much at night that they wore a path in their bedroom rug fretting over the edge rush.

There really wasn’t much to fret about because there wasn’t much of a rush to even get worked up over. [read more]

Tim Jennings speaks out

So let’s get this straight, the Bears cut good citizen cornerback (sans the bad driving) Tim Jennings, a 2012 and 2013 Pro Bowler with $4.4 million of guaranteed money on his contract.

When does that happen to a healthy NFL player? [read more]

This was a different kind of radio appearance for Joe.

Todd Wright, filling in on WDAE-AM 620, brought Joe on the air for a cerebral, big-picture kind of chat. [read more]

It’s not about that. … More nonsense is flowing. 

There is some credibility, Joe believes, to the notion that rookie quarterbacks learn best from the sidelines.

It is no coincidence Aaron Rodgers had years to acclimate to the NFL while watching Brett Farve work his magic. When Rodgers did assume signal-calling duties for the Packers, made about as smooth of a transition as you will ever see. [read more]

No “Afro Thunder” running routes for the Bucs this season

Per the Twittering of Bucs beat writer Greg Auman, rookie fifth-round wide receiver Kenny Bell will wait until next year to make his mark on the NFL. [read more]

Jason Licht needs to find the next Ted Larsen in a hurry

Before Garrett Gilkey suffered a significant injury last night, Joe wrote a story about how general manager Jason Licht must jump all over guards that hit waivers on Saturday.

But now things have reached crisis mode. [read more]

Bucs icon Ronde Barber seemed to have a philosophical clash with Lovie Smith while serving as an analyst on the Bucs-Dolphins game last night.

Barber dared to say turnovers “are impossible to count on” for a defense. [read more]

Not interested

During the fourth quarter of last night’s worthless fourth preseason game, AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht talked Bucs with TV play-by-play man Chris Myers and analyst Ronde Barber.

Licht sort of offered a peek behind the scenes of a day in the life of a GM. [read more]

As Joe likes to tell friends, “In the end, things work out.”

So Joe uses that philosophy when looking back at the complete and total trainwreck that ensued from virtually the moment Lovie Smith took the podium as the new Bucs coach — to the team walking off the field after losing (winning, actually) to the Saints to end the horrific 2-14 season. [read more]