Fans going to Thursday night’s game at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, when the Bucs open preseason play against the Baltimore Crows, will see quite a bit of second-, third- and even fourth-team players.

Stars like Doug Martin, Gerald McCoy, Dashon Goldson or Vincent Jackson? They will get enough snaps in to break a sweat and not much else, Bucs coach Greg Schiano noted via WDAE-AM 620 Bucs reporter Tom Krasniqi.

Don’t expect to see a whole lot of Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson or Gerald McCoy. With the rash of injuries taking place around the league, the Bucs will not put their star players at risk. Thursday’s game will provide an opportunity for those fringe players who are trying to make the roster. “I want to see how some of the 2nd and 3rd and 4th team guys compete. How do they compete when the lights come on….Can they do what they’ve been doing out there [at training camp}? Can they do it in the stadium against another team? Those are the things that are important. And can they do it for a sustained period of time…can they stay focused for a 3-hour football game and stay in the game and not have a mental lapse,” said Schiano.

Thursday’s game is a lot more important for the likes of Rashaan Melvin, Steven Means and Chris Owusu. Players like them who have flashed during camp and are fighting for roster spots. The coaching staff wants to see it translate over to game action. Thursday night will be their opportunity to showcase their talents.

This is the smart way to go. Why the hell would you risk some of your best players in a glorified scrimmage? The important game to get ready for is Week One of the regular season in the New Jersey Swamplands.

If Joe were Schiano, the starters would play one series. That’s it.

Earnest Graham talks about preseason games and shares a take on how Warren Sapp may have saved his career

Who better than the Bucs’ former Mr. August, Earnest Graham, to dive into what players and teams need to accomplish in preseason.

Graham offered great perspective explaining how preseason is time for a player to state his case, and Graham revealed rare Bucs history in this interview below from the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620.

Graham recalled that he fumbled in his first exhibition game in Japan following the Super Bowl victory. And a certain No. 99 sat him down for a long discussion about how confident No. 99 was in undrafted Graham’s ability and how a Buccaneer Man needed to respond to adversity.

“Warren did a lot for me in my first preseason game. So sometimes those types of things are set out in the preseason games, who’s going to respond to the current culture in the locker room,” Graham said. (Enjoy the audio below.)

NFL Network, the Man Channel, sent longtime Giants center Shaun O’Hara to One Buc Palace today to study all things Josh Freeman and more at practice.

O’Hara took to the airwaves after practice and showered Freeman with positive scrutiny. Catch the full video here.

Former Saints DB Darren Sharper, the man who nicknamed Freeman “Six Flags” for his rollercoaster play, also chimes in the video and calls Freeman a franchise quarterback who just needs to minimize interceptions.

So much love for Freeman and his practice habits and production. There’s really no excuse for him to not be successful in his fifth season. The whole no-excuses nature of 2013 really has Joe jacked up for opening day.

In 2011, the Bucs linebacker unit was no less than disgraceful. For every play Geno Hayes made, he blew three. Rookie middle linebacker Mason Foter was not only playing out of position at the time, he was also overwhelmed. Quincy Black was lost.

Things began to change last year when rookie Lavonte David almost single-handedly turned the Bucs into the most fearsome rush defense in the NFL. There was no question David, even as a rookie, was the best linebacker on the roster, and one could argue he was the Bucs’ best defender.

Greg Schiano thought so much of David, as a rookie no less, David called defensive plays from Week 1.

Impressed by David as a rookie? Well, hold on. He should even be better than last year.

“Without a doubt,” Bucs linebacker Dekoda Watson said after practice today. “He is a lot smarter than he was last year and that’s not to say he was dumb or anything. He is way ahead of a lot of us. He is still climbing that ladder. He is a phenomenal player.

“He is our leader. He is the leading tackler on the team. When he speaks, people listen. He doesn’t speak a lot but when he does, it is meaningful. So he is definitely a leader.”

Even Bucs coach Greg Schiano simply gushed about David during his daily post-practice press conference.

“Well, I think Lavonte is a really good football player,” Schiano said. “You can see improvement in his game, which I thought he played very well last year. But, he’s better now than he was any time last year, which is good for us. Physical, can run, smart, loves the game, studies the game. Those are pretty good traits to have.”

Joe never in his life thought he would see the next Derrick Brooks. But the second-year linebacker out of Nebraska seems to be a Brooks clone. He has every quality Brooks possessed. Though it may be heresy, David may just be the second coming of Brooks.

Bucs fans will see an awful lot of Mike Glennon Thursday night in the preseason opener. Joe would be surprised if Josh Freeman got more than two offensive series.

But how much of the playbook can Glennon handle? Joe chatted to Glennon about that today, and Joe walked away feeling like Glennon, as he’s said previously, is still deep in a learning curve.

“I’m sure they’ll call plays to my strength, plays I’m comfortable with as of now,” Glennon said.

What kind of plays, Mike?

“Just plays that I’ve run for a long time dating back to college and plays that I’ve had success with here in training camp,” he said.

Glennon’s parents are flying in for his professional debut and he’s excited to learn from the experience.

Joe sure hopes the Bucs’ second-team offensive line holds up for Glennon. Running for his life is not Glennon’s strength. He’s a giant target with pulling-guard speed.

Joe noticed something new the past couple of days (no, not just the upgrade in Bucs cheerleaders this season). Monday and today, Joe noticed several designed rollouts by Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman.

Last season, Bucs coach Greg Schiano all but forbade Freeman to roll out, for twofold reasons: Schiano didn’t want to see Freeman hurt, and Schiano was desperately trying to cut down on Freeman’s picks from the previous hideous season, in which Freeman played Santa Claus way too often.

So Joe had to chance to chat with Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan after practice and asked if the rollouts are a new wrinkle this year, or if they were already part of his playbook, just not utilized last season.

“It is in [the offensive package] and we had some success when we moved the launch point of him whether it is a pure sprint out or we are actually faking the ball, or have him naked and move it around,” Sullivan said of Freeman’s rollouts. “It is such a great complement, especially if you can run the ball. Any time you don’t set up in-between those guards, the defense always talks about getting to them off the spot. Well, if we can beat them to the punch and take them off the spot it helps. It is something we have done and we will continue to incorporate that into our package.”

Bravo. The season Freeman blew up, 2010, he often rolled out and hit receivers, Mike WIlliams, Sgt. Winslow or Arrelious Benn, for big gains. Home runs. It was almost as if Freeman was more comfortable throwing on the run than staying in the pocket.

Freeman has serious wheels for a big quarterback. Why not try to utilize those skills to generate some offense? Joe believes this is a smart move by Sullivan.

Here are some news, notes and highlights of the Bucs’ last public practice before Thursday’s preseason game against the Baltimore Crows at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

* Whistle blows play dead as there was a jailbreak on Mike Glennon. Markus White would have buried him if hitting QB allowed.

* Glennon (!) scrambles for a four-yard gain.

* Michael Adams nearly has pick of Glennon over middle.

* JF5 pass short to MW19 along left sideline and Rashaan Melvin breaks up pass.

* Under pressure, Freeman throws ball at feet of RB. Same fan earlier hollering for Glennon barks at Freeman for not throwing pick.

* JF5 rolls right, perfect pass to MW19 right sideline.

* JF5 screen over middle to Crabtree who is lit up by Lavonte David for short gain.

* JF5 to MW19 to left. Pressure from Te’o.

* Some two-minute drilling with fake crowd noise blaring.

* Fake crowd noise!

* A Michael Smith sighting. Glennon hands to Smith who stops before hitting line and throws a pass over the middle to Danny Noble for TD.

* Glennon hits Tiquan Underwood in back of end zone for about a 20 yard TD.

* Glennon patient in his progressions and hits Peyton Hillis to the left side

* Freeman throws a rare incompletion and some fan in stands starts hollering for Mike Glennon. 🙁

* Lotta chatter about Chris Owusu, Rashaan Melvin and Mike Williams in camp. Deservedly so. But Doug Martin is really sticking out as well.

* Wrong route? Freeman throws bomb and no one home. Leonard Johnson an easy pick.

* Leonard, meet Lavonte David. That is a two-yard loss.

* JF5 rolls left and nails Mike Williams in numbers along left sideline.

*Da’Quan Bowers is rushing inside a lot on passing downs. Lots of Stephen Means outside. Little Akeem Spence in pass rush.

*Kevin Ogletree is repeatedly the No. 3 wide receiver.

*Dashon Godlson breaks up a fourth-down throw to VJax in a two-minute offense period. Goldson is excited.

*Holding offense!

* Mike Williams goes low to grab JF5 pass.

* JF5 screen over middle to Tim Wright. Pass hits Wright in numbers. Normally, short passes like that are JF5’s Achilles.

* Sorry for repetition: Doug Martin is in mid-season form.

* Kicker hopeful Derek Demke mises 53-yard field goal wide right with Greg Schiano on the field observing. It had the distance, though.

* Glennon low pass over middle to Derek Hagan for first down. Dimke runs out to kick a roughly 38-yard field goal. It’s good! Horn blows twice signaling practice is over.

I think he’s been like this, on the rise. I think he’s getting better every practice. You can see the command and control that he brought back into this training camp. And then quickly after a couple of practices when he shaked the rust off, the throws started happening, with all the receivers. Not just Vincent and not just Mike, all the way down to the fifth, sixth receivers, I think we’ve been throwing the ball efficiently. Today, a couple of stops on third down ended drives. But overall I’m pleased. — Greg Schiano, after being asked to assess Josh Freeman’s training camp performance today.

You can almost hear the excitement in Schiano’s voice, as delivered on the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620. (Audio below).

Also asked to name a camp standout, Schiano’s lips quickly moved to WR Chris Owusu. No surprise there.

The Bucs have gambled big time on Da’Quan Bowers’ ability to be a stout every-down defensive end.

In fact, Greg Schiano’s on record expecting Bowers to record double-digit sacks. Asked about Bowers today after practice, Schiano said he wants No. 91 to play with more drive. It was clear that Schiano is somewhat disappointed in what he’s seen from Bowers to date.

“I want to see him play hard, play after play, after play, after play,” Schiano said.

Schiano went on to say Bowers has been performing “on and off” in training camp and Bowers playing hard in the every-down role “needs to be better.”

The move from situational pass rusher to an every down player, Schiano said, is as challenging as transitioning in baseball from reliever to starting pitcher.

As Joe wrote last week, the Bucs have not been wowed by Bowers in training camp. That’s not to say they’re down on his ability, more like he’s gotten a disappointing grade of C- versus the A- they might have been expecting.

For the Bucs to be a playoff team, they need high grades — consistently — from Bowers.

Yes, the Bucs play their first preseason game Thursday night. Locals not going to the game can watch the game on tape-delay Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on WFLA-TV Channel 8.

Joe knows many Bucs players, both rookies and veterans, are looking forward to hitting someone that’s not a teammate. Schiano seems to be trying to temper such expectations, as he noted his players have a long way to go on bettering themselves rather than battering an enemy.

“I’m trying to not let us go there,” Schiano said. “Right now, we got to work on ourselves. I think they’re tired of hitting, period. They’re getting tired of going as hard as we’re going. What happens with the preseason game is you have a day that breaks it up; you have a day before the game where you don’t do a whole lot. Then, the day after the game you don’t do so much, depending, some guys may do more than others. So really what it builds in is it breaks up the monotony of going day after day after day, so I’m sure they’re looking forward to that.”

The normal drudgery of training camp ends today. As Schiano noted, things change tomorrow and after a couple of practices following Thursday’s game, the Bucs fly to New England to practice a few days and then play Bill Belicheat and the Patriots.

Before the Bucs know it, training camp will be over. That doesn’t mean Schiano and the coaching staff won’t still have many tough decisions — who to keep on the roster, and who to send packing.

Joe’s almost always up for sharing national media types’ prognostications for the Bucs. Are they worth much? No. But it’s interesting to gauge the outsiders’ views collectively.

While there are lots of Schiano fans out there, Josh Freeman doesn’t have as many.

His consistency, along with the Bucs’ pass rush, is questioned by former defensive tackle turned BSPN radio voice Mike Golic. Speaking on his Mike and Mike show, Golic has called a 7-9 season for the Bucs — and an 8-8 mark for the Panthers. (You can listen to the audio here.)

It’s going to be a common theme: analysts not down on the Bucs but not willing to rank them as a winner in the tough NFC South. The Vegas oddsmakers, the guys who really do their homework, feel the same way.

Fans took a deep breath at Bucs practice Monday morning, and it wasn’t from the stifling heat (when the sun was out, it was easily the hottest practice of training camp). No, that deep breath was of relief. Carl Nicks was taking snaps in 11-on-11 drills.

But it seems the toe of Nicks, the turf toe, has Bucs fans worried, and maybe with some merit.

Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune was the first to report Nicks had his toe “heavily bandaged” when he reported for training camp. The Bucs and Nicks waved off the bandage, saying it was precautionary.

But Nicks has hardly practiced with the first team and Schiano hinted that the initial fears of Nicks’ toe being an issue were valid, as Schiano talked about Nicks’ toe Monday.  WDAE-AM 620 Bucs beat reporter Tom Krasniqi documented .

LG Carl Nicks (toe) saw more action in during team drills. Schiano says Nicks still feels some “discomfort” but that he’s battling through it. That big toe bears watching

That sure doesn’t sound like Nicks is healthy at all. This should be very concerning. Nicks has had many months for that toe to heal after surgery and before the Bucs play their first preseason game he is experiencing “discomfort.” That’s not reassuring.

The Bucs have a chance of having the best offensive line in the NFL to road grade the way for running back Doug Martin. A big part of that is banking on Nicks to return.

Joe can never remember when a toe was such a key part of the anatomy for Bucs fans.

Whoa!

Former 10-year NFL fullback Heath Evans, now a talking head on NFL Network, dropped a bomb on Bucs fans during an NFC South preview tonight.

Evans said he loves Greg Schiano’s disciplined approach and says the Bucs can win the division if “the college mentality doesn’t bury this team.” Per Evans, players in the New Schiano Order spoke of a burned out Bucs roster in 2012.

“When you started talking to the older vets on this team last year, they were all complaining about one thing. It came about Week 10, ‘We’re tired. We’re exhausted. We’re beat down,'” Evans said. “And everyone blamed Josh Freeman. But all in all, the film told the story. This team was fatigued and beat-down tired.”

You can catch the full video breakdown here. Darren Sharper also is in the analyst mix, and he dropped a solid nickname on Josh Freeman, “Six Flags,” for his rollercoaster ways.

Now Joe can’t speak to Evans’ sources. He did win a ring with Carl Nicks in New Orleans. Joe’s merely speculating there.

Regardless, it’s a strong claim, and one that Joe has a hard time buying. Fatigue didn’t hurt the Bucs when they pasted the Falcons in the season finale, and surely fatigue didn’t make Danny Gorrer (who joined the Bucs midseason) drop a game-winning interception against the Eagles. Were the Bucs tired when the Rams came to Tampa and punched them in the mouth on Dec. 23?

If the Bucs were tired, well, Joe suspects that won’t be the case this season after players have adjusted to the demands of the regime. Joe was up close and personal with Donald Penn today. The guy almost looks slim. When it comes to conditioning, there’s been a real change of attitude and approach from this time last year.

The Bucs began their third week of training camp today with Vincent Jackson putting on a show, Josh Freeman continuing to throw accurately and wide receiver Chris Owusu and cornerback Rashaan Melvin showing they belong on the final 53-man roster.

Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620 have all sorts of audio as usual. Cornerback Darrelle Revis talked about his continuing rehab, offensive tackle Donald Penn talked about the strength of the line, and rookie defensive tackle Steven Means talks about how he is adapting to the NFL.

And of course, there is the daily post-practice press conference by Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

Rookie defensive end Steven Means, right, gets past Pro Bowl left tackle Donald Penn in a recent Bucs practice.

Last week Joe noted a right defensive end getting pressure a decent amount of time on Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. Naturally ,with the Bucs franchise quarterback wearing the troublesome green jersey, defenders were not allow to touch him, or risk catching the wrath of Greg Schiano.

With starting right defensive end Adrian Clayborn on the shelf due to the ever problematic groin injury, rookie Steven Means has been getting a lot of reps with the first team defense.

And Means has been giving Bucs left tackle Donald Penn a battle. So much so that Penn raved about Means to Joe and others this morning after practice.

“That dude is coming along real well,” Penn said. “I think he can be a great pass rusher. Me and him are going back and forth; we have been going at it since Clayborn has been down. [Means] has stepped in and we have been battling. He is real good. I feel like he is getting better and better every day. He is hitting me with new moves each day.

“I sit down and talk to him in-between practices to critique him on some stuff and tell him what I saw and the good thing about that is he wants to listen. He wants to learn. There are a lot of guys you have to force them to [listen]. He wants to listen, he wants to learn. I have been on him and [William] Gholston. I have been talking to them. Gholston is coming. He just has to get his head a little more focused. But Means, I am really liking what I am seeing.

“When you stop the first move, you have to be ready for the second. that is all I tell my man. He’s working and to tell you the truth, I really like what he is doing.”

Schiano, when asked about means, was a bit more guarded and a tad less effusive than Penn. But he believes Means is making quality headway in learning the NFL ropes.

“He’s getting better,” Schiano said. “He needs to go out there and play Thursday night at a high energy level and let it go. I can still see a guy who’s thinking too much. I’m sure he’s gaining information. Usually there’s that spike you see right away, just pure ability when they come in in rookie mini-camp, and then, as they learn, it kind of slows them down. Now I hope he’s coming out of it, and I can see that, but just how far out will he come and how fast? That’s usually the rookie struggle. That d-line game is such a right now, bam bam, in your face [thing], at this level, you learn a lot of tricks as you go, especially when you’ve got a guy like [tackle] Donald Penn, who has been doing it for a long time. I’m sure Donald has taught him a few things.”

Joe knows pass rush is a major area of concentration for the Bucs. If Means is as good as advertised, and with William Gholston coming along and when Clayborn gets healthy, along with the secret rushing skills of rookie tackle Akeem Spence, and of course, Gerald McCoy, perhaps the Bucs could dirty a quarterback’s jersey say, oh, at least twice a game?

When there’s an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers working with the first-team Bucs offense, that’s always worth noting under the New Schiano Order.

TE Tim Wright lined up as a fourth receiver in a four-receiver set during the Bucs’ first-team vs. first team, 2-minute drill to close practice today at One Buc Palace. The Bucs are converting Wright from wide receiver (39 catches, 449 yards at Rutgers last season) to tight end. He’s 6-4, 220 pounds and trying to bulk up.

Schiano said after practice today that Wright’s nod with the first team is meaningful but more about injuries to Luke Stocker and Erik Lorig(?).

“I’ve been reppin’ with the first team a few times. You know, I bring that receiver aspect to the tight end position,” Wright told Joe. “Today I got a little feel for how the 2-minute should be operating.”

Schiano said Wright has been “doing some good things” but “has a long way to go.”

“He’s got to play in games,” Schiano said. “We’ve got to see him do that.”

Joe agrees. Joe, too, has a load of guys he’s like to see play in preseason games. Practice performance is nice, but game performance is far more important to determining the roster.

Three days prior to the Bucs’ first preseason game and 34 days prior to the Bucs’ opening day game at the New Jersey Swamplands against the Jets, star cornerback Darrelle Revis isn’t ready to say, without hesitation, he will start when the Bucs face Gang Green.

“I think that’s still too far down the road,” Revis said after practice today. “Right now just going day by day, but that is the goal and we’ve talked about that. I want to be there, first day, first game, with my teammates.’’

Revis has participated in drills and walkthroughs but has yet to face live bullets in 11-on-11 drills or scrimmages. Today when the Bucs were in their two-minute drill to close practice, Revis stood on the sideline, helmet in hand.

“I’ve been doing one on ones with a couple receivers and just getting back into it,” Revis said. “I did some DB drills today, got back into a little bit, got aggressive, fell to the ground a few times. Just getting back into the football phase of hitting the ground hard and getting back up and just getting back in that mode. I’m reacting to the everything they’re giving me. Just reacting and trying to cover the routes.”

Olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King, of Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and his new fancy, yet mostly tedious and stuffy website, theMMQB.com, interviewed rock star general manager Mark Dominik, who told King he is “almost certain’’ Revis will start against the Jets.

“I don’t care how great a player you have been,’’ Greg Schiano told King. “Confidence is a funny thing. When you’re talking about a guy as good as Darrelle, you don’t think a guy needs to feel confident. But we just got [Pro Bowl guard] Carl Nicks back in live drills [from a serious 2012 toe injury], and he just stoned a defensive guy rushing hard. And you could see the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. I mean, this is his livelihood. It’s the same with Darrelle. He needs to know he’ll be good when he gets into a game.”

So the intrigue and drama continues.

Will Revis soon go full speed and make receivers pay to step on his island, or will Revis still be a man without an island come Sept. 8?

Here are news, notes and sights Joe noticed at Bucs training camp 2013 Day 10.

Final two-minute drill, first-teams face off.

* Kevin Ogletree is the No. 3 receiver in the three-wide set

* Freeman pass high for Mike Williams

* Ogletree has a tough 15-yard catch (but catchable) on the sidelines go through his hands

* First down! Freeman throws a rope to V-Jax. Johnthan Banks was on V-Jax’s back and hit him. VJax a little slow to get up.

* Freeman overthrow to Ogletree

* Tight end Tim Wright (undrafted rookie) lines up as fourth receiver in set.

* Freeman to Ogletree. Complete!

* Freeman spikes ball to kill clock.

* Freeman incomplete to Ogletree over the middle. Ahmad Black blanketed him.

Further notes on practice:

* Really good turnout of fans this morning for a steamy Monday. Bleachers are pretty packed. Open only to season ticket holders, but still.

* Crowd is worked up watching WRs run through dummies and catch sideline passes.

* Really cool how Mike Glennon snaps his chin strap. Josh Freeman should be looking over his shoulder as a result. #Sarcasm

* Greg Schiano birddogging linebackers and defensive backs working on side field.

* Glennon back shoulder throw to Mike Williams on left sideline sails high and out of Williams’ reach.

* It is early, but Josh Freeman drilling receivers in the numbers. Continuation (so far) of his solid week last week.

* Beautiful bomb from JF5 to Tiquan Underwood down left sideline for TD. Nice over-the-shoulder catch. Ball just dropped into Underwood’s arms.

* Mike Glennon hits Kevin Ogletree in stride down left sideline for bomb.

* Freeman hits Williams along left sideline w/ good coverage from Leonard Johnson. JF5 put ball where only WR could get it & MW19 did.

* Major tease: Darrelle Revis takes field w/ 1st team defense guarding VJax & crowd freaks out chanting “Revis… Island” [clap/clap… clapclapclap]) alas, he is only going through walkthroughs

* Freeman with a laser to VJax. JF5 is in a zone the past week.

* Rashaan Melvin made an excellent play on Chris Owusu over middle to break up a pass. Because Melvin wasn’t able to haul in the ball for a pick, he dropped to the ground and gave Greg Schiano 10.

* JF5 and VJax putting on a show.

* Freeman is totally on his game this morning.

* Carl Nicks is practicing and is one of few humans to make Donald Penn look average-sized.

* Rashaan Melvin like a second skin on Derek Hagan.

* Tiquan Underwood goes high and nearly hauls in on-handed catch along left sideline. Anthony Gaitor with good coverage.

* Chris Owusu working with first team offense.

* First bad throw (?) JF5 had thus far: overthrew Kevin Ogletree on a bomb.

* VJax with a circus catch in corner of end zone in two-minute drill but he only got one foot in.

* Doug Martin accelerates through the line and breaks free. Man, when this dude sees a hole, he throws open the booster rockets!

* Rejection! Martin tries to run up middle and Mason Foster nearly flattens him, knocking Martin backwards.

* Sean Baker with a pick off a tipped Glennon pass.

* Mike James getting work with first team offense (again). Haven’t had a Michael Smith sighting in some time. (Just as Joe typed that, Smith gets a carry).

* Steven Means with very good penetration from right side. Would have had a sack if JF5 wasn’t wearing the jersey of green.

* JF5 to Ogletree off his hands left sideline.

* VJax with sick catch on right hashmarks.

* Ogletree catch over middle. Good pressure from Steven Means.

* Long pass just past Ogletree’s fingers. He was targeted a lot in that drive.

It is extremely unlikely the Bucs will sell out the first preseason game Thursday against the Baltimore Crows (the 72-hour deadline to sell 85 percent of non-premium seats to prevent an NFL blackout is this evening). For all practical reasons, if you want to see the game live, there will be ample tickets available both at the box office and via the secondary market.

Barring the unforeseen, the Bucs’ local TV home of preseason football, WFLA-TV Channel 8, will broadcast the game on a tape-delayed basis Friday with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m., so Joe was told by a longtime trusted source at WFLA-TV.

The broadcast of the final home preseason game against the Redskins has not been determined, partially because of a very, very, very scant chance the game could sell out.

NFL Network will have tape-delayed broadcast of the Bucs-Crows game at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, and 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13.

Boydog Adrian Clayborn and his tweaked groin returned to practice today ready for physical action.

Clayborn didn’t last long. After engaging early, he was sent to work on conditioning.

Greg Schiano, during his post-practice engagement with media, said it was an unplanned setback.

Injuries are part of the business. It’s just troublesome that the Bucs are feeling it at a seemingly thin position: defensive end.

Projected starting tight end Luke Stocker and his bad calf were removed from the physically unable to perform list today and he took part in his first padded practice of 2013.

The Buccaneers, and Bucs fans, are exhaling. Stocker feels good and expects to be at full steam on Tuesday.

“Practice was good. They kind of eased me in a little bit. It felt good,” Stocker said. “So tomorrow I should be wide open.”

So what happened to your calf, Luke?

“It was just training up to leading in to training camp, a couple of days before we reported back, I was running some sprints and I just strained my calf. It was one of those things that came back and I couldn’t quite get into the zone,” Stocker said.

There’s loads of competition in Bucs camp at tight end, but it’s a unit that has generates far more questions than answers. The Bucs surely need Stocker healthy and performing well, like he did in the season finale in Atlanta — three catches for 50 yards and helping Doug Martin to a 142-yard day on the ground.

Yes, Joe realizes a faction of wacky fans will blame Greg Schiano’s camp-opening conditioning test — 16 110-yard sprints — for Stocker’s injury, but that’s just stupid talk.

Former Bucs guard Ian Beckles says Rod Marinelli was hurt by Warren Sapp on Saturday

Flying on Team Glazer’s chartered plane to Warren Sapp’s Hall of Fame ceremonies, former Buccaneers guard and Sapp teammate Ian Beckles (1990-1996) joined many fellow ex-Bucs in a strong show of solidarity by the organization for Sapp.

Sapp thanked and mentioned many former teammates and coaches during his Saturday speech, but he did not breathe the names Monte Kiffin or Rod Marinelli.

Speaking as co-host on his radio show this morning, Ron and Ian on WDAE-AM 620, Beckles said he ran into Marinelli in Canton and shared that Marinelli was hurt.

“I know for a fact he was broke up over that,” Beckles said. (You can hear Beckles’ full take on his Marinelli encounter and the Marinelli-Kiffin omission below.)

Joe can’t speak to Sapp’s personal relationships, and Sapp can thank — or not thank — whoever he wants publicly. On the surface, however, it seems Sapp intentionally blew off two guys who had big impacts on his career, especially considering Sapp praised Marinelli to ESPN hours earlier.