It’s a no-brainer that this season is a big season for Josh Freeman in so many ways. Does he come back to the Bucs or does he leave? Does he sign a megamoney, Powerball-like contract, or is he franchised?

Not only do the Bucs’ playoff hopes rest on Freeman’s shoulders in a big way this season, so does his NFL future, as well as his financial future.

This doesn’t mean Freeman is not one of the better players in the NFC South. The sophists at BSPN sat down for a countdown of the top-25 players in the NFC South and Freeman clocked in at No. 23.

What he did in 2012: He completed 306 of 558 passes (54.8 percent) for a 4,065 yards with 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. The passing yards and touchdown passes established new franchise records. That might sound like a pretty solid season. But you have to take into account the fact Freeman slumped mightily during a five-game losing streak that took the Bucs out of playoff contention.

Why he’s No. 23 in 2013: This clearly is a make-or-break season for Freeman as he heads into a contract year. Is he truly the kind of franchise quarterback that can take a team deep into the playoffs? Or do the Bucs need to go in another direction? We’ll find out this season and the outcome is up to Freeman. The Bucs have surrounded him with good talent on offense and defense. I think this will be the year that Freeman takes a big step forward.

All true. Few quarterbacks are surrounded with as much talent as Freeman. He is in the second year of an offense that, based on what Freeman and Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan have said, he has a much better grasp on.

The speedbumps for Freeman having a productive season have all but been eliminated.

Alan Dell of the Bradenton Herald believes the Bucs should pay particular attention to Eric Wright in the free time before training camp starts.

Most college football coaches break down their calendar years into seasons. There are preseason practices, the regular season, bowl season, recruiting season and what former Florida State football icon Bobby Bowden used to call the “silly season.”

Silly season was the time between the end of the spring semester and the start of training camps, when players were most likely to get up close and personal with the long arm of the law.

This is not lost on Bradenton Herald columnist Alan Dell, who refers to July on the NFL calendar as “Handcuff Month.”

While Bucs coach Greg Schiano has purged his roster of malcontents and walking arrest warrants like helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, pill-popping, granny-hassling Aqib Talib, Dell believes the Bucs and Bucs fans should pay particular attention to embattled cornerback Eric Wright in the weeks before training camp begins.

Eric Wright is a case by himself. The defensive back, who has been dodging police blotters and law enforcement officials since his college days, had a DUI arrest last summer and a suspension for drug use.

He is the Bucs’ biggest embarrassment waiting to happen.

Perhaps. But Joe doesn’t believe Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik or Schiano are losing much sleep over Wright. He damned near played (popped?) himself off the roster last year and the Bucs brought him back under a very team-friendly contract.

If, as Dell predicts, Wright runs afoul of the law again, it won’t be much of a issue with the Bucs. Joe isn’t sure the Bucs think more of Wright than, say, hard-working, team-first good guy Leonard Johnson.

If Wright screws up, he will likely be gone.

The manbeast on the front line of the Bucs defense is a smaller manbeast these days.

Gerald McCoy told his hometown newspaper, The Oklahoman, that he’s chiseled his frame and shed what was presumably excess beef.

McCoy has spent the summer preparing for his fourth NFL season, dropping nearly 20 pounds.

“That’s a lot,” McCoy said of the weight he’s lost. “It’s just been diet and working. It’s taken a lot of focus and dedication.”

How un-Sapp-like of the man Bucs fans hope will become the next Warren Sapp.

It’s pretty darn rare for a defensive tackle to lose that much weight, especially coming off a Pro Bowl season like McCoy had. McCoy was hardly packing a lot of excess pounds.

Joe’s curious to learn more, and to see if McCoy puts back weight as the offseason and preseason progress.

Vincent Jackson says Greg Schiano is all about making sure his players are having fun. But Jackson also says Schiano’s tight discipline will not let up in Year 2 of the regime.

Blocking icon Michael Clayton, who drove local Tums sales to new heights during his reign of horror in Tampa, got behind the WHFS-FM microphone and interviewed Vincent Jackson last week. (No, Clayton didn’t drop the mic.)

Clayton seemed obsessed with learning about the alleged crazed discipline of the New Schiano Order, something he was familiar with while earning a Super Bowl ring under Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.

Clayton asked Jackson whether Greg Schiano was going to ease up on pushing Bucs veterans to their limits in training camp this season. Clayton said he had heard that might happen. Jackson quickly shot him down.

“There’s definitely been no lapse. There’s not going to be change in that. The Buccaneer Way is the Buccaneer Way, and there’s only one way to do it,” Jackson said. “So you can’t go from one year to the next year and expect, you know, to be a little different and for guys to understand that. You know what I mean; you’ve got to be consistent.”

Clayton also asked Jackson whether Schiano has abolished fun around One Buc Palace, and Jackson explained that Schiano is actually all about fun.

“Coach has a great sense of humor,” Jackson said. “He’s a players guy. He talks to our leaders. He brings veteran guys in. He wants the pulse of the team all the time. So trust me, we’re out there working hard in the humidity. But he definitely, he definitely makes sure we’re having a good time.”

Make no mistake. Clayton wasn’t bashing Schiano. In fact, Clayton explained that he was invited to address Schiano’s Rutgers team during the 2011 season when Clayton played for the Giants. Clayton said he got to know Greg Schiano and called him a man of “great character.” … Don’t worry. The blocking icon is officially retired.

Here’s the full 17-minute audio of Josh Freeman’s interview on WDAE-AM 620, the one that drew raised eyebrows from Tampa Bay Times writers Rick Stroud and Tom Jones, who co-host the Sports Page show on the Bucs’ flagship radio station.

Imagine a list of the best 38 edge pass rushers in the NFL not having a Buccaneer on it.

Well, that’s the situation over at NFL.com, where Around The League guru Gregg Rosenthal has isolated his beasts off the edge and there’s no pewter and red to be found (not even Michael Bennett).

There’s little faith among NFL analysts in Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers. Joe gets it; Those guys are unproven. But the Bucs, in many ways, are hanging their playoff dreams on their unquestioned potential.

Joe hopes someone at One Buc Palace gets a copy of Rosenthal’s piece to Bowers and Clayborn. A little extra motivation never hurt.

Once again, SiriusXM NFL Radio’s Pat Kirwan beat his chest for the Bucs to sign former Dixie Chicks’ pass rushing specialist John Abraham, or forget about playoffs.

Former Bucs scout and proud resident of Naples, Pat Kirwan, really likes what Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has done in recent months with the Bucs.

Kirwan is a big fan of the Bucs‘ offense, likes the secondary, yet is skeptical of any candidate on the Bucs roster in contention for the SAM linebacker position.

What Kirwan really doesn’t like, and believes will be the Bucs’ Achilles Heel preventing them from a playoff berth, is a lack of an established pass-rushing defensive end.

Kirwan has harped about this in recent months but really hammered home his point this afternoon. In so many words, unless the Bucs are able to consistently put Matty Ice and Drew Brees on the ground, winning the NFC South (which what very well may be required to get to the playoffs this season) is a pipe dream, so he told his co-host of “Movin’ the Chains,” Tim Ryan, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Pat Kirwan: You can’t let those two guys throw the ball around the field and the answer isn’t, “Well, we’ve got a better secondary.” Trust me on that front. You. Had. 27. Sacks. Last. Year. Has anyone changed who is getting to the quarterback?

Tim Ryan: No, but [Adrian] Clayborn is healthy and he did have seven a couple of years ago and I do like him as a player. We’ll see what Da’Quan Bowers can do. Clearly they think his health will hold up.

Kirwan: I like those names, but I would like to see a real pass rusher on that field like John Abraham. Somebody I know will rush the passer. I will take a bet that Gerald McCoy has 12 sacks. You taking that bet?

Ryan: I don’t know if it is going to be 12 but I expect him to have double-digit sacks.

Kirwan: I think he is a very good player and I like everything he is doing. When you face the Saints and the Falcons and you sack the quarterback once every 38 passes, don’t count on four wins there. Please.

Kirwan has a point, Joe believes, in that you simply cannot let Brees and Matty Ice just sit back throwing without fear of hearing footsteps.

Two years ago when the Bucs beat the Dixie Chicks at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, Matty Ice was punished regularly by the Bucs’ pass rush, specifically Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn.

The way the Bucs stacked up on pass rushers in the draft, Joe has a hunch that on passing downs, it is quite likely Akeem Spence, currently targeted to start at the tilted nose position, will come off the field and the Bucs will move Da’Quan Bowers inside and bring in Steven Means or William Gholston.

Yes, Joe’s in a comic book kind of mode today, thanks to Darrelle Revis going DC Comics at his camp in metro Pittsburgh recently.

One reason the Bucs obtained the stud cornerback was, of course, to upgrade an abysmal pass defense. A secondary reason is that Revis allows the Bucs to shade their coverage to help out the corner opposite of Revis, whether that be Eric Wright or rookie Johnthan Banks.

And the guy best suited to help out in coverage on the opposite of Revis is “Batman” Dashon Goldson, writes Matt Williamson of ESPN.

By doing so, the rest of the secondary obviously can manipulate coverage to better deal with other threatening weapons. That means Revis’ counterpart, most likely the disappointing Eric Wright or second-round pick Johnthan Banks, will often have safety help over the top. I would imagine Tampa Bay is hoping Banks grabs hold of that starting spot and doesn’t let go. Wright has been a liability since signing a big contract with the Buccaneers. Leonard Johnson also should factor in as a physical quality fourth corner, but he is speed-deficient. Tampa Bay also signed Dashon Goldson, giving them an excellent pairing of safeties along with last year’s first-round selection, Mark Barron. Barron is more of the strong safety type — and Goldson more of a free safety — but both can operate near the line of scrimmage or deep in coverage.

Joe’s going to go out on a limb and say that unless he really struggles in training camp and preseason, the job playing corner opposite of Revis will be Banks’.

Clearly, teams are going to target Banks (or Wright) so help will be needed. Who better than head-hunting hitter Goldson?

The Bucs’ very own version of Batman.

What else would the chant be at a Darrelle Revis football camp?

Check out the video below out of Pittsburgh. The Boy Wonder, self-proclaimed, is hosting a two-day camp for kids plus a charity hoops game in his hometown of Aliquippa.

After Josh Freeman’s interview on Ron and Ian on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday, several Bucs fans remarked to Joe, “That didn’t sound like Freeman.”

Most were referring to Freeman sounding extremely relaxed and uncharacteristically revealing.

Joe was somewhat surprised, too, mostly because Freeman usually doesn’t offer much detail and substance, but yesterday he dropped good nuggets. Joe documented Freeman’s respect for Dashon Goldson and Freeman’s scouting report and deep praise for Danny Noble, and Joe has more to come.

Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud took the analysis a step further.

Stroud also co-hosts the Sports Page on WDAE-AM 620, where today he said Freeman “didn’t sound right to me” and Freeman was “rambling” at times. Co-host Tom Jones and Stroud also found Freeman’s comment about his personal life and contract curious. “I’ve got stuff weighing on my mind, but very little of it has to do with a contract year,” Freeman said.

Joe can’t go here, there, or wherever some might want to. It’s mid-June, and Freeman should be thoroughly relaxed and at ease. The guy’s a five-year veteran of hundreds of interviews and he should embrace showing a less guarded side of himself as a face of the franchise.

Below you can listen to a cut of Freeman plus the full Sports Page analysis.

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Joe was torn Wednesday when he learned the shocking news that James Gandolfini, far-better known as the boss of bosses, Tony Soprano, on the great HBO series “The Sopranos,” died of a heart attack in Italy.

The loss was more than felt by Bucs coach Greg Schiano, who got to know “T” via Rutgers. Gandolfini was a Rutgers graduate and strongly supported the Rutgers football program when Schiano took over. Schiano offered his condoleances via the Bucs’ official Twitter account.

“I am sad to hear of the passing of Jim Gandolfini,” Schiano said. “He was a great supporter of Rutgers Football long before it was fashionable to be so. His generosity in helping us lent relevance to our football program at a time when it was desperately needed. In addition to his acting acclaim, he will be remembered by all Rutgers people as a compassionate alum and a great New Jerseyian.”

Joe cannot remember a better drama on TV than “The Sopranos.” It was a strange mix of “The Godfather,” “Goodfellas,” “Leave it to Beaver,” and “The Three Stooges,” with Gandofini’s character a larger-than-life figure.

With the possible exception of “24” at its most paranoid, tech-geek, violent, peak, if there was a series better than “The Sopranos,” Joe has not seen it.

The bartenders, if not the dancers, at “The Bing” are wearing black armbands.

In the mythical Buccaneers world of Batman, it’s clear to Joe that Greg Schiano is Commisioner Gordon, Bill Sheridan is Chief O’Hara, Dashon Goldson is Batman, Darrelle Revis is Robin, and Rachel Watson is Catwoman.

The roles weren’t all clear to Joe until yesterday, when Revis himself declared he’s the Boy Wonder. At his football camp in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Revis told his hometown newspaper that Dashon Goldson and he are the NFL’s Dynamic Duo.

“He is the best safety in the league, as of today. And I’m saying that boldly,” Revis said, a wide smile on his face. “No knock on Troy (Polamalu) and all of those guys, but he’s the best, and he’s only in his eighth year, which is awesome. He’s Batman. I’m Robin.”

Joe loves the big talk from Revis. It’s fun, and his teammates and fans are listening. Joe hopes Revis is chatty with media during the season. He was known for that in New York, and hopefully he’ll step forward as a voice of the team in Tampa.

Joe can’t wait to see the real tough-guy swagger Goldson and Revis bring to the Bucs defense. It’s been missing since the glory days of the franchise, and Joe suspects a lot of fans have forgotten what a fearsome secondary and veteran, All-Pro talent look like back there and the impact they deliver.

As for the rest of the Batman characters, well, Joe thought he might cast rockstar general manager Mark Dominik as Bruce Wayne, but Joe didn’t want to get the serial Dominik bashers all worked up on the first day of summer.

No, Da’Quan Bowers didn’t cough up $50,000 to wear No. 25. Besides, that’s an illegal number for an NFL defensive — and a cruel reminder of helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, pill-popping, granny-hassling Aqib Talib.

Rather, Pat Yasinskas of ESPN is counting down what he believes to be the top-25 players in the NFC South, and Bowers began the countdown at No. 25.

Why he’s No. 25 in 2013: I’m going out on a limb here and projecting big things from Bowers because that’s exactly what the Buccaneers are doing. They let last year’s sack leader, Michael Bennett, leave via free agency because they believe Bowers is ready to blossom into a force as a pass-rusher. The Bucs went slowly with Bowers as a rookie as he recovered from knee issues and had to follow a similar course last season. But Bowers was a guy that was viewed as an elite pass rusher coming out of college. If he can stay healthy, Bowers should be able to prove the Bucs right and come up with double-digit sacks.

The key phrase there is, “if he is healthy.” Bowers has yet to play a full season in the NFL because of injuries.

Joe knows Bowers has large goals. This year, he has gone on record saying if he doesn’t record sacks in the double-digits, he will be disappointed.

Yes, there’s a lot of pressure on Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. Joe thinks there is an equal amount of pressure on Bowers because the Bucs must generate real heat on opposing quarterbacks if this teams wants to dance in the NFL postseason gala.

The Bucs will hold two joint practices with the Patriots. Hopefully, no Buccaneers will get under the skin of Aaron Hernandez.

No big surprise here. But the Bucs made it official today that they’ll be practicing with the New England Patriots twice before their preseason game against the Pats in Foxboro on Friday, August 16.

Last August, New England did the same thing in Tampa, as tight buddies Greg Schiano and Bill Belicheat compared tight ships.

The Buccaneers will arrive in time for a pair of joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 13 and 14. While the game will obviously be played inside the stadium, the preceding practices will actually be held on the fields located behind the stadium.  Each team will conduct its usual day-before-the-game activities separately on Thursday before facing off on Friday night, with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.

Oh, Joe can only imagine the trash talk that will be fired at Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams by Aqib Talib.

What’s bizarre about all this is that the Bucs head back to New England during Week 3 of the regular season. That’s an awful lot of together time for the two teams, and it surely could lead to some on-field tension in September, especially if Akeem Spence forgets to practice against New England at three-quarter speed.

When one thinks of Buccaneers of recent years who are in love with the game of football, Kellen Winslow does not come to mind. The guy loathed blocking, pouted when a teammate scored a touchdown, and didn’t want his “toes on the line.”

But per Josh Freeman, Winslow was a standout for his pure love of the game.

Today, Freeman talked about how he has gotten to know new Bucs All-Pro safety Dashon Goldson and has been blown away by how deeply Goldson loves football. Freeman said Cadillac Williams and Winslow were past Buccaneers whose football might rival Goldson’s, so Freeman explained on the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620 this morning.

“Talking to [Goldson] about football, it kind of takes you back to, really, little league, just the love of the game, the love of going out and go hitting people,” Freeman said. “He’s an old school guy, but he brings it, man, like every day in practice. Every day and night.”

Joe’s most pleased to hear this from Freeman because Joe knows the young Bucs cornerbacks are surely experiencing the same vibe from Goldson, and more. That can only help rookie Johnthan Banks and friends develop great work habits.

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Bucs tight end Danny Noble first opened Joe’s eyes when he played with the first team last preseason and caught two balls against the Dolphins. It was a ‘where-did-this-guy-come-from’ moment.

Noble, then an undrafted rookie out of Toledo, was not considered high on the depth chart, and he went on to make the final roster out of training camp before getting hurt midway through last season. (Here’s a 2012 interview Joe did with Noble, known as “Shwag” among his teammates.)

But now it seems Noble is opening eyes again under the media radar at One Buc Palace.

Speaking today on the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620, Josh Freeman spewed all kinds of love for Noble and believes he could be an impact tight end.

“We got a kid Danny Noble, who’s a young up and comer. He’s a guy who last year played with a little bit of injury. I think if he gets through camp obviously injury-free, gets through preseason, the kid has some special sort of talent,” Freeman said. “Not the fastest, but upper echelon speedwise, doesn’t have the best hands, but upper echelon as far as hands go. Like the kid makes some great catches. Once you get the ball in his hands, though … the kid’s got a little something to him.

“You know, he’s a guy that, you know, if we get through camp and if things go as you kind of see them going, then I feel like that guy definitely gets some quality time out there. And not just quality time but quality plays. He knows how to get open. He knows how to make plays.”

The Bucs’ tight end competition, of course, is wide open. Who knows, maybe Noble is the best pass catcher of the bunch? And it has to carry a little weight if Freeman is so high on Noble.

When Darrelle Revis goes home to the once-thriving steel town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh media comes out in full force.

The Revis Island Foundation kicked off its summer football camp yesterday, and Revis was on the field working with kids at his old high school and delivering inspiring messages of hard work, along with his mother. WTAE-TV out of Pittsburgh reported that Revis drew inspiration for helping kids, in part, by experiencing the misfortune of his high school teammates.

When Darrelle Revis’ Aliquippa High School football team won a state championship, he scored five touchdowns. Seven of his teammates from that squad are already dead, and it’s from that perspective that he runs his foundation and his football camp

Revis talked a lot to the youth about the importance of hard work in all fields of life. Some of that is captured in the CBS video below.

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Until recent years, Joe thought the four Hall of Fame worthy Bucs defenders who played in the glory years were Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and — not Ronde Barber, but — Simeon Rice.

Now Joe knew even back then that Rice getting in the Pro Football Hall of Fame was a long shot, but Joe thought that much of Rice’s playing ability.

It seems Sapp did, too.

In a colorful rant against his nemesis Michael Strahan (yet again), Sapp went after Strahan, basically claiming he is not Hall of Fame worthy and it should be Rice, not Strahan, who should be getttinh serious consideration for induction into Canton, reports eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.

“Nobody ever talks about Simeon,” said Sapp, who played three seasons with Rice in Tampa and saw the right defensive end average 14 sacks between 2001-03. “Simeon was a better rusher than Michael Strahan any day of the week and twice on Sunday.”

Sapp also said Strahan’s 15-year career with the New York Giants didn’t take off until he was moved from right end to the left side.

“(Rice) didn’t rush the worst lineman,” said Sapp, who beat out Strahan for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013. “You know the right tackle is the worst of the five [offensive linemen. Strahan played right end his first four years. When they were putting the label on him as a bust, they put ‘B-U-S . OK, let’s transition him on the other side and see if he can play in his fourth year.’ They put him at right end and he couldn’t do it, so they moved him to the weak guy. One-on-one with the (Eagles right tackle) Jon Runyans for eight quarters every year. Sim won’t ever have his name brought up (for the Hall of Fame), and that’s a shame. He’s one of the best pass rushers I’ve ever encountered in my life.”

Joe thinks Sapp is onto something. Rice and Sapp made for an absolutely lethal duo rushing from the right side. To this day, Joe thought Rice should have been the MVP of the Bucs’ Super Bowl, though Joe understands why it was awarded to the good Dexter Jackson (Dwight Smith could have won that award, as well).

Why did Joe change his mind from Rice to Barber as the four possible Hall of Fame candidates from the Bucs? Because in recent years, Barber set records that will be very difficult for a cornerback to beat, establishing himself as one of the game’s elite.

Veteran Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth sat down with Josh Freeman after opening day of his football camp yesterday for an exclusive chat seen in this video. Freeman does perhaps his best job to date detailing why there was confusion on the field at times last season and why he can’t imagine that stuff happening in 2013.

Freeman is brimming with confidence, acknowledges it’s a big year for him personally — “you can’t deny that,” Freeman said — and says he loves the pieces around him and Mike Sullivan.

“Right now physically, you know, mentally, as far as knowing the game, I’m the best I’ve ever been,” Freeman said. “I definitely think it’s going to be exciting.”