When Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik landed the big fish of wide receiver free agents last offseason, Vincent Jackson, the transaction wasn’t just to have him haul in bombs from Josh Freeman.

No, Dominik wanted Jackson to be a leader, to take young receivers under his wing and show them all of the off-field work it takes to be a solid player.

Not only did Jackson jump at the chance to do just that, fellow wide receiver Mike Williams was more than open-minded and the two quickly developed a bond.

Per the Sports SportsXChange, the way the two grew together is why Williams is on the cusp of stardom himself.

“I see the changes in Mike over the last year,” Bucs coach Greg Schiano said. “Mike is becoming such a more seasoned pro. Mike always had the passion for the game, way back from when I knew him when he was at Syracuse. I mean, this kid loves to play football. But all the little things about being a pro, I think Vincent (Jackson) has brought that into the room and certainly for Mike and for all those guys.”

Joe has a hunch; the same thing is happening on the defensive side of the ball. Dominik also signed safety Dashon Goldson and traded for star corner Darrelle Revis to mentor the younger corners.

And both have jumped into that pool both enthusiastically and with both feet. Joe believes they’ll rub off on the young corners the way Jackson did on Williams.

Joe’s not being a wiseass with the headline. Single game ticket sales opened for the Bucs today, exclusively for the home opener against the hated Saints, and a healthy supply of $30 seats remain available as of 5 p.m.

Ten years ago nobody would have believed such a phenomenon was possible in the football-crazed Tampa Bay area.

Yes, Joe knows well that fan habits have changed across the country. Gorging on food and beer on the couch with a laptop, i-Phone and a massive hi-def TV are now somehow more impressive than a great tailgate, live football, and viewing hundreds of scantily clad Bucs-loving hotties in and around the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

Joe is simply posting this now as a public service to Bucs fans who may not realize they can still score a cheap ticket to a great football game and scene. It should be pretty darn electric when (if?) Darrelle Revis breaks up his first pass for the home fans. You can browse available seats at Ticketmaster.com.

It’s summer camp season for the handful of Buccaneers that host their own camps for kids.

Donald Penn really did it right this past weekend back in his California hometown. Penn’s camp was free for the youngsters, and he had his share of NFL friends coaching and support including Eric Dickerson.

Penn speaks near the opening of this camp video and talks about how “my mom had to break her back” to send him to football camps and how blessed he feels to be able to give back.

Joe will never forget a moment last season in the Bucs locker room. It was during the time when Josh Freeman was in the deep recesses of his slump that essentially killed the Bucs’ drive for a playoff berth. Wide receiver Mike Williams, usually an easy-going if not soft-spoken kind of guy, went on a passionate (for him) defense of his quarterback.

Williams stated that he and the rest of the Bucs’ wide receivers had to be on the same page as Freeman and Freeman’s miscues were as much the fault of the receivers, maybe more so.

Williams again came to his quarterback’s defense during mandatory minicamp and told eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune that Freeman is ready to take the next step into elite status.

“We know this offense,’’ says Mike Williams, who fell only four yards short of joining Vincent Jackson to give the Bucs a pair of 1,000-yard receivers. “We know when to break off routes and what zone to read. It’s a knowing instead of reacting to something. Josh Freeman’s got this offense down pat. The big problem last year was we couldn’t get on the same page, knowing when to break our routes off.’‘

This also reinforces what Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan told Joe last week, that Freeman is far, far advanced in Sullivan’s offense from where he was a year ago.

With an improved secondary, and Freeman, Jackson, Williams and Doug Martin not only having a year of Sullivan’s methods under their belts but also a season playing together, the state of the Bucs offense is very encouraging.

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But first things first. Score that amazing Tampa Bay limo experience this weekend. It’s always worth it.

Joe’s celebrating the Bucs scoring a veteran cornerback this morning in Michael Adams, who spent the past six seasons with the Cardinals.

Yes, Joe’s being a bit sarcastic, but the thought of Myron Lewis or Anthony Gaitor scoring a roster spot makes Joe queasy. Joe wanted another veteran around in case Darrelle Revis isn’t ready and Eric Wright continues to be a letdown corner versus a shutdown corner.

Adams spent the past six seasons with the Cardinals and was a their nickel cornerback for a chunk of that time. He’s also considered a special teams stud, something that probably moves him up the depth chart quickly. Here’s a nugget from the Cardinals website in 2012.

He remains the No. 1 nickel cornerback, even with a ton of quality corners in camp, and his special teams work cannot be overlooked.

The special teams is the tangible part of Adams’ game noted by coach Ken Whisenhunt, who kept a rookie Adams on the practice squad in Whisenhunt’s first year as Arizona’s coach. But it isn’t the first.

“The thing that stands out is his fight,” Whisenhunt said. “He’s a very competitive guy, whether it is in practice or in the games. He has made a significant contribution for us special-teams wise. One of the things we say before camp every year is there will be players here because of their special teams. He’s a good gunner, he works hard on punt return.

“Every aspect you put him in, he plays big.”

Adams is listed at 5-8, but Joe’s seen stories in which he admits he’s shorter. Obviously, the guy’s got to have a lot of intangibles and toughness to survive six years in the NFL at that size.

Greg Schiano craves competition. He just got a little more.

Nick Barnett, who led the Bills in tackles last season, was floated on SiriusXM NFL Radio as a potential candidate to play SAM linebacker for the Bucs.

Earlier this week, Joe unexpectedly made waves on Twitter when he noted how crazy this notion is that SAM linebacker is unimportant in the Bucs defense. Joe was even blasted by a Belgium-based blogger for, in this person’s mind, typing heresy.

The notion that any defensive player is “unimportant” rankles Joe to his very core. It is so nuts, Joe can barely write a coherent response.

Now Joe knows the calculator crowd will state a SAM linebacker maybe plays half the time in many cases. True. So does that mean you roll out some slug to play? Of course not! That guy will get exposed each and every play he steps on the field.

Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, discussed the Bucs on Monday and they are of the mind that the troika of Adam Hayward/Dekoda Watson/Jonathan Casillas is not starting caliber and Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik needs to go shopping this summer for both a solid SAM linebacker and a pass rusher.

Tim Ryan: To me with the Bucs, the question marks are about defense. They are about the linebackers and they are about that pass rush.

Pat Kirwan: Well, I don’t think these things are not solvable. I respect they will go to camp and try to work things out with the guys they have. But they have the cap space to go out and grab a couple of guys. To me [on the defensive line] it’s about John Abraham. Right now if they signed Abraham, we would be singing a different song. Just one guy who can rush the passer on third down. If you also want to tell me they also bring in a linebacker like Des Bishop if he passes the physical, then great.

They are not that far away from being in the thick of things. They need a pass rusher. They need a guy to replace Adam Hayward. I don’t want to hear Dekoda Watson’s name. They shored up the secondary. I think things there look pretty good. [Johnthan] Banks beats out Eric Wright, fine. If he doesn’t, I get it. There are guys right now on the street that aren’t so expensive they can’t find them. Maybe they are waiting to see how they look?

Just sign the two veterans, right now! Finish off the project you started.

Later, Kirwan even dropped the name of Nick Barnett, Buffalo’s 2012 leading tackler who the Bills let loose this spring, as a strong option for the Bucs at linebacker.

Joe knows this will tee off some. When the Bucs had an uncoached Quincy Black, an overwhelmed rookie in Mason Foster, and over-hyped Geno Hayes, they may have been the worst linebacker unit in football and Hayward couldn’t break the lineup. To Joe that says it all about Hayward’s ability. Joe has nothing against Hayward, other than going MMA on his position coach, Bryan Cox, on the sidelines last year. Joe’s a coaches’ kinda guy, and you simply don’t pull a stunt like that under any circumstances if you want to keep order on a team.

It was wrong then and it is wrong today.

And can we stop with this patently absurd notion that a SAM linebacker is unimportant? If this position was so unimportant and trivial, why not just play with 10 men and save a potential injury?

Both of those suggestions are equally moronic.

When 90 percent of the Tampa Bay area was trying to run Black out of town (Joe was in this group as well, but Joe’s eyes were opened when Black actually got coached up by Cox), Joe never once heard of people shrugging their shoulders and saying, “Eh, don’t worry about Black, he plays an unimportant position.”

The Bucs are counting on big things and many sacks from Da’Quan Bowers

Joe knows Bucs fans have an edge about them this time of the year as the 2013 training camp dates are soon to be released. It is not a bad edge, but an edge of excitement for what lies ahead.

With two strong receivers, a solid offensive line, a Pro Bowl running back and a newly beefed up secondary, many Bucs fans have playoff thoughts dancing in their heads.

But Darren Sharper of the NFL Network thinks Bucs fans should, as Deion Sanders would say, slow their roll. Sharper doesn’t believe the Bucs will be playing in the postseason, so he explained during the “32 for 32” segment Monday. Co-analyst LaDainian Tomlinson agreed.

Andrew Siciliano: Do the Bucs make the postseason?

Darren Sharper: I don’t see that happening, either. This is a team in a division that is probably the toughest division in the NFL. They have to face the Saints, they have to face the Falcons, they have to face the Carolina Panthers who is going to be a tough team. I think that there just isn’t enough there now. There are a lot of pieces in place, it will be interesting to see how they gel but I don’t see them making it to the playoffs.

LaDainian Tomlinson: They are still a little ways away but they are getting close. They are not there yet. The area of need I am still looking for them to improve is pass rush. Andrew, you have to have a pass rusher in this league to compete. I would have loved to see them have gone out and got an Osi Umenyiora. That would have been a great fit on this defense. They did not and they have a lot of guys who are unproven. So in the end of the season, that hurts them.

Sharper: I could never cover anybody when we didn’t have a pass rush, Andrew. Never. How are you going to cover somebody when you don’t have anybody getting to the quarterback?

Joe thinks the Bucs will make a push to the playoffs this winter, but making the playoffs is a different matter. Yes, Joe strongly believes the Bucs are better off this year, but the NFC is as top-heavy as Joe has seen it since Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells and Mike Ditka prowled the sidelines.

There will be damned good teams watching the playoffs on TV.

Now people think that Josh Freeman has a lot of pressure on him, and in many ways, he does. Well, how about Da’Quan Bowers? Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is putting a whole lot of eggs into Bowers’ basket hoping that Bowers not just stays healthy, but can rack up double-digit sacks.

We will know by Christmas if the gamble pays off.

NFL Network studied the Bucs last night during its daily series “32 in 32,” in which every NFL team is examined while the network kills time before NFL training camps open up late next month.

Analysts LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sharper and host Andrew Siciliano dove into the subject of Josh Freeman. Tomlinson and Sharper had very different conclusions as to whether this season is Freeman’s last in Tampa Bay.

Andrew Siciliano: Josh Freeman, some people think he might be a weakness. We do know this: He is in the last year of his contract. Is this his last year, LT, with the Bucs?

LaDainian Tomlinson: I say no. People need to realize and remember that Josh Freeman left early. He left after his junior year at [Kansas] State. He’s still a young player. So he has a lot of football to play. He will continue to throw. I know he has had his ups and downs but here is the thing: At the end of the day, can you find a better quarterback than Josh Freeman. That’s what we are looking at in our league. You only have about five quarterbacks that play at an elite level. The rest of the guys are up and down so be patient. Patience is a virtue with Josh Freeman. I think he will eventually become the guy that can become the leader.

Darren Sharper: I am going to go out on a limb and say he will not be back. This is his last year, partly because of that roller coaster he takes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on. I played against Josh a couple of times and to me, it’s not physical, it seems to be mental with him because he is out there and will go through these streaks that he plays bad and he will not be able to get out of those bad streaks. That, combined with he is not tied to Coach [Greg] Schiano, I think they will try to go out and find Schiano’s guy.

Joe thinks both analysts make salient points. Just what quarterback is available via trade or free agency who will be better than Freeman? That’s why Joe’s pretty sure, barring a horrific 2011-like season, Freeman will return to the Bucs in 2014. It is just a matter of whether he will be franchised or not.

But Sharper has solid takes. As Joe has constantly written, Schiano has no lineage to Freeman; he inherited him. If the Bucs cannot turn Freeman around, you think Schiano will lobby Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to re-sign Freeman and go down in flames with Freeman? Joe doubts it.

Now Sharper is not the first person to suggest Freeman’s issues are between his ears.

No less an authority than former Bucs signalcaller Shaun King, one of but three Bucs quarterbacks  to lead the Bucs to an NFC Championship game, claimed last season that Freeman, who King very much likes, needed a shrink.

Again, Joe is convinced there is no quarterback controversy. Freeman is your Bucs quarterback. How long that will be depends on Freeman himself.

No controversy at all.

When Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik traded for star cornerback Darrelle Revis, by far the dominant question among Bucs fans wasn’t whether Revis would be ready for a Week 1 showdown with his former team, the Jets, in New Jersey. Strangely, there was a more popular question, “What number would he wear?”

The answer took awhile, but at virtually the same moment Joe was told by suits at One Buc Palace that Revis’ number hadn’t been decided, Dominik released the information on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Welp!

Now according to Business Insider beat writer Cork Gaines, who is also the conscience on RaysIndex.com, Revis had to cough up $50,000 to get No. 24 from Bucs safety Mark Barron.

It is unclear if this is a record payment for a uniform number. In 1993, Rickey Henderson paid a new Blue Jays teammate $25,000, also for the no. 24. That is about $40,000 now with inflation.

Maybe the best story ever for uniform number bartering also came in 1993 when Mitch Williams “paid” two cases of beer for John Kruk’s no. 28. Williams only wore the number for one season before switching to no. 99.

To be fair, Cork learned this information from the diligent work of Brinke Guthrie, via the highly reliable UniWatch.com, which is infatuated with anything dealing with uniforms.

If anyone wonders why Revis had to buy the jersey number, it is an unwritten rule in professional sports that if a new teammate wants a jersey already assigned, then he must pay said player a ransom to release the number. The rule is pretty strictly enforced by the rank and file.

Joe hopes Barron put the cash to good use helping the local Tampa Bay economy.

Joe’s read the buzz out of Chicago that the Bears may cut Devin Hester.

Joe’s also acutely aware that the New Schiano Order couldn’t find a returner last season, doesn’t have an established returner now, and it’s got a wide open competition near the bottom of its wide receiver depth chart. The Bucs also have a pile of available cash to pay Hester, whose contract called for $2 million this season.

Hester wasn’t his lethal-returner self last season, and he’s 30 years old. But the guy is healthy and surely is far better than what the Bucs have to offer now. He also would represent great depth as a No. 4 or No. 5 receiver.

For Joe, the Bears making it public that Hester doesn’t have a roster spot locked up is code for Chicago seeking trade offers.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik has a lot of recent history dealing with the Bears (Gaines Adams, Brian Price, Gabe Carimi). Perhaps a move for Hester is just the kind of low-risk, high-reward gamble that could improve the Buccaneers.

Joe’s written quite a bit about new Bucs running back/fullback Brian Leonard because Joe’s confident fans will see a lot of Leonard if he stays healthy. The Bucs haven’t launched a season with a third-down back with this much experience in a long time.

After being a featured back at Rutgers, Leonard backed up Ray Rice during his senior season and was drafted by the Rams in the second round. He spent the past four seasons as the Bengals’ third-down back.

Joe asked Leonard to describe his game to Bucs fans.

“I think I have great hands, great hands out of the backfield. That’s one of my best attributes,” Leonard said. “I’m great at picking up protections, and I feel like I’m a smart player, too. You know, seeing the field and seeing the rotation of the safeties and picking up blitzes. If I get the opportunity to run the ball, I feel like I’m really successful at that, too.”

Joe doesn’t expect Leonard to set the league on fire, but he should be an upgrade over D.J. Ware, another bonus for Josh Freeman.

An interesting Buccaneer Man stat on Leonard, he’s got one fumble in 288 NFL regular season touches.

Killing time and creating content during the current dead period for the NFL until training camps open, NFL Network has begun a weekday series “32 for 32,” a preview of each NFL team in just over five weeks until teams begin the drudgery of training camp late in July.

Monday was the Bucs’ turn, and Joe will highlight elements today and tomorrow.

Analysts LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sharper broke down the Bucs with host Andrew Siciliano. It was noted by Siciliano that on paper it appears the Bucs have a “far better” secondary. But the two analysts somewhat disagreed. Sharper, a former cornerback himself, was skeptical.

Darren Sharper: They can only go up. But it will be the health of Darrelle Revis as he is the answer as to determine how good this defense can be. But it will be guys like Johnthan Banks and Eric Wright, playing second and third corner, to slow down those receivers. They have to go against guys in a division with Drew Brees and Matt Ryan who can air it out.

LaDainian Tomlinson: Look, they went from having no Pro Bowlers to two [Dashon Goldson and Revis]. But I like Mark Barron, too. I think he can be a future Pro Bowler. So I am going to go out on a limb and say this secondary will be top-five in pass defense. I know they play in a tough division but I think this will be a strength for their team.

In case none of Joe’s readers picked up on Tomlinson’s musings, how quickly he forgot Ronde Barber, eh?

Believe it or not, Joe sides with both Tomlinson and Sharper. The key to how great this secondary can be is Revis. If he returns to form from a ACL knee surgery, there is no reason to believe the Bucs cannot have the best secondary in the NFL.

But Tomlinson is also correct. The Bucs, as criminally awful as the pass defense was last year, could have three Pro Bowlers if Barron has a solid season. Barring an epidemic of injuries, there is no way the Bucs should repeat last year’s horror show with the talent on the roster, even if Matty Ice and Brees are slinging footballs against the Bucs over four games.

This time of the year to escape the seemingly incessant non-basketball association and golf talk on radio — man, the MSM would make Josef Goebbels smile the way it tries to indoctrinate the masses, led by the four-letter outfit of course, with the repetitive drumbeat of a once proud sport — Joe has a comfortable sanctuary to turn to: SiriusXM NFL Radio.

This afternoon, the co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains,” Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, discussed what the Bucs need to do to make a playoff run.

Kirwan is hesitant to anoint the Bucs a playoff contender.

Yet.

In Kirwan’s eyes, there are two positions on defense the Bucs need to address before he can take the notion of a Bucs postseason berth seriously: a third-down pass rusher and a SAM linebacker.

(Gasp! Cue the “SAM linebacker is not important” chorus, which was non-existent when Quincy Black played.)

Kirwan suggested that the Bucs acquire two players on defense to fill these needs. One player Kirwan has all but been begging Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to sign in recent months is former Dixie Chicks defensive end John Abraham. After again professing how much Abraham could help the Bucs, Kirwan did some research during a commercial break that may have solved the riddle as to why Dominik (or other teams for that matter) has not pursued Abraham.

Per Kirwan, in the last eight games the Bucs and Dixie Chicks faced each other, spanning four seasons, Abraham has a grand total of one sack.

This was surprising to Joe, as well, and it led Kirwan to wonder aloud.

“Usually, teams love to pick [players] from teams in their own division,” Kirwan said. “They obviously have Abraham on their own tapes. I wonder if they noticed something?”

Of course, there are but few people who could answer this question and they all have offices at One Buc Palace.

Maybe Dominik, who generally doesn’t like to toss cash at aging free agents after getting burned (badly) in his rookie year as general manager, noticed how the Bucs were able to take Abraham out of games the past four years and, thus, doesn’t value his skillset?

Former offensive lineman Mark Schlereth discusses the Bucs’ defensive acquisitions this offseason and works in a comment about Josh Freeman in this BSPN video.

After just one interview, Joe has learned that Bucs cornerbacks coach Tony Oden is adept at coaching non-speak. He had all the empty coaching cliches down pat, such as, “We made a decision this offseason to not look back but to look forward,” which flies in the face of Coaching 101; you learn from mistakes through film study.

Though Oden was not the Bucs secondary coach last year, the Bucs’ pass defense was sinfully awful last season, just a handful of yards (14 to be precise) away from setting a 92-year record for NFL worst pass defense. Oden was absolutely tight-lipped when asked what he learned from last year’s film and how he would correct mistakes. Not even the IRS would be able to get any information out of him.

But when the subject of rookie cornerback Johnthan Banks came up, Oden sang like a bird, praising Banks, effusively.

“He will be up against a lot,” Oden said. “What he is learning is everyone is good here, everyone is fast. You have to play with that sense of urgency down in and down out. Things are going to go wrong and that the most important play for a cornerback is the next one. I think he will be just fine.

“He has confirmed some things we learned about him: He is a very passionate person, very prideful. He wants to do it right. Wants to do it the right way. He is smart and knows how to adjust.”

Banks seems to be, based mostly on Oden’s information, an extension of Leonard Johnson, who Oden highly praised for his exceptional work ethic. While Banks bragged how NFL receivers are no faster than SEC receivers, he will soon find out the NFL is not the SEC. It’s grown man football.

How quickly the Bucs’ secondary improves from last year may depend on how quickly Banks adjusts to the NFL. The strength of a secondary is tied to its weakest link. To date, no one suggested Banks is on Darrelle Revis’ level quite yet.

Ex-communicated last spring from the New Schiano Order, Tanard Jackson got another chance in D.C., and he promptly filled his blood with banned substances again and landed on the street for the season and more.

Over and over Jackson has proven he can’t stay away from alcohol-free party materials, or Adderrall, or whatever he ingests that’s cost him millions of dollars. But amazingly, Jackson keeps getting more chances.

Now the Redskins are on record ready to embrace Jackson’s return for this season– if Roger Goodell gives his blessing.

Asked about Jackson last week, [Skins defensive coordinator] Haslett said, “Obviously if we got Tanard back, you know that’s another bonus because he’s a heck of a football player. I don’t know where that stands with the NFL, but we’d welcome back with open arms.”

Jimminy Christmas! Was Jackson really that good? So impressive during the heinous collapse of 2011, when the Bucs’ secondary was carved up like a Christmas ham?

What’s next? Will Monte Kiffin bring Jackson to Dallas if the Redskins pass?

Joe wishes Jackson well.

Joe always gets a laugh when he hears Bucs fans blubber about how the strongside linebacker in the Bucs’ 4-3 defense — Raheem/Gruden/Dungy or New Schiano Order regimes — isn’t a big deal.

Well, it is considered a big deal by the organization.

If you need evidence, just look to rockstar general manager Mark Dominik guaranteeing Quincy Black $11 million or so before the 2011 season (not the GM’s finest hour), or take how aggressively the Bucs pursued Cato June in 2007, and then quickly signed him away from the Super Bowl champs to a $12 million contract.

This season, the Bucs are issuing clear signs they hope fourth-year pro Dekoda Watson emerges into a strongside linebacker beast. And if so, Watson will walk into a massive payday.

Watson only just turned 25. And last week Greg Schiano called him an “elite” special teams player.

That adjective surely had Watson’s agent foaming at the wallet.

If Watson only has a decent season in 2013, his special teams prowess — and age — will put him in demand around the NFL.

Again, while many fans don’t believe the Bucs value the position, Joe disagrees. And Joe believes the Bucs will invest in Watson if he proves to be a solid starter. But first Watson has to win the job, something he couldn’t wrestle away from Adam Hayward last season.

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Warren Sapp seems to believe quarterbacks should be judged by playoff victories

Kurt Warner recently busted out a take on the NFL’s 10 best quarterbacks on NFL Network, and Josh Freeman was nowhere to be found on the list. Neither were playoff quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin, III, or even bratty Jay Cutler and his 51-42 career record.

“It’s all about Super Bowls, and it’s all about consistency,” Warner said of the reasoning driving his picks.

As expected, Warner’s top-10 list drew boos from some of his colleagues, and Warren Sapp took particular offense to Warner selecting Matt Ryan as his seventh best QB, one spot behind Eli Manning and one ahead of Joe Flacco.

“Matt Ryan’s got as many wins as Shaun King in the playoffs. I can’t see him on anybody’s list,” Sapp screamed in disbelief of Warner.

This chatter reminded Joe of the horrendous ranking godfather NFL personnel man Gil Brandt gave Freeman in January, when he ranked Freeman as the 14th best NFL QB under 30 years old on NFL.com.

So where does Freeman rank among his fellow starters? Joe believes the answer is only relevant as it relates to how the Bucs’ decision-makers rank Freeman.

If after this season, Freeman’s fifth, Greg Schiano and Mark Dominik don’t think they have a QB among the top half of starters in the NFL, perhaps they opt to move on to a guy with more potential upside?

There is no controversy now, though, as Joe’s written previously. Freeman has every tool/weapon he needs and will paint a clear picture of what kind of QB he his during the 2013 season.

YAC is a wonderful term. And, no, it has nothing to do with the time Joe once got a hold of some rotten scotch.

For those unknowing of the acronym, it stands for “Yards After Catch.” It is often used in offensive terms to judge how much of a home run hitter a wide receiver or a tight end may be.

But defenses use it, too. And in the case of one Bucs cornerback, it’s a stat he will certainly want to reverse.

Recently, Joe shared that the numbers crunchers at Pro Football Focus believed Leonard Johnson may be a secret superstar. Well, the crowd at Football Outsiders, which is a kindred spirit of Pro Football Focus, broke out their calculators and determined that Johnson was the worst corner in the NFL for giving up YAC, so types Rivers McCown.

Johnson, per McCown, was targeted for big gains by opposing offensive coordinators. Receivers who Johnson were guarding were able to get downfield after the catch for an average of 7.3 yards per reception.

The interesting thing about McCown’s story is it also lays out who the worst cornerbacks overall were using a variety of data, and none of the Bucs corners came in the bottom 10, though helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, Adderrall-popping, coach-cussing, referee-charging, pistol-friendly, granny-hassling Aqib Talib was third-worst, just behind Nnamdi Asomugha.

And to think there are still Bucs fans sore that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik was able to thieve a fourth-round pick from Bill Belicheat for Talib.

When Joe hears of football coaches wanting a player to play with more “urgency,” Joe thinks that’s code for coaches believing a player takes plays off.

After all, every snap is critical in the NFL. Every snap can turn a game. Every snap is urgent. And when a quarterback is playing without urgency, that’s a terrible sign.

So Joe is troubled by Rick Stroud writing today that the Bucs want Freeman to up his urgency, so Stroud penned for TampaBay.com.

But coaches would like to see him demonstrate a greater sense of urgency in games from start to finish. What does that mean for the laid-back Freeman? Showing more fire while keeping his cool.

Stroud includes quotes from Bucs QB coach John McNulty praising Freeman’s authoritative demeanor and urgency during spring practices.

Joe’s not sure exactly where Stroud learned the Bucs want Freeman to “demonstrate a greater sense of urgency from start to finish.” That’s unclear in the story. So Joe hopes Stroud is mistaken.

If Freeman does have urgency issues, that would be awful. Frankly, Joe’s never heard anything like that out of One Buc Palace, players or coaches.

In fact, coaches and Freeman himself said pressing and forcing plays that aren’t there — essentially showing too much urgency — have hurt Freeman most.

Joe actually believes that Freeman’s serious but generally calm demeanor isn’t a bad thing. Joe very well remembers that incredible cool helping Freeman to some incredible fourth-quarter wins early in his career.