Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King’s failing grades for rockstar general manager Mark Dominik moved from Tampa Bay airwaves and Internet space to the national NBC Sports Network studios yesterday.

NBC NFL guru Mike Florio asked King, who is a busy analyst for NBC, to explain his harsh critiques of Dominik. King obliged. One of three quarterbacks to lead the Bucs to the NFC title game, King made it clear that he likes Dominik personally but can’t let that cloud his judgment.

“It has not been good,” King said of Dominik’s reign. King, among other takes, explained that the Bucs’ failed secondary of years past drove the Darrelle Revis trade, so Dominik shouldn’t be lauded for that bold move.

King went on to say he hears Bucs fans pounding him for his wide-sweeping Dominik criticism. “If you criticize [Dominik], it’s almost like they think you have something against him,” said King, who reminded viewers he has nothing against the Bucs GM.”

You can catch the entire interview below, which includes some impromptu rap by King.

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Is a fourth-year undrafted defensive end with zero career sacks part of the answer for the Bucs’ defense?

Cool cat Rick Brown, of the Lakeland Ledger, took a look at Bucs DE Aaron Morgan and explored that possibility.

Joe saw Morgan at practice last week playing his share of right defensive end in what appeared to be the dreaded three-man fronts. Yes, Morgan likely was there because Adrian Clayborn is proceeding cautiously to baby his knee, but Morgan was there nonetheless.

His odds are slim after the Bucs drafted two defensive ends in the fourth and fifth rounds this offseason: William Gholston and Steven Means. But Morgan was a New Schiano Order pickup late last season after Jacksonville cut him, and he’s still around, which has to say something positive.

Greg Schiano also praised Morgan’s pass rush skills last week.

Joe, though, feels uneasy that a veteran who hasn’t done anything could be part of the Bucs’ depth plans at a very critical position. That wouldn’t feel like a good sign.

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Is John Lynch among the Buccaneers’ All-Time greatest four figures?

Derrick Brooks thinks so, so he said to NBC Sports Network for their Buccaneers Mt. Rushmore feature last night.

Brooks also goes on to talk about how he created a position for the “tweeners” and explains why he refused to work out at positions other than linebacker coming out of college. Brooks also takes shots at Shaun King, and gives King love for his poise as a rookie. (The full segment is below.)

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NBC Sports Network has been having fun choosing Mt. Rushmore representatives for each NFL team, and they got to the Bucs yesterday.

Father Dungy weighed in, as did Shaun King, while the fan voting tally picked the winners.

Lee Roy Selmon, Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp took everybody’s top three spots, but No. 4 stirred some debate. Father Dungy said he felt like he needed to pick an offensive player and chose Mike Alstott because he was darn good and set the physical tone for the franchise. King pegged Father Dungy for leading the turnaround of the organization, and King also threw love at Malcolm Glazer for changing the culture from top to bottom.

The fans picked Ronde Barber as their fourth and final icon. John Lynch was fifth in fan voting. Alstott was sixth. Dungy placed seventh. And Chucky and Monte Kiffin tied for ninth place.

Joe can’t go with Alstott. Joe would have to say that Doug Williams’ place in Bucs history is more worthy of being carved into stone. Barber, in Joe’s mind, also is more worthy than A-train.

It’s a fun debate. You can catch the full NBC segment below with Dungy, King and others.

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Have the Bucs done every last thing possible to win a Super Bowl this coming season?

No, they haven’t. Joe’s not being negative. The Bucs just didn’t approach this offseason with an all-in mentality. They’re sitting on a pile of salary cap cash (about $18 million). That’s not what teams do when they’re going for broke.

Now it doesn’t always make sense to go for the ring, especially if you believe your team isn’t ready, and in this era of rolling over unused cash to the following season’s payroll. Joe suspects that in the bowels of One Buc Palace, Team Glazer, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Greg Schiano have talked about how 2014 is their year — following a winning season in 2013.

Pat Yasinskas and Matt Williamson, of ESPN, looked at the Bucs’ offseason and decided they could have done more.

Williamson was also critical of the Bucs for not doing more on the offensive side of the ball. I see his point. The Bucs have plenty of salary-cap room and they could have done more to surround quarterback Josh Freeman with talent.

Joe can’t buy the take that Freeman needs more talent. The guy just needs to play smarter and protect the football. He’s got a manbeast offensive line and Pro Bowl weapons. He doesn’t need more to win a Super Bowl.

If Joe were playing GM trying to win a Super Bowl now, Joe would have invested more on defense. This Bucs team would be scarier with another stud cornerback and a proven pass rusher.

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Yeah, it’s early June, D-Day to be exact for Joe’s fellow history nerds. The NFL regular season is three months away.

Talk to any coach and he will tell you how the foundation of a good season is built in the offseason. If that axiom is true, Bucs safety Dashon Goldson is helping erect one helluva house

After OTA practice Tuesday, Goldson talked long about how he believes he has a responsibility to help out his younger teammates in June in order to win games in January. It’s why he and Darrelle Revis spent a long time after practice with Leonard Johnson and Danny Gorrer working on tipped balls and ball-handling drills.

“During, after, I think is important for the secondary,” Goldson said of the extra work with his teammates. “I’m trying to teach the guys the ropes. Extra work is always good.

“That has been something in me since I was young. I was always a motivated guy. I was always looked at myself as to try to lead out there. I know this is a young crowd out here. I’m just trying to help out and show some of my experiences with them. Show the work that I have [put in] and it is always OK to ask questions. Shine a little light upon them. I have played in the postseason; I have played some good teams and some bad teams. I have some experiences.

Also, Goldson loves the fact he is practicing each day against one of the top receivers in the game, teammate Vincent Jackson.

“Going up against guys like that, it does nothing but enhance our defense,’ Goldson said. “Don’t forget Mike [Williams], he’s a good football player too. Going against those guys will make us a better football team on Sundays. This is like a gametime atmosphere coming out here and competing. We have one goal: to win.”

Seeing Goldson and Revis putting in extra time with younger teammates is not an accident, Goldson explained.

Bucs coach Greg Schiano “brought us in to be good leaders and show the way<” Goldson said. “Communication. A lot of breakdowns in the secondary happens because of a lock of communication. Definitely being on the same page and playing fast. Know what you are doing. Preparation is the key.

“Communication is what it is all about. Learning in the [class] room. Understand why we do certain things and be confident.”

Now this is not a knock on Bucs legend Ronde Barber whatsoever. Barber was sort of a quiet leader. He was more to himself, but never shied away from helping a teammate if they came to ask questions.

Revis and Goldson are much more hands-on. It’s like they enjoy approaching others to explain how things are done the right way so the little things turn into big wins in the fall.

Joe snapped a few photos between raindrops of Bucs mingling with Clearwater youngsters at the ribbon-cutting of the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field, located in the Greenwood neighborhood of Clearwater next to Jack Russell Stadium.

Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer and Josh Freeman share a laugh with some Greenwood neighborhood youngsters at the ribbon-cutting of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field in Clearwater adjacent to Jack Russell Stadium.

Leonard Johnson, who grew up just one block from the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field in Clearwater, was all smiles for the jewel of his neighborhood Wednesday.

Bucs center Jeremy Zuttah gives a youngster some one-on-one tips as he and a few Bucs worked out with NFL hopefuls at the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field in Clearwater.

Bucs left tackle Donald Penn offers encouragement to a young football player running through the ropes, working on his footwork at the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field Wednesday.

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman keeps a close eye as a young football player jogs through dummies at the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field in Clearwater.

Leonard Johnson could have jumped for joy he was so excited when he learned Darrelle Revis was coming to the Bucs.

Joe wrote yesterday that it was cool that both Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson, the big-time offseason additions to the Bucs’ secondary, were putting in extra work with Leonard Johnson and Danny Gorrer, doing tip drills and loose-ball drills after Tuesday’s OTA practice.

Joe hoped the two All-Pros would do that for the younger defensive backs, much like Vincent Jackson did last year for the Bucs’ young receivers, be a big brother and demonstrate what it takes to be elite.

Johnson said Wednesday that is exactly what Revis and Goldson are doing with the young DBs. Johnson said he has already seen a difference in the Bucs’ secondary.

And it is only the first week of June.

“It’s exciting to be out there. We are making a big improvement in the secondary. We are more supportive among the guys,” Johnson said at the christening of the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field in Clearwater. “I’m excited to get back into football shape and fine-tuning your craft and competing.”

A lot of the new attitude is coming straight from Revis and Goldson, Johnson noted.

“They love that they have younger guys eager to learn,” Johnson said. “Revis is phenomenal. I already have a relationship with him and Dashon. Words cannot explain how I feel about them in terms of what they do on the field and the steps they take to get their game to where they want it to be.

“I am just trying to follow in their footsteps.”

Some young players wouldn’t be so eager for a team to acquire a player at their position, largely considered to be the best in the league like Revis. That wasn’t the case with Johnson when he learned of rock star general manager Mark Dominik’s trade for Revis.

“I was very excited,” Johnson said. “Very excited.”

Mike Williams is one of many Bucs who plan to shave their heads in support of youngsters fighting cancer. But what about re-growing his old Grady Wilson beard?

Last week, Joe brought the message that in an effort to raise funds for pediatric cancer, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik was going to shave his head.

Since, several other Bucs have jumped on the bandwagon and will shave their heads to help raise monies for such a worthy cause. Below, per the Bucs, is a list of players (so far) who have pledged to go hairless up top for the youngsters.

Connor Barth
Ahmad Black
Jonathan Casillas
Andrew Economos
Mason Foster
Josh Freeman
Ka’lial Glaud
Cody Grimm
Michael Koenen
Dan Orlovsky
Mike Remmers
Cody Wallace
Mike Williams

Joe wonders if Williams’ pledge to his head will spark him to re-grow that nasty Grady Wilson nest he grew last offseason?

At least Freeman will have about a six weeks or so to grow back his ‘fro before training camp starts.

Members of the Bucs, including Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer, as well as Clearwater civic leaders, post at a ribbon cutting for the new “Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field” Wednesday.

What once was a parking lot for a decaying Florida State League ballpark on the western edge of Clearwater is now home to two state-of-the-art youth fields, one replete with football uprights.

And a good chunk of that is thanks to the Bucs. The Bucs kicked in $100,000, about a third of the cost, and the rest came from the NFL and various sources.

Adjacent to the old Jack Russell Stadium, which for decades was the home to the Clearwater Phillies and spring home to the Philadelphia Phillies (and after partial-demolition is now home to the baseball academy “The Winning Inning” and the Clearwater High School baseball team) is now the shining new “Tampa Bay Buccaneers Field.”

On hand for the ribbon-cutting yesterday was Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer along with Josh Freeman, Donald Penn, Jeremy Zuttah, Ted Larsen and Leonard Johnson.

Johnson knows the rough Greenwood neighborhood well. He lives there. In fact, he walked home after the festivities. Johnson, who couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face during the entire program, grew up a David Rivers interception return from the new field.

“This is wonderful,” Johnson said, looking at the pristine fields. “I can come back home and know that there are other adults out there who care about the community and giving back to the community. I never had anything like this growing up.

“For the kids, I am excited for them that they can play on an NFL [condition] field.”

Greenwood will never be confused with Avila or Treasure Island. It is a rough part of town where crimes sometimes outnumber success stories, like that of Johnson’s. The Bucs’ cornerback believes the generous donation by the Glazer Family will go a long way to foster success for local kids and cut crime.

“Oh man, this will help [local youths] out tremendously,” Johnson said. “It will help keep them out of trouble and keep them in tune with football and have something for them to look forward to all year round.”

Johnson played in the Greenwood Panthers football program from age 7 before shining as a four-year starting quarterback at Largo High School. Four of Johnson’s coaches with the Greenwood Panthers were in attendance (still active in youth football) as were several civic leaders, youth football players and youth cheerleaders along with a couple of Bucs cheerleaders.

Glazer smiled nearly as much as Johnson did.

“This field will give the kids a chance to get out there, practice their football skills, practice their life lessons and maybe, we can get a Buccaneer player out of it like Leonard Johnson, which is fantastic,” Glazer said. Buccaneers’ outreach projects are “a very important part of our team and each year it gets better and better and I really do appreciate it.”

Tampa Bay electronic media czar J.P. Peterson cranked out a nice video package largely dealing with Darrelle Revis’ comeback from ACL surgery and how he and Dashon Goldson are fitting in with their new team in this TampaBaySportsCentral.com piece.

There is a segment of Bucs fans who wish Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik would cut ties with starting quarterback Josh Freeman before the sun sets today (you mean there is a sun behind these clouds?).

Tired of his inconsistency, one-hop passes to running backs and streaks of ghastly interceptions, some Bucs fans want the team to simply turn the page on Freeman. And if that means starting a rookie third round pick, so be it, so Freeman’s critics say.

Aside from the glaring obvious, that’s not likely to happen, notes noted NFL analyst Evan Silva from, among other places, RotoWorld.com, so Silva Twittered Tuesday.

@dustinbuescher: What are the chances Mike Glennon is the Bucs starting QB by season’s end?

‏@evansilva: I’ll say 5-10 percent.

And in Joe’s eyes, that’s only if Freeman is hurt.

Look, is Joe sold that Freeman is the answer as the Bucs franchise quarterback for the next decade? No. Way too many people are hanging their hats on Freeman’s 10-win season in 2010. That’s ancient history in the NFL. His 6-15 mark against teams with a winning record scares the hell of out Joe.

But this doesn’t mean Joe has lost his mind.

Freeman is now entering the second year under a new, complex offense. Wide receivers (Mike Williams), linebackers (Mason Foster), defensive linemen (Gerald McCoy), safeties (Mark Barron), just to name a few positions, note how much smoother things are for them in the second year under the New Schiano Order. They feel they are well-advanced because they already know the system and it should translate into better play.

Joe agrees with them. So why should we agree with them but in the snap of the fingers, dismiss the take for Freeman and not give him the same latitude while playing at the most complex position on a football team?

Could Glennon do better than Freeman? Well, anything is possible, but for every Russell Wilson (third-round pick) Joe can come up with three Colt McCoys (third-round pick) who flamed out in the NFL.

Joe is not a gambling man and doesn’t like those odds.

Look, if Freeman stinks up the joint this year, he won’t get re-upped (or franchised). If he plays well and/or the Bucs make the playoffs, he’ll return.

And as it currently stands, Freeman is the best chance for the Bucs to win in 2013.

There’s no controversy.

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Back when Raheem Morris was guiding a super-young band of Bucs to a 10-6 record, the team was told to live by the motto “Stats are for losers,” along with other one-liners to motivate and focus the “yungry.”

But now there’s been an about face. Greg Schiano is a stats guy.

Months ago, Schiano said he pegged Da’Quan Bowers as a double-digit sackmaster for 2013. And it seems Bowers has swallowed up the message. Bowers told Tampa Tribune columnist Martin Fennelly yesterday that he will deserve an “F” grade with anything less.

“I’m looking to be dominant,” Bowers said. “I take the responsibility for that. Anything less than double-digit sacks is a failure for the season. … I think the way Coach Schiano has the scheme set up, and my capabilities, and having Gerald draw all the attention, it could be a whole lot easier to get double-digits sacks. You just have to work as a unit and not have individual rush planes, just work as a combined unit.”

Twenty NFL players had 10 or more sacks last season; 13 of them were defensive ends.

Bowers is truly looking to step into elite company after notching three sacks in part-time action last season.

Joe’s concerned that Bowers might get too caught up in the numbers. Yeah, Bowers is going to need to at least match Michael Bennett’s production (9 sacks) to make this a successful season, but winning is still all that matters.

Last year, one reason Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik signed wide receiver Vincent Jackson was for his leadership skills. Dominik guessed, rightly, that his young receivers needed to learn from a solid vet how to be pros.

And that’s exactly what happened. Jackson took fellow wide receiver Mike Williams under his wing, showed him how to put in the work off the field, if not on the field, that it takes to be a top tier NFL player.

This offseason, Dominik also applied the same philosophy to what was one of the most woeful secondaries ever to take an NFL field. It seems to be paying off already, and it is only early June.

Well after yesterday’s Bucs OTA practice was over, a good 20 minutes, perhaps a half-hour, there was Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson working on tip drills and ballhandling drills with safety Mark Barron and cornerbacks Leonard Johnson and Danny Gorrer.

None of those guys needed to be out there. Surely Revis, rehabbing his surgically reconstructed ACL, and Goldson didn’t need to be there. Johnson and Gorrer didn’t have to be there.

But there they were, led of course by the new alpha males of the Bucs secondary, Revis and Goldson.

It was impressive for Joe to see. And Joe suspects this isn’t the first time that has happened. These big brother-little-brother moments will pay off come September for the Bucs defensive backs.

There’s only one reason legions of Bucs fans are fantasizing about a Super Bowl run this season; his name is Darrelle Revis.

Without a healthy Revis, well, the Bucs secondary might look much like it did last season, more painful than watching Sabby The Goat take an angle on a ball carrier. So Revis’ health is critical.

Is he healthy? Revis isn’t cleared to play football, but he’s feeling ready, so Revis told media at One Buc Palace yesterday. Electronic media czar J.P. Peterson of TampaBaySportsCentral.com followed Revis around practice yesterday and documented his every move. You can catch the video here.

“I’m going full tilt and I’m cuttin’ because I feel good. So I’m cuttin’ and runnin’ and doing what I have to do,” Revis said. “But I still have to listen to [Bucs trainer] Todd [Toriscelli] and go through the process for them to clear me to get back on the field.”

Opening kickoff is in 93 days.

Ric Flair’s biggest fan in the Bucs’ locker room, Bucs middle linebacker Mason Foster, chatted with reporters after practice yesterday and a top subject was another Bucs linebacker, Lavonte David.

Foster, who was David’s roommate last year as the two developed a strong bond, sang the praises of his comrade and how that extra year being around each other may make it painful for opposing running backs.

“You feel more familiar with the players around you and the calls,” Foster said of being with David and the second year under the New Schiano Order. That offseason leading into the second year is when “you get to polish things up.”

Then, Foster, who Joe thought was on the cusp of eating pineapple early last season, had good news for Bucs fans and a warning for opponents: David is even better than last year, if one can imagine.

David having a year of experience means “everything, man,” Foster said. “We are close as friends, close as teammates. We kind of feed off of each other after spending a year with each other. I think we understand when he’s going to take his shot and when I’m going to take my shot. It helps us make us make more plays.

“[David]” is a lot strong in the weight room, he’s talking a lot more, he is Lavonte 2.0. He is bigger and better.”

The photo above captured one of the great bang-your-freakin’-head-against-the-wall moments of last season. Dekoda Watson came in clean on a punt block but completely forgot his technique.

Watson missed the sure block against Dallas and was tagged with roughing the kicker. To make matters worse, bad experiment Jordan Shipley fumbled away the punt, and the Cowboys recovered and got the extra 15 yards from the penalty. It was an absolute killer in the Bucs’ six-point loss. Greg Schiano even called the play a 10-point swing.

But the Bucs rebounded to lead the NFL in blocked punts with three, a huge total by NFL standards. Two were by Watson, and one was from Aqib Talib, plus Ronde Barber had a deflected punt that didn’t count in the stats.

Joe brings this up because the New Schiano Order was on its punt-block details again today at practice. Beat man Tom Krasniqi, of WDAE-AM 620, had was observing the process.

New Bucs special teams coach Dave Wannstedt is the most vocal assistant coach out there.  At one point during practice, he was teaching the players on the proper technique of blocking a punt. Schiano also supervised the drill.  The Bucs are really placing an emphasis on good special teams play for 2013.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Schiano and his punt-blocking obsession can stay ahead of the rest of the NFL. The Bucs didn’t block a punt in their last seven games of 2012.

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Of course, like in most of the NFL world, talk at One Buc Palace today was largely dominated by the passing of a true NFL icon, the great Deacon Jones.

The Bucs have invested several draft picks on defensive linemen over the past few years. One seems on the cusp of something huge (Gerald McCoy), and another has shown flashes of doing something when not hurt (Da’Quan Bowers). To them, Jones was sort of a pied piper of defensive linemen.

Though neither met Jones, they both were well aware of what he meant to the NFL.

“I didn’t know him,” Bowers said. “Of course, I knew of him. You have to know your history. I never had the opportunity to meet him. It would have been an honor. He’s the reason we do what we do. Obviously, we all grew up watching him on NFL Films and I wanted to be just like him. Guys like that come around just once in a lifetime.”

“He was so aggressive. Here was a guy who invented the sack. What more can you say about that? About the time he invented the word ‘sack,’ he had about 160. That says enough. A player of that caliber? A legend. Truly, a legend.”

Yes, Jones invented the term “sack,” by which all defensive linemen are judged. But that’s not enough for the Bucs, Bowers explained. The team wants, and may need, more than just simply sacks.

“Around here, we don’t say ‘sack.’ We say ‘sack/fumble,’ Bowers said. “We are trying to invent something else. Sacks aren’t good enough. So we are trying to invent a sack/fumble. Of course, having guys like Dashon [Goldson] and Darrelle [Revis] in your pass secondary gives you so much – an extra millisecond to get to the quarterback means a whole lot.”

It’s a philosophy that has GMC on board. He wants to take what Jones established for defensive linemen, and take it a step further.

“A sack is OK,” GMC said. “But when we get sacks, we want to get sack/fumbles. Coach Schiano doesn’t even like sacks because he thinks all sacks should be sack/fumbles, which I agree with because a sack/fumble gives you not just an opportunity for a takeaway, but to score points. And that is the goal of the defense, to get the ball back.”