Per the Buccaneers’ official Twitter feed, kicker Conner Barth is out for the year due to a non-football injury.

As a result, the Bucs have signed former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes.

@TBBuccaneers: Connor Barth will be placed on non-football injury list. Lawrence Tynes was the NFL’s 2nd-leading scorer in 2012 and a Pro Bowl alternate.

Joe also has learned the injury is an Achilles. Apparently, the injury occurred during a charity basketball game.

The signing of Tynes is key. He was absolutely clutch in playoff games during both of the Giants’ Super Bowl-winning seasons under Tom Coughlin. Frankly, for Joe, you likely couldn’t find a better replacement.

UPDATE: Joe is pasting the following paragraphs straight from a press release issued by the Bucs on Barth’s injury. The injury was to Barth’s kicking leg.:

“We are disappointed to lose a productive player like Connor, but are very fortunate to be able to sign an experienced kicker at this time of year,” Buccaneers General Manager Mark Dominik said. “Lawrence and his agent, Ken Harris, had other standing opportunities, but we are pleased that they thought this was the right place for Lawrence to continue his career.”

Barth tore his right Achilles tendon while playing in a charity basketball game with other NFL players on Friday.  The sixth-year veteran had successful surgery to repair the injury on Monday but is not expected to return to the field season.  Barth, who was heading into the second year of a four-year contract extension signed last offseason, has made a team-record 84.3 percent of his field goal attempts since signing with the Buccaneers midway through the 2009 season.  In 2011, he set a single-season franchise record by making 26 of 28 tries for a success rate of 92.9 percent.

Longtime Buccaneer running back Earnest Graham offered strong takes on his former teammate, Josh Freeman.

Some, including Greg Schiano, say quarterbacks get too much credit and/or too much blame.

Some believe quarterbacks are given way too much responsibility for a team’s winning and losing.

Former Bucs running back Earnest Graham isn’t one of those guys.

Speaking on The Sports Page on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday, Graham said because Josh Freeman has so many established, premium weapons around him and a vastly improved defense “we’re all going to be looking at the quarterback and that’s how it should be in this game. The quarterback is the leader of the team.”

Graham said Freeman’s 2013 success will be determined by his mental state and execution.

“In the NFL it’s a game that’s so challenging, that, you know, the thing that we look at that we can’t see is inside somebody’s head,” Graham said. “You know what I mean. You can look at a guy that has all the intangibles, the size, the arm, can move with his feet, but what are the adjustments he makes upstairs? That’s what we gotta find out from Josh.”

Graham says he believes Freeman can finish games and be strong mentally. Freeman “was just a cool operator down the stretch [in 2010],” Graham said. “but we were terrible at starting games. That all came down to focus and attention to detail early on.”

For those who like to wager, Graham said he’s confident the Bucs will start 2013 very strong. But he’s most concerned with how Freeman reacts to adjustments made by other teams and how Freeman maintains his focus. “Josh can drift a little bit,” said Graham, who clarified that saying Freeman has “issues with focus at times.” (You can catch the entire Graham interview below.)

When some Buccaneers failed their welcome-to-training-camp conditioning test last year, Greg Schiano said he wasn’t surprised. Stuff like that happens with new expectations from a new regime, Schiano said.

However, Schiano also made it clear that he expected absolutely no failures in future seasons.

That pressure apparently struck fear in the heart and a rumble in the gut of Donald Penn, who isn’t known for being a picture of fitness. Penn took to Twitter yesterday to explain that he was unnerved by the start of training camp but isn’t anymore.

@DPenn70 – I’m so scared of our conditioning test but guess what I just did it n passed it now I ain’t worried bout nothing camp here I come

The Bucs’ conditioning tests — and expected results — vary for different body types. Nobody expects Penn to be Vincent Jackson.

It will be interesting to see how many, if any, returning Bucs fail to hit the New Schiano Order fitness standards. That might be tolerated from a rookie or someone new to the organization, but not from anyone else.

eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune senses Bucs fans will not be outraged by missing the playoffs this season.

In some NFL cities excellence is not a hope; it’s demanded by the local fanbase.

Though Joe thinks the NFC East is annually the most overrated, overhyped division, Joe has heard the saying that teams in those divisions cannot undergo rebuilding phases because an outraged fanbase would not tolerate such a move. And it was tried, that team’s front office types would not be able to walk the streets without being ringed by armed bodyguards.

The great eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune seemed to imply that because Bucs fans are more laid back than those in other cities that have had NFL teams for nearly a century, a sense of urgency to win in Tampa is not as heightened, so he said Tuesday while appearing on “The Opening Drive” co-hosted by Bob Papa and Amani Toomer and heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

“I think they can win 10 games and not make the playoffs. They play in such a tough division. And you know what? There’s not a Bucs fan in the world that’s going to complain,” Kaufman said. “Expectations tend to be low here. They haven’t won a playoff game since they won the Super Bowl. I mean, that’s a long time. They haven’t been in a playoff game in five years, so, you know, most people would say, ‘Eh, 8-8 is a good season.’

“This is not New York with the Giants or in New England where you go 9-7 and it’s a horrible season. So, you know, Bucs fans are cautiously optimistic.”

Good, bad or indifferent, it does seem as if Bucs fans don’t have that burning anger in them that some fanbases have. In other words, they are more civilized.

Years ago Joe watched a Steelers game at the old Three Rivers Stadium and witnessed two Pittsburgh fans getting into a fistfight over Jerome Bettis (the fracas was partially ignited when Steelers fan-A inadvertently whipped Steelers fan-B in the face with a swinging Terrible Towel).

Can you imagine two Bucs fans getting into a fistfight over Mike Alstott? Of course not.

Does Kaufman have a point that the Bucs may have double-digit wins and not make the playoffs? Joe has written that countless times. Is the Bucs fanbase so passive they don’t pressure the Bucs to change their ways? Joe’s not ready to go there.

Team Glazer fired Chucky after back-to-back winning seasons citing fans not feeling good about the team. And just looking at how Bucs fans wanted Raheem Morris incarcerated showed Joe the impatience Bucs fans have for ineptitude.

The Bucs have added Batman and Robin. They have added a young stud of a corner in Johnthan Banks. They have one of the better young linebackers in the NFL in Lavonte David, one of the best offensive lines, one of the top running backs in the NFL, and a dangerous if not lethal pair of wide receivers.

Yet the Walter Football crowd is anything but impressed. In a week-by-week full season prediction, WalterFootball.com claims the Bucs will have a Biblical collapse and finish the season 5-11; two games worse than last season despite all the upgrades.

Here are predictions by Walter Football, detailing one of the worst seasons in Bucs history (home team in caps):

Week 1:
JETS 16, Buccaneers 13
Week 2:
Saints 24, BUCCANEERS 23
Week 3:
PATRIOTS 38, Buccaneers 10
Week 4:
BUCCANEERS 13, Cardinals 10
Week 6:
BUCCANEERS 17, Eagles 13
Week 7:
FALCONS 24, Buccaneers 17
Week 8:
Panthers 31, BUCCANEERS 23
Week 9:
SEAHAWKS 30, Buccaneers 20
Week 10:
Dolphins 23, BUCCANEERS 20
Week 11:
BUCCANEERS 28, Falcons 27
Week 12:
LIONS 24, Buccaneers 21
Week 13:
Buccaneers 23, PANTHERS 17
Week 14:
BUCCANEERS 23, Bills 16
Week 15:
49ers 31, BUCCANEERS 13
Week 16:
RAMS 20, Buccaneers 13
Week 17:
SAINTS 36, Buccaneers 16

Now mind you, this prediction came after the Bucs made so many upgrades and the expected return of key starters who missed loads of games in 2012.

Joe believes that if there is a collapse of monumental proportions like this, then not only is Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik gone, so too likely would be Bucs coach Greg Schiano, in what Joe could only expect to be a major housecleaning at One Buc Palace.

Frankly, a 5-11 record would shock Joe.

There is a lot at stake for the Bucs and Josh Freeman this year. If Freeman plays well and the Bucs make the playoffs, then Freeman, who is in the final year of his contract, could hit the mother-load and be wealthy beyond his boyhood dreams.

But Freeman’s success, or lack thereof, would directly affect the Bucs for the next few years claims Amani Toomer, co-host of “The Opening Drive,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. In short, if the Bucs give Freeman a big contract after struggling this year, the Bucs will have to start shedding salaries on defense, Toomer explained this morning.

Toomer believes that could spell doom for the Bucs’ foreseeable future and said he believes this season is Freeman’s last shot to hit the NFL lottery.

“If you give [Freeman] $100 million dollar plus deal, they are going to have to start getting rid people on their defense. They want to know if they sign Josh Freeman, he will give them the type of bump that they need so they can start getting rid of these people on defense and it is not going to affect their team.

“It’s one of those situations where you have to make sure. You can’t miss on these guys. You can’t miss on a quarterback and give him a big time contract or he will put your whole team in a pickle for a long time.

“If you give a quarterback $100 million or a big time deal, most of the time they are not going to get better. It is just human nature. You are going to level out. ‘Well, they think I am good at this amount. This is what they expect of me. So I will just keep giving them that.’ Now if put in incentives to grow – this may be Josh Freeman’s last opportunity to really get pushed to the test, his last hurdle before he gets that big-time contract. [The Bucs] are looking at using every type of motivation they can to get him to that next level and I understand it. Once you get $100 million, there’s not much a coach can tell you. ‘You need to play better.’ ‘Oh, really? You just gave me $100 million. How much better do I have to play?’”

Joe finds it interesting that Toomer said if the Bucs sign Freeman to a new massive deal, then the Bucs will have to start peeling off salaries in the secondary. Joe wonders who exactly he was referring to? Eric Wright? Myron Lewis? Surely not Batman and Robin?

Toomer is pretty much spot on in that this season is not just a crossroads for Freeman’s career and bank account, but so too is it for the Bucs franchise. If Freeman can’t turn the corner, what does the team do?

If you believe fans speak with their dollars, then things are looking up in a big way for the Bucs.

Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman has penned a piece that celebrates encouraging ticket sales data out of One Buc Palace, specifically from Bucs Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford. 

“Our (season ticket) renewal rate is equal to the glory years, back in the day, so it’s not like we’re digging out of a hole,” Ford said Monday. “It helps we’ve got the best home schedule. Two prime-time games, one on a Monday night against Miami when Warren Sapp goes into our Ring of Honor, and a Thursday night game against a division rival (Carolina).”

According to the Bucs, overall ticket sales have increased by more than 60 percent from this point in 2012.

Joe can’t say he’s surprised. Preseason fan interest and excitement in the Buccaneers is at a level Joe hasn’t seen in many years. You can sort of just feel it in the air.

The New Schiano Order, along with Darrelle Revis and Doug Martin, have ignited a lot of hope and buzz. Joe’s traffic on these here pages also continues to explode, which could be reflective of that interest — or fans’ boredom with traditional media options continues to grow.

Regardless, the early ticket-sales news bodes well for cutting TV blackouts. Last year’s home game against the Saints busted the blackout threshold and got the game televised locally. It’s hard to imagine that won’t happen against the Saints for the home-opener on Sept. 15. If so, that would be the first locally televised home-opener since 2009.

Free agent linebacker Jonathan Casillas isn’t sure what to expect when he reports for training camp next week.

When the wide-eyed flock of Bucs rookies starts practicing with the veterans next week, it will be a rude awakening. No longer are they in Starkville or Raleigh or Champaign or Lansing.

They are now in the big leagues of football. The NFL.

Well, it’s not just rookies who will be baptized into the New Schiano Order. So too will free agent veterans. Last night, Bucs free agent linebacker Jonathan Casillas spoke with Gil Brandt and Alex Marvez, co-hosts of “Late Hits,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, and explained even after spending the spring with the Bucs, he’s unsure what will take place next week when he reports to camp.

Alex Marvez: Do you know what to expect in Tampa Bay, right now? Are you familiar with what Greg Schiano may be putting you guys through? Do you know what is going to be asked of you as you try to make an impact in 2013 with the Bucs?

Jonathan Casillas: I want to say I do because I have spent several weeks out there, a couple of months out there in OTAs and minicamp and offseason workouts. But training camp is always different. I know that. The level is going to be cranked up because I am not used to “Coach.” I am not used to Schiano. I am trying to do all I can to be prepared for the worst, whatever he can throw at me.

I understand the climate I am in. New Orleans is a lot similar with the humidity and the high temperatures. Difference is, in New Orleans we actually had an indoor facility. You would go in there several times a week. Being outside in [that weather] every day is tough. You have to go in there every day in shape and make sure you are hydrated every day.

It is a difficult process to keep up because you may lose six-to-seven pounds per practices. That is very tough to keep that on. That is just some of the demands of playing in the southern area like that. I know I am aware of it.

It almost sounds as if the humidity is already in Casillas’ head, like he’s almost psyched out already. It’s like anything else. Players who play in Green Bay or Chicago or Cleveland or Buffalo get used to the bitter, harsh winters of December. As gross as it sounds, your body adjusts.

The thing is, the Bucs hope to use those searing hot September and October Sundays to make other teams wilt. Embrace the heat, don’t fight it, and for Godsakes drink a lot of water.

You feel it, Joe feels it. When the mortgage is due, when deadlines loom, when traffic makes you late to work, you feel it.

The pulse rises. The sweat drips. Breathing is shallow and quick. It’s pressure.

For a handful of Bucs, they feel the hot breath of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and Bucs coach Greg Schiano on the backs of their necks, and perhaps the wrath of fans if the team doesn’t so well this season.

Tom Krasniqi of WDAE-AM 620, also known as “TKras,” is the station’s Bucs beat guy. He has typed a piece identifying five Buccaneers feeling the heat inside their luxury, air conditioned pads. Joe finds the one below interesting. 

3) Tie- Defensive ends Adrian Clayborn/Da’Quan Bowers – The pass rush for the Bucs will be a big factor in determining the team’s playoff chances in 2013. Last season, the Bucs were hideous in this area. The team registered just 27 sacks last season which ranked them 30th in the NFL. Not nearly good enough and don’t forget, the Bucs lost their best pass rusher in Michael Bennett (9 sacks) to free agency. As much as everyone loved to criticize the secondary, they were not helped out at all by the pass rush. Clayborn tore his ACL in Week 3 last season at Dallas. Clayborn showed some promise as a rookie two years ago when he recorded 7.5 sacks. Clayborn says he feels stronger and will be ready for the start of camp. The Bucs need him just as much as they need Bowers. The Bucs let Bennett walk in free agency because they have high confidence in Bowers as an every-down left defensive end. Bowers suffered a torn Achilles a year ago which delayed his season debut until late October and then was hampered by a hamstring injury. Down the stretch, Bowers did flash some ability and finished the season with 3 sacks. Can Bowers be a 10 sack per year type of player? Bowers thinks so and so do the Bucs. Bowers and/or Clayborn need to step forward in order to alleviate the double teams that Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy will undoubtedly see on a regular basis. The improved secondary may force the quarterback to hold onto the ball a little longer, so that helps. Clayborn was a 1st round pick back in 2011. Bowers was a 2nd rounder that year. GM Mark Dominik wants them to be full-time players because of their draft status. Now he needs them to deliver.

Joe doesn’t disagree with TKras here, but in Joe’s eyes, more pressure is on Bowers than Clayborn.

Unlike Clayborn, coming off a nasty knee injury, Bowers has always been dinged up for the Bucs with some sort of ailment. At least Clayborn has played a full season as a starter.

The Bucs had chances to either keep their sack leader (Michael Bennett) even though he may be damaged goods for a decent price, or go out any get, say, John Abraham. Instead, the Bucs are putting a lot of eggs in Bowers’ basket, hoping he not only can stay healthy but be productive.

While Bowers has shown flashes of being a key sack guy, like a certain Bucs quarterback who wears No. 5, he has not been consistent, largely due to injuries.

Oh yes, TKras has Mr. Freeman as the Bucs player under the most pressure.

One would think the Bucs and Cody Grimm would want his charges in Virginia for public swearing/intoxication swept away before the start of training camp and/or the regular season.

It seemed like that might happen, but Joe has learned Grimm’s court hearing last week was rescheduled for Sept. 12, per court records.

That hearing is for the May 26 arrest. Grimm also was nabbed on the same charge back in March. For that one, he got a “deferred disposition,” which essentially means stay out of trouble and the state of Virginia won’t punish you further. A court review/hearing on that case is set for Oct. 3.

Barring injuries to other members of the Bucs secondary, Grimm is a prime candidate to be traded at the close of the preseason, assuming he’s healthy and plays well during preseason games. Grimm surely will get plenty of work in August, and he has starting experience and plays special teams well. If another club has injuries at safety, Grimm could fetch a one of those seventh-round picks coveted by Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik.

But Grimm’s looming court situation — and a potential suspension by Roger Goodell — could make that messy.

As for making the Bucs’ 53-man roster, Grimm will have a hard time without injuries in the secondary. Greg Schiano likes the playmaking ability of Ahmad Black, and the Bucs seemingly won’t give up on last year’s sixth-round pick, safety Keith Tandy. They also might be forced to keep an extra cornerback. Last season, Ronde Barber was available in a pinch last season, but he’s gone.

Bucs icon Derrick Brooks says he feels the pressure on the shoulders of Josh Freeman and it’s all about inconsistency and contract status, so Brooks claimed on the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620 recently.

Brooks compared Freeman to Joe Flacco, who, like Freeman, entered the final year of his rookie contract without an extension. Flacco, of course, had years of playoff experience before 2012 and is now a Super Bowl champion.

“[Freeman] knows as well as anybody that much of the team’s success will ride on his play. And he deserves that. You look at the record last year, when he played well how well the team performed,” Brooks said.

Brooks went on to say he advises Freeman to “take it one day at a time, be the best quarterback of that particular day, and get better.” While acknowledging that the Bucs revolve around the quarterback. Brooks also said winning will take more than Freeman.

Unlike his former teammate, Shaun King, Brooks did not say the Bucs should already have locked up Freeman to a new deal. (You can catch the entire Brooks interview below.)

Is John McNulty really the most important assistant on Greg Schiano’s staff?

One could argue a team is only as strong as its assistant coaches. Joe is a coaches kind of guy; always has been. Good coaches can virtually squeeze blood out of a rock. Bad coaches, well, they can implode a team.

In Joe’s eyes, Bob Bostad, the Bucs’ offensive line coach, is one of those guys who can make a rock bleed. Just look what he did last year when his offensive line was in disarray with injuries and guys getting benched? Most offensive lines with that kind of a chaos would turn into turnstiles. Instead, Bostad had one of the better offensive lines.

Joe also is a Bryan Cox fan. As the Bucs’ front seven coach last year, he took a team that was the worst in the NFL in rush defense, and with only adding one player, Lavonte David, he turned the Bucs into the best rush defense. That’s damned solid work.

ESPN South blogger Pat Yasinskas believes there is an important assistant that will be more critical to the success of the Bucs this season, and that is quarterbacks coach John McNulty.

This one is easy because everything in Tampa Bay this season is about quarterback Josh Freeman. He’s headed into the final year of his contract and this season will determine if he has a long-term future with the Bucs.

That’s why I’m going with quarterbacks coach John McNulty. He’s new to the Bucs, but has history with coach Greg Schiano. McNulty worked for Schiano at Rutgers. Schiano tried to hire McNulty to his staff last year, but was refused permission by Arizona, where McNulty was coaching the wide receivers.

McNulty has a reputation for having a bright offensive mind and it will be up to him and offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan to help Freeman become more consistent.

Not a bad choice, but Joe believes Josh Freeman does his most important work with Mike Sullivan versus the quarterbacks coach. Joe was not fond at all of former Bucs quarterback coach Ron Turner. He was an abject failure in developing quarterbacks unless, of course, you count the immortal Kurt Kittner as a success.

Aside from his stint as a quarterbacks coach with Greg Schiano at Rutgers, McNulty has been a lifelong receivers coach. Granted, Joe didn’t follow the [nee] Big East closely, but Joe cannot remember a decent pro quarterback coming out of Rutgers.

There is no subject — not even close — that makes Bucs fans pound on a keyboard or turn their car radios up as if they are cranking Van Halen quite like the subject of Josh Freeman.

Joe knows people in local sports radio, and virtually each guy has told Joe he could do a Josh Freeman topic each day of the week and the phone lines would constantly be full.

No subject is more polarizing than Freeman (except for perhaps, Shaun King).

Ron Jaworski, “Jaws,” the former Rams and Eagles quarterback who works for NFL Films and BSPN, recently ranked Freeman the No. 21 quarterback in the NFL — down four spots from last year — which worked up Bucs fans more than the Darrelle Revis signing.

Recently, “Jaws” called in to the “Booger and Rich Show,” heard on WHFS-FM 98.7 to discuss his Freeman findings.

“I think what I’d like for people to understand is that when I do this quarterback big board, I do study every quarterback. I go through all the throws each quarterback makes. I have an independent reel that has all of their touchdown passes, all their interceptions, all the times they have been sacked, to see if maybe it is the offensive line’s fault or the running back’s fault, a hot read or the quarterback not holding onto the ball. So I get a pretty good template on their skills set,” Jaworski said.

“I think Josh Freeman has a tremendous skill set. What is absolutely baffling to me is his inconsistency. He had a stretch of games last year where he was the best quarterback in the NFL. The Buccaneers were a red hot football team. For whatever reason, his play began to diminish down the stretch. In the NFL, all of these quarterbacks have the talent. It’s the guy who plays the most consistent week in and week out which is able to get his team to the playoffs.

“Josh has the ability to take this team to the playoffs. He must become more consistent. He must have better ball control. He has to anticipate a little bit better. When he has guys open he has to hit them. These are things he can correct to become a top 10 quarterback.”

Well now. That’s not exactly a crucifixion of Freeman, is it?

It really is quite simple: If Freeman has another up-and-down year, so too will the Bucs, and playing in the postseason will be a stretch.

Doug Martin could be the second best running back in the NFL. Is that good enough to get the Bucs to the playoffs?

There is no question the Bucs should be a better team this fall. With a revamped secondary and key cogs coming back from injuries, Joe doesn’t know how this team won’t be better.

As Joe has written before, he’s not ready to punch their tickets to the playoffs. The conference is way too stacked for Joe’s comfort and, frankly, this is the Dixie Chicks’ division until proven otherwise.

It seems “The Professor” sort of sees it the same way. ESPN’s John Clayton thinks the Bucs may have one of the best secondaries in the NFL, but isn’t sure that alone will get the Bucs to play meaningful January games.

Q: With the almost complete revamping of the defensive backfield with the addition of Darrelle Revis, et al, and the return of the two Pro Bowlers to the offensive line plus a few other additions, will the Bucs be strong enough to make the playoffs — if the play of Josh Freeman is up to where it should be? If Josh plays well, I would think they will be in the running.

Jim in Clearwater, Fla.

A: Next to Seattle, the Bucs might have one of the best secondaries in football. Mark Barron has Pro Bowl ability. Dashon Goldson is a Pro Bowler. Revis is one of the best corners of this era. Eric Wright has plenty of talent. If Freeman does well, the team has a chance. It runs the ball well. It has a good offensive line. Still, on paper, I think the Falcons and Saints have more talent.

Joe will state this again: The NFC is, on paper, the strongest since Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, Mike Ditka and Bill Parcells prowled the sidelines. It is very possible a team with 10 wins won’t make a Wild Card. Winning the division must be the goal if the Bucs want to play in January.

Installment 2 of the Buccaneers official “Read and React” column doesn’t come with the same fireworks as the first one, when Tampa Bay Times beat writer Stephen Holder was fingered for targeting Greg Schiano. This time, the Bucs gently wagged a finger at Joe Fortenbaugh, of NationalFootballPost.com.

Fortenbaugh claims rockstar general manager Mark Dominik’s front office is among those under intense pressure this offseason. It seems Fortenbaugh believes the Bucs’ secondary made the team a laughing stock in 2012.

Given what unfolded last year with the Buccaneers, when a promising 5-2 start slid into a 7-9 finish and the pass defense emerged as the team’s main weakness, these seem like two very reasonable targets for Fortenbaugh to supply.  Fortenbaugh’s last line in his paragraph of analysis seems like a bit of a cheap shot – “It’s time for the opposition to worry about a matchup with the Bucs, not laugh” – but his premise is sound.  The Bucs have not been shy about adding big contracts through free agency and the trade market over the last two offseasons, and that has brought more attention on the team.  If added attention equals added pressure, than the Bucs definitely belong on this list.

Joe loves this new feature on the Bucs, where the team puts a spotlight on the media in various ways. (You can click through above to read the whole thing.)

As for the pressure on Dominik and the front office, Joe’s not seeing a load of heat under Dominik. Surely Greg Schiano has a bigger weight on his shoulders.

When you’re stocked with eight Pro Bowlers in their prime and emerging stars like Lavonte David and Mike Williams, you absolutely have to produce.

Yesterday on Twitter, Bucs wide receiver Mike Williams, who is in the process of contract extension negotiations with the Bucs, had a cryptic rant Joe couldn’t make heads or tails of.

In his screed, nowhere were the words “Bucs,” “contract,” “negotiations,” or “Dominik” used. So to Joe, it was not clear what Williams ranted about. This didn’t stop some from trafficking in guesswork adding two and two and coming out with seven, thinking the Bucs and Williams had come to some sort of dicey impasse in the contract talks.

This didn’t seem to sit well with Williams as he took to Twitter again today, and denied there was any ill will with the Bucs.

@Mikebuc19: These guys should stop this reading between the lines stuff if you really want to know….. I’M TALKING ABOUT ME AND MY BABY MOTHER AND HER FAMILY GOING THREW [sic] IT just ask and I will tell you what I’m talking about never once mention those words yall talking about I don’t even know what is going on don’t c how yall do. REMEMBER WHAT “ASSUME” MAKES LOL

For clarity on the issue, Joe texted a trusted Bucs source who told Joe that if there is any friction between the Bucs and Williams’ agent, Hadley Englehard, that it’s news to the Bucs.So those thinking that Williams might hold out or he is hacked off at the team, fear not.

You may resume your previously programmed weekend of alcohol consumption.

[Hat tip to the Pewter Plank crowd.]

Joe’s not sure the Bucs are a winning football team yet, but Tampa Bay sure shouldn’t be a losing team, and the Bucs definitely should be at least an average NFL team.

But not according to the esteemed braintrust at ProFootballTalk.com.

Hall of Fame voter ProFootballTalk.com writer Darin Gantt penned the site’s in-depth, preseason power ranking of Tampa Bay, and the Bucs check in at No. 24, ninth worst in the NFL.

Gantt doesn’t believe in the Bucs’ roster infrastructure or Josh Freeman. Here’s a snippet:

Prospects.

The degree to which their entire season hinges on Freeman is fascinating, and layered.

Keeping the offensive system in place should help, but the pressure of knowing your own financial future and the direction of a franchise sits on your shoulders has to be a burden.

The Bucs have done a good job of putting parts in place around Freeman to make it easier to succeed, specifically by giving him a second year with offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan. That kind of stability is necessary for him to develop confidence.

At the same time, there are enough questions up front to make you wonder whether the big expenditures in the back will help.

As good as Revis is, if quarterbacks are never pressured, opponents will find cornerback Eric Wright’s guy more easily.

They’ve done an admirable job of addressing needs, but it’s still unclear if they’ve built on a stable foundation.

You can click above to read the entire breakdown.

Joe’s confident that when all the various media predictions of the 2013 Bucs are released, no NFL team will have as wide a range of prognostications. Some will pick the Bucs to win 11 or 12 and take the NFC South, others will put them in last place with six wins.

Joe wonders what Team Glazer would consider a good showing by the Bucs.

The other day, Joe was driving down the road and noticed a woman picking up the waste from walking her dog and it reminded Joe of the Bucs secondary in 2012. In other words, Greg Schiano and Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik had a lot of picking up to do with Publix grocery bags from the droppings left by their cornerbacks.

It wasn’t the safties who left feces on the field at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway; it was the corners. So Dominik went out and refurbished the secondary, and playing with new, talented blood should help out second-year safety Mark Barron, so writes NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas writes in a recent chat.

Marlon (Decatur, GA)

Hey Pat…Big Bucs fan here…who is helped the most by the presence of Revis on defense in the secondary? I say Barron…

Pat Yasinskas

I’d tend to agree with you. Think the arrival of Revis and Goldson will allow Barron to be more of an in-the-box safety, which is where he’s at his best.

Not just that, but there are other, perhaps hidden benefits for Barron.

Yes, with Ronde Barber playing a more in-the-box safety last year, Barron often landed in center field, not necessarily his strength. Now Darrelle Revis (if healthy) can take care of damned near a third of the field, so the Bucs can shade coverage to the opposite side of the field to not only help Barron but also the other starting cornerback, possibly rookie Johnthan Banks.

Joe also believes Barron hit the rookie wall last year. Given some NFL experience under his belt and loads of help surrounding him, Joe expects Barron to make a big leap this season.

Joe doubts you will see Dominik or Schiano walking the sidelines of the Stadium of Dale Mabry Highway with handfuls of Publix grocery bags after the secondary comes off the field this fall.

It feels like forever since the Bucs have been in the playoffs. But Joe was somewhat surprised to learn the Bucs are tied with the Jaguars for the fifth longest playoff drought in the NFL. The Bills, Browns, Raiders and Rams are worse.

No wonder Bucs fans are so on edge — excited and tense — about the 2013 season. The Bucs are loaded with talent and it’s been so long since fans could hold their heads up high in January.

Joe remembers that last Bucs playoff game against the Giants, when Chucky’s division-crown Bucs were overmatched by the eventual Super Bowl champs. Unfortunately, Joe most remembers that game for the massive sea of blue in the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

Joe suspects that wouldn’t happen again. Joe’s got a gut feeling that the locals are so playoff starved that this town would go absolutely crazy if the Bucs made the playoffs.

The No Excuses Tour heads to Tropicana Field from Tampa Lee Roy Selmon’s locations. Click here for the schedule.

STAYING FOR SATURDAY’S POSTGAME CONCERT!

Catch the famous No Excuses Tour luxury bus departing Lee Roy Selmon’s locations in Tampa for this weekend’s Astros-Rays series.

Your Paradise Worldwide Transportation chauffeur is waiting — and it’s only $9.95 roundtrip!

More than 1,000 fans have enjoyed this amazing service.

Lock your seat down NOW at NoExcusesTour.com.

Before the era of statistical gibberish and fantasy fun that doesn’t involve women, sports were all about winning and losing.

The “W” was the almighty. Being called a “winner” was the highest compliment. Call Joe old school, but winning is what Joe cares about most. It’s the greatest intangible in any sport — in life, too. There are winners; there are losers. Any man who’s ever set foot on a field of competitive sports knows some players just find a way to win consistently and/or play like a winner over and over again.

So Joe was intrigued by the recent headline on Buccaneers.com: “Welcome Back Orange: Freeman Has Thrived in Throwback Gear”

Freeman is 1-2 in throwback games.

“In all, Freeman has completed 57 of 111 passes for 806 yards, seven touchdowns and just two interceptions while wearing the Bucs’ throwback uniforms.  The completion percentage is lower than his career average, thanks mostly to a 14-for-31 effort in his debut start, but his averages of 269 yards per game and 7.26 yards per throw are well above his career marks.  That coupled with the excellent 7-2 TD-INT ratio has helped Freeman compile a strong 88.6 passer rating in Throwback Games.  He’s even run nine times for 61 yards in those three outings.”

Joe understands the Bucs’ marketing machine working to put a positive spin on how No. 5 plays in throwback-uniform games. But this was a bit much for Joe.

Losing is never “thriving.” And Freeman’s stats in those games aren’t blow-your-mind great.

Joe only really likes what Freeman did in his first throwback game, his first career start. He led his team to victory against a strong Packers team. It was one of Freeman’s six career wins against teams with a winning record.