Informative video here by talented Amanda Borges of SportsTalkFlorida.com. It’ll give you a great summary feel for Jason Licht and Lovie Smith blowing smokescreens addressing the media on all things NFL Draft this week.

Lovie was so dialed in to the nickel back position in Chicago, he coached the position himself in 2008.

Joe has put in way too much research into the eight-year Lovie Smith regime in Chicago.

As a Bucs fan, Joe can say a lot of Lovie’s time in Chicago is incredibly encouraging, some is downright frightening, and the rest offers great insight into Lovie. [read more]

When Jason Licht was hired as Bucs general manager, he said he would pound on Lovie Smith’s office door over and over and over again, if necessary, in an effort to sell Lovie on a player.

There would be no 11th-hour, draft-day hollering and angry chest bumping to make a decision, Licht said. [read more]

Jason Licht wasn’t kidding when he said Tuesday that Pro Days are of little value to the Buccaneers.

The Bucs’ general manager said this morning on WDAE-AM 620 that Tampa Bay’s rankings of the 2014 quarterbacks class has been static for more than two months. That means Licht is saying Teddy Bridgewater’s widely panned Pro Day did not impact the Bucs’ brass. [read more]

Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio wondered aloud if Bucs DE Adrian Clayborn is “for sale.”

Now Joe has already brought up a possibility — nothing more than that — the Bucs could be shopping running back Doug Martin in order to stock up on valuable draft picks for next week’s draft. Martin, for a third-year guy, already has a lot of wear and tear on his tires and is coming off an ugly shoulder injury.

With the Bucs being deep at running back and some team dangling draft picks for Martin, would Bucs coach Lovie Smith nibble at the bait? [read more]

In this “Fact or Fiction” segment with Maggie Gray and fight-instigating, barista-training, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King of SI.com, King explains why Johnny Football is the best quarterback prospect in next week’s NFL draft. [read more]

Joe went into double overtime this evening with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620. All things Bucs were on the table.

The Bucs sure have made this offseason go somewhat quickly, even if Joe has been waterboarded with mock drafts until he finally waved the white flag and circled the return of Jack Bauer and 24 next week on his calendar and not the draft.

The pollution, both digital and electronic, that these mockers have littered our life with is out of hand, and Joe is calling for the FCC to step in and put a moratorium on these things for the public well-being. [read more]

Will explosive Lee be there for Tampa in Round 2?

Lurking behind the paywall on BSPN.com lives all kinds of data on potential draft picks. It’s where stats gurus will tell you that Jadeveon Clowney isn’t a good pass rusher and explosive Southern California receiver Marquise Lee is a bust-in-waiting. [read more]

ESPN NFL insider Adam Caplan told WDAE-AM 620 that if the Bucs draft a quarterback next week, then you can wave goodbye to backup QB Mike Glennon.

It is eight days from the draft and it seems all the NFL world is talking about is Johnny Football. Oh, there are some muttering about Derek Carr or Blake Bortles or Jimmy Garoppolo or Teddy Bridgewater or Khalil Mack.

But turn on NFL Network (and try not to gawk at hottie Molly Qerim in her flaming red dress) or SiriusXM NFL Radio, and Johnny Football dominates the chatter. Hell, you don’t see Zach Mettenberger on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but there’s Johnny Football. [read more]

Despite being out of football for a year, quarterback Mike Kafka was hotly pursued by the Bucs and signed in February.

In this exclusive JoeBucsFan.com locker room video, Kafka talks about becoming a Buccaneer and you can enjoy coveted looks from last week’s first practices under Lovie Smith. Enjoy.

Thanks to the Buccaneers and NFL. By league rule, this video can only be seen for 24 hours after it’s published.

Joe was loudly criticized a couple of weeks ago after suggesting Doug Martin might not have a long future with the Bucs.

Those who thought Joe was a complete moron might want to read former Packers salary cap chief Albert Breer’s new column about running backs’ value in the NFL. Martin’s uncertain future is touched upon. [read more]

Jason Licht explained the No. 1 trait he is looking for in a player at No. 7.

Teams often look for certain traits in a player they draft high in the first round. It’s sort of a philosophy that comes from the top of an organization.

With former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, it was being a “Buccaneer Man.” With Raheem Morris it might have been, “who could best chest bump or swill ale with the coach?”  [read more]

The laughter and high-five slapping you’re hearing driving down Dale Mabry Highway are probably coming from the fancy offices of One Buc Palace, as two longtime Bucs scribes and analysts appear to have reached opposite conclusions on the Buccaneers’ draft strategy. [read more]

Yes, the Bucs should be looking for a guard. Right now, as the final hours of April 2014 fade away, the thinnest if not weakest unit on the Bucs is the offensive line.

Joe doesn’t have to go into great details, but banking on the return of Carl Nicks is dangerous and there is already a hole at right guard. So, realistically, the Bucs need to fill two openings. [read more]

Here’s just about every last second of Lovie Smith and Jason Licht hosting a pre-draft news conference yesterday at One Buc Palace. [read more]

Joe can only imagine the look on Lovie Smith’s face when he’s handed a spreadsheet that tries to interpret a college linebacker’s potential cover skills based on some sort of statistic.

After what Jason Licht said today about Lovie’s old school grading system, Joe suspects Lovie isn’t much of data cruncher. [read more]

A lot of Bucs fans believe Tampa Bay’s best move is not to pick at No. 7 at all. Instead, these same fans insist, trade down.

Aa Bucs general manager Jason Licht discussed this afternoon, that’s a whole lot easier to talk about than actually pull off. It’s not like the 31 other NFL teams aren’t aware that in this draft, several positions are very deep. [read more]

As Joe wrote in his practice notes last week, Bucs coaches have really been drilling cornerback Alterraun Verner on the nuances of the Tampa-2 defense.

There is plenty to learn, so Verner told Joe today, and a slice of it surrounds three words that make many Bucs fans tremble in fear: defensive line stunts. [read more]