Bucs linebacker Mason Foster was largely drafted because of his physical nature in making tackles, like he did at the University of Washington.

But the Bucs rookie is quickly learning that type of play is verboten in NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell’s world. Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune brought word via the TBO Bucs Twitter feed that the NFL has fined Foster $20,000 for his destruction of attention whore Patriots receiver MuchoStinko.

MLB Mason Foster fined $20,000 for blowing up Chad Ochocinco. Foster says fine won’t alter the way he plays.

Joe was going to write this before and now it’s time to put fingers to keyboard: The main reason the Bucs drafted Foster was for punishing hits and the main reason Bucs fans ran Barrett Ruud out of town was he wasn’t physical enough, yet Ruud’s style of play is what is necessary in today’s NFL.

Physical play results in penalties for a team, and heavy fines for a player.

The type of play Ruud was decried for, is the type of play the NFL has now become.

You wanted it Bucs fans. You wanted Ruud gone. You wanted, pined, cried for what is now illegal play in the NFL.

Always be careful what you wish for.

Joe still has all his fingers and toes crossed for Arreilous Benn.

The rookie receiver was strong on special teams in 2010 and bursting on to the scene as a receiver before he ripped up his ACL in the home blowout against Seattle on Dec. 26. Benn was said to have made a legendary recovery, but the real challenge starts Saturday, when Benn gets his first action of the preseason.

Joe doesn’t expect to see Benn on special teams, but it seems, per the St. Pete Times, Benn won’t miss a beat on offense.

“I don’t anticipate to do anything out of the normal,” Benn said. “Just follow my game plan and do what I need to do.”

Yeah, Joe knows the Bucs know knees like no other team, but Joe’s still concerned that Benn might take quite a while to regain his late-2010 form.

NFL.com scribe and NFL Network talking head Mike Lombardi, a former player personnel executive, isn’t in the Raheem Morris fan club.

Lombardi clobbered Raheem on NFL.com yesterday, taking Raheem’s comments after the Patriots’ beating and saying they’re evidence Bucs’ players have lost confidence in Raheem because he’s blowing hot air, among other negativity.

Morris had the perfect opportunity to be more demanding on his team using the Patriots approach as a symbol of excellence, but he chose to dismiss the Patriots style and allow his team to not be accountable. Do you think his players really believe Morris’ approach is better than that of a three-time Super Bowl winning coach? Morris missed his chance to take his team to another level.

The worst thing any coach can do — whether it’s Mike McCarthy of the Packers or Bill Belichick of the Patriots — is to be satisfied based on preseason play. A coach must keep his team focused during preseason, keep them working to improve and keep their full attention. Therefore, when a team plays poorly, or below that level, a coach has the opportunity to make the corrections needed and refocus his team, which is exactly what Reid is going to do this week.

Joe suggests you click through and read the whole blast from Lombardi, who contrasts Raheem to Andy Reid and his reaction to the Eagles’ brutal loss last week.

Joe’s stunned because Lombardi is writing as if Raheem’s postgame message to the media is exactly the same as the one to his players. Why is Lombardi so sure of that? Geez, Lombardi worked side by side with Chucky. One would think he’d be intimately familiar with how coaches say one thing to players and one thing to media.

Plus, it’s half a preseason game when the Bucs didn’t scheme against the Patriots. Who cares?

Joe suspects Lombardi was all too eager to blast Raheem, giving no respect or benefit of the doubt to the rightful coach of the year in 2010.

This is beginning to become a soap opera.

Last Friday Joe was stunned at how the usual mild-mannered Shaun King went on an emotional rant while co-hosting the too-Jewish sounding “King David Show” with Toby David on WQYK-AM 1010, about how Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy needed to shutup and prove himself.

But that wasn’t all that angered King. The former Bucs quarterback, one of only three in team history to lead the Bucs to an NFC Conference championship game, seemed morally offended that GMC was joking after the game that he asked Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to slow down so the Bucs defensive linemen could catch their breath.

King continued with a sermon against GMC Monday, not wavering one bit on his initial thoughts despite widespread criticism from former Bucs players like Steve White, and many random Bucs fans.

Last night Joe documented King’s latest diatribe against GMC and, of course, many Bucs fans were outraged once again by King, both on the Internet and on Twitter.

Shortly thereafter, GMC must have gotten word of the many Bucs fans who came to GMC’s defense. In a shocking move, GMC came to King’s defense and asked fans not to mock King.

Geraldini93: Oh and I seen people coming at @realshaunking wrong. Don’t do that people. Not right. You the man Shaun. Be easy. God bless bruh.

Joe doesn’t know exactly what to write after reading GMC’s missive. The only thing that comes to Joe’s mind is that GMC is a class man.

The irony of CBS revealing that criminal woman biter and renowned sicko Marv Albert will lead its No. 4 NFL broadcast crew on the same day Aqib Talib is summoned to NFL hypocrite hatchetman commisioner Roger Goodell’s office is too much for Joe to bear.

Let’s get this straight: Goodell, the high and mighty protector of the NFL shield and treasured brand, has signed off on a high-profile pervert to be the face of an NFL broadcast. Is there no code of conduct for broadcasters?

It was one thing to have Albert neatly tucked away calling Monday Night Football on the radio, which has few listeners, as Albert did for much of the last decade. But this is too much.

Maybe all the young NFL fans will enjoy Albert’s TV calls and Google him only to find gems from his 1997 sentencing following his forceable sodomy trial, like this one from the New York Times.

Although he did not testify at the trial, Mr. Albert was called by the prosecution at today’s sentencing. The maneuver surprised his lawyer, Roy Black, who called it a ”grandstand play” intended to humiliate Mr. Albert.

Mr. Albert described the events of Feb. 12 when he met Vanessa Perhach at the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Pentagon City in Arlington. Ms. Perhach testified at the trial that after she refused his request to bring a second man to their assignation, he threw her on the bed, bit her and made her perform oral sex.

 

Monday afternoon, former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, one of only three quarterbacks in Bucs history to lead his team to a conference championship game, continued his verbal assault on Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

Last week King, who co-hosts the too Jewish-sounding “King David Show” along with Toby David, heard locally on WQYK-AM 1010, unleashed a tirade on GMC who King believes talks too much and doesn’t produce. And until McCoy produces, King says McCoy should remain quiet and humble. King was particularly incensed over GMC joking to the Boston Globe that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was so good, that GMC asked Brady to slow down so the Bucs could catch their breath.

Monday, King continued his ire and defended his actions to a multitude of critics claiming King was not right in his lecturing GMC.

I stand by what I said. I think he talks talks too much for a guy who has not proven anything in this league. I stand by that. I am not a Gerald McCoy hater. I think, when you look at his track record, there has not been production that matches the ability that he has. And I think for Tampa to have success defensively, he has to play at a Pro Bowl level, period. I’ve seen the [Patriots] game, I’ve watched the coaches’ copy, I saw the rebroadcast. He did get penetration. He was pretty good at the point of attack. But at the end of the game, he had one tackle. There is a disconnect between his talent and his production. I feel like the gap needs to close. … I heard people say he played well. He didn’t play well — he had one tackle!

King didn’t stop there. He also mocked his critics saying, “Don’t call with those weak arguments about my career and how good you thought I was because that is irrelevant. If I can’t have an opinion, then if you didn’t play [in the NFL], then how can you?”

As always, Shaun welcomes your feedback by following him on Twitter @realshaunking.

King’s full diatribe from Monday can be heard by clicking the arrow below.

[audio: kingvsmccoy.mp3]

Audio clip courtesy of WQYK-AM, hat tip Justin.

Joe saw the Bucs offense struggle mightily over five brutal series last week, and Joe also saw the Buc’s greatest talent in the passing game on the sidelines.

That would be Kellen Winslow. Sure, Joe’s a Mike Williams fan, but Joe would take Winslow over Williams some cheerleader pinned Joe down and forced him to choose sides.

Per Josh Freeman’s fireside chat with the media today, Freeman said he’s pretty sure Winslow will play against Miami when the Bucs starters play more than a half on Saturday. So that’s good news, especially for the paying customers at The C.I.T.S.

Winslow’s presence can’t be understated, for the attention he gets as well as the catches he makes. Joe suspects all that man coverage the Patriots played last week might not have had the same outcome if Winslow’s in the game.

Joe keeps his ear to the pulse of the entire Tampa Bay area football scene, so this video was of great interest.

Joe’s media partners at WTSP-TV, Ch. 10 explain how a local football player will run around in skimpy clothing on a popular network TV show. … Joe would never kick her off the island.

Joe’s no doctor, and Joe didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. However, Joe’s not reaching when he diagnoses Roy Miller’s knee tear as worrisome.

Before news broke in the St. Pete Times about Miller’s minor MCL tear, Joe overheard Miller talk about the injury after the Patriots game and Miller was really downplaying the seriousness of it. (Miller didn’t know Joe was listening, so Joe didn’t run with it.) Miller wasn’t limping in his street clothes, either.

But now it seeems Miller might be feeling the knee more than he expected, so reports Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune.

Miller is unlikely to practice this week or play in the Bucs’ third exhibition game Saturday against the Dolphins, but is hopeful he’ll be back on the field next week for the final preseason game at Washington.

“I’ve been out there running and stuff,” Miller said. “It hurts, (the tear) is at the top of the (MCL) and it’s real painful at the top, but I’ve heard people say you can play (with) it.”

If Miller’s playing, Joe’s not seeing how Miller’s going to get healthy. Can the Bucs’ defensive line play really afford to have Miller lose a little burst? He’s hardly an All-Pro out there.

Joe’s going to keep a watchful eye on Frank Okam on Saturday. It’s almost a given the Bucs will lean on him to start opening day.

Every Bucs fan hopes opening day against Detroit is sold out. But the reality is that it will take a minor miracle for that to happen 72 hours before kickoff in order to get the game on local TV.

So Joe has revived the Blackout Tour for the home opener on Sept. 11, to give Bucs fans an opportunity to watch the game live in HD-TV in Fort Myers at Lee Roy Selmon’s, if they can’t swing getting out to the game in Tampa.

Joe ran the Blackout Tour last season with his great partners at Paradise Worldwide Transportation. And this year the price has dropped and there will be stops in Tampa (Lee Roy Selmon’s near International Plaza) and at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg for the chauffeured luxury bus that will take fans fans to Fort Myers to catch the game.

The cost is only $22.95 per person, which includes roundtrip transportation and a FREE draft beer and a FREE plate of wings at Lee Roy Selmon’s in Fort Myers, plus free soft drinks on the bus.

Joe is pleased to offer this stunning deal. The Blackout Tour was a blast last year and is a fun, affordable way to catch the game. Visit BlackoutTour.com to grab your seat and get all the details. The luxury bus will sell out and another bus will NOT be added.

So who does the rockstar general manager think were standout performers against the Patriots?

Mark Dominik, without being asked, volunteered his assessment while speaking to Dan Sileo Monday on WDAE-AM 620. A staunch film guy, Dominik likes what he sees from his highest priced talent on defense.

“But the thing that was really encouraging I think that a lot of Buccaneer fans probably are seeing already is the way that Quincy Black is playing. Now that he’s been in the system with Coach Morris and what we want to do and how fast he’s playing on this football field,” Dominik said.

“I was very encouraged by the way Gerald McCoy played the game. I thought he was very disruptive.  [The Patriots] had to change their blocking schemes and start trapping him just because he was getting off the ball so good and getting in the backfield, which is what we want from a 3-technique — is to be disruptive and have guys behind him make the plays. So there were some encouraging signs out there. Obviously, the score is very disappointing — 28-0 is what it is. Bottom line. But we can improve because we have time to look at the film and we still have half a month before we play the Detroit Lions here at home.”

Joe was intrigued to hear Dominik refer to the Bucs-Patriots game score as 28-0. Of course, the final score was 31-17. The 28-0 score was at halftime. More evidence how worthless much of the preaseason is.

As for Quincy Black, Joe thought he played well last week, but Black’s got a mountain to prove on the field. And Joe would say that even if the Bucs hadn’t guaranteed him $11 million.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Overreaction and hyperbole are not in my nature and I didn’t do backflips over the Bucs’ shutout win in the preseason opener and I’m not ready to kill myself after their ugly loss Saturday. 

The Indianapolis Colts just lost their eighth straight preseason game, and that hasn’t bothered their regular season final results too much, so the Bucs poor showing becomes a great teaching point for this extremely young crop of players and not much else.

“There’s no ‘I’ in TEAM”, except in the NFL preseason where everything is about ‘I” (individuals). Players trying to make a NFL roster for the first time, veteran players trying to make it through training camp healthy, others rehabbing and coming back from injuries are only concerned about themselves, not the good of the team or the scoreboard.

Any of those players would take a good personal performance over a team win in the preseason, so the hubbub about Gerald McCoy’s comments was a great example of much ado about nothing. He was appropriately sober while being interviewed on TV while the game was still in progress, but while specifically referring to his own performance, he was very happy to be back on the field and spoke about his own return from injury and how much fun it was to get back to playing again.

If the outcome of the game was so important, then LeGarrette Blount should not have been laughing and joking with him while he was being interviewed and Kellen Winslow should have played. The thing that caught my eye was Elbert Mack’s extensive endzone dance on his interception return. I was always taught through the years that when you score a touchdown while getting blown out, you don’t celebrate too much and that dance was a bit much while still down by three scores.

The saddest thing of the night was the flag thrown on Mason Foster.

Since that play is by rule a penalty, the NFL has significantly downgraded the game of pro football. It was a very nice reaction and play by the rookie linebacker and not being able to legally hit a receiver while he is stretching to catch a ball is simply sad. The talk of a fine for that is unfortunate and I’m sure it won’t draw one from the commissioner. 

On the other hand, and on a play that didn’t get any talk that I know of, but should have been flagged and possibly fined was Devin Holland’s blindside hit on the Patriots’ Danny Woodhead during punt coverage. It was a helmet-to-helmet hit and he exploded up into the defenseless Woodhead, who was knocked for a literal loop. It is that kind of hit that can alter and possibly end a player’s career, not the aforementioned hit on Ochocinco and even the former Chad Johnson agrees.

I promised myself I was going to stop bringing up options for getting Josh Johnson on the field with Freeman, but the preseason opener showed just what that extra dynamic could mean to the offense and the team.

The rule for having a third quarterback eligble and not eating an extra gameday roster spot is new this year, giving the Bucs more options in this regard. Also, Johnson was quoted not too long ago about his desire to be a starter in the league and not just a career backup. He is guaranteed to be a backup if he stays in Tampa, so Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik will have to either convince him or pay him to do that.

And if he really wants to be a starter, it will be impossible to keep him. So making life fun by getting him on the field for more special plays may be the only solution to keep Johnson around.And fun for Johnson would mean more fun for Bucs’ fans (and most assuredly more tickets sold).

Allowing Johnson to sit on the bench for another year and then leave the Bucs without using his unique and important talent for the good of the offense and helping the team win games this season (the stated goal of Morris) would be a sin.

Here’s to Greg Olson’s imagination working overtime to make that happen.

Anyone who has watched the Bucs first two preseason games has seen a changed man in defensive end Kyle Moore. A fourth round draft pick in 2009, Moore was pretty much invisible on the Bucs roster. Battling injuries for much of his first two years, when Moore did get on the field he was pretty much a non factor and has yet to record an NFL sack.

Perhaps because this is likely a make-or-break year for Moore with the Bucs, or perhaps because he worked out in the offseason with Kansas City sack machine Tamba Hali at Penn State with Nittany Lions defensive line coach Larry Johnson, and partly because Keith Millard and Grady Stretz are coaching up the Bucs defensive line, Moore plays like a far different player who is putting heat on quarterbacks.

  Moore spoke with Joe after the Patriots game about how he has evolved as an NFL player.

JoeBucsFan: Joe had his binoculars on the defensive line virtually all night and, like last week, you were in the backfield a lot, making plays. In the past couple of years here you never really got a decent start. You came in with a coordinator who wanted you to gain weight and he was gone after a few games. Then you battled through injuries and you never really got into the flow of things. You seem like a different player. Are the new defensive line coaches helping you that much?

Kyle Moore: We have great defensive line coaches who know how to pass rush. We have only had a short with them. I wish we had a whole offseason with them to learn everything they know. But in the time we have known them, we have had great improvement on the defensive line. We will get better.

Joe: What has Grady Stretz taught you that has helped your game?

Moore: Get off and get into the outside shoulder [of the offensive tackle]. Learning that and putting it together with what you already know helps a lot. We weren’t really taught that the past couple of years and in the past, I wasn’t taught that at all. Learning form him and getting to the outside shoulder, and if we can’t get that to come with a counter move, just [along with Keith Millard] their wisdom has taught me a lot.

Joe: Personally, how does that make you feel that you now have coaches that can bring out the best in you and you are starting to see the results in your play? How does that make you feel about your game now?

Moore: It makes me feel good. As you can see I am taking the coaching in and when you have coaches who know what to do, it really helps my game all the way. I’m happy about that.

Joe knew it was coming. You knew it was coming. The only question was, “When was it coming?”

Tuesday will be judgement day for Bucs troubled cornerback Aqib Talib. Though he dodged an unofficial sentence, he likely will not dodge the long arm of the law that is NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell, so reports BSPN’s Adam Schefter.

Talib has been summoned to the principal’s office and will face his sentence before Magistrate Commissioner Goodell for his action when he was alleged to have pistol whipped and then fired a gun at a fleeing man in Texas this spring.

Talib, along with Kenny Britt of the Titans, will have their hearings with Goodell this week; Britt will face the music Wednesday.

One league source said the players could be in line for “lengthy” suspensions, however Talib’s attorneys are convinced they have a sound defense that will appease the NFL and could help save their client.

In March, Talib was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas. Talib already was suspended one game last season for an altercation he had with a taxi driver.

Given the fact that Talib has a prior record with Sheriff Commissoner Goodell, and has already served time from a Goodell sentence of one game last year, it’s very possible that Talib could be looking at a verdict of three to four games, or more.

Joe just hopes that Goodell has mercy on Talib’s soul.

Darren Woodson of BSPN ranks his top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL. But where is Josh Freeman? Watch and find out.

E.J. Wilson (78) and Gerald McCoy listen to defensive tackles coach Keith Millard in a training camp practice earlier this summer. Photo by JoeBucsFan.

How prevalent is Twitter? How addicted are some people to Twitter? Consider Bucs defensive tackle E. J. Wilson.

The guy just wakes up from surgery on his Achilles tendon and one of the first things he does is jump on Twitter to announce surgery “went well.”

EjfrmVA: Fresh out of surgery!!! It went well twitter fam. Thanks for your concern and prayers!

Wilson posted this shortly after 1 p.m. today.

This was a bummer for Joe. No, not that his surgery went well, but Wilson was playing well and an Achilles injury to a football player is a very, very serious injury and in some cases, career-threatening.

The Bucs are beat up at defensive tackle with Wilson gone for the year, Brian Price a big question mark, Roy Miller having a “tear” in his knee and Gerald McCoy already dinged during training camp and missed a game. This is an area of concern and bears monitoring.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik shed a bit of light on the mysterious recovery of defensive tackle Brian Price today.

Fans know Price had both hamstrings removed last year and somehow screwed back into his pelvis (medical science never ceases to amaze Joe), but Price’s comeback has been under a cloud of uncertainty. Price was unclear about his future in late June on JoeBucsFanTV, and during training camp he was sporadically on and off the field.

Speaking to Dan Sileo this morning on WDAE-AM 620, Dominik said Price has been overcoming “being stuck on the couch a lot” and unable to do “cardio work” following his unique surgery.

“He continues to make progress. His weight’s down. He continues to look better,” Dominik said of Price. “As he proves he can get himself into good enough shape for stamina to play the amount of snaps we want him to play, he’ll get on the field. And I’m encouraged that it’s going to be this week [against Miami] and see what he can do.”

The whole Price thing is very interesting to Joe. Surely, if the Bucs had serious medical concerns about Price, they could have put him on the physically unable to perform list, which would have kept him off the roster through the first six games of 2011 — time to keep working and get right.

Joe hopes Price plays Saturday. If he can even give the Bucs one quality series and stay healthy, that should go a long way toward him contributing in the D-tackle rotation this season.

There was a rule of thought among many Bucs followers that Jeremy Trueblood was either gone from Tampa Bay since his contract was up, or at best would return as a reserve.

It could be argued that James Lee, who replaced an injured Trueblood late in the season, played better than Trueblood and that the offensive line as a whole played better late in the year.

But anyone wanting to shovel dirt on Trueblood’s grave better walk back to the tool shed. eye-RAH! Kaufman brings word via the TBO Bucs Twitter feed that it “appears” Trueblood has won his starting job back.

Jeremy Trueblood appears to have regained his starting RT job for the Bucs, beating out James Lee. The OL needs to rebound vs. Miami.

There are two major areas of concern for Joe with this season’s Bucs. The first, and perhaps most important, is the offensive line. The second area of concern is the rush defense.

If Josh Freeman has a filthy jersey by halftime like he had against the Patriots, if LeGarrette Blount has no holes to run through, this will be a very long season. The Bucs simply don’t have a stout enough defense to lock down opponents if the offense is stuttering.

Joe’s gone to the videotape and his notebook and taken a look at the run defense against the Patriots.

In the first quarter, New England totaled runs of the following yardage: 2, 29, 6, no gain, 6, 2, 14, 16,  and 1 (TD).

In the second quarter, the Patriots’ carries came consecutively on one drive. They pounded the ball as follows (in yards): 7, 5, 12, 7, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Then, after a completed pass, New England scored on a one-yard touchdown run to grab a 21-0 lead.

So that’s eight of 18 first half runs of at least six yards a carry, plus two touchdowns. It was ugly. But Raheem Morris has no worries, so he said yesterday during his afternoon news conference.

Reporter: What’s your concern with the run defense overall?

Raheem Morris: None really. It’s just a matter of fitting things up, letting Mason Foster get better. Our first team actually did a decent job on the run game. You had the one breakout run against the first team, where the ball cut black on a blitz. We were closed the wrong way. That was a mistake, whether it was by the D-line or young Mason closing the wrong way, that was an error that was very correctable. So I don’t have an issue. …

“For the most part, I’m pretty comfortable with what’s going on. We missed a couple of tackles on Woodhead. He’s slippery. He’s quick. He’s fast — quick twitch. But other than that we feel pretty good. It was not any just miss fits where you had a real problem. There was a missed tackle on the one big Woodhead run. And there was a missed [call] where we didn’t have a player where he was supposed to be. And we just gotta fix those things.”

Frankly, this response by Raheem left Joe speechless. Joe has nightmares about the Bucs’ run defense while the head coach thinks the first team “did a decent job” Thursday.

Joe sure hopes Raheem has got this one right and Joe is terribly wrong.

For those wondering what really was the deal with Tanard Jackson violating the NFL substance abuse policy three times and getting booted from the league, St. Pete Times beat writer Stephen Holder definitively laid it out for all during a live chat on TampaBay.com.

The NFL doesn’t announce details of how/what a player failed after testing. But Holder says marijuana was Jackson’s only infraction and Holder also offers a strong statement about other players blowing bongs but getting away with it.

Comment From MJMJ: Thanks again for doing this, Stephen. Props to you. How do you think the T-Jax situation plays out when/if he is reinstated? Who’s roster spot will he take?

Stephen F. Holder: I think he probably gets reinstated. It was only marijuana at the end of the day. I’m not defending it, I’m just saying that it’s not something many other guys in the league haven’t also done and gotten away with (trust me on that). Can’t’ say who’s spot he takes because I don’t know what the makeup of the safety position is going to be.

Holder’s “trust me on that” line was a bit troubling to Joe, only because Holder’s career bio on the Times website doesn’t list him as a beat writer for any other NFL team in his career. But perhaps Holder was referring to players using drugs before they got to the NFL.

Regardless, Joe’s not sure what the Bucs plan to do about Jackson, who could be reinstated with most of the 2011 season remaining. It would seem the like the Bucs would want to give him a shot, but it would have to make sense.

What could make the whole decision interesting is rookie Ahmad Black’s sprained ankle. Without having much time to show his value, Black, if he makes the Bucs’ roster, could be the odd man out if Jackson returns.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Joe knows it’s preseason and Joe knows win-loss records, among other things in preseason, mean about as much as whatever Joe flushed the morning after a plate of chicken fajitas washed down with several adult beverages.

But an irritant for Joe hasn’t gone away from last year, even with a shutout slapping of the Chiefs.

The Bucs are still giving up chunks of real estate on the ground.

Through two preseason games, opponents are rushing for an average of 4.8 yards a carry, so notes eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.

Kaufman also documents how the Bucs were 28th in the league in rushing defense last season, giving up 4.7 yards a carry.

Now Joe knows that defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has only played one game and that is likely a factor as is middle linebacker Mason Foster is still as green as a lime having just a handful of practices as a pro.

Simply put, if the Bucs plan on making it to the playoffs with a much tougher schedule than last year, toughing up the run defense is an area that simply cannot be avoided.

The Bucs are playing in London for the second time in three years this season, once again against a high-profile, popular opponent.

Sadly, this move of another Bucs game to London has triggered ugly domestic disputes among Bucs fans. The sheer thought of yet another loss of a home game overseas, forced upon a kickball-loving, royals-obsessive public, has enraged many a Bucs fan.

ESPN blogger Pat Yasinskas sure seemed to hint in a recent NFC South mailbag that Bucs fans not buying tickets is the root cause of this move and that Team Glazer doesn’t want to be shamed with Bears fans filling The CITS.

Nate in Alaska asks why Tampa Bay keeps drawing games in London.

Pat Yasinskas: I think there are two reasons. First, the Glazer family has ties to the United Kingdom. The Glazers own soccer’s Manchester United and, although they might not be beloved by fans, bringing the Bucs to London might help their public profile. Second, the Bucs have been having trouble selling out Raymond James Stadium. If the game against Chicago was held in Tampa, the stadium might be loaded with Bears’ fans and that can be embarrassing. The game in London is pretty much a guaranteed sellout and the crowd won’t be rooting against the Bucs. I don’t think the NFL is forcing these games on the Bucs. I think there is a willingness by the team to go overseas.

Now Joe was under the impression — he could be offbase — that Team Glazer offered up the Bucs for another London game because the NFL was in a pinch thanks to the asinine lockout.

Joe understands that NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell wants to grow the game, meaning expose the NFL to markets yet untapped. Hence, games in London.

Obviously, Joe’s not a Park Avenue marketing maven, but Joe would think that, say, Mexico, despite it’s drug cartel-laden violence, would be a better market to tap into. Mexico is double the population of Great Britain and there seems to be a bigger pocket of NFL fans there.

At least if the Bucs played in, say, Cancun, it would be a nice, easy, quick vacation spot for Bucs fans and it’s doubtful you would hear many Bucs fans kavetch too much over this.

Who the hell wants to spend hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars to go to England in October? Brian Urlacher doesn’t.