There seems to be confirmation of the Bucs’ first big raise of the offseason. That salary floor is getting within range of binoculars!

The cash goes to solid kicker Connor Barth, who the Bucs made a wealthy young man with a restricted free agent tender, so reports Stephen Holder of the St. Pete Times.

Barth, who said he is anxious to rejoin the team and excited to stay in Tampa, said his understanding is his tender comes with a salary of roughly $1.9 million, a considerable salary for a young kicker in the NFL.

The last kicker the Bucs paid that kind of dough was Mike Nugent, and that didn’t turn out well back in 2009. But the silver lining was Barth arriving off the scrap heap, and he belted three 50-yarders in one game that year, which certainly sold Joe.

Kickers are typically a wacky, inconsistent breed, but hopefully the Bucs have struck gold with this kid.

Of course, the most polarizing Bucs news in the next week will be the signing — or non-signing — of Mr. Barrett Ruud.

Joe’s heard Home Depot is already running low on tiki torches and other angry-march-friendly flammable items.

One man sure to lose it if Ruud re-signs is former Bucs guard Ian Beckles, the WDAE-AM 620 radio personality who thinks Ruud is softer than silk. Beckles continually finds new ways to explain his disdain for Ruud’s play, as he did on the air Monday.

“In all the years I’ve been around football, I’ve never heard of a finesse middle linebacker. [The Bucs] broke that mold,” Beckles said.

Joe’s never heard of a finesse middle linebacker, either. And maybe there is no such thing.

Regardless, Joe expects the Bucs to offer Ruud exactly what they think he’s worth.

Into the wee hours of the morning Bucs rock star general manager and his minions continued to gather up undrafted free agents and another player that caught Joe’s eye was a running back from Oklahoma, Mossis Madu, per the Twitter feed of NFLDraftInsider, who was keeping a running log of undrafted free agents.

Looking at his numbers, Madu seemed to peak as an underclassman but that was partially because he switched positions in the backfield and sort of struggled. Why would he switch positions if he was any good? Well, the Sooners had some tailback named DeMarco Murray on the roster.

The NFL is littered with quality players who were buried on a college depth chart because the guy ahead of them was an All-American. In fact, Joe remembers a quarterback who won a Super Bowl for the Bucs who once was buried on the bench at Florida State.

As far as the undrafted free agents who have agreed to terms with the Bucs, Madu piques Joe’s interest the most.

Joe wants to take a moment to welcome readers new and old to his not-so-humble home on the Internet.

Joe sees his traffic meter reaching new heights today, plus bile, fury and excitement brewing in the comments. The end of the asinine lockout has brought back some familiar names and Joe has approved many new posters.

As the post-lockout insanity takes its full form Tuesday, with teams signing undrafted free agents, Joe just wants to let it be known that Joe reports a hell of a lot here, but ultimately Joe only fires off what he finds interesting. And that’s not every last snoozer of a transaction.

But Joe will be break his ass to bring you all things Bucs, including intriguing information on undrafted free agents — Joe’s already started — and especially when it comes to restricted and unrestricted free agency (starting Friday) and training camp (also starting Friday), and all the usual pile of diverse stuff delivered here.

Joe doesn’t sleep.

The next week will be unprecedented in NFL history, and Joe expects it will result in its share of theatrics right on JoeBucsFan.com.

Welcome, 2011.

Word is beginning to trickle out about at least one guy Bucs rock star general manager Mark Domink has agreed to terms with as an undrafted free agent — undrafted free agents cannot be signed until tomorrow.

Thanks to Twitter, Joe learned that Tennessee middle linebacker Nick Reveiz has agreed to terms with the Bucs.

Interesting that Reveiz played middle linebacker in a Tampa-2 coached by none other than former Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Though you don’t expect much from an undrafted free agent, with no OTAs or rookie minicamps this year, Reveiz, given his background, should have a shorter learning curve than most.

Arguably Reveiz’s best game last season came in a lopsided loss to Alabama in which he had four solo tackles and seven assists. In his final college game against North Carolina, Reveiz blew up with 11 solo tackles.

"It's time to ... put your face on people."

Saliva soaking your keyboard as you yearn to watch Bucs football?

Joe feels your pain.

So Joe is ecstatic to report the Bucs will be practicing Friday at 5:15 p.m at One Buc Palace and the session will be open to the public.

Yes, you can watch the Bucs!!! (And hopefully Team Glazer will request the cheerleaders entertain, as well.)

Friday will be the first of nine public sessions, including a night session on Saturday, Aug. 6, at the C.I.T.S., which will conclude with a fireworks show. Way cool.

Major kudos to the Bucs for going so fan-friendly and accessible in what will be a rather bizarre training camp, courtesy of the formerly asinine lockout.

Per Buccaneers.com, practice details could change, but fans will not need tickets, as in past years.

The team’s official site will also feature Training Camp guidelines, including parking information and a map of One Buccaneer Place that allows visitors to familiarize themselves with the layout before arriving.

Joe will keep you updated, as always, but here’s the current open-practice schedule: 
 
Friday, July 29                         5:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, July 30                     2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Sunday, July 31                       5:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Monday, August 1                   5:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, August 3              2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Friday, August 5                       2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Saturday, August 6                  7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 9                  2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Sunday, August 14                 2:30 – 4:35 p.m.

What a beautiful thing.

Joe’s a Jeremy Zuttah fan. Joe doesn’t hide it, and didn’t last year when Joe was standing on the roof pounding the drum in the preseason for Zuttah to play over Keydrick Vincent.

Remember him?

For the life of Joe, he can’t understand why some fans aren’t high on 25-year-old Zuttah, who has performed well at three positions on the offensive line in his first three seasons — and can also play a fourth position, tackle, where he played at Rutgers.

Last year, it just so happened that the Bucs offense didn’t miss a beat — and improved — when Zuttah took over for injured center Jeff Faine after eight games.

But don’t expect Faine to lose his starting center job to Zuttah, said former Bucs guard Ian Beckles during the Ron and Ian Show today on WDAE-AM 620.

“When are they going to battle, really? You can’t wear Jeff Faine out in training camp for the sake [of competition,]” Beckles said. “Sometimes you’re so valuable as a backup you won’t start. … It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is. I’ve seen that before.”

Beckles went on to make the point that Zuttah is so versatile that he allows the Bucs to dress eight offensive linemen instead of nine, which is a huge benefit and allows for another active special teams specialist.

Joe would prefer to see Faine and Zuttah slug it out and let the best man win, but if Zuttah’s not in the Bucs long term plan at center, then maybe they’re best off with him backing up Faine until they can perhaps grab the center of the future in the 2012 draft.

Being the dogged reporter he is, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune is snooping around One Buc Palace, trying to pick up any morsel of information that, per reports, this asinine lockout seems to be in its final hours.

And there is evidence of such, per Cummings on his Twitter feed.

Meanwhile, over at One Buc Place, it’s beginning to look a lot like training camp. Fields are lined, fan seating is up.

Good to read that. Joe will have more later this afternoon when he has time to cobble together coherent thoughts.

Right now the best Joe can describe his thoughts about this asinine lockout ending is the experience of reaching the cashier after a horrible wait in line for a beer at the The CITS.

For the legions of Bucs fans near orgasm at the thought of Nnamdi Asomugha possibly wearing a Bucs uniform this week, Joe presents John Clayton’s latest from BSPN.

“The Professor” took a look at premier free agents and assessed their situations for BSPN.com. He claims the Bucs will be wooing Asomugha.

1. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland Raiders: Julius Peppers topped last year’s market because of his ability to sack the quarterback. Asomugha, 30, the headliner of this free-agent class, closes off his side of the field to quarterbacks. Over the past three seasons, only 52 passes were completed against him. Like Charles Woodson, who left the Raiders to join the Packers, Asomugha has the type of body that could allow him to play until his mid-30s.

Leading suitors: Houston, Tampa Bay. Dark horses: Baltimore, San Francisco

Repeatedly, Joe’s been clear that the Bucs have far greater needs than cornerback, let alone one in the $18 million salary range.

But an X-factor here could be Raheem Morris’ desires and role as defensive coordinator/head coach/secondary guru. Maybe Raheem thinks he can win a Super Bowl with the greatest collection of defensive backs talent in modern times, which he very well might have if Asomugha comes to Tampa and Aqib Talib avoids the hatchet of Roger Goodell.

Joe is aching for football season. The mere thought that Joe could be sitting at a Bucs training camp practice with his binoculars this weekend (not to gawk cheerleaders) is enough to get Joe through a Monday morning.

For kicks yesterday, Joe dove into all things Lions, the Bucs’ opening day opponent. And it stood out for Joe that the Lions’ training camp is in Michigan, hardly a tropical climate, even in the summer. And they play home games in a dome, and their final preseason game in September is in Buffalo, where it can be downright cool that time of year.

How could the Lions possibly be ready for the stifling heat that should hit them at 1 o’clock in Tampa on opening day? They won’t be.

Of course, they could get a rain-cooled day at The C.I.T.S., but the odds are against it. Bring on the 105-degree heat index. The Bucs absolutely should have way more in the tank in the fourth quarter of that critical game.

There’s no way these Bucs can lose two straight at home to the typically dreadful Lions. Can they? And please don’t try to sell Joe on Lions being more than a mediocre young team.

Injuries punched the Bucs in the gut last season, but overcoming that was a big plus in their near-miracle season — so many rookies and newcomers stepped up into key roles.

Most Bucs fan take it for granted that guys like Arrelious Benn, Cody Grimm, Gerald McCoy, Aqib Talib. Jeff Faine, Davin Joseph, Earnest Graham and others will be back ready and raring to go when training camp hopefully opens next week.

But Mark Dominik surely can’t take that for granted. The Bucs’ medical staff hasn’t poked and prodded these guys since March. Are they really ready?

Talking about post-lockout priorities last night on the real man channel, NFL Network, former NFL executive turned talking head Mike Lombardi emphatically made the point that teams will need to bring in extra doctors to immediately evaluate all players. Given that free agency no doubt will begin only a few heartbeats following the end of the lockout, teams, especially ones like the Bucs with numerous players returning from injury, must know who’s healthy and who’s not within a matter of hours so they can make intelligent decisions in free agency.

It’s a smart point by Lombardi and possibly a huge X factor for the Bucs.

What if the Bucs doctors take one look at Benn’s surgically repaired knee and decide they want him to spend another eight weeks on the shelf? Surely that could have Dominik bidding for a top free agent receiver. What if Graham’s neck isn’t where they want it to be? That might alter the Bucs’ approach to Cadillac Williams, as well as the fullback position.

It’s going to be wild few days when the asinine lockout waves good-bye.

For reasons unknown to Joe, many Bucs fans are beyond giddy that — if details learned about the new CBA are true — that Team Glazer and Mark Dominik are going to have to spend several millions more per year on salaries.

As Joe has detailed time and again, dollars do not equate wins. Otherwise, Danny Snyder’s garage would be full of Vince Lombardi Trophies.

As a result, Joe isn’t excited or moved to do shots over this news; he just shrugs his shoulders.

It seems eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune is ready to throw cold water on Bucs fans as well. He is of the belief that the new CBA guidelines — whatever they may be; no one really knows for sure — isn’t going to provoke Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to spend money like a crazy man in Vegas after too many drinks of Patron.

Yet amid all the anticipation, recent history and core philosophy suggest the Bucs won’t be overly active in pursuing free agents.

“We’re going to stick to the plan,” Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer said four months ago. “The road that leads to sustained success is drafting well, keeping those players and growing the team that way.”

With the league expected to institute a brief exclusivity period for clubs to re-sign their own pending free agents, ownership’s commitment to that stated approach will be tested.

Joe can easily see Davin Joseph getting re-signed and perhaps Barrett Ruud, if he’s not too tired of the constant din of debate whether he is worthy of the Bucs or not.

The bulk of the cash Joe strongly believes Dominik will spend will be on taking care of his own and maybe a few second-tier free agents.

Don’t expect splash names this week… provided there is a new CBA.

Bucs fans grind their teeth at night more over the constant din coming from the four-letter about the great Matty Ice than they do about the Bucs playing a home game in London.

Matty Ice is a darling of the Bristol crowd, and Bucs fans just want to thrown their pints of beer at the TV whenever they hear praise for Matty Ice.

Well, it seems Bucs fans anger has been felt all the way up in Canada. Recently, Pat Yasinskas of ESPN fielded a question from someone in Hamilton who seemed outraged that Matty Ice is slurped so much by the four-letter and Josh Freeman isn’t.

Robert (Hamilton)

Why is Josh Freeman not considered better than Matt Ryan? His stats were just as good, he’s three years younger, and his reeivers are not as experienced.

Pat Yasinskas

Who’s saying he’s not better? I think you can make a case that Freeman has upside to be better than Ryan. But I also think it’s a little too early to categorically say he’s better than Ryan. They’re both pretty darn good.

Both are good quarterbacks, let’s make that quite clear. However, Matty Ice didn’t exactly light up the Bucs last year and Matty Ice’s touchdown-to-interception ratio wasn’t close to Freeman’s.

Is Matty Ice good? Yup. But so too is Freeman.

Joe caught up briefly with Maurice Stovall at a breast cancer charity softball game Friday night. Stovall joined Derrick Brooks and various B- and C-list celebrities who played in the game.

For Stovall’s comments about the asinine lockout — he’s a Bucs player representative — Joe whipped out his Blackberry recorder. Among other comments, Stovall advised Joe not to believe what he hears on TV.

To listen, click below or download here. (Prepare for background noise)

[audio: joeandmostovall.mp3]

Since the Bucs initiated the Ring of Honor, a lot of fans have been debating who the greatest Bucs player is.

Some say Lee Roy Selmon, and Joe would have no argument there. He made the Hall of Fame as a defensive end playing in a three-man front of all things.

Others suggest the best Buccaneer of all time is Derrick Brooks, and Joe would have a difficult time arguing that as well. Brooks was a groundbreaking linebacker in a many ways and he was on NFL Network’s top 100 players of all time (so was Selmon).

But Joe would have a difficult time suggesting running back Warrick Dunn would be the greatest Bucs player of all time, but that seems to be what FoxSports.com seems to suggest. In a poll asking Bucs fans to pick the greatest player in franchise history, it lists Dunn among the candidates.

The Bucs’ dominance of the late 1990s and early 2000s was not solely because of defense. Teaming with fullback Mike Alstott, the diminutive Dunn was the speed in one of the NFL’s best backfields in the late ’90s. He is third on the team’s career rushing yards list and also third all-time in receptions for the Bucs. But Dunn’s impact went beyond the stat sheet. Forced to be the family provider at age 18 after his mother’s murder, Dunn brought his sense of loyalty and duty to the Bucs’ locker room and the Tampa Bay community, becoming a favored son of the community (having played college at Florida State). His greatness both on the field and in the community led him to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year and Walter Payton Man of the Year awards.

If Joe was going to pick the best human being of any Bucs player, Dunn may just run away with the vote. Just the work and money and time he has devoted to the Tampa Bay area helping single-moms and their families is damned near enough for the Pope to begin the process for nominating Dunn as a saint.

As good of a running back as Dunn was, Joe would have a very difficult time placing him on a higher rung than Selmon or Brooks.

Joe almost breaks out into uncontrollable laughter the way some Bucs fans pine for free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha is worse than the way Joe pines for Rachel Watson or lusts over Courtney the Bartender.

Why, to read and hear the same Bucs fans carry on, it’s like this Asomugha is the cure for all  the Bucs’ ills, that a Super Bowl ring is guaranteed with his acquisition.

Joe has detailed previously why this is sheer folly. Not only is a cornerback not a need, the Bucs have much bigger needs and holes to fill before they go throwing a bank vault at a cornerback.

It seems Peter King believes the same. On Twitter, the longtime SI NFL writer was asked where Asomugha will land and the Bucs were not among the teams King offered.

@Just_Nehpets: Where are the most likely places you see Nnamdi ends up?

@SI_PeterKing Guesswork: Dall, Phil, Hou, NYJ longshot. Hear he wants Jets.

Generally, what Captain Lou Albano wants with the Jets, Captain Lou Albano gets. And Captain Lou Albano makes no secret to how much he worships big-named cornerbacks.

If Captain Lou Albano is unable to re-sign Santonio Holmes — who would be a better pickup for the Bucs than Asomugha — Joe fully expects Captain Lou Albano to sign Asomugha.

Several ESPN types sit in their home offices and tell viewers via a web cam — a good one at that — who they think will be the next dominant NFL team is.

The Bucs are well-represented.

Nothing’s been normal about this offseason, thanks to the asinine lockout, and the preseason will take on a different look as well, says Bucs icon Derrick Brooks.

Fans actually might not mind paying top dollar for preseason games.

Speaking this week to the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, of WDAE-AM 620, Brooks explained a byproduct of the lockout will have more name players on the field in August.

“This is probably one of the first preseasons you’ll see a lot of veterans play, which is going to hurt the chance for some of these younger guys making teams. Period,” Brooks said. ” A lot of veterans are going to have to get in football shape a lot sooner, and they’re going to have to play a lot of snaps to get in football rhythm.”

Brooks went on to say teams with new coaching staffs, especially, will be all but forced to run with veteran players as the team learns schemes on the fly. And the veteran presence, Brooks said, likely will mean better football come opening day.

Brooks expalined that the more he played in a preseason the sharper his tackling was early in the season.

Joe’s not sure how the Bucs will approach the preseason. Obviously, the team is not in transition mode with a new coaching staff. But the upcoming no-two-a-days rule in training camp might force the Bucs to give regulars more time in preseason.

Regardless, if Brooks is accurate, Joe is fired up to see better preseason action, including a guy like Allen Bradford trying to bust through a defensive line not made up of soon-to-be luggage handlers and beer truck drivers.

Gerald McCoy wants to hang out with you.

McCoy took to Twitter for fan bonding yesterday, inviting fans to show up outside a local IMAX theater in Tampa to score free movie tickets and snacks, and see Captain America with No. 93 and Adrian Clayborn.

No word whether snacks included two boxes of Milk Duds or just one. 

@Geraldini93 AMC Veterans 24. Im passing out tickets from 11:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Be there or be square. 15 3D tickets to Captain America!!

It all went down, so the photo above from McCoy’s Twitter page reveals.

What’s interesting is McCoy, per Twitter, promises bigger and better fan giveaways and hangout sessions are yet to come.

Joe’s waiting for Mons Venus night.

Hat tip to BucStop.com.

No doubt the attendance issues of local sports teams is one of the most hackneyed, worn out discussions on Tampa Bay sports radio and around water coolers and in break rooms across the Bay area.

Joe’s heard every nuance of every argument. But still, Joe was taken back by a recent poll on the website of the Tampa Bay Business Journal that asked whether one actively supported a non-local franchises. A whopping 42 percent answered, “Yes.”

42 percent!

Joe found the number to be extraordinarily high and somewhat troubling because it’s safe to assume the typical Tampa Bay Business Journal reader has disposable cash to purchase tickets.

What an uphill battle the Bucs and the other clubs in town face.

That said, Joe can’t fathom any legitimate excuse/reason outside of a hurricane why the Bucs wouldn’t sell out Monday Night Football against the Colts and Peyton Manning, a national spectacle that hasn’t been here in years.

"Hey, De. I just can't stop thinking about that lap dance we got last night. I think the brunette really liked me. I hear you, hatchetman. She was looking for more than tickets."

Joe is so annoyed by the asinine lockout, it can’t be put into words. And that’s why Joe rarely writes about it. It’s big-time annoying and boring, and Joe has to believe most of his readers feel the same way.

But since Joe’s inbox is full today with readers telling Joe the owners approved a new labor agreement that now sits in the hands of the in-no-hurry players — some writing as if Joe didn’t know — Joe will give his brief two cents.

As much as Joe wants training camp to start, Joe sincerely hopes the players take their time scrutinizing the new CBA and peppering their team representatives with questions about it before they vote to approve it. It should take them at least a three or four days.

This ain’t Washington D.C., where it’s expected that elected officials will vote on life-changing legislation wihout bothering to read what’s in it.

Joe’s heard many a fan call players idiots for making bad investment decisions, using sweeping generalizations about guys who flushed money down the toilet and went broke because they didn’t take the time to figure out what they were getting into.

Joe suspects the players’ leadership won’t let that happen. And fans shouldn’t rip the players for being thorough, and good role models for Congress.

The fortunate few at BSPN are not chasing suits on the streets of Atlanta in recent days — is there anything more boring than TV shots of suits walking down a sidewalk? Well, not quite as boring as poker on TV, but close. Poor Albert Breer.

The fortunate few at BSPN have put their heads together to come up with the future most dominant team in the NFL. No. 1 is the Packers. You may be surprised which team is No. 2.

The Bucs.

There were several panelists who voted on this and former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, who has a hot yet annoying wife, believes the Bucs will be the dominant NFL team in a short time.

Tim Hasselbeck, ESPN NFL analyst: The Packers were dominant in the postseason this past year and most people believe that they can be dominant for the next three years. But if we are looking at 2014-2016, then we need to find the next Green Bay Packers. The Tampa Bay Bucs look like they could be that team. They have an absolute stud at QB, great talent at the skill positions and they have invested high picks on the defensive line in hopes to be dominant on that side of the ball. Sounds a little bit like how the Packers were built.
THE PICK: Tampa Bay Bucs

Joe is inclined to believe this, but the NFL is about to be a whole new league. With this new CBA in place, it changes quite a bit on the NFL landscape. It will be very interesting to see how the NFL, and the Bucs, shake out.