Joe and every other Bucs fan knows the tough December home loss to the Lions crushed the Bucs playoff hopes. They win that game and they end up in the playoffs and the Packers aren’t in the postseason dance.

Today, Bucs linebacker Adam Hayward joined Tampa Bay Sports Central and shared somewhat troubling insight into that tough loss, during the WTOG-TV Ch. 44 show hosted by J.P. Peterson.

“We weren’t playing like ourselves. We went in there kind a flat. We were thinking, ‘Oh this is Detroit,”” Hayward said. “That’s how you get your butt wupped.”

Hayward went on to explain the Bucs learned a valuable lesson about playing consistently and not playing up or down to their competition, which Hayward said was an issue during the 2010 season.

Yeah, Hayward’s comments are old news from a great season, but it’s troubling nonetheless. How could the Bucs have possibly taken the Lions lightly after almost miraculously squeaking past the Redskins the previous week and needing the game to get in the playoffs?

If Hayward’s take is accurate, then Raheem Morris and his players really dropped the ball.

In another surefire Emmy award winning episode of JoeBucsFan TV, draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, makes bold statements as he assesses Day 2 of the Bucs draft.

So when did Josh Freeman begin commanding the respect that led to his current status of unquestioned leader of the Bucs?

TBO.com/Tampa Tribune beat writer Anwar Richardson offers up the answer, or at least Kellen Winsow’s take on the evolution.

Freeman helped erase a 13-point deficit at Miami. He led a go-ahead drive, running for 14 yards on first down and throwing to Winslow four times. Cadillac Williams scored on a 1-yard run to give the Bucs a 23-22 lead with 1:14 to play. The defense collapsed and the Bucs lost, 25-23.

Yet, that loss is when Freeman earned the leadership role on his team.

“We were driving the ball and it was like an ‘Any Given Sunday’ moment,” Winslow said. “He was like, ‘This is what I’m talking about. Let’s go. It’s us or them.’ I was like, ‘All right, this is the dude right here.’ “

Just more love and respect pouring in for Freeman. If you didn’t watch it yesterday, Joe highly recommends the recent Freeman video from Ch. 10.

For those nauseated because Joe published Winslow’s mere mention of the 2009 Miami loss, one of the great heinous Jim Bates Experiment collapses, Joe apologizes.

Summer’s almost here and you need a new ride — and a great deal. So head to Joe’s friends at Brandon Auto Mall by Ed Morse this weekend to check out their impressive inventory and spectacular professionalism. Or just click the image below to shop online right now.

A lot of Bucs fans spilled beer in frustration when they learned Team Glazer politely declined to have the Bucs featured in this year’s edition of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

But it seems Bucs star quarterback Josh Freeman endorses the denial. Speaking with video star Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune, Freeman said the team doesn’t need the distractions the HBO crew would create.

“Obviously, it was going to be a distraction having HBO cameras,” Freeman said. “You have guys who are trying to show out and going out of character a little bit. For our team, obviously I’m not going to disagree with Raheem (Morris), Mark Dominik or the Glazers.”

Interestingly, when Richardson asked Freeman if he was concerned the Bucs won’t get the proper exposure without appearing on “Hard Knocks,” Freeman responded he was more concerned about wins.

In Joe’s eyes, that’s the perfect response.

Fantastic WTSP-TV video here of Josh Freeman detailing the Bucs’ local workouts and how he’s training with guys four or five times a week — current Bucs and former Bucs.

Joe suggests you invest the time to watch this. Freeman is setting an incredible standard of leadership.

That’s right, Joe’s good friend Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, the sometimes Saturday host on WDAE-AM 620, has been granted airtime today by the generous programming gods at Clear Channel Tampa Bay and will entertain and educate listeners beginning at 1 p.m.

Hhhmmm, what will Justin talk about? Oh, yeah, the Bolts incredible, yet sad, finish in the Eastern Conference Finals. Then there’s David Price’s masterpiece for the Rays. Plus Joe will join The Commish to talk all things Bucs around 2 p.m.

Another great show from The Commish is on the way.

With all the tension of the last day or two, Joe thought this was a good time to roll out another episode of JoeBucsFan TV. NFL Draft guru and WDAE-AM 620 personality Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski tells all to believe in Adrian Clayborn.

Bucs center and captain Jeff Faine has reacted to the criticism leveled at him by JoeBucsFan.com in a big way today.

Earlier this week Faine said in a radio interview that he didn’t want to attend team workouts in Tampa led by Josh Freeman and said he didn’t see the value in it. Joe criticized Faine for not acting — or communicating — like a captain.

Today Faine penned an open letter now published on TampaBay.com and spoke to J.P. Peterson on WQYK-AM 1010. Faine told Peterson it is “ludricous for me for me to have to defend my leadership” and went on to say he will attend future Bucs workouts with his teammates.

Here’s his verbatim letter on TampaBay.com:

Open letter from Jeff Faine:

I don’t typically respond to blogs but I found it necessary to respond to a recent post when my dedication to my team and the quality of my character as a captain was questioned.  The Buccaneers fans deserve to hear the truth directly from me.  There is nothing more I’d rather be doing than going through the offseason program and preparing for the upcoming season with my teammates on our journey to compete for a championship.

Back in February when I was asked about the feasibility of organizing player workouts, I wasn’t questioning Josh Freeman’s ability as a leader, I was more saying how difficult it will be for any individual to logistically get the entire team together for an offseason program comparable to one organized by the Buccaneers.  If I wasn’t clear on that matter, I apologize.

I can assure you that my dedication to my team, the Buccaneers organization and the Tampa community has never wavered.  I take pride in sharing not only football experience, but life skills and business knowledge that my teammates can use after their football careers end.  This quality is why I have been voted a captain the past three years.  It would be tough to find a player in this league that wears that captain’s patch with more pride.

As Josh well knows, the relationship between a center and the quarterback is of utmost importance and he knows that I support him completely in his efforts to prepare during the lockout.  Although I missed the first three days of field work in Tampa because of prior commitments, I will be part of future sessions to build team camaraderie.  As professionals, we are all accountable for our training and preparation regardless of where we live in the off season.  I can assure you I will do all I can to continue to build on our team success from last season.

 Go Bucs!
Jeff Faine

Joe’s glad to see Faine has done an aboutface and now has determined his presence is valuable at Bucs workouts in Tampa.

Joe considers this matter closed and wishes Faine the best of luck.

Unlike a certain center and team captain, Aqib Talib has not turned down Josh Freeman’s invitation to work out with his teammates in Tampa.

NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas, of the BSPN syndicate, reports that the former helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging Talib is a regular. The recently indicted cornerback is working on both sides of the ball.

Teammates said Talib has been coming out to players-only workouts run by quarterback Josh Freeman on a fairly regular basis this offseason. The workouts have been mostly for offensive players, but the teammates said Talib has gone through workouts in the weight room and worked as a wide receiver on the field. The teammates said Talib sometimes will line up at cornerback and shadow receivers on their routes, but no contact is allowed and he’s been one of the few defensive players to show up.

Kudos to Talib, who played some receiver during his college days at Kansas. Hopefully, none of the Bucs there decides to tease him with a mother joke.

In all seriousness, Talib’s attendance illustrates what a tough call Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris likely will have to make on Talib’s future, assuming he cuts a deal on his pending felony assault charge in Texas and stays out of prison.

Obviously, Talib’s attendance shows he has the support of his teammates.

Despite the spin the suits will spew, nothing good can come of this asinine lockout, choreographed by NFL strongman Roger Goodell. Joe could smell this miles away.

Even Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times realizes this. In a chat he had at his newspaper’s site yesterday, Jones pointed toward the depressing union-first Jeff Faine fiasco as Exhibit-A of how the asinine lockout is hurting the Bucs.

Comment From LeoInCanada
Hey Tom, thanks for hosting today. What’s your take on Faine avoiding Bucs player workouts while praising the Saints for theirs?

Tom Jones
I don’t know all of the details of the Faine situation, but it was unfortunate to hear about it. I think this was one of the fears about a lockout mess this offseason for the Bucs. They were coming off such a solid season, a foundation-building season and, suddenly, everything is up in the air. The Bucs are still so young that they really needed the structure of a routine offseason. I’ve felt all along that an offseason full of uncertainly won’t hurt veteran teams out there, but could stunt the growth of a young team such as the Bucs.

Popular sports radio personality Adam Schein spoke of this as well with Josh Freeman earlier this week heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio: That the Bucs had major momentum built during the 2010 season to carry over into the offseason and it has been blown up thanks to the asinine lockout.

Now, instead of building upon that in the offseason and in OTAs, a team captain (in title only) like Faine is more concerned with ironing slacks than bonding and pumping weights with his teammates.

If you can tolerate the often wacky use of the English language by the British, The Guardian has penned an interesting article on how shrewd Team Glazer has turned around the finances at Manchester United and is building a manbeast of a cash cow.

The team is again the toast of England and much of the world, and it can take its investment over the top by the winning the European Championship on Saturday. That game will grace or pollute  — depending on your perspective — the American FOX Sports airwaves at 2 p.m.

Barely a week goes by without a new sale being rung up by the growing commercial operation that operates out of the heart of upmarket offices 206 miles away from Old Trafford. On Wednesday it was a deal with Honda to sell Manchester United branded scooters in Thailand.

The future vision is for a gaggle of pre-match reporters on the pitch at Old Trafford, delivering bespoke content in different languages that will then be distributed via “triple-play deals” with mobile phone, internet and TV companies and into which can be inserted locally targeted digital ads on advertising hoardings. The Glazers have sensibly left the Manchester “football” operation, overseen by David Gill and Ferguson, to largely run itself.Therefore the mythology and romance that fuels the marketing operation has endured even as it is ruthlessly sliced, diced and exploited around the world.

Insiders insist much of this strategic vision is down to the Glazers, who are far more hands on in the business side of the club than they are given credit for and are enthusiastic and passionate owners. Given their secretive business practices and refusal to speak to the media, we’ll never know.

Joe’s glad for Team Glazer, which has even all but silenced the mobs of haters they first encountered in England.

And perhaps there’s some comfort for Bucs fans knowing that the Glazers are building on their extraordinary success in the sports world, especially those who buy that the two teams’ finances are connected.

Though Joe doubts those One Buc Palace employees losing cash next week will share that sentiment.

It is now official. As Joe suspected previously, troubled Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib has been indicted by a Texas grand jury, charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon for his alleged involvement in pistol whipping a man and  shooting at (and missing) the fleeing subject.

The case moves to Dallas County’s criminal district court No. 2 under elected judge Don Adams.

If found guilty, Talib could be sentenced to incarceration in a Texas penitentiary, potentially up to 20 years, and his days as a Bucs cornerback would surely be over.

Joe will keep you up to speed on all the developments. As Joe has written before, this indictment comes as no surprise. What would be a surprise is if Talib’s case actually goes to trial.

Joe looks for Talib to cut a deal, if he can get his charges reduced to a misdemeanor and avoid the slammer.

Kellen Winslow is trying to lure Josh Freeman out of town

Word from Stephen Holder of the St. Pete Times is that Kellen Winslow is feeling so good that he’s going to move on from Josh Freeman’s Bucs workouts in Tampa for a while and head to the University of Miami to feel even more heat and train with other Hurricanes alumni.

But the troubling news is he’s pursuading Josh Freeman to come along for the ride.

So good, in fact, that Winslow plans to join fellow University of Miami alumni/NFL players in Coral Gables in a few weeks to partake in longtime UM trainer Andreu Swasey’s famous offseason workouts. Winslow has even extended an invitation to Freeman, with whom he is building a close bond. Freeman is still mulling the offer.

The workouts are in intense, not the sort of thing intended for a guy who isn’t confident in his knee. But Winslow clearly is feeling great, and if football at some point resumes, the Bucs will reap the benefits of his good health.

Now it’s great that Winslow is feeling like a new man who hasn’t had a pile of knee surgeries, but leave Freeman in Tampa.

If Freeman’s not here, which captain is going to organize the valuable offseason workouts for the rest of the Bucs?

Joe is as geeked as the next Bucs fan about the potential for the Bucs front line.

Just in the past two years the Bucs have drafted Gerald McCoy, Brian Price, Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers all in the first two rounds. That has the potential for being as dominant a front line as the Bucs have ever had.

But hold up! Former NFL coach and front office executive Pat Kirwan isn’t as quick to jump on the bandwagon. In a recent chat on NFL.com, Kirwan was asked if the Bucs could contend for an NFC South title this fall. Kirwan is of the mind that the Bucs front four is too young for the Bucs to make much of a postseason run.

Justin, Lexington, Ky
The Buccaneers are a young and up coming team, but do they have what it takes to win a tough NFC South in 2011?

Pat Kirwan, NFL.com
They probably do on offense. but their problems, to me, remain up front on defense. I like the two draft pcisk at DE, Clayborn and Bowers. But there are meidcal issues surrounding both guys. they must become great pass rushers right away to deal with Drew Brees and Matt Ryan. and I’m not sure they are ready for that job.

There will be some Sundays when not one starter on the defensive line has a full season of NFL experience.

Kirwan touches upon a fair point. Both GMC and Price were hurt last year; Price’s injury could present an extremely dicey recovery. And as always, rarely do rookie defensive linemen shine.

This means to Joe that there will still be pressure on the Bucs’ linebackers to stop the run. Uh, oh.

Call Joe a masochist, but Joe got a great laugh out of the prolonged on-air beating he took yesterday afternoon from radio host J.P. Peterson on WQYK-AM 1010.

Joe’s used to getting slapped around in the comments section here, but this clubbing was special.

Peterson said, “I take offense” to the way JoeBucsFan.com blasted Jeff Faine for his disinterest in attending Josh Freeman’s ongoing team training sessions in Tampa. Joe had called Faine a lousy captain after Faine said on air Tuesday night that he passed on joining his teammates.

Jeff Faine: I was actually invited. I guess they wanted me to come snap the ball a little bit and block air. But I decided my time was best served in the weight room than making sure that our snaps were still good. They’re definitely putting in some work. These guys are out there throwing the ball. It’s good. It’s great for our young receivers and our young franchise quarterback to be able to get together and throw the ball around the yard a little bit and spend a little time together. They’ll hopefully be able to basically supplement what we’d normally be doing. But of course it definitely isn’t replacing the amount of work we’d normally be putting in, and that’s something that’s definitely going to be missed this upcoming season.

J.P. Peterson: Pretty good participation level?

Faine: “From what I’ve been told from Josh, I checked in with him earlier today actually, great turnout. These guys were lifting, doing a little running and doing some routes and what not. So it’s been good.”

Peterson said Faine doesn’t miss OTA days, wants to play football, and the wrath of Joe and fans should be at the NFL for locking out players, not at a center who is passing on a rather meaningless May workout.

Peterson cited Faine’s multimillion dollar businesses and said Faine “has got better things to do,” noting that Faine is on a rigorous workout program to prepare for the 2011 season and has lots of responsibilities as an entrepreneur, like other players have with family and off-field commitments.

Peterson fielded calls and texts from listeners who sided with Joe, and Peterson said he believes some of the anger at Faine is misguided jealousy because Faine is a highly paid player and makes a pile of cash in the private sector.

Frankly, Joe couldn’t care less what Faine does off the field. Joe’s a capitalist, too, and admires Faine’s business acumen.

For Joe, this comes down to Faine accepting a captain’s role with the Bucs. Either you’re captain and fully devoted to the team, or you’re not. In Joe’s eyes, Faine has used terrible judgement — and shown poor leadership sense — with his public comments about Freeman’s workouts and by passing on attending.

First, Faine scoffed to the St. Pete Times weeks ago about how Freeman wouldn’t be successful in getting meaningful attendance at informal workouts, if guys showed up at all. Yet Freeman said yesterday on Sirius NFL Radio that up to 35 players have been to workouts on specific days, including offensive linemen. And Joe confirmed yesterday that some defensive backs have been there.

Then, Faine all but says this week that his presence at these workouts is meaningless. For Joe, that’s not captain-speak, and it shouldn’t be accurate, given the veteran wisdom Faine should be able to impart.

This is a unique offseason. That can’t be argued. Is Faine meeting his leadership duties as captain during these wacky, lockout times? No. And Joe will defend his honor and try to convince Peterson during a brief on-air, steel cage match today at 3:45 p.m.

Joe’s going to assume for a moment there are several employees at One Buc Palace who do not have guaranteed contracts and/or are paid by the hour.

Based on a statement from the Bucs, per the official team website, these people will lose a week’s pay — or be forced to use paid leave — when the Bucs close their offices next week as a lockout-driven, cost-cutting measure. (Joe wants to believe Bucs staff will get holiday pay for Memorial Day, but Joe’s unsure.) Below is the Bucs’ statement:

Due to the current NFL labor situation, the Buccaneers’ offices will be closed Memorial Day week.  If the work stoppage continues into the fall, additional office closures during the week of Labor Day and in the winter have been conditionally added to the calendar.  However, if the labor situation is resolved without the loss of any regular-season games, any lost wages will be fully reimbursed to Buccaneer employees.

“The Buccaneers remain hopeful that the 2011 season will be played without interruption; presuming this occurs, the plan will essentially provide the team’s entire staff with an extra week of paid vacation,” said team spokesman Jonathan Grella. “And more importantly, this plan preserves jobs and does not ask employees to work for less or no pay.”

The contingency plan was introduced in March in order to cause as little disruption as possible, and to allow the advance planning of vacations at a spot on the calendar when Buccaneers employees often take time off.

Other NFL teams are inflicting similar stress on their staff members. Joe feels bad for those whose lives are caught in the NFL lockout crossfire.

Joe thinks this potential cost-saving move by the Bucs is a little surprising and distressing, given how vocal Bucs officials have been in addressing the Tampa Bay region’s poor economy and the fact that the team needs all the time it can get to have its salespeople pounding the streets and working the phones to sell tickets.

The reality of the heinous lockout, if it continues deep into summer, is that teams will be pressed into action quickly.

Joe has no doubt that players and owners won’t care much about the quality of football on opening day, just that the game gets in and the TV and sponsor checks clear the bank.

In light of that likely reality, Raheem Morris says he’s getting ready for the ultimate hurry-up scenario, so he said last week on WQYK-AM 1010.

Everybody’s getting their seven-day install ready so to speak. And usually that’s a training camp type of deal and an atmosphere. But you also got to be ready to be game-plan-ready, in case you’ve got to go right into a game or whatever the case may be,” Raheem said. “We’re very optimistic around the building. We got a couple of different plans.”

How nuts would it be if teams got, for example, a week to sign free agents, a one-week training camp, and then had opening day the following weekend? Crazy times.

Bucs team leader and starting quarterback Josh Freeman appeared on “The Blitz” Wednesday co-hosted by popular sports radio personality Adam Schein and former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. In the segment, Freeman described the team workouts he has organized during this asinine lockout orchestrated by NFL hatchetman Roger Goodell, and lauded his dedicated teammates for coming out to participate in droves.

Adam Schein: He’s one of our favorite quarterbacks, we welcome Tampa Bay Buccaneers outstanding quarterback Josh Freeman, Josh, welcome back to the show this is Adam Schein along with Rich Gannon, how are you?

Josh Freeman: I’m doing great.

Rich Gannon: You’re one of the quarterbacks that has to be concerned with the lockout because you carried a lot of momentum into the offsesaon. Are you concerned that the momentum lost may hurt the team because you haven’t had the opportunity to be part of the offseason program?

Freeman: For sure. Being a young team, with a lot of young guys, being able to be together and to work in the facility and to be around the coaches, it was very valuable. Last year, the type of offseason we had led to us being competitive and winning games. Not being around the coaches and the facility hurts. We are trying to figure out how to get quality work in.

Schein: You and Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik talked about how important the offseason is. You are organizing workouts. How has the participation been?

Freeman: It’s been good. The thing about being such a young team, a lot of these guys, it’s tough for them to maintain a house or an apartment here without a workout check. It’s been good though. We have found a way to get guys into town and to work. We try to get together for two weeks out of the month. Kellen Winslow, as soon as he heard about the lockout, he moved right back out here and we got a lot of work in, good work, watching film. This week we had a lot of offensive linemen in and some defensive guys. [Joe’s note: Joe has learned Jeremy Trueblood was among the offensive linemen in attendance.]  They take the Bucs logo very personal. It’s been great for the guys. We will have anywhere from 35 to 20 guys. We’re definitely getting the work in.

Schein: Josh, you get the sense that the workouts you have set up, people are hungry.

Freeman: No doubt. We were so close last year. There were so many games, yeah we were close but we should have pulled those games out. We had two close games with Atlanta that they got away with and the Detroit game. We have to find a way to win those games and get over the hump. The playoffs are just a start.

Gannon: Change is constant in this business. What kind of changes do you think will happen with the offense? Where will it evolve?

Freeman: You know, our playbook is huge. Rich can attest, there is so much you can do with it. Coach Olson does a great job of mixing it up week in and week out. I know we have a new offensive line coach so I am sure he has a different philosophy on calls. But I don’t anticipate that much to change. Being a second-year guy with these rookies, like Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount it will allow the offense to move forward. This will be my third year. I am very comfortable with the offense. It just keeps moving forward.

Schein: How comfortable are you as a leader of the Bucs?

Freeman: I have been very fortunate growing up with my parents and my high school coach and my college coach. I’ve really been groomed for this. I always had the opportunity to step up and lead. In the NFL, I viewed it as a challenge. It starts with hard work and being on time all the time and ultimately performing on the field. I feel like this role I am made for but I have a lot of character teammates. Everyone wants to lead and do the right thing.

Gannon: You came in a really bad situation. You had no quarterback coach after Jeff Jagodzinski was fired. Then you had the blend of two systems. How important was an offseason a year ago when you cleaned things up? How much did that help?

Freeman: It helped a lot, it really did for my game. When you step into that situation, that is not comfortable. My rookie year I tried to rely on my physical abilities and I took a lot of chances. After spending some time with Coach Olson, I followed him around the building and he would have me go out of the building and work on my footwork and that really helped my game.

Schein: Josh, you really deserve a lot of credit for organizing these workouts for the Buccaneers.

Freeman: Thank you.

"Leaders lead, man."

Recently, Joe offered up a kind request to Bucs unquestioned team leader and quarterback Josh Freeman that he open up a workout or two for the fans.

This notion was largely shot down by many of Joe’s readers as bordering on insurgency if not outright sedition.

In this NOLA.com video that is surely to leave union-first Bucs center Jeff Faine truly confused, Saints center Drew Brees explains not just the importance of having open workouts, but inviting the fans to participate as he did recently in New Orleans.

Now before any Bucs fans go crazy, please note that not only is Brees an NFLPA leader, the lawsuit the NFLPA filed against the NFL owners bears Brees’ name, not Faine’s. After listening to Brees and then read Faine’s words as to why he’s not working out with his teammates, it strangely rings hollow.

In Faine’s defense, Brees does not own a haberdashery.

"Just be happy I'm not playing defensive end, little guy."

The esteemed Bucs captain Jeff Faine says there’s a team in the NFC South that’s got a serious edge if the NFL Lockout extends deep into the summer or beyond.

Sadly, he’s not on the same page as rockstar general manager Mark Dominik, who had said he believes the Bucs’ youth will give them a post-lockout advantage.

Faine likes the Saints, so he told J.P. Peterson on WQYK-AM 1010 Tuesday evening.

J.P. Peterson: Looking around your division, you think anyone would have an advantage [if the lockout extends to late August]?

Faine: Yeah, I think that New orleans, especially, with the pieces that they’ve had in place for some time. Not much change. You’ve got a hell of a quarterback that’s leading his team in an offseason program. Those guys have played together for some time. They’ve had the same coordinator in Sean Payton and also the head coach for some time. I don’t think there’s a better duo when it comes to head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterback relationship in the league than those two.

Faine may be exactly right, but his style of presenting himself as captain of the Bucs makes Joe ill.

Guess who turned down the true leader of the Bucs when asked to participate in informal team workouts in Tampa?

That would be Bucs captain Jeff Faine, aka Captain Negative.

Remember, this is the same dude who told the St. Pete Times Freeman wouldn’t be able to get strong attendance at his workouts and was all down about them.

“You’re not going to see Josh Freeman and our receiving corps down at the University of Tampa soccer field,” Faine said. “They might go out there and run some routes and throw. But you’re talking about getting an entire receiving corps together being able to work against an entire defensive backs corps. It’s just not going to happen.”

Now Faine has changed his tune a bit during an interview with J.P. Peterson yesterday evening on WQYK-AM 1010.

Jeff Faine: I was actually invited. I guess they wanted me to come snap the ball a little bit and block air. But I decided my time was best served in the weight room than making sure that our snaps were still good. They’re definitely putting in some work. These guys are out there throwing the ball. It’s good. It’s great for our young receivers and our young franchise quarterback to be able to get together and throw the ball around the yard a little bit and spend a little time together. They’ll hopefully be able to basically supplement what we’d normally be doing. But of course it definitely isn’t replacing the amount of work we’d normally be putting in, and that’s something that’s definitely going to be missed this upcoming season.

J.P. Peterson: Pretty good participation level?

Faine: “From what I’ve been told from Josh, I checked in with him earlier today actually, great turnout. These guys were lifting, doing a little running and doing some routes and what not. So it’s been good.”

What a captain! Faine’s fellow Bucs are lifting, running and working and Faine feels his presence is meaningless.

Perhaps it is.