Lovie Smith soothed the Mike Glennon Mob this morning

An interesting revelation this morning by Lovie Smith was that he enjoys listening to “talk radio.” In the context of his conversation on WDAE-AM 620, it was clear Lovie was talking about the beloved bellowing, analysis and fan ranting of sports radio.

It’s something Lovie says he did plenty of in his Illinois basement after getting booted by the Bears. Man, Lovie must have a strong stomach, especially if he was watching film of the Bucs’ pass rush. [read more]

“Look, King. I appreciate going to the ‘love’ card as much as the next guy in our business, but don’t tell me this McCown character could hold Brian Greezy’s jock.”

Bucs fans actually get to see Shaun King break down Bucs free agency in the NBC Sports Network video below.

Joe notes that because so many King haters inexplicably seem to not believe he really has job and national respect. Also, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com lays out the bad news for the Mike Glennon Mob. [read more]

No coach wants to watch other teams play, unless they are prepping for an upcoming opponent or watching their kids play. Coaches want to coach.

After the Bears waved goodbye to Bucs coach Lovie Smith following the 2012 season, Lovie decided he was going to do some soul-searching, some self-scouting, toss ideas around with fellow coaches and come back ready to rock and roll for the 2014 season. [read more]

New Bucs DE Michael Johnson wants to be the next Simeon Rice.

Yes, the Bucs had a fine defense with a strong pass rusher in now Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. And that defense became legendary when it added defensive end Simeon Rice.

With Sapp creating havoc in the middle and Rice virtually unblockable on pass plays from the right side, that defense put the fear of God into opposing quarterbacks, from Brett Favre to Chris Redman. To give Bucs fans an idea how long it has been since the Bucs could regularly breathe on a quarterback, it is since Rice himself (involuntarily) left the Bucs, with Rice screaming that Chucky was “a scumbag” on his way out the door. [read more]

Joe’s got a long memory, as well as deep hatred for all things Carolina Panthers. It’s a disorder Bucs fans know well.

And it’s why Joe is disturbed tonight to learn the Bucs have a visit planned with free agent Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn. [read more]

Buccaneers backup quarterback Mike Glennon’s Tampa Bay career will be in jeopardy if the Bucs draft a quarterback this spring.

Lovie Smith made it clear to Joe today that he’s not a three-quarterbacks kind of guy. [read more]

How fitting is it that Greg Schiano’s mentor, Bill Belicheat, is now in possession of Schiano’s former Bucs savior, Darrelle Revis. [read more]

The dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, had 1-on-1 time with Bucs general manager Jason Licht following the impressive rollout of the Bucs’ new free agent signings at One Buc Palace this evening.

Among the highlights, Licht said there will be competition at defensive tackle: “Akeem Spence has every opportunity to keep his starting job.” The GM also said the Bucs could end up with a “7-to-1” ratio of players by tomorrow when you factor in what they’ll buy with the $16 million Darrelle Revis would have earned in Tampa. [read more]

Now Joe is really starting to get excited. No, not as excited as opening his front door and seeing leggy Rachel Watson wearing Daisy Dukes with a revealing, low-cut number carrying a cooler full of cold beer. But excited nonetheless.

It seems Steelers wide receiver and roadrunner Emmanuel Sanders is visiting the Bucs. That’s the word Joe got from NFL insider Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports. [read more]

Bucs GM Jason Licht discusses the decision to release all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht spoke with the Bucs pen and mic club today following the introductory press conference for the newest Buccaneers. Licht discussed how the signings came about and he made a clear connection to the contract of all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Revis’ departure “has nothing to do with the system,” Licht said. “It had nothing to do with the system. You saw the four (new Bucs) here, and you saw the transaction adding the new quarterback. We are not done yet. We wouldn’t have been able to have done [added the free agents] if certain transactions had happened.” [read more]

A fun nugget Joe was able to learn today at One Buc Palace came via a chat with the agent of new Bucs defensive end Michael Johnson. He told Joe the Bucs were among six teams who pounced on the phones to Johnson at the start of the free agency “tampering” period on Saturday. [read more]

OK, the new Bucs players have not even snapped on a chin strap, have not taken a practice field, only stood and spoke before the Tampa Bay pen and mic club.

Here are some very quick observations Joe made from talking to a few of the new Pewter Pirates, Bucs general manager Jason Licht and Bucs coach Lovie Smith. [read more]

“There has to be a starting spot, a starting point, a starting person to go out there first, and that will be Josh [McCown],” Lovie Smith, speaking to JoeBucsFan.com this afternoon at One Buc Palace. [read more]

The Bucs still have a giant hole on their roster at No. 3 receiver, where former rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Greg Schiano struck out badly with Kevin Ogletree and then rolled out Tiquan Underwood, who struggled to get open. [read more]

If the Bucs hadn’t signed a Pro Bowl cornerback right now, Joe would be in the market for a guy that hangs drywall because of the holes Joe would have punched in the walls of his house, after learning of the news the Bucs simply threw all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis in the nearest retention pond this afternoon.

It is simply unconscionable in Joe’s eyes to unload the best cornerback of our generation. It is very likely we will never see a cornerback this good to wear a Bucs uniform. [read more]

Josh McCown,your 2014 Bucs starting QB?

Today is not a good day for the Mike Glennon Mob. The Bucs announced this afternoon that their speed date with Josh McCown is now a full-blown marriage. The backup Bears quarterback is now a Bucs quarterback and could very well be the starter come this summer.

The fact the Bucs signed McCown — not a surprise — signals a variety of things. First, don’t lay awake at night expecting a signing of Michael Vick. Second, at worst, McCown is a stop-gap. If the Bucs find that Glennon is not the guy, McCown, 34, will be the bridge to (hopefully) a franchise quarterback. [read more]

Nobody’s going to convince Joe that Josh McCown was signed this afternoon as your newest Buccaneers quarterback to back up Mike Glennon.

It’s simply preposterous to think the Bucs would pay McCown $10 million over two years to hold a clipboard for No. 8, who is not up the task of leading the Bucs to what Lovie Smith says he desires immediately: to be “relevant.” [read more]

Adam Kaplan gives a breakdown on what the Bucs are getting with defensive end Michael Johnson in this BSPN video.

Adam Schein lauds the Bucs signing of DE Michael Johnson.

Goodness knows that anyone fumbling around with a white cane could see the Bucs needed a pass rush from the edge. Hell, the Bucs have needed this for seven years, since Simeon Rice left the Bucs.

Time after time after time the Bucs tried to find a reliable, two-digit sack guy. Time and again, the Bucs swung and missed. And when it appeared the Bucs developed their own double-digit sack guy (Michael Bennett), they let him walk away for no good reason. [read more]