He’s unlikely to be a Buccaneer for long, but Eric Wright isn’t acting like it. He’s certainly been talking the talk on Twitter, and also via his website.

In a recent entry titled, The Learning Curve and Having Perspective, Wright wrote about Greg Schiano being completely focused on the ways of the New Schiano Order and not the won-loss column.

It was a matter of coming in and building a culture where winning is expected, hard work is expected and the process is more important than the results. He wanted to focus on the process and not the result, and I think we took things like that into consideration as far as helping us get to where we want to be.

Joe read this and couldn’t help but remember Schiano going wild to the secondary, and specifically Anthony Gaitor, against Atlanta during the final game of the season. He was screaming various forms of “Do your job.” It was like Schiano’s end-of-the-season, last stand for the “process.”

Schiano said multiple times last season how much more he would be able to accomplish in the 2013 offseason because his team would come in knowing the “process” of the New Schiano Order, and new players — draft picks and free agents — would be able to adapt faster because most of their peers could help show them the way.

Joe can’t wait to see it, coach. Your team returns in about seven weeks.

Much to Jeremy Trueblood’s chagrin, it is highly unlikely he gets slapped with a franchise tag by Mark Dominik.

Counting down the hours until the world’s largest indoor track practice, the NFL scouting combine, means we are nearing the end of the silly season.

The NFL silly season is when fans, desperate for football news in the dead of winter and still fighting off the hunger pangs for football developed since the end of the Super Bowl, try to determine who signs who and who drafts who and who gets slapped with a franchise tag.

Enter the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio. The new star of NBC Sports cobbled together an exhaustive list of who may be or could be or should be hit with a franchise tag from every team in the NFL.

And yes, Florio offers a couple of suggestions for Bucs fans. A tag may/could/should be placed on either defensive end Michael Bennett or right tackle Jeremy Trueblood.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs plans to spend on keeping their own guys. When it comes to using the tag, it’s a toss-up between tackle Jeremy Trueblood and defensive end Michael Bennett, or neither.

Now knowing Florio and his sarcasm and wit, Joe thinks he was having fun with Bucs fans and was just being a wiseacre to suggest Trueblood could/should/may get hit with a franchise tag. Joe’s confident Trueblood has played his last snap in a Bucs uniform. He got Wally Pipp’ed by Demar Dotson, a cool guy, a hard worker, but not exactly the best run blocker in the NFL.

Is Dotson valuable on the bench? You know it. Is he an above average starter? Well, not really. This is why some people, including “The Godfather,” Gil Brandt, think Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik drafts a right tackle in the first round.

This video really warmed Joe’s heart. Bucs fans can take great pride in undrafted cornerback Leonard Johnson. The pride of Largo High has been busy this offseason. Alex Halsted, of Iowa State News, tells the story.

Congratulations, Leonard.

Joe’s friends at Ed Morse Auto Plaza in Port Richey are at it again with their incredible discounts on Mazdas.

This time it’s $500 off any new Mazda, now through Presidents’ Day!

You know you must shop for a vehicle this weekend, so don’t blow it by forgetting about Ed Morse Auto Plaza. Joe bought his pre-owned Ford Fusion there two years ago and it hasn’t need a repair since.

Joe likes talking about the draft (not the combine; but the draft) almost as much as he likes talking about the virtues of Rachel Watson.

But mock drafts before free agency are, in many ways, like shooting darts blindfolded. Until the siren beginning free agency blasts on the afternoon of March 12, Bucs fans won’t know every player available, and who is out there very well could determine how a team drafts a month later.

Take the Bucs and Wes Welker, for example. Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, speaking on “The Fabulous Sports Babe Show” last week on WHNS-FM 98.7, seemed to imply Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik was possibly eyeing Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert. Cummings, rightfully, acknowledged that the Bucs’ two main areas of need (right now)  are cornerback and tight end. Since the cornerback talent in the draft is three-rounds deep but not necessarily top-shelf heavy, Dominik could elect to pull the trigger on a tight end at No. 13 with Eifert.

But if Wes Welker is available as a free agent, that could change Dominik’s draft strategy, Cummings told The Sports Babe.

“Here is something to think about: I think the guy they will target is Wes Welker as a slot receiver. That’s the one thing they don’t really have,” Cummings said. “If they pitch Wes Welker as a slot receiver, a very dependable slot receiver, they can leave [Vincent] Jackson on the outside and leave Mike Williams on the outside and all of a sudden you have to worry about three very dynamic receivers on that offense. If they do that, they can probably get a tight end of lesser value who is more of a blocker who helps more in the run game and not so much as a pass target. It just opens up that area of the field more and gives you some other options. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t bring back a Dallas Clark or draft a Tyler Eifert. I think Wes Welker is a guy they are going to look at. I may be wrong, but if you are looking at putting more weapons in Josh Freeman’s cache, I have to think that will do it. If he has that kind of a guy to throw to over the middle of the field and the other two guys working the outside, all of a sudden it gets pretty darn hard to defend the pass.”

All valid points by Cummings, but the first thing Joe thought is, ‘Just how many toys does Josh Freeman need to be successful, geez?’

Of course, all of this is moot if the Patriots and Bill Belicheat tag Welker again with the dreaded franchise label. Though it doesn’t seem as if Belicheat will tie up that much cash to a 32-year old slot receiver.

Cummings didn’t mention this, but if the Bucs do target Welker as a big-money signing, it also speaks to how there aren’t really any big fish out there among free agent corners. Some solid ones, but none to break the bank over.

In other words, cornerbacks that are available through free agency are more budget buys this winter.

This is the predicament the Bucs now face: Perhaps no team needs corners more than the Bucs, but there are few top-shelf corners available in free agency, and even less first-round talent in the draft.

The paywall is down. The paywall is down.

PewterReport.com spiritual leader and Bucs beat writer Scott Reynolds removed the pay-per-read feature from his regular “Fab 5” column yesterday. In that edition, Reynolds claimed to know an innermost thought of rockstar general manager Mark Dominik when it comes to his job security. And Reynolds was emphatic that Dominik’s job is in jeopardy without a standout Bucs season in 2013.

FAB 1. Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik knows his job is on the line. In order for him to maintain job security in 2014 and beyond, Tampa Bay likely has to make the playoffs in 2013. At least that’s what he thinks.

Reynolds goes on to speculate about the impact of new director of college scouting Eric Stokes. If the Bucs draft BYU defensive end Ezekiel Ansah in the first round, Reynolds believes, then it could be some sort of statement on Dominik’s mindset and future.

It will be interesting to see what happens if Ansah is still on the board by the time Tampa Bay picks at No. 13. If he becomes a Buccaneer it will speak volumes about how much influence Stokes now has in the war room, and how much comfort level Dominik has about his future at One Buccaneer Place.

Frankly, Joe would be surprised if Dominik told any media that he thinks his job is in jeopardy if the Bucs don’t make the playoffs in 2013. It’s possible, Joe’s not claiming funny business from Reynolds, but Joe doesn’t know why Dominik would say such a thing.

As for evaluating a GM, it’s a challenging process with a lot more layers to it when compared to grading a head coach, but it does ultimately come down to wins and losses. However, if Dominik drafts another Rookie of the Year candidate and belts a couple of home runs in free agency, it’s hard to imagine he gets canned under any circumstances after next season.

Is Dunta Robinson worthy of a Bucs paycheck?

Just thinking of the Bucs’ cornerback play last year makes Joe’s stomach turn. And no, it had nothing to do with the beers and pepperoni pizza he had last night either.

Earlier this week Joe was listening to Pat Kirwan, the former linebackers coach and NFL front office man who co-hosts “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Kirwan has a philosophy on teams trying to get over the hump and get into the playoffs looking to add a player via free agency to fill a major hole.

And with the Bucs, that hole at cornerback is bigger than the meteorite that landed in a Russian lake Thursday night.

Kirwan’s philosophy is to attempt to raid a division opponent, preferably the division champ. This plays right into Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik’s hands as the Dixie Chicks have two stud corners that are free agents.

This subject was talked about in an ESPN NFC South chat.

Darin (Louisville Ky)

Hey Pat the bucs are scary short on corners. Heard they have room to make moves in free agency and its right around the corner…. Any thoughts? Dunta Robinson? Brent Grimes?

Pat Yasinskas

Suspect they’ll sign at least one FA corner. We’ll see who comes out of Atlanta. But there are some other guys out there I like — Tracy Porter, Cary Williams, Dominique Rogers Cromartie and more guys will come available between now and start of free agency.

Per Joe’s research, neither of these guys are locks to be a Bucs shutdown corner. Grimes is nearly 30 and is coming off of a torn Achilles. That scares the hell out of Joe. Then there is Robinson, who, if the Dixie Chicks decided to keep Grimes, likely will be a cap casuality. Joe sort of likes this guy. Some teams think he’s a dirty player, but the dude can flat out hit and he gets into opponents’ heads. Joe likes that attitude.

Problem with Robinson is, he will be 31 when the season rolls around and he can be toasty at times in pass coverage.

Would Joe love to see the Bucs weaken the Dixie Chicks while addressing a major area of need? You bet. But Joe isn’t sure which of these two guys is the best fit.

Joe realizes he’s typing heresy in the church of the Bucs here. But don’t skewer Joe, it’s a controversial take from Joe’s pal Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski of 98.7 FM.

The Commish penned a piece looking at the Bucs’ needs and options entering free agency, and he s confident Ronde Barber is a weak link in the Bucs secondary. The hefty praise rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Greg Schiano have dropped on Barber’s 2012 performance? The Commish ain’t buying it.

Bottom Line: This is pretty simple, Ronde Barber is old, about to retire, and was a liability last season. I also do not feel Ahmad Black is ready for a full-time role. I’d love to get a veteran with experience back in the secondary to help Mark Barron, but also an experienced player that can still play at a high level. Dashon Goldson would be my top target with his experience on a top defense like the 49ers. Patrick Chung would bring his experience from the Patriots and be a nice upgrade. Kenny Phillips has some injury concerns, but does have a tie to the Giants that might help him or hurt him with current Bucs coaches. No, I do not think Ed Reed would come to the Bucs, nor do I think the Bucs will go after him.

Top Free Agents: Dashon Goldson (SF), Jairus Byrd (BUF), Ed Reed (BAL), LaRon Landry (NYJ), Louis Delmas (DET), Patrick Chung (NE), William Moore (ATL), Kenny Phillips (NYJ)

Joe has to disagree. Barber isn’t a liability, though Joe doesn’t think Barber is much more than average on the field while performing a key leadership role on and off it.

Now Joe wouldn’t quibble if the Bucs brought in a better free safety and moved Barber back to cornerback to compete there and play on passing downs.

Ed Reed interests Joe on many levels. Schiano was Reed’s defensive coordinator at the University of Miami under Butch Davis, who still happens to be in the Bucs’ house. Perhaps the relationship there is strong enough to intrigue Reed.

There’s a cool site out there Joe doesn’t hit on enough. Sure, it’s a stats-heavy site, but not oppressively so.

Plus, like Joe, they try to have fun with their information and also try to work in eye-pleasing photos of lovely ladies. That never hurts. The place is called ColdHardFootballFacts.com.

A couple of weeks ago, a cat there named Ken Crippen devised a formula involving fumbling to determine not only who was the most valuable rusher in the NFL, but what teams ran the ball the best, and also what defenses were best against the run.

This formula seems to weigh heavily on fumbles and touchdowns, which is not a bad thing.

Though he had over 1,400 yards rushing, Bucs running back Doug Martin was not among the very best rushers in this ratings system. He was, instead, No. 5. While his lone fumble helped him, there were others who had more touchdowns than Martin, which seems to be why he was ranked No. 5.

Despite having one of the top runners in the NFL, the Bucs, when using the same formula to grade out team rushing, did not fare so well. This may be because the Bucs, outside of Martin, had virtually no running game.

In the team rankings, the Bucs are No. 9.

Now it starts to get a bit more interesting. The Bucs had the NFL’s best rush defense in yards allowed. But Crippen’s math came out with a far different result, ranking the Bucs rush defense No. 20. It seems the main reason for this is the Bucs tied for last in the NFL in forcing opposing running backs to fumble, just three times. In addition, the Bucs allowed 13 rushing touchdowns in 2012, a pretty high number, though nowhere near Buffalo’s 23 rushing touchdowns allowed.

What this means to Joe is that Bucs coach Greg Schiano is surely working on ways to tighten up the Bucs defense in the red zone and maybe work on creating turnovers, an area in which the old Bucs defense was so gifted.

It’s Year 2 for the New Schiano Order, but it’s the first season for many Bucs assistant coaches.

A new quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach, linebackers coach, secondary coach and special teams coach will have prominent, influential voices in the 2013 season. That much change has left former Bucs tight end and Buccaneers Radio Network analyst Anthony Becht feeling wary.

Speaking on 98.7 FM on Sunday, Becht explained that just because Bucs coordinators are returning that doesn’t mean there will be critical continuity for Josh Freeman and others.

“As a coordinator, you’re going to preach to these [new position] coaches what you want, but it’s the nuances, the details. You know, now you’re saying different things, different stuff to these guys. That’s going to be helpful to these guys, but it’s different language. It’s different personalities. It’s approaches to the game. And it’s tough to get that fluency and continuity,” Becht said.

“You know the coordinators are only there in big-picture meetings and on the field. They’re not there teaching these guys every single day what to do. When you’re hearing [new] voices, and hearing the changeover. Sometimes that language and change … it’s gets to be a little touchy issue sometimes.

“There is a lot of turnover with the Bucs. I think as a coaching staff as an organization you really don’t want to have that, especially with the productivity that they had. You know, I’m just shocked that a lot of these coaches were either fired or let go, or they actually left. That tells me there’s something wrong with the environment maybe a little bit. Or, you know, they weren’t as committed. You just want to have that continuity. I think that’s huge when you’re talking about getting the best out of the quarterback position, making sure Freeman’s the guy, developing him, especially with the contract situation and making sure that next season everything is clean. And he comes in and the same things he heard last year he hears again. That stuff’s important. We’ll see how it goes, but I do think it could be an issue moving forward.”

Former Bucs QB Shaun King, one of only three QBs to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game, also has talked about the unfortunate challenge Josh Freeman will face having his fourth quarterbacks coach in five seasons. The Bucs hired former longtime NFL assistant and former Rutgers offensive coordinator John McNulty to replace the pushed out Ron Turner, and rockstar general manager has spoken of McNulty’s influential offensive mind.

Joe doesn’t know McNulty, but Joe suspects he’ll be a very strong voice, which will present another transitional challenge for Freeman.

Regardless, excuses are dried up. Freeman’s a fifth-year veteran with Grade A weapons and a familiar playbook.

A big part of the mid-1990’s sales pitch to the taxpayers of Hillsborough County for the C.I.T.S., aka Community Investment Tax Stadium, aka Raymond James Stadium, claimed that voting for the tax and building a stadium would bring valuable Super Bowls to Tampa and surrounding communities.

Super Bowls meant big and lasting economic impact, so the pitch went. Obviously, the tax passed, the stadium was built in 1998, and Tampa successfully hosted Super Bowls in 2001 and 2009.

But now Tampa has fallen completely off the Super Bowl map. They went hard after the game in 2015, with Bryan Glazer a leader in the charge, but lost out to Arizona. Tampa has since disappeared, and it has not jumped into the mix of cities — some with new stadiums — fighting for a 2018 Super Bowl.

Recently, the city of Charlotte and the Panthers, which have never hosted a Super Bowl, agreed to cough up about $200 million to upgrade their stadium, which is only two years older than Tampa’s. Part of the stated goal in Charlotte is a Super Bowl.

Voters in Miami will be called upon this spring to decide on ponying up about $200 million in public money for a $400 million upgrade to Joe Robbie/SunLife Stadium in order, you guessed it, help keep big events like the Super Bowl flowing into the region. In fact, the other day some South Florida officials talked about demanding the NFL deliver another Super Bowl, if they make the stadium upgrades.

Joe’s wondering where Tampa, and its rapidly aging 15-year-old stadium, is in all this.

There’s plenty of public chatter about building the Rays a stadium but nothing about what’s next for the Bucs and the future of Super Bowls in Tampa. Joe looks forward to learning exactly what it will take to bring Super Bowls back to town.

The Bucs need cornerbacks worse than Joe needs beers (plural) on a steamy Florida July Friday afternoon. There is no way to sugarcoat it or to be polite about it: Last year the Bucs cornerbacks — even with the Adderall twins in the lineup — were out-and-out disgraceful for an ACC team much less an NFL team.

It was simply revolting to watch that drek try to defend receivers with quarterbacks of the likes of Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Matty Ice, much less a third round pick of a rookie, Nick Foles throwing the ball.

So Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik will upgrade the cornerback stable this offseason — he just has to. Even he knows it.

Now the numbers crunchers over at ProFootballFocus.com also believe cornerback is the Bucs’ biggest need. As Dick Vitale would say, “Stevie Wonder could see that.” But the stat guys throw out an interesting name the Bucs should have an eye out for to help fix this crater in the Bucs’ roster, and that would be Cleveland cornerback Sheldon Brown.

If Biggers isn’t back next year, Tampa will need to find a corner who can shoulder the load of a full season’s worth of snaps as a starter. Enter Sheldon Brown (+8.0). A veteran corner on an underachieving Cleveland team, Brown held up well last year, allowing more than five catches just three times and conceding over 60 yards just twice. The Browns seem unlikely to resign him, and while he won’t be the most sought after corner on the market, he should be a nice stopgap if the Bucs plan to draft a corner in the coming years.

The knocks against Brown are few, but they are relevant. First and foremost, he will be 34 when the 2013 season starts, and aging corners who lose their speed and agility usually find the bench in a hurry. Also, the nine penalties Brown racked up last year are more than you’d like to see out of any player.

He won’t be out of his comfort zone though. Johnson played roughly three-quarters of his snaps at left cornerback and will likely stay there. Cleveland lined up Brown at right corner on basically the same proportion of his snaps, so the two should have little trouble manning the edges of the field.

On face value, this isn’t an awful suggestion until you get to Brown’s age. Signing a cornerback in his mid-30s is walking on razor-thin ice. For example, Brown is just three years younger than Ronde Barber, who was moved to safety last year to buy him another season or two.

Joe is pretty sure Dominik is going to draft two corners. If the Bucs were to sign Brown, Joe hopes it would be for no more than two years (with possibly an option for a third), as this would give one of the rookies Dominik drafts time to hone his craft in order to be ready to start when Brown departs.

Simply put, FoxSports.com senior NFL columnist Peter Schrager is a friend of Joe. He’s also a regular Sunday evenings on the “Fox News Weekend Report” with Harris Faulkner, and he hosts “Inside the NFL” on Showtime. Schrager has written very nice things about Joe on Twitter in the past, and Joe finally got to meet Schrager this month at Super Media Day where he and Joe talked all things Bucs.

JoeBucsFan: So, your impressions of Greg Schiano’s first season with the Bucs?

Peter Schrager: It felt good; I thought he was doing a good job and then they had that losing streak. That killed them but for a while, they were a team no one wanted to face. They were a scary team. Then they play Atlanta at home and lose and that was the game. That was it. That was the turning point.

Joe: Do you think, in a way, Mark Dominik is a trend-setter? Last year he nearly hired Chip Kelly and then got Schiano, another college coach, to sign on the dotted line. This offseason, it seemed going after college coaches was all the rage in the NFL. Prior to the Bucs hiring Schiano, it seemed hiring a college coach as a head coach was a taboo in the NFL.

Schrager: Yeah, when Dominik went after Chip Kelly, everyone was rolling their eyes, “Why are you going after Chip Kelly?” Now look. A year later, everyone wanted Chip Kelly. Mark Dominik is a good GM and he knows what he is doing. From [talking] to other people around the league, the Bucs kind of do their own thing. A lot of these GMs are all buddy-buddy but the Bucs do their own thing, they are kind of out there on their own island. And I think they are on their right path.

Joe: Gerald McCoy, first year he was healthy and he obviously showed the talent he possesses.

Schrager: Oh, yeah. Gerald McCoy is talented and you can make the argument he is better than Ndamukong Suh. Everyone, when they came out of school, said those are the two guys. And you can throw Geno Atkins of Cincinnati in there as your three tackles from that same draft class that are off to fantastic careers. McCoy, a Pro Bowl this year, a fantastic season. Again, that’s a credit to Dominik, a credit to the front office. A lot of people might say you don’t take a defensive tackle that high or that Brian Price in the second round was unnecessary. But [Dominik] was trying to beef up the interior line, and look, one is a star.

Joe: With Josh Freeman, it is kind of maddening from a Bucs perspective that at times, he looks like John Elway and other times, he looks like Todd Marinovich. If the Bucs could get more of the Elway-Freeman than the Marinovich-Freeman, it would sure help. Now Adam Schein took a lot of heat this past season when he said he trusted Christian Ponder more than Josh Freeman, and he turned out right because down the stretch, Ponder played his best and got the Vikings into the playoffs whereas Freeman, with a playoff berth in sight, vanished, he didn’t come through.

Schrager: I don’t know that Freeman hasn’t come through. There have been a lot of close losses with the Bucs in recent years. Obviously, last year was a wash but two years ago they were 10-6 and lost a heartbreaker at Atlanta. You could question the play calls at the end and going for it on the goal line and what have you. This year I think Freeman played fairly well and 12 weeks through the season, he was an All Pro, he was in the conversation. But things didn’t go well overall. I think there is enough – is he in the Top 10 group? I wouldn’t put him in that. But in the same breath, I would put him in the same group as a [Matthew] Stafford or a [Sam] Bradford.

Joe: Weren’t you big on Lavonte David prior to last year’s draft?

Schrager: Yeah, I was.

Joe: Well, you proved prophetic.

Schrager: Yeah, right, look at where I was with Russell Wilson. I didn’t think he would have an NFL career. But Lavonte David in college was so short and so small; he didn’t look like an NFL linebacker. But he was quick and he goes sideline to sideline. He is a fantastic linebacker. He may not be Derrick Brooks, but he’s pretty close.

It’s amazing how the three wildly overworked game-film geeks at ProFootballFocus.com manage to keep tabs on the character of NFL players. These guys must have 5-Hour Energy IVs — or they occasionally pull things out of thin air.

One of the three film junkies and stat geeks at PFF, Khaled Elsayed, ranked free agent running backs and claimed LeGarrette Blount (a restricted free agent) has “major character questions to overcome.”

8. LeGarrette Blount

2012 Grade: -3.2 2012 Snaps: 93

Summary: What to make of Blount. In his rookie season he was a revelation. Finishing the year top of the charts with an Elusive Rating of 89.2 after breaking 50 tackles and averaging 3.7 yards per carry … after contact.

Since then it’s all gone wrong. His struggles in the passing game mean the Bucs have been loathe to trust him, to the point that he was given only 41 carries on his 93 snaps in 2012. Still, the big back may benefit from a change of scenery which may doubly act as a kick of the backside. He’s got some major character question marks to overcome, and he’s entering a now or never stage of his career. He need only run like he did as a rookie and all of a sudden he’s one of the best in the league at turning nothing into something.

Hmmm, so after getting more fit before the 2012 season, earning a role within the New Schiano Order, and no off-field trouble (or fumbles) in 2012, Blount is accused of “major character question marks” that need to be “overcome?”

Joe finds this to be BS. Blount’s a valuable backup on a team with a superstar running back and a head coach that prefers a singular workhorse/bell cow back.

The rest of the character talk about Blount and his alleged passing-game issues are nothing more than silliness.

Joe expects the Bucs to make the small investment it will take to tender Blount as a restricted free agent, which would guarantee his 2013 return. You don’t just toss away a talented back capable of carrying the load, especially when you’re expecting your offensive line to be the NFL’s best.

Don’t be Sabby the Goat this Valentine’s Day. Be your best self and rent a limo to impress your special lady or dude.

You can even lock one up for the weekend and do flowers tonight!!!!

A limo also is a great way to avoid going to bed with an unwanted parter in a jail cell following a DUI arrest.

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ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas says the Bucs shouldn’t play dangerous games by exposing Michael Bennett to the open market.

ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas sat down with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, to talk all things Bucs and more Tuesday.

Yasinskas was clear the Bucs’ top priorities in free agency should be Michael Bennett and Roy Miller, “two obvious targets” to build on the success of the Bucs’ revived D-line last season.

Yasinskas said letting Bennett test the free-agent waters is very “dangerous” and the Bucs would be wise to pay him the big, roughly $8 million-a-year deal he’ll command.

Bennett played a whopping 84 percent of snaps last season, per ESPN and Yasinskas, a stunning figure among defensive ends.

Joe can’t argue the value of Bennett and Miller. The Bucs can’t afford to be play games by swapping defensive linemen, plus they can afford both comfortably.

Yasinskas also lobbied hard for free agent tight end Martellus Bennett to join his brother on the Bucs.

Here’s the entire interview below:

Bucs fans experienced a rare happening last season, one that’s only happened a small handful of times in NFL history.

Longtime and should-be Hall of Famer Ronde Barber, who if he returns to the Bucs this season will be play in his 17th NFL campaign, all with the Bucs, was moved to safety and performed well and damned near made the Pro Bowl at age 37.

Not too many guys playing a new position at 37 make the Pro Bowl. It was a fabulous feat for a guy who is (was?) in the twilight of his career.

No one knows if Barber will play one more year. By now, Joe is guessing Bucs coach Greg Schiano and Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik have already had brief, casual conversations with Barber about what the near future holds for him.

If he returns, Tampa Tribune Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings suggests it won’t be at cornerback, so he explained in a TBO Bucs Q&A.

Q: Is there any chance Ronde Barber moves back to corner, if, say, the Bucs decide to take a safety in the first round? It would be killing two birds with one stone.

Sam Massey, Edgewood, NM

A: Such a move might make some sense, but if the Bucs really wanted to do that I have to believe they would have done it a year ago when their depth at corner was so compromised. The Bucs believe the Barber-to-safety experiment worked very well for them last year, so I’m going to say at this point that he’ll remain a safety playing primarily in the box.

– Woody Cummings

Cummings makes a great point Joe’s made previously. As horrid as the Bucs were at cornerback last year, pulling guys off the street when the Adderall twins, Eric Wright and the Mel Blount of our time, Aqib Talib, were unavailable, the Bucs could have moved Barber back to corner and probably have gotten solid play from him and Ahmad Black at free safety. But the Bucs did not do that.

So if the Bucs wouldn’t move Barber back to corner when they were desperate for bodies, why would they when the Bucs surely will have an upgraded cornerback stable in 2013?

Joe also found it interesting last year that corners walking the streets got playing time at ahead of three-year Bucs cornerback Myron Lewis.

Ah, but that’s a post for another day.

Joe always gets a chuckle how some fans want players with “swagger” or a “‘tude,” which are code words for being a punk or a jerk.

Players can holler and scream all they want. The NFL is not the WWE. It’s not about posers, but about players, execution, fundamentals, discipline, X’s and O’s.

But there is something that is valuable called “attitude,” a word Vinny Iyer brought up often in his chat with Joe. The NFL editor for The Sporting News told Joe during Media Day of Super Bowl week that an attitude Greg Schiano brought to the Bucs is one reason why the team is changing its fortunes.

JoeBucsFan: Your overall review of Greg Schiano’s first year with the Bucs?

Vinnie Iyer: He has been very disciplined in his approach and that is what they needed. That is usually what happens when you have a guy like Raheem Morris who was a player’s coach and kind of lost the discipline, especially at the end of the [2011] season. [Schiano] has brought that [discipline] along with a toughness and an attitude. He also brought in some of those types of players like Carl Nicks and Vincent Jackson, veterans who work hard and are not only an example, but very talented.

Joe: Well, talk about that. How key was that? You had all these young guys who had a coach who, in some cases, would go out for beers with players and all of a sudden you drop in some players who not only are workaholics, they are some of the best at their craft.

Iyer: That is key. You lead by example. You have a guy like Jackson, when you are that talented, that big and that explosive but you are also a guy who works the hardest, it trickles down to everybody else.

Joe: That is interesting because Mike Williams raves about Jackson and all but points to Jackson as being his big brother, how he helped Williams learn to take proper notes in position meetings and many other little things.

Iyer: Well, not just that but Jackson helps Williams on the field as well. You have a guy like Jackson who draws double coverage on one side of the field and it allows Williams single coverage and that is why you saw so many big plays from him. But what helped the Bucs is the attitude [Dominik and Schiano] brought it. You bring in Mark Barron, Doug Martin, guys that are just tough, won’t go down. It doesn’t matter what the size is of their opponents, they go after it.

Joe: You are looking at one of the few — maybe only — writers who has been pimping Bryan Cox as a hidden treasure. He coaches the front seven and that front seven went from the worst in the NFL in rush defense to the best, and really only added one player, Lavonte David. It seems Cox had a major hand in transforming that front seven. They went from atrocious against the run – and that word doesn’t really describe how bad they were – to lockdown. It was stunning.

Iyer: Well, you have to have an enforcer. And if you are going to have an enforcer on your staff whether that is a defensive coordinator or someone on your staff, to get that message through, someone working directly with the players who can get that message through, not too many people better to get that message through than Bryan Cox, and that has to be an overlying theme.

Hey look, in many ways, Joe’s an average guy. He loves nothing more than sitting on his leather couch swilling copious amounts of domestic, mass-produced cans of beer just hoping the Bucs win and maybe, perhaps, hitting the lottery with Rachel Watson (Powerball, that is. Not a $1 scratch-off).

USA Today decided to look at what it calls “No Average Joes,” players that may not be households names, under-the-radar types who should be and likely will be in the NFL, specifically players under 25.

And the Bucs landed one on that list. That would be linebacker Lavonte David.

Bravo. Lavonte David (Buccaneers): Just maybe the guy to finally take up Derrick Brooks’ mantle in Tampa. David’s 20 tackles for a loss nearly set a rookie record.

Well, Joe isn’t about to call David the next Brooks quite yet. A strong rookie season does not make a career, and you can bet NFC South opposing coaches are already hard at work trying to find schemes to minimize David’s impact.

Joe just knows that David is a stud. When Joe spoke with NFL movers and shakers at Media Day during Super Bowl week, every time Joe mentioned David’s name, their eyes grew big and their faces lit up.

There’s a darn good chance that one month from today the Bucs will be rid of letdown corner Eric Wright and be in possession of a couple of free-agent cornerbacks holding barely-dry contracts.

But what cornerbacks might be targeted?

Well, draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski dives into this speculation somewhat in a full-team breakdown of the Bucs’ needs on 987TheFan.com. Pawlowski says to “keep a close eye on Derek Cox,” a corner the Jaguars could wave goodbye to.

Bottom Line: The Bucs were last in the NFL in pass defense and lacked talent and experience at corner. I feel the Bucs need at least one, and possibly two, corners in free agency to increase the talent AND the experience. Drafting a corner is also a possibility, but this draft looks deeper than it is top heavy, so it might not be a necessity to reach on a corner in the 1st round if there is not one there worth taking with the 13th pick. Keep a close eye on Derek Cox from the Jaguars as the Bucs just hired Tony Oden as their new DBs coach. Oden spent last year with the Jaguars.

Top Free Agents: Brent Grimes (ATL), Sean Smith (MIA), Cary Williams (BAL), Dominique Rogers-Cromartie (PHI), Quinton Jammer (SD), Antoine Cason (SD), Captain Munnerlyn (CAR), Derek Cox (JAX), Rashean Mathis (JAX)

Cox is an interesting case. He’s 26 and supremely talented, but the guy was injury-riddled through the past four seasons. Check out what Jags beat writer Gene Frenette wrote about him last week.

[Cox] has missed 17 games the last three years with injuries to five different body parts. Whether it’s a hamstring, knee, groin, rib or back, Cox has been one of the most brittle starters in recent memory. On the flip side, the Jaguars have no proven cover corner going into next season if they don’t re-sign Cox. Rashean Mathis, who turns 33 in August, will likely be allowed to become a free agent. Plus, it’s hard to imagine coach Gus Bradley wanting to throw nickel back Mike Harris or Kevin Rutland into a permanent starting role. Aaron Ross, a free-agent pickup last year, has underperformed. At least the Jaguars can count on a healthy Cox to hold up in coverage and occasionally make a big play.

“You got to have that trust with the player,” said [Jags head coach Gus] Bradley. “They can be really good, but if they’re always on the sideline injured, that’s tough. Now [Cox] has some traits that we’re excited about.”

So what’s the price tag on injury-prone Cox, who played 12 games last season (4 interceptions)? That’s the mystery question. He could be worth a deal as a the second corner the Bucs nab in free agency, assuming they snatch two.