Now Joe is attempting to do something dangerous here. Trying to be objective with numbers.

Joe knows the Mike Glennon Mob likes to point to his fellow rookie quarterback starters EJ Manuel and Geno Smith and say Glennon’s numbers were far better. That may be, but Chase Stuart of FootballPerspective.com pulled the onion skin back on the numbers, and while in some respects Glennon was better than Manuel and Smith, in other ways he was worse or similar to Smith. [read more]

In case you didn’t see this excellent story by vaunted NFL scribe John McClain on Johnny Football in the Houston Chronicle over the weekend, anyone who is remotely interested in football should take a peek at it.

Yes, it is about how Johnny Football wants to transform from college wunderkind to NFL stud. He’s working out in San Diego with a guy who has helped mold Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck. But as much as Johnny is working at being a quarterback, he is trying to rework his party-boy, skirt-chasing, liquor-swilling persona. [read more]

Joe knows many Bucs fans are thoroughly aroused by Mike Glennon’s numbers. They’ll trumpet his 19 touchdowns versus nine interceptions all day long.

Joe doesn’t get it. The stats obsession is mind-boggling, though understandable in our fantasy football culture. [read more]

Among the greatest in the league in 2014?

Joe knows Bucs fans tried to numb their anger with untold gallons of vodka last year over their disgust, and few subjects made them reach for a bottle of Tums more than the tight end position. It wasn’t so much who was playing the position, it was how the coaching staff of then-commander Greg Schiano approached it.

Yes, you’ve read here how the Bucs have the fourth-best quarterback in a four-team division (this won’t change with Michael Vick). [read more]

Since the dismal 2013 season ended, Bucs fans are trying their best to forget what turned out to be one of the more tumultuous and drama-filed seasons in franchise history.

First there was the MRSA outbreak and a kicker’s wife blaming the Bucs for what ailed her husband, never mind he was getting paid a nice chunk of change to sit on his couch. Then there was the implosion of leaky Rip Van Freeman who tossed enough Molotov cocktails in the Bucs locker room to first get benched and then get run from his team. [read more]

The fearless leader of the NFL’s 32nd-ranked offense, Mike Glennon, was lumped into a group of quarterbacks that may be best suited to hold clipboards and get loads of preseason snaps.

Glennon did not get much love from former Jets personnel chief and linebackers coach Pat Kirwan in a recent look at quarterbacks for CBSSports.com. [read more]

In recent weeks, numbers crunchers at Pro Football Focus have spent hours playing with their Excel spreadsheets and watching recorded TV broadcasts of games to cobble together a comprehensive look at the Bucs. And one thing the spreadsheeters don’t like is Dashon “The Hawk” Goldson.

The hard-hitting safety who gives NFL suits irritable bowel syndrome is not the same stud many saw play for the 49ers a couple of years ago. So much so that Khaled Elsayed believes Goldson is below average. [read more]

Your new Bucs tight end

Joe can’t get all hot in the pants about the Bucs’ latest signings announced this afternoon: tight end Steve Maneri and cornerback D.J. Moore, though both probably have a decent shot to land on the bottom of the opening-day roster.

Moore is a Lovie Smith guy. Maneri’s connection to the Bucs, if any, is unclear. Here’s the info. the team released: 

Maneri (6-7, 280) comes to the Buccaneers after playing four games with Chicago in 2013, including one start. Maneri entered the NFL as a college free agent with Houston in 2010, before joining Kansas City’s active roster for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. While with the Chiefs, Maneri played in 19 games with nine starts, recording six receptions for 52 yards. Maneri played collegiately at Temple.

Moore (5-9, 190) originally entered the league as a fourth-round pick (119th overall) of Chicago in 2009. Moore played in 45 games, with two starts in four seasons with the Bears (2009-12), totaling 115 tackles, 22 passes defensed, one sack, one forced fumble, and 10 interceptions returned for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Moore, who played collegiately at Vanderbilt, played in two games with the Carolina Panthers in 2013.

The sheer size of Maneri is impressive. Joe wonders what Maneri’s former Chiefs teammate Anthony Becht, the former Bucs tight end, will have to say about him.

UPDATE: Becht has weighed in to Joe via Twitter saying, “Maneri is tough as nails. He’ll punch u in the mouth. Short route guy. Good Italian kid. I groomed him well. ;)”

Could Lovie mold Notre Dame DE Stephon Truitt into a 43 end?

Yes, the Bucs need a pass rush. But do they draft a defensive end in the first round? That’s the question.

Sure, everyone this side of Steve Spurrier seems to be riding the jock of Jadeveon Clowney, a manbeast from South Carolina. It sort of irked Joe that when he was asked about the whispers — that Spurrier seemed all too willing not to deny — that he took off plays in college, Clowney dodged the question basically saying people who asked the question never played football.

Smells like a little bit of a wide receiver diva there, doesn’t it? [read more]

Detroit media says the Bucs are in the mix

Joe’s going to take you inside NFL Media 101 this afternoon.

Here’s a Detroit Free-Press story about Lions wide receiver and fan favorite Nate Burleson, who was cut yesterday. Yes, he’s the same guy who returned from eight weeks off following a pizza-induced injury to catch seven balls (one touchdown) against the Buccaneers last season. [read more]

Since the Super Bowl, every last prominent NFL analyst has had little to do but dive into film study of potential free agents and draft picks.

Of course, that is drawing a massive spotlight to the 2014 quarterbacks class. [read more]

One draft guru Joe respects is Russ Lande. The former NFL Scout who now works as a college scouting director in the CFL offers researched takes, and he doesn’t throw crap against the wall. Lande has written books on the NFL Draft, and you’ve probably heard him on radio or TV, or seen his work for NationalFootballPost.com or Sporting News.

His new mock draft is intriguing. [read more]

Spreadsheeters don’t like Davin Joseph.

In the Bucs locker room, there are few good guys like Davin Joseph. July or December, win or loss, hot or cold, Joesph is always a stand-up guy, always willing to discuss a game or a practice, and often harshly critiques himself.

If you see Joseph bouncing around Tampa and approach him, he will stop in his tracks to shake your hand and flash that ear-to-ear smile. In the past, Joseph masked that calm, cool, friendly demeanor with a bit of a nasty side on the football field. He donates a lot of cash and work to help out Blake High School’s athletic department and works with programs to help kids stay in school. [read more]

If one is to read the tea leaves and read the smoke coming from One Buc Palace, at the very least the Bucs will pursue a quarterback to compete with Mike Glennon. Joe has no issue with that at all. Competition, as former Bucs commander Greg Schiano preached, is always good.

For Tampa Bay Times sports scribe Tom Jones, that competition comes in the form of free agent southpaw Michael Vick. Jones believes the Bucs not just should sign Vick, but before dusk sets on March 11, the first day of free agency, Vick should be breaking down tape with Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford at One Buc Palace. [read more]

Surely NFL draft analysts are not that inebriated to believe the Bucs should replace Lavonte David the way they are seemingly pimping the Bucs to select an OLB at No. 7 overall?

Sometimes, Joe doesn’t understand football people. Granted, Joe will never be Chucky much less Jim Bates, but about some Bucs-related matters, Joe just has to scratch his head.

There are all sorts of draft analysts that have the Bucs taking Buffalo linebacker Kahlil Mack with the seventh pick. Others have the Bucs taking UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr. Help Joe out, someone. [read more]

Jeff Tedford likely only has two seasons to succeed. So what QB will he want?

Don’t think the new Bucs regime is under win-now pressure?

Consider the recent Twittering of former Jets linebackers coach and personnel executive Pat Kirwan, who co-hosts Movin’ The Chains on NFL Radio and does a bunch of work for CBS Sports. Kirwan noted that only three offensive coordinators in the 32-team NFL have been with their club for three straight seasons. [read more]

As Joe is watching national TV news this morning and seeing just about everyone along the eastern seaboard north of Valdosta digging out from yet another wintry mix of snow and ice — damn, Joe counts his blessings every day living in an area where a snow shovel is but a rumor — Joe brings the final installment of his interview with legendary former Dallas Cowboys personnel man Gil Brandt.

Today, Brandt talks about how important it is for NFL teams to have a successful quarterback. [read more]

His coach wants more

So how can star receiver Vincent Jackson improve?

For Joe, that’s an easy answer, Jackson could work with a training guru this offseason to enhance his speed. Get faster. Jackson’s been caught from behind too many times the past couple of seasons. [read more]