One of the excuses floated when future Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks was jettisoned like a used beer cup was to get Quincy Black more playing time.

With few exceptions, Black didn’t exactly remind Joe of Brooks, unless fans wished Brooks was back.

Things should look better for Black this season, so the Bucs linebacker said. That’s because Raheem the Dream has learned how to utilize his skills, so reports Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune.

While Black played strongside linebacker, he often was asked to play far off the line of scrimmage. Once Tampa Bay realized Black (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) was better utilized closer to the ball, Bucs coach Raheem Morris changed his strategy.

“We went a little more under front because of a guy like Quincy Black,” Morris said. “I don’t know if we ever had a linebacker with Quincy Black’s physique, rush ability, how big he is, how strong he is, how physical he is and also fast.

“We were able to take advantage of some of his strengths.”

Bucs fans are hoping that now that Raheem the Dream has a season under his belt he has learned quite a bit. Joe hopes one of these lessons is how to get the most out of Black, which could go a long way to improving a subpar defense.

Bucs general manager Mark Dominik has always impressed Joe as a cooperative, straight-shooter kind of a guy. Unlike his predecessor who considered the fourth estate a form of the Ebola virus, Dominik was and has been always friendly and forthcoming.

That seemed to change recently when Dominik told the Bucs press corps that he would fine Donald Penn for not showing up to OTAs. Problem was Dominik had no such authority to pull off a stunt like that and, later, through a team spokesman, claimed his proclamation was nothing more than a ruse to coerce Penn into signing.

Given the already testy relationship the NFLPA has with owners, FoxSports.com columnist Alex Marvez claims Dominik’s stunt has actually hurt negotiations between the owners and the NFLPA who are bargaining for a new CBA.

We’ve had the ugliness of other players who’ve already earned millions of dollars kvetching about not making more millions. Darrelle Revis is so unhappy with his deal that the cornerback removed himself from drills to protest at recent Jets practices. Tennessee running back Chris Johnson told The Tennessean he can’t play for $550,000 this season after a 2,000-yard rushing campaign in 2009.

Revis and Mankins believe they were misled by team officials who promised new contracts. Mark Dominik went one step further. Tampa Bay’s general manager told Donald Penn the left tackle could be fined for missing minicamp if he didn’t sign his restricted free-agent tender. Dominik was fibbing, which further adds to the growing mistrust between labor and management.

Joe was disappointed to learn of Dominik’s failed ploy on several levels, including the fact that Dominik did himself no favors in a number circles by trying to con Penn’s agent as well as conning the same people he may need some day to keep his job secure.

While at the NFL rookie symposium this week, Bucs rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy decided to try to motivate a bunch of kids at the rookie symposium barbecue.

Basically McCoy is just talking to various kids in this NFL Network video and laments how he couldn’t play on a trampoline when he was little.

This aforementioned video will allow some of Joe’s readers who have decided to foolishly subject themselves to the onerous Out House Networks syndicate to reacquaint themselves with the highly underrated Stacey Dales.

Joe has repeatedly posted how, though he LOVES the hearts and passion both Earnest Graham and Cadillac Williams have for the game, Joe just believes their best days are behind them.

Seems as though Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports agrees, though he is a bit harsher. In grading each NFL team’s running backs, he has the Bucs at No. 26. Friends and fans of Graham may want to skip the critique and go to Joe’s next paragraph.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A tip of the cap to Bucs leading rusher Cadillac Williams, who came back last season after suffering through injuries for two years. Still, it’s not like Williams was all that electric, averaging only 3.9 yards per carry. Likewise, backups Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham were just roster flotsam. The Bucs have a bunch of guys who are nice backups at this point. They need somebody who can be a starter.

Joe has stated before he believes the Bucs to have quite a few average backs, but he never went as far to call them backups or “flotsam.”

Graham has had season-ending injuries the past two seasons and he is 30. Not a good combination. Cadillac is running on two rebuilt knees. Also not encouraging.

Joe believes the Bucs might need to keep their eye open for someone cut late in training camp who is lightning quick. That would be a good change of pace with Williams and Graham.

Joe must have been listening to his good friend Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, and his regular Saturday show “The Blitz,” thus missing this following gem.

Over the weekend, former Bucs great Warren Sapp unloaded on almost-Bucs defensive tackle Facestomper Haynesworth, a defensive tackle for the Redskins.

Seems as though Facestomper is upset that he may have to play in a 34 defense this season, despite the fact he signed a lucrative contract just last year and in recent weeks cashed a $21 million check, more money than some South Pacific island nations. As a result, Facestomper has yet to show for any offseason workout with the Redskins.

Sapp isn’t cool with Facestomper sitting out and unloaded on him while appearing on “Press Coverage,” with co-hosts Howard Balzer Vic Carucci heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, via Cheeseboy Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post.

“Let’s stop the BS, like we like to say,” Sapp told Vic Carucci and Howard Balzer on SiRIUS NFL Radio. “I mean, c’mon, son. You sat at the table. The people told you they had a very lovely check for you….Albert Haynesworth, you took the check, now show up to the job, son. It’s that simple. You take that kind of check. I mean, I’ll flip dogs for you. I mean, c’mon, what you want me to do, you want me to return punts? I mean, what? C’mon. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.”

One of the hosts pointed out that Haynesworth even had issues with Greg Blache last year, when the Skins were running a 4-3.

“How about he had issues with showing up for the Cowboy game and the Eagle game,” Sapp countered. “I mean, if a body part’s not missing, you’re showing up for division games. Are you kidding me?”

Sapp had quite a few more choice words for Facestomper and it’s safe to say that Sapp is not much of a fan of Facestomper.

Remember, Bucs fans, Mark Dominik was “this close” to signing Facestomper last year, only to lose out in the bidding war to Danny Snyder and the Redskins.

Dominik is likely still lighting candles in thanks for swinging and missing on that one.

A golden rule of the Internet is to avoid publishing fancy, half-naked pictures of yourself along with your contact information.

Former Bucs stud running back Michael Pittman, per his Facebook account, has recently experienced the pitfalls of not following this sage wisdom.

Joe follows various current and former Buccaneers cheerleaders on Facebook and Twitter to stay abreast of everything Bucs. It’s also entertaining.

By following Pittman, who played for the Florida Tuskers of the UFL last season, Joe has learned about Pittman’s passion for modeling and other rather useless bits of information, such as Pittman seems to have patented a weatherproof big screen TV encased inside a giant football. Joe is one of Pittman’s 2,500+ Facebook “friends.”

Over the past few months, Pittman has published tasteful yet skin-heavy photos of himself from a recent modeling shoot. And it seems Pittman found some male admirers as a result. That’s no surprise, although it seems Pittman was unprepared for that, and rather unhappy about it.

He posted the following reaction yesterday.

This is the last time I’m going to tell you Gay “DL” brotha’s! I tried to be nice about this before! But don’t come at me with no gay sh** again!! I Love Women Period!!! None of y’all don’t know me and the sh** is disrespectful as hell. Stop leaving dumb a** messages in my inbox!

For the record, Pittman used asterisks to censor the curse words, not Joe. 

Joe’s hoping Pittman publishes more photos of the big TV and less of himself topless.

The 2010 season will be a pivotal year for the Bucs. Once the season is over, a lot of decisions will be made.

One decision that won’t be made is who the Bucs starting quarterback will be. Of course, that’s Josh Freeman. But this season will answer quite a few questions about Freeman, namely his progress developing into an elite NFL signal-caller.

Don’t anoint him as the next Terry Bradshaw quite yet, cautions eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. While the Bucs and the fans have high hopes for Freeman, Kaufman reminds people that this will be his first full season under center.

Q:  How do you think Josh Freeman will do this season against some of the hardest defenses?

Corydon Metcalf, Indiana, Penn.

A:  Freeman has a long way to go in terms of recognizing coverages and learning to throw the ball away instead of trying to force things. That 6.2 percent interception rate is way too high, but he was only a rookie and now he’s had a full offseason to work with offensive coordinator Greg Olson and new QBs coach Alex Van Pelt. Teams like the Steelers and Ravens will test the accuracy of any QB and Freeman is working with a young group of wide receivers. His development would be helped immensely if the Bucs can manage a productive ground game.

— eye-RAH! Kaufman

The run game is, of course, critical, and Joe’s not overly optimistic of it improving much. The Bucs were in the lower third of the league in rushing in 2010, and those running backs didn’t get any younger.

Throw in the fact Cadillac Williams is running on recycled knees and that fullback Earnest Graham suffered two season-ending injuries the past two seasons, Joe isn’t exactly resting easy at night content with the Bucs run game.

If you subtract embattled left tackle Donald Penn from the lineup, it’s even more troubling.

Without a running attack, the offense will be put on Freeman’s shoulders. Will he be ready?

Like Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune pointed out last week, fellow Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times explains how the Bucs, thought by many to be cheap, would save money by meeting embattled left tackle Donald Penn’s contract demands.

Holder is convinced Penn will not be in attendance when the Bucs hold their first training camp practice at One Buc Palace July 31.

That’s when the Bucs better start sweating. They need to improve their fortunes after a 3-13 season. And after last offseason’s many shakeups, they’ve seen first-hand what unexpected changes can do to a team (changing coordinators, quarterbacks, etc.), and they would be unwise to compound those mistakes.

For a team that is betting so heavily on quarterback Josh Freeman, it makes little sense to leave his blind side protected by a second-year project, Demar Dotson. And even if Penn were to ultimately cave, the question remains how much is gained and lost under such a scenario?

Ask yourself: How many blows is Freeman subjected to in the meantime as the club quickly gets into its preseason games? How much cohesion is lost among the members of the offensive line because one of their key components is missing? And what, exactly, is the long-term plan at left tackle, a position that has been unstable here for too many years? For all the talk about building for the long term, the decision not to sign Penn sure seems short-sighted.

For those that claim Joe is posting too many Penn articles, Joe suggests people point fingers at the parties involved in Penn’s contract talks. To quote Holder, Penn’s contract status “represents the biggest issue facing the Bucs.”

Don’t blame Joe!

A couple of months ago Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson told the The Tampa Tribune that Derrick Ward would see more action this year, in part to help “get Cadillac through another year.”

“Part of the reason Derrick was signed was our concerns about Cadillac Williams coming back from two devastating knee injuries. I didn’t think he’d play last year, but Caddy played well for us. We will play Derrick more this season so we can get Cadillac through another year. We’re going to utilize all of them, but there’s no doubt spreading the football among three backs is difficult,” [Olson said].

At the time, that statement simply seemed like Olson acknowledging the obvious: that Cadillac is damaged goods and the Bucs want to get much more out of Ward. Remember, the Bucs are paying Ward a lot more cash than Cadillac.

Now, Pat “Vacation Man” Yasinskas, of BSPN, reports that Cadillac is completely healthy and the No. 1 running back.

… It’s not hard to imagine Williams turning in a bigger year in 2010. He’s completely healthy now and he’s the unquestioned starter at running back. The Bucs have shifted Earnest Graham over to fullback and Derrick Ward, who was signed last year with the dream of him becoming the feature back, has shown he’s just a backup.

Joe’s not so sure Vacation Man is accurate when it comes to the clarity of the Bucs running back situation. Cadillac’s health is relative. He played well last year with his carries limited because of his two horrific knee injuries. But Joe would be stunned if the Bucs chose to rely on him to carry the load in 2010.

Ward may be “just a backup” in Vacation Man’s world, but Joe suspects Ward will get every opportunity to lead the Bucs in carries and prove the front office’s investment in him was a wise move.

Much to the chagrin of JoeBucsFan.com commenter JimBuc, Bucs left tackle Donald Penn has yet to sign and the whole mess shows no end in sight.

One of the current Bucs fully understands what Penn is going through. Last year, Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud, like Penn this year, tried to force the Bucs hand in order to get a new contract.

He’s still waiting for one and, like Penn, this appears to be his last season wearing Pewter and Red unless a contract is reached.

With Penn sitting out, Ruud spoke last week with Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and voiced his solidarity with his brother in pads.

Meanwhile, Ruud noted he cannot worry about what he cannot control.

Ruud, of course, also wants a long-term contract extension like the one Penn stayed away from offseason voluntary workouts and this week’s mandatory mini-camp, in an attempt to get from the unyielding Buccaneers.

But unlike the hard-line offensive tackle, Ruud decided against holding out of offseason workouts or missing the mini-camp, to force the issue with team management.

“I’ve come to the point where it will (happen) or it won’t,” Ruud said. “For me, personally, the best thing to do was to be here and be with everybody else,” Ruud said. “And go through OTA’s and learn the defense. I thought that was the best situation. The best thing to do is have a great year. If you have a great year, something good is going to happen for you. That’s kind of my focus right now.”

With the Donald Penn mess first and foremost in Bucs fans minds as the team prepares for training camp in roughly a month, most have forgotten Ruud also is in the same boat as Penn.

How Penn plays this year, and more specifically, how the Bucs defense plays, may go a long way toward Ruud returning to the Bucs for the following season, whether that is in 2011 or 2012.

Earlier today, Joe ran a story outlining how the local media edits Raheem The Dream’s quotes at times with a heavy hand to the point of altering a quote’s complete meaning.

Joe explained that editing quotes is a standard journalism practice without detailed guidelines, and Joe speculated that the Bucs public relations staff may have provided a specific “sanitized” quote to the media after a news conference last week.

In fact, Joe has learned today from the Bucs organization that the team did not circulate any press conference quotes following last week’s minicamp. So the specific quotes Joe referenced from the head coach were cleaned up solely by the Tampa Tribune and St. Pete Times writers referenced.

Joe tossed out this speculation about the Bucs for two reasons:

1. Because The Tampa Tribune and St. Pete Times used the exact same quote, although the video of the head coach making the comment on Buccaneers.com was something significantly different.

2. The Bucs public relations staff omitted a powerful Raheem Morris quote from its circulated news conference quotes after the Bucs-Eagles game last year.

Again, Joe has no problem with anyone cleaning up a quote. It’s just very interesting to debate what constitutes going too far. In this case, the Bucs are eliminated from the debate.

Joe’s assuming most Bucs fans heard that Derrick Brooks’ alma mater, Florida State, has decided to retire his No. 10 in a ceremony this fall.

That’s way cool for Brooks, or for any athlete, to have their number retired by their former school.  But this news made Joe wonder, how long will it takes the Bucs to retire Brooks’ number?

Joe sincerely hopes it doesn’t take the Bucs as long as it did the Bears with Dick Butkus’ No. 51.

It took some 20 years after Butkus, arguably the greatest linebacker to ever play, finished his playing days, that the Bears finally came around to retire his number. Cynics suggest it was because Butkus sued the Bears because of shady team medical practices that hastened the end of his playing days..

Joe believes it would be unconscionable for any other player to wear Brooks’ double-nickel.

Joe knows it didn’t take Team Glazer very long after Mike Alstott retired to put his No. 40 in mothballs. Joe wonders if the same would happen as quickly for Brooks when he announces his retirement?

Last year Joe was truly geeked about the Bucs’ offensive line. Joe really thought the O-line was on the cusp of being great.

But during the process of trying to implement zone blocking, the line seemed to fall apart. It didn’t help that there was no Arron Sears at left guard.

Jason Cole, of Yahoo! Sports, believes the Bucs line is slightly below average. In ranking each team’s offensive line, Cole has the Bucs at No. 20.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs were awful when it came to running the ball (No. 31 overall in run efficiency), but really did a pretty good job of keeping the quarterback clean (No. 11 in pass blocking). They did that despite the carousel of quarterbacks that started with Byron Leftwich and ended with rookie Josh Freeman. There’s still a long way to go, but the group is steady and anchored by center Jeff Faine and guard Davin Joseph.

That ranking, by the way, is the lowest for any NFC South team.

Now Joe is assuming Cole is including Donald Penn as the starting left tackle. Joe really doesn’t want to think about how the left side of the line could crumble if Penn holds out.

In response to reader e-mails, yesterday Joe gave his take on different publications cleaning up Raheem The Dream’s quotes. And Joe promised to produce a good side-by-side example the next time one appeared.

Thanks to beat writer Stephen Holder, and possibly his editors at the St. Pete Times, some sanitized Raheemspeak is in today’s newspaper and on TampaBay.com.

The quote in question comes from Raheem The Dream’s news conference to close last week’s minicamp. Anyone can watch the news conference on Buccaneers.com.(The quote in question appears at about 11:30 of the video).

Here’s the JoeBucsFan.com transcription published last week:

“I just think in Year 2 you get a better direction and sense of where you should be. You know, before this, before you become a head coach, you just think what you should do and hope it’s right,” Raheem The Dream said. “Now, I’m at a different stage. I’m at a different point. I’m like Josh Freeman, as a head coach. I’m at a different point where I got direction. I know exactly what we want to do, and now it’s up to me to demand that we execute, demand that we be accountable of it. From a players’ standpoint, a coaches’ standpoint and also a management standpoint.”

Here’s Holder’s version of the quote in today’s Times:

“In Year 2, you have a better sense of direction and where you should be,” Morris said. “Before you become a head coach, you just think you know what you should do and hope it’s right. Now, I’m at a different stage. I’m like Josh Freeman as a head coach. I’ve got a direction, and we know exactly what we want to do. Now it’s up to me to demand that we execute.”

Holder — or his editors — omits what Joe thinks is a key expression from the head coach. “Now I’m at a different point where I got direction.” … Holder — or his editors — changed that to “I’ve got a direction.”

For Joe, that’s taking way too much latitude to edit Raheem The Dream, to the point that it subtly changes the meaning of what the head coach was saying.

As Joe wrote yesterday, editing quotes is thoroughly acceptable journalism. But when it comes to Raheem The Dream, where many in the local media set the boundaries — surely not just Holder — is curious. 

Ironically, a quote identical to Holder’s appears in a TBO.com story by eye-RAH! Kaufman on June 24.

Joe can only conclude that the beat writers published this quote off a transcript provided by the Buccaneers public relations staff, versus going through the often tedious task of transcribing the fast-talking, rambling Raheem The Dream themselves. SEE UPDATE: Bucs say they did not release any transcribed quotes. 

It’s surely common for any team’s PR machine to do the tough transcribing work, cleanup quotes and spin them in the “right direction” for the media, so their job is easier.

Joe’s not casting stones here, just following up on readers asking why Joe quotes Raheem The Dream one way, and others quote him differently.

Hopefully, this example answers the question.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. If Joe has heard it once he has heard 10,000 times:

Team Glazer is cheap.

Why, to hear some folks scream about Team Glazer and their debt on their English kickball team, if Joe didn’t know any better, Team Glazer was panhandling outside the CITS last weekend during fanfest.

With starting left tackle Donald Penn likely to sit out training camp in a contract dispute, this only fans the flames of those who believe Team Glazer won’t open up the wallet.

Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune has an interesting take on the Donald Penn mess. He believes it would be cheaper for Team Glazer to actually sign Penn and cave to his demands.

Penn can miss training camp without penalty, sign no later than 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 11, a day before the season opener, and still receive his entire 2010 salary. He likely would be limited for a few weeks until he was in playing shape, leaving [Demar] Dotson as Tampa Bay’s primary left tackle.

If Tampa Bay drafts a left tackle high next year, that player’s salary could potentially be more than giving Penn another contract. Even if the NFL invokes a rookie salary scale, the Bucs could dish out a huge amount for an unproven left tackle who may not be ready to protect Freeman.

If this is accurate, and Joe has no reason to suggest Richardson isn’t accurate, this leads Joe to believe that perhaps the Bucs may have something on Penn other than his late-season diet.

Joe’s inbox has been peppered lately with inquiries as to why Joe offers up different quotes for Raheem The Dream than those read in the mainstream media and on the Web-only, formerly environmentally unfriendly Pewter site.

Some readers are confused. 

First, Joe must explain that the tenets of journalism allow for quotes to be “cleaned up” in order to help convey a clear message and/or to not to be used to make someone look bad through quoting misspoken words. So it’s considered perfectly acceptable to fix grammar and chop up quotes.

It happens all the time in news, sports and more.

Joe, however, uses a very gentle hand on Raheem The Dream’s quotes when transcribing them. Little is cleaned up when compared to others’ heavy touch.

Joe believes that as a leader of the organization, how Raheem The Dream delivers his message is nearly as important — and nearly as interesting — as the message itself. For example, historically the President of the United States is quoted without any editing beyond uhs and ums.

Frankly, some local publications use wide latitude to clean up Raheemspeak, far more than Joe thinks is acceptable. Joe gets that the head coach goes on some incredible rambles that need to be condensed for public consumption, especially inside a newspaper where space is an issue. But for the Internet, where space is a non-issue?

But Joe repeatedly has seen situations where Raheem’s words are sliced and diced to the point of creating a false impression of him and his message. And Joe has seen the same done for other Bucs coaches.

The next time Joe comes across a great example, he’s going to publish some side-by-side comparisons right here.

In the latest TBO.com Bucs video blog, Bucs beat writer Anwar Richardson makes a run to unseat dapper Rick Brown, aka Backwards Hat of the Lakeland Ledger, as the sharpest dressed scribe on the Bucs beat.

As for the pressing Bucs concerns discussed on this vlog, Richardson and eye-RAH! Kaufman talk about “The Plan” in place at One Buc Palace.

Kaufman doesn’t seem on board with the whole “patience” mantra being sold by Team Glazer. Check out the video. This one is a bit more entertaining than informative.

Joe still scratches his head, wondering why hateful Bucs fans wanted to jettison quarterback Byron Leftwich, yet a team that has clearly shown how to build not just winning teams, but Super Bowl winning teams, finds Leftwich valuable.

Joe also has other questions about the Bucs after reading a Leftwich interview on Steelers.com. The former Bucs starting quarterback sure seems to insinuate that the Bucs are an unprofessional organization.

Luke Collins asks:  What is the Steelers locker room like compared to other teams you played for?

Byron Leftwich:  It’s very different. It’s a professional football team and they act that way. We have veteran guys who understand how to win football games. That’s what you want. We are all on the football team to win football games. One thing I know about this locker room is everybody in there has one goal in common and that is to win football games.

This opens the door to so many questions Joe isn”t sure where to begin. Is Leftwich saying the Bucs had a divided locker room last year, or that they had no focus, or that in damning terms the team was unprofessional?

The Bucs want a strong showing from Brian Price, who has participated in few practices to date.

St. Pete Times uber columnist Gary Shelton felt a bit sadistic today and went to great lengths to explain to Bucs fans what most already know: that barring an incredible showing by several rookies and second-year players, the Bucs are destined for a poor season in 2010.

Among other areas, Shelton zeroed in on the defensive line, making a case that league history would advise Bucs fans not to expect much from that position of weakness.

Shelton even talked to defensive line coach Todd Wash, who didn’t sugarcoat much.

“We understand what rookies are,” said Todd Wash, the Bucs defensive line coach. “If they’re out there, it will be because they’ve earned it.

“It’s a hard transition. Once you get to week 10 or 11, these guys are getting ready for their bowl games. It gets to be a long season. We need to control that a little. We don’t want them to get burned out.

“If a player isn’t physically ready to go, you can put a damper on his career by playing him too soon. As coaches, we’ve got to be smart about that.”

Joe’s not sure what Wash is talking about when he says the rookies have to earn it. It’s already glaringly clear that Gerald McCoy will start — ready or not. And Brian Price is going to be playing on third down unless Roy Miller somehow plays out of his mind in the preseason. And even then, Price was the No. 35 overall pick in the deepest draft in years. He’s playing.

News flash for Wash. The youngsters don’t have to earn anything. Ryan Sims will warm the bench.

The other top rookies won’t have to earn much time, either. Raheem The Dream just has to hope they earn him another year.

"Hey, Dexter Jackson, long time no see. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you, brother!"

As Joe is wont to do when he’s not watching the NFL Network, Joe listens to Sirius NFL Radio (in-between bursts of times when Joe’s listening to the King of All Media, Howard Stern).

This morning co-hosting “The Opening Drive” with Bob Papa was Gil Brandt, one of the greatest front office executives and personnel men the NFL has ever had. Somehow, talk wandered upon the NFC South and Brandt, in detailing why the Bucs are struggling of late, pinpointed Chucky’s drafts.

“Tampa Bay over the past three years had eight players who are no longer in the National Football League. I think that tells you something right there.”

Now Joe thinks the world of Brandt, but Joe’s not sure if he was having a senior moment or not. That written, Joe believes he gets the gist of what Brandt was trying to say: Chucky couldn’t draft for s[p]it, which is why he is torturing us currently on BSPN’s Monday Night Football broadcasts.

Joe decided to revisit Chucky’s last three drafts. Here they are:

2006
Players still with Bucs:
Davin Joseph OG, Jeremy Trueblood, OT, Maurice Stovall WR. Notre Dame

Players somewhere else:
Alan Zemaitis CB, Julian Jenkins DE, Bruce Gradkowski QB, T.J. Williams TE, Justin Phinisee CB, Charles Bennett OT, Tim Massaquoi TE

2007
Players still with Bucs:
Sabby Piscitelli S, Quincy Black OLB, Tanard Jackson CB, Adam Hayward LB.

Players somewhere else:
Gaines Adams DE, Arron Sears T, Chris Denman T, Marcus Hamilton CB, Kenneth Darby RB.

2008
Players still with Bucs:
Aqib Talib CB,  Jeremy Zuttah G, Josh Johnson QB, Dre Moore DT, Geno Hayes OLB

Players somewhere else:
Dexter Jackson WR, Cory Boyd RB

This doesn’t exactly remind Joe of the drafts the Steelers had in the early 1970s, but it’s a pretty clear example of why Chucky is no longer cursing out Bucs players (to their faces).

When Bucs general manager Mark Dominik drafted two wide receivers high in April’s draft and traded for Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown, it was as clear a message to embattled blocking icon Michael Clayton as a billboard on Dale Mabry Highway:

“Produce or be gone.”

Former Bucs defensive lineman Steve White, who Joe is humbled to have write a weekly “Bull Rush” column, writes on his own blog that the addition of  Brown very likely will mean the subtraction of Clayton, a former first round pick.

White points out that there are three receivers already with roster spots locked up: rookies Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn and second-year receiver Sammie Stroughter. Mo Stovall, a special teams warrior, appears to be safe.

Joe will let White pick up the roster math from there.

Add into the mix Reggie Brown whom evidently had a good offseason as well at receiver. But you know what Brown was doing the last two years when his numbers fell off and the Eagles replaced him?

Busting his ass on special teams.

So that’s five receivers right there. Out of whom is left you have Clayton along with two guys who should get at last a shot as our primary return men in the kicking game, Michael Spurlock and Preston Parker.

If you’re a GM and your choices for the last wide receiver spot are two young cheap guys who can possibly be return men for you or a guy who hasn’t played special teams for you in the past, hasn’t produced in years and is scheduled to make millions of dollars who would you choose?

Joe strongly encourages all of his readers to click on the link above and read White’s entire column. It is very, very good. White’s look at the Bucs receivers depth chart is as well thought out as anything you will read from any MSM outlet.