Back in December, Bucs icon Doug Williams had a wild month.

First, he was shamefully, publicly abused by Pewter Report, when the former colorful hand-held magazine outfit told the world that unnamed agents were ripping Williams and reported his “potential firing” right after the 2010 season would come as little surprise to those in the know.  

Then Williams publicly sniffed a return to college coaching. And then he seemed excited by the prospect of joing Bruce Allen in Washington, when he told the Washington Examiner what a great guy his former boss is and showed little enthusiasm for staying in Tampa.

On his own interest for a job here: “That’s strictly up to Bruce. It wouldn’t be good to say that now.”

Then the dust settled when Williams told local beat writers that he agreed to a new one-year contract with the Bucs to continue on in his post for Mark Dominik’s draft for the ages.

Now the Bucs are reporting that Dominik and Williams have mutually parted ways.  

Word came down yesterday, and Joe was waiting to see if Williams would open up more than the few simple quotes offered in the news release. So far, he hasn’t. But Joe suspects he will soon.

Dominik said Williams “will stay involved as a representative of the team in the community.”

Joe’s pleased to hear will remain close, if not part, of the organization. It seems an amicable divorce is in place. Joe hopes that’s still what it looks like after Williams’ first interview on the subject.

Angelo Crowell was last on the field two years ago, when he had a strong season for Buffalo.

Inexplicably determined to rouse excitement for the return of linebacker Angelo Crowell, St. Pete Times beat writer Stephen Holder tells his readers today that the Bucs want to “get something out of their investment in Crowell.”

Holder doesn’t quote anyone saying that at One Buc Palace. Hmmm. And Joe suspects that quote isn’t forthcoming because “money will never be an issue” when building the Buccaneers, Joel Glazer reminded us recently.

But assuming Holder is accurate, this “investment” line of thinking drives Joe a little bananas.

The guy hasn’t played or been healthy in two years, and the Bucs re-signed him for 2010, seemingly to a low-risk contract.

This is not trying to get something from an “investment.” It’s begging for a miracle and straying from “the plan.”

Crowell, the Bucs’ biggest free agent signing on defense in 2009, wasn’t heathy when the Bucs signed him and was coming off sitting out the entire 2008 season in Buffalo. Upon arriving in Tampa, he sat out many OTAs because his rare knee surgery wasn’t completely healed, and he looked slow in preseason and tore his bicep in an exhibition game. He landed on injured reserve and the Bucs were on the hook for his one-year, $2.5 million deal.

(From Holder) The Bucs would like to, finally, get something out of their investment in Crowell. And Crowell knows he is running out of time to get his career back on track. He’ll be 29 on opening day, so if he doesn’t make the team, it’s no sure thing that he’ll get a chance someplace else. To stick around, he needs to show that he has the quickness and agility to play in Tampa Bay defense. The biceps injury isn’t as much of a concern as the potential long-term effects of the knee issue and its impact on his mobility. One tip about his condition is the fact that the Bucs re-signed him in the first place. No team would know more about his health than Tampa Bay, which helped him through his rehab.

Anyhow, the Bucs have talked about increasing the level of competition at various positions. If Crowell can get it together, maybe he can do that — or more.

Crowell turns 29 during training camp. He hasn’t played in two years. Surely there was a healthy young body out there somewhere to push Quincy Black. And how can Joe have faith in the Bucs medical staff when they gave the green light to sign him last year?

Like every Buccaneers fan, Joe is pulling for Crowell. But Joe hopes the Bucs are still looking for another backup.

In one of the best interviews Joe has read in a while, Aaron Schatz of FootballOutsiders.com got a sitdown with Father Dungy to talk defense.

As can be expected, Father Dungy talked a lot about the Bucs defense, both past and recent. Dungy, largely credited with popularizing the Cover-2 defense, which became better known as the Tampa-2, claimed the Bucs defense under former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin morphed and grew away from the Cover-2, using more men in the box.

Aaron Schatz: For obvious reasons, people equate your defensive philosophy with Monte Kiffin’s. However, our numbers show that while the defense was dominant against the pass both before and after you left Tampa Bay, the run defense was consistently better after you left. Was that a philosophical difference between you two, or was it merely the result of changing personnel?

Father Dungy: It was somewhat personnel but more a philosophical thought. Monte plays more eight-man fronts and blitzes more. He is determined to stop the run and force more second-and-long and third-and-long situations. I was more tuned into taking away the big play and making offenses be perfect. The Bucs actually didn’t play a lot of Cover 2 after I left.

This is one of the points Joe has made several times when the Dungyphiles rear their heads to claim that Chucky won with Father Dungy’s players, which is preposterous on many levels.

Now, here is more evidence coming straight from Father Dungy’s own mouth that the Bucs defense was different, using more and different schemes after Kiffin gained full and complete control of the Bucs defense under Chucky.

Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com believes Josh Freeman and the Bucs will be "respectable" in 2011, but not this year.

Another day, another national columnist advising Bucs fans to wait another year.

That’s the word — not from Joe — from Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com. In a column where he looks at all the last place teams from 2009 and what team has the best chance to rebound, Marvez is not too charitable to the Bucs and suggests 2010 will be a season to forget for Bucs fans.

The Bucs began their youth movement in 2009 but need at least another season to become respectable again.

Unlike yesterday, when Joe brought you Pat Kirwan’s prediction than an 8-8 season would be a success, Marvez did not go on the record with a win total as a goal he sees for the Bucs.

First, Raheem The Dream called Josh Johnson a “career backup.”

Now, Greg Olson compares third-year pro Johnson, known for his intelligence and grasp of the offense, to an undrafted rookie quarterback.

For a short TBO.com feature story about interception-happy former University of Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead trying to make the Bucs roster after being signed as an undrafted rookie free agent, Olson told beat writer Anwar Richardson that Snead should be on “equal footing” with Johnson.

“The good thing is we have two younger players in Josh Johnson and Rudy Carpenter that aren’t that much older than him and haven’t been in the league that long, so development wise, they shouldn’t be much further along,” Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “He has an opportunity to come in and compete with those guys as opposed to a four-, five-, six-, 10-year vet guy. He should be on equal footing with those guys.”

Poor Johnson, taking one on the chin from the offensive coordinator.

Joe’s all in favor of coaches tyring to foster competition in the offseason, but Olson’s comment crosses the line.

If Johnson is on equal footing with Snead, then the Bucs better pray harder for Josh Freeman’s health than they ever intended. 

Recently, some quasi-misguided soul — he couldn’t be too misguided, after all, he reads Joe — commented that only women Twitter.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Joe tried to educated this man (?) that Twitter, when used properly, is very much a manly thing. Truth be told, women don’t have the NFL Network.

Want proof of how Twitter is good for any red-blooded American male? Think a scantily clad Marlana Aref, one of many beautiful Bucs cheerleaders. Seems as though some intelligent being over at One Buc Palace has decided to tag along as the Bucs cheerleaders frolic on some sandy white beach for their calendar shoot.

And said someone from One Buc Palace (intrepid Scott Smith perhaps?) is attaching various “behind the scenes” photos of the calendar shoot on the Bucs official Twitter feed.

Now that Joe has linked to the Bucs Twitter feed, feel free to waste time at work gawking. Joe won’t blame you at all.

How the Cowboys' personnel department ranked three Bucs rookies before the draft, Gerald McCoy, Brian Price and Myron Lewis, was uncovered by the Miami Herald.

Yesterday, the Miami Herald published a photo it secured of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones standing in front of his team’s draft board.

Joe’s first reaction was, ‘Who cares?’ and ‘Why does a Miami newspaper want to write a story about this?’

But upon further review, the picture, which the Herald blew up and spent lots of time scrutinizng, reveals how the Cowboys ranked various players entering the 2010 draft. Armando Salguero, the Herald reporter, claims he confirmed the authenticity of the photo with the Cowboys organization.

Dallass ranked manbeast-in-waiting Gerald McCoy as the No. 2 pick, ahead of Ndamukong Suh. So that was a feel-good moment for Joe.

But Dallass had defensive tackle Brian Price ranked 45th overall (the Bucs took him with the 35th pick). And cornerback Myron Lewis was ranked as a late fourth-round pick, 118th overall (the Bucs picked him with the 67th pick near the top of the third round). No other rookie Bucs’ rankings were visible in the photo.

Of course, this doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot. But it’s very interesting, especially during the NFL dog days of May.

Did the Bucs reach for Lewis? The Cowboys sure think so.

Is defensive back Myron Lewis a starter come September?

Yesterday, Joe brought you the story of how the Mad Twitterer, of the St. Petersburg Times, suggested the Bucs may have drafted wide receivers Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams, in part, because they fit Greg Olson’s offense.

The bigger part of the overall story was that the Mad Twitterer believes the Bucs drafted four starters in last month’s draft and that’s not counting Benn.

The fourth starter, in the Mad Twitterer’s eyes, is defensive back Myron Lewis.

The fourth starter will be CB Myron Lewis, a third-round pick from Vanderbilt. At 6-2, 205, Lewis has a physical resemblance to Aqib Talib. He’s another long, athletic defender with good hands who changes direction with relative ease.

With Lewis beginning the year at nickel corner, playing maybe two of every three snaps, he might as well be considered a starter. Certainly, he is the heir apparent to 35-year-old Ronde Barber.

If Joe uses the Mad Twitterer’s math as a foundation, it’s not out of the realm of possibllity Bucs general manager Mark Dominik actually selected six starters.

As the Mad Twitterer pointed out, it’s just a matter of time before Benn starts. So that’s starter No. 5. The sixth starter will very likely be punter Brent Bowden. If a team drafts a punter and the same team also cuts its starting punter, it’s a pretty safe bet to assume the guy drafted will be given every opportunity to start.

Raheem The Dream recently told the world he feels like the Bucs are “three years ahead” of schedule now that they’ve fired their previous coordinators and are entering 2010 with stability.

Mark Dominik has talked openly about how beneficial it is to the team to have the coaching ranks all on the same page on both sides of the ball for an entire offseason.

And Earnest Graham, in an exclusive interview with Joe last week, said the Bucs’ new-found stability, especially at the quarterback position, “should translate on the field.”

Joe: Obviously, the Bucs will come to camp in a much more stable, familiar situation than last year. Will that continuity really make a difference?

Graham: It’s a huge deal. Years past, the years I was under Gruden, we changed quarterbacks a lot. Whether it was Chris Simms, Brian Griese, Bruce Gradkowski, Jeff Garcia, Griese … that’s hard on a football team even with the same coaching staff. And then last year…the league is tough enough, and then you throw all those changes in. It’s tough on a football team, especially a young football team. ….It has to help, going in knowing what you’re going to get, knowing who the quarterback is. It should translate on the field.

So if you’re not keeping score, that’s the front office, the head coach and an intelligent veteran player all offering sound reasons why the team should be better without even mentioning the talent upgrade on the defensive line and the expected improvement of promising youngsters Josh Freeman, Sammie Stroughter, Aqib Talib, Tanard Jackson, Geno Hayes and more.

This is why Joe laughs at those who believe Team Glazer doesn’t have a number on Raheem The Dream’s head for the 2010 season.

Team Glazer surely buys in to the notion that the Bucs should be better in 2010, and ready to seize the rare opportunity of four home games in their first six with a bye in between.

Pat Kirwan says 8-8 is a good, high goal for the 2010 Bucs. At this point, Joe can say he’d be somewhat satisfied and impressed by six wins. 

Joe has to believe Team Glazer will be at least working the phones if Raheem The Dream can’t put a 5 in the win column.

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com believes Josh Freeman will lead the Bucs to the playoffs... in 2011.

The Bucs were beyond horrid last year. That’s not a revelation to any Bucs fan.

There were a myriad of reasons why. From going to the youth movement to bagging offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski to the heinous Jim Bates Experiment, which blew up in the face of Raheem the Dream.

So despite many Bucs fans pining for a playoff run this year, it won’t happen. Bucs fans should be patient and realistic. Maybe winning as many games as the Bucs will lose will be a more rational goal.

That’s the word from Pat Kirwan. The former NFL front office executive, who co-hosts the superior “Movin’ the Chains” heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, hosted a live chat recently on NFL.com, in addition to his duties with CBSSports.com. Kirwan suggested rather than playoffs, the Bucs should think .500.

Scott, Canada
Hey Pat, love your insight. Can you tell me how you see the Bucs this year? Do they have a chance to make some noise in the South, do you see them starting both new wides and both DTs?

Pat Kirwan, NFL.com
Thanks, Scott. The Bucs will be better this year than last. I think Josh Freeman will be a fine NFL quarterback. I think you closed in on the No. 3 spot with Carolina, but not ready to compete with the Saints or Falcons. Both rookie DTs will play a lot. You should be aiming for an 8-8 season and then if all these young players shape up make a legitimate run for the playoffs in 2011.

Playoffs in 2011? Playoffs? Did Kirwan write, “playoffs?”

Kirwan assumes first, there will actually be a 2011 season. If there is, that means the Bucs’ heralded rookies this year will have to grow up awful fast. Unless Team Glazer and general manager/rock star Mark Dominik go on a spending spree for the 2011 season — unlikely — that means this year’s rookies will have to mature awfully fast.

One reason the Bucs selected Arrelious Benn: his style fits within Greg Olson's offense so well.

The Bucs have gushed so much about their two new rookie wide receivers, Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams, Joe, being ever the skeptic, raised his antennae.

Reading from dispatches and talking to observers of the two rookies soothed Joe’s concerns. It seems the duo is the real deal.

One reason Benn and Williams are getting so many rave reviews, and perhaps why the Bucs didn’t draft wide receiver Golden Tate, is that, per the Mad Twitterer of the St. Petersburg Times, Benn and Williams fit so perfectly into Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson’s offense.

Benn and Williams are also great after the catch, which is critical in the offense under coordinator Greg Olson. The Bucs run a lot of slants, digs and crossing routes that require yards after the catch for big plays.

One observation: Williams might win a starting job before Benn. But before 2010 is over, both will be running out of the tunnel for pregame introductions. Regardless of the order, the position went from one with no depth to one of the most competitive on the team with Sammie Stroughter, Maurice Stovall, Reggie Brown and Michael Clayton.

This brings up one question, though Joe is confident it won’t be much of a factor but it’s a modest concern nonetheless: If Benn and Williams were drafted, in part, because they fit Olson’s offense so well, what if Olson and the rest of the coaching staff are jettisoned after the season if the Bucs fall on their face in 2010?

Joe’s not saying this will happen or should happen. But in May 2010, how do we know for a fact these coaches will still be here a year from today?

Tanard Jackson is one of many Bucs players expected to become free agents in 2011.

While a lot of attention of late has been paid to the Bucs draft — rightly so — there is an interesting fork in the road just over the hill and it appears there also could be clouds in the horizon.

Of course, the clouds are the looming labor stoppage of 2011, something Joe has written about many times because he feels it is the Sword of Damocles hanging over every NFL owner’s head and has been a factor in virtually every financial move the past two seasons.

Whether there is a season or not in 2011, one thing Joe knows for sure: there are tons of Bucs starters who will be free agents in 2011. What Team Glazer will do with those free agents may be determined by the players themselves, explains eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune in a TBO.com Bucs question-and-answer feature.

Q: Many of our core players will be free agents in 2011. On the offensive side of the ball we have guys like Davin Joseph, Donald Penn and Jeremy Trueblood on the O-line, tight ends Jerramy Stevens and John Gilmore, wide receiver Maurice Stovall and running back Cadillac Williams. On the defensive side there is Stylez G White on the D-line, linebackers Geno Hayes, Barrett Ruud and Quincy Black, cornerback Ronde Barber and safeties Tanard Jackson and Sabby Piscitelli.

How do you think the Bucs will handle signing most of these guys? Or should we even care? Because if the 2010 draft was being held as the deepest draft in 10 or 20 years, the 2011 free agent period will be the largest one ever with more than 450 players available.

Luvmybucs, Las Vegas, Nev.

A:  The Glazers have said that any player who performs well over a period of time will be rewarded by the Bucs. Guys like Penn and Ruud are wondering when their day will come. You would think Tanard Jackson and Davin Joseph will be offered long-term extensions. After this season, the Bucs will have to identify their core players and build with them going forward. Penn, Ruud and Trueblood could all hit the market next March, assuming a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.

— eye-RAH! Kaufman

The Bucs have said since Chucky was canned they wanted to build through the draft, which Joe has no problem with. Keeping guys like Joseph, Jackson and Hayes will go a long way to reinforcing that mantra. 

Maybe manbeast-in-waiting Gerald McCoy lost his laptop or his Blackberry.

Perhaps something simple like that happened to make him end his Twitter obsession.

Or, perhaps it was a tap on shoulder nine days ago at Buccaneers rookie minicamp. Joe’s secret embedded camera at One Buc Palace did record the following exchange:

Raheem The Dream: GMC, before you start being your best self out here, I gotta tell you something. You need to lay off the Internet, and things of that nature.

Gerald McCoy: What do you mean, Rah?

Raheem The Dream: All I know is Dominik says Twitter isn’t one of our core beliefs. And you gotta be true to your core beliefs to be your best self.

Of course, Joe’s secret camera is unreliable. But, for some reason, McCoy hasn’t sent out a Twitter message since a few hours before Bucs rookie minicamp started on April 30.

It seems pretty easy to connect the dots and conclude that the Bucs likely quashed McCoy’s Twitter addiction.

Jack Bechta, the resident player agent/columnist on NationalFootballPost.com, penned an interesting look at NFL players and social media the other day.

Unfamiliar with social media? Think Twitter, Facebook and the many ways players — and anyone – can fire up an account and start sharing all sorts of everything personal and professional.

All of my rookie clients who just returned from their first minicamp were briefed on what they should and shouldn’t say to the media. One team even told its players that they should “think twice” before tweeting or talking about their experiences in minicamp. Twitter, Facebook and other outlets makes coaches and GMs a little nervous. I know of one GM and ownernship group who have grown so irritated and tired of their top players’ social efforts that they decided to clean house of those individuals. The team has already recently parted ways with three players and has its sights set on several more it would like to see go. The brass simply feels that their players’ focus should be 100 percent on winning and not be distracted on building their own brand.

Hopefully, the Bucs didn’t use their Myron Rolle tactics to intimidate McCoy into dumping his Twitter account.

Joe’s all in favor of the team setting social media boundaries for players, but Joe doesn’t think teams should tell players to kill it altogether.

Used with a little discretion, a player’s social media account ultimately bonds fans to the player and builds interest in his team, which is good for everyone.

Joe hopes to read McCoy’s next tweet — before he retires.

Of all the veterans purged by Mark Dominik over the last couple of years, kicker Matt Bryant seems to be one of the select few that will keep playing at high level in the NFL.

Dominik passed on Bryant, who turns 35 this month, in favor or $2 million bust Mike Nugent, who was quickly tossed aside for youngster Connor Barth last year. 

Vacation Man, NFC South beat writer for Moscow-based BSPN.com, who spent a chunk of this week at Atlanta Falcons’ minicamp, reports Bryant looks like a sure bet to keep Atlanta’s No. 1 kicker gig that he scored after a stint in the UFL last year.

Who’s the kicker? This was a big issue last year and the Falcons finally parted ways with veteran Jason Elam after he lost his consistency. Atlanta believes it has the answer in veteran Matt Bryant, who joined the team late last year. Bryant used to be one of the league’s more reliable kickers. But his career got thrown off track in Tampa Bay by injuries and a family tragedy. The Falcons believe Bryant is healthy and ready to get back to being the kind of reliable kicker he once was.

Joe’s happy for Bryant, yet Joe is having unsettling visions of him kicking game-winning field goals against the Bucs in 2010. Maybe Joe needs more sleep.

Joe’s a big fan of Barth, who shocked every Bucs fan alive with those three 50-yard field goals in one game against Miami last year. Like every team — and maybe more than most — the Bucs desperately need their kicker to be consistent, and great at times.

Hopefully, Barth’s up for it.

OK, if everything works out, the Bucs have their quarterback (Josh Freeman) and he has his toys to throw to (Kellen Winslow, Arrelious Benn, Mike Williams, Sammie Stroughter) behind an average to above average offensive line.

But what about the running backs? Raheem the Dream seems to be OK with his stable of running backs, per the Mad Twitterer of the St. Petersburg Times.

“There’s always an opportunity at running back because you get the ball so much and you get to show so many things,’’ Morris said. “You get to show your ability to catch the ball a little bit during seven-on-seven. This time of year, you don’t get to see them in pads, which is always kind of a downfall. It’s always kind of a guess.

“Last year, we addressed it with Kareem Huggins. We got him in here and he was in the hopper all year for us and really played well.’’

But the Bucs did not really address the position after the draft, either. They signed Clemson fullback Redrick Taylor after a tryout in rookie minicamp.

Joe wrote this week about Earnest Graham, who Joe loves. Sure, Graham may not have the worn tread on his tires like some running backs, but he is 30, which is an old man in NFL running back age.

Cadillac Williams, a clear fan favorite and someone Joe admires, is playing on two surgically repaired knees. Every time he runs the ball around the right tackle Joe holds his breath.

Derrick Ward is still very much a question mark after a big free agent signing. Joe knows for a fact that a Bucs official in the highest reaches of One Buc Palace was not happy that Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson didn’t use Ward as much as some front office types wanted him to touch the ball.

Clifton Smith, let’s be honest, is a return man. He puts the ball on the ground way too much to deserve many carries, which is why Chucky didn’t like him at running back.

Now Joe’s not saying the Bucs running backs stink. What Joe is saying is that he isn’t overly confident the Bucs have a deep, solid running attack.

Bucs beat scribe Woody Cummings, of The Tampa Tribune, has served up a possible explanation why blocking icon Michael Clayton remains on the Bucs roster, even after the Bucs tried to trade him and after Mark Dominik and Raheem The Dream seem to have eliminated his name from their vocabularies.

Cummings says money is likely a big reason.

The fact wide receiver Michael Clayton wasn’t among those let go left many shaking their heads in wonderment. There is, however, a logical explanation for why Clayton still is and probably will be a Buccaneer through the 2010 season.

Quite simply, the Bucs still owe Clayton a lot of money. The contract Clayton signed in 2009 included $10.5 million in guaranteed payouts. At this stage, it’s far too early to accept a loss on that investment.

Joe chuckled after reading that last sentence by Cummings. Joe’s pretty sure the Bucs have already realized “a loss on that investment.”  To be fair, Cummings went on in his story to say the Clayton deal might be one of the “greatest blunders” of Dominik’s tenure.

Per the USA Today salary database, largely considered quite accurate, the blocking icon fleeced the Bucs for just over $7.5 million last year. That leads Joe to believe the Bucs are on the hook for another $3 million.

Now Joe knows that Team Glazer announced “money will never be an issue” when building the Bucs. So it’s hard to believe that Mark Dominik would consider something as trivial as $3 million when determining how to best craft his roster for 2010.

Never would Dominik consider keeping the blocking icon around when valuable reps and game experience could go to younger receivers. Right?

Surely, there must be more to Clayton still being around than money. Worrying about money is not part of Team Glazer’s plan.

Clifton Smith calls former Buccaneer Warrick Dunn his mentor

Joe’s written many times about the troubling lack of leadership on the Bucs, which is magnified by the team getting younger and the brass openly relying on rookies to turn around the club.

Raheem The Dream expounded on the leadership issue last week (only written about on JoeBucsFan.com).

Former Bucccaneer defensive end Steve White, a JoeBucsFan.com analyst, addressed leadership on The Fabulous Sports Babe Show on 1040 AM yesterday. He expressed that the Bucs might be relying too much on coaches to take on the hands-on role of mentoring often reserved for veteran players.

“It just happens. Leaders show up when it matters. Leaders are those guys who show up and produce. Leaders are going to develop,” White said. “The coach can tell you how to do something, but can he really show you? When Arrelious Benn and Michael Williams have trouble in the middle of the year. Who are they going to turn to?  When [Brian] Price and [[Gerald]McCoy hit a wall and the media’s on them. Where do they go?….Where are the shoulders that these guys are going to lean on?”

White shared his memories of defensive tackle Booger McFarland being a student of Brad Culpepper before emerging as a starter with 6 1/2 sacks in his second season.

White shared similar concern for Josh Freeman not having a veteran to turn to.

Ironically, in another great video interview on Buccaneers.com posted yesterday, Clifton Smith talked about his career goals and his mentor.

“I also want to also be able to stay in this league 10 years plus. You know, have the succesful career. You know, my mentor, Warrick Dunn. I want to pretty much [model] my career after his.” Smith said. 

From those comments, it’s obvious Dunn clearly influenced Smith during his stunning breakout rookie season in 2008.

Joe wishes the 2009 rookies had the advantage of a Warrick Dunn type at their respective positions.

Team Glazer must not be in the financial peril that some believe.

Manchester United, their beloved kickball team, will not play in Tampa during their summer tour of the United States in July. And considering Team Glazer would reap nearly every penny from what would surely be a near sell out of the C.I.T.S., Joe can only assume Team Glazer is not hurting for cash.  

After Team Glazer bought Manchester United five years ago,  it was speculated the kickball team wouldn’t play preseason summer games in Tampa because it’s so ungodly hot here that training and playing here would be a burden.

But that argument goes out the window now that the team will play exhibitions against Major League Soccer teams in Houston, Philadelphia and Kansas City in July. The K.C. game was a real kicker for Joe. It’s ridiculously hot and humid there, too, and the game is scheduled for 6 p.m., not even a night game.

There’s no doubt Manchester United playing in Tampa would have brought a windfall of tourists to the area and just gobs of cash to Team Glazer.  The team’s following and allure is that large. … Don’t they realize how many $8 beers Euro soccer fans would drink?

Joe thinks it stinks that the Glazers didn’t make a game happen for the Tampa Bay area. But Joe also has to think it’s a good sign for the Bucs that Team Glazer doesn’t need the many millions in ticket revenue and concessions that a Manchester United would have generated here.

Joe understands fans don’t give a rat’s rear end about non-football related front office moves, such as the Bucs hiring a new media relations director. The only reason Joe ran a story was he thought it was interesting that Team Glazer hired a seasoned GOP operative to replace the departed Jeff Kamis.

And no, Joe’s not anti-GOP.

The reason for today’s post was a small story Joe would like to share with Bucs fans. It seems for the Green Bay game last season, Kamis denied credentials to the notorious Jack Bauer.

As one can imagine, Bauer did not sulk in his CTU bunker over the rejection. As the photo details below, Bauer doesn’t take “no” very well, and, well, the result was not one of Kamis’ career highlights.

It seems to Joe that quite a few people are putting a lot of pressure already on rookie wide receivers Mike Williams (19) and Arrelious Benn (17) with lofty expectations.

Surfing last night it’s apparent to many scribes that Bucs rookie wide receivers Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams will start for the Bucs this season.

Mind you, these guys haven’t even put on pads yet and they’ve yet to face any Bucs player not a rookie, much less any NFL foe.

Vacation Man ,of Stalinist BSPN.com, also is joining in the chorus. He believes, unless something drastic happens, Benn, Williams and Stroughter will be the opening week starters at wide receiver.

Let’s go beyond the first-round picks. Let’s go beyond the biggest name in the NFC South draft class (Jimmy Clausen) because some of those guys might not start right away and some play positions where you won’t hear a lot from them. Let’s turn to Tampa Bay receiver Arrelious Benn, a second-round draft pick. Heck, let’s also throw in Tampa Bay receiver Mike Williams, a fourth-round pick.

Barring a totally disastrous training camp from either one of these guys, I see this tandem as Tampa Bay’s starters on opening day. If Benn and Williams can even come close to grasping the playbook by September, their physical talents make them better than Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall.

Throw them out there with Sammie Stroughter as the slot receiver and you have a group of receivers that’s incredibly young. But it’s also a very talented group that could make a lot of noise.

Joe is as geeked as the next Bucs fan that Mark Dominik drafted these two receivers. But it’s starting to frighten Joe that so many people are expecting so much from these two and it’s still early May.

Can’t we give these guys some breathing room and allow them to ease into their new gigs rather than forcing them into a starting position?

Pete Prisco, of CBSSports.com, spent time studying how Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan studies the game. The result was an excellent feature story.

And it seems that while Josh Freeman has been the Bucs’ offseason workaholic, he’s just keeping up with Ryan, as both quarterbacks try to get to Drew Brees’ level in the NFC South.

Prisco picked several film breakdowns from Ryan to highlight, one in which he praised helmet-wielding Aqib Talib.

“Talib gets beat,” Ryan said as the play unfolds. “That’s beat in the NFL, even if it doesn’t look like it. It’s there. If the ball lands three feet that way, it’s a touchdown. All in all, it’s not a bad throw. But with that coverage, it has to be more precise.”

Talib, who Ryan raves about, tips the ball away at the last second. Incomplete pass.

“If the ball is right here, he might catch it,” Ryan said as he points to the spot. “That should have been a touchdown.”

Ryan said the key to deciphering the Bucs coverage is no different than with any other team. The keys are the safeties. They usually dictate the coverage, although changes in the NFL game have made it tougher.

Ryan went on to reveal trends in the Bucs’ defense as it relates to using Ronde Barber.

Interesting stuff.

Joe hopes somebody e-mails the story to Freeman in hopes of him getting even more fired up to be the best he can be.