One of the smartest moves in Joe’s eyes that Bucs general manager Mark Dominik made after the draft was to sign former Florida State/North Alabama wide receiver/running back/return specialist Preston Parker.

Joe had previously described him as a poor man’s Dexter McCluster. Had Parker not done stupid stuff — he got tossed off Florida State’s squad for, among other silly things, not putting the one-hitter down — perhaps Parker would have been spoken in the same conversations as McCluster.

Parker was a star on Florida State’s emerging offense under Jimbo Fisher, and at the time he was really the only offensive weapon that Seminoles opponents were really concerned about.

Then Parker got tossed off the team by iconic coach Bobby Bowden and Parker was mired at North Alabama, hardly the same level of competition of, say, the Crimson Tide.

It seems the Bucs were impressed enough with Parker during rookie minicamp that he caught Raheem the Dream’s eye, per the TBO.com Bucs report blog (hey Aaron Knox, Joe didn’t give anyone credit because you didn’t publish the name of whoever uploaded the story).

“He showed some good things, made a nice grab today, ran a couple of really good routes,’’ Morris said of Parker. “He’s been a professional since he’s been in our building and he’s one of those guys that you want to get a little more of an in-depth look at.’’

Signing Parker was a very smart, very, very low risk and potentially high-reward move by Dominik. Right now, even though he just finished playing Division II football, Joe isn’t so sure Parker doesn’t offer as much as some receivers already on the roster.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

This time a year ago the Bucs were just getting organized with their new coaches, players and draft picks. New philosophies were being put in place under the new head coach and new offensive Coordinator, Jeff Jagodzinski.

Last spring we were told the Bucs’ offense would be run- and play-action heavy with their solid offensive line and strong stable of runners to complement either veteran quarterback Luke McCown or Byron Leftwich. We were also told rookie first round pick Josh Freeman would spend 2009 learning from the sidelines.

We all know those plans changed dramatically when Raheem Morris turned over the coordinating duties to Greg Olson just before the first kickoff. That wasn’t the reason for the horrible start, but it didn’t help. And the best intentions of leaving Freeman on the bench to learn turned out to be a “baptism by fire” after just seven games.

After taking on the task of offensive design and play-calling, Olson turned the team back to his comfort zone and to the previous regime’s influence, but all I could differentiate was a little less of the pre-snap running around that Gruden was so fond of and was mostly show anyway.

That pre-snap motion is hoped to expose the coverage, but as one long-term player under Gruden said to me, “It just made us tired before the play.”

Losing a lot of that nonsense was a step forward for the current offense. A young QB’s head is already swimming with thoughts at the line of scrimmage, trying to figure out what the defense is planning. And the more movement before getting set gives him less time to figure out if he wants to audible and what to audible to before the play clock runs out.

Another thing that needs to change from that offense is the extensive wording. While some of the running plays are called simply enough, the passing game verbiage is ridiculous. 

If you watched  “Gruden’s QB Camp” on ESPN recently, Gruden disparaged Colt McCoy’s southern accent, saying no one would be able to understand the extensive play call with his current accent.

I learned multiple pro offenses, including the 3-digit system that many teams are still regularly winning with (Chargers and Cardinals among others), and none of them sounded anything like Gruden’s — “Flip Right Double X Jet 36 Counter Naked Waggle at 7, X Corner. Heads-up for a 358 Cannon Check on 1.”

We know that football teams aren’t overflowing with rocket scientists in the first place, and players also haven’t spent years and years in the same system, nor do they spend the same amount of time in their dark “laboratories” studying film like their coaching staffs.  In fact, players are much more likely to be coming in for the night at 4:17 AM, not firing up the video reel of third-down blitzes like Gruden does.

Although relatively good things should be expected from the Bucs’ running back contingent in 2010, last year’s run-oriented plan didn’t work out as well as hoped and this group still lacks a homerun threat.

This team is now squarely on the big, young shoulders and arm of Josh Freeman and the focus should shift to where the biggest plays will come next year and that is through the air. 

To maximize that effort, Olson would do well to simplify the verbiage and pre-snap movement of whatever his offense morphs into. That will benifit his star QB and his potential star rookie wideouts.

Joe admits it. He’s intrigued by Rendrick Taylor, the versatile, athletic manbeast fullback the Bucs signed yesterday along with four other guys out of their recent rookie minicamp.

Tom Balog, beat writer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, explained the Bucs’ fascination with Taylor on Saturday. 

Watching the 6-foot-2, 274-pound Clemson player being tried out as a fulltback and tight end, move around Saturday through special team drills, you wonder how he got here … as a tryout player. 

You can get look at big No. 45 late in this video from Buccaneers.com.

And Joe’s been doing some digging. WBTW-TV in South Carolina reported that while Taylor is listed as a fullback on the Bucs’ roster, he played receiver, tight end, linebacker and running back at Clemson.  And Joe talked to a Clemson official on Monday who didn’t want his name published, who said that Taylor is “a rare athlete who needs to stay in one position and get some great coaching.

Taylor also was injured throughout his college career, including missing the entire 2008 season.

Surely, all those injuries dropped his draft stock.

Joe has no clue what the future holds for Rendrick. But Joe imagines a 274-pound fullback with his kind of athleticism could do some damage on 3rd-and-1.

The Buccaneers are really working hard to promote their young draft picks.

Joe can’t blame the Bucs for thrusting them into the spotlight. From a marketing standpoint — and a winning standpoint – the Bucs need these guys prepared for high expectations.

In honor of the draft picks, the good folks at Buccaneers.com have launched a new “Who is?” series.

Joe really enjoyed the Scott Smith interview of wide receiver Mike Williams. The rookie dropped the interesting nugget that his mother is his mentor and she taught him how to play football and was a player herself.

Williams also continued to discredit the media, which, along with Mark Dominik, labeled him a quitter out of college.

“I think fans should know, like, don’t believe what the media said before. (Laughs) But, no, fans should know I’m a good person,” Williams said. “And I’m somebody that’s going to go out here and work hard. And I’m tyring to win, just like everyone else. Tyring to bring another Super Bowl here.”

Long ago, Joe was excited by Williams. Watching the NFL combine on the real-man NFL Network, it was obvious that Williams was loaded with Pro Bowl talent.

But as much as Joe is pulling for Williams, Joe just can’t expect much from him in 2010. At the end of the day, he’s a rookie fourth-rounder. If he can hold on to the ball, ring up 20+ catches and score a few touchdowns, Joe will be more than satisfied and will look for him to improve significantly in 2011.

In theory, the Bucs drafted cornerback Myron Lewis to replace veteran stud Ronde Barber.

And by replacing Barber, it’s not just a spot on the roster. It seems, per Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times, that the Bucs are converting their secondary from pigeon-holed players to athletes who can perform multiple tasks.

Lewis seems to fit that mold.

The reason the Bucs expect him to see extensive playing time this fall and, perhaps, replace Ronde Barber in the long term is he fits their profile so precisely.

The identity of a Buccaneer cornerback has changed dramatically. The prototype now resembles the tall, lanky Aqib Talib (6 feet 1, 205 pounds) more than the short, small and shifty Barber (5-10, 184). Lewis, at 6-2, 205 pounds, falls into the former category.

The days of the Bucs being predictable in their pass coverage are gone. Coach and defensive play-caller Raheem Morris, following the lead of former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin in his final seasons, disguises coverages and mixes others in.

Funny that the Bucs have adjusted their defense over the years, yet Ronde Barber, NFL old man that he is, doesn’t seem to have missed a beat. It will be hard replacing him when he decides to leave.

Those colorful Pewter fellows who extinguished their hand-held magazine last year touted the April performance of their Web site over the weekend. Team Pewter boasted how its unique visitor total of Bucs fans was up 10 percent from April 2009.

Joe is not impressed.

Why not? Because unique visitors to JoeBucsFan.com increased 119 percent in April 2010 versus April 2009, and Joe doesn’t even have a message board.

Hmmm – 10 percent growth versus 119 percent growth.

At this rate, Joe is poised to overtake those Pewter fellows by next summer.

Joe loves to compete.

A speedster in the weekend rookie camp caught the eye of the Bucs’ coaching staff, so reports Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

He’s 5-8, return specialist/running back Chris Garrett, out of Ohio University.

Garrett, who broke the 95-yarder against Tennessee last season, was one of the 49 undrafted rookie tryout players who departed the Buccaneers’ mini-camp optimistically Sunday.

 The next big return Garrett wants to make is on a plane back to Tampa after his classes end in Athens, Ohio, in a few weeks.

 ”I’ve been getting a lot of kudos from all the coaches,” Garrett said Saturday. “Everything’s been positive so far.”

 ”He’s had the ability to get out in the open and run away from some people,” said Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris. “Be able to long stride and short stride, and get out of there and make the DBs work and give up an opportunity to show pursuit. They all have shown flashes in this camp, but he’s done some special things as well.”

Joe roots for all these young men, but this guy Garrett has got little chance to make the team, and the Bucs have little need for him.

Kareem Huggins, who is the same kind of player as Garrett, is already the “driving force of our football team,” said Raheem The Dream last week. With Huggins, Sammie Stroughter, Clifton Smith and Michael Spurlock on the depth chart, plus Arrelious Benn, who was a succesful return man in college, Joe can’t imagine any need for Garrett.

Sounds to Joe like Raheem The Dream likes the rookie and wants to hype him up to help him get a job somewhere else.

Joe had written and pontificated on more than one occasion that since serial (alleged) molester horny Ben Roethlisberger was in legal hot water for getting way to handsy with women and not exactly keeping the barn door closed (allegedly), the Bucs could ship off quarterback Byron Leftwich to the Steelers for wide receiver Limas Sweed.

It seems Joe was onto something and that great minds think alike. Per Adam Schefter’s Twitterings this morning, Bucs general manager Mark Dominik was “this close” to acquiring Sweed.

Twists of life are odd. Last month Pittsburgh was thisclose to trading WR Limas Sweed to Tampa. It didn’t. He stayed – and hurt Achilles.

Of course, Sweed was hurt over the weekend in offseason drills with the Steelers and may be out for the year. Had he been traded to the Bucs… well, this is like wondering what would have happened if U.S. Armed Forces officials in Hawaii had trusted their embryonic radar technology on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941.

Also interesting that a member of the local Fourth Estate got preachy last week, warning Bucs fans to be wary of blogs, and that to be truly informed, one must only trust dispatches from someone who has access to Bucs players and officials, yet this is the second Bucs’ trade-related item in the past week Joe has learned of from trusted sources without access to One Buc Palace.

How strange?

One Bucs fan is appalled at how the majority of Bucs fans treat Raheem the Dream and said fan has had enough of it.

Said fan, e-mailing from the hotbed of Bucs fandom known as The Bronx, venting on the TBO Bucs question-and-answer feature, believes that (on paper) Bucs general manager Mark Dominik’s draft is so good, fans should pipe down and if they are not willing to give Raheem the Dream full and unwavering support, these same fans should be dropped into the middle of the offshore, pristine waters of the Gulf of Texaco.

Q:  I can’t believe how many “SOUR GRAPES” fans are out there! This is an exciting time for the franchise, including us, the fans! Many people have short memories of how this franchise was revolutionized in the mid ’90s. Instead of supporting the team going forward, we decide to criticize the aesthetic banners adorning the walls outside of Ray-Jay! Lets support the mission statement, and stay optimistic! We had a very productive draft! I’ts time to stop criticizing, and look ahead to a championship contender that we are used to!

Dean Penzabene, The Bronx, NY

A:  I think you nailed it. This is a very exciting time for the Bucs. This team had to be rebuilt if it was going to become a consistent playoff contender and so far the process has produced a lot of enthusiasm. Fans should be getting an idea of what the future is going to be here with Josh Freeman at quarterback and Gerald McCoy at the center of the defense. On paper that seems like a good start. If those players and others can transfer their tremendous potential to the field the fans will return and so will the Bucs’ winning ways.

— Woody Cummings

Again, on paper, Joe believes Dominik hit a home run last week. Games aren’t won on paper. Never have been.

So Joe doesn’t believe he’s being unfair or irresponsible to wonder if Raheem the Dream will be around to see this draft class flourish? As always, winning cures all ills.

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman seems geeked over his new Christmas toys, including wide receiver Arrelious Benn.

Joe sympathized with Josh Freeman last year. He had such NFL stalwarts to throw the ball, like blocking icon Michael Clayton and Mo Stovall, who actually didn’t do so bad given that he wasn’t asked to do a whole lot.

So when Freeman took a break from his personal workouts Sunday at One Buc Palace to watch his new toys, wide receivers Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams, it was as if Freeman opened up presents under the tree on Christmas morning notes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

Taking a break from his film study and his own on-field workouts, Freeman trotted out to the field get a first-hand look at the new weapons he’ll be surrounded by this coming season. He said he liked what he saw.

“It looks like we have two explosive guys with great hands,” Freeman said of drafted receivers Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams. “I’m really anxious to see how they blend into our system and our scheme.”

Now Joe is trying to keep his emotions in check. After all, it’s only rookie camp and there’s only so much one can gleam from running around cones in shorts. It seems outside of a hiccup, Williams is turning heads.  No one has spoken ill of Benn.

As Cummings said last night on WFLA-TV’s Sunday Sports Extra, the flags are out for Clayton and Stovall. Those flags, Joe assumes, are red flags.

Bucs fans still giddy over Bucs general manager/new rock star Mark Dominik landing two stud receivers in the draft will be comforted by the following:

It seems not just Bucs fans nor Bucs officials are excited about the chances that either or both rookie draft picks Arrelious Benn or Mike Williams will shine. A former NFL scout who has turned to the dark side and now is a nasty member of the fourth estate is lauding the Bucs receivers, specifically Williams.

Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout for the Ravens and Browns who now does some work for BSPN and has a tremendous Web site, MovingTheSticks.com, and is also a Twittering madman, Twittered this morning that he believes Williams will explode onto the NFL scene this fall.

Sleeper rookie of the year candidate— Tampa WR Mike Williams… bigtime talent and thin depth chart.

The fact Jeremiah is saying this, not a Bucs official, warms Joe’s heart. Joe trusts Jeremiah is on target. If so, this fall could be very interesting for the Bucs.

Joe has to offer up a golf clap — as much as Joe loathes golf — to Stephen Holder and his elders at the St. Petersburg Times  for this quality video report, a far cry from the Max Headroom stunt Holder was likely forced to record last year.

During the 2009 training camp, Joe wondered aloud why the St. Petersburg Times saw fit to have John Cotey and Joey Knight produce top-notch video for prep sports, but relegated the paper’s top sports beat to such amateurish video that a teacher at Lakewood High School would flunk a student over it was so low-rent.

Good to see the St. Petersburg Times figure out that its top sports beat — the Bucs — was worthy of top video production.

(Kind two words of advice to Joe’s friends at Media General: embed codes.)

Last week when Bucs general manager/rock star Mark Dominik appeared with co-hosts Adam Schein and Rich Gannon during a broadcast of “The Blitz,” heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, Dominik rattled off virtually every receiver the Bucs have when discussing the passing game.

Dominik made sure to praise fellow rookies Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams as well as second-year receiver Sammie Stroughter and recently acquired Reggie Brown. Off the top of Joe’s head he believes Dominik also mentioned Mo Stovall.

Curiously, Dominik made no mention of blocking icon Michael Clayton.

Brad Biggs of the NationalFootballPost.com believes that the Bucs — rumored to have been trying to ship off Clayton to some other team during the three-day draft — are stuck with Clayton on the roster.

With far more accomplished receivers on the street right now – guys who will likely play for less than the $3 million Clayton is due this season – it’s obvious the Bucs will not be able to trade him. That leaves the Bucs with a decision to make. Do they dump Clayton now knowing he will not bring anything in return? Or do they keep him around and ensure that injuries don’t take a toll on their depth chart that includes Reggie Brown, who they picked up this offseason from Philadelphia? If they keep Clayton around and he gets injured, then they face the prospect of having to pay him this season.

Joe has absolutely nothing personal against Clayton in any way, shape or form. He truly seems like a standup guy. But Clayton has been given more than ample opportunity to right his ship. He claimed — loudly — that Chucky was the reason he kept dropping passes, a prospect that Joe finds more hysterical than Captain Janks.

Chucky was jettisoned last year by Team Glazer; Clayton was rewarded with a handsome contract, yet aside from one game (Dallass), Clayton continued to do all the things that got him a penthouse in Chucky’s doghouse.

Having already used up all of his excuses (contract, Chucky), Clayton has no more street cred. The only way he repairs his career is to start catching balls whether that’s with the Bucs or someone else.

While a wide receiver who can block is a nice luxury, his first priority is to catch the ball. You know, hence the term wide “receiver,” not “wide blocker.”

The Bucs were bound to fall in love with a few of the many dozen tryout players in rookie minicamp at One Buc Place this weekend.

It seems the first love child out of the gate is Rendrick Taylor, a 274-pound, fleet-footed manbeast of a fullback out of Clemson, so reports Tom Balog, of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

”We’re like, ‘Gosh, dang, how’d this guy pop through the cracks?’ ” said offensive coordinator Greg Olson. “Guys that big usually get picked up.” …Olson said Taylor has proven himself worthy of another film review of his college career.
“We’re trying to figure out, we have to go back and watch this kid on film and see what he’s like with the pads on,” Olson said. “Because without pads the way he moves around at 274 is pretty impressive.”

Joe recommends you click the link above and read good-guy Balog’s story. Raheem The Dream claims to be “excited” by Taylor.

Joe loves this time of year when no-names emerge and take a step closer to their dream.

With only Chris Pressley and Earnest Graham on the roster at fullback, the Bucs are likely eager to put a young fullback on their practice squad.

Seemingly everyone has his own take on the value and development of leadership.

Joe thinks leadership is extremely important. Every good team that Joe ever played on had effective leaders, and usually those guys carried more respect than the head coach.

Joe even remembers a sub-par young team he played on in college. About half-way through that season, a fifth-year senior who had just transferred in that year held the team after a practice and explained the he was going to “fuc*n fix this team.” He called out several players, including Joe, and told the team he was quitting if they didn’t straighten out immediately.

It worked instantly. 

Come opening day, the Bucs will probably be the youngest team in the NFL. So the when interviewing Raheem The Dream on Thursday, Steve Duemig, the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio on WDAE-AM 620, asked the head coach about leaderhip on his team.

Steve Duemig: Are you concerned at all that there’s a lack of veteran leadership on this team or do you want to turn it over to the younger guys?

Raheem The Dream: You know, there’s people that have to emerge. You have to want to turn it over to the younger guys. And we talk about this all the time. We talk about it every year. But you know in ’97, Derrick Brooks was a young guy but he emerged as a leader. The same thing with a Warren Sapp. The same with a John Lynch. The same with a Ronde Barber when he arrived. You know Ronde Barber happens to still be around here. He can be a leader, but he can not be the focal point of this football team because of his age. He can show another guy how to do it, or he can help or provide certain things that a guy has to grab, like a Barrett Ruud and bring that to the table. But we have to have our young guys emerge and become leaders. And those faces on the stadium, they have to be more than just, you know, the guys that sell jerseys. They gotta be the core unit of your football team. They gotta be the leaders of your community. They gotta be the best character guys. You want those guys all representing our town in the right and correct way. And hopefully, that’s what happens around here in the next couple of years. And hopefully for years to come.

Joe heard Raheem The Dream’s answer and was a little disappointed that Raheem The Dream didn’t just come out and say that strong leadership already was in place with guys like Ruud, Stylez White, Tanard Jackson, Cadillac Williams, Davin Joseph, Kellen Winslow, etc.

As Joe has written before, it seems that the Bucs drafted this year with a strong eye toward leadership. Outside of Mike Williams, the Bucs selected model citizens and intelligent guys from big programs, including last year’s picks of Josh Freeman, Roy Miller and Kyle Moore.

The head coach is basically saying that the Bucs’ leadership isn’t in place yet.  So Joe’s going to latch on to Raheem The Dream’s own words: “Hopefully, that’s what happens around here in the next couple of years.”

"Hey you, yeah, I'm talking to YOU Wash! If you dont coach up GMC and Price right, I know some guys back in Jersey. You get my drift, right?"

Though thoughtful football fans won’t know for sure for about four years if Mark Dominik hit the motherload in last week’s draft, by all accounts Dominik and his staff did a nice job of giving Raheem the Dream and his staff some cool toys to play with.

The job is now Raheem the Dream’s to make sure those toys are assembled properly. Blogging earlier in the week, Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune, noted that Raheem the Dream’s job is clearly on the line if the newly drafted players do not develop.

Sure, we will not know how good these players are for two or three years, but nobody can say Dominik and Hickey did not make every effort to improve their team through this year’s draft. Their job is to identify talent and bring in players who can make the Bucs better, which they did.

Coaching staffs are paid to utilize those player’s talents, put them in positions to succeed, and teach them how to excel on the football field.

This weekend is when Raheem the Dream begins to assemble those toys. If, by the end of the 2011 season (provided there is a 2011 season), the Bucs are still mired in another losing season, and the studs drafted last week haven’t shown much improvement, it’s difficult for Joe to believe that Dominik or Team Glazer won’t make wholesale changes to the coaching staff.

You know him. You love him (unless perhaps you are employed by the Bucs). He is Justin Pawlowski, one of the finest radio hosts in the area and Tampa Bay’s very own Mike Mayock. Justin brings a special edition of his highly-acclaimed WDAE-AM 620 Saturday afternoon show, “The Blitz,” to this afternoon from 3-7 p.m. while he is pinch-hitting for the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig.

Highlighting this afternoon’s show in the 3 o’clock hour was Pawlowski’s chat with Bucs rookie wide receiver Mike Williams. (You can hear that interview in its entirety via the Big Dog podcast widget in the right column on this page).

And just because “The Big Dog” is relaxing with a round of golf with Derrick Brooks doesn’t mean Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com will take a break. He will make his weekly appearance at 5 p.m.

Those chained to a computer can stream the audio from the station’s website.

This is an outstanding video Joe found and will share with his readers. Though the video is mostly about Detroit manbeast Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy’s name is invoked and discussed as well.

On the set of the NFL Network, Sapp uses  himself as a prop as well as video to document exactly what it takes for a defensive tackle to be disruptive and therefore, be productive.

Sapp also explains some of the things he learned as a rookie with the Bucs that transformed him into the future Hall of Famer he became.

It was a meeting Bucs fans can only hope is more than trivial.

It was one Sooner hugging another.

It was one Hall of Famer embracing what Bucs fans pray is another Bucs Hall of Famer some 20 years from now.

At his first practice as a Bucs player, defensive end Gerald McCoy spotted Bucs and Sooners legend Lee Roy Selmon on Friday. Joe will let eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune explain the rest.

McCoy, the third overall pick in last week’s draft, spotted ex-Buccaneer Lee Roy Selmon on the sideline and jogged over to embrace the Hall of Fame defensive end – with head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik looking on in approval.

“I looked out and said, ‘It’s him,’ ” said McCoy, who is expected to start immediately at the under tackle position Warren Sapp defined in Tampa. “I’ve met everybody I wanted to meet now. I met (new Hall of Fame defensive tackle) John Randle at the draft, met Warren Sapp, I already know (Bears defensive tackle) Tommie Harris and I wanted to meet Lee Roy Selmon. It was a great experience.

McCoy and Selmon are former Oklahoma Sooners. Both were first-round draft picks of the Bucs, Selmon the first in franchise history at No. 1 overall in 1976.

Joe can only dream of GMC having a career that would warrent Hall of Fame discussion.

Before Joe gets that far down the road, perhaps GMC should be talking to the next in line after Selmon for Bucs Hall of Fame defensive lineman, Warren Sapp.

Hundreds of young players are at rookie minicamps across the NFL hoping to catch their big break. The Bucs have invited 50 or so tryout players to Tampa through Sunday. These guys have their expenses paid by the Bucs and will try to standout during three practices. Phil Riley, III, out of Hofstra University, who stands a chiseled 6-3, 251 lbs., is trying to make the Bucs as a fullback and/or long snapper. He talked to Joe about his career and his first 24 hours with the Buccaneers.

Joe: So how did your first practice go for you?

Phil Riley: I was really excited. It was really a great day. It’s a beautiful place, man. I thank Doug williams and Coach Morris for giving me the opportunity to be down here. I was proud of my performance.

Joe: How did the Bucs find you? You’re a Hofstra guy, and so is Coach Morris. Was that the connection?

Riley: They contacted my agent for me to come down. That’s all I know. I never spoke to anyone personally and had no contact with them last year when I came out of school. Last year I was at rookie minicamp with the Vikings, and I had a tryout with the Bills. But nothing stuck.

Joe: So after you didn’t latch on with the Bills last year, what have you been doing?

Riley: Odd jobs, working with my dad in his business fixing up houses, working as an electrician’s helper, cutting grass, anything to make a couple of bucks. I’m really committed to the football thing right now. I workout at home [in Maryland] running consistently and working with a local high school quarterback and coach.

Joe: Here in Tampa, did you get an extensive playbook on Thursday night, and how hard were the Bucs coaches on the players Friday?

Riley: Coaches are realists. That’s for sure. They tell it to you like it is. We got a playbook last night. I had the experience with the Vikings to know what was coming. Here it’s about pushing you mentally as much or more than the physical. That mental side is so important. That’s football. The mental side of your game has to be there. [The Bucs] installed a lot of plays and we were out here running them [Friday], and then I’ll be studying at night.

Joe: What are your goals here?

Riley: My main goal is just to come down here to have fun. Coach Morris said to all the guys [Thursday night], ‘It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it’s all about having fun, taking it all in, working your hardest and being a professonal.’ He reminded us it’s not college football anymore and to carry ourselves like professionals around the building and you got to act like you’re Buccaneers until you hear otherwise.

Joe: What kind of player are you and did anything about your game stand out today? Did anyone else catch your eye?

Riley: There are so many talented players here at all positions. It is tough for anyone to standout. You have a lot of guys going 100 percent, and I was right there with them. I’m more of a blocker type. I can catch, too. The Bucs aren’t very deep at fullback, so there’s a real opportunity there. I’m just trying to play my best. I don’t care about first-team this or winning awards. I’ve always been like that. I just love playing football and I’m trying to make the most of this.

There are few people walking the face of the earth who would say publicly that Sabby the Goat was a good player last year.

If Sabby the Goat, the Bucs’ incumbent starting strong safety, wasn’t getting seared by various NFL quarterbacks, he was getting abused by anyone carrying the ball.

Don’t believe Joe? Well, consider this nugget unearthed by Aaron Schatz of FootballOutsiders.com. He Twittered last night about the results of his research documenting all broken tackles in the NFL last season.

No defensive player gave up more broken tackles than Sabby the Goat and it wasn’t even close who was No. 2.

Just finished final count of broken tackles from game charting. TB’s Sabby Piscitelli ends up with 19. No other player above 15.

This is a positively heinous piece of information and in Joe’s eyes is grounds for Sabby the Goat to begin going door-to-door service for the U.S. Census bureau rather than collecting an NFL check. This is beyond galling to Joe and should also be to any sober Bucs fan.

Now Joe is pretty sure veteran NFL players are forbidden to work out with the rookies this weekend at One Buc Palace, but by slim chance that they can, if Sabby the Goat had any sense of pride, he’d be on the practice fields of One Buc Palace this very moment.