Joe’s pastrami sandwich from the famous Katz Deli in lower Manhattan. It was as good as advertised.

So Joe apologizes for being a bit late on this diary of his few days in frozen Gotham/Jersey but he had a dinner engagement Tuesday evening and with no direct flights from Newark to Tampa, Joe spent most of Wednesday in airports. Thursday Joe was busy.

* Joe stayed in Jersey where his Hilton lodging (third time staying there) has a free shuttle service to a nearby bus station that goes straight into the Port Authority bus/train terminal right in the heart of Midtown. Yeah, Joe could have paid $280 a night for a hotel in Midtown, but instead chose $150 a night with a roundtrip bus fare for less than $10. Feel free to do the math. [read more]

Barber says he was once the greatest in the game and won’t argue with Sherman’s proclamations

One thing amazing about this year’s Super Bowl is how loudmouth Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman has thieved the spotlight from Peyton Manning. 

How refreshing.

Endless Manning blubbering would have bored Joe thoroughly. Sherman loves to pound his chest and proclaim himself the greatest. Bucs icon Ronde Barber weighed in on that yesterday during the national Jim Rome Show. [read more]

Kurt Warner understands the pressure on Mike Glennon

Mobile quarterbacks don’t just buy time on the field — they also buy time for their careers. That was the word from potential Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.

Warner and Joe talked about quarterback play at Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday. Warner deeply feels the challenge facing immobile young QBs like Mike Glennon. Warner says he was that guy. [read more]

Warren Sapp went on a long rant to Joe about one of the changing states of the NFL this week.

In case you missed it:

“Defenses don’t win championships. The last No. 1 defense to get to the Super Bowl and win was me. That’s 11 years ago. So the thing about it is defense gives you a chance now, but offense has to win it for you,” Sapp said. [read more]

Yesterday, PewterReport.com had an explosive article that claimed Mike Williams was on the brink of being cut had former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and former commander Greg Schiano survived for another season.

Why? Williams had become lazy, per Pewter Report, and was not just channeling leaky Rip Van Freeman but was also getting deep into rap music. [read more]

Yes, Joe was at Media Day at the Super Bowl earlier this week and took loads of photos. It was freaking so cold that morning in Newark, Joe thinks he has just now warmed up back home in Tampa Bay. Hope you enjoy some of the sights of Media Day. Joe will have a diary of sorts of his trip to Gotham and Jersey tomorrow.

The Rutgers marching band entertained folks at Media Day just prior to the first session. No, Greg Schiano was nowhere to be found.

TV Azteca never disappoints at Media Day.

[read more]

Come home, Dexter.

The Bucs gathered their assistant coaches yesterday for Joe and other local media. Of course, these guys largely play things very close to the vest when it comes to commenting on the Bucs roster.

Joe’s got to hand it to veteran defensive line coach Joe Cullen. That guy knows how to stick to the no-substance, happy-to-be here, everybody’s-talented script. That’s no knock on Cullen, just the way it is with many hard-nosed veteran coaches.

But there were some spotlights shined yesterday. [read more]

“Greg, I mentor others, too. It’s gonna be ok.”

Joe talked to various NFL types at Super Bowl festivities about new Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, the former University of California head coach. So many describe him as an intense guru type, tirelessly trying to improve his offense and be on the cutting edge, and people genuinely seem to love Tedford.

(His “Cal” players at the Super Bowl refer to him as “Teddy,” and Joe will have more on that this weekend.)

One thing Joe learned about Tedford is that he spent a week or so hanging out with Bill Belicheat and Josh McDaniels two years ago to learn all things Patriots. [read more]

Now this is one way to get Warren Sapp off the front pages.

The fellows over at PewterReport.com did some nice digging and have learned that because of his dubious Twitterings and postings on Instagram, along with being late to meetings and rehab assignments, Bucs receiver Mike Williams “accumulated several fines totaling more than $200,000” last season

UPDATE/REFUTE BELOW: [read more]

Longtime Chargers cornerback great Gill Byrd, now the Bucs’ cornerbacks coach, talked about the standards the Bucs’ defense must meet.

Joe enjoyed his chat yesterday with new Bucs cornerback Gill Byrd. It’s always great to talk to a top NFL veteran and lifelong football man. Byrd is highly intelligent, very philosophical, self-deprecating and he’s got a sense of humor.

Byrd was clear that he believes there’s only so far film evaluation can take him when evaluating the current Buccaneers. Byrd said he absolutely has to see how guys move in person, though he offered a shining early scouting report on some of his new students. [read more]

One thing Bucs fans should expect from Lovie Smith is a defense that specializes in forcing turnovers. Like former Bucs commander Greg Schiano, Lovie loves turnovers. The Bucs were already great at turnovers, but the problem was the impotent offense could rarely take advantage of turnovers.

There happens to be a turnover machine in Chicago by the name of Peanut Tillman, a stud of a cornerback. And per Michael C. Wright of BSPN Chicago, talking to former Bears great Brian Urlacher, don’t be shocked if Peanut, a free agent, comes to Tampa Bay. [read more]

“Bring it on, Strahan!”

So far, the two biggest stories to come out of New York this week in relation to the Super Bowl have been Marshawn Lynch’s talking/lack of talking, and the brewing fisticuffs between former Bucs great Warren Sapp and former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.

Sapp, hardly a bashful soul, went off on Strahan in front of the assembled Gotham press corps Tuesday saying in no uncertain terms Strahan is not yet worthy of being elected to the Hall of Fame, in no small part because he took advantage of a Brett Favre dive to gain a single-season sack record, which galls Sapp to this day. [read more]

Shaun O’Hara, the former Pro Bowl center now of NFL Network, weighs in on the Bucs.

The Bucs’ conference is loaded with quarterbacks, 14 of 16 NFC teams have established starters with guaranteed jobs.

Twelve have legitimate accomplishments under their belts.

Tony Romo (63-45 record as starter, 3 Pro Bowls)
RGIII (Division Champ)
Eli Manning (Two Super Bowls)
Nick Foles (Division Champ, Pro Bowl) [read more]

Their biggest fan might surprise you

The Seahawks march into the Super Bowl allowing the fewest points and yards in the NFL this season. That doesn’t happen often, and those stats generated many questions at Super Bowl Media Day about how the Seattle “D” stacks up against legendary defenses of the Buccaneers, Ravens, Giants and Bears.

One Hall of Famer is a huge fan of the Seahawks defense and explains why it’s more ferocious than those of Tampa Bay’s glory years.

Normally, such a take would anger Joe. [read more]

Yesterday, former Bucs great and Hall of Famer Warren Sapp held court for a handful of reporters at Super Bowl Media Day during the stampede to the trough a luncheon in-between team sessions of the annual NFL festival of frivolity.

Sapp, never ever at a loss for words, was prodded by Gotham media types to rekindle his loathing for all things Michael Strahan. And when teed up, Sapp didn’t disappoint. [read more]

NFL Network host/reporter weighs in

Joe knows some fans and readers are downright sick of the following, but it’s irresponsible to ignore a smelling pile of dung in the middle of the room that the elephant just dropped.

When you have the worst quarterback in the division, you are screwed. Mike Glennon is a good guy. Joe likes him. But let’s not be foolish. He is not Cam Newton. He is not Matty Ice. And he sure as hell isn’t Drew Brees. [read more]

Saturday looms for three Bucs icons

Joe enjoyed sitting next to Warren Sapp during Super Bowl Media Day lunchtime inside the frigid confines of the Prudential Center in ugly downtown Newark, New Jersey.

No. 99 was in great form, sporting a brown suit and tie, and bitching loudly about the sub-freezing temperatures. Sapp playfully berated Joe for leaving cozy Tampa to come to Newark, and then it took Joe about five minutes to piss off Sapp and get the cold shoulder the way only Sapp can deliver it. But for Sapp, that was a lot of rope to a reporter asking him questions that don’t give him a chance to tell many stories. So Joe is not insulted. [read more]

Arguably the greatest wide receiver never to make a Pro Bowl (five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons) Amani Toomer learned plenty of football during his 13 seasons and 668 receptions with the New York Giants. A former student of ousted Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan when he coached Giants receivers, Toomer was doing his SiriusXM NFL Radio/NBC Sports thing at Super Bowl Media Day today. Joe caught up with Toomer to talk about the failed Bucs offense and Sullivan. [read more]