Joe’s always keeps track of what influential national NFL voices are saying about the Bucs. So Joe was eager to hit energetic SiriusXM NFL Radio host Adam Schein, who also is a regular on CBS Sports and was a player for FOX, with a few questions at Super Bowl media day Tuesday. Schein was quick to reaffirm his stance that he prefers Christian Ponder to Josh Freeman, as does Gil Brandt.

JoeBucsFan.com: Your impressions of Greg Schiano’s first year?

Adam Schein: I thought he did a good job. He’s the right guy for the Buccaneers.

Joe: A couple of months ago you said you trusted Christian Ponder more than Josh Freeman, and that was when Freeman was at the height of his season before the Bucs’ collapse. It turned out Freeman vanished in big games and Ponder came up big. What’s your view on them now?

Schein: I think Ponder’s just got a knack. I think Freeman has a lot of potential, but I think that we’ve got to see exactly who Josh Freeman is. I like him with the weapons they have now, with Vincent Jackson and company. Doug Martin takes the pressure off. But we’ll see what he can do. We don’t know.

Joe: Given Tim Brown’s recent allegations that former Raiders head coach Bill Callahan sabotaged the Bucs-Raiders Super Bowl 10 years ago, and Jerry Rice concurred, are you surprised the NFL hasn’t launched an investigation into this, especially considering Jim Harbaugh was an assistant coach on that team?

Schein: There was no sabotage, not at all. All BS.

First, Bucs wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck moved on to become the youngest head coach in major college football, then quarterbacks coach Ron Turner was encouraged to leave by Butch Davis, and offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan jumped at a chance to leave Tampa before secondary coach Ron Cooper dove back into the college ranks. Now, Greg Schiano has dropped his axe on special teams coach Bob Ligashesky, despite Ligashesky’s Super Bowl ring (Pittsburgh) and the Bucs leading the NFL in blocked punts, per a Tweet by Tampa Bay Times beat writer Rick Stroud.

Yes, the Bucs’ special teams were not strong, but that definitely was, in part, because the Bucs had subpar returners throughout the season. The kicking game was sound, and surely special teams was not a problem.

But Joe can say that Schiano is obsessive about special teams, and would not surprise Joe if Schiano thought he could do better.

CBS has outdone BSPN at the Super Bowl this week. Usually, BSPN, with all its tentacles, overwhelms big events. Not this week. It’s CBS. With its army of talent from CBS News, CBS entertainment shows and, of course, CBS Sports Radio and CBS Sports Network, all of Jackson Square in New Orleans is Manhattan South. Yesterday, CBS had a press conference featuring all the key figures in the NFL Today stable working the Super Bowl broadcast. Joe caught up with Super Bowl-winning quarterback Phil Simms, who will call the Super Bowl with Jim Nantz, after the press conference.

JoeBucsFan: When you said [earlier in your press conference statements] that when you look at Joe Flacco you see a good, strong-armed quarterback. When you look at Josh Freeman, what do you see?

Phil Simms: Well, you know, Josh Freeman is a big guy. He shows he definitely has all the skills you need to be a successful NFL quarterback. I don’t know him. I haven’t covered any Tampa Bay games, so it’s hard for me to know him but sure, I have watched all his games this year. New coaching staff, new offense, that is different. But what I think happens to a lot of young quarterbacks is, sooner or later, you have to take the team over. If you don’t take the team over, you won’t be the team’s quarterback. I would think that would be the big thing: Lead ’em. Be a voice. Don’t be a friend with everyone. Don’t worry about it. Take advantage of the fact that players on the football team look at you differently because you are the quarterback. That is a positive. Make sure you use that to all of your power.

Joe: Up until just after the season, all you heard from the Bucs since the day Freeman was drafted that he was the franchise quarterback and all the team had to do was get him some more toys. Hours after the season was over, Greg Schiano comes out and says the Bucs need competition at quarterback. What is your read on that?

Simms: I don’t know if I take that as a knock on Josh Freeman. I think it is just the fact what they want a more competitive thing there, maybe put the quarterback on edge. Maybe some of the things I had just mentioned is what they are looking for. A lot of times, when people are faced with competition, it changes them. Makes them tougher. That’s a good thing. Or, maybe they think he needs competition because they are not going to be so lenient with him. You can take it a lot of ways. It is not a whole-hearted endorsement, that is for sure.

Joe: San Francisco has a nasty defense. Baltimore has a bruising defense. The Steelers always have a good defense. Denver had a good defense. Joe knows Schiano is trying to instill that into the Bucs and has had really good results on stopping the run. Even in the age of Star Wars quarterbacks numbers and video game offense, are we seeing sort of a renaissance, that you still need to have a beastly defense to win the Super Bowl?

Simms: Kind of. Look, we are in the day and age that defenses are going to go out there, like San Francisco last year, and hold teams to 13 or 17 points each week, I don’t think you can count on that anymore. The throwers and catchers are too good. There are too many coaches willing to use innovations and willing to show all of these plays. You need a defense that is going to be competitive. You hope it has its great games but as good as the 49ers are, and it is hard to find a weak link, what happened in the first half last [game]? And that happened up in Seattle, too. Great defenses never have those downs like that. So that tells you it is about the league. I think the new style of defense is what we see these teams play. Be conservative, a little bending, don’t give up big plays. I think that is how you have to play against the offenses of today.

A scant few have better sources than Pete Roussel and his team at CoachingSearch.com. Yes, Joe talked to Roussel about the Bucs’ coaching searches a couple of weeks ago, in fact.

This morning, CoachingSearch.com reported the Bucs have hired former Saints and Jaguars secondary coach Tony Oden.

Oden’s got an interesting background. A linebacker in college, Oden once worked as an assistant defensive backs coach at West Point and was a longtime assistant DBs coach with the Saints before Sean Peyton promoted him to the head job there in 2011. Last season, he was the secondary coach in Jacksonville. He also spent time as an assistant in Houston.

It would seem Oden is stepping into a great situation. Production from the Bucs secondary, one would think, can only get better.

Tampa Tribune Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings goes deep into the Bucs’ movements at the Senior Bowl and many other topics of interest with Dan Lucas, via the TBO.com video below. Cummings references rockstar general manager and Greg Schiano’s offseason film review and what that means for Josh Freeman, and he leaves the door open for an Eric Wright return, a move that would shock Joe thoroughly. Enjoy.

Tuesday at Super Bowl Media Day, Joe hustled all day for interviews and photos. Hopefully, they’ll keep you both informed and entertained in the coming days.

Some thoughts on Media Day as Joe is wrapping up an 18-hour day in the Big Easy, with only two beers consumed.

There was a record of over 5,000 media members credentialed. But for some reason, it seemed much more subdued than years past. No dancers, no would-be brides proposing to quarterbacks, no belly dancers, scant superheroes.

And Joe heard Ray Lewis hollering about something.

But there was an abundance of scantily-clad Latina reporters working for Spanish-language networks. Bless their hearts.

That noted, of all the women at Media Day, Joe can state without hesitation that the most beautiful woman was Molly Qerim of NFL Network. A stunning woman.

OK, since you asked, Joe will rate the top six.

Molly Qerim
Katherine Webb
An unknown reporter from a Spanish-speaking network.
Allie LaForce of CBS Sports.
Melissa Stark of NFL Network.
Ines Sainz of TV Azteca.

Again, the scene was subdued, and the second session, with the Ravens, was less populated by the Fourth Estate. Joe wonders if the laid back atmosphere had something to do with Bourbon Street?

To set the scene, each team selects about a dozen players, including the head coach, who have their own podiums, surrounded by fencing and often dozens if not hundreds of reporters. The rest of the team mingles with the press, almost like guys in college trolling bars for the evening’s conquest. It’s a very relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.

Joe tried to speak to 49ers tackle Anthony Davis about Greg Schiano since Davis played for Schiano at Rutgers. It sure seemed like there may be frayed nerves between the two. When Joe asked Davis if he would be the success he became without playing for Schiano, he replied, “Yes.” Then, Joe asked him three questions about Schiano and David replied either “I’m not talking about Schiano,” or “I’m not answering any questions about Schiano.”

Oh, kay.

Two odd answers Joe overheard from players (not knowing what the questions were):

“We have a mens locker room.”

“This isn’t tennis. I don’t play tennis, I play football.”

Mostly, the players are really cool with reporters as they are still giddy from winning their respective conference title games. Media Day is often the time when it finally dawns on players that, yes, they are playing in the Super Bowl.

Of course, the prettier the reporter is, the more likely players will do something odd, though 49ers tight end Brian Jennings was teaching Mo Rocca of the Cooking Channel how to do pushups.

No, Joe doesn’t know why.

Photos coming later this morning.

When Joe wrote about Mike Williams sniffing a new contract yesterday, Joe figured Williams might score an extension in the three-year, $15-million range. Williams’ paltry rookie contract — fourth-round picks don’t earn much — expires after the 2013 season.

But it seems more cash will be in the sights of Williams and his agent. Contract guru Evan Silva, of ProFootballTalk.com, writes today that Williams should be expensive.

Jackson makes $11 million a year. Williams should target Robert Meachem’s $6.5 million annual average as a baseline in negotiations. He’ll probably aim for $7 million a year or more.

The national chatter about Williams comes on the heels of Woody Cummings’ Tampa Tribune report today that says the Bucs’ and Williams have started negotiating a new deal.

Joe hopes the two sides can hammer out a deal. Williams has earned it. However, Joe wonders whether the Bucs might target a receiver in the NFL Draft, if they can’t get Williams’ signature this offseason. Arrelious Benn and Tiquan Underwood also will hit unrestricted free agency after next season.

Yes, Joe was at Super Bowl Media Day Tuesday. Here’s a handful of photos Joe took. And trust Joe, not only are more photos to come, so are loads of interviews Joe did with many NFL media movers and shakers and former players and coaches, one of which has a Super Bowl ring.

A look at the Superdome and nearby hotels, decked out for the Super Bowl.

A veteran’s memorial stands outside the Superdome.

Sigh.

In case anyone needed to be reminded, it was Media Day.

What it looks like from the other side of the cameras on the NFL Network set.

Niners guard Joe Looney is ready for Sunday.

An E! Network reporter tries to do a dance routine. Ravens players didn’t seem willing to join in.

See, NFL players, succumbing to an interview isn’t that bad.

God bless all the Latin networks.

Katherine Webb, Miss Alabama and significant other of A.J. McCarron, pays rapt attention to the words of Garrett Celek.

The great Artie Lange interviews Bruce Miller.

Someone is having way too much fun in her job.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is back in that mob scene. Somewhere.

Joe’s good friend, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, of WDAE-AM 620, broadcasts live from radio row at the Super Bowl media center.

Sometimes, the non-traditional media questions can make someone scream!

Wherever Katherine Webb went, a crowd followed. And why not?

Allie LaForce, of CBS Sports Network, seems amused by royalty from a Spanish-speaking network.

Joe wasn’t only male in the building drawn to Ines Sainz’s, ahem, feature.

Some reporters have pointed questions for certain players.

The one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo of SiriusXM Radio shares a laugh with Rich Eisen of the NFL Network.

Where is the voice of reason, Phil Mushnick?

The downtown Hyatt, directly across the street from the Super Dome, which had all its windows blown out during Hurricane Katrina.

Pat Kirwan, left, and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of one of the greatest radio shows in the free world, “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, pay attention to what a guest has to say at radio row.

Okmin, the FOX sideline reporter, shared with Joe her insider interactions with Ronde Barber, Greg Schiano and Josh Freeman.

Joe’s swirling around Super Bowl media day talking to players, coaches, agents and various NFL media types. Joe looks forward to sharing their takes on the Bucs in the coming days and weeks. Below is Joe’s interview with veteran FOX sideline cougar Laura Okmin, who has been working Bucs games for years. She shared interesting behind-the-scenes takes on Greg Schiano, Ronde Barber and Josh Freeman, who Okmin claims was distracted during the Raheem Morris era. 

JoeBucsFan.com. You have a relationship with Ronde Barber? Do you think he’ll return for another season?

Laura Okmin: As much as I think I get sometimes a good sense of Ronde, I would have said when they let Raheem go that Ronde wouldn’t have come back. So In other words, don’t listen to me at all. But I think he’s coming back for another year. It would be one thing if he didn’t add much and he was just being used for leadership and a presence in the locker.  But I think he was used a whole lot more than that this year.  I think the way that he’s playing and always saying he’s enjoying this new role, he always says, about mentoring these kids. I’d surprised if he didn’t come back.

Joe: And he was productive. He almost made a Pro Bowl at a new position at 37 years old.

Okmin: That was what was so cool about watching him, is seeing him in a different position. One of the great things, I asked him about that, ‘what’s the hardest thing?’ I loved what he said. He said, “I get so excited to load the box. Anytime I get up there I just want to get in. That’s the hardest thing for me. I worried I’m going to tip off what we’re doing because I’m so excited to get in there.” So I loved that. At 37 you’re still excited about what you’re doing that you’re scared about tipping off the other team.

Joe: What was your impression of Greg Schiano?

Okmin: I’ll tell you what. I was so pleasantly surprised. Before the first game we did with him, I had never met him. I just knew the reputation, that he was a tough guy, and picturing sort of the Belichick vibe. Tough to know and a little more, you know, a wall up. We did a production meeting with Schiano and we all walked out of that room kind of looking at each other saying, “Wow. What was that? What a great guy?” And all the players talk so much, No. 1 about liking him, but also about everything he says about loving each other like a family and about trusting each other. And that surprised me, too, that it wasn’t just Xs and Os, which we know what a disciplinarian he is and what a tactician he is, but how much he cares about his guys and they really seemed to respond to it for much of the year.

Joe: Do you think Josh Freeman he will ever turn the corner?

Okmin: Yeah, I hope so. I think it’ll be nice to see him with some consistency next year and another offseason with this new season. I was just so impressed with Josh this year in terms of how much he’s changed mentality-wise. He’ll be the first to say he got a little caught up, not being a quarterback, but what you get from being a quarterback. And the weight that he lost and more of the makeover he did on the inside, how serious he’s taking it. So I know how hard he’s going to work this offseason. I know how much he’s going to put into it. I saw a different hunger in him this year and a different frustration with the turnovers and with the losing. I root for that kid on and off the field.

The local TV ratings for the Pro Bowl are telling

Tampa Bay Lightning opening night set a team TV-ratings record earlier this month. Sun Sports went ga-ga over the 2.8 rating (roughly an average of 50,000 households watching throughout out the broadcast.)

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays are among Major League Baseball’s most watched teams — on television. The average Rays game in 2012 pulled a 4.9 rating (about 88,000 households), in the upper third of all MLB teams.

So what about the Pro Bowl? Was Joe only among a handful in town watching on Sunday, the first Pro Bowl Joe’s seen in many years?

No chance.

Joe reached out to the good folks at WFLA-TV, Ch. 8 to request the local Nielsen TV ratings for Sunday night’s Pro Bowl on NBC. The game scored a 5.3 rating in the Tampa Bay market, surprisingly down about 5 percent from 2012, considering this year’s event had three Buccaneers in the game, though it was head-to-head against a Lightning game. Ratings among adults 25-54 were up 10 percent from 2012.

Joe might have to start calling Tampa “TV Town.” We just love watching TV around these parts.

Joe also wanted share the Pro Bowl ratings to shut up the legions of fans who claim the Pro Bowl is worthless and nobody cares. In fact, lots of people care, and the game — with strong ratings locally around the country — is worth a pile of advertising cash to the NFL.

“You are a Buccaneer Man, Demar, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t replaceable.”

Joe thought one of the better units of the Bucs was the offensive line. Let’s think about it: Most teams, losing two All-Pro guards early in the season, losing a starting right tackle to injury (who was later Wally Pipp’ed) and having a starting center move to a new position to fill a hole, would be in deep trouble.

Joe thought offensive line coach Bob Bostad was fantastic. Bostad, in Joe’s eyes, was tied for first with Bryan Cox in production from an assistant coach.

But the numbers crunchers at ProFootballFocus.com aren’t as convinced. They winced at the Bucs’ blocking and ranked the Bucs in the bottom half of NFL squads, so wrote Khaled Elsayed.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Stud: He’s not an elite left tackle as some would have you believe, but Donald Penn (+15.0) isn’t the type to let you down often — especially when the cameras are focused on him.

Dud: The Bucs never figured that Jamon Meredith (-9.4) would be required to start. Injury meant that he had to, unfortunately, and he was the weak link in pass protection while offering little in the run game.

Summary: They spent an awful lot of money on guards, yet injuries meant that Davin Joseph missed the entire year and Carl Nicks was limited to 455 snaps. The good news is both should be back next year, while they seem to have realized starting Jeremy Trueblood wasn’t a good idea. Demar Dotson played like a starter.

Joe can’t really quibble with this analysis. Donald Penn, when faced with challenges, is as good as it gets in pass blocking. Jamon Meredith will not be starting next season.

But this analysis also reinforces Gil Brandt’s belief that the Bucs will draft a right tackle in the first round. Demar Dotson was OK in pass blocking but needed a lot of work on rush blocking.

With the Muscle Hamster, Doug Martin, about to tear things up, Joe senses Greg Schiano would prefer a roadgrader at right tackle as opposed to a pass-blocking specialist.

Yes, Joe is in the Big Easy, for his annual trek to cover Super Bowl Media Day, which is today — a long day. Joe will send a photo or two when Media Day is about to start and hopefully post interviews as the day progresses, in addition to his steady feed of everything Bucs.

Joe will have a full photo gallery later in the week.

A few tidbits from Joe’s first day in New Orleans:

*People can be douchebags. The moment Joe walked to baggage claim, he noticed former NFL great and current FOX and SiriusXM personality Eddie George walking toward Joe, as the former Titans great running back had just retrieved his bag(s). Joe was about to pull out his phone and ask George for an interview when some joker, who appeared about 35, almost tackled George asking for an autograph. The stranger apparently wanted George to sign what appeared to Joe to be an NFL pylon. It was shaped like an end zone pylon and was fluorescent orange.

Why anyone would carry a pylon into an airport, Joe isn’t quite sure.

George, smiling and doing his best to be polite, told the gentleman (cough, cough) that he had to catch a ride and couldn’t sign. This did not deter said autograph seeker. The guy just hounded George relentlessly and would not take “no,” for an answer. Said guy even rubbed up against George and kept saying, “C’mon man, c’mon,” and kept coming up with various reasons why George should sign the pylon.

All the while George, with iPod earbuds on, wearing a big smile, kept saying he had to catch a ride. The autograph seeker followed George from baggage claim all the way to George’s hotel shuttle, just hounding him for an autograph, in his face!

Joe didn’t think of it at the time but Joe wondered if this was done on purpose, hoping George would snap, punch the autograph seeker so said person could sue George? Or, maybe it was an ambush set up by TMZ?

Either way, if any of us had a child that acted like that, the youngster would have been spanked. This was an adult!

No wonder athletes hate signing autographs!

*Outside of Vic the Brick, who works Los Angeles radio, Joe did not see another celebrity Monday, though he thought he may have seen a few football players (49ers/Ravens) out on Bourbon Street.

Funny thing is, about 100 feet from the Ravens hotel, sits Harrahs Casino. You don’t think the Ravens have that place crawling with security?

*Coming from the airport, Joes shuttle was cut off by the Ravens’ team buses. They had a massive police escort replete with dozens of motorcycles and several squad cars. Joe thought at first it may have been President Obama.

*Of course, Joe made his pilgrimage to The Gumbo Shop. The chicken andouille gumbo was spectacular, the red beans and rice were rich if not thick and the bread pudding with whiskey left Joe speechless.

My God, does this town know how to cook!

*Joe later walked up and down Bourbon Street and honestly, forgot just how much fun this town is. Really, it was made for hosting a Super Bowl!

It is so cool to walk down Bourbon Street and hear the street filled with live music from the many bars and haunts. Just pick some music you like and walk in, no cover! Doesn’t matter if it is jazz, blues or hard rock. What a wonderful city!

Bourbon Street has way too many temptations and lures that can wreak havoc on a partier and Joe has been a willing victim (?) before. Not last night. Joe had to get up at 5 a.m. to begin covering Media Day.

Leave it to Keyshawn Johnson to put a fresh spin on the recent Super Bowl “sabotage” accusation Tim Brown leveled at his former Raiders head coach, Bill Callahan, claiming Callahan changed his gameplan at the last minute in an effort to spurn the Raiders organization and hand the 2003 Super Bowl to old friend Jon Gruden and the Bucs.

Speaking on ESPN Radio to Mike Tirico this weekend, Johnson said it’s ex-Raiders who own a lot of the responsibility for their poor showing because they never insisted on changing their calls to surprise the Bucs’ defense.

“The players are just as stupid as the head coach,” Johnson said.

College football-ignorant, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging Peter King, of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports, surprisingly came out today in his popular Monday column and claimed there’s no way those champion Bucs knew what plays the Raiders called, even though that take is completely contrary to Bucs history, as told by Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and others.

Mike Florio, curator and guru of ProFootballTalk.com, politely discredited King earlier today on that point.

The game broadcast, however, contained strong evidence to the contrary.

Tampa Bay safety John Lynch wore a microphone, and he plainly can be heard telling former Bucs defensive backs coach Mike Tomlin after the Raiders fell behind 20-3 late in the first half, “Mike, every play they’ve run, we ran in practice.  It’s unreal.”

Said Tomlin, “I know.”

Whatever the reason, the Buccaneers’ dominance was enough, we’re told, to prompt Raiders receiver Jerry Rice to rip the microphone he was wearing during the game from his pads and flush it down a toilet at halftime.

Florio speculates that the Callahan controversy will heat up again if media types (perhaps Joe?) ask Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh about it tomorrow at Super Bowl media day. Harbaugh was on that Raiders staff.

Joe remains surprised, especially given all the BS still floating around about this topic, that Roger Goodell hasn’t launched a formal investigation. How the hell can the integrity of a Super Bowl be seriously questioned — by Jerry Rice and Tim Brown of all people — and the commissioner sits quietly in the shadows?

Johnson went on to jokingly say he was surprised Chucky hadn’t weighed publicly in on this topic. As a result, Johnson said he was going to ask Chucky at the Super Bowl, “How much did you pay the guy?” referring to Chucky possibly being in on the Callahan sabotage.

Mike Williams is a first-round talent and a top producer earning fourth-round-draft-pick money.

The Bucs drafted Williams 101st overall in 2010, and he has since been one of the NFL’s best bargains, with 193 catches and 23 touchdowns through his first three seasons while earning less than $2 million total during that time.

Williams could walk after the 2013 season as an unrestricted free agent, if the Bucs don’t lock him up first or slap a franchise tag on him worth more than $11 million for 2014. (That ain’t happening.)

A potential Josh Freeman contract extension has grabbed headlines, but one for Williams is, perhaps, more important.

Interestingly, Williams fired of a Twitter message last night that was very random, but perhaps very telling.

@MikeBuc19 – Make me a Buccaneer for life!!!!

Maybe the Bucs and Williams are talking about a contract extension. Joe doesn’t know, but surely Williams is deserving.  And the Bucs could potentially save money by getting that done now. If Williams repeats his 2012 production next season, he’ll have a long list of suitors waving bags of money at him.

Consider Mario Manningham got a two-year, $7.4 million contract in free agency last offseason. And Williams is a better receiver. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik also guaranteed blocking icon Michael Clayton $10 million before the 2009 offseason. And certainly, Williams has accomplished more than Clayton did before that payday.

Like anyone who follows the Bucs, former Bucs quarterback Shaun King knows the Bucs need a cornerback worse than Joe needs a cold beer on a steamy Florida July Friday afternoon.

But that doesn’t mean King believes Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik should back up the Brinks truck to the Jets front offices to lure Darrelle Revis and his healing ACL tear to Tampa Bay. King — one of only three quarterbacks to lead the Bucs to an NFC Championship game — explained last week on the “Ron and Ian Show,” heard locally on WDAE-AM 620.

“If I am the Tampa Bay Bucs, I pass on Darrelle Revis,” King said. “Not only are you going to have to give up a lot to get him, it is going to be under the estimation you are going to pay him as one of the top football players. He wants quarterback money. He threatened to hold out last year. I would pass. I would be hesitant not only for what I have to give up but what I would have to pay him going forward for him to be a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“He wants to get paid. You can’t knock him for that. But he wants to be paid one of the top players in the game. Maybe before the injury the deserved it.”

King also spoke of Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner, one of the top cornerbacks in the draft and King seemed to suggest buyer beware with Milliner, who could be a reach at No. 13.

“Milliner is a good player,” King said. “He has already been a physical corner, been good against the run and got better on pass coverage as the season went on. I think he is the best corner in the draft but I would grade him below” several others drafted last year.

This seems to back up what Joe has heard from NFL insiders. While one scouting source told Joe cornerbacks are “three rounds deep,” there isn’t an elite, top shelf, lockdown corner in the draft.

Thus, teams will get more quality by picking a cornerback in the second or third round as opposed to reaching in the first round.

Very fun NFL Network interview linked right here with Doug Martin from the Pro Bowl.

It’s highlights include Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk tells Martin he’s watched a lot of film on him and will tutor him off-camera, and Martin gets into the perception of Greg Schiano. “The media distorts images,” Martin said while acknowledging that “toes on the line” is a very real phenomenon.

Joe watched the Pro Bowl yesterday (for the first time in years) and came away very impressed. Guys played as hard as can be expected — there was real hitting and real blood spouting — and Martin was on the receiving end of one of the game’s better highlights. Here it is.

Gerald McCoy played his first full season in 2012, which led to a Pro Bowl appearance. Staying healthy in 2013 will go a long way to helping not just the line, but the secondary as well.

Joe is already being peppered with questions about who the Bucs will pick in the first round in April’s draft. Joe sort of chuckles when he gets these missives on Twitter.

In a polite way, Joe tries to tell the questioners that it is still January and the draft is 1/4 of a year away, three months. A lot will change before then.

But Joe does tell the same fans that — and it is nothing more than a hunch — if there is a talented pass rusher available at No. 13, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik just may pull the trigger on said defensive lineman.

History shows how much Dominik coverts defensive linemen.

Sure, the Bucs could lose Michael Bennett to free agency. A franchise tag is a bit expensive for Bennett’s numbers. And the Bucs could also lose tackle Roy Miller, but Joe doubts that will happen.

One reason why the Bucs’ defensive line, though improved greatly since 2011, has trouble pressuring quarterbacks is because the Bucs’ defensive line seems to always be dinged up, as pointed out by Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

If it’s not Gerald McCoy, it is Adrian Clayborn and if it’s not Clayborn who is hurt it is Da’Quan Bowers.

McCoy, Bowers and Clayborn each missed time the past two seasons, which Dominik considers one of the biggest reasons the Bucs fell short of the playoffs this year.

“We never had those four players playing together at the same time – ever,” he said. “And whether that’s us being snakebit or whatever, it’s still an important thing that just didn’t happen.”

If Bennett returns to the fold and he, GMC, Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers are all healthy, it could be living nightmare for quarterbacks.

And as we all know, a pass rush is the best medicine for a woeful secondary.

Joe thinks it’s very premature to guess who the Bucs are picking in the first round. Re-signing Bennett may just eliminate one position Dominik will select at No. 13.

It’s no coincidence that an executive vice president of the NFL is publicly talking about building smaller stadiums that are geared toward driving high-profit beer sales, attracting young fans, spiking demand for tickets and capturing the entire NFL Sunday experience often enjoyed at home.

Eric Grubman, who heads NFL business operations, explained to the L.A. Times that smaller is the future.

The next generation of NFL stadiums could be markedly different than the ones we now know, Grubman said. He envisions smaller and more intimate venues, possibly more like basketball arenas, with standing-room-only clubs at the corners.

“What if a new stadium we built wasn’t 70,000, but it was 40,000 seats with 20,000 standing room?” he said. “But the standing room was in a bar-type environment with three sides of screens, and one side where you see the field. Completely connected. And in those three sides of screens, you not only got every piece of NFL content, including replays, Red Zone [Channel], and analysis, but you got every other piece of news and sports content that you would like to have if you were at home.

“Now you have the game, the bar and social setting, and you have the content. What’s that ticket worth? What’s that environment feel like to a young person? Where do you want to be? Do you want to be in that seat, or do you want to be in that pavilion?”

Whether it’s player safety, business opportunities, or adjustments to the game itself, Grubman said, the key for the NFL is to be vigilant and bold in its thinking.

“When you’re watched and followed by 200 million people,” he said, “little things can become big things, and when you mishandle those little things, they become giant.”

This should reinforce to Bucs fans that lagging attendance and blackouts is a leaguewide problem, not just a Tampa Bay thing. Of course, any fan who watches games in other cities, from Carolina to Oakland and others, sees plenty of empty seats regularly.

It’s significant that a league executive is talking about smaller stadiums, especially at a high-attention time before the Super Bowl.

Across the Tampa Bay region, there’s a lot of fresh talk and news surrounding the Tampa Bay Rays potentially building a new stadium in Tampa. But with 15 years in the can for the Raymond James Stadium, a stadium that’s now out of the Super Bowl rotation and somewhat outdated, Joe thinks it’ll be much sooner rather than later that new-stadium chatter or serious renovation talk is considered for the Bucs’ home turf.