A possibility for the Bucs?

The NFL Scouting combine opens its doors today in Indianapolis to tight ends and offensive linemen. These young men will be grilled and drilled by NFL clubs, hit the classroom, and be poked and prodded like race horses over the next handful of days.

Rock star general manager Mark Dominik is probably working on his poker face as he salivates over potential seventh-round gems.

NFL Network (surely every manly man has easy access to this channel) has all the watchable physical action live beginning Saturday.

Draft guru Justin Pawlowski, The Commish of WDAE-AM 620, fires off a look here at the lineman and tight ends, including who and what the Bucs might be thinking about.

Click the arrow and enjoy.

Don’t forget to fire off your draft questions to Pawlowski, and he’ll answer them here, commish@620wdae.com.

Awesome food until 3 a.m. If you’re hungry and near Carrollwood, you can’t go wrong at Honey’s.

Sure, the Bucs had a great 10-win season. If not for that horrid game against the Lions, the Bucs would have been in the playoffs.

As recent years document, just get to the tournament and damned near anything can happen. Hell, the team that beat the Bucs out for the final playoff spot in a tiebreaker, the Packers, won it all. Arizona won the putrid NFC West two seasons ago and came within a handful of seconds of lifting the Lombardi.

Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com believes he knows just what the Bucs need to propel them over the hump and get the Bucs in the playoffs.

That would be a defensive end. Marvez breaks down what each NFL team needs to be an elite team and a defensive end is just that void for the Bucs.

Tampa Bay: A pass-rushing defensive end. The Bucs solidified their defensive tackle spots for years to come in the 2010 draft. Tampa Bay must now upgrade the two spots next to Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. Bucs defensive ends tallied a combined 11.5 sacks, which is a lower total than the efforts of six individual NFL players last season.

Joe isn’t so sure the Bucs actually need two defensive ends, but it would not surprise Joe if Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik did draft two defensive ends early, but like last spring when he drafted both Gerald McCoy and Brian Price with his first two picks.

But with the addition of two defensive line coaches, maybe there is still some hope left for Kyle Moore?

The news yesterday afternoon from the Twittering fingertips of MMA wannabe Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com that Ronde Barber would re-sign with the Bucs was sort of a surprise to Joe.

Joe sort of thought Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik would have waited until CBA was in place before locking up Barber for one more year.

But word from Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune is that Dominik, like he did with Barber, may not wait until there is a new CBA, and like the final week before training camp begins with rookies, Dominik may be in a race against time to sign the Bucs free agents he covets, in some cases before the end of the weekend.

And much as there was with Barber, there is a desire on the part of the Bucs to get new deals for those players before they have a chance to test free agency.

“I think we can do that,’’ Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said during the Senior Bowl of re-signing some of his own free agents prior to the projected March 4 opening of the free-agent market.

“I’m certainly going to talk to all the agents. We’ll have conversations with them prior to or at the (NFL Scouting) combine, so we’ll see what happens there. But I would like to do that if we can.’’

Cummings writes in his piece that the three main targets in Dominik’s crosshairs are Davin Joseph, Barrett Ruud and Cadillac Williams.

If Dominik could get all three to sign on the proverbial dotted line, it will already have been a modestly successful offseason for the Bucs.

Derrick Brooks has spoken multiple times on radio about how he believes the Bucs could be hurt immeasurably in the event of a lockout — because they’re so young and learning how to be professionals.

Mike Alstott essentially echoed that sentiment during his tour of many local radio stations last week.

But the thoughts of these icons clashed with Mark Dominik’s comments to Roy Cummings of the The Tampa Tribune weeks ago. Dominik said the Bucs’ youth, energy and subsequent health and fitness would serve them well during any off time.

Now there’s a new voice that says the lockout will hurt the Bucs disproportionately. That’s Dan Pompei, longtime NFL scribe now working for NationalFootballPost.com.

Pompei identified 12 teams that could pay a price in the event of a lockout. All had either new coaches or coordinators except the Bucs.

… and Bucs (this is a young team that needs as much work as possible to take the next step).

This issue can be spun so many ways, but Joe’s never going to believe a very young team like the Bucs is going to be more disciplined during time away from team supervision than a veteran- laden club would be.

Raheem Morris might be called on for more miracle work to get the Bucs in the playoffs, if he ends up with abbreviated training camp and preseason.

Don’t forget the daily draft rumors and buzz over at 620wdae.com, courtesy of draft guru Justin Pawlowski, The Commish.

Old man Ronde Barber, old by NFL standards, will return to the Bucs for the 2011 season, so Twittered Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com.

Bucs CB Ronde Barber has decided NOT to retire just yet and just told me today he signed a 1-year deal w the only team he’s ever played for.

This tells Joe that Ronde feels really good about three things:

1) Barber believes the Bucs are on to something special.

2) Barber is in really good health. If he was banged up much at all, he’d likely call it quits.

3) Barber has a hunch there will actually be a 2011 season and that the warring parties between the NFL and the NFLPA will share a peace pipe and agree to a new CBA.

Arguably Joe’s favorite Bucs rookie was wide receiver Arrelious Benn. Coming from one of those gimmick, dimestore high schoolish spread option offenses, it took Benn a while to learn an NFL offense, just like Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik cautioned it would.

So after a few weeks Benn began to blow up and turned into a lethal weapon of a receiver before he was felled by a knee injury late in the season.

Joe was sick seeing Benn writhing in front of the Bucs bench with a bum knee.

As he promised he would, Benn has periodically updated fans on the status of his recovery via Twitter. Last night Benn gave his latest update and it is quite refreshing.

The knee is doing great couldn’t be any better right now. Walking like it never happened. God blessed me to be a fast healer!

The only thing that scares Joe about this is if there is a lockout, Benn will have to find doctors and a rehabilitation facility away from One Buc Palace. This is not good.

Joe recently did some snooping around and e-mailing people in the know and was told it is very likely that the Bucs have a list of approved doctors, rehab centers and workout facilities that the Bucs have distributed to players to utilize in the case of a work stoppage.

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s another take from the studios of JoeBucsFan TV.

Sure, you’re probably a football genius. But just in case you’re not, former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson continues his quest to make Bucs fans the most intelligent in the NFL. He gets into the fundamentals of Cover 2 in this video.  

Draft guru Justin Pawlowski says the Bucs must find the LeGarrette Blount of the defense.

WDAE-AM 620 draft guru and lifelong Bucs fan Justin Pawlowski, aka The Commish, checks in with a look at five of the Bucs’ needs as they approach the 2011 draft. All of Pawlowski’s exclusive draft stuff for JoeBucsFan.com is archived here. And don’t forget his draft rumors/buzz page at 620wdae.com.

By JUSTIN PAWLOWSKI

Attack the Opposing Quarterback: There is no secret here. It isn’t about a defensive end or a linebacker. The Bucs’ biggest need is anyone that can come close to an opposing quarterback. The Bucs ended 2010 with just 26 sacks, which tied them next to last in the entire NFL with Jacksonville. This isn’t about just having a guy to get numbers, either. The Bucs need a closer on defense. With the lead in the fourth quarter, the Bucs need a defensive lineman or a linebacker to get the sack that ends the game. In my opinion, each one of the Bucs linebackers can be upgraded and the same can be said for each defensive end. This is why so many people point to those two positions as the biggest positions of need for the Bucs. It’s much deeper than just a position. The Bucs don’t need a defensive end that holds his own and plays the run well. The Bucs need a guy who will get to and attack the opposing quarterback. This was my main reason for giving the Bucs a player like Aldon Smith in my first mock draft. As we near the draft, I will comprise a list of players that fit this need.

Speed on Offense: In 2010, the Bucs found who they can rely on at a regular basis. They’ve got a franchise quarterback, a feature running back, and a go-to receiver. The Bucs might be at the point where they have the luxury of taking a receiver or running back with speed just because they can. I think the one ingredient missing in the Bucs offense is a player who is a threat to score at any yard on the field. At WR, the Bucs have Mike Williams, an injured Arrelious Benn, and Dezmon Briscoe; All are similar receivers with size and good receiving ability. A speed threat would open up things underneath for these guys. At RB, the Bucs had Cadillac Williams (free agent) and Kareem Huggins (injured with slow rehab). The Bucs might want to look into a younger, healthier version of Cadillac Williams in the middle rounds.

Intimidation at Linebacker: Other than defensive end, I don’t think there’s a position on the Bucs where each player could be upgraded as easy as the Bucs linebacker corps could be. Since I pointed out Barrett Ruud’s flaws three years ago, many people have jumped on an anti-Ruud bandwagon and his play has deteriorated the past couple seasons. The two outside linebackers, Geno Hayes and Quincy Black, are about as average as you can get at that position. Linebacker is probably the most intimidating position on any football team, and the Bucs weren’t intimidating, and haven’t been intimidating for a while. Raheem Morris said last offseason that he wanted his team have a physical presence. Well, I can’t imagine that he envisioned his linebackers looking the way the Bucs linebackers have looked the past two seasons. As much as LeGarrette Blount brought attitude to the Bucs offense last year, the Bucs need that attitude on the defensive side of the ball. Who will be the Bucs’ “Blount” on defense?

Depth at Tight End: Jerramy Stevens was released during last season and John Gilmore is a free agent in a couple of weeks. This will leave the Bucs with Kellen Winslow and Ryan Purvis at tight end. As much as I like Purvis, Winslow’s health will always be a concern and a reason the Bucs should add depth to this position. I’m not sure the Bucs need to invest a 1st or 2nd round pick in a tight end, especially with the money already invested in the position, but a mid-round pick wouldn’t be a bad idea.

A Lead Blocker for Blount: Throughout last season, I expressed my desire for the Bucs to go out this off-season and get LeGarrette Blount a lead blocker. I can’t imagine how good Blount could be with a fullback that could pave the way for him. I know that Eric Lorig is a possibility, and if the Bucs decide to go all-in with Lorig, I’d understand. However, if not, there are a couple of fullbacks in this draft that might look very good in pewter and red. A couple names to keep an eye on are Pitt’s Henry Hynoski and Stanford’s Owen Marecic in the 4th or 5th round.

If Joe is anything he’s a sports media geek. Proud of it no less.

Listening to local sports radio, monitoring Sirius NFL Radio, reading countless football blogs and websites and inhaling anything broadcast by the men’s channel known as the NFL Network are all daily rituals of Joe’s.

So when listening to sports voices coming from two different prisms, the difference in mindset and thought is striking to Joe.

Take the difference between local sports radio and Sirius NFL Radio. On local airwaves, Barrett Ruud is the worst pariah of an NFL player since Sabby the Goat missed tackle after tackle on the turf of The CITS. Ruud is not physical, the local talking heads bellow, he is scared of contact, a damning accusation of any man paid to play football.

The Bucs need a Dick Butkus, a Ray Lewis, a Jack Lambert, a punishing middle linebacker who will put the fear of God into any running back brave enough to cross the line of scrimmage, despite the fact in a Tampa-2 defense a middle linebacker is basically a glorified third safety.

Sirius NFL Radio voices, largely former players, coaches and front office executives, watch Bucs games too and come up with a far different reading of Ruud.

To hear the Sirius NFL Radio crowd, Ruud is a savant of a linebacker, a heady, intelligent man without which the Bucs’ defense would mentally crumble.

Count Ross Tucker in the latter group. The Princeton graduate who logged time in the NFL as a journeyman offensive lineman and dabbles with a column for BSPN.com co-hosted “The Opening Drive” Monday morning with former Bucs great Derrick Brooks. And the subject of Ruud came up.

Ross Tucker: There are a lot of things I just don’t get. One of them is what are the Bucs thinking not yet signing Barrett Ruud. The guy is smart, he’s always in position, he calls out the defensive plays and he’s dependable. I just don’t get why the Bucs have not signed him yet?

Derrick Brooks: I really don’t know why Barrett is not locked up. I know [the Bucs] think highly of him by the way they tendered him last year. It was one of the highest tenders. But with the economics of the game right now, he probably won’t be re-signed until there is a CBA is place. I guess it comes down to how much confidence do they have in Barrett? I played with Barrett and I have watched him closely since. I can say he’s highly deserving of [a new contract]. Whether that is in Tampa, who knows? But he is going about his business the right way. He has not gotten into any public talks about his contract. “Hey, I will just go out and play and see what happens.”

Joe finds it interesting if not amusing that learned men on a national NFL radio station laud Ruud, whereas locally, many behind a mic who have the pulse of the community are ready to fund a moving van to run Ruud out of town at the earliest possible moment.

The real man channel — withheld mercilessly from Outhouse Networks customers by brazen heathens — dialed up Donald Penn for a studio appearance with Brian Baldinger and Moose Johnston, and the Bucs’ big fella answered the bell with some fancy threads.

Not too shabby.

Penn talks about the team’s respect for Raheem Morris and gives some perspective on last season and the eventual 2011 campaign.

Here’s the link to the NFL Network video.

The man with the loose-lipped barber, Bucs icon Doug Williams, has returned to Grambling State to be head coach there again and has spouted off juicy nuggets of his time in the Bucs’ front office.

Clearly he wasn’t a happy camper.

Speaking to beat scribe Rick Stroud, Williams paints a picture of decision-makers other than Raheem Morris craving Mark Sanchez over Josh Freeman.

“I laugh, when I hear them talk about (quarterback) Josh Freeman. I know they wanted (Jets quarterback) Mark Sanchez. I sat right there while they were talking about trading up and getting Sanchez and all these different scenarios. (Bucs coach) Raheem Morris was the strongest guy in there. I remember the owners asking me which quarterback I liked. I said, “If you want someone to play right now, take Sanchez. But I think ove the long haul, Josh is going to be better,’ and I think he’s proven that. Raheem had the strongest conviction because he had been around the kid (at Kansas State).”  

Of course, this is a lot sour grapes. So what if Mark Dominik or others considered Sanchez, the Bucs took Freeman, and it’s not like Sanchez hasn’t won a pile of games. But it is interesting nonetheless.

Williams went on to say, in what seemed like a backhanded slap at Dominik, that there’s not much room for guys like him in the front office fraternity and he’s not a big fan of personnel types who didn’t play or coach.

Joe hopes none of this chatter affects Williams’ consideration for the Ring of Honor.

Good guy Stephen Holder discusses just how Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik deals with the glorified track practice otherwise known as the NFL Combine in this St. Petersburg Times video.

Just how difficult is it to play quarterback in the NFL? Consider Josh Freeman.

The Bucs quarterback, if there is a season, will be entering his third year in the NFL, just finishing a season in which he tossed 25 touchdowns against a mere six interceptions.

Just based on the numbers alone, it would seem Freeman has Greg Olson’s offense down pat.

But hold up. Freeman recently confessed to Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune that he has yet to fully master Olson’s offense.

Urged by offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who continues to expand Freeman’s responsibilities within the system, Freeman wants to reach a point where he can confidently take the Bucs out of a pass play when the defense dictates a run play is the better option.

“When we’ve had run checks built into a run play, I’ve done fine with those,” Freeman said. “But when you get a bad look and you get to an audible or change the play completely, I’ve (usually gone) to a pass play, because my mentality is pass-first.

“But there are so many looks where you’re (best option) may be to check to a run play, and that’s what I’m working on. I was able to do that a couple of times last year, but it’s something Coach wants me to do more, because the more you can do, the better equipped you are to catch a defiant defense off balance.”

Wow, this really came as a surprise to Joe and sort of reinforced Joe’s notion that grasping an NFL offense is akin to learning trigonometry. NFL offenses aren’t just something one can absorb overnight if a soon-to-be third year pro who put up Pro Bowl-like numbers still hasn’t mastered it.

A blocking icon who can catch the ball, Cadilllac Williams is a guy the Bucs should want to hold on to if they’re thinking playoffs and Super Bowl in 2011.

But if rock star general manager Mark Dominik is thinking long term, then he’ll probably have no problem letting Cadillac walk in free agency. Earnest Graham can surely fill his role, Erik Lorig  can play fullback and the Bucs can bring in more competition at that position.

Longtime NFL writer Brad Biggs, now of NationalFootballPost.com, says Cadillac could command a good piece of change, which could put the Bucs’ desire for Cadillac to a quality test.

The question becomes: At what price? Tampa stuck with Williams through knee injuries that wiped out the 2007 and 2008 seasons for him. Williams became a change-of-pace back with Blount during the second half of the season, and he also was dependable on third down. He had a career-high 46 receptions and was the team’s best blocker in the backfield. Those are skills that teams pay a premium for, just look at what the Chicago Bears did with Chester Taylor last March, signing the former Minnesota Viking to a $12.5 million, four-year contract.

What money and offers await Williams remains to be seen. Certainly the Bucs could have real competition for his services. He’s been a model professional for them.

Joe doesn’t know the details of Taylor’s deal, but Cadillac is younger than Taylor was last year, and Cadillac’s numbers are better.

Do the Bucs pay Cadillac $4.5 million next year? Joe thinks it’s a no-brainer, especially since that’s about what a sniveling center earns.

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Last week noted team captain Jeff Faine whined to Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times that no matter how well-intentioned Josh Freeman may be, the Bucs’ unquestioned team leader and starting quarterback won’t be able to rally enough players to have a practice “at the University of Tampa soccer field,” so Faine claimed.

Former Bucs stud Mike Alstott thinks Faine is full of it, in so many words.

While Faine’s name never came up when Alstott appeared live with Joe’s good friend “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig on WDAE-AM 620 last week, Faine’s premise did come up and Duemig asked Alstott point-blank if Freeman would have difficulty rallying teammates to work out together.

Alstott scoffed at the notion that Freeman couldn’t.

“I think so, with the guys who are serious [about playing for the Bucs], yeah,” Alstott said. “We had 95 percent of the team work out at One Buc on our own during the offseason when I was here.

“Josh is their leader. He is the backbone of the team. With him coming out [to organize workouts], that is great. I think he will have a lot of guys jumping on the bandwagon. He has something special going on.

“He’s a leader. It’s his team. That’s great that he is really confident about workouts.”

Joe was fortunate enough to get to chat with many of the Bucs rookies over the past season and to a man, they all pointed to Freeman as their leader, and often would say things such as, “This is Josh’s team. If Josh wants you to do something, you do it,” when talking about how Freeman gathered rookies together to work out prior to the start of training camp.

Just about every Bucs fan has heard Bucs coach Raheem Morris and rock star general manager Mark Dominik say the Bucs are “all about No. 5.”

Curiously, Joe has yet to hear any Bucs executive say it’s “all about No. 52.”

Look, Joe has no personal agenda with Faine. Joe just thinks at best it was wreckless for Faine to come out and mock Freeman for trying to get the team together during the pending lockout. Joe appreciates candor — craves it in fact. But Joe also knows about being guarded in one’s statements and Faine sure wasn’t thinking for being such a smart guy.

"Mr. Glazer, it's strange, every time I hear the name 'Albert Haynesworth,' for some reason I have a flare up of psorasis."

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, to the horror if not bewilderment of many Bucs fans, is intent on continuing the Bucs’ winning ways for years if not decades.

One way to do that is ignoring free agency, which makes many Bucs fans crumble their empty beer cans in their fists. A significant group of Bucs fans want if not demand the Bucs to go shopping like a hyper teenager afflicted with ADD armed with an American Express, even though this process has been documented time and again to fail. (Good afternoon Mr. Snyder… Mr. Jones).

Dominik points to the Green Bay Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers and, to a lesser degree, the Philadelphia Eagles, for the most part, which consider acquiring big ticket free agents akin to an outbreak of the shingles.

So far, even though a number of Bucs fans don’t want to hear it, and try to bury their heads in a pillow, Dominik’s plan is working.

But eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune is of the mind Dominik may just veer from this mindset. The Bucs’ pass rush is so impotent (no, Joe won’t use his Connie Chung analogy today) that Kaufman believes there’s no way it can be fixed just through the draft.

Despite their 10-6 record, the Bucs applied little heat off the edges in 2010 and defensive end ranks as a top priority for a team with the 20th pick in the April draft. This college crop is deep at the posiiton, but the Bucs would be wise to consider adding a proven veteran who can force quarterbacks into mistakes and hasten the development of young defensive tackles like Gerald McCoy and Roy Miller.

Tennessee’s Jason Babin would be an intriguing addition if the Titans don’t franchise the 30-year-old defensive end with a relentless motor.

Babin, a converted outside linebacker, registered 12.5 sacks last season coming off the left side. That’s almost half of Tampa Bay’s total of 26 sacks for the entire year and Babin earned his first Pro Bowl berth, adding 58 tackles and two forced fumbles.

Given the fact there can be no player movement whatsoever until there is a new CBA, which may not come until September, Joe would be stunned if Dominik stepped aside from his philosophy and plunged into a free agency bidding war.

Thus far the Bucs — specifically, Dominik — are doing quite well turning up their noses at overpriced if not over-aged free agents. Joe doesn’t see Dominik walking down this path.

"Might the Bucs do what it takes to grab defensive end Aldon Smith?"

NationalFootballPost.com draft guru Wes Bunting gets down and dirty about all things draft in this great interview with Justin Pawlowski, The Commish of WDAE-AM 620.

Bunting gets very detailed into some Bucs’ options at defensive end and breaks down all kinds of things, from specific players to teams’ approach.

Great fun on a football-starved Sunday. All part of the daily draft coverage at JoeBucsFan.com. Just click the arrow below.

[audio: wesbunting.mp3]