To tell any reasonable football fan in the state of Florida that Derrick Brooks had an impact on the game isn’t a tough sell. Afterall, Brooks dominated high school football at Pensacola Booker T. Washington where his team won a state title and Brooks was selected to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s All Century team, among the state’s greatest 100 high school players.

Later, Brooks helped Bobby Bowden win his first national championship at Florida State. With the Bucs, Brooks scored the biggest touchdown in Bucs’ history to seal the franchise’s lone Super Bowl win.

One could argue Brooks is Mr. Football for the Sunshine State. He has only played football for Florida teams at every level and won championships at every level. In short, Brooks is a winner.

But a non-Florida resident also sees how important Brooks has been to the game of football. Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com claims Brooks “revolutionized” the position of linebacker.

He redefined the way a position was played.

When Brooks came into the league in 1995, small, fast linebackers were being bulked up to play safety, which many teams wanted Brooks to do. He was 210 pounds coming out of Florida State, and bigger safeties were in vogue to go with the bigger linebackers.

Brooks said no. He insisted he was a linebacker.

It’s a decision that proved to be right. He is on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one of the classiest players to put on an NFL uniform.

The thought of Brooks no longer in a Bucs uniform is enough for Joe to begin crying in his No. 55 jersey. Where’s Carmella when you need her?

Highlights of the 2002 season, replete with Derrick Brooks’ greatest play.

Former Bucs wide receiver Joey Galloway said on Sirius NFL Radio Wednesday he's healthy and ready to roll.

As Joe is wont to do, he was listening to Sirius NFL Radio when he heard the bombshell of Black Wednesday. Upon hearing the news, Joe quickly turned to local radio and heard the Big Dog, Steve Duemig logging extra time.

As a result, Joe missed Joey Galloway’s interview on the NFL’s 24/7/365 radio network. But Vacation Man didn’t.

In a nutshell, Galloway says he’s ready to catch some touchdowns. Sadly, no longer with the Bucs.

“I feel great,” Galloway said. “Physically, at the end of last season, because I didn’t play a lot during that season, I came out probably as healthy as I’ve been in my 14-year career. I’m pretty excited about what happens next. I’ve started working out, preparing myself, which I always do at this time of year. I’m looking forward to the new challenge, so we’ll see what happens.”

Joe always admired Galloway. Great guy, never complained even when he had the right to.

Joe firmly believes wherever Galloway winds up, his coach won’t have any problems getting him on the field with the team’s No. 1 receiver.

It warms Joe’s heart to see a sports reporter bang away on the keyboards straight from his heart. And Vacation Man, aka Pat Yasinskas of BSPN.com did just that.

Writing about linebacker Derrick Brooks being cut, Vacation Man wastes little time in raking the Bucs front office over the coals.{+++}

You don’t simply cut the best player in franchise history, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the greatest diplomat ever in the state of Florida. Do you?

The Bucs did.

“We want to let our players know that they’re important to us, but this is a decision we had to make and a direction we had to go,” general manager Mark Dominik said.

No, here’s the direction you go with Brooks: You give him whatever he wants — a spiffy retirement party, lifetime contract to be a coach, broadcaster or the executive vice president in charge of sitting on the beach. Or you convince him to take some minor/reduced role as a player to help ease the transition to a new regime.

You don’t just show the guy the door, and it’s certainly looking like the Bucs, who once terribly botched the end of icon John Lynch’s time with the team, threw Brooks out on the street.

Standing-O. Standing-O. Bravo Vacation Man, bravo. For a guy who skips to London in the middle of an NFL season with his family and fails to obtain game tape of the teams he’s supposed to cover, this is outstanding stuff!

Joe hopes to read more missives like this from Vacation Man.

Donald Penn will start zone-blocking school with all his 2008 linemates soon

Apparently the Bucs won’t be shopping for a starting left tackle when free agency starts this week.

Today rags-to-riches story Donald Penn was given what some call a maximum tender offer for a restricted free agent, reports the St. Pete Times.

Penn will earn roughly $2.8-million if he ends up playing for the tendered offer. He stood to make more on the open market. The way things stand, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2010.

For another team to acquire Penn this year, it would have to give the Bucs a first and third round draft pick, and beat the $2.8 million salary. The Bucs could always match the deal and keep him.

Joe is all in favor of keeping the Bucs young offensive line together. Now they just need a beast of a running back to team with Earnest Graham. Joe is mourning the reports on NFL.com that Brandon Jacobs has re-signed with the Giants.

Speaking on NFL Network’s Total Access Wednesday evening, Hall of Famer Rod Woodson and former NFL coach Jim Mora roasted the Bucs front office for not only cutting Derrick Brooks, but also for the rest of the players cut during Black Wednesday.

Of course, most of the attention and talk was on Brooks. But Woodson in particular was upset with letting Cato June go. The two scoffed at the Bucs suggestion that the Bucs will use a new defense and Brooks wouldn’t fit into “the plan.”

Mora waved his hand in disgust at the thought, saying Brooks could play in any defense. Woodson called the inference of Brooks not fitting in the new plan “a crock!”

In the video, the NFL Network crowd also had an interview with Joey Galloway who said he spoke with Brooks and that the all-time great Bucs linebacker was “upbeat.” Galloway also said he was not surprised he was cut but he was very much surprised at Brooks getting the pink slip.

Buccaneers.com also has the video of Mark Dominik and Raheem The Dream’s press conference today.

The Dream said the Bucs are a big, close family. Yet today he kicked the wise old uncles out of the house.

Day 1 of the Raheem The Dream administration saw the new leader field a simple question at his introductory news conference.

Amid many smiles, and more smiles, and a few more smiles, The Dream was asked his plans for the direction of the Bucs. He confidently replied the Bucs would “Stay The Course.”

That was the only answer. He also threw in how he loved the Bucs family and its players.

“Stay The Course.”

Five weeks later The Dream and GM Mark Dominik have abandoned ship, jumped in a helicopter and gone way off course. Captains Jeff Garcia and Pro Bowler Derrick Brooks have been sent packing. Warrick Dunn, Ike Hilliard, Cato June and Joey Galloway, too.

The team now has more gaping holes than a busy night at Mons Venus.

At today’s farewell news conference for Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and the other Bucs stars — one in which the Bucs’ family-loving brass dedicated a whopping 30 minutes or so — The Dream spoke of a plan. A grand plan. “To get young, fast and aggressive” was his the only insight offered.

Joe wants to be a Dream believer. He really does.

Joe wants The Dream to bring a real running game back to Tampa and hard-hitting defense that gets to the quarterback and continues the legacy of Monte Kiffin’s secondary.

But Joe has to question why The Dream is all over the map since Day 1. Joe finds it suspect that a 32-year-old first-time head coach ditched his core of accomplished, savvy veterans. Somewhere Kevin Carter is calling moving companies.

And Joe finds it disgraceful that neither Dream nor Dominik were prepared to explain how the Bucs organization is better without Brooks on the team in 2009.

Yes, Joe looks forward to the new crop of “young, fast and aggressive” players who will fill the Bucs roster in ’09. That is unless The Dream changes direction again next month.

Joe is not an accountant, an economist, an NFL general manager or a stat geek. In fact, numbers bore Joe.

So Joe leaves it to others to play with figures. One such person is Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. His calculator tells him that with the purge today — heretofore known as Black Wednesday — the Bucs have slashed over $12 million from their budget.

That means the Bucs are $67 million under the salary cap as the dawn of the 2009 free agent shopping spree nears.

Joe can hear Stu Sternberg screaming all the way from Port Charlotte.

If what Mark Dominik told Peter King is correct, and that the Bucs aren’t going to land any big-monied free agent players, Dominik could virtually buy an entire new team, sans offensive line and secondary, which the Bucs don’t need.

[UPDATE: Per Adam Schefter of NFL.com, the salary cap has been raised $3 million. That means the Bucs have roughly $70 million to play with!]

Failed 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry spoke in more specifics than Raheem the Dream.

A couple of things jumped out at Joe listening to this press conference about the release of Derrick Brooks and others.

1) Raheem the Dream is trying to take control. Problem is, he’s not saying anything.

2) What the hell is this plan The Dream continues to talk about? The Dream said, “We want to be a fast, tough, disciplined team?”

Who the hell doesn’t? Like Brooks isn’t fast? Like Brooks isn’t tough? Like Brooks isn’t disciplined?

Give Joe a friggin’ break! If you are going to cut a state icon like Brooks (high school All American at Pensacola, national champion at Florida State, Super Bowl winner in Tampa Bay) you better be able to specifically explain why he doesn’t fit in your plans.

The loyal Bucs fans, not to mention season ticket holders, deserve as much. Hey Dream, if you can’t face the music, just pull a Chucky and hide.

The only way The Dream didn’t sound like John Kerry is that he didn’t tell people to check out his website.

Joe will appear soon on “Happy Hour with J.P. Peterson” in the 4 o’clock hour. The show can be heard locally in the Tampa Bay area on WQYK-AM 1010. It also can be heard on the Internet via streaming from the station’s website.

Joe is stumped, however. He can’t imagine what J.P. (and his co-host/producer Dave Ortiz) would ever want to talk about on such a slow news day?

Please tune in.

Joe just can’t think of proper words to describe what is going on right now and, in fact, is a bit bewildered.

Normally, Joe would be outraged about cutting Derrick Brooks. But so many others have been cut, and the timing of the cut just blows Joe’s mind.

In short, everything Joe has read, researched,  and heard about free agency and the draft is totally thrown out the window.

The Bucs need a quarterback.

The Bucs need a running back.

The Bucs need linebackers.

The Bucs need wide receivers.

The Bucs need defensive tackles.

Good grief. Joe could start throwing darts at the wall ,and if the darts hit anything but offensive line, punter or kicker you’d have just as good of a chance of being correct as the next guy; just as accurate as Mel Kiper or Mike Mayock or the drunk sitting at the end of the bar.

Joe thought Brooks was safe. Clearly defensive coordinator Jim Bates wanted to clean house. The first thing that went through Joe’s mind was how did Brooks, Dunn, Galloway and June not find a way to hang on yet Ronde Barber avoided the Grim Reaper?

Until he got hurt late in the season Brooks was getting the job done. June was OK. Barber wasn’t, and Bates has made no secret he wants more bump-and-run coverage and not zone coverage, at which Barber is not proficient.

Joe feels like he’s been drinking Jameson and Becks all day. Problem is, he hasn’t.

Joe does have one question: How much do the Bucs have under the salary cap now, $60 million?

Joe has just heard on Sirius NFL Radio that Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and Joey Galloway have all been cut as have Cato June and Ike Hilliard.

In short, Joe says, “WOW!”

Solomon Wilcots claims the cuts were due to salary cap reasons. Joe calls bullspit on that. The Bucs are $55 million under the cap.

Gil Brandt, speaking on “The Red Zone,” claims the fact Brooks was cut tells him that the Bucs will be moving away from the Cover-2 scheme. If that is the case, Joe has to ask how Ronde Barber survived the purge?

Much more to come throughout the day on JoeBucsFan.com.

See, Albert Haynesworth is a great guy

“Vacation Man” is certain the Bucs will make a major play for Albert Haynesworth on Friday, so he said today in an interview with The Fabulous Sports Babe on ESPN 1040 AM.

For those of you new to JoeBucsFan.com, Vacation Man is Pat Yasinskas, the ESPN.com beat writer for the NFC South. He also covered the Bucs for the Tampa Tribune and owned the Panthers beat for the Charlotte Observer after that. (Joe calls him Vacation Man because he said he didn’t watch the Bucs-Dallas game last season).

His comments today conflict squarely against the report by Peter King, of Sports Illustrated ,and the Houston Chronicle story that has Haynesworth ready to sign with the Redskins.

“I’m seriously convinced that the Bucs will make a strong play for Haynesworth,” Yasinskas said, acknowledging contrary reports. “And knowing the Bucs’ cap situation, he’d be foolish not to listen. …The Bucs are definitely interested in Haynesworth. …And the consensus around the league is Haynesworth will get paid [his asking price].”

Yasinskas has inside access, as does King. Joe will enjoy seeing how this plays out between the two MSM heavyweights.

Joe’s going to bet a 10-timer on Yasinskas. Somewhere Jim Bates is trying to sell his soul for Haynesworth.

The Bucs are seeking a Rex Grossman-type QB, says NFC South beat writer Pat Yasinskas

Joe cautions you about this post. It may induce vomiting.

ESPN.com NFC South beat writer, Pat “Vacation Man” Yasinskas, talked about the Bucs quarterback situation on ESPN 1040 AM today.

He said the Bucs will bring in a young veteran quarterback to compete with Luke McCown for the starting job rather than draft a quarterback, “free agent guys like J.P. Losman and Rex Grossman, young enough with some upside.”

Provided Washington signs Albert Haynesworth, would Bucs fans celebrate signing Redskins defensive tackle and restricted free agent Kedric Golston?

With the opening bell of free agency just a mere few hours away, Joe ran across an interesting list from ProFootballWeekly.com which rates the top 100 free agents. Good bet some guys on this list will be playing in Tampa Bay this fall.

One name that caught Joe’s eye is Washington defensive tackle Kedric Golston. If Dan Snyder does sign Albert Haynesworth that means Golston will likely be on the move and he’s not bad against the run, which the Bucs demonstrated last December they needed help with.

Of course New York Giants running back Derrick Ward would be a nice pick up too.

ProFootballWeekly.com also has a list of free agents by position.

Well, it appears Scott Smith of Buccaneers Insider survived the recent purge of Bucs employees at One Buc Palace last week. He has a video feature on new Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski. Maybe you might want to give the video a look?

There’s nothing a whole lot revealing in the video. Smith makes the mistake of invoking Cadillac Williams’ name as a weapon coming back from injury, which is, at best, wishful thinking.

In the meantime, watching the video might help keep Smith employed. You know, it’s all about page views, which reminds Joe:

"Money? What money? Why would you think we'll spend all our money?"

So here sits Mark Dominik, the Bucs rookie general manager, on a pile of money never seen before in an NFL offseason: $55 million of available salary cap room for 2009.

Is he ready to manage it? Joe’s not so sure.

Of course, if he’s going leave $25 million of the precious cash in the Glazer family safe at One Buc Place, then he might be more than ready to do the job.

The $55 million figure, reported by Peter King of Sports Illustrated, is a marked jump from the various $35 million to $40 million cap room estimates for the Bucs tossed around by various news outlets. Goes to show you that the media can play a little loose with the facts.

Joe believes King’s numbers. He is among the league’s great veteran scribes, and he sat down with Dominik the other day and talked to him about the mountain of cash.

“To sit there and say we’re going to be major players in the big free-agent market probably is wrong,” Dominik said. “Our goal is to take care of our young, core players. The veterans here are important to our future. Then, when you get to free agency, you have to measure the cost and benefit of every player. If you put a value of $4 million a year on a player, and it goes over that, you’ve got to be disciplined about chasing the money.” But surely Dominik feels the heat from the fans and ownership about having so much cap room, and spending some of it to make sure the recent run of playoff futility ends in Tampa.

Joe’s fear here is that Dominik is overmatched, and he’s learned a little too much from Bruce Allen, who played Mr. Frugal in Tampa, possibly with orders from above. Dominik is spewing the value speech right from Allen’s playbook.

But sometimes value is determined by a team’s need, not the market, a fact Allen seemed to miss.

Dominik can talk all he wants about taking care of young core players. But until the Bucs improve greatly at the skill positions and find a pass rush, what’s the point of securing the long term future of, say, Donald Penn?

What’s frustrating and exciting for Joe is that he’s not finding any evidence that tips the hand of Dominik. What’s the plan? Win now? Win later? Try to compete every year so ticket sales don’t fall and hope for a miracle run? WIll the Bucs continue to be defined by their defense?

All the answers are coming in a matter of weeks.

Joe is struggling to figure out exactly the market value of an underachieving wide receiver known for his blocking

Joe’s getting a laugh out of all this angling by agents and players leading up to the start of free agency.

It happens every year all over the league, and every year it’s a hoot. The St. Pete Times today writes about Michael Clayton wanting to stay but not if he has to leave millions on the table.

“Right now, it’s still up in the air,” Clayton said. “I know there’s an opportunity for me to come back. I want to be back. But I think it’s going to come down to money. There’s a thin line between taking less money and trying to be a part of this organization and what they’re building, and leaving millions on the table. But I love and respect (the Bucs) and I want to be a part of it.”

Joe doesn’t know the Bucs’ true level of interest in Mr. Disappointment, but Joe is sure Clayton is a good bet to drop his fat signing bonus when it’s handed to him by a team in the coming weeks.

If Mark Dominik subscribes to the same philosophy as Sirius NFL Radio's Solomon Wilcots and Carl Banks, it's not out of the question the Bucs will draft a RB early, such as Iowa's Shonn Green, a favorite of Joe's.

With the NFL combine still underway, it’s almost preposterous to guess with authority what position the Bucs will draft in the first round when the NFL draft rolls around in late April, nearly two months away.

That doesn’t mean speculation isn’t fun for Joe.

While Joe would never draft a running back in the first round unless that position was the final piece to a puzzle of a strong team, Solomon Wilcots and Carl Banks made a strong case for the Bucs to draft a running back in the first round.

Speaking on The Red Zone on Sirius NFL Radio Tuesday afternoon, Wilcots said if the Bucs indeed plan on trying to develop quarterback Luke McCown into a long-term starter, the Bucs need another running back given Warrick Dunn’s age and Cadillac Williams’ uncertain future.

“I feel they really need a running back,” Wilcots said of the Bucs. “Running the ball and playing good defense goes a long way to helping develop a quarterback.”

Banks concurred.

“If you don’t put these guys [inexperienced quarterbacks] in the right situation or build around them, they go downhill because they are shot,” Banks said.

Joe can’t argue with any of that. Would Ben Roethlisberger, for example, have developed into a two-time Super Bowl winner if he wasn’t drafted by a good team with a strong running attack, a solid offensive line and stellar wide receivers?

Now Joe isn’t saying McCown is the next Big Ben. Joe hasn’t been drinking any Jameson yet today. The lone problem Joe can see with Wilcots’ premise is the Bucs no longer have a good defense.

After meeting with Bucs general manager Mark Dominik, Peter King doesn't get the feeling the Bucs will chase Albert Haynesworth.

Today, Peter King has an item about Bucs general manager Mark Dominik who had a sit-down with King in Indianapolis. And unless King — or anyone else — misreads the smoke signals, Albert Haynesworth, nor any other big monied, top-notch free agent, is going to play for Tampa Bay in 2009.

I had a good meeting with new Tampa Bay GM Mark Dominik, who’s an impressive and bright guy. But he’s also under some significant pressure. The Bucs have $55 million to spend under the 2009 salary cap — the most ANY team has ever had entering any cap season. He was careful not to talk about specific players, but I left the meeting thinking the Bucs won’t be a player for Albert Haynesworth. I’m not sure about Julius Peppers.

“To sit there and say we’re going to be major players in the big free-agent market probably is wrong,” Dominik said. “Our goal is to take care of our young core players. The veterans here are important to our future. Then, when you get to free agency, you have to measure the cost and benefit of every player. If you put a value of $4 million a year on a player, and it goes over that, you’ve got to be disciplined about chasing the money.”

Joe has gone on record as being uneasy about Haynesworth. Too many red flags for Joe.

[UPDATE: The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the Redskins will sign Haynesworth once the bell rings to open free agency later this week. This reinforces a report Peter King had on the same subject Monday.]