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Giants Super Bowl hero wide receiver Mario Manningham, a guy lots of Bucs fans want in pewter and red this season, was grilled this morning on sports radio in New York by WFAN hosts Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton.

Manningham had to answer to rumors of him coming to Tampa to follow Mike Sullivan.

Don’t buy it, Manningham says,”That just words. You know how the media do it, man.” 

And Manningham talked about how God will decide his 2012 fate and send him to the right team. In typical New York fashion, Manningham was then asked if God wants to get paid and “Did God want you to bobble so many balls?” referring to a common knock on the free-agent-to-be receiver.

Here’s the whole interview below:

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Two of Joe’s favorite draft/personnel gurus, Mike Mayock of NFL Network and Pat Kirwan of Sirius NFL Radio, seem all in favor of the Bucs drafting Trent Richardson.

In an interview Friday on The Dan Sileo Show on WDAE-AM 620, Kirwan, a former Bucs scout and Jets linebackers coach and personnel executuve, said if he evaluated Richardson to be an elite every down back than he’d stand up and make a case for him with the No. 5 pick. “His grade is going to be staring you in the face,” Kirwan said.

Kirwan said if the Bucs pass on Richardson than they likely will have a tough call between receiver Justin Blackmon and cornerback Morris Claiborne. While Kirwan prefers a veteran receiver for Josh Freeman, he said the Bucs need to be careful not to take “someone’s No. 2” and making him your “No. 1.”  Kirwan’s of the opinion that Freeman can be an elite quarterback but hasn’t “had a chance yet with the people around him.”

Regardless, Kirwan says he’ll call the Bucs geniuses if they draft Claiborne, Blackmon or Richardson.

As for Mayock, he keeps screaming from the rooftops on NFL Network that no running back since Adrian Peterson makes draft gurus “bang the table” harder than Richardson.

On the surface, before free agency signings, Joe prefers the Bucs snag Claiborne. But if the Bucs already have their cornerbacks come draft day, and Richardson is that good, Joe couldn’t hang rockstar general manager Mark Dominik for drafting him. But Dominik would have no excuse if Richardson wasn’t a homerun, given that good running backs are not hard to find and there’s on on the roster.

Joe is aware some of his readers may be weary of the following, but it bears repeating because it is so critical:

The Bucs need to upgrade at cornerback.

As we sit on the last day of February (damn, times a’ flying), it is a very real possibility that the Bucs will be looking at a starting cornerback tandem of Myron Lewis and E.J. Biggers, unless Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and new coach Greg Schiano go cornerback shopping.

With those two going up against Drew Brees, Matty Ice and Cam Newton a total of six games a year, it’s positively frightening to think of the results.

That’s why it’s simply irresponsible of the Bucs to toy with the idea of drafting running back Trent Richardson if they haven’t grabbed a starting cornerback in free agency, never mind the fact a high first round pick spend on a running back is a terrible investment, never mind the fact the Bucs already have a running back.

Now Schiano has offered lip service that he welcomes veteran Ronde Barber (does Barber want to return?) and is willing to give troubled Aqib Talib a fresh start (how many days will that last?).

It seems information coming from Dominik, by way of Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, suggests Dominik is indeed going cornerback shopping this offseason.

“That is certainly something we have to look into, yeah,” Dominik said from the NFL Scouting Combine. “And I say that not having any clue of who may actually make it to the market.

“But it’s a position that I’ve talked about in the past and that Coach Schiano shares the same beliefs about, so it would be ignorant for me to think (the cornerback position) is not important to us.”

This warms Joe’s heart to read this because, of course, Dominik is a very intelligent man.

If Joe were in Dominik’s shoes, he’d make a play for Chiefs cornerback Brandon Carr. Sure, the Chiefs may keep him, but Kansas City will have to cough up a lot of dough to keep Dwayne Bowe. Will they break the bank for two players?

Of course, Cortland Finnegan looms as well.

Pick up a solid free agent, draft Mo Claiborne at No. 5, and your cornerback troubles are gone.

Joe’s sitting about 1,000 miles from the NFL Scouting Combine, but Joe can barely breathe with all the smokescreens being puffed out there.

The latest involving the Bucs, courtesy of popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, beer-chugging Peter King of Sports Illustrated, is that Greg Schiano wants to draft Muhammed Sanu, the Rutgers wideout who caught  a million balls last year (115 to be exact) and just ran a lousy 40-yard dash at the combine (4.67 seconds) this morning.

The receiver order: Looks like Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd of Notre Dame will be the only wideouts in round one, unless Hill sneaks in there. Reuben Randle of LSU and Rutgers’ Mohamed Sanu (the Bucs and new coach Greg Schiano want him) could go 4-5 unless Baylor’s Kendall Wright overcomes a lousy combine.

As draft guru and USF Football pregame and postgame host Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski points out on CommishOnline.com, Sanu had third-rate quarterbacks tossing him the ball, which makes the 115 catches super impressive.

But Joe’s not seeing how the Bucs draft a receiver in the first three rounds. The Bucs don’t need another young pair of hands with limited potential.

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While Joe is no fan of Jeff Faine, Joe has no problem with the center/captain/bonding dodger returning to snap the ball to Josh Freeman in 2012.

One could make the case that Freeman has enough to worry about and doesn’t need his trusted center sent packing, even if Faine is overpaid for his performance. On the other hand, Faine is getting old, is injury prone, and he’s not part of the Bucs’ future. Joe has written previously that Faine and the rest of the captains clearly failed last year.

ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas churned out some salary numbers and put Faine “on the hot seat” today.

Center Jeff Faine will turn 31 in April. He’s missed at least one game with an injury each of the past three years. He’s scheduled to count $5.925 million against the cap. The Bucs would free up $5.725 million against the cap if they release Faine. They would have flexibility there because Jeremy Zuttah can play center as well as guard.

Joe realizes the call on Faine relies greatly on whether the Bucs can re-sign Zuttah and how much they have to pay him.

The depth along the Bucs’ offensive line was a strength in 2010 and was still there in 2011, despite Ted Larsen and James Lee not playing up to their 2010 form.

Do the Bucs want to mess with the O-line? Joe’s not sure this is the year to do that. These guys are a good pass-blocking unit and blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in 2010. Joe wouldn’t mind giving the whole group one more season.

Yeah, Joe is watching his share of the wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine on NFL Network. But it’s far less exciting than in recent seasons, when it was clear the Bucs would draft positions like defensive end, wide receiver and quarterback, which are among the ones fun to watch at the combine. 

(For those without NFL Network at home, Joe can’t vouch for your manhood.)

One day, Joe hopes the NFL gets its cameras inside the grueling interviews teams conduct with potential draftees. That would be riveting television, especially as players have become better coached for the interviews and teams are forced to counter that preparation with difficult questioning.

So are the Bucs doing their share of grilling?

Greg Schiano seemed to imply they are, especially with the smirks he drops in this video on Buccaneers.com. Schiano talks about the interview process and how players are “1-on-5” in the room.

Presumably, the Bucs’ pentagonal attack is led by rockstar general manager Mark Dominik, scouting chief Dennis Hickey, Schiano and Butch Davis. Who’s No. 5?

Joe’s not convinced these interviews aren’t good for much more than weeding out complete morons, mental midgets, as Raheem Morris might say, and troublemakers. But those guys get drafted by teams every year anyway.

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When Joe learned Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik suggested the Bucs would dabble in free agency this offseason, one of the first players that came to mind was Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma.

Vilma wouldn’t break the Bucs’ bank, and if there was ever a position for which the Bucs sorely needed an upgrade, it is linebacker. Bucs linebackers specialized in matador defense last season, taunting running backs with red capes.

Given the fact Dominik tried to make a play for Vilma three years ago also reinforced Joe’s thought process.

But this is wrongful thinking according to Pat Yasinskas of ESPN. In a recent NFC South chat, Yasinskas is confident Vilma will not wear a Bucs uniform.

Jake (Illinois)

I know Vilma is under contract, but with the real possibility he could be a cap casualty, who do you think he is more likely to play for next year. The Saints or the Bucs?

Pat Yasinskas

I don’t think he fits the Bucs’ profile. Even if they sign free agents, they’re not going to be guys about to turn 30 with knee issues that may be chronic.

Even a hobbled Vilma would be better than what the Bucs have. If, as Yasinskas suggests, Vilma’s shelf life is limited, perhaps the Bucs could squeeze a couple of years out of him and have him teach Mason Foster how to play linebacker on the NFL level.

As far as a certain outside linebacker Vilma could work with, well, Vilma is not a voodoo doctor.

The Bucs are clicking stopwatches and grilling players at the NFL Scouting Combine along with the rest of the NFL teams, but the Bucs have a little more on their plate than most. 

Woody Cummings’ story out of the combine today painted a picture of Mark Dominik’s staff trying to mesh on the fly with Greg Schiano and his coaching staff.

Sure. that’s no surprise. But it was a sobering slap in the face to Joe. Some teams are trying to get over the hump to win a championship while the Bucs are trying to get on the same page. Click through above for the whole story.

One nugget Cummings’ dropped was rockstar general manager Dominik possibly leaning toward Mason Foster becoming a former middle linebacker.

“Mason is a guy that could move,” Dominik said of a scenario that appears to be gaining steam in the Bucs camp. “But no has made that decision yet, and I think Mason will have a chance to show what he can do (at middle linebacker).

If the Bucs are going to add veteran defensive talent and leadership, middle linebacker in a 4-3 defense is a prime place to start, especially given that Foster is hardly proven. The Falcons’ Curtis Lofton isn’t the sexiest name among the available free agent MLBs, but he’s a solid starter, young (25) and durable (hasn’t missed a game in four seasons). 

CBS Sports’ Clark Judge has been snooping and sniffing around the NFL combine and has cobbled together enough chatter to believe the Bucs will approach Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham with a fat check when the free agency bell rings March 13.

Judge coughed up his report late this morning. Here’s a snippet.

But there are other reasons Manningham won’t be back, sources said. First, they said, he would know [Mike] Sullivan’s offense, so there is no learning curve. Second, people close to Manningham indicate that he wants to go to a warm-weather club, and last time I checked Tampa Bay qualified on that score. Third, sources said the Giants probably wouldn’t make him a contract offer, not only because they believe his price may be too high but because they’re more interested in a wide receiver who can line up at more than one or two spots at the position, which, they said, Manningham cannot.

Now Joe’s a little skeptical here. First, Judge is claiming Manningham “would know Mike Sullivan’s offense.” Well, last Joe checked Sullivan never ran an offense before and is still figuring out with Jimmy Raye and the rest of Team Schiano what he wants to do.

Plus Joe’s hardly sold on Manningham, who may or may not be the speedster the Bucs are allegedly seeking to open up the field. He hasn’t faced the double teams and challenges of a No. 1 receiver, and one great Super Bowl catch surely doesn’t make him a great player.

If the Bucs are looking for a No. 1 wideout, Joe would rather see them go after someone unquestionably better than Mike Williams.

Joe might have to remove one guy on his free-agent radar. That would be Brent Grimes, who was a killer for Atlanta against the Bucs in 2010, a Pro Bowl season for him.

While Grimes had knee surgery last year and missed time, including sitting out the Falcons-Giants playoff game, it seems Atlanta is convinced he’s fit and ready. ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas explained:

Speaking to a group of reporters at the scouting combine, Dimitroff said serious talks had begun with Grimes’ agents and said the Falcons “aren’t wasting time with our discussions.’’

The Falcons likely will have to pay big money to keep Grimes and they already have a lot tied up in Dunta Robinson, who signed a six-year, $57 million deal in 2010. But Grimes has emerged from an unsung and undersized player to become one of the league’s most athletic cornerbacks.

Grimes is one of those overachiever small-cornerback yet physical types that came out of NFL Europe of all places. He turns 29 this summer.

Looking at the money Yasinskas wrote about above, Joe wonders how Aqib Talib might welcome a mega-paid cornerback from the outside. Joe’s been thinking a lot about Talib of late. It’s a contract year for him and, if he can avoid a Texas penitentiary, lots of guys in contract years have a funny way of turning into choir boys and top performers.

 Bucs fans have been acting like youngsters armed with a wish list for Santa at Christmastime after Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik said the Bucs will go shopping with their Christmas Club free agent cash.

While fans have been celebrating, it’s been easy to forget the Bucs had players of their own that will be free agents.

One is Jeremy Zuttah, the Bucs versatile offensive lineman. It appears, however, both the Bucs and Zuttah are close to signing a deal as both sides from to remain status quo.

Another free agent is kicker Connor Barth. And Dominik explained to Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune that Barth will not get away from the Bucs, so Cummings Twittered today.

@RCummingsTrib: Bucs GM Mark Dominik says PK Connor Barth will not be an unrestricted free agent. Says he’ll either re-sign him or tag him before Mar. 13.

Well, we all know how much Dominik loves kickers and punters. So for the first time Joe can recall on a lazy Saturday afternoon, a Bucs kicker will be slapped with a franchise tag.

So when the Bucs hired LSU secondary coach Ron Cooper this week, the easy — and exciting — speculation centered around the prospect of the Bucs drafting stud LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the No. 5 overall pick in April.

But what’s interesting on another level is Cooper’s reputation for teaching and churning out quality NFL-ready corners at LSU.

Once upon a time Raheem Morris was arguably the top secondary coach in the NFL, leading the league’s No. 1 ranked unit in 2007, when rookie Tanard Jackson still knew how to hit and tackle. Raheem was a top teacher and motivator at the position and allegedly had a good eye for picking college talent. Of course, Raheem got away from coaching the secondary as head coach.

While lots of Bucs fans are pining for the Bucs to snag established help in the secondary in free agency, Joe has to wonder whether Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik might be looking at Cooper as a guy who can coach up E.J. Biggers to at least his 2010 form, get Myron Lewis to realize his potential, and turn Anthony Gaitor into a player?

Perhaps, if Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib return, which should be known before the NFL draft, the Bucs would be content to keep the status quo at cornerback and simply upgrade the secondary by buying a replacement for Sean Jones?

… Suddenly, Joe will be keeping a close eye on how the Bucs approach Elbert Mack, who will be an unrestricted free agent come March 13.

Speaking to Woody Cummings, of The Tampa Tribune, Schiano scoffed at the suggestion he hired Cooper primarily to mesh with Claiborne.

“Somebody said to me, that’s the only reason we hired him,” Schiano said. “I said, ‘Yeah, we would do that; we would jeopardize the entire football team for that.’ No.”

The reunion could still come about, of course. The Bucs are in need of help at cornerback, and Claiborne is expected to be available when Tampa Bay makes the fifth overall pick.

“We will have some inside info (on Claiborne),” Schiano said. “But that’s not why we hired Ron. Ron is an exceptional secondary coach. He’s an excellent coach, obviously, by the way (his) guys (at LSU) have performed.”

If the Bucs get Talib and Barber back, Joe wouldn’t cry about having the same cornerbacks in 2012, as long as that’s balanced by new impact linebackers and a top replacement for Jones.

Joe’s of the opinion that the Bucs need to make a major offseason splash to upgrade what could be a woefully thin secondary by adding a top-flight cornerback in free agency and drafting LSU stud Mo Claiborne.

If reports surfacing in Indianapolis are to be believed, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik may be channeling Joe’s head.

Earlier this afternoon, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune Twittered out what appears to be the pulse of agents, coaches and front office types at the NFL combine, that the Bucs want Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan, a free agent to be.

@RCummingsTrib: Hearing a lot of talk here at the combine about the Bucs expressing strong interest in signing Titans FA CB Cortland Finnegan.

Moments after Cummings Twittered that rumor, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean posted a report that talks between Finnegan and the Titans broke down today and it appears Finnegan has played his last snap of football with the Titans.

The Titans met with the agent for cornerback Cortland Finnegan on Friday at the NFL Combine, but indications are no progress was made toward a long-term deal.

All signs still point to Finnegan becoming a free agent on March 13. The Titans aren’t expected to use the $10.6 million franchise tag on Finnegan by the March 5 deadline. …

Finnegan recently put his Brentwood home on the market, however, still convinced he won’t be back with the Titans in 2012. It appears he’ll be right. The sixth-year pro is coming off another solid season after turning down a contract in the four-year, $28 million range prior to the start of last season. He’s seeking more than the five-year, $48.75 million contract cornerback Johnathan Joseph signed with the Texans last July, a deal that included $23.5 million in guarantees, and the Titans aren’t inclined to rise to those figures.

Now Joe would prefer Brandon Carr, but Tom Krasniqi of WHBO-AM 1040 makes an interesting point: Finnegan, though he can be a jerk at times, is a hard-nosed football player who often gets in the heads of opposing wide receivers. He has a nasty streak.

If the Bucs defense needs anything, it’s somebody who isn’t afraid of blasting people and making his presence felt, not swinging a red cape allowing running backs to run as free as whitetail deer in a Nebraska cornfield, galloping down the sidelines.

Now Joe has gone on record for years that drafting a running back in the first round is a terrible investment because, as a team, a club is paying top dollar for a player with a limited shelf life due to the physical punishment running backs receive.

Throw in the fact that there are so many good running backs drafted in late rounds or even pulled off the streets as a free agent, it’s much better to draft a cornerback or an offensive linemen with a first-round pick as teams get far more bang for the buck.

Given how horrible the Bucs defense was last year, how the team could be looking at filling three holes in the secondary this offseason, drafting a running back — some fans are pining for Alabama’s Trent Richardson — is simply irresponsible.

It seems the numbers crunchers at FootballOutsiders.com agree with Joe.

While their analysis of drafting running backs high in the first round is hidden behind a satanic paywall, ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas cracked open the door a bit to give readers a glimpse of the FootballOutsiders’ article.

The five leading rushers over the last five seasons are Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson and Michael Turner. Those five have combined for two playoff wins as starting running backs (and that doesn’t include two playoff victories Turner had as a backup to LaDainian Tomlinson with the 2007 Chargers).

The column then points to the backfields of the two Super Bowl teams. The New York Giants had Ahmad Bradshaw (a seventh-round pick) and Brandon Jacobs (a fourth-round pick). The New England Patriots had a pair of undrafted running backs in BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead as well as third-round pick Stevan Ridley.

Well, you can go back a few Super Bowls and see the same evidence. Sure, the Steelers drafted Rashard Mendenhall in the first round and he’s not come close to living up to his first-round billing. Hell, the Steelers won a Super Bowl with Mendenhall on injured reserve, and two years ago against the Packers, Mendenhall may have given the Super Bowl away when he fumbled deep into Packers territory in the fourth quarter when it appeared the Steelers were about to score.

Add to the fact the Bucs already have a running back, LeGarrette Blount. (It’s not his problem he had a clueless offensive who didn’t know how to use him.) Shoot, Blount had a grand total of five carries in the season opener — FIVE! That is no less than outrageous!

Could the Bucs use another running back for depth? Sure, a speedster like LaMichael James who is lightning quick and can catch out of the backfield (so can Blount).

No. Just no to Trent Richardson. The Bucs have way too many holes on defense.

Joe understands, sadly, that good guy Gerald McCoy is losing his luster with many fans.

The Bucs had high hopes for GMC when he was the third selection overall in the 2010 draft. As a rookie, he had just started to turn the corner midway through the season when he blew out his biceps in his left arm.

Last year, GMC was often disruptive and this helped the Bucs jump out to a 4-2 record with wins over a pair of divisional playoff teams. Then he blew out the biceps in his right arm and was lost for the season.

GMC’s attributes are not lost on eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune who Twittered yesterday that it’s time for GMC to establish himself as one of the team’s best players.

@IKaufmanTrib: Gerald McCoy hasn’t generated Pro Bowl numbers, but the Bucs play better defense when he’s on the field. Keeping him healthy is critical.

There was too much of a drop off for the Bucs defense when GMC was not on the field. For the Bucs defense to turn the corner, GMC needs to have his jersey filthy at the end of games.

Joe watched the video below when it aired last night on NBC Sports Talk. And Joe previously has written about Greg Schiano’s comment on free agency spending, “We’re going to do it responsibly.”

Definitely take a listen. Schiano explains he’s only scratched the surface on evaluating the Bucs’ roster, and he gets into Ronde Barber’s potential return. 

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