Sadly, Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has his detractors. One just needs to read the comments on this site for evidence.

Joe always enjoyed his interaction with GMC and likes how open GMC is with fans. He’s a good dude.

That’s why Joe was aghast that this week GMC tried to become intimate with that disgusting old hag Madonna.

The NFL trotted that old bag out last week as the league sunk to a new level having her, ahem, perform at halftime of today’s Super Bowl, a halftime show Joe can assure you he will not watch one minute of.

Apparently, per the Associated Press, GMC wanted Madonna to express her affection with him, in a manner of words.

McCoy, working as a reporter for OCNN – Chad Ochocinco’s network – showed a lack of fear that would impress Bucs fans during the music legend’s Super Bowl news conference Thursday in Indianapolis.

He asked Madonna for a smooch, and was quickly shot down.

The back-and-forth began when a bold McCoy, sitting among hundreds of media members, told Madonna, “I’m only 23, but I love you.”

DUDE! There is sssooo much better talent out there to pick up — just walk through International Plaza on a Wednesday night — than this old untalented battle ax.

Joe never, ever understood this Modannoa phenomenon. So she wore a bra over her blouse. Big deal! With talent like that, one can get a gig working weeknights at The Oz in Clearwater.

Joe is no less than outraged that Van Halen, about to embark on a nationwide tour, isn’t playing halftime.The nerve of NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell to turn his back on David Lee Roth and the Van Halen troupe in favor of this over-aged businesswoman.

Juicy, giant mini Shorty Burgers from Pete & Shorty’s are the perfect way to go this weekend. Joe can barely contain himself thinking about these savory blessings of beef goodness.

And you can take home a giant box of 24 Shorty Burgers for only $20 now through Super Bowl Sunday!

Shorty Burgers are heaven in a cardboard box and a must for any party. Joe actually likes to just drive around with a box in the passenger seat. Call Pete & Shorty’s every day for this special through Feb. 5. Please watch the video.

Pete and Shorty’s Shorty Burgers 2-GO! from 3 Square Studios on Vimeo.

Stop the Super Bowl hype! The Bucs have a wide receivers coach. Joe is giddy with excitement.

Actually, Joe isn’t that excited, but it’s at least a morsel of coaching news to gulp down as Greg Schiano continues to work alone at One Buc Palace.

Per BSPN, former 49ers wide receiver and Rutgers receivers coach P.J. Fleck will be the new mentor for Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn and friends.

Just 31 years old, is Fleck a good hire? Geez, Joe has no clue — and neither do you.

Here’s what Raheem Morris said about the last receivers coach, Eric Yarber, who joined the team before the 2010 season. It’s a classic Raheem quote, including a take on Chucky’s old receivers coach, Richard Mann, so Joe wanted to share.

“He’s got a nice bounce about him on the practice field. He’s got a nice bounce about him in the meeting rooms. His meeting rooms are very entertaining,” Raheem said of Yarber. “He brings back, for me being a head coach, when you walk in that room it kind of gets you back into that feel when you’re a [defensive backs] coach. You get to that room and the guys are there and they’re joking around and they’re working. You’re able to talk to the guys and they’re able to communicate back with you. You’re able to communicate with those guys. You’re able to learn from some of the older guys in that room. He’s able to comment. He’s talking about his experience from his playing days. It’s real nice. It’s a breath fresh air, you know, from what we had. Richard Mann was kind of the opposite. He was a set old back, laid back teacher, a fundamentalist core. You know, and he had a lot of great attributes, as well. But it’s a nice vibe when you go into that room and you see the guys really vibing, and really having that kind of energy chasing them down.”

All that “vibing” and “entertaining” was just great in 2010, and then 2011 was, well, a different story.

Joe suspects Fleck wasn’t hired by Schiano to vibe and entertain, though maybe he will. Joe can only hope the new guy is a great teacher who can command respect instantly.

There were all sorts of reasons for Team Glazer to jettison Raheem Morris from the Bucs. The biggest reason was that as the season grew long, the Bucs looked more like a Division-II team than an NFL team.

Just thinking of the Bucs coughing up 42 points in 22 minutes makes Joe want to run for a bottle of Pepto Bismol. It may have been the worst display of defense Joe has ever seen in the NFL and any defensive starter short of Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers — who, despite being rookies, played like NFL’ers — should be lighting candles to give thanks for still being employed.

It was interesting when Joe learned, via “The Godfather,” Gil Brandt, that Gerald McCoy, upon learning of Greg Schiano’s hiring, stated, “I hope he is organized.”

ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas suggests GMC is just scraping the tip of the iceberg, as Yasinskas wrote in his weekly NFC South blog chat.

andy (hickory, nc)

pat, no offense, but how is schiano the new bucs coach the opposite of raheem? he has no nfl head coaching or coordinator experience, hes a defensive minded coach, hes young, he sounds just like raheem.

Pat Yasinskas

Andy, that doesn’t offend me in any way! But Schiano is a good bit older and much more mature than Raheem. He also has a proven record as a builder and a winner. Raheem truly was a nice guy. But I don’t think fans realized just how out of control things were on many levels. Schiano is known for running a tight ship. So they’re very different guys.

Joe has to wonder just how much more drama Schiano will tolerate from overrated Aqib Talib? Joe also wonders if Schiano will let Kellen Winslow coast through practices?

Now Joe understands Winslow’s knees can no longer handle the grueling day-to-day punishment of an NFL season. But not practicing each day may explain why Winslow, in the last game of the season, was running a wrong route that blew up a pass intended for Kregg Lumpkin.

Who knew the Bucs already have taken punches to the gut as they try to resurrect the franchise from the ugly depths it fell to during Raheem Morris’ final 10 weeks?

Joe was unaware the Bucs had screwed themselves in the past month. But veteran NFL scribe and Tampa Tribune Bucs beat writer eye-RAH! Kaufman is adamant Tampa Bay has made serious mistakes.

“You have allowed Steve Spagnuolo to go to a division rival. Mr. Mike Nolan to go to a division rival, who’s just a notch below Spagnuolo in my opinion as a D-coordinator. Those are killer blows for an organization,” Kaufman told Steve Duemig on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday. “The Saints don’t need a good defense; they need an average defense and look out. And with Spagnuolo, working with a young Buc defensive line, I thought that would have been a great match.”

Kaufman went on to pound his claim that rockstar general manager Mark Dominik shares the same agent as Spagnuolo and something could have/should have been worked out. It was unclear whether Kaufman was referring to Spagnuolo becoming Bucs head coach or only defensive coordinator. Spagnuolo was hired by the Saints about a week before Greg Schiano took the Bucs’ reigns.

For Joe, Spagnuolo would have been a great coordinator hire by the Bucs, but Joe’s not seeing how that could have happened before a head coach was locked up.

Kaufman joins 40 or so other choice scribes today in voting for the Hall of Fame class of 2012. In that process, he’s the lone voice from the Tampa Bay area.  

Unfortunately, Kaufman said Warren Sapp’s poor relationship with media during his playing days — he didn’t talk to Kaufman for three years — will still be a factor when Sapp is eligible for induction next year.

Thougth he doesn’t hold any grudges, Kaufman said he’s talked to Hall voters recently who still carry an anti-Sapp torch and Sapp will have heavy competition in his class from “heavy names,” including Michael Strahan, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen. John Lynch also is eligible next year.

This season truly will test whether what Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has often said is true: that the Bucs are “all about No. 5.”

The passing game was putrid last year. Was Mike Williams overrated? Have defensive coordinators found a way to stop him?

Those are logical questions, but regardless, the best way to make sure Williams gets open is to get heat off of him. One way to do that is to tap into a very deep wide receiver pool of free agents.

Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski, “The Commish,” seems to be of the mind that the Bucs may be eyeing San Diego wide receiver Vincent Jackson, so he commented  on his blog, CommishOnline.com.

Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network stated that the top suitor for Vincent Jackson might be the 49ers. The 49ers did reach the NFC Championship Game, but their vertical pass game was very suspect. However, the 49ers weren’t the only team LaCanfora mentioned in regards to Vincent Jackson.

“I also wonder about rebuilding quarterbacks,” LaCanfora said. “Sam Bradford in St. Louis or [Josh] Freeman in Tampa, they need to build around those guys and give them some weapons. Those are the kind of teams I see going big for Vincent Jackson.”

Vincent Jackson’s market might not be that big because of cap limitations for a lot of teams, so a team like the Buccaneers or Rams might have the upper hand in acquiring him.

Of course, as Justin points out, Jackson may not even be available if the Chargers franchise him.

So is it too early to suggest Williams is overrated? Joe believes it is. Joe would like to see what Williams — and Arrelious Benn — can do with an offensive coordinator who can actually devise plays to get receivers open consistently.

Legendary sports radio host Chris Russo is never at a loss for words. So when Joe had the rare opportunity to talk to the “Mad Dog” Tuesday while Joe prowled Radio Row at the Super Bowl Media Center at the J.W. Marriott in Indianapolis, of course Joe asked Russo his thoughts on the Bucs signing Greg Schiano to be the ninth coach in Bucs franchise history. Russo, who anchors the channel that bears his name, “Mad Dog Radio,” can be heard on “Mad Dog Unleashed” exclusively on SiriusXM Radio weekdays from 2-7 p.m.

JoeBucsFan: Chris, your thoughts on the Bucs hiring Greg Schiano as their new coach.

Chris Russo: A good move by Tampa. Schiano is a good defensive coach. Belichick gave him an endorsement. Schiano was trying to leave Rutgers and I think that’s a good move by Schiano and a really good hire by the Bucs, I like that one.

Joe: Some Bucs fans are apprehensive because Schiano has only scant experience coaching in the NFL.

Russo: I can understand that. I can see that as he only has NFL experience as a defensive back coach. But if Belichick gives you his approval, he knows what he is doing. Belichick made a great point: all Rutgers players that are drafted to play in the NFL are ready to play in the league. He’s a good defensive coach, I think he will do a good job in Tampa. I’m pretty convinced of it.

The endless debate among Bucs fans this offseason will not be about the value of Barrett Ruud (thank goodness!) but will surround how the Bucs should prioritize free agency and the NFL Draft. Nothing is clear-cut.

Tampa Tribune Bucs beat writer Roy Cummings chimed in early with long look at free agency and offered several takes today. Here’s one:

The situation at cornerback is arguably the most dire. Tampa Bay sees recent draftees E.J. Biggers and Myron Lewis as backups and the potential losses of Ronde Barber to retirement or another team and Aqib Talib to a possible suspension or jail sentence could force the team’s hand.

No one should be surprised then if one of the Bucs’ top targets is Falcons corner Brent Grimes. At 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds, Grimes is much like Barber but, at age 29 when the season starts, still in his prime. Also, signing him would weaken a division rival.

Cummings went on to explore other positions, but not defensive line.

Call Joe crazy, but Joe would applaud an upscale signing at defensive tackle and would rank that pretty high on the list of priorities. Put aside all the love and hopes for the young Bucs D-line for a moment, and it’s clear that the two beasts up the gut, Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, have serious injury concerns. And Bucs fans have seen what’s behind them, which ain’t so so pretty.

Greg Schiano spoke about the critical importance of competition on his roster, and even a novice fan knows depth is important. Given those two factors, Joe sees the Bucs as aching for a veteran that can challenge Price and McCoy. Joe would even overpay for a guy like that. Joe sees a barely average player like Jeff Faine scheduled to make $6 million or so next season, and Joe would much rather invest that cash into the heart of the Bucs’ defense.

The quality of your cornerbacks seems a lot less important if you’re getting gutted and gashed at the line of scrimmage repeatedly.

That’s no knock on Cummings’ take. Barber’s situation is a mystery and injury-prone Talib has his felony trial set for after the start of free agency, and he’s entering the final year of his contract. Joe just doesn’t want to gamble on the current crop of Bucs D-linemen.

The way the Bucs played last season, replete with a grotesque 10-game losing streak to close the season resulting in Team Glazer jettisoning coach Raheem Morris and his staff, no one in their right mind expected to see the Bucs playing in primetime this season.

But NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell had something up his sleeve. In negotiating new television pacts, Goodell had written into the contract with NFL Network, which will broadcast a 15-game Thursday night schedule, that every NFL team will play at least one game on Thursday night in 2012, writes Judy Batista of the New York Times.

“Adding these games to the NFL Network schedule will give more players, teams, and cities the prime-time stage,” Goodell said at his annual state of the league news conference Friday. “Our fans can now get an early start on the NFL weekend in the season’s first 15 weeks.”

Well, Joe’s a football freak and when BSPN had it’s Thursday night college football games, most of them very good, Joe was glued to the tube, adult beverage in hand.

Not it’s even better.

Joe remembers the Great GOB, the late Chris Thomas used to scoff that if anyone watched more than 12 hours of football in a weekend, they needed to check themselves in to a facility.

Just 12 hours? That’s just getting warmed up for Joe. Combining Thursday football, a high school football game on Friday night, the smorgasbord of college football on Saturdays, NFL on Sunday and Monday, there have been weekends when Joe has consumed 30 hours of football in a weekend.

And untold numbers of beers along the way.

The 2012 regular season schedule will be released in April right around the NFL draft. It’s hard to believe that April is just two months away. Wow, time is flying in 2012!

CBS Sports game analyst and Sirius NFL Radio personality Rich Gannon, lamenting the 10th anniversary of the Bucs burying him and his Raiders in the Super Bowl, is still troubled by what he saw from the 2011 Bucs only halfway through their season.

Gannon called the Texans-Bucs game on CBS, when the 4-4 Bucs returned home to get absolutely clobbered by Houston. The loss got Raheem Morris talking about “loafs” and fans wondering why they bought tickets when they could be home jamming pencils in their eyeballs.

Gannon sat down for a strong interview with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday and was quick to say the Bucs of that weekend were ugly on many levels.

“I did the [Houston] game live and then as I watched the tape, I just felt the effort wasn’t good, the finish wasn’t good. It just looked like a team that really wasn’t ready to play,” Gannon said. “I remember going to Friday practice, and I remember leaving telling our crew ‘Boy, this is not good.’ Practice wasn’t good. It wasn’t crisp. It wasn’t up-tempo. The ball was on the ground a lot. It just didn’t seem like guys were dialed in and focused. And that really bothered me.”

Gannon went on to explain why he likes the Greg Schiano hire and that he thinks the Bucs are “not that far away.” You can listen to the entire interview below.

Juicy, giant mini Shorty Burgers from Pete & Shorty’s are the perfect way to go this weekend. Joe can barely contain himself thinking about these savory blessings of beef goodness.

And you can take home a giant box of 24 Shorty Burgers for only $20 now through Super Bowl Sunday!

Shorty Burgers are heaven in a cardboard box and a must for any party. Joe actually likes to just drive around with a box in the passenger seat. Call Pete & Shorty’s every day for this special through Feb. 5. Please watch the video.

Pete and Shorty’s Shorty Burgers 2-GO! from 3 Square Studios on Vimeo.

Proven to be washed up as a starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb could be a valuable backup QB.

Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings, of The Tampa Tribune, invested plenty of ink into this theory with a call for the Bucs to take a long hard at one of Tampa Bay’s arch rivals 10+ years ago.

Freeman struggled in part last year because he had no one with regular game-day experience to turn to when his game went off the rails. McNabb would certainly give him that.

You can click on through above and read Cummings’ entire take.

Joe’s all in favor of the Bucs bringing in a veteran to back up, motivate, and educate Freeman. However, Joe’s not sure how the Bucs go about figuring out if McNabb really wants to be in that role versus starting. Joe remembers how Jeff Garcia left the Bucs and went to Oakland as an alleged backup and then shook up the entire team with a power play to start.

How ironic would it be if Ronde Barber left the Bucs and McNabb joined the team?

Throughout the past two seasons, when Team Glazer got tired of buying so many unused tickets in order to broadcast home games locally, many Bucs fans laughed at the NFL blackout, running to their laptops to watch games from international feeds knowing full well they were breaking laws watching broadcasts that violated copyright laws, not to mention getting so many viruses from the feeds that it made picking up hooker in Honduras a safer act.

Well, watching those illegal feeds just got tougher for local Bucs fans. No less an authority than the Wall Street Journal reports the long arm of the federal law has seized a number of host sites that streamed the games, and detained owners of these same sites as well, so writes Chad Bray.

On Thursday, prosecutors announced that they had seized 16 Web sites that provided access to illegal live streams of copyrighted sporting events and brought criminal charges against a Michigan man who allegedly operated nine of those websites.

“Sports fans may be tempted by illegal streaming websites, but in the end, it is they who pay the price,” said Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. “These websites and their operators deprive sports leagues and networks of legitimate revenue, forcing spectators and viewers to bear the cost of this piracy down the line.”

The websites allegedly linked to other sites that broadcasst pirated sporting and pay-per-view events, including National Football League, National Basketball League and National Hockey League games and wrestling matches.

NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell and the feds are not playing around. The NFL wants rear ends in the seats or no TV for you! This was hammered home last night on Costas Tonight, a town hall meeting broadcast live from Indianapolis on NBC Sports Network last night where Bob Kraft, Jerry Jones and Goodell himself emphasized for the NFL to succeed as a league, it cannot broadcast games in stadiums with fans disguised as empty seats.

Try to find (and watch) pirated games next season, and know that you are being watched by a higher authority.

Joe’s ears perk up when he hears a nine-year NFL veteran name the most passionate coach he’s ever been around.

Tuesday on The King David Show, on WQYK-AM 1010, Colts middle linebacker Gary Brackett said Bucs coach Greg Schiano oozes love of football like he’s never seen. The Rutgers grad has been with Indianapolis since 2003 and won a Super Bowl ring as a starting linebacker under Father Dungy.

“I never met a coach who loved football as much as Coach Schiano. You know, and that says a lot with the coaches that I’ve been under,” Brackett said. “But a passionate guy, a brilliant football mind and really a fantastic coach, really a players’ coach. I loved him the two years played under him.”  

Brackett went on to say Schiano had a lot of success as a recruiter at Rutgers because recruits “can just see the passion. He knows both sides of ball. Just a fantastic coach, a man of God, a Christian guy, so that appeals to a lot of guys. Just a standup guy.”

So what does Brackett remember most about Schiano the coach?

“That’s all he preached when I was there: discipline,” Bracket said. “”Stay in your gaps. If you do your jobs, everything works out.'”

Joe loves the touch-feely concept of Schiano loving football like no other. Joe’s not sure it means much, but Joe’s buying in right now. Joe can only imagine what football-loving Schiano is thinking while watching the 2011 Bucs linebackers on film.

Among the most respected football men on the planet is Gil Brandt. The architect of the powerhouse “America’s Team” Dallas Cowboys for three decades, Brandt was no less than a wizard when he came to evaluating players and finding hidden gems not just in the draft, but in free agency as well. Brandt keeps busy in football these days working for the NFL as well as co-hosting his own nightly radio show heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Brandt’s attention to detail, his meticulous memory recall and his storytelling is why NFL types refer to Brandt as “The Godfather.” Brandt, who signed Joe’s high school coach to play safety for the Cowboys at the team’s height of success, gave Joe a few moments during Super Bowl Media Day to talk Bucs football.

JoeBucsFan: Your thoughts on the Bucs hiring Greg Schiano as their new coach?

Gil Brandt: From what I know of him, I think it’s a good thing. I talked to [Bucs defensive tackle] Gerald McCoy who is here today and I told him I thought [Schiano’s hiring] was a good thing and he said, “I just hope he is organized.” I told [McCoy that Schiano] was one of the most organized guys in the world. So I think that one of the things [that went haywire with the Bucs] was that things were run kind of loose and the organization wasn’t there, the organization that you need to be successful. [Schiano] took over a [Rutgers] that never had a first round draft choice and the guy had three. He took over a program that never went to one bowl game and he won seven out of eight. His defense should be good.

Joe: Schiano seems like a guy who is really big on fundamentals as well as organization. It is safe to say he may have learned organization from his days with Joe Paterno?

Brandt: Oh, yeah. And he had experience with the Bears also with Dave Wannstedt. The biggest thing now is the staff that you get to help you. That’s the biggest thing now. People realize the importance of [assistant] coaches now.

Joe: Did the Bucs paint themselves in a corner? Are they in a pinch because they were the last team to hire a new coach? Or are there enough good coaches out there?

Brandt: There are a lot of good coaches out there. When I say there are a lot of good coaches out there it’s like talking about golf. There are a lot of good golfers out there but there are only a few zero handicaps. Guys that are a five-handicap are pretty good golfers too.

Joe: Just after Schiano was hired, there were two names linked to him and the Bucs, two guys that Schiano has a past with. One of them was Tom Bradley, longtime defensive coordinator at Penn State. What do you think of Bradley as a coach?

Brandt: I think he is a very good coach. I always thought he was a very good coach and I thought he had a very great knowledge of defense. That would be a good hire [for the Bucs].

Joe: There is also talk about Butch Davis coming in potentially as the Bucs defensive coordinator.

Brandt: Well, if Butch Davis is willing to do it and wants to stay in football and afford himself an opportunity to get back in [the NFL] someday as a head coach. I don’t think with the trouble he got into at North Carolina he can get back in the college game, but I do think he can be an NFL coach even though he didn’t do all that well in Cleveland.

Joe: Well, you worked with him in Dallas and he seemed to do a good job there as a defensive coordinator.

Brandt: Oh, there’s no question about it.

Joe stares at the juicy, giant mini Shorty Burgers in this video from his friends at Pete & Shorty’s and Joe can barely contain himself. And you can take home a giant box of 24 Shorty Burgers for only $20 now through Super Bowl Sunday!

They’re absolute heaven in a cardboard box and a must for any party. Joe actually likes to just drive around with a box in the passenger seat. Call Pete & Shorty’s every day for this special through Feb. 5. Please watch the video.

Pete and Shorty’s Shorty Burgers 2-GO! from 3 Square Studios on Vimeo.

As Joe’s readers are aware, he was at Super Bowl Media Day Tuesday, and prowled around Radio Row at the Media Headquarters. As Joe usually does, he snapped a few photos with his fancy SLR camera to share with his readers.

The throng of fans who paid $25 a head to attend Media Day.

Penn State coach and New England offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien listens to a point made by Adam Schein as Rich Gannon listens while broadcasting live from Media Day on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

The great Gil Brandt, left, "The Godfather," longtime Cowboys executive and current SiriusXM NFL Radio host

A young reporter has captured the attention of Patriots linebacker Gary Guyton.

The one and only Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, of SiriusXM broadcasting live from Radio Row.

NFL Network's Lindsey Soto seems bored with Penn State coach and New England offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.

The media mob scene around New England quarterback Tom Brady, who you can barely see in the background.

Former NFL great running back Eddie George knows who to stop and talk with.

Marisol Gonzalez from Televisa Deportes pulls an Ines Sainz, who also attended Media Day but was very much dressed down for the occasion.

Another angle of Ms. Gonzalez, a former Miss Universe contestant.

Solomon Wilcots and Bob Papa broadcast "The Opening Drive" on SiriusXM NFL Radio live from Radio Row.

Maggie Gray of SI.com interviews New England guard Dan Connolly. Since Maggie reads Joe, she is what Joe refers to as FOJ (Friend of Joe).

A Patriots fan tries to get the attention of Wes Welker, apparently unaware he is engaged.

The media mob scene around Penn State coach and New England offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.

Joe's good friend, "The Big Dog," Steve Duemig, consults with engineer Jason Floyd during show prep on Radio Row.

The J.W. Marriott, the media headquarters in downtown Indianapolis.

Fans attending Media Day at Lucas Oil Stadium were given radios. Six players/coaches per team were broadcast on a specific channel on the radios. Fans could choose what player/coach to listen to using the channel number on the Lucas Oil Stadium JumboTron.

NFL players union chief DeMaurice Smith was in the house during Media Day.

Deion Sanders charms Maria Menounos of Extra!

Victory Field in Indianapolis, right across the street from the media headquarters at the Super Bowl, where the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians play.

Patriots' Danny Aiken and Britt Davis pose with some entertainment reporter Joe doesn't know and a BSPN reject who now works for yet another entertainment "news" show.

Joe wishes he got paid every time he typed the phrase “it’s all about No. 5.” It’s a phrase first coined many months ago by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik when suggesting the Bucs revolve around their franchise quarterback.

So when Freeman struggled mightily last year, it wasn’t a coincidence that so too did the Bucs.

Now last year’s awful season that resulted in the entire coaching staff, led by Raheem Morris, being jettisoned wasn’t all on Freeman. The defense was a special kind of stench rarely detected outside of a barnyard. However, if Freeman had numbers close to what he had in 2010, perhaps things would have turned out different.

Recently a former Bucs quarterback and currently loud talker on BSPN ranked the quarterbacks in the NFC South and naturally Freeman was No. 4.

ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas decided to also discuss his NFC South quarterback rankings and unlike Dilfer, Yasinskas’ copy is not hiding behind a pathetic paywall forcing innocents into buying a garbage rag of a magazine not quite fit for a birdcage.

That brings us to Freeman. At the start of this past season, I thought Freeman had a chance to jump over Ryan into the No. 2 spot. That obviously didn’t happen and Freeman tumbled to No. 4 in the division. But Dilfer wrote that he still thinks Freeman can become elite. I agree totally.

Yes, Freeman had a bad 2011 season and some of the blame falls on him for that. But I put more blame on his coaching and supporting cast. I think the talent is there and Freeman can bounce back in 2012.

This is why it is critical of new Bucs coach Greg Schiano to find the right guy to right Freeman. Until the Bucs defense is finished with its overhaul, which could be a year or two away, the Bucs will only go so far as Freeman can carry them.

This should be priority No. 1 for Schiano and Dominik.

Jerry Olsavsky, a former eight-year linebacker with the Steelers and a current defensive assistant, is linked to the Bucs.

Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Bucs have interviewed Steelers defensive assistant Jerry Olsavsky for an undetermined defensive job.

Joe doubts it would be for defensive coordinator, as Olsavsky has never had a full-time position to coach with the Steelers.

Per Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette, the Steelers had high hopes for Olsavsky had linebackers coach Keith Butler left to be defensive coordinator with the Dolts.

Defensive assistant Jerry Olsavsky is interviewing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to become linebackers coach — a move that was likely precipitated when linebackers coach Keith Butler turned down an opportunity to become defensive coordinator in Indianapolis.

Olsavsky, who played from 1989-1997 with the Steelers, would have been in position to become linebackers coach if Butler decided to leave.

Per Steelers.com, Olsavsky “assists in all areas of the defensive staff in their daily operations,” which is probably a polite way of saying Olsavsky is currently a get-back coach.