Former Bucs DE Steve White

By STEVE WHITE
JoeBucsFan.com analyst 

 Steve White spent every season of the Tony Dungy era (1996-2001) playing defensive end for the Bucs. He’s spent countless hours in the film room with the likes of Warren Sapp, Rod Marinelli and more. Joe is humbled to have White, also a published author and blogger, as part of the JoeBucsFan.com team. Recently, White even contributed “Insider” NFL Draft content to ESPN.com. 

 Below is White’s weekly Bull Rush column that breaks down all things defense with a focus on the defensive line. It’s simply a can’t-miss read for the hardcore Bucs fan. 

With the 2009 season over, White has broken down every Bucs defensive lineman, shared takes on offseason preparation, and gotten into some serious Xs and Os. For football junkies, reading White’s work is like striking gold.  

Today, White analyzes how the Bucs could find success on the defensive line with their young defensive tackles.

Grab a cold beverage and enjoy.

I have my issues with us drafting Brian Price in the second round after drafting Gerald McCoy with the No. 3 pick in the first round, which don’t really reflect the way I feel about Price as a player.

He definitely has first-round talent and that he would have made us or somebody else a great undertackle. It more has to do with the fact that I have reservations about drafting two guys with such similar skill sets so early in the draft, and I also truly believe that drafting Price at that slot eventually cost us a fifth-round pick that potentially could have at least provided competition at another position, if not developed into a starter.

But let’s set all that aside for the moment.

Both McCoy and Price are here now, and GM Mark Dominik as well as Coach Morris both say they will team up with Roy Miller to form a disruptive defensive tackle rotation. The question is how do we maximize each player’s abilities both individually and collectively to get the most out of them as a group?

As you might imagine I have some ideas, so I thought I might share.

First of all, it’s important for fans to understand that playing nosetackle is as different from playing undertackle/3-technique as playing safety is to playing cornerback. Sure, you both belong to the same generic group whether its the defensive line or the secondary, but the technique with your footwork and hands are divergent, as are the schemes you will see thrown at you.

For an undertackle, you are going to be in a wide 3-technique with your inside hand on the ground on the offensive guard’s outside foot or wider. You will be tilted inside in your alignment to aid you in seeing the ball being snapped and you will have what we call a “credit card” alignment, meaning you get as close to the line of scrimmage as possible without being called for lining up in the neutral zone. Everything is about attacking off the snap and then playing whichever blocking scheme is thrown at you. There is no read and react, you force them to react to you as much as is humanly possible.

From this position you may see a zone-strong running scheme where the guard tries to overtake your outside shoulder and block you inside so that the running back can bounce it outside. There also is the opposite play, in which they zone-weak and the guard slip blocks you off quickly up to the linebacker and the backside tackle tries to scramble or cut block you to create a cutback lane.

You may have a base block where the offensive guard comes off low and hard at your inside shoulder on downhill between the tackle runs by the running back. You may also get a double team between the offensive tackle and guard, either on a downhill off tackle running play or on a counter-play strong. And then you have the occasional down block where the guard in front of you pulls outside and the tackle on your side blocks down on your outside shoulder to cave you inside.

Nosetackles don’t have the luxury of being in wide alignment. Instead, you line up with your inside hand down inside of the center’s outside leg. Your tilt is more pronounced in our defense and is referred to as being cocked. The secret about this alignment is when being double teamed, which a nosetackle will be A LOT, you don’t want to give both guys a lot of surface to hit.

If you go into the gap with your shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage then you make it easy for the offensive line. The center takes one shoulder, the guard takes the other, and you end up playing the deep third back by the safeties. But if you can get into the gap with your shoulders more perpendicular to the line of scrimmage you still give the center your chest to block but you make it hard on the guard who only has your back to push on. In fact, the more the guard pushes you in the back, the more he is actually helping you defeat the center’s block, if you get good hand placement and arm extension on him.

Which ain’t easy. In fact, a nosetackle getting his hands into a center’s chest consistently on run blocks is one of the hardest things to do in football in my opinion.

Timing Very Different At Nose, Undertackle

Now some of the schemes a nosetackle will face will somewhat mimic what an undertackle sees but the timing is different because guards are usually backed off the line while the center is, of course, lined up on it. So when an undertackle is double teamed it’s more of a simultaneous block, whereas when a nosetackle gets doubled it’s more of a bang-bang scenario. The center punches you and then here comes the guard coming to clean you up. In that same vein, a nosetackle wants to be quick off the ball but he doesn’t want to fire up field. Instead, he wants to take a good short power step and shoot his hands so that he has a good base of strength with good balance.

Aside from the double team a nosetackle will see a lot of scoop blocks on zone-strong, where the center posts them and then heads up to the linebacker and the guard tries to cut or scramble them. If a nosetackle can’t play that block, it creates a huge soft spot in the defense because the linemen on the strong side are hustling to make sure the running back has to cut back. If he can cut back and hit the hole downhill where the nose should be, then he gets to get up a head of steam heading into the secondary. Not a good look.

There are a few centers still athletic enough to reach-block a nosetackle, and it can also be hell on a run defense if they are successful.

I remember back in the days when Frank Winters for the Green Bay Packers made that block into almost an art form. If you block a nosetackle inside you are moving him from one side of the formation to the other. At that point, the defense is woefully outnumbered on the weakside and that’s how you end up with breakout runs.

Line Stunts, Assignments Could Provide An Edge

A more rarely used but very effective blocking scheme against a nosetackle is the Wham block. It’s a total asshole move where a team uses an offset fullback or a flexed tight end to come in and blindside the nose after the center flashes them to get them going up the field. Guys get so excited about being unblocked that many times they never see the block coming, and MAN does it sting!

Probably, the No. 1 worry with such young guys playing for us in the middle is they will have urges to make plays that aren’t theirs to make.

What I mean is that McCoy may be getting reach blocked and see the running back appear to be on course to run inside of him. Well, natural instinct in that case is to forgo your gap and peek inside to help out on the tackle. But the difference between NFL running backs and college running backs is tremendous. And if you duck inside on most NFL running backs they will see it, bounce the ball outside right where you were supposed to be and make you pay.

You have to trust that your teammate that is supposed to have the gap inside will do their job and make the play while you continue to do yours. It sounds easy, but it goes against most football players makeup to not try to make every play no matter what.

So considering the fact that we have three guys in McCoy, Price, and Miller who are all of similar size, which is to say they are considered somewhat undersized in this day and age, but are all athletic and strong, how do we put them in the best position to win?

One word. MOVEMENT

And really, this doesn’t just apply to them, but to our whole defensive line.

Don’t get me wrong, the majority of snaps in most games we will have to line up and get after it. But we should also be mixing it up with line stunts on early downs and pass rush games on longer yardage situations.

In all reality, line stunts turn into pass rush games if it’s not a run anyway. But the point is with movement you keep offensive linemen off balance, you make them hesitant when coming off the ball, you keep our guys from being double teamed as much, you get the most out of our guys athleticism, and you also set yourself up well to get a pass rush versus play-action pass.

Also, and this isn’t a minor thing, you can save young guys from themselves by giving them an assigned place to go rather than have them trying to read and play a block correctly every single play.

Tons of people keep saying we need to get back to what we used to do in our defense and I couldn’t agree more. But it’s worth noting that even at the end of his tenure, Monte Kiffin probably wasn’t using as many line stunts as he could have or should have.

We can dictate to the other team where the ball goes with our stunts while helping each other defeat blocks. For instance, there is a stunt where our strong side defensive end and undertackle make inside moves on the snap of the ball. This creates a situation where the running back has to keep the ball strong and, when run properly, can’t cut back. On the same stunt the undertackle has the ability to pick the center off of the nosetackle so that he can get over the top strong and help out on the tackle. And guess what, if it’s a pass instead, the nosetackle just loops around strong to get after the quarterback while the defensive end and undertackle have opportunities to get quick pressure with their inside moves.

If you have ever read any of my missives here you know how I feel about pass rush games and with the addition of McCoy and Price along with Miller getting better in his second year, we could strike fear in the hearts of offensive linemen on third down.

Again, there are times when guys will have to win one-on-one battles but pass rush games even help with that. If we have success running a TEX game (tackle penetrate, end loop inside) then offensive tackles will be wary of kick-stepping out to defend the speed rush. If we have success with EX games (end penetrate inside, tackle loop outside) you can have the guard scared to follow the defensive tackle on inside moves worried a defensive end is on the way to blast them in their earhole.

As great as Warren Sapp was as at pass rushing one on one, his TEX games were devastating. It got to the point where you could watch film after our games and see offensive tackles immediately reaching out their inside arm on the snap for fear that he was coming for him. And, of course, that would make them late getting out to block the defensive end. That’s the kind of fear we need to get back to instilling in people.

No ‘Vanilla Football’

And best of all, if we can get back to running great TOM games (one tackle penetrates inside, other tackle loops), we can give both of our ends straight one-one-one opportunities while getting great push in the pocket from the penetrator and the looper has a chance for a cleanup hit. If we run that a few times, the interior offensive linemen will be so confused they will end up losing all of their technique and start taking bad pass sets, which once again only helps in one-on-one situations.

Now I know that there are some 4-3 teams that have these humongous defensive tackles teamed up with somewhat lighter undertackles, but it’s important to remember that in the so called glory days of our defense that was never the case here. Both Brad Culpepper and Anthony McFarland were at nosetackle and Sapp was at undertackle, so it’s not like this is unprecedented or an impossible situation.

What it does mean though is that we shouldn’t just be playing vanilla football. A lot of attention gets paid to blitzing but you have to have movement even when we are just in a four-man line. That’s how we did it back then, and that’s how we can have a lot of success now.

Otherwise, you are asking Price and Miller at just over 300 pounds to sit in there against double teams from, say, the Saints, which will bring guards pushing 350+ pounds and a center pushing 320.

Not a good look.

Before you ask, yes, I remain skeptical about Price starting at nosetackle, but at the same time I want my team to win and I want him to be successful. I think the best way for both of those things to happen is to keep our defensive line on the move. It’s worked before, and it can work again.

As long as that’s our actual game plan, that is….

Joe had heard various employees at One Buc Palace talk about the need to add players to help out franchise quarterback Josh Freeman.

When the Bucs passed on a chance to add a young, elite receiver like Santonio Holmes for a fifth round pick, Joe was chagrin, convinced that talk of helping Freeman was lip service.

But then Bucs general manager Mark Dominik landed stud wide receivers like Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams.

NFL Network’s Steve Wyche, writing for NFL.com, is convinced Josh Freeman has become a markedly better quarterback as a result of last week’s draft, before Freeman has even thrown a ball their way.

As good as Dominik feels about the defensive upgrade, adding big, game-breaking receivers Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams with second- and fourth-round picks, respectively, will make Tampa Bay competitive faster than presumed after last season’s 3-13 train wreck.

The 6-foot-1, 219-pound Benn and Williams, who’s 6-1, 221, provide Freeman two noticeable targets to team with tight end Kellen Winslow. Benn and Williams are strong run-after-the-catch players who could help Freeman’s completion percentage by allowing him to throw shorter routes and letting the receivers do the rest of the work. Benn’s style has been compared to Baltimore receiver Anquan Boldin, a powerful runner who often makes catches in tight traffic because of his physicality. Williams can stretch the field more than Benn, but he is similar in the way he fends off would-be tacklers.

Tampa Bay’s existing and former crop of receivers was more prone to catch the ball and go down. The Buccaneers wanted significantly more help with the maturation of Freeman, who started nine games last season, completing 158 of 290 passes (54.5 percent) for 1,855 yards, 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

Joe isn’t overly impressed with the Bucs’ running game, though he thinks the world of Earnest Graham and Cadillac Williams. Maybe since the Bucs receiving corps last year was so miserable, teams pretty much ignored the passing game and concentrated on the rush.

Perhaps the two new stud rookie receivers can take some pressure off the Bucs’ running attack.

By ignoring big-named free agents, Mark Dominik was able to land defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

Consider longtime Sports Illustrated NFL columnist Peter King to be in agreement with Bucs general manager Mark Dominik considering free agents. There weren’t that many good ones out there.

Dominik thought it would be better, long term, to stock up on draft picks. Meanwhile, many Bucs fans howled from the highest reaches, fingering Team Glazer for financially draining the Bucs dry thanks to their English kickball team.

King, as he wrote yesterday, believes Dominik was on target.

The Bucs refused to enter the restricted free-agent market — logically, I think, because to give up the third pick in the draft for most of the top RFAs who carried first-round or first- and third-round compensation is silly. But that puts a lot of pressure on the five top picks to come and play pretty big roles right away. It’s interesting that the focus will almost be as much on the 101st pick as on the third.

But King also noted a cautionary tale: As can be expected when depending too much on the draft, if the players don’t work out, Raheem the Dream is in hot water and perhaps, so too is Dominik.

Joe applauds Mark Dominik for telling it like it is to Peter King, of Sports Illustrated.

King shared his “intrigue” in the Bucs’ draft pick today in his Tuesday column on SI.com. He called Dominik to get his take, and Dominik was candid about wide reciever talent Mike Williams, who walked out on the Syracuse football team late in the season after reportedly violating curfew with some other players.

Williams, obviously, jumps out as the 101st pick in the draft. He had academic troubles at Syracuse, broke curfew, was suspended by coach Doug Marrone and later quit the team. It’s a classic risk-reward draft choice; many teams in the league didn’t have Williams on their draft board.

But Dominik said: “He’s a starting receiver. I think he’s going to start for us at some point this year. He’s excited to play football, and we all know it’s a risk. Quitting is obviously a big hurdle to get over. That’s not good. But he’s a good kid and a passionate football player who realizes he made some mistakes. We’ve done our research and we feel comfortable with the risk. I can tell you he’s not going to be quitting football.”

Uh, oh. Wait a minute. Dominik just called Williams a quitter. But Williams just told the St. Pete Times he never quit anything.

“Oh, yeah, it bothers me a lot,” Williams said Saturday. “Because if anybody knows me, even coach Marrone would tell you I’m not a quitter. If anybody knows me, they know I don’t quit anything. If I was a quitter, when I got suspended because of my grades, I would’ve quit Syracuse then. When I got suspended for that game for my paper, I would’ve quit Syracuse then. I was never a quitter. I never, ever did that. That’s not my style. Tampa Bay will see that. They’ll see I’m going to go out there and fight hard for everything I do, everything I get. It does kind of get to me when people say I’m a quitter because that’s not a word that I even use.”

 

Raheem The Dream has already talked about seventh round pick Cody Grimm possibly quickly becoming a “four-phase player” on special teams.

Of course, that’s no surprise with Grimm coming out special teams factory Virginia Tech, where the Bucs new punter, Brent Bowden, placed 20 of his 57 punts inside the 20 with just nine touchbacks last year.

Grimm told his hometown Fairfax Times he was on the phone with the Jets when he got the call from the Bucs.

When the seventh round started, Grimm got a call from the New York Jets, inquiring about the possibility of signing him as an undrafted free agent. Before he could hang up with the Jets, however, the Buccaneers called to tell him he was about to be drafted.

“It was kind of crazy,” said Grimm, who went No. 210 overall. “I was so excited. My mom and sister were crying.”

Joe enjoyed reading the story from the Fairfax Times. Getting overexcited about the new players is what this time of year is all about.

The Bucs' GM gave a huge vote of confidence to Stylez White and Kyle Moore yesterday

Before last week’s draft, Mark Dominik talked about how this time around he had 12 months to prepare properly.

So, by that logic, Dominik and his crack staff are already head first into preparations for the 2011 draft.

Dominik confirmed that Monday while speaking to the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, on WDAE-AM 620. The Bucs personnel czar explained why Tampa Bay all but ignored defensive end last week.

“I wouldn’t say it was the deepest draft at defensive end. I actually I have an early inkling that’s next year’s, by looking at the kids that might be coming out. But we weren’t going to reach for a defensive end. And our mindset was Kyle [Moore] and Stylez White both have really come in in great shape already to our offseason program. They really look good to go. They’re humming early. Tim Crowder came in from Denver last year and played well for us. We feel like we have some guys that can come in here and step up and excel in that type of role, if they have the pressure and production up front. And I think, obviously, with Gerald McCoy, and with Brian Price, and Roy Miller and those kinds of guys to be inside to cause disruption, we’re hoping our defensive ends will feed off that. And they will.

Gosh, sometimes it just blows Joe’s mind how young this Bucs team is. And it’s probably going to get even younger before opening day.

It’s going to be tough to be successful on the defensive line next year, just because of all the youth alone, let alone the overall talent level. As for defensive end, Joe has no problem with the Bucs standing pat in the 2010 draft. You can’t upgrade every position.

Giving Stylez White a chance to open the year as a starter for the first time is a good thing, Joe believes. White has earned the shot, and Joe expects him to get 10+ sacks, if he stays healthy.

As for Moore and Crowder, the Bucs might as well see what they’ve got.

Though Joe is starting to tremble thinking how ugly this season could turn if the Bucs are hit with injuries.

"Listen you candyass, silver spoon wannabees. I don't give *&*% about your homework. We're going to get this right. You wanna end up like Michael Clayton?"

No surprise. Chucky has joined the staff of the Carrollwood Day School high school football team, writes Adam Adkins, of The Tampa Tribune.

The small private school is in Tampa. His son, Deuce, plays on the team. Chucky will do his best Bill Muir imitation and be an offensive line coach, per the Tribune report.

Joe believed this would happen last year. Gruden’s a regular at games, and it’s only a natural to want to coach your kid.

Joe can’t decide whether it’s appropriate to go to games and playfully heckle the elder Gruden with chants of “Put in Mark Alstott” or “Just beat those Raiders, Jonny.”

When the Bucs drafted talented wide receiver Mike Williams, Joe immediately contacted Bob Casullo, who was the Bucs’ tight ends coach in 2007 and 2008. Casullo is the assistant head coach at Syracuse University, where Williams was a star but was plagued by off-the-field issues. Williams left the Syracuse football team late in the season in 2009. Casullo, 59, is a career football man, having spent nine seasons in the NFL as a coach with the Raiders, Jets, Seahawks and Bucs, plus decades in the college ranks. Joe talked to Casullo on and off the record about Williams. The following is what Joe can share:

Joe: The word is the Bucs did extensive homework on Mike Williams before picking him the fourth round. Did they reach out to you, given your recent connection to the organization?

Bob Casullo: I did talk to [Bucs scout] Frank Dorazio. He was in touch with me. I know Mark Dominik and Raheem very well, obviously. But they spent time talking to our head coach [Doug Marrone]. I talked to a couple of coaches. They wanted to know about the football side of Mike. 

Joe: So what is the football side of Mike?

Casullo: When we start talking about his athletic ability, he’s big and very strong. The talent is there and he works hard on the field. He’s going to win most of those battles when the ball is thrown his way in the NFL. Now he gets in the weight room with Kurtis Shultz and those guys, his biggest asset is his physical prowess. He has a chance to be a very productive football player. …The biggest difference between college and pro football is getting off the tight press coverages. …It’s not the same at the line of scrimmage, getting open is much more difficult against the NFL corners, finding the seems in zone coverages. The NFL defenses mix up their coverages so much, you really have to be a student of the game to study your own game along with the defenses. What are these coverages? …Guys in college football get away with their athletic ability. To be politically correct here, Mike’s going to have to work very hard on going beyond that. It’s a full-time job at all positions in the NFL, especially at receivers where it’s so complex.

Joe: You were in Tampa Bay when the Bucs brought in Jerramy Stevens, a guy with serious off-the-field concerns, though his issues were different from Williams’. Does a team really have to prepare to handle a guy like Williams or Stevens, or do the Bucs just have to rely on the individual to be responsible?

Casullo: There are several factors. First, when I went to Tampa Bay, I was very emphatic to Bruce Allen to get Jerramy Stevens. I had the priviledge of working with Stevens in Seattle and being close to him there. I know what the facts are about [Stevens]. It’s perception versus reality with his situation and the kind of person he is. I think everybody deserves another chance, but there has to be character within the guy. You have to have character in your body. You can’t move Charles Manson out of California and have him be a good guy. And Stevens has proven himself in Tampa from his time there.

Stevens is like Mike [Williams] in that they’re guys that needed a change of scenery. I think Mike will benefit so much from a change. And Mike is a excellent kid who has learned a lot, I believe, from his mistakes. Really learned from it. And that’s my hope.

What comes into play is the chemistry and the teammates, and with all the changes in Tampa I don’t know what’s going on in that locker room. Players need to police themselves in the NFL. When I was there we had Brooks, you had Garcia and Barber, and some other guys who may have been strong leaders if those guys weren’t leading. Now Barber’s still there, but I don’t know. I know Raheem and Mark Dominik are no-nonsense guys. …And I think Raheem is well aware of where Mike is coming from. They will work hard with Mike from Day 1, as will the position coach. What’s critical is that they need to all be on the same page as to how they’re going to handle him.

Joe: You had great success as a special teams coach in the NFL. Most fourth-round draft picks are asked to play special teams. Does Mike Williams play special teams? Will he want to?

Casullo: In all honesty, he didn’t play any special teams for me here. He was so valuable for me as an offensive player, we couldn’t do it. Given that he loves football, I’m sure he’ll do what’s asked. Let me tell you, if Rich Bisaccia wants Mike Williams to play special teams, he’ll do it. I’d be surprised, even more so disappionted, if he doesn’t make the most of this second chance. I think Mike learned a valuable lesson. …That’s one of the reasons I loved being in pro football, the guys have learned their lessons already. But that’s part of college football.

Joe: Was Williams forced off of the Syracuse team or about to be asked to leave?

Casullo: He wasn’t pushed off the team. I promise you that. Nobody at Syracuse University told him he was off the team. That’s all I’m saying.

Joe: You talked about the importance of locker room leaders. The Bucs just cut Chris Hovan and B.J. Askew. What do you think about that?

Casullo: My goodness, Chris Hovan. Wow. I think there’s still gas left in that tank. There you go. The Glazers are obviously sticking to their guns. Gotta give them credit for that. I was with Askew with the Jets and then with the Bucs. I think he might run out of his time, you know.

Joe: Did you follow the Bucs last year?

Casullo: Sure. I’m good friends with Rich Bisaccia and Greg Olson. So maybe they got this thing pointed in the right direction. Raheem Morris is a great, great guy. I read that Raheem said he learned a lot about being a head coach. I’m sure Raheem will be that much better than last year. They won some games late in the season. I’m sure Mark Dominik is in the same boat, having learned a lot from what the first year brought. Those are quality guys.

Joe: Did Dominik and Raheem make the right call with Mike Williams?

Casullo: Knowing Mark Dominik and Raheem as I do, they’ll put their arm around the kid and do everything they can for him. If he doesn’t make it, I’ll be disappointed. But for where they took him, it’s no harm no foul. Nobody can accuse them for not trying with a very talented kid.

While Joe liked what Bucs general manager Mark Dominik did in the draft, let’s be honest, the Bucs were a dismal team last year. It will take another draft, maybe two more good ones, for the Bucs to be a contender.

It could come quicker if Dominik had a bigger budget. That’s the premise floated by Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com. He claims the Bucs biggest post-draft need is money.

Tampa Bay:  An infusion of cash. General manager Mark Dominik is drawing praise for a solid draft, but his hands are tied when it comes to free-agent spending because of team ownership’s penny-pinching ways. That will make rebuilding the Bucs an even longer process.

Well, Team Glazer has said so often that money is not an issue, it’s nearly a broken record. If the Bucs have a pretty good season this fall, perhaps Team Glazer will allow Dominik to plug a hole or two with a free agent?

All Bucs fans are fired up to see the heralded rookie wide receivers take the field: Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams.

At least one of them better be the real deal.

Bucs personnel czar Mark Dominik, speaking to the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, on WDAE-AM 620 Monday, gave fans insight into why Benn is built for greatness.

Dominik on Benn: He’s a really physical football player in terms of run after the catch. He’s got the speed to make the big plays, which is obviously an important element that we need here in Tampa. But what I love about him is his lower body strength. I think a lot of people, we call it hidden yards in the NFL, it’s yards after contact. There are those receivers who catch balls that get hit and get knocked down, … but there’s the great receivers that can take a shot to their lower body and spin off a tackle and make a small play into a great play.  Arrelious, when you watch the college tape, when you watch how physical he is in those two areas, it makes it very exciting to take him for this team.

Joe’s going to take Dominik’s word for it on Benn’s lower body, since Joe’s not real interested in studying that. 

Josh Freeman could sure use a real punishing, after-the-catch kind of receiver, which he surely didn’t have last year. 

In the right column here on JoeBucsFan.com, in the “Big Dog” podcast box, you can hear Dominik’s entire interview.

Joe will have another nugget from Dominik later, and Joe’s got his own special interview you don’t want to miss.

Undrafted in last week’s NFL draft and unsigned to any free agent contract, former South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe was invited by the Bucs to participate in the Bucs’ rookie minicamp.

If Grothe shines, he could then be signed to a free agent contract, so reports good guy Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times.

“I had a good workout with them — they were happy with it and so was I,” Grothe said. “Everybody that comes into these minicamps isn’t guaranteed anything. It’s time for me to go out and prove myself.”

Grothe said he had similar offers from two other NFL teams, but his first shot at the pros will come in Tampa, where he made a name for himself as USF’s starting quarterback, finishing as the Big East’s all-time career leader in total offense. Grothe has spent the last seven months returning to full strength from a season-ending knee injury he suffered in the third game of last season in September.

“I feel real good,” said Grothe, who will be in a live practice for the first time since his injury — the Bucs’ minicamp runs from Friday through Sunday.

It won’t be the first time a local quarterback product was offered such a deal. A few years ago, Chucky invited North Carolina State quarterback Jay Davis to rookie camp. Davis played his high school ball at Clearwater Central Catholic.

It’s cool the Bucs help out a local young quarterback like this. Hey, Grothe may never get paid to play quarterback again. But, like Davis did, Grothe could use the experience to start a coaching career. Davis is an offensive coordinator at Division-II Truman State College in Missouri.

… would be on the bottom of the Bucs depth chart.

That’s the word from Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder, of the St. Petersburg Times. Holder explains how nobody wants Clayton as Mark Dominik’s magic in getting draft picks for warm bodies seems to have vanished.

Holder detailed the options for Clayton, if Dominik decides to hang on to the blocking icon.

As it stands, Clayton will fall further on the depth chart behind Benn, Williams and Reggie Brown, who was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Second-year pro Sammie Stroughter will be the Bucs’ slot receiver and Maurice Stovall also will vie for playing time.

The Bucs only options with Clayton are to release him now or keep him on the roster until the final cutdown if necessary hoping teams will suffer injuries at the receiver position.

If Dominik does indeed cut Clayton, in a perverse way, Joe would be interested to hear how Clayton spins this, blaming Chucky for his release.

Arron Sears was among today's cuts for the Bucs

Joe had no problem with the Bucs passing on a serious upgrade to their offensive line in last week’s draft. It certainly is among the strengths of the team, although Joe realizes the unit has a lot to prove.

Woody Cummings, Bucs beat writer for the Tampa Tribune, however, believes the Bucs would have been well served to have drafted a guard.

“I thought that was a bit of a mistake,” Cummings said on The Fabulous Sports Babe Show today on 1040 AM. “Maybe they feel better about Jeremy Zuttah than they let on. Maybe they feel better about Arron Sears, or [Xavier] Fulton.”

Cummings went on to say the Bucs’ inaction on the offensive line is a “major vote of confidence for Donald Penn and Jeremy Trueblood.”

The tackles will be free agents next year.

Joe knows the offensive line has to be very good next year — has to be. It’s a veteran group that has had plenty of time to gel.

The excuses are over. The Bucs have to run the ball.

Bucs offensive lineman Arron Sears was released Monday along with five other teammates.

Bucs offensive lineman Arron Sears won’t have to worry about some big, bad sportswriter or TV reporter or radio producer chasing him around any longer.

Playing hide and seek for the past year, the Bucs released him Monday along with defensive tackle Chris Hovan, fullback B.J. Askew, cornerback Stoney Woodson and offensive guard Shawn Murphy and punter Sam Paulescu, per “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620.

Sears’ absence was shrouded in mystery, innuendo and rumors, none of which the Bucs ever tried to quash, nor did Sears ever attempt to deny.

When St. Petersburg Times reporter Stephen Holder famously approached Sears in his hometown of Alabama last summer, Sears hid in his car, treating Holder as if he was some insurance claims adjuster.

What started off as a promising career for Sears now closes the door on a positively hideous 2007 draft for the Bucs in which the first three players selected were Gaines Adams, Sears and Sabby the Goat.

Now, Sears can hide in peace.

In case you missed this, the NFL Network gang of Mike Mayock, Brian Billick and Corey Chavous discuss in this video the Bucs’ second round picks UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price and Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn.

Mayock spoke at length to how horrible the quarterbacks were at Illinois which really hurt Benn’s stock.

Billick and Chavous discuss how the Bucs will use Price along side first round draft pick defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

"You keep that kid fresh for me, Mike."

When Joe saw the Browns select quarterback Colt McCoy in the third round, Joe started hoping McCoy would start for Cleveland on opening day in Tampa.

Joe was having visions of Gerald McCoy and Stylez White breaking the young man in half.

And Joe even fantasized a sold-out crowd with Rachel Watson sitting at just the right angle one row in front of him.

But that fantasy has no chance, says Browns personnel czar Mike Holmgren.

Holmgren told BSPN that McCoy will not play in 2010 because he’s saving him for Chucky rookie quarterbacks can be damaged permanently.

Holmgren, who has coached Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young and Brett Favre, said teams run the risk of “scarring” a young quarterback by playing him too soon. 

Joe sure hopes Josh Freeman isn’t “scarred.” Joe highly doubts that happened.

Joe’s good friend, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, reported on his Facebook account that Hovan has already been cut. Joe spoke to “The Big Dog,” and “The Big Dog” informed Joe that he had been in contact with an intimate of Hovan’s.

Some 20 minutes later, Adam Schefter, of the Bristol Bolsheviks, Twittered that Hovan “will be released today.”

There’s no more “will be” about it. Hovan is a former Bucs player.

This really isn’t much of a surprise since the Bucs drafted two defensive tackles with their first two picks last week in the NFL draft.

[Update: Joe’s friend Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network Twittered that B.J. Askew will  join Hovan on the unemployment line today.]

Meet your new punter, sixth-round draft pick Brett Bowden. Joe imagines being a Buccaneer and a guitar virtuoso will make him quite popular with a wide variety of ladies.

When the Bucs picked UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price in the second round, it certainly raised eyebrows.

Let’s be honest, the Bucs made Gerald McCoy, a defensive tackle, their first round pick. Granted, the defensive line stunk last year but two defensive tackles with their first two picks?

There are two mindsets on this:

Glass half-full:  The Bucs just went from a rotten defensive line to perhaps a dominant defensive line in a handful of hours.

Glass half-empty:  The Bucs neglected other needs.

Former Bucs defensive end Steve White, who writes a weekly “Bull Rush” column for Joe, posted on his blog that he is sort of a glass half-empty kinda guy with this move. Though, in his report card for the Bucs draft on his own blog, White likes Price as a defensive tackle, but he thinks the Bucs made a mistake in picking him.

The 2nd round selection of Brian Price just doesn’t make any sense to me at all. I know that the media is reporting that the Bucs are saying they planned to take him all alone to pair him with Gerald McCoy but I just don’t believe it. OF COURSE the Bucs are going to say they planned it from the beginning lest they look incompetent, but I believe that Price just happened to be the highest guy on their board so they took him instead of stretching for need. Now in another year, in another situation, that would be perfectly fine and preferred in fact. But you can’t draft best available when your team has as many needs as ours does. By taking Price with our first pick in the 2nd round the Bucs made an on the field error in addition to a draft strategy error. Lets talk about each.

White goes on to explain in detail why Price was not a smart pick in the second round. White also studies the remaining of the Bucs draft in the same post.

Roy Miller is giving up his No. 93 to his new teammate and former bitter college rival, Gerald McCoy.

When Joe thinks of historic college football rivalries, Alabama-Auburn, Ohio State-Michigan and Notre Dame-USC spring to mind.

One that may go overlooked but should not is Oklahoma-Texas, the Red River War. Players from these schools, and people from these states, just don’t like each other. Not at all.

So it was somewhat surprising to Joe to learn that Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller, a former stud at Texas, is giving up his No. 93 to the Bucs’ first round draft pick and fellow defensive tackle. Gerald McCoy, he of the Oklahoma Sooners.

That’s the word from GMC’s Twitter feed.

@GK_McCoy  #93 continues baby. I don’t plan to disappoint. Shout out to Roy Miller for giving me my # back.

A Longhorn helping out a Sooner? Have cats begun sleeping with dogs?

Or is this just a solid Bucs player trying to make his new teammate, and a player who he will likely share playing time with or play alongside, make the new young stud feel welcome?

Or did GMC pay off Miller? Wonder if, in payment, this October when Texas and Oklahoma play, that as part of the price, GMC will have to wear a cowboy hat, a Colt McCoy jersey, and yelp “Hook ’em Horns?”

"I wonder if Aqib scored us Justin Timberlake tickets."

Joe cringes when he hears players — at any level — call their coaches by their first names, especially publicly.

Call Joe old school, but it doesn’t feel right. And it seems like a lack of respect.

So when Joe was in studio on the radio Friday night with Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, interviewing freshly drafted Bucs defensive tackle Brian Price, Joe stopped in his tracks hearing Price refer to his new head coach as “Raheem.”

C’mon. Calling your new coach by his first name 30 minutes after getting drafted? That just ain’t right.

Joe knows Raheem The Dream is a modern-day, young head coach who hangs out with his players, tolerates foul language directed at him and has a more casual protocol. Hey, if it wins games, Joe doesn’t care.

But, given the Bucs are not a winner, Joe thinks Raheem The Dream should demand more respect. Maybe he told Price and other rookies to only call him “Raheem.” Regardless, Joe doesn’t like it.