Mark Dominik took a brief moment from his busy duties during the draft to speak with Joe’s good friend Justin, of WDAE-AM 620,  this morning to talk about the Bucs’ moves.

“I am excited about this draft and we were going into it and that’s why we were stocking up on picks. We still have six selections to go.”

On picking defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and David Price:

“Those are two talented players. We stayed true to the board. Those two you know they will get after the quarterback. With Roy Miller, we can stay fresh and rotate and stay strong up front and get [pressure] up the middle.

“Price can play nose tackle and he has played some defensive end. We will definitely find a place for that young man.

“The football-love meter is very important for me. How much do they love the game? With Arrelious Benn, he has a tremendous work ethic and is a tremendous young man. The year before, he was a 60-plus catch, 1,000-plus yards guy and may be one of the best runners after the catch in the draft. Mike Williams is very exciting for us. We certainly had a big grade on him. We did a lot of work on him. We are extremely comfortable with him and the fans will like this kid. He is dynamic and he could be that No. 1 receiver.

“So far we’re very excited but there’s a lot of work to do. We will be wheeling and dealing.”

Joe’s starting to wonder whether blocking icon Michael Clayton will devote himself to special teams to save his job, or whether newly drafted receiver Mike Williams has the work ethic and desire to cover kicks and punts.

Regardless, the numbers aren’t looking good for Clayton.

Here’s a look at the Bucs depth chart at receiver: Surely, only five will make the final roster.

Sammie Stroughter
Maurice Stovall
Reggie Brown
Arrelious Benn (rookie)
Mike Williams (rookie)

Michael Clayton
Mark Bradley
Michael Spurlock
Terrance Nunn
Mario Urrutia

Unless Williams is a total head case or injuries bite the Bucs, Joe just can’t see Clayton on the roster for opening day.

Who knew that Mark Dominik was a collector?

No, not the scumbag that hounds you to pay a parking ticket, calling you all day long at work. Joe’s talking about the people who have hobbies like collecting baseball cards or stamps or coins or, in the cases of Derek Jeter and Sean Avery, women.

Dominik was talking yesterday about his decision to draft UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price in the second round after also drafting Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy third overall, for basically the same position some suggest.

Dominik, documents Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, is a collector.

“Some people have been known as quarterback collectors,” Dominik said. “I guess I’m a defensive tackle collector.”

Dominik explained his unorthodox move of likely choosing two of the top three defensive tackles with his first two picks by noting how porous the Bucs defensive line was.

“We have not had a very good pass rush here,” said Dominik, who took a rather bold step toward fixing that problem during the second round of the NFL draft.

This was a dramatic step for the Bucs and Dominik. Arguably the worst element of the team could be its strength, all in a matter of 24 hours.

Joe seems to agree with his good friend Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, (Joe trusts you are listening to Justin while reading Joe). This is a low risk-high reward kind of a pick.

Mike Williams has loads of skills but a few question marks about his character issues. The main one being he quit on his team last year, a damning move.

Joe is trying to be objective here. Syracuse stinks out loud. For whatever reason, Williams had no real desire to take advantage of such a fantastic university. Classes were not a priority as he was suspended for academic reasons in 2008.

For the previous picks, Bucs general manager had a clear template: smart guys, good guys, hardcore football players with heart. Perhaps Arrelious Benn’s work ethic will rub off on Williams and that getting paid (handsomely) to play football will motivate Williams.

Given the fact the Bucs have two guys now that can stretch the field, and that Sammie Stroughter would be a fantastic possession receiver, Joe wonders if maybe the Bucs are devaluing the need for a receiver that can block but had a nasty habit of not hanging onto the ball?

The Bucs have snagged super-talented, super-troubled receiver Mike Williams in the fourth round, the guy who quit the Syracuse football team in 2009 and is known as much for his questionable attitude as his mad skills. 

NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock just told his audience that he gave Williams a “second round grade as a football player.  But it’s the off the field that pulls him down.”

When Joe watched every minute of the receiver workouts at the combine, it was Williams who stood out as a guy with great hands and the kind of body control and sheer athleticism that can’t be tought.

It’s an exciting pick, although Joe would have preferred Mardy Gilyard, who the Rams grabbed two picks earliers.

Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM, and a Mayock-like draft guru in his own right, broke down Williams as follows for subscribers to the JoeBucsFan.com draft coverage.

Why I’m taking him: I’m on the record saying it, and I’ll continue to say it, Mike Williams has the second best talent of any receiver in this draft. Watching this guy play at Syracuse was fun, while it lasted. He can be a true number one guy. I always saw him catching the ball with his hands away from his body. He doen’t have elite speed, but he’s more than fast enough and quick enough to be a number one guy. Williams has great size and is physical. On the field, Williams has everything you want from a receiver.

Why I’m staying away: One word: character. We’re still wondering why Williams quit the Syracuse football team in 2009. He was also suspended for 2008 because he violated the university’s academic integrity policy. It was reported that Williams was blaming everyone but himself at the combine.

Impact on the Bucs: Well, I wouldn’t draft him early, but this guy has special talent. I’ve heard some people say that Williams might go in the 7th round if he’s drafted at all. I’ll tell you what, if Williams is there in the 7th round, he’s worth the gamble. Hell, he might be worth the gamble earlier than that, but not too early.

NFL Comparison: Antonio Bryant – Cincinnati Bengals

Mark Dominik has officially strayed from his good-character mold.

Is this goodbye for the blocking icon?

When Gerald McCoy met with the Bucs pen and mic club Friday, he was mostly one-liners, talking about texting Warren Sapp about why he looks fat in his statue and how hard it was to sack current Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman when the two faced each other in college.

But GMC turned serious when the topic of conversation turned to his daughter. GMC said that he is driven to succeed because he wants a better life for his daughter, Nevaeh, so writes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

“I’m going to be exactly what you guys drafted me for and everything you guys have seen on film,” he said. “What you think Gerald McCoy is, that’s what I’m going to be. I don’t plan to disappoint.”

He can’t afford to. McCoy has a 4-year-old daughter – Nevaeh (heaven spelled backward) – and he said just about everything he does is geared toward making her life better.

“She’s the main reason I work so hard,” McCoy said. “I don’t want to let my family down. My family’s my heart, and this is my ticket for my daughter to have a successful life and have it better than I did. I want things to be easier for her than they were for me. I want her to know what it means to work hard, like I did, but also, if she wants to go to college, it will be set for her.”

The more Joe reads about GMC, the more Joe likes this guy.

Raheem The Dream had a lot to say about drafting defensive tackles Brian Price and Gerald McCoy.

Boil down all the Raheem-speak, per the video of hisFriday night news conference on Buccaneers.com,  and the head coach basically said he’ll figure out later where and how the newbies will play with Roy Miller.  And all that really mattered in the draft was improving the talent on the line and building a pass rush.

We can even put this thing as far as to a four-man rotation to keep it fresh. We do live in Tampa. It’s really hot. We’re talking about bigger men. And we’re talking about creating a pass rush,” Raheem The Dream said. “These young men and these guys all putting together and playing together creates a lot of disruption for people. Creates problems in  protection. Creates mismatches up front. And we look forward to those opportunites to get them out there.

You gotta get after people’s quarterbacks. …I don’t want to take Rod Marinell’s credit, but he used to say, ‘Hey, if we’re playing our game up front, we can give everybody else behind us a pink slip and we can go to work and we can end this game ourself.’ And that’s never been truer. You know, you get those guys up front humming, you know it makes nothing but your linebackers better, it makes your secondary better. It makes everybody better.” 

Mark Dominik also reminded the media how much success the Bucs have had over the years rotating the defensive line. And Dominik said snagging Price met the Bucs’ goals, which included drafting players from big programs who were three-year starters.

The defensive coordinator now has big time young talent at defensive tackle. Joe thinks that’s great.

Now it’s on Raheem The Dream to make them productive.

Wondering like many Bucs fans why defensive tackle Brian Price was snatched right after Gerald McCoy?

Mark Dominik offered some insight at One Buc Palace tonight, per St. Pete Times’ beat writer Stephen Holders’ Twittering from Dominik’s news conference. It seems Price might get a look as an edge rusher on passing downs.

Price might see some time at DE in certain situations. They’re high on him. Didn’t know if they’d get him

Joe gets the need for talent and depth, but Joe’s still a little confused. And Joe’s still waiting for the Bucs to move up to snatch wide receiver Marty Gilyard.

But also, per Holder’s Tweeting, the plan all along was to draft Price and McCoy.

Bucs GM Mark Dominik thinks they essentially got 3 first rounders (McCoy, Price, Benn) Plan all along was to get McCoy and Price together.

It’s great to see Dominik executed his plan. But what exactly is it?

 

Since Brian Price and Gerald McCoy are basically the same type of player, did Mark Dominik draft one of the two for trade bait?

The Bucs earlier this evening went in a few minutes from bad to stocked when the Bucs selected UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price just hours after the Bucs picked Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

At first, Joe was upset that the Bucs had not selected a wide receiver with that 33rd pick. Then it quickly dawned on Joe that the Bucs could have a dominant defensive line.

It was strange that McCoy and Price are nearly identical players. Both are compared to Warren Sapp.

So why would the Bucs draft basically two identical players? The obvious is that the Bucs needed to beef up the line. But could it be Bucs general manager Mark Dominik might be dangling one of these guys out for trade bait?

Now Joe has zero inside information on this. It’s just a hunch. It wouldn’t shock Joe, let’s just say that.

Veteran St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Gary Shelton and his colleague good guy Tom Jones discuss the selection of Vanderbilt cornerback Myron Lewis.

Part of the main criteria in selecting players, the Bucs have made no bones that they want character guys, smart guys. It’s very clear to Joe.

Enter cornerback Myron Lewis, the Bucs’ third-round pick.

The Vanderbilt cornerback obviously is smart and his degree. And since he played in the Southeastern Conference, he played against some of the elite talent in the country, basically a Triple-AAA affiliate of the NFL.

Who is to say Lewis doesn’t break out. Ronde Barber after all was a third round pick. Now Joe’s not calling Lewis another Barber but the dude is big and tough and likes to mix it up.

In other words, violent. Just like Raheem the Dream wants them.

Veteran St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Gary Shelton and his colleague good guy Tom Jones discuss the selection of Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn.

One of the things the Bucs are trying to acquire is good character guys.

So far, their first three picks have character. If nothing else, they were all captains for their teams, which says a lot.

Speaking to Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski and Joe himself live on WHNZ-AM 1250 Friday night, Bucs new second round pick Arrelious Benn, a wide receiver out of Illinois, made a major impression upon Joe when he talked about how his college teammates sometimes bummed him out.

“I’m not trying to throw anyone under the bus but not everyone wanted to put the work in,” Benn said. “They didn’t want to work.”

Wow. That may make headlines in central Illinois.

When Joe asked Benn what he needed to work on, he laughed and said, “Everything.”

Joe loved his reasoning.

“I need to work on my route running,” Benn said. “I need to work on catching the ball. I want to be around for quite a few years.”

Benn told Joe that the things the Bucs liked about him was that he can stretch the field and that Benn was told by Bucs officials, “We need receivers.”

Glad someone at One Buc Palace reads Joe.

Veteran St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Gary Shelton and his colleague good guy Tom Jones discuss the selection of UCLS defensive tackle Brian Price in the second round.

The Bucs and Mark Dominik pulled off a shocker when they drafted Brian Price in the second round.

In some circles, Price was thought to be an equal of Gerald McCoy, the Bucs’ first round draft pick. Now the Bucs have arguably the top two defensive tackles in the draft.

Instant defensive front.

Appearing with Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski and Joe himself on WHNZ-AM 1250 Friday night, Price said one of the things that the Bucs liked about him was that he reminded them of a certain former Buccaneer.

“They said they reminded me of Warren Sapp,” Price said.

Where have we heard that before?

Now the Bucs have two Sapp wannabes.

This is not a bad thing. This gives the Bucs immediate depth on the defensive line and the tackles can stay fresh with rotations.

Price told Pawlowski and Joe that he actually met Sapp recently and that Sapp offered to help him out and give him any tips that he can.

Joe wonders if Sapp is an unofficial defensive assistant now? If so, nice move Mr. Dominik! 

Raheem The Dream and Mark Dominik are determined to resurrect the Bucs’ defense from the D-line back.

Wow!

With the third pick in the second round tonight the Bucs have taken another manbeast: Brian Price, defensive tackle, out of UCLA. He’s a space-eating gorilla cetainly pegged to fight it out with Roy Miller for the starting nose tackle spot.

It was nice knowing you, Mr. Hovan.

Here’s the scouting report from NFL Draft guru Justin Pawlowski.

Brian Price

6’1’’ – 303 lbs – 5.15
1st – 2nd Round

Why I’m taking him: The first thing I think of when I think of Brian Price is his active hands.  Hand use is huge for the battle between offensive and defensive linemen.  Price has good explosion and strength, while playing with a nastiness about him.  He’s a tough player with excellent awareness.

Why I’m staying away: It’s a little troublesome after Price seemed sluggish and out of shape for his pro day. Price is excellent with his hands but has a limited array of pass rush moves and is not an elite pass rusher.  He also struggles with balance as he tends to lunge on tape. 

Impact on the Bucs: For me, Price’s stock seems to be slipping a tad.  He could be a fit for the Bucs at under tackle, but I view him more of a Booger McFarland than a Warren Sapp.  If the Bucs pass on a defensive tackle in the 1st round, Price will be on their radar early in Round 2.

NFL Comparison:   Sedrick Ellis – New Orleans Saints

Joe can’t complain, but did the Bucs really need this guy? Is this a slight on Roy Miller?

If the Bucs don’t draft a receiver with their next pick, Joe will be absolutely stunned.

Yup. A second Peter King post in a day. Joe thinks this may be a record.

King, the vaunted SI.com columnist, wrote a breakdown on what/how he felt every NFL team did thus far in the draft and what they should do tonight and tomorrow in the remaining rounds.

For the Bucs, King believes Mark Dominik should peddle his picks and trade down, stocking up on more picks in the third round and beyond.

I think Tampa Bay, with the third pick today, would be smart to auction it. Gerald McCoy was an easy pick at three. Now the Bucs, with 35 and 42 this evening early in round two, would be smart to add an extra three if they can. This team needs help across the board, not just with two more contributing players early tonight.

Joe thinks the opposite, but understands King’s rationale and agrees the team has many holes to plug.

Remember that Dominik said the draft is so deep, that there are fortysome players that would be only first round picks in most other years. If Dominik has accurate, that means the Bucs can land two more first round-caliber players tonight.

If anything, Joe hopes the Bucs could edge up to secure Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate.

Joe listened and watched manbeast-in-waiting Gerald McCoy talk to the media today at One Buc Palace, and Joe heard his interview with Justin Pawlowski, who is filling in right now until 6:30 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620.

While McCoy didn’t surprise with his comments, it’s becoming very clear to Joe that McCoy is as much or more prepared to lead than he is to learn.

Simply, McCoy talked more like a leader than a babyfaced rookie coming into camp.

Joe likes it.

Multiple times since McCoy was drafted Joe has heard Mark Dominik reference that McCoy, who came out of the University of Oklahoma after his junior season, was a two-time captain at the school. Clearly, Dominik sees McCoy as a guy who naturally will fill the apparent leadership void on the Bucs. And McCoy is wired to take on the role.

Of course, nobody knows whether he’ll be successful on the field, let alone off it. But right now it feels really good.

Joe just worries whether the kid can handle all the pressure and whether the Bucs should seemingly be putting that much on his shoulders. Why last night, the great orator Raheem The Dream called McCoy the “face of the franchise.”

“I’m really fired up,” said Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris, who is also the defensive coordinator. “(With McCoy), you’re talking about the cornerstone of what you’re going to do on defense; you’re talking about the face of your franchise; you’re talking about a guy whose going to come in fired up.

Joe thought Josh Freeman was the “face of the franchise?”

Regardless, Joe will be satisfied if McCoy isn’t a bust and becomes a key piece of the puzzle, even if he just ends up being a reliable, above-average player who makes those around him better.

As promised, Joe brings you today his final interview from various media types that Joe conducted during media day at the Super Bowl. Joe saved the best for last.

There are few if any reporters working today who are as plugged in or have the contacts throughout the NFL as Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King. Fortunately, King graciously gave Joe a few moments of his incredibly busy time to talk Bucs.

Some background on what a cool guy King is: At media day sitting on a bus waiting to be ferried to Joe Robbie Stadium, Joe was sitting killing time surfing on his Blackberry when Joe looked up and saw (and heard) King boarding the bus. King was greeting many of the scribes as he knew most of the reporters on the bus.

To Joe’s surprise, King sat next to Joe and struck up a friendly conversation. Joe asked if he had a moment to talk Bucs once debussing, and King agreed saying, “Look me up after the Colts session.”

(To give an idea of what a workhorse King is, while on the bus going down I-95, King multitasked by writing an SI.com column on his laptop, taking short periodic breaks to Twitter.)

Without going into detail, this is like trying to find someone at a soldout Bucs game (remember those?) without the aid of a cell phone or where said person is seated.

Later at the Media Center, Joe saw King who was doing many radio interviews on radio row. It was amazing to watch. He went from radio station to radio station, barely with time to breathe between interviews.

When Joe tried to approach him, King, in a slightly frustrating manner, said in so many words, “I’ve got too many radio interviews.” When Joe reminded him of his pledge to Joe earlier, King’s jaw dropped as he remembered Joe and said, “I’m sorry. You’re right. I promised you time. Give me a few moments. I’m very sorry.”

Later, King did give Joe time and both before and after the interview, King profusely apologized to Joe.

Here is a guy who easily could have big leagued Joe and been a total a-hole — just like a specific, significantly lesser reporter, a surly, thin-skinned Bucs beat reporter who has a terribly self-inflated ego who plays loose with journalism ethics. Joe won’t stoop to name the guy. Unlike this unnamed reporter, King is a way cool guy.

So cooperative and kind was King, Joe will pimp his book for free, “Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback: A fully caffeinated guide to everything you need to know about the NFL,” available at finer book stores and Amazon.com.

Tease: King explains in this interview who he believes is the key to the Raheem the Dream’s job security. Hint: It’s not a player.

JoeBucsFan: You wrote late in the 2009 season that you thought Raheem Morris’ long-term job security with the Bucs to be “dubious.” Can you go into a little more detail?

Peter King: If [the Bucs] are not better, significantly better this year, I doubt sincerely he can stay, especially going into a third year. There’s no way you can sell your season ticket holders coming off a 4-12 type year that you are headed in the right direction unless you are losing games really close and Josh Freeman really looks like the quarterback of the future. This is a year in which you have to show great progress and win seven, eight, nine games at least.

Joe: Many Bucs fans, despite what Team Glazer or Mark Dominik profess, are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt the Bucs are hurting for money, which is why the team is in the shape it currently is. Many of these same fans point to Team Glazer’s financial difficulties with its English kickball team as the root of the evil. Is this the case, or are the Bucs, like other NFL teams, preparing to go to the mattresses in a labor war, thus counting their nickels closely?

King: When I have talked to Mark Dominik, he never once said there is any financial restrictions put on his team. I have to take him at his word. I just don’t think right now… who have they lost for significant money that you pine away at? I don’t think there is that guy. Now I would want to see two or three signings this offseason to show they are serious and I think they have to do that. They have saved a lot of money. They need to go and show [they] are serious about winning.

Joe: The Bucs hired Alex Van Pelt as a quarterbacks coach. He is Freeman’s second quarterback coach in as many years. How important is it for Morris to keep his job and provide some stability so that Freeman doesn’t have his third quarterback coach and third offensive coordinator and third different playbook to learn in three years, if Morris is fired, which is what happened to Jason Campbell and Alex Smith?

King: Alex Van Pelt is a good guy who gets along with quarterbacks. He’s a smart guy. He is going to play a very big role in whether this coaching staff stays in my opinion because his quarterback has to play well. I thought it was a good hire. I like him and the quarterbacks that played for him think that he helps them get better. Now he will have to” get his quarterback to play better.

Hopefully this video will be embedded into Bucs fans memories for years to come, all good memories.

Relive the moment Oklahoma defensive tackle and manbeast-in-training Gerald McCoy became a Buccaneers in this NFL Network video. Also see how McCoy enveloped NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell in a bear hug, and his interview with Deion Sanders.

McCoy certainly made a good impression upon Joe. Let’s hope this guy lives up to the hype. Joe believes he just may do that.

There's no subtle way to put it: Golden Tate must be drafted by the Bucs tonight, among other receivers.

Mark Dominik
General Manager
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One Buccaneer Place
Tampa, FL 33607

April 23, 2010

Mr. Dominik:

First, Joe wants to thank you and congratulate you and your staff for such tireless work over the past year that led you to select defensive tackle manbeast-in-training Gerald McCoy.

At this point, job well done.

Now, on to tonight.

Unless you haven’t noticed Mark, your team needs receivers. Many receivers. The Bucs have a dire need of receivers. Bucs staffers below you at One Buc Palace have spoken publicly about how the Bucs need to have weapons for your prized franchise quarterback Josh Freeman, a young man quite honestly you may have placed your future on with the Bucs.

Joe believes you can understand the importance of Freeman’s continued development. Joe believes you and your family enjoy living in the Tampa Bay area very much.

For your sake, for your family’s sake, for the hundreds of thousands of Bucs fans’ sake, please, please, please solely concentrate tonight on drafting wide receivers.

Joe isn’t certain why you passed on shipping a throwaway fifth round pick to a young, elite receiver like Santonio Holmes, but Joe is confident you have your reasons.

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, Joe trusts you will have two if not three new wide receivers for Freeman to throw to. Since you drafted McCoy, your team has no more glaring hole than at wide receiver. It’s not even close.

If Joe goes to bed tonight knowing you drafted three receivers, oh, say Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders, Arrelious Benn and/or Eric Decker (any combination of three of the four, preferably with Tate), Joe will rest easy.

If you can picture, Joe is kneeling, clasping his hands, begging.

Please draft wide receivers tonight. Please!

As always, Joe thanks you for your time.

Sincerely,

Joe