Ross Tucker

Princeton man and seven year NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker, morning host on SiriusXM NFL Radio, is not high on the Buccaneers.

In fact, Tucker ranks the Bucs as the 23rd best team in the NFL. Ugh.

Tucker says Josh Freeman’s inconsistency and a weak defensive front prevent him from believing the Bucs are better than the “six-to-eight win realm.” Tucker breaks down every last NFL team is his latest power-rankings podcast below.

Joe just shook his head yesterday. No, it was not because he was savoring the fact he just demolished the greatest sandwich in the free world — an authentic Primanti Brothers behemoth.

Joe shook his head in amazement of what may very well be an NFL record. With recent roster moves since the original final 53-man roster was announced, the Bucs now have four guys on the defensive line who were third-day draft picks in 2013.

That just blows Joe’s mind. Three is amazing and does say something about the prowess of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik. But now four? That tells Joe the defensive front was much, much thinner than those outside of One Buc Palace imagined.

But the wild card here, so believes Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com, is that Darrelle Revis will help the pass rush. Yes, a cornerback. Yasinskas brings ammo to this discussion, based on what the Jets and their coach, Capt. Lou Albano, did in rushing the passer with Revis in the secondary.

Revis has the ability to shut down one side of the field. In theory, that should allow the Bucs the opportunity to bring extra pass rushers. That’s something that worked quite well for the New York Jets when they had Revis.

From 2008 through 2012, the Jets brought five or more pass rushers on 40 percent of dropbacks by opponents, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That figure ranked third in the NFL. The Jets held opponents to a 55-percent completion rate, which ranked No. 1 in the league, and an average of 6.4 yards per attempt which ranked second in the league.

This is an interesting thought. It’s hardly a state secret the Bucs are uncovering every rock imaginable (short of them signing a proven pass rusher as a free agent in the offseason) to find a way to get at the quarterback.

If the Bucs blitz two guys, as Yasinskas hints, perhaps both David and/or Barron, there simply won’t be enough blockers to stop six (seven?) pass rushers. It’s simple math.

The way Dashon Goldson can play centerfield, it should allow Barron to rush the passer on clear passing downs. Joe’s of the belief that Barron’s going to have to live up to his high draft status or Bucs fans will start kvetching louder about Dominik passing on linebacker Luke Kuechly for Barron.

The folks at BSPN carved out a 10-minute feature on the pre-Bucs life of Darrelle Revis. The segment aired tonight. Revis tells tales of growing up in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and much more. Enjoy.

One of college football’s most interesting characters was the Buccaneers wide receivers coach last year, P.J. Fleck.

Fleck, 32, is the youngest head coach in Division I football at Western Michigan, and he has an intensity and leadership style that is unique and impressive. The man’s nuts — in a good way.

Joe couldn’t wait to drop a few nickels on WMU as a four touchdown underdog at Michigan State last weekend. They lost 26-13 and did Joe proud.

Fleck chatted with The Star Ledger in New Jersey recently and shared what life was like as a Rutgers coach under Greg Schiano.

What were those two years like working for Schiano at Rutgers?

“What the hours meant was you would do your job until your job was done and until you made sure the flaws were now strengths. We worked a ton of hours. There were times we didn’t go home for a few days and worked right through the night…We did what we had to do to solve some problems we thought we had. At the time there were some disadvantages and we had to work through them and it took us longer than probably most would have…He was there just like us. He was there longer than us. He was there before you. You knew that he wasn’t just telling you and he’d go home and go to bed. He was there. Solving the same issues and problems. He had a hand in every aspect of that program. He wasn’t just the football coach, he was everything. He was the marketing director. He was the fundraiser. He was the recruiting coordinator. Greg could do anything. He did do everything. That’s what I was able to see at times just by working there those two years. Then, believe it or not, he took me with him to Tampa and that was an extreme compliment because I was, I believe, the youngest position coach in the National Football League. He took a chance on me again. He saw what maybe others hadn’t seen.”

Joe just wanted to share. Life for coaches and players under Schiano is anything but typical. Joe’s got no problem with any of it, as long as it works.

Cornerback Danny Gorrer’s preseason started great with an interception of Joe Flacco, but Gorrer blew his groin that night and surgery a couple of weeks ago has lost him for at least half of 2013.

Today the Bucs put Gorrer on the fancy injured reserve/designated for return list, which means he must sit out half the season. Defensive tackle and Rutgers man Gary Gibson returns to the roster in his reserve role.

Nothing really new or exciting here. The Bucs remain thin at cornerback. Leonard Johnson, per the unofficial/official opening day depth chart released today is a starter along with Darrelle Revis.

If Lavonte David cranks out another nine seasons like the one he turned in last year, the Bucs linebacker will be talked about in the same breath as Derrick Brooks. David was that good.

What’s interesting in the Monday locker room interview of David below is David explaining that his intensity level preparing for a regular season game is the same as in preseason. But then David goes on to talk about how his teammates have upped their intensity now that the Bucs are in real-game mode. Most great players operate the way David does.

Hopefully, the Bucs collectively will be able to flick the proverbial switch. (Listen to all of David’s comments below, via WDAE-AM 620.)

What happens when you put Tampa Bay sports radio icon Steve Duemig and Joe in the same studio to talk all things Bucs for an hour?

Find out tomorrow at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620. The Wednesday “JoeBucsFan Hour” rolls on. You don’t want to miss this. And now the JoeBucsFan hour follows Duemig and Bucs icon Derrick Brooks talking all things football at 4 p.m. It’s must-listen radio for football fans!

There’s a stink that keeps swirling around national media about Greg Schiano having locker room issues.

On NFL Network, former NFL fullback Heath Evans talked about the feedback he got from “older veterans” on the Buccaneers last season and his concern about the “college mentality” of the New Schiano Order.

In a recent, FOX Sports NFC South preview video below, former NFL linebacker Scott Fujita says his sources from the Schiano locker room have painted a picture troublesome to Bucs fans.

“Here’s my concern about the Buccaneers. I’ve talked to enough guys who have spent time in that locker room who have raised questions about the head coach,’ Fujita said. “The sense I get sometimes, is that players aren’t buying in. And if you don’t have buy-in in this league, you don’t have a shot.”

For what it’s worth, Evans and Fujita were both Saints teammates of Carl Nicks. Fujita also works alongside Ronde Barber on the new FOX Sports 1 studio.

To be fair to Schiano, it does take a new coach time to weed out players unresponsive to a new regime. However, Joe must hope that a mega-millions acquisition like Nicks or a team-first icon like Barber were not guys off the Schiano bandwagon.

Joe has no problem with not everyone liking the head coach. All that matters is the on-field performance.

With a potential shot at the playoffs alive, the Bucs didn’t show up when they got smoked 41-0 by the Saints in New Orleans last season, and the Bucs were humiliated at home by an average Rams team the following week. But Schiano did manage to get an extraordinary buy-in from his team to close the season with a victory in Atlanta. Schiano was able to right the ship to close the season.

Joe’s not concerned by these rumbles of locker room issues, though they are worth monitoring.

Also, in the FOX video below, the Bucs are ranked as the 20th best NFL team to start the season and are predicted to finish third in the NFC South. It’s a pretty common prognostication.

Safety Mark Barron started his pro career coming off double hernia surgery last season. He got off to a strong start, but clearly hit a rookie wall and finished up as an every-game starter for arguably the worst secondary in NFL history.

Barron is one of the great X-factors of this Bucs season.

When you’re the seventh overall NFL Draft pick, as Barron was in 2012, you absolutely must become an impact player. The Bucs drafted Barron to be just that, and the guy’s been gifted two excellent mentors in Ronde Barber and Dashon Goldson. Plus, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik made a very bold statement drafting Barron ahead of Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly, an absolute stud who led the NFL in tackles and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award last season. Joe can only imagine what the Bucs defense would look like with Kuechly at middle linebacker.

Barron is a quiet yet intense, football-crazed guy, almost the prototype “Buccaneer Man” under the New Schiano Order. 

Everything is set up for Barron to take a giant step this season. He’s healthy, in year 2 of the Schiano defense, and the presence of Goldson frees the Bucs to use Barron in ways more suited to his strengths.

One reason Barron was drafted was to cover the athletic basketball tight ends in the modern NFL. On Sunday, he’ll get DJ Toes On The Line Kellen Winslow, followed by Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski. Joe wants to see Barron win a couple of those matchups.

If one is to believe the words from Jets coach Capt. Lou Albano, he still doesn’t know who will start for his team at quarterback when the Jets host the Bucs in the New Jersey Swamplands Sunday.

This is simply absurd to Joe. Just how exactly can the Jets build their offensive game plans without knowing who will be taking snaps? It’s Tuesday for goodness sakes. This is patently preposterous.

The SNY crew discusses the topic in this video.

It’s Jets Week at One Buc Palace. Yes, the regular season is here. The Bucs are preparing to face the Jets in the New Jersey Swamplands in just five days — five days! — which could be the start of a magical season, or the beginning of a nightmare.

Such is the NFL, trying to figure out what rollercoaster to ride.

Woody Cummings was hanging out at One Buc Palace on an otherwise national holiday and the Tampa Tribune scribe noticed a much different vibe in the Bucs locker room and from Bucs commander Greg Schiano, than in recent weeks.

In short, said Schiano, “It is time to make the doughnuts.”

“There’s definitely a renewed energy now,’’ Schiano said. “I mean, you go through training camp and it’s bang, bang, bang and there’s a kind of ‘Time to make the doughnuts’ mentality. But now, all of a sudden, we have a game — and soon.

“So now you get to where you’re spending a lot of hours game-planning, and that’s the fun part of coaching, where you actually take that scheme and mesh it into another team’s offense, defense and special teams.

“Now you’re fitting this coverage to their route or fitting this protection to their blitz. It’s very specific: ‘When you set here on so and so, be ready.’ Or, ‘This is how he’s going to run this route.’ ’’

The time for evaluation is over. If Schiano and his crew haven’t yet figured out who the best 53 men are, then there’s not much Joe can say. Instead of evaluating talent, Schiano and his staff are now poring over tape trying to find edges with the Jets.

This is the fun part of football, both for coaches but players and, yes, even fans.

Joe can just smell the sweat of players the season is so close.

Johnthan Banks knows what’s coming

Today’s quote of the day out at One Buc Palace goes to rookie Bucs cornerback Johnthan Banks.

Banks was asked about how the Jets and other teams are expected to target him as long as Darrelle Revis is on the opposite side of the field.

“Who wouldn’t?” Banks replied.  (You can hear the full audio below via 620WDAE.com.)

The Bucs’ cornerback depth again will be a huge storyline and key to the 2013 season. Have the Bucs found a starting caliber corner in Banks, this year’s second-round pick?

Let’s hope so. Danny Gorrer, Leonard Johnson and Michael Adams are not starter material in the NFL, and undrafted rookie Rashaan Melvin is obviously a question mark. The Bucs absolutely need Banks to succeed. Banking on a rookie is dangerous business, but Banks does have the pedigree.

It looks like it will be like old times in practice Sunday for Darrelle Revis and Santonio Holmes. Both are expected to play in the opener.

The Bucs kick off 2013 in six days against the New York Jets — six days! The Jets are a miserable bunch, so the Bucs are probably catching them at the worst time, before all hope is lost in Gotham and the inevitable meltdown occurs.

Right now, though, Jets fans are hopeful. One big reason is Darrelle Revis’ old practice rival, wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Reports out of New York have Holmes practicing today and primed to come out firing Sunday after foot surgery in the offseason.

Brian Bassett at TheJetsBlog.com likes what Holmes’ return might mean for matchups in the Bucs’ secondary.

As we expected, Santonio has been readying for regular season football and we expect he’ll be playing against the Bucs next weekend, potentially matched up on Revis.  That is fine, because that leaves Stephen Hill and/or Jeremy Kerley against some sort of Leonard Johnson/Dashon Goldson matchup.  Johnson ranked out as the 120th best cornerback in the 2013 preseason and while he’ll benefit from Revis, there’s room for the Jets to take advantage.

Of course, the Bucs should be able to rattle whatever quarterback lines up for the Jets, hopefully rookie Geno Smith.

But if the Bucs can’t generate much pass rush or can’t contain Smith’s scrambling early, what should be a sure victory against a bad team could turn into a very difficult road game. And in case you were wondering, DJ Toes On The Line is supposed to start at tight end for New York.

Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King

Happy Labor Day, Bucs fans! Joe thought he would bring his readers a treat. Last week NBC Sports NFL analyst Shaun King joined former Bucs guard Ian Beckles on WDAE-AM 620 for a full three hours of Bucs talk.

King, one of only three quarterbacks to lead the Bucs to an NFC title game, and Beckles are very worried about how the Bucs will pressure opposing quarterbacks. To be honest, Joe really can’t argue much with anything Beckles and King have to say about the subject. Click on the arrow below to hear their takes.

The Bucs’ pass rush last year was pretty much dismal. Sure, it hurt that right defensive end Adrian Clayborn was lost early to an ugly knee injury.

In Joe’s eyes, the Bucs, for the short-term, didn’t do much to help their pass rush. They let sack leader Michael Bennett walk for little and all but handed his duties to highly-touted Da’Quan Bowers, who has all but taken his gift and thrown it away in the Bay.

Bucs fans are on edge about the pass rush, or lack thereof and Clayborn doesn’t blame them, so he told Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune via Twitter.

@RCummingsTBO: Bucs DE Adrian Clayborn on doubters of Bucs pass rush. “We haven’t rushed that good in the past year so they have good reason to (doubt).”

Clayborn is right. It’s time to put up numbers, i.e. sacks. Why should Bucs fans feel comfortable about a non-existent pass rush when it appears on face value the defensive line has receded, not improved?

Sure, Akeem Spence appears to be a player on the rise. He has more skills than his predecessor, but as Bucs commander Greg Schiano said himself, he’s a rookie prone to rookie mistakes.

Joe thinks it is very telling that all three of the Bucs’ Day 3 defensive line draft picks made the final 53-man roster. That is almost unheard of and speaks to how thin if not weak the defensive line is, sans stud Gerald McCoy.

The Bucs pulled a surprise move yesterday signing the pride of Bowling Green and the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, DT Chris Jones, a rookie sixth-round pick of the Texans. Jones was waived by the Texans and gobbled up by the Bucs.

Joe knows many fans mock the MAC, but it’s produced several stud pros, and Jones racked up 12 1/2 sacks last year. That’s pretty darn rare for a tackle.

In this pre-draft interview below, Jones references a formal scouting combine interview with the Bucs, and talks about how he advised teams and scouts to watch his performance against the Gators to open the 2012 college football season. Joe also read a Toledo Blade story in which Jones said he thought the Bucs were going to draft him.

Joe suspects the Bucs wanted Jones, if they couldn’t get Akeem Spence, who they obviously snagged by trading up in the fourth round. Joe also suspects rookie William Gholston, the Bucs’ other rookie fourth-rounder, might be on thin ice with the presence of Jones.

Joe was very pleased yesterday to learn that Carl Nicks wasn’t designated to open the 2013 season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. That would have meant the All-Pro guard would have been shelved until Week 7, missing six games.

That gave Joe a lot of hope that Nicks would be recovered sooner rather than later from the MRSA infection in his foot and ready to roll after rehabilitating as best he can from his offseason toe/foot surgery.

If Nicks was in bad shape, then the Bucs surely would have preferred having the roster spot placing him on the PUP list would have opened, versus letting Nicks be an oversized cheerleader for a month or so.

Today at One Buc Palace, Greg Schiano didn’t rule out Nicks playing Sunday against the Jets in the season opener.

Joe would be stunned if that happened, but the mere fact that it’s possible if very encouraging.

Nicks and Davin Joseph on the field together would be a beautiful site for Bucs fans.

Since the Bucs placed kicker Lawrence Tynes on non-football injury list due to his battle with MRSA, he has been outspoken about how he believes he has been mistreated by the Bucs; his wife, Amanda, has been even more so.

Tynes has been so angry, he implied he contracted MRSA from a Bucs employee. No one will ever know for sure where and/or how he and guard Carl Nicks got infected, but Joe has learned, via Olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King on his new website, theMMQB.com, that Tynes is PO’ed because, all together now, it’s all about the money.

The Bucs signed Lawrence Tynes to be their kicker, but he came down with a serious infection, MRSA, that is resistant to antibiotics. So Rian Lindell won the kicking job, and Tynes, trying to get healthy, is bitter the team put him on the non-football injury list rather than injured reserve. The non-football injury status means Tynes won’t have this year count toward his NFL pension. His wife, Amanda, tweeted that the Bucs informed Tynes of the designation via email. That didn’t go over well in the Tynes household.

Joe should have known better. Tynes is getting roughly $900,000 this year. Not bad for not playing, though Joe is very sympathetic to his condition. MRSA is nothing to play around with.

If Tynes lives a long life, that $900,000 may not cover what he may lose in an NFL pension. Joe wouldn’t be surprised if Tynes tries some legal wrangling to try to recover that missed year of pension eligibility.