Outspoken scribe Alan Dell is at it again, typing another fun read for Bucs fans this morning in his publication, the Bradenton Herald.

Like Joe, Dell loathes preseason football. If it wasn’t Joe’s job to be at the Stadium in Dale Mabry Highway tonight, Joe would be on his cushy recliner watching college football, cold beer in hand. Preseason football is dreary and the final preseason game is simply dreadful.

Dell thinks the Bucs’ preseason has been painful for other reasons. He claims the past six weeks for the Bucs has been akin to the TV reality series “The Kardashians,” given the drama over Darrelle Revis, the feet of Carl Nicks and Lawrence Tynes, the Jeff Demps mystery, the MRSA outbreak and Tynes’ wife, Amanda, starting a Twitter war with the Bucs.

Oh, yeah. Then there’s the Mike Glennon Mob, which Dell describes as a collection of “rabble,” “Freeman haters,” and those who just love backup quarterbacks for no good reason.

But Dell brought up a point about Freeman that made Joe think. Dell, like many, is puzzled by how few snaps Freeman took in preseason games.

Freeman took 21 snaps in the first two preseason games, which was fewer than every projected NFL starting quarterback except San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick.

Freeman ranks 25th in snap counts overall in the preseason among the presumed 32 starting quarterbacks. But it’s the uneven approach toward his use that raised questions.

He had 41 snaps against Miami last week, which was one of the biggest increases in any projected starting QB from the first two games to the third. For the preseason, he completed 12 of 26 passes for 101 yards without a touchdown or interception and was sacked nine times, a scary number, preseason or not preseason.

Joe has never heard anyone touch this subject before, but could it be that with the Bucs struggling in pass protection, and Freeman being taken to the ground almost as much as he completed passes, that Schiano purposely held him out of games to spare Freeman futher abuse thus saving him for the regular season?

It stands to reason. Think about it: quarterbacks in practices wear different colored jerseys so defensive players know better than to touch them. If, in make-believe games, Freeman is getting abused play after play after play, perhaps Schiano preferred Freeman on the sidelines versus being lost for the season for nothing?

Capt. Lou Albano is getting raked over the coals in New York for playing Mark Sanchez late in a preseason game and behind a suspect line, damaging his shoulder, rendering him questionable to play against the Bucs in Week 1.

Could Schiano have been playing it safe, hoping the pass protection would clear up soon enough and passing on risk his franchise quarterback, and the 2013 season, in a glorified scrimmage?

Prediction season continues to be unkind to the Bucs.

The four members of the Around The League crew at NFL.com previewed the NFC South and not one thinks the Bucs will have a winning record.

Buccaneers are not our sleeper team

This might be the deepest division in football. There’s only room for one surprise team, and our crew wasn’t buying Tampa Bay. An in-season quarterback change would not be a shock considering Josh Freeman’s erratic play; he’s also in a contract year. Three of us had the Buccaneers under .500, with Marc Sessler being the exception. Greg Schiano and company have gathered up enough talent through the draft and free agency to make our predictions of last place look bad come January.

In this NFL.com video, another three analysts, including Deion Sanders, don’t think the Bucs stack up in the division.

Jimminy Christmas! The Buccaneers added two true superstars in Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson, yet loads of NFL insiders don’t think they’ll improve.

There’s really no excuse, barring major injuries, for a lack of improvement in Year 2 of the New Schiano Order.

Joe knows some readers despise references to the Mike Glennon Mob, whose members wish to rid the Bucs of Josh Freeman so the team can play a quarterback they believe could potentially deliver a Super Bowl.

For these folks, and they really do exist, Glennon’s readiness is far less important than the fact that he’s not Freeman, a man those fans believe has no shot of becoming a championship QB.

There’s really nothing odd or unique to these fans’ mindset. It happens every season in several NFL cities. Backup quarterbacks are often popular guys. Joe was first exposed to this as a kid in New Jersey. Jets fans screamed to dump Richard Todd for Matt Robinson, and Giants fans wanted to hang Phil Simms in favor Scott Brunner. Eventually Bill Parcells stripped the starting job from Simms before coming to his senses.

Today, Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud penned a piece about Glennon that includes backup Dan Orlovsky explaining locker-room faith in Glennon is there and growing.

“I do think that Mike will be ready,” Orlovsky said. “He’s been impressive with the way he’s handled himself, with the way he’s handled the offense. He’s not scared to rip it, which is a good quality. He can. The ball comes off his hand really nice.

“I think the biggest thing for Mike is he’s proven to his teammates he’s got something there to him. That will be something he has to continue every week to prove to his teammates that, ‘if something does happen, I’m okay, guys.’ I think he’s started that journey.”

Yesterday, Greg Schiano talked about how Glennon has “shown that he can make all the throws.” This morning, Stroud said on his WDAE-AM 620 radio show that Orlovsky likely will become an NFL coach and his highly respected in the Bucs’ organization.

All this small stuff adds adds fuel to the Mob.

Glennon should be progressing and developing, and fans with good mental health should embrace it. The Mob shouldn’t be rooting against Freeman. But Joe knows the attitude of these fans, that Freeman can’t be a winner, and that just won’t change until he’s playing in January.

Drugs have destroyed Tanard Jackson’s career, but the former Bucs safety is still grinding away trying to earn one last shot — one last payday.

After the New Schiano Order cut Jackson in April 2012, he joined Raheem Morris and the Redskins and won a starting job, only to get suspended again last August by the NFL. Jackson is eligible to return this week, and he’s hopeful to get another chance with the Skins.

Below is an excerpt of Jackson’s recent sit-down with CSN Washington, where he talks about his struggles and maturity and working with youth. Joe hopes T-Jax has gotten serious help. At 28 years old, he’s surely on his last shot.

One cool thing about having celebrity players is the fun that surrounds them. There was always drama with the old Bucs when Warren Sapp, Keyshawn Johnson, Simeon Rice and Chucky, among others, roamed the Bucs locker room.

It seems some of that is returning with acquisition of Bucs cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Joe has had a chance to talk to Revis a couple of times and he really is an interesting, highly intelligent dude. Very thoughtful. Very dapper. Cool guy. (Last week Joe talked to Revis not about the Bucs, but how his Pitt Panthers had a chance to beat Florida State next week in Pitt’s inaugural ACC game.)

Last year, loudmouth Richard Sherman of the Seahawks claimed that since Revis was sidelineed with his bum knee Sherman had now overtaken him as the game’s premier cornerback.

Well, Revis responded recently, telling Jarrett Bell of USA Today that Sherman needs to quit riding his coattails and keep Revis’ name out of his mouth.

“He needs to quit attaching his career to my career,” Revis said. “A lot of people need to have respect for this game. I’m not just talking about him. Respect what people have done to pave the way. Deion (Sanders) paved the way. Rod Woodson paved the way. Darrell Green. Mel Blount. Champ Bailey. Charles Woodson. Yeah, we’re the next group, but you don’t need to be getting into it with me.

“At the end of the day, this is a fraternity. We’re all in this together, competing. But you don’t have to shoot nobody else down. You can’t crown yourself as anything in this league,” Revis said. “You’ve got to earn it.”

If Sherman is still mouthing off about Revis, then that tells Joe that Sherman is worried about Revis being better, and that Sherman is aiming to land endorsements by getting Revis riled up.

Of course, next week, Revis could regain the upper hand if Steve Smith of the Panthers lights up Sherman and Revis is able to get a pick or two — or better, a pick-six — in Revis’ return to the New Jersey Swamplands.

Wednesday afternoon Bucs madness is in full swing on WDAE-AM 620! That’s when Derrick Brooks sits down with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, to talk all things Bucs and NFL at 4 p.m., followed by Joe bearing his Bucs soul with Duemig for a full hour starting at 5.

It’s all below for your listening enjoyment. Joe further explored the mentality and the reality of the Mike Glennon Mob, the silliness of preseason stats, among many other Bucs topics. Enjoy.

In a rare step outside his usual laid-back, even-keeled commentary on all things Bucs, Josh Freeman offered up a little gem this afternoon when talking about the dropped passes that have plagued the Bucs throughout the preseason.

“They drive me absolutely nuts,” Freeman said.

Make no mistake, Freeman wasn’t making a big deal out of the drops or making excuses. He got a question about drops, as well as those about the negative perception of his play. And Freeman first said he has complete confidence in the stud receivers around him.

But Freeman is human, and he’s got fire in him, even if fans don’t see it on camera. The drops should drive Freeman nuts. They’ve been a significant factor in the criticism against the franchise quarterback this month. (You can listen to the full audio below, via Joe’s partners at WDAE-AM 620.)

Barring something terribly unforeseen, it sure appears that Bucs rookie cornerback Johnthan Banks will play in the season opener at the New Jersey Swamplands and may even start.

The Mississippi State product has looked every bit the player that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik wanted, if not expected, when he drafted Banks in the second round this spring.

Banks has even made splash plays, like the one-handed tip of a would-be touchdown pass last week in Miami.

But just because Banks has unofficially made the 53-man roster and could start in 11 days doesn’t mean Banks is content, so he said today after practice.

“You know I’m happy, but I’m not satisfied,” Banks said. “There’s always room for improvement. I’m going to keep working and keep pushing and keep listening to the leaders on this team, and do what I can for this team to help them when a championship.”

Banks went on to say while he is looking forward to playing in the season-opener against the Jets, he hasn’t thought much about because he is locked in for the Redskins game Thursday, no knowing how much or if he might play.

That’s the kind of attitude Joe likes and appreciates. Everything Joe has seen points toward Banks being a productive member of the Pewter Pirates.

NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas has spent all kinds of time analyzing all things Bucs, and he’s decided the 2013 Bucs are a good but not great team and will miss the playoffs in the beastly NFC.

Yasinskas just can’t find enough Ws.

Every time I look at the schedule, I keep coming up with one record for the Bucs. I say they’ll go 9-7. I think quarterback Josh Freeman will play just well enough in a contract year that the Bucs will want to keep him around for the long term.

A 9-7 record would put the Bucs in a tie with the New Orleans Saints, according to my predictions. But I think only one of those two teams will get a wild-card berth. I’m saying the Saints will win the tiebreaker and go to the playoffs.

Hey, it’s better than Pat Kirwan calling for a toilet-flush, 6-10 mark. (For those who missed Joe’s prediction, click here.)

Asked today to identify a standout player or something that surprised him in a good way this preseason, Greg Schiano praised his entire team.

“Through the ranks we’re better,” Schiano said. “And it should be. Right? We’re Year 2.”

Joe was pleased to hear this, and it also underscores how much pressure is on the Bucs this season in the mighty NFC. A head coach can’t really say his team is better across the board and then fail to improve.

The talent on the Bucs’ roster is stout, and the pressure to perform is as intense as it’s been in many years. Rightfully so.

Barring a major, unexpected change, the Bucs will open the regular season with a 21-year-old return man out of the University of Toledo.

That would be Eric Page, who has taken over the job in preseason. He’s looked good, not great. But most important for the New Schiano Order, Page hasn’t fumbled, a problem that cost Preston Parker the job last season, among other Bucs.

“I think [Eric] Page has done a good job. Every game he’s done a better job. He looks very confident back there. He looks like he belongs,” Greg Schiano said today after practice.

Page blew out his knee with the Broncos last season and is 13 months removed from ACL surgery. It’s interesting that Schiano noted that Page is getting better steadily. If you ask Page, he’ll tell you he’s also getting physically stronger with each game.

Page was a hot target of the Bucs last season after coming out of college undrafted, but Page chose the Broncos. However, the Bucs’ interest didn’t subside.

“I’m just glad they kept pursuing me and trusted me to come back,” Page said today.

Joe’s pulling for the kid in a big way. Unless Joe’s overlooking someone, the Bucs don’t have a legitimate returner behind Page.

Darrelle Revis sat at his locker after practice today pretty much like every other Buccaneer, not counting his team-savior aura.

No ice on his knee. No knee brace. No sign of looking like a guy coming off a major injury.

While today was a walk-through practice, Revis, unlike other Buccaneers, had grass stains on his butt and he was unlacing a very sweet pair of white Nike cleats that are not permitted to be worn in games. 

Joe chatted solo with Revis, and Joe walked away with an overwhelming feeling that Revis has no doubt he’ll be 100 percent on opening day at the Meadowlands. The more Joe gets to know Revis, the more Joe is sold on how Revis’ intensity and intelligence is anything but typical.

As Revis has referenced previously, he sat out an entire training camp with the Jets and had himself ready to dominate on opening day.

What did Joe just write here? Not much, but Joe felt compelled to share his excitement about what Revis might look like when he takes the field.

Above all, Joe likes good writing. In Joe’s eyes, a good column should do one of five things: p!ss you off, make you cry, expose a fraud, make you laugh, or right a wrong. If one of those goals is not met, then said columnist wasted his time.

And no, writing a glorified feature piece about some player’s grandmother knitting near a radio listening to her grandson’s exploits at Northeast Cornfield State doesn’t cut it, which brings Joe to the outspoken Alan Dell of the Bradenton Herald. He’s unafraid to fire a few roundhouse rights when he needs to, and he certainly brings a different perspective on the Bucs.

Recently, Dell compared Bucs fans to jilted lovers and the suitor in question is Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman.

There was a stretch last year when the Bucs went 6-1 and Freeman threw 16 touchdowns and was picked off only three times. A miracle worker was being sprouted from the grounds of Raymond James Stadium, his supporters argued.

But then there was that run at the end of the season when the Bucs lost five of six. He threw nine interceptions and five TD passes that included back-to-back four-interception games, including one against New Orleans’ woeful defense. In an early-season loss to Dallas, we saw glimpses of problems when he was 10 for 28 for 110 yards.

The inconsistency has sent the Tampa Bay faithful into a tizzy. It’s like trying to love your wife while she constantly cheats on you. They want to adore Freeman and take him into their arms, but he keeps giving them reasons not to put their faith in him.

Joe is pretty sure some of that inconsistency will melt away this year. Mike Williams has been vocal about how he and Freeman have mindmelded on the field, it’s as if they are thinking as one, or as Williams put it, he is throwing the ball to himself.

David Joseph noted the Bucs have barely cracked open their playbooks. What fans have seen from the Bucs’ offense is barely a glimpse.

Joe believes part of Bucs fans going so nuts over Freeman is the anticipation of the coming season. The journey to the future begins in 11 days.

Bucs starting defensive end Daniel Te’O-Neshiem is a guy routinely overlooked by Bucs fans.

Joe’s convinced this is largely because his name is so confusing. The guy either needs to changes his first name to something like “Stylez,” or perhaps go all Brazilian soccer player and just use Te’O.

Regardless, Te’O-Neshiem surely has won a starting gig from Da’Quan Bowers. There’s no doubt in Joe’s mind.

Joe chatted with Te’O-Neshiem today and learned an interesting factoid. Including his college days at the University of Washington, 2013 is the first year he’s played in the same defensive system in back-to-back seasons.

“I feel like I’m way for comfortable and what’s expected of you on pressures and base plays,” said Te’O-Neshiem, who went on to state that him working now at both right and left end is a byproduct of that familiarity.

The not-so-wild Samoan, who Joe must say looks a bit more rocked up this season, recorded four sacks last year filling in for Adrian Clayborn. Te’O-Neshiem also was a third-round pick of the Eagles in 2010 and just turned 26.

Bucs fans don’t talk about No. 50, but he could very well be a guy poised for a breakout year.

While the Bucs have offered information that Bucs guard Carl Nicks is responding well to his treatment with MRSA, Bucs coach Greg Schiano noted yesterday he wasn’t sure of how well kicker Lawrence Tynes is recovering as Tynes is out of town.

Well, Tynes’ wife Amanda put out an ominous Twitter update of her husband, and in the process wasn’t so hip on the Bucs allegedly suggesting Tynes is responding “well.”

@AmandaTynes9: I hear my husband is responding “well” to treatment. LOL! He’s NOT responding at all yet. This is our #bucslife

The picture in the post is a photo of Tynes that his wife Twittered out as he is on an IV with a PICC device to help the flow of the medicine into the bloodstream.

MRSA, an aggressive, dangerous form of staph infection that is resistant to common antibiotics is nothing to screw around with, as evidenced by the Tynes photo and by how quickly the Bucs reacted to two bouts of delousing One Buc Palace.

This is why Joe thinks it is folly to even expect Nicks to start for the Bucs next Sunday in New Jersey.

With rookie Geno Smith struggling and veteran Mark Sanchez ailing, just who can Bucs commander Greg Schiano expect to bark signals come opening day in the New Jersey swamplands? A popular former Buccaneer explains to the always attractive Melanie Collins who he would start, in this Yahoo! Sports video.

Apparently, Bucs fans are not the only ones irritable as the new season is just days away. It seems so too is Bucs commander Greg Schiano.

Per the Twitter feed of Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, who is watching a scant early 30-minute window of practice open to the fourth estate today, Schiano is all over his players to pick up the pace, do things the right way and yes, in so many words, toes on the line.

@RCummingsTBO: Oh, boy is Bucs coach Greg Schiano ever on his game at practice today. We’re seeing and hearing circa 2012 kind of stuff. … Schiano told one player who couldn’t get his blocking technique right: “You’ll find himself back in South Florida” if you can’t get it. … Schiano later yelled at a player during a tackling circuit to “quit running out of bounds.” We haven’t seen this kind of fire in a while.

Cummings also noted Schiano provided strong reinforcement for good plays, patting guys on the helmet and offering loud encouragement.

For a Bucs team that has looked listless through three preseason games, maybe it was time for Schiano to break out the big stick?

Joe just loves this kind of coaching. Get your job done or get your arse back to South Florida!

Man, Bucs fans are impatient these days. Joe can somewhat understand,given that it’s been over a decade since the Bucs won a playoff game, and that was a Super Bowl.

So when Bucs fans see franchise quarterback Josh Freeman play less than Dan Marino-like, a good number of them want to start bonfires across town.

Bucs commander Greg Schiano doesn’t see it that way. He has seen more tape than fans, more practices than scribes, and believes Freeman is about where offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan wants him to be, reports Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com.

Although Freeman has completed just 46.2 percent of his passes and the first-team offense has yet to get into any sort of rhythm, Schiano said he’s comfortable with what he’s seen out of his quarterback.

“I don’t think you can assume his confidence is shaken,” Schiano said. “I’m not sure it is, to tell you the truth. One of the things I said is he saw things very well. Every time he came to the sideline he could tell me exactly what happened. Sometimes a quarterback comes to the sideline and ‘What happened?’ and ‘I don’t know, they’re hitting me in the back of the head’’ and you don’t know. [Freeman] knew what happened [in Miami]. He knew what he saw down the field. He knew where he wanted to go with the ball.

“Sometimes, he didn’t have time. When you watch it on tape, what you do as a coach is you write those things down and you watch it on tape and sure enough what he thought he saw was what he saw. As long as he’s seeing it, we’ll get better in protection and we’ll get the ball out of his hand and we won’t drop them. I think in his mind he feels more comfortable than he’s ever felt in this offense since he’s been a part of it. I think he’s going to be fine.’’

Look, Joe knows Schiano’s words will do little to quash the cries of the Mike Glennon Mob, who will be fogging up TV screens locally when the Bucs-Redskins preseason game is aired Friday at 7:30 p.m. on a tape-delayed basis on WFLA-TV Channel 8.

But Joe will write once again to express Joe’s confidence that Freeman will improve this season with another year of knowledge under Sullivan’s tutelage.

Now Joe has heard the screams about the offensive line thus far, but remember the offensive line was an unexpected nightmare last year and without two Pro Bowl guards and a right tackle getting benched, the line wasn’t exactly a sieve, was it? And this year the Bucs added Gabe Carimi.

No, there’s no need to panic. Yet. If the Bucs go 1-6 to start the season, then there would be evidence to panic.