Last week Bucs fans got a scare when Doug Martin, while pass protecting Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman, took a knee to the head and had his bell rung, forced to leave the game.

Some Bucs fans may wonder why Martin, a smallish yet bowling ball kind of build, is pass protecting since he is such a vital part of the offense. Well, don’t expect that to stop, Martin told the Tampa Bay pen and mic club yesterday. If Martin is in the game and the Bucs call a pass, he will be blocking if not catching passes.

“I am good at it,” Martin said. “To be a productive back, you have to pass protect. Read the defense and protect the quarterback. It is a fight. It is a fight. You have to have that want-to.”

Yes, Martin has that want-to. But Joe is worried. This is not the first time Martin had his noggin’ rattled. It happened in the final game of the regular season at Atlanta too when Martin said that he and then-Dixie Chicks cornerback Dunte Robinson each knocked “each other out.” The way the NFL is paranoid about concussions, could Martin be in the early stages of developing a pattern of getting minor concussions or worse?

Friends, without Martin in the backfield, this team is in a world of hurt.

To hear more from Martin, click the arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s friends at WDAE-AM 620.

Davin Joseph explains

Joe knows Bucs fans freaked out over the annoying loss to the Patriots last week and began an avalanche of criticism levied upon Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman.

But it is just preseason. It doesn’t mean anything. Nothing in fact. Trust Joe,  Bucs players heard the fans flip out, but guard Davin Joseph put the uproar into perspective, noting you cannot judge a season by the preseason.

“It is hard to tell,” Joseph said. “Some teams win all the preseason games and will be .500 and under and other teams that won’t win a game in the preseason and will go on an undefeated streak. I think fantasy football has a lot to do with that. People have to get their team right. They pay attention a lot with preseason. We look at it different. We look at it as executing to decide the final 53 guys here. We really don’t game plan.”

Joe asked Joseph if preseason football was like spring training baseball, in that sometimes pitchers will only work on one specific pitch and will not deviate, no matter the hitter or the count. Football teams will use preseason games to sometimes work on one thing, only. Joseph did not disagree.

“Yeah, you have a small package of plays so you could say it is similar,” Joseph said. “You are not running your full menu of plays, just a sampler. Running certain formations of plays. [A] quarterback will run certain plays in the offseason and what not. What I get from a preseason game playbook is nothing like what we see in a regular season game.”

There you have it. While Bucs fans naturally want the Bucs to win a preseason game, the games are not played for the scoreboard. Rather, they are a tool to improve and prepare for the regular season.

Late Thursday afternoon, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik issued a statement concerning the MRSA infections contracted by Bucs guard Carl Nicks and kicker Lawrence Tynes.

“Our primary concern is always the health and safety of our players and staff. Our players were informed of the situation and we sought the advice of experts, including the NFL’s medical advisor, who provided counsel and approved of our comprehensive measures including the treatment of our practice facility.”

Joe just wonders if the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway has to be hosed down? The Bucs played a game there a week before Nicks was found to have MRSA. Since no one knows the origin of the infection, can that stadium be ruled out?

The Bucs confirmed today that guard Carl Nicks and kicker Lawrence Tynes have been infected with MRSA, an aggressive form of staph infection.

The Bucs first realized that MRSA, a very contagious form of staph, hit the team when Carl Nicks’ blister on the right side of his foot — not his turf toe — was infected when the Bucs were practicing in New England last Thursday. Shortly thereafter, Tynes, who did not accompany the team to New England, also was diagnosed with MRSA in his ingrown toenail.

Once the Bucs learned of the infections, ownership authorized an immediate and thorough cleaning of One Buc Palace as a precautionary measure, as the team does not yet know where the MRSA originated. The cleaning cost tens of thousands of dollars, Joe has learned.

To date, no other Bucs player has been found to be infected with MRSA. Nicks’ infection is starting to respond to treatment and recede, Joe has been told. Tynes’ treatment is also showing positive results.

Because MRSA is aggressive and resistant to standard forms of antibiotic treatment, a special blend of antibiotics is required to combat the spreading of the MRSA, which infects the skin. The Bucs have consulted with disease specialists both locally and outside the area. The Bucs have also been in contact with medical experts at NFL headquarters in New York.

The Bucs emphasized they do not know the origin of the MRSA. The fact no other Buccaneers are infected suggests the origin may not be One Buc Palace, but no one with the team is certain.

Monday, Bucs coach Greg Schiano met with the team and informed the players of the MRSA issue and the team was given an orientation on how to prevent MRSA. The players also were issued special soaps used to prevent and combat the infection.

UPDATE: The Bucs just confirmed, via Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, that a second sterilization of One Buc will be performed this weekend..

Donald Penn spoke about functioning with malfunction on the offensive line due to injuries.

The Bucs have, as Donald Penn calls it, their “core five” on the offensive line. That would be, from left, Penn, Carl Nicks, Jeremy Zuttah, Davin Joseph and Demar Dotson.

But the Bucs have not played with their core five during the regular season. Davin Joseph went down in the preseason last year. After Dotson unseated turnstile Jeremy Trueblood, Nicks went down with his first of two hoof injuries.

Now, Nicks has a nasty infection — Joe smells staph infection — and Joseph has yet to be cleared as 100 percent to play in games. So chaos on the front line seems to be the norm for the Bucs.

“That’s the nature of the beast in the NFL,” Penn said. “That’s how I got my start. When someone got I hurt I came in and stepped up. That’s how it goes. I can’t wait to get those guys back. But that is the nature of the beast. Guys have to come in and step up when their time is called. Last year, we did a great job of doing that. We expect nothing less than this year.”

Until Joseph is ready — he practiced this week and Penn lauded his play — and Nicks is over his foot issues, if he is every over his foot issues, it appears the Bucs could start the season back where they ended last season, down two starters.

But Penn isn’t fazed much by that. He believes the Bucs may have the best offensive line coach in the NFL with Bob Bostad and with the addition of Gabe Carimi, who has practiced at left guard. That gives the Bucs unparralled depth, Penn told Joe.

Blistergate, the Carl Nicks saga, won’t really be updated until next week, Greg Schiano explained today at One Buc Palace.

Schiano reiterated that Nicks is taking medicine for his blister/foot infection and that medicine needs five to seven days to do its thing. Based on the current timeline, that means Schiano likely will reveal news on Nicks at his Monday news conference.

Joe assumes Nicks can ride a bike and stay fit, but that’s unclear. Nicks’ toe issues already were affecting his training.

Hopefully, if Nicks can recover quickly from his foot, then he’ll be able to get in game-ready shape, assuming his toe holds up.

Joe’s always looking for clues on the New Schiano Order mindset, and Josh Freeman dropped a very subtle one during his Fran Tarkenton interrogation news conference yesterday.

“Coach always says, ‘Great teams run the ball in the red zone,'” Freeman said.

Is that really what the great teams do? That’s an excellent question for the extreme stats geeks. Regardless, that message is being pounded into Freeman’s head.

Last summer at this time, Greg Schiano couldn’t stop saying “run the football” when asked of his offensive plans. And Schiano proceeded to pound the ball four times on first and goal in the preseason opener at Miami. It was a tone-setter, and Joe remembers being in Miami seeing the Bucs line up there with no receivers in a full power set.

But after a preseason injury to Davin Joseph, and subsequent injuries and changes on the offensive line, Joe saw the Bucs drift away a bit from their desire to pound the rock like an old-school powerhouse.

Yes, Doug Martin still finished with 319 carries. But now the Bucs are getting healthy on the offensive line and have a deeper stable of running backs. Joe’s eager to see whether the New Schiano Order directs more of a run-first team.

Anyone questioning Josh Freeman’s dedication is out of line, says former Bucs QB Shaun King, responding to Warren Moon’s shot at Freeman yesterday and those of others like Boomer Esiason.

King, one of three QBs to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game and now an NFL analyst for NBC Sports, issued a stanch defense of Freeman this morning on the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620, saying Freeman’s personal life hasn’t been worthy of questioning in at least a year and a half. (You can hear the full audio below.)

King did, however, question the New Schiano Order’s lack of a long-term plan and he says Freeman’s limited preseason snaps to date are about the Bucs wanting to see what Mike Glennon can deliver. King also explained why he believes Greg Schiano’s frequent pass-rush games and stunts are what led the Bucs to avoid pursuing an established pass rusher in free agency. Those guys, King said, would insist on pinning their ears back and beating offensive linemen 1-on-1.

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No one knows what the immediate future of Josh Freeman holds. He could blow up; he could implode. He could have a fantasy football season but be watching the playoffs on the couch. He could be on the cusp of being one of the richest young men in America, or hope to land a job as a second-string quarterback.

No one knows. Not Bucs coach Greg Schiano, not Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, not Joe nor the Mike Glennon Mob. No one knows. No one.

But Anwar Richardson has an idea. The former Bucs beat writer who now covers the NFL for Yahoo! Sports appeared last night on “The Fabulous Sports Babe Show” heard locally on WHFS-FM 98.7 and noted that all the world will have a good idea about Freeman once the calendar flips to 2014.

Why then? Because the month of December has been Freeman’s kryptonite, Richardson explained. It is largely due to Freeman’s subpar play during the month of December in his four-year career that has kept him from being a playoff quarterback, Richardson said.

“This is an all-star team and all you are waiting on is if Josh Freeman is going to be the guy. The problem is, he hasn’t been. I like Freeman. Great guy, great character. Here is a key stat for me when I look at Freeman: If you want to be an elite quarterback, you have to learn how to close out the season. The month of December has to be your money month. And he hasn’t done well. When I looked it up his record in the month of December since 2009 is 5-12. The elite quarterbacks — the quarterbacks in this league who make the plays are the ones who close it down, down the stretch. Find a way to win the game. Find a way to get your team in the playoffs. Get your team in the hunt. What Freeman has been unable to do is get this team in the playoffs, get this team in the hunt. And that is the problem. When the pressure is on him, he doesn’t do as well. When you throw four interceptions a game you have to put some of it on yourself. When you throw five touchdowns and nine interceptions you have to put some of that on you. You have the weapons, you have enough weapons to be successful. The Bucs started 6-4 and finished 1-5. I am sorry, a lot of that is on Freeman. If he wants to stay in Tampa, you are going to have to find a way to finish strong.”

It’s an interesting angle Joe hadn’t considered exactly. Joe has long argued that Freeman vanishes under pressure. His 6-15 career record against winning teams speaks volumes. But Richardson comes with a different angle on pressure, yet the result is the same: not good at all.

Though Freeman is at the crossroads of his career, if he just calms down, trusts his coaches, trusts his playmakers to get the job done, he shouldn’t have to become invisible in pressure situations.

And if Freeman cannot handle pressure in the regular season, just what makes anyone think he can handle the pressure of a playoff game? At the end of the day, that’s what it is all about, not fantasy football stats, but wins and rings.

Let your teammates help you in December. No need to play Santa Claus; there are plenty in the shopping malls that time of the year.

Last season the debut of the New Schiano Order happened on a rainy night in South Florida. There, a young rookie by the name of Lavonte David, who few outside the Midwest has watched play at Nebraska, began what would be a remarkable rookie season with the Bucs.

A year later, David not only is known by every Bucs fan, but he is also a leader and perhaps one of the best linebackers in the NFL. Wednesday, David reflected upon what has been a whirlwind year, as the Bucs prepare to travel to South Florida once again in the preseason.

“It’s a big step up from where I was last year. I was just a young guy, trying to learn and do what I [had] to do, go out there and play. But now I’m just trying to get more involved. I’ll be a vocal guy on the field, so I’m just trying to excel in that role as well. It’s different now, I feel a little more confident, so we’ll see how it goes.”

There are a lot of questions about the Bucs defense. Who will play strongside linebacker? Can the Bucs get any heat on quarterbacks? Can Adrian Clayborn bounce back from knee surgery; can Darrelle Revis?

One area that has no question is the ability of David to wreak havoc on opposing offenses from his weakside position.

Here’s your weekly Wednesday evening madness, as Joe joined the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, for the “JoeBucsFan Hour” at 5 p.m.

Joe and The Big Dog went in all kinds of directions, from locker room insight to the Mike Glennon Mob and more. Enjoy.

Mike Williams came to Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman’s defense today in the wake of Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton’s harsh views of the embattled Bucs signal-caller.

While Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman claimed today he had not heard the harsh words of Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton claiming Freeman was “God awful” on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday, perhaps Freeman’s staunchest supporter did.

And while Bucs wide receiver Mike Williams didn’t directly address Tarkenton’s comments, he had, as he always does, Freeman’s back.

“I think he is awesome!” Williams said. “I think he is one of the best quarterbacks in this league. Some people have the right opinion; some people have the wrong opinion.”

Despite callers to local sports radio stations seemingly wanting Freeman’s head on a platter for a couple of bad practices, Williams claims Freeman is immune to the viscious attacks.

“I don’t think he pays attention to it at all,” Williams said. “It’s people like me who try to say something back for him. He just goes on to the next step.”

Williams is convinced the criticism is unfair to Freeman but No. 5 is playing it right.

“People are going to judge you the way they want to judge you,” Williams said. “I have been dealing with that my whole life. You just have to move on. And that is what Josh is doing.”

Joe remembers last year Williams coming out swinging with a passionate defense of Freeman, claiming that it wasn’t just the quarterback to blame for an incompletion in Bucs coordinator Mike Sullivan’s offense. Williams told all who were within earshot that receivers were equally responsible if not more so for the reads on the defense.

Joe thinks it is way cool how Williams has Freeman’s back. Joe has no issue whatsoever if someone doesn’t like the play of Freeman. But this nonsense spouted by Warren Moon, which seems to have been hatched by Boomer Esiason last year, with zero attribution, is simply outrageous.

To hear all of Williams’ words, click the arrow below, audio courtesy of Joe’s friends at WDAE-AM 620.

Bucs safety Mark Barron hopes the Bucs have the NFL’s best secondary beginning the first week of the season.

It doesn’t take a vivid imagination to smell the bad taste in Mark Barron’s mouth from the horrid Bucs pass defense. After all, many Bucs fans threw up enough watching that atrocity.

But the past is the past, as players like to say. Barron’s done with talking about the past. Part of that is because he believes the Bucs have a shot at having the best secondary in the NFL. The experience that newcomers Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson bring is one reason.

“It got frustrating,” Barron said. “There was a lot going on. We were the best run defense in the league so teams wanted to come after us (with the pass). We want to go from last to first.”

The first step to accomplishing that goal was simple.

“I feel like we have better players, period,” Barron said.

It’s not just better players, but what those players (Darrelle Revis, Dashon Goldson) bring, years of experience Barron noted is already paying off.

“That experience is an advantage for a real young team,” Barron said. “We need that experience. If [Goldson] sees something that needs to be corrected or some kind of an issue, it will get addressed whether it is something in the secondary or the whole team.”

As for Revis, Barron said, “It is good to have that help. He is a smart guy to alert you as to what might be coming, things that come with experience.”

Joe asked Barron if the Bucs secondary may be a late bloomer. While most of the secondary has been playing together since OTAs, it hasn’t been until this week that Revis has been able to practice with the first team defense regularly. Barron disagreed.

“Hopefully it doesn’t take that long,” Barron said. “We want to go out Week 1 and be at our peak. That is always the goal to come out that first game and be at the top level.”

There’s really only one new wide receiver in the mix for playing time this season. That would be Kevin Ogletree, the free agent pickup out of Dallas who has taken most of the reps at No. 3 receiver.

Yes, Ogletree dropped a Freeman first-down pass last week against New England, but at least he was in synch with Freeman on that route and finished with a strong game.

Joe asked Freeman about building chemistry with the new guy today, and Freeman said that’s not an issue.

“Kevin’s a tremendously talented guy, a hard working guy. When it comes to developing chemistry, you know, that makes it easy for me as a quarterback, when you have a guy that works like that, a guy constantly chatting it up about different looks about different angles,” Freeman said of Ogletree. “He’s a smart guy. He’s very intelligent and understands the game. So developing chemistry [with him], on top of him just being a great dude in the locker room, you know, it’s been really easy.”

Joe will have his eye on the Ogletree-Freeman connection on Saturday night in Miami. Freeman needs to build quick confidence in Ogletree for the Bucs to have a more diverse offense, especially considering they don’t have a dynamic tight end to lean on.

Joe likes what he’s seen from Ogletree, but his resume suggests he has a lot to prove.

Fran Tarkenton may think Josh Freeman is “God awful,” but fellow Hall of Famer Warren Moon disagrees.

Moon, now a broadcaster for the Seahawks,  joined the Ron and Ian show this morning on WDAE-AM 620 and said he likes Freeman’s talent and on-field and in-the-facility leadership but doesn’t believe Freeman is as “dedicated” as he needs to be and “likes to hang out a little bit too much.”

Joe’s not sure where this take on Freeman’s dedication comes from. It’s the same stuff Boomer Esiason spread last year. None of it jibes with Joe’s observations and knowledge.

Geez, is Freeman not permitted to drink beer on his off days? You can catch Moon’s whole interview below. Moon also goes into the Xs and Os of his personal tutoring of Cam Newton, and more.

Blistergate likely has many Bucs fans expecting Jeremy Zuttah to again ditch his job at center and move to left guard if/when Carl Nicks is unavailable Week 1 against the Jets.

Hold on, Zuttah told Joe today.

Zuttah has been playing center exclusively this season and is not taking reps at left guard, and moving there is not in the plan to the best of his knowledge.

Would moving to left guard be second nature, Jeremy?

“No second nature,” Zuttah said. “I mean you do something else for so long that if you have to switch you need reps to get back to it. As of now I’m only playing center.”

Ted Larsen would be next in line behind Nicks at left guard. Bucs fans would be hoping he could recapture his 2010 form their when he spent a chunk of the season there when Zuttah moved from guard to center for injured Jeff Faine.

Zuttah went on to make it clear that he wants to settle in at center this season and master the position. Joe hopes Chucky’s final third-round pick gets the chance to do just that.

So what’s the best news coming out of One Buc Palace today?

There’s no question it was Greg Schiano’s assessment of Darrelle Revis’ Wednesday practice effort.

Revis has been stepping up his workload, including covering Vincent Jackson in drills. Today, per Schiano, Revis “did more and looked impressive.”

The Bucs need their $1 million-per-game man on the field to challenge for the playoffs. So this is an amazing sign.

As for Revis playing Saturday night in Miami, Schiano didn’t rule it out but specified that everything Revis does is with a thorough day-to-day approach. Translation: Saturday is up to Revis, if he’s healthy.