Here are nuggets and notes from Bucs practice, Day 6 of training camp 2013.

* Kevin Ogletree schools Johnthan Banks on a comeback route TD from JF5 along left sideline. Schiano shakes head in disgust.

* MW19 goes low to dig up JF5 pass for 18 yards.

* JF5 to MW19 big gain along right sideline.

* Fake crowd noise!

* Michael Smith with a little shake and bake inside but goes down. Schiano bellows, “Finish, finish!” Smith bounces up, biting the football, and continues running.

* Nate Byham with a catch off a beautiful JF5 play action fake. Next play on a flea-flicker, blitzing Ahmad Black forces JF5 to unload ball.

* Derek Hagen has a short pass bounce off his fingertips on a crossing pattern.

* Josh Freeman threads needle to Kevin Ogletree.

* Lavonte David strips a pass out of Mike James’ mitts.

* Granted, Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks are limited but sure seems like Adrian Clayborn and Lavonte David are in backfield quite a bit.

* Vincent Jackson with a short catch nearly batted down by Mark Barron.

* Michael Smith lit up in backfield by Jonathan Casillas.

* Derek Hagen nearly made a circus catch against Braden Smith along left sideline but couldn’t hang on.

* Chris Owusu makes one-handed catch along left sideline in drills.

* Adam Hayward beaten badly by TE Danny Noble.

* Nice jump and fingertip grab by Mike Williams on a short throw.

* Freeman throws behind Kevin Ogletree

* Vincent Jackson with a drop on a very easy-to-handle ball.

* Interesting drill: WRs fight with DBs for pass over shoulder.

* Chris Owusu fielding punts. As much work as he is getting, it appears he is very much on coaches’ radar just like fans’ radar.

* Branden Smith (Georgia CB) now returning punts.

* Mike James returns kickoff straight up the middle.

* Captain of the inactive list Michael Smith returns a long kickoff and the fans respond with loud ovation.

* Bucs rock star general Mark Dominik walks past bleachers and receives standing ovation from fans.

*TE Nate Byham getting work with the first team in red-zone work.

*Undrafted rookie Rashaan Melvin with two instances of good coverage in one red zone period.

*Bryan Cox screaming praise to Daniel Te’o-Nesheim for his work at left end on a run play.

*Cox taking a long teaching moment with Williams Gholston on the field.

*Camp meat alert: Nice effort and technique by Adam Smith working at left tackle.

*Peyton Hillis turns the corner on Steven Means for a long gain. Hillis is powerful-looking dude.

*Keith Tandy slips as last line of defense following a Vincent Jackson catch. TD.

*DaQuan Bowers, late in practice, appears to succumb to the heat. Or he’s in deep prayer.

*Michael Smith runs into nosetackle Derek Landri and goes backwards.

*Najee Goode plays with a lot of attitude.

*Mike Williams with a good catch and escape of Rashaan Melvin.

*Steven Means is limping late in practice but playing through it.

*Sean Baker ends practice with an interception of Mike Glennon in the two-minute offense. Heinous throw.

The human armoire, Carl Nicks, the manbeast of manbeasts on the Bucs’ offensive line, got his first taste of serious action at practice today. Nicks is working his way back from offseason toe surgery to repair a mangled turf toe that rivaled the planet Uranus in size.

Greg Schiano said after practice it was part of the “little-by-little” process of preparing Nicks for opening day.

This is a great sign and came as a bit of a surprise to Joe. Nicks guaranteed earlier he’d be ready for Week 1, and it feels like a lock after seeing him in pads and throwing his body around — sans limp.

Greg Schiano broke the bad news after this morning’s practice. Adrian Clayborn injured his groin very early in the session and “couldn’t practice.”

Schiano had no timetable for Clayborn’s return and said it’s “usually not a good sign.”

Joe doesn’t want to go overboard here, but the Bucs’ biggest question marks are along the defensive line, and there’s not a load of depth at defensive end.

Fingers are crossed across the Bay area.

Aside from Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, no area of the team needs to start man up and step up more  than the pass rush. Gone is 2012 sack leader Michael Bennett.

With both defensive ends Da’Quan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn finally healthy, the Bucs are counting big time on the two young bookends to put the fear of God in opposing quarterbacks, or at least make them yellow their pants.

Just from the vibe Clayborn feels in meeting rooms, opposing quarterbacks should beware.

“The way everybody has bought into the system, it is 10-times, 20-times better than last year and I only played three games,” Clayborn said. “ It’s a lot better than last year. I feel good. My knee is 100 [percent] finally.

“We have Bryan Cox in the room full time now helping us with our techniques and he is really helping out. It is showing. It is showing. [Cox explained] get back to my old self. Don’t be fancy. Be hard-nosed and get to the quarterback.“

It sounds as if the constant stunting and being cute on the defensive line is going away. Pin your ears back and, as Warren Sapp would say, “hunt.”

Joe remembers last year Gerald McCoy, tired of the cutesy stunting, demanded it stop to allow him to chase quarterbacks. It worked. Later, GMC said he was talking to Sapp about this and Sapp said, “The quarterback is over here. Why are you running over there?”

Joe has a hunch Cox will take care of matters. Look, he helped lead a woebegone NFL worst rush defense, and with the addition of just one player (Lavonte David), turned the same unit from worst to first in the NFL. That’s coaching.

Now that Cox is solely focused on rushing the quarterback, Joe has visions of Bowers and Clayborn planting quarterbacks into the soil of the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway. To hear all of Clayborn’s comments, click the arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620.

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Raheem Morris says stats are for losers. Joe never bought into that nonsense. Stats can be valuable when they’re not twisted, turned, massaged, invented and/or manipulated. And some stats are downright telling.

Doug Martin had the fourth-most carries in the NFL last season with 319. He also caught 49 balls.

The folks at NationalFootballPost.com took a look at the production of every running back over the past 11 years in their season following a 300-carry workload. The data was revealed as it relates to real football and fantasy football.

The message was that landing a spot in the 300-club often means a drop in production the next season.

Joe’s not predicting a decline in anything for Martin. Joe suspects Martin will get more work — carries and receptions — if his offensive line is healthy and playing up to its capabilities. Keep in mind a punishing running game will limit the snaps of Darrelle Revis and friends, something the Bucs would love to do early as they work Revis back into top form.

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 at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620. The new, Wednesday “JoeBucsFan Hour” rolls on this evening. You don’t want to miss this.

Joe tries to be objective when it comes to Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. Joe sees the measurables, sees him rifle lasers through traffic to Vincent Jackson, sees him (not enough) scramble to create plays, and they make Joe smile.

Then Joe sees the irritating rollercoaster of inconsistency and cringeworthy melting down under pressure, and Joe wonders if Freeman can ever turn the corner.

Joe points to the Denver game last season. The Bucs defense may have played it’s best half of football all season, bottling up Peyton Manning in the first half. Holding a scant halftime lead, Denver coach John Fox brought the house on Freeman, and Freeman wilted and vanished with a chance to pull off a major upset and keep the team in playoff contention.

Yes, quarterbacks are supposed to struggle under pressure. But the cream of the crop of quarterbacks rise above the fray. If Freeman is able to get the Bucs to the playoffs, you don’t think he will face pressure from opposing defenses then?

Steve Palazzolo of ProFootballFocus.com decided to crunch some Freeman numbers and under heat from a defense, Palazzolo revealed chilling data on the Bucs’ signalcaller.

Tampa Bay fans are still wondering if Freeman is truly their long-term answer, but on the glass-half full side, go to our AFC North Pressure Profiles and check out Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco. Freeman’s pressure numbers are eerily similar and perhaps a good sign that he’s at least capable of leading the Bucs to the playoffs and beyond. In glass-half empty news, only three quarterbacks have graded worse than Freeman’s -46.3 when pressured, so he likely has to show some improvement in that area to take the next step. Freeman’s only positive grade comes from left guard pressure while he’s particularly poor when under heat from left tackle and right guard.

So now Joe will play glass half-full. Palazzolo’s informtion is from Freeman of 2012. What was missing most of the season? Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph. So with those two upright and healthy (Joe hopes), this will help keep defenses off Freeman and also help keep Freeman’s jersey clean.

That alone should improve Freeman’s numbers from last year.

Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud says Bucs fans should be on the lookout for Adrian Clayborn and DaQuan Bowers to flip-flop sides of the defensive line throughout games, all part of a new “handprint,” Stroud called it, from Greg Schiano on his beloved defense.

Will the Bucs really do this? Joe will wait and see. Does Joe like the idea? Well, Joe’s learned enough from former Bucs DE Steve White to know that moving around on the D-line severely limits the opportunity for ends to set-up offensive tackles with a series of moves. As in, ‘I’ll give him two of these and come back with one of these.’

Also interesting to Joe is that John Abraham, who the Bucs passed on in free agency, was one who often moved around along the D-line. (You can catch Stroud’s breakdown via the WDAE-AM 620 audio below.)

Year 2 of the Bucs offense under the New Schiano Order should bring more continuity, confidence and, subsequently, efficiency within the established system.

Year 2 of the Greg Schiano defense should bring the same.

Year 2 of special teams?

That’s a different animal, says longtime Bucs special teams captain Adam Hayward.

“Now we need to go play football,” Hayward told Joe. “Last year we kinda were trying to learn so many different things and when you’re doing that you’re thinking and you’re not playing fast. This year [special teams coach Dave] Wannstedt is making it real simple. You know, ‘This is what you gotta do. These are the way to beat the blocks and go make plays.’ That’s huge.

Is that the way it used to be around here, Adam?

“Definitely that’s how it used to be. We kinda got away from that trying to do too much. And now we’re back to the basics. There’s only so much you can do in football on the return side and we’re getting back to making it simple so we can go play.”

The Bucs were not special on special teams last season, outside of leading the NFL in blocked punts, an obsession of Schiano. Last year’s special teams staff was blown out and Wannstedt has taken over.

There’s plenty of room for improvement.

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It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of Bucs’ second-round pick Johnthan Banks. He looks good in practice (a perception aided by the fact Darrelle Revis isn’t on the field), and Bucs fans know Banks is being counted on heavily.

But he’s still a rookie, and Greg Schiano sees that clearly. The leader of the New Schiano Order said on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday that Banks is not a finished product.

“Each day Johnthan Banks gets better and better. And things you can get away with in college playing in the secondary, you can’t get away with in this league. You know, the receivers are too good; the quarterbacks are too good. So we’re kind of doing away with some of those bad habits that he got away with in college, and we’re using his strengths. He’s a long guy, he’s got long limbs, really athletic,” Schiano said.

Yes, Joe’s just a tiny bit nervous about Banks, as Joe would be about any rookie. The Bucs drafted another SEC cornerback in 2010, a third-round pick with great length and skills in arguably the deepest draft in NFL history. That would be Nine Lives Myron Lewis. (You can catch the entire Schiano interview below)

Donald Penn leads what very well could be the NFL’s best offensive line.

It still amazes Joe how productive the Bucs’ offensive line was last year after being shuffled more than a deck of cards in a Las Vegas casino. Down went Davin Joseph, down went Carl Nicks, out went Jeremy Trueblood, Jeremy Zuttah was bounced around, largely untested Demar Dotson played in 15 games.

Going over all the offensive lines in the league, NFL analyst Evan Silva of Rotoworld.com ranks them and believes the Bucs are No. 5.

Overview: While the Buccaneers’ 2012 offensive line ratings were not particularly strong, keep in mind they only got seven combined games from Nicks and Joseph, who form quite possibly the NFL’s premier guard duo east of San Francisco. Nicks earned consecutive Pro Bowl trips before arriving in Tampa Bay last offseason, including a 2011 All-Pro berth. Joseph is a brute power blocker. They’re healthy now. Despite injuries to arguably their best two linemen, the Bucs still allowed the third fewest sacks in football (26) and ranked 11th in yards-per-carry average (4.42). Depth is somewhat concerning, but there aren’t five better starting O-Lines in the league.

Joe confesses he didn’t remember the Bucs offense protecting so well last season. Imagine what it can be fully healthy?

Joe does know Josh Freeman and Doug Martin are salivating thinking of playing behind what very well could be the best front line in the NFL.

If healthy.

Chris Owusu

Bucs stud wide receiver Mike Williams has made no secret of how much of an influence Vincent Jackson has made on his career. The veteran star, signed as a free agent prior to last season, took Williams under his wing and showed him all the little things it takes during the week to be able to make big plays on Sundays.

It appears Williams is not the only disciple of Jackson. So too is Chris Owusu.

The Stanford product has been on Joe’s radar since OTAs. As Joe told his good friend, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, nearly every time he saw a wide receiver make a spring play, Joe looked at his roster to check who it was, and virtually every time it was Owusu.

Monday at Day Five of Bucs training camp 2013, Owusu, playing with the first team, put on a show, all but planting a spear at midfield stating he too is in the running for the No. 3 wide receiver position, as WDAE-AM 620 Bucs beat writer Tom Krasniqi documents.

The presence of Pro Bowl WR Vincent Jackson certainly helps. Owusu believes Jackson has been a tremendous influence on him. “Just attack the defender and be a professional at all times,” Owusu said of what Jackson has taught him. “Vince is the best professional I’ve seen….ever.”

Owusu played his college ball at Stanford and was signed by the 49ers after going undrafted in 2012. He was among San Francisco’s final cuts before last season. He signed with the Chargers and was placed on their practice squad before the Bucs scooped him up last September. The 6-0, 196-pound Owusu has terrific speed—4.36 in the 40—but concussions and various injuries marred his college career. He ran track in high school so he could also be an option as a returner for the Bucs.

As Joe stated yesterday, a strong training camp practice a starting wide receiver does not make. While Owusu impressed Joe for month, he needs to be consistent and show the same skills in preseason games. Let’s not forget Bucs fans, Tiquan Underwood had a strong preseason last year and was cut before being re-signed up later. Just because a receiver has a strong April, May, June and July doesn’t mean he will start, or even be on the final roster of 53.

What Owusu has done thus far has been impressive. He needs to keep it up, if not elevate his game, to lock up a roster spot and a trip to Gotham to play the Jets in September.

Joe’s friends at WDAE-AM 620 have all sorts of audio available from Day Five of Bucs training camp 2013 for you to enjoy. First there is Bucs coach Greg Schiano’s daily post-practice press conference.

In addition, there are interviews with players who had good practices. Among them are linebacker Lavonte David, who was a terror in the second practice in pads, cornerback Leonard Johnson, who appears to be in a battle with Johnthan Banks for a starting gig, running back Brian Leonard, who should have a spot on the 53-man final roster, and defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who had a beastly practice this morning.

Please give a listen to the clips. Some good stuff in there.

As much of a taskmaster tough guy that Greg Schiano might be, there’s only so much a coach can do to drive a team in practice under the new NFL labor agreement. Training camp just ain’t what it used to be when it comes to how much guys can hit each other and play, you know, real football.

Schiano lamented the loss of physical practice time a bit today with former Bucs guard Ian Beckles, co-host of the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620.

“Contact is a little bit of a lost art,” Schiano said today. 

Joe remembers attending Bucs training camp at the old University of Tampa, when two-a-days were the norm and guys on the field were beating the snot out of each other. Does Joe miss that? Sure. But Joe’s surely not seeing a lesser product across the NFL because of softer practices.

If anything, the change has put more importance on preseason games, which surely needed a shot in the arm.

After a 2 hour and 30 minute practice today, their fifth consecutive practice, the Bucs have Tuesday off.

It’s hard to imagine a Glory Days Bucs fan wouldn’t get a grin out of this NFL Films video.

Apparently caught up in the training camp spirit, NFL.com rolled out this video of a mike’d up Chucky at 2003 training camp.

Chris Simms seems to have had a much tougher road than Mike Glennon.

When your dad is a three-time All-Pro and an NFL coach, you really should be a smart football player.

Safety Cody Grimm is just that, so said Greg Schiano today. 

Schiano raved about Grimm’s brain and told media that he spends a lot of time alongside Grimm and is impressed. 

“Cody’s a very smart football player, whether it’s on special teams or on defense. I sit next to him a lot in the meetings, and you can hear him just saying the answers, you know, under his breath. He gets it,” Schiano said. “And that’s what allows him to really be a competitive player because there are guys that are faster and bigger and all those things. He really is a good football player.”

Grimm is firmly on the bubble (no, Joe’s not referring Grimm drinking too much champagne.). He’s got starting experience and has done some good things, but he’s hurt far too often.

Grimm’s a guy to watch in the preseason, though. He’s got the ability to outplay Ahmad Black, who, like Grimm,  also has had unpleasant times with police.