Comrades Rick Stroud and good guy Stephen Holder discuss the recent day’s events at One Buc Palace in this St. Petersburg Times video.

Interesting piece of information from Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune concerning yesterday’s news that rookie seventh-round pick Cody Grimm will replace suspended Tanard Jackson in the Bucs starting lineup.

Many observers thought it would be Sabby who would get the nod. But no! Bucs coach Raheem Morris thought more of Grimm.

Morris bypassed veteran safety Sabby Piscitelli, who lost the strong safety job to Sean Jones in training camp.

”We definitely thought about Sabby,” Morris said.

Piscitelli ought to start thinking about his future, because Morris’ decision so much as tells him that he doesn’t trust Piscitelli, who missed a league-leading 19 tackles last season, as the team’s last line of defense.

Interesting. So is this a sign by Morris that Sabby should start looking for another team to play for, or perhaps this is intended to be a wake up call for Sabby?

Look, Joe will be the first one to admit that Sabby calling out Morris, when Sean Jones was named a starter, for rigging the competition between the two safeties did Sabby no favors.

But did the public tongue-lashing of his coach burn a bridge that cannot be repaired?

In what is an absolute stunner, the Bucs-Steelers game is officially blacked out. The Bucs dished out this bad, sad news Thursday afternoon. Joe will have more on this shocker later.

If you can’t buy a ticket to the Bucs-Steelers game on Sunday, then the next best alternative is a ticket on the Blackout Tour to Lee Roy Selmon’s in Fort Myers. The luxury bus leaves at 10:20 a.m. on Sunday from Derby Lane in St. Pete and returns about 6:45 p.m.

Click on the logo below for all the details and to get your tickets. The opening day Blackout Tour bus for the Browns game was a sold out blast. Tickets will not last long.

Old man/good guy Earnest Graham sat in on Total Access, with host Scott Ledger of the Buccaneers Radio Network, this week.

Joe’s got a brief summary for you.

Talking about his starting fullback role, Graham was quick to remind listeners that he was really a fullback from Day 1 when he came to the Bucs in 2003, when Chucky told him his role was to emulate Mike Alstott.

“It’s been going on a long, long time. Maybe some people have missed it. When I first came, Coach Gruden actually told me that’s what my role would probably be here [at fullback]. You know, to be similar to Mike Alstott. Be able to carry the ball, catch the ball out of the backfield, just be a total all-around back,” Graham said. “So it’s been a while that I’ve been playing both positions.”

Graham explained that his versatility was in focus in 2005, when he started the first half of a preseason game at running back, and then played fullback through the second half before switching back to halfback in overtime.

He emphasized that the Bucs’ 2010 offense is similar to Chucky’s, with Greg Olson capitalizing on Josh Freeman’s all-around talent. Graham said he does screwup at times, forgetting whether he’s playing running back or fullback.

Graham said he’s never looked at the game of football as if he was under pressure in a certain position. “I’ve always been a guy where it’s just football to me. I just go do what I’ve been doing since I was six or seven years old.”

As for Graham’s take on Sunday’s game, a fan called in to tell him to go out and beat Pittsburgh. Graham replied, “I think we will.”

Graham expressed his sadness for suspended safety Tanard Jackson, who he called a friend.

“It’s a tough loss. … You know, Tanard was definitely in a situation here where he definitely, you know, looked for guidance from a lot of the older players. He was a guy we kept our arm around,. And just to see him have a mistake right now is tough, especially when we need him,” Graham said. “Just as a friend, I know that he’s hurting. He made a mistake and he has to pay for it. But I know he’s hurting, because I know in a sense he let his teammates down and his friends down.”

It doesn’t get more official than this:

Bucs coach Raheem Morris officially named rookie Cody Grimm as the new Bucs starting safety as reported by the official Twitter account of the Bucs this afternoon.

Coach Morris just said rookie Cody Grimm will step in as the new starter at free safety.

Joe likes this move. Grimm showed in just a handful of preseason games to have more football instincts and savvy than Sabby has in two years.

And let’s not forget the dumb penalities Sabby has made not to mention the 19 missed tackles Sabby had last year, which led the NFL by a wide margin.

When word began to circulate Wednesday of the news that Tanard Jackson’s season was done with a(nother) failed drug test, and speculation began that Sabby would start in his place, Bill Barnwell of FootballOutsiders.com was not overcome with warm and fuzzies.

It was FootballOutsiders.com that declared that Sabby had the most missed tackles (19) of any defensive player in the NFL last year, with a few tied for second with 15.

Twittering last night, Joe read that Barnwell suggested Raheem Morris find some way to keep Sabby off the field if the Bucs are to have success this year.

Sabby Piscitelli was probably one of my five worst regulars in the NFL last year. Bucs need to ensure he stays on the bench.

Barnwell went on to write that Sabby was in his sordid group along with C.C. Brown, Tyler Polumbus, JaMarcus Russell, and Daniel Coats.

Hit with a caller question on his radio show to identify early screwups and I’ve-arrived moments, Gerald McCoy didn’t hold back Tuesday night on WDAE-AM 620.

“There’s been a few of those ‘What the heck did I dos.’ McCoy said. “So I can’t really point one out in particular because there have  been numerous. You kind of get that as a rookie. …There have been a few plays. The fourth quarter of the Cleveland game, you know, we got some good rushes on Jake Delhomme. So it was then that I said, ‘You know what, it’s crunch time. It’s time to be clutch. It’s time to get it going up front.’ And we did that. So it was then that I said, ‘Hey, I can play this game.”

As for arriving and succeeding in the NFL, McCoy gives credit, in part, to Warren Sapp. Responding to a fan question about his relationship with Sapp, McCoy said the following:

“We pretty cool, man. He took me under his wing,” McCoy said. “He always makes himself, you know, convenient for me. He always makes it easy for me to contact him and he frequently checks in on me. I mean he checks in on me a lot. And he’s just been such a good role model to me by showing me different things he did and how he played and how he thought. It’s helping me out a lot.”

McCoy went on to explain that he’s waiting on Sapp’s film grades for his first two games. He also talked about how excited he is to be consistently playing all positions along the defensive line.

Again, Joe’s impressed by McCoy’s poise behind the mike. No. 93 also went on to say how he loves to “embrace” quality barbecue.

Earlier this week, listeners to “The Blitz,” co-hosted by Rich Gannon and Adam Schein, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, were treated to an interview with Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman.

Naturally Joe listened.

Following the interview, it seemed Gannon and Schein were smitten with the young Bucs signal-caller.

“Every time I talk to him, I come away so impressed with how intelligent he is,” Schein said of Freeman.

Gannon concurred.

“He will be a special player. I think he is a big reason why they are 2-0. He was outstanding against Cleveland and he made big plays in the win over Carolina.”

The gorgeous Jenny Dell of BSPN returns for her weekly statistical breakdown on the Bucs. Jenny’s looking so ravishing in this video, Joe (as usual) didn’t catch what she had to say.

Bad enough the Bucs got hit with the horrible news that Tanard Jackson is done for the season (and maybe for good). Now word comes from Pittsburgh that two key elements of the Steelers defensive and offensive lines will return Sunday against the Bucs.

Rotund nose tackle Casey Hampton and offensive left tackle Max Starks are expected to start Sunday, so writes Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Nose tackle Casey Hampton and left tackle Max Starks are on course to return to the starting lineup Sunday when the Steelers visit the Buccaneers. Hampton didn’t play last Sunday against the Titans because of a hamstring injury. Starks was sidelined by a sprained ankle. Hampton, Tomlin said yesterday, “has looked really good in terms of getting himself ready to go this week.” Starks, he added, is expected to participate fully in practice today.

With the exception of safety Troy Polamalu, one could argue that Hampton may be the most important player on the Steelers. The guy is so huge and so strong that he literally envelops two blockers each play, which allows the Steelers linebackers to do their crazy things, such as James Harrison dropping back into pass coverage.

Let’s just say this news makes Joe nervous.

If Bucs fans were unnerved to learn that Bucs safety Tanard Jackson was popped for another failed drug test and suspended indefinitely, said fans should read Steve White’s reaction on his blog, “Passing on the Game.”

White, a former Bucs defensive end, reacted angrily to the news.

I will never understand guys who pull this kind of sh*t. At least with performance enhancing drugs while you know its wrong and illegal you can kind of get that guys were looking for a physical edge so they could perform better. Maybe for a new contract or maybe to help the team win, either way that kind of cheating is centered around a guy trying to make himself better.

But by all outward appearances Jackson was popped for some form of recreational drug. And this would have to be at least his third time getting caught. I sincerely thought that after he lost four games last year to start off the season that he would have learned his lesson. Not only did he embarrass himself and his family, he also put his teammates in a helluva jam. For whatever reason I thought his pride wouldn’t allow him to make the same mistake again.

Boy was I wrong.

And while its obvious that he was popped for this infraction sometime ago and is just now being punished, the timing couldn’t be any worse. Right at the point where folks are starting to believe in the Bucs again he just ruined ALL of that.

Bingo! Just when things were starting to roll for the Bucs, a major pothole pops up. “Sad” isn’t the appropriate word.

Joe strongly encourages you to read Steve’s full article on this subject. Please click the link above.

Now before Joe gets rolling here, Joe has no inside information regarding the premise of this particular post, just reading the tea leaves.

After learning that safety Tanard Jackson is suspended indefinitely by the NFL for substance abuse, it’s a good bet that Bucs fans have seen the last of Jackson playing for the Bucs.

Jackson was set to become a free agent after this season. He is not eligible to play for an NFL team before September 2011 — if the NFL clears the path for him to return.

Bucs general manager Mark Dominik is a big character guy. One of the reasons he has passed and purged players is that he doesn’t want a bad influence on a team that is growing from within.

That is the main reason he didn’t take a flyer on wide receiver Santonio Holmes for a fifth round pick. Dominik, Joe learned through third parties, was uncomfortable about what type of influence Holmes would have had on the young Bucs, despite his superior talent.

In short, Jackson, despite his talent, simply cannot be trusted. To be polite, Jackson is undependable. For a team like the Bucs trying to build a winner, it’s foolish to rely on a cracked brick as a key cog of the foundation.

The Tampa Bay sports voice of reason, Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune, as could be expected, weighed in on the Tanard Jackson issue Henderson deemed “madness.”

Jackson was suspended Wednesday by the NFL for failing a test for a banned substance. Henderson took out his scalpel.

I mean, getting caught once is a lapse in judgment.

Getting caught twice shows you have a problem.

But three times? That’s madness.

Henderson was much harsher in other parts of his column, including a catchy lead paragraph. Please click on the link and read.

Joe’s so depressed about this it’s hard for him to get angry on this otherwise pleasant Thursday fall morning.

Joe has always enjoyed reading veteran St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Gary Shelton’s missives over the years.

Sometimes Shelton makes Joe chuckle. Sometimes Shelton makes irritated (not with him). Always Shelton makes Joe think. Summed up, this is the earmarks of a strong columnist.

But rarely — maybe never — has Joe ever read an angry Shelton. That changed today.

Shelton’s near rage over the Tanard Jackson issue jumped off Joe’s computer screen this morning when he read Shelton condemn the (former?) Bucs safety Tanard Jackson for testing positive for a banned substance and thus being suspended for a year.

For the third time in his career, Jackson has been caught with drugs in his urine and rocks in his head. He has taken his bad habits and twisted them around his bad judgment, and he has taken his self-destructive nature and pointed it at his own huddle. Jackson will be gone for a year, but his teammates also have to pay part of the price.

Dammit, Tanard, what were you thinking?

Better question: Why weren’t you thinking?

Wow. In just three paragraphs, Shelton wrapped up the ire of Bucs fans as well. Just when the team seemed on the cusp of returning to great things, with it’s biggest game at the CITS since the Chucky era just hours away, one of the most important elements of the defense was whisked away for his own stupidity.

Shelton nails it between the uprights.

Word flying around Bucs country yesterday, after word came that Tanard Jackson let his teammates down by getting slapped with an indefinite suspension by the NFL, is that Sabby would be the new starter.

Hold up, writes Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times. He too thought Sabby would start. But after further reflection, Holder believes the Bucs may have their eyes on either Corey Lynch or Cody Grimm instead.

Piscitelli seems the likeliest option given his experience and ability to play both strong and free safety. But the potential of both Lynch and Grimm is hard to ignore, and the Bucs saw playmaking ability from both of them during the preseason. Grimm has risen to second on the depth chart behind Jackson at free safety and continues to make quite the impression on special teams. Lynch has shown he has a nose for the football with his adeptness at blocking kicks and his two-interception performance in the preseason.

General manager Mark Dominik, during his announcement of the Jackson suspension, said coach Raheem Morris would use the next couple of days to mull a decision on who will start in place of Jackson.

And truthfully, maybe that’s the right course of action. Because the more you think about, the more you realize the answer here is not at all obvious.

Joe fully endorses trying the latter two options. It’s pretty clear to Bucs fans the result if Sabby starts.  Let’s see if one of the two kids can get the job done. Both seem to have more football savvy than Sabby.

Weeks ago Joe might have posted a popular farm goat photograph in this  post, but Joe has evolved — slightly.

In its place, Joe has a picture of Sabby Piscitelli, the Bucs safety who steps back into the spotlight with the very sad, season-long suspension of Tanard Jackson announced today.

It’s starting to become clear why the Bucs likely kept five safeties on the roster. They probably suspected Jackson was about to feel the wrath of the NFL’s drug policy.

So all of a sudden, the Bucs are now thin at safety. Rookie Cody Grimm and Corey Lynch have much to prove, and Sabby is, well, Sabby. His gift-wrapped starting role as a third-year safety last year was a disaster. Even Raheem Morris, before the 2009 season was over, said he needed to “fix” Sabby in the offseason.

That, apparently, didn’t happen, as the Bucs signed Sean Jones to replace him and Sabby publicly moaned that the fix was in for him and his starting job.

But now it appears to be Sabby Time. Joe’s not hopeful. Joe’s got about as much faith in Piscitelli as he does Michael Clayton, who remains unemployed. 

Of course, Morris could roll with Lynch or Grimm, but Joe doesn’t think the head coach will be willling to gamble with inexperience in his beloved secondary like he has been on the defensive line.

Sabby now has a second chance at his NFL career, and Joe’s about driven to prayer.

Joe wonders if the Bucs might be on the phone to old friend linebacker safety Jermaine Phillips, who, if he’s in pretty good shape, might be worth sniffing out during the bye week, which starts after Sunday’s Steelers game. 

All charges were dropped against Phillips in his domestic violence case — a fact still shamefully unreported by the local media outside of Joe. And brittle bones notwithstanding, they could probably use him if Sabby looks like Sabby on Sunday. 

The Bucs announced today that safety Tanard Jackson has been suspended indefinitely without pay for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.

Per Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, this has far-reaching ramifications other than missing untold games.

Specifics of Jackson’s violation were not disclosed, but Jackson’s suspension begins immediately and he cannot apply for re-instatement until July 22, 2011.

“We know that he is suspended for the rest of the year,” Dominik said. “And his contract will roll over, which means he will not be a free agent.”

Jackson was scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the 2010 season.

Just when it seemed the Bucs were on a roll, this is very bad news. In Joe’s eyes, time to cut the cord on this guy. If he can’t be trusted to keep his nose clean, how can the team depend on the guy?

UPDATE: Earlier this evening, Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times Twittered that it takes more than a couple of drug violations for the NFL to drop the hammer the way it did on Jackson.

Pretty sure it takes 3 drug violations to get an indefinite suspension. Unbelievable

Yes, that is unbelievably irresponsible. It sickens Joe.

In the latest TBO Bucs vlog, Woody Cummings and eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune tackle the subjects of blackouts, the Bucs and the NFL. Joe would like to read your reactions to their comments.

As for the Steelers game with the Bucs Sunday, the deadline for a sellout is Thursday at 1 p.m., though the Bucs can always ask the NFL for an extension if the team believes there’s a chance of selling any remaining the tickets. 

Joe reported Friday that the game will be televised.

Last week when the Steelers played at Nashville, offensive linemen were dropping like flies. That won’t get any easier for the Steelers when they wear their black jerseys in the middle of a Florida summer day.

Yeah, Joe knows it’s technically fall, but fall doesn’t come to Florida until Halloween.

Seems as though the heat Sunday is already in the heads of the Steelers, per a quote from Steelers offensive lineman Chris Kemoeatu, documented by Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Left guard Chris Kemoeatu, on the offensive linemen preparing to play another warm-weather game Sunday at Tampa.

“It shouldn’t be a factor, but as far as us big guys up front, we’ve got to make sure we hydrate (during the week). We sweat a lot, and we’re big men moving around. We’re used to playing in the cold. We’re not used to the hot weather.”

The heat only goes so far. Will it help the Bucs? Sure. Will the heat win the game for the Bucs? Of course not.