Bucs second year safety Sabby Piscitelli is looking to hit people now that he's recovered from a foot injury that shelved him for much of his rookie year.

Bucs second year safety Sabby Piscitelli is back, and he’s looking for payback after missing most of  last year with a foot injury.

Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings, of the Tampa Tribune, suggests Piscitelli should win the third and final roster spot for Bucs’ safeties.

Many have compared Piscitelli to John Lynch. Piscitelli and Lynch grew up in upscale surroundings (Piscitelli in Boca Raton; Lynch in Del Mar, Calif.); like Lynch, Piscitelli starred at a Pac-10 school (Piscitelli at Oregon State; Lynch at Stanford) and like Lynch, Piscitelli is known for bone-crunching hits.

Joe is happy Piscitelli is back and healthy. Chucky would be wise to keep him.

Bucs wide receiver Paris Warren is trying to come back from a terrible ankle injury suffered as he scored the winning touchdown in last year's final preseason game.

Last year, Paris Warren was the talk of the Bucs preseason. So impressive was the wide receiver that he may have won a starting job. Certainly Warren would have played a key role in the Bucs offensive scheme.

But in a cruel twist of fate, Warren, scoring the winning touchdown in the final preseason game, collapsed on the field with a grotesque left ankle injury, which pointed his foot the direction feet are not supposed to point.

Now, Warren is hoping he can bounce back from the injury that was so nasty, it left many Bucs veterans shaken. In fact, a number of the Bucs, including linebacker Derrick Brooks, rushed on the field to Warren’s aid.

The gesture touched Warren, as he told the Bradenton Herald’s Roger Mooney:

“It just shows how much respect I have from the other guys”

After struggling in his first few years in the NFL, Bucs cornerback Phillip Buchanon has blossomed into a solid player.

When Phillip Buchanon came out of “The U,” he was expected to be another in a long line of top notch Hurricane cornerbacks. But that didn’t happen. Instead, he was considered a bust. After being a first round pick by Oakland, he was cut and didn’t fare much better with Houston.

But Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger, apparently finished slurping Son of Bob, notes that Buchanon, now 27, may have found his niche with the Bucs and is starting to live up to expectations.

“I’m in a better environment,” he said. “I never figured myself to have a problem with tackling. The situations that I was put in – it was down, a lot of losing, a lot of things going on behind closed doors that people didn’t know about. It was kind of depressing.”

The way Buchanon has blossomed with the Bucs, in addition to Tanard Jackson, a healthy Sabby Piscitelli as well as the addition of Aqib Talib via the draft, Joe considers the Bucs to have the best defensive backfield in the NFL.

Oh yeah, isn’t there still some guy by the name of Ronde Barber playing, too?

There's no reason for Chucky to risk quarterback Jeff Garcia in a meaningless game unless Garcia is 100 percent.

After practice Tuesday, Bucs coach Jon Gruden wasn’t sure if quarterback Jeff Garcia would suit up for the first home preseason game of 2008 against New England, per PewterReport.com.

“If it doesn’t get a lot better than it was today then yeah,” Gruden said. “We’ll make that decision in a few days from now. He hasn’t practiced in a long time, and he is not moving around at 100 percent. The New England Patriots aren’t a team you want to send out a guy at half speed.”

Garcia is nursing a right calf strain. Chucky would be smart to hold him out. Especially if he has some diabolical idea of naming Son of Bob the No. 2 quarterback. Let Carmella’s husband rest and get back to 100 percent. He’s too valuable to have a setback in a glorified scrimmage.

This is a reason why the Bucs defense should be strong this year, specifically the defensive backfield. If this hit by Tanard Jackson, a rookie last year, doesn’t get a Bucs fan hungry for the start of the season, not much will.

Watching this hit gets Joe jacked up!

Would have been nice to see the return of Lorenzo Neal.

Per ProFootballTalk.com via the Baltimore Sun, Neal is now the property of the Crows. who will need him to block for Joe Flacco.

Too bad. Neal would have been a nice fit here. Joe doesn’t know if there’s been a better blocking fullback in the NFL is some years than Neal.

Get well soon B.J. Askew.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel notes how Bucs OL Davin Joseph is a big-time practical joker. So much so that he snatched the keys of his friend and fellow offensive lineman Jeremy Trueblood and drove his truck to the Bucs hotel. Naturally, Trueblood freaked thinking he lost his keys.

“We’ve always had that common bond,” Joseph said. “Two guys from two totally separate colleges, two totally separate hometowns with nothing in relation but loving football.”

Good to see the offensive linemen bond like that. Joseph seems like a cool guy.

Watch your car keys around Bucs offensive lineman Davin Joseph.

If Brian Griese takes the field for the Bucs this year, Bucs fans will be hanging their heads in shame.

Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger really needs to take a cold shower. Or at least do some research.

In a column/love note he penned, he slobbers all over Son of Bob as if the guy is the next Joe Montana. Drools Brown:

Griese worked the West Coast Offense to perfection, connecting with open Tampa Bay receivers at random. In fact, Griese’s longest completion was 14 yards during that drive. Tampa Bay also converted two fourth-and-1s during the scoring drive.

Call Canton! Son of Bob converted two fourth downs where the Bucs needed a yard – one freaking yard!

Someone really needs to get Brown a towel. Or possibly some game tape of Son of Bob. Real game tape, not these glorified scrimmages the NFL trots out in August. Maybe Brown can answer the following:

*If Son of Bob was so good, how come one of the best quarterback coaches in the game, Mike Shanahan, let him go?

*If Son of Bob was so good, how come he couldn’t beat out Jay Fiedler in Miami? Jay Fiedler!

*If Son of Bob was so good, how come he couldn’t beat out Kyle Orton in Chicago? Kyle Freaking Orton!

*More importantly, if Son of Bob was so good, why did Chucky release him two years ago?

Has Brown not watched how defensive backs foam at the mouth at the opportunity to return Son of Bob’s (numerous) interceptions into six points… for the opposition? Does Brown not remember Son of Bob single-handedly made Kenyatta Walker a valuable commodity for his skill in running down defensive backs, preventing them from scoring after picking off Son of Bob?

Son of Bob is brutal beyond words. If he ever has to step on the field for the Bucs during the regular season, this team’s hopes of the playoffs are sunk.

Now that he has money, Bucs center Jeff Faine likes to dress well. The best thing he did was to lose those nasty Saints unis, which look like what is found in a gutter on Bourbon Street at 5 a.m. on a fall Sunday.

Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune says Bucs center Jeff Faine is a sharp businessman and dresser. Already owning restaurants in Orlando, he’s taking advantage of slumping real estate prices to gobble up land in Orlando for other businesses, including a haberdashery.

Joe can only assume it’s a big-and-tall shop.

“I am starting to get into fashion. In college I was a white T-shirt and jeans guy and it did not bother me. But now I have a little money in my pocket, so I was able to afford some new clothes and expand my wardrobe.”

Uh, oh. Seems like the Bucs may have the NFL’s version of Sean Avery.

Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports lists the Glazers as No. 5 among the best NFL owners.

A bit late on this but better late than never. Michael Silver, late of Sports Illustrated and currently the lead NFL columnist for Yahoo! Sports wrote a pair of columns listing the best/worst NFL owners, from No. 1-32 (How Bill Bidwill doesn’t win the award annually for worst owner is beyond Joe’s comprehension).

At any rate, Silver listed the Glazers as No. 5. Here’s his rationale:

Like their father Malcolm, who has retreated to the sidelines after suffering a pair of strokes, the Glazer brothers have ensured that what was once the NFL’s most miserable organization is now a major player. With a fabulous new training facility and a lucrative stadium situation, the Bucs have thrived in their own market and have made some inroads in the Orlando area as well. Five seasons removed from a Super Bowl title, the Glazers did celebrate a second consecutive Premier League championship – and a Champions League title – when Manchester United (of which Malcolm gained controlling interest in ‘05) pulled off the double this past May. Unlike so many other siblings in similar situations, the Glazers have consistently presented a united front – and have generated big bucks in the process. They’ve allowed coach Jon Gruden to go after virtually every quarterback imaginable (is Favre next?) and understand that spending and winning often go hand-in-hand.

Hard to quibble with that. Joe dearly loved the late great Chris Thomas but Joe never understood Thomas’ hatred and loathing of the Glazers (yet the Great GOB gave Vince Naimoli, possibly the worst owner in the history of professional sports a pass). What exactly did they do to be so bad? They helped get a new stadium (which was a good thing), they threw all sorts of cash to get Chucky which begat a Super Bowl, and spend money to keep the team competitive.

The Glazers are easily among the elite of NFL owners.

Bucs fans have just a few short days left to catch the team's training camp at the Mouse House.

When Joe played high school football, the absolute worst experience was the two-a-days. Just brutal. It wasn’t so much the practices but how your body ached everywhere and the pounding. It was almost like physical torture.

So Joe understands that in a few days, Bucs players will be happy that training camp will be over and  practices will move to One Buc Palace. But this is bad news for fans as they have but three days left to watch the Bucs practice.

Here’s the tentative Bucs practice schedule for their remaining stay at the Mouse House in Orlando:

Tuesday

8:30-11:10 a.m.

2:45-4:30 p.m.

Wednesday

8:30-11:10 a.m.

2:45-4:30 p.m.

Thursday

8:30-9:55 a.m.

Hopefully, Bucs fans can celebrate Martin Gramatica missing chip shot field goals for the Saints this season.

Joe’s keeping track of the Saints, who hopefully will be our banged up, unprepared opening day opponent on the road. Right now, it looks like Martin Gramatica could be their No. 1 kicker on Sept. 7.

“Automatica” ain’t what he used to be. And Joe would feel very comfortable if he stepped up for a 40-yarder to win it at the SuperDome.

Shockey’s still out, and the Saints, as a group are banged up. ONe player to watch is Jonathan Vilma. The former disgruntled New York Jet is now a Saints linebacker recovering from knee surgery last season.

If healthy, he’s a monster against the run. Joe says the Bucs are going to face him at the right time, with first-game rust and not yet playing instinctively in the new system.

Bucs free safety Tanard Jackson is a Syracuse University product. He probably knows all about Ernie Davis, arguably one of the greatest running backs in college football history. Davis is a legend at Syracuse the way Bear Bryant is at Alabama, Jack Ham at Penn State or Herschel Walker is at Georgia.

There’s a movie coming out soon about Davis’ life, “The Express.” He went through some hard times playing in the 1950s when Jim Crow laws were still the rule of the land in too many areas of the country. He likely got hosed from winning the Heisman Trophy only due to the color of his skin. A travesty in every sense of the word.

From the trailer of this movie, set to debut this fall, it appears really good. Joe might just break down and go to the theatre to watch it. So long as the Bucs aren’t playing.

Could a trade of running back Kenneth Darby possibly bring a much-needed wide receiver?

It’s pretty obvious by now the Bucs are flush with running backs. Even Joe noticed that.

With the Bucs arguably four-deep at the tailback position (Earnest Graham, Warrick Dunn, Michael Bennett and Kenneth Darby) it would appear one of the four will be the odd man out. Doubtful the odd man out would be Graham or Dunn.

Maybe the Bucs could somehow peddle Bennett or Darby and one of the 53 quarterbacks (take Brian Griese, please) for a wide receiver which the Bucs desperately need?

The praise for Bill Muir's offensive line in Saturday's win over Miami may be a bit much.

Joe did some quick glancing at the various MSM reports on the Bucs first preseason game with Miami Saturday. Most gave glowing accounts of how the offensive line was so solid, one such piece penned by one of our favorite Tampa Bay area scribe, eye-RAH Kaufman. For some reason the numbers don’t show that.

Joe is not a stat geek. It pains him to read all the mathematical gymnastics that some geeks use as a crutch in baseball arguments, using formulas such as OBGYN and the like. But if the Bucs offensive line was so dominant Saturday, why did Bucs running backs rush for slightly over three yards a carry?

Granted, three yards a pop isn’t too bad. But the Bucs offensive line is supposed to be a strength and run blocking its forte. They were facing the worst team in the NFL last year. I mean, Bill Parcells is a good football man but he’s not a miracle worker.

It just seems the fawning praise of the offensive line from Saturday’s game was a bit much. Not bad, but nothing that will make people forget the Oakland Raiders offensive line of the 1970s.

So Jeff Garcia returned to practice today. That’s a good thing though there wasn’t a great deal of concern Garcia wouldn’t bounce back. Now if only Joey Galloway can return to practice many Bucs fans will rest easier.

With Garcia returning to practice, one would think his lovely wife Carmella DeCesare may be a bit lonely. After watching this short video, one wonders why Garcia didn’t milk his injury just a few days more until training camp at the Mouse House breaks.

Sure, this is another shameless excuse to post something showing Mrs. Garcia and her attributes. And why not?

Joe can't understand why anyone wouldn't want Luke McCown.

Joe is a bit surprised that there were no hot trade rumors today regarding Chris Simms or Cool Hand Luke. Doesn’t anyone want them in camp ASAP?

Let’s face it, Chucky has a boner for Griese, and they’ll be lovers until his first regular season interception.

Overly complex playbooks like Chucky's is why the play of NFL quarterbacks, to a large degree, smells worse than an unwashed jock strap.

Joe apologizes up front for the long post.

As usual on Monday mornings, in an effort to forget the depressing rigors of work, Joe logged on to Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback, a must read for football fans year-round.

King, a Lord Favre acolyte, had an interesting quote from Lord Favre:

“I’ve always felt in any offense or defense throughout the NFL there’s way too much volume in a playbook. Coaches have way too much free time.’

This is something Joe has long believed to be true. Not to sound like an old fart, but Joe remembers when every team had a decent quarterback. Even non-playoff teams had good quarterbacks.

In today’s NFL, you can count the number of good quarterbacks almost on one hand. Joe always wondered how there can be so many good QB’s in college, yet few succeed in the NFL. Yet the NFL can have running backs that don’t even start for their college teams and aren’t even drafted that develop into Pro Bowlers and stars.

Here’s Joe’s theory:

There are too many wannabe offensive geniuses (That means guys like you Chucky!). These self-inflated NFL Stephen Hawkings are like trigonometry professors in college. The problem is, their pupils are not intelligent enough to grasp trigonometry. Let’s be honest, most football players major in football in college. Not saying quarterbacks are dumb but only a small percentage of the population can excel in trigonometry.

A good number of NFL offenses, thanks to coaches like Chucky and his ilk, need Ivy League-type scholars to comprehend the playbook. Even Chucky admits it takes a quarterback a few years to fully digest his playbook, which is insane. That’s like saying, “My quarterback will not succeed for a couple of years until he understands my playbook so we won’t be much of a team until then.”

The problem that creates is, Ivy League graduates aren’t physically talented enough to wing a pass between two lighting-fast cornerbacks or big enough to take the punishment from bruising NFL linebackers and defensive ends.

In short, not everyone is cut out to be a trigonometry major, just like not everyone can be a writer, or a biologist, or an astronaut or a linebacker for that matter. Joe is convinced that is why the NFL, in large part, has rotten quarterbacks and why the play of quarterbacks has deteriorated over the years instead of progressing like other positions in the NFL have.

Early in Saturday’s game, Michael Clayton dropped a soft spiral with nobody around him, negating a 25-yard gain. That sent Joe to the toilet to hurl his nachos before halftime.

If Bucs wide receiver Michael Clayton continues to leave the ball on the ground like he did Saturday, he’ll have a good reason to be upset. He’ll be unemployed.

It was a painful reality-check reminder of the Bucs’ second-rate talent at wide receiver. No matter how hard Joe tries to pretend it’s OK, he just can’t do it. The Bucs are one Galloway hamstring pull or groin strain from a 7-win season.