The Dream wants to keep the Bucs family together

On Raheem The Dream’s first day as head coach he said the Bucs would “Stay the Course,” Joe can’t get the comment out of his head.

Stay the Course. It’s something only a new coach with confidence in his team would say.

With today’s signing of Luke McCown, The Dream is living up to his word, like it or not.

McCown no doubt asked The Dream and general manager Mark Dominik whether he has a real chance to be the 2009 starting QB. It seems Dominik and The Dream said, ‘Yes,’ considering McCown signed before the start of free agency.

Assuming the dishonesty of the Gruden era is in the past, Morris may have indeed decided to Stay the Course. This could be it. The Bucs might enter July training camp with McCown (28), Brian Griese (33) and Josh Johnson (23), their three QBs under contract.  

Joe’s still thinking this move through.

Going with McCown represents a chance to develop a young quarterback with good skills and some experience who comes very cheap. That leaves plenty of money to bring in a monster running back and other free agents.

But Joe still hopes the Bucs are at least open to a blockbuster deal to bring in a top-flight QB.

The Bucs resigned quarterback Luke McCown today.

Since the end of last season many Bucs fans, including Joe, have wondered aloud who will be the Bucs starting quarterback next season, since Jeff Garcia and Luke McCown are both free agents. And Joe is praying each night that Son of Bob is not the answer.

Well, this afternoon the Bucs eliminated one free agent: Luke McCown. The Bucs signed the quarterback today.

“Luke McCown is a talented and athletic quarterback who we have gotten to know well over the last four years,” said Head Coach Raheem Morris. “I know he is looking forward to the opportunity to be an integral part of our quarterback group this season.”

Did Bucs new offensive coaches see enough of him on tape to make the conclusion that he is the answer as the Bucs starting quarterback next year?

NFL Draft coverage is about to heat up, and Joe is committed to bringing Bucs fans top flight analysis. 

From the days after the combine in late February until the big day on April 25, Joe will rely on the premier NFL Draft expert in the Bay area Justin Pawlowski, host of The Blitz on 620 WDAE-AM, The Sports Animal.

Pawlowski has joined the JoeBucsFan.com team and will lead the only can’t-miss draft coverage in the Bay area.

Not only will Pawlowski breakdown NFL prospects position by position, he’ll provide Joe’s readers with the impact of potential picks on the Bucs roster and how they would mesh with the team. No Bucs fan will want to miss it.

Pawlowski’s work will complement other draft experts, as well.

Pawlowski played Division I college ball and has a long history of bringing unmatched NFL Draft coverage to his listeners on The Sports Animal. Of course, that will still happen. But the meaty stuff that’s too intense for the radio will be available right here.

Pawlowski kicks off his coverage for JoeBucsFan.com on Feb. 28. Joe will provide more details in about 10 days. Check back for updates. 

So let’s all welcome Justin to the team. And let’s hope he doesn’t drink all the beer at JoeBucsFan.com headquarters.

Some elitists in the journalism world must be convinced that the earth is coming to an end now that the Bucs hired a (former) radio show host as an assistant coach.

The elitists in the fourth estate look upon sports radio as little more than the unwashed drunken masses screaming because they don’t have a wife or a family (or a co-worker because they are unemployed) to listen to them.

Frustrated because they have been thrown out of the bar so often by the bartender, the sloth call sports radio to vent, so suggest many of the self-proclaimed worldly sophisticated editors and scribes.

In some cases, that’s accurate. One only needs to point to two examples on local radio airwaves: one in the morning who is an admitted steroid abuser and documented liar; another where a handful of trollops are (to Joe’s perpetual bewilderment) granted the public’s airwaves to abuse. Best as Joe can tell, their greatest attribute was once being attractive some decades ago (which doesn’t exactly translate to an audible medium) and that they are adept at wiping little kids’ snot off of tables in chicken wing houses.

As a co-worker once told Joe about sports radio hosts, “If you are not informative you better be entertaining and if you are neither, what’s the point?”

The two aforementioned sports radio shows perfectly fall into that category.

So the mere thought that a sports radio host — to some — would be elevated to some form of authority of an NFL team is a sure sign of the apocalypse.

Well, then the Bucs are reaching the end of the world because that’s exactly what has happened.

The Bucs recently hired Boston College offensive coordinator Steve Logan as an offensive assistant and Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times reports that — gasp! — Logan once was a radio host in Raleigh, N.C.

And Logan apparently enjoyed it.

Look, Joe has nothing against sports radio so long as the host(s) isn’t a total buffoon (see above). In fact, Joe never understood why some in journalism’s ivory towers so looked down upon sports radio. Granted, awful sports radio is bad enough that Joe suggests some stations should be in danger of losing their federal license to broadcast on the public’s airwaves.

But good sports radio, which often has solid, informative guests, is in fact quality journalism and should be lauded; not scorned.

Joe hopes that Logan does (quality) sports radio hosts across the land a favor and shines as a Bucs offensive assistant.

John Lynch had an interview with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin during Super Bowl week where the two discuss their days winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs. Joe considers it a must-watch interview and a shining example of why the NFL Network rocks.

Joe’s a bit late on this but better late than never. Joe has long been a proponent of the NFL Network and during Super Bowl week the NFL Network was nothing short of fantastic. The amount of fresh broadcasting and top-notch guests was riveting.

For those of you who do not have NFL Network, why not?

There’s no excuse, none. An example of how those of you who do not have NFL Network are cheating yourselves is a John Lynch interview with Mike Tomlin. The two warmly discuss their days with the Bucs and winning the Super Bowl in a touching interview.

Yes, Roger Goodell still won’t cough up embed codes. But Joe gives him a pass because his network produces such quality content like this.

Though Mike Lombardi of the NationalFootballPost.com predicts the Bucs will try to trade for Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel, Joe isn't totally sold on the largely unproven signal-caller.

Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe wrote recently that there is a strong possiblity that the Patriots will trade recently franchised quarterback Matt Cassel. To expand on that suggestion, Mike Lombardi predicts the Bucs will be one of the suitors for Cassel’s services.

After seven years of Jon Gruden moving and changing quarterbacks and getting older at the position, the Bucs are now desperate to fix things. They have a huge need and a ton of cap room. They have a mid-level first-round pick (19th overall), a young head coach and a young defense. The time is right to make a bold move and find a long-term answer at quarterback. Matt Ryan (Atlanta) and Drew Brees (New Orleans) are fixtures in the NFC South. The Bucs need to find a fixture, too, and right now they don’t an answer.

Though Joe wouldn’t lose sleep if the Bucs trade for Cassel, Joe thinks it would be safer if the Bucs trade a third round pick for Matt Leinart. For all Joe knows, Cassel may just be a system quarterback. Remember: Cassel was Leinart’s backup at USC.

Jeremy Green of BSPN predicts the Cardinals will cut Edgerrin James and the Bucs will sign him.

Saturday night Joe was almost on his breaking point (again). Sports radio was largely all A-Roid, all night (and Joe fully expects the same this morning, so between that and the constant regurgitation of “ko-BEE” and “LUH-bron” Joe isn’t even going to touch a nationally broadcast sports radio show today for fear he will throw a radio through his window).

Joe years ago grew tired of Yankees talk on radio, no matter how credible it may be. Joe was bored by A-Roid talk once the news broke (somewhere, Albert Pujols is laughing). Thankfully Joe was behind the wheel and turned to a safe haven: NFL Radio on Sirius. However, during a commercial break, Joe took a chance and found there to be football talk on BSPN. Imagine!

There, he heard BSPN football analyst Jeremy Green tell John Clayton that he expected the Bucs to get a new running back. It will be Edgerrin James, Green said.

Green explained that he fully expects James to be cut by the Cardinals. James has made no secret, so Green said, that he wants to play in his home state of Florida. Green suggested that the Bucs are the perfect fit.

Joe can also understand James coming to the Bucs. Warrick Dunn, though Joe loves him to death, is getting up there in years and is best used in spot duty. Earnest Graham is coming back from an injury and there’s no sane person on earth expecting Cadillac Williams to play next year.

So long as James isn’t asking for the sky and the moon, Joe would consider James to be a solid pick up. Joe hopes Green’s prediction comes true.

It seems Chucky's list of off-limits questions for his recent media interview was as long as his playbook

Joe vows to get to the bottom of the weak joint interview of Jon Gruden by the Orlando Sentinel and The Tampa Tribune  on Friday night. It sure seems like the fix was in.

Chucky’s comments were published by both newspapers this weekend.

Now Joe has been a reporter for many, many years. And he’s the first to say both newspapers deserve great credit for getting Gruden to talk. It was his first local interview. But it’s obvious there were ground rules for the interview established by Gruden, topics that Gruden approved and those that were off limits.

That’s just fine. However, the Tribune and the Sentinel did not publish any of the restrictions placed upon this interview. Why not?

in reading the stories, not once did Jon Gruden decline comment. How could that possibly happen in a truly open interview?

The Sentinel published a transcript in a Q&A format. It had eight questions. That’s it – eight freaking questions. The Tribune’s stories did not have any significant Chucky comments that were not in the Sentinel. So it appears that was it. Short and sweet.

The mere fact that this was a “joint” interview granted to the newspapers is a major clue that it was censored by Chucky. There were also no questions about personnel moves and past Bucs decisions, or football questions about Bucs players, among other topics.

 Joe assures you that the reporters, the esteemed eye-Rah! Kaufman of the Tribune and Chris Harry of the Sentinel, had no desire to talk to Chucky together. Why not just give each guy 15 minutes, rather than put them together?

Joe doesn’t blame Chucky for keeping a tight reign on the line of questions. Smart move. Joe just thinks it’s very lame that the newspapers didn’t come clean to the readers. Barbara Walters would have told us what was off-limits. She often does.

There is always the one-in-a-million possibility that the reporters asked Gruden anything and everything they wanted. But that’s about as likely as Chucky candidly answering the tough questions.

Joe just can’t get up for today’s big game in Hawaii.

Best of luck to Davin Joseph and Clifton Smith. No injuries, guys.

For Joe’s football fix of the day, he’s chosen this memory below. It never gets old.

Joe is way too tired to start speculating what member of the Bucs championship team sold his Super Bowl ring at a Tampa pawn shop in 2007, as noted today in a slightly bizarre story in the Tampa Tribune.

…the former Bucs player had fallen on hard times about a year and a half ago after he was released by the team, Cacciatore said. The player brought the ring into the shop to get a quick loan without the hassle of going through a bank.

At first, Cacciatore said he thought the ring was a fake or stolen. He had an undercover detective come in to witness the deal. But it all turned out to be legit.

Cacciatore kept the ring for the allotted 60 days and even longer. The ex-Buc was trying to negotiate a contract with another team and ended up getting $6,000 from the pawnshop for the ring that cost about $17,000 to make. Then, he moved out of Tampa and never returned to claim the championship bauble, he said.

Joe feels bad the guy didn’t have the brains to put the thing up on Ebay or sell it directly to a collector for twice the $6,000 he got.

Any guesses on the ex-Bucs player?

Wes Bunting of the NationalFootballPost.com predicts the Bucs will draft Hawaii defensive end David Veikune in the second round.

If Wes Bunting of the NationalFootballPost.com is to be believed, the Bucs will choose in the second round defensive end David Veikune of Hawaii.

Bunting has a second round mock draft, a follow up to his first round mock draft in which he has the Bucs selecting defensive tackle Peria Jerry of Mississippi.

With no quarterbacks or receivers on the board worthy of the pick, the Bucs go back to the D-line looking to retool a former strength.

Joe thinks a lot of what the Bucs will do in the draft depends on what they do in free agency and/or trades. If wouldn’t irritate Joe if the Bucs did load up on defensive linemen.

Is it worth a gamble of a high draft pick to lure Matt Leinart from the Cardinals? Joe also wonders what the girl in the blue top is doing with her right hand and if that is the cause of Leinart's beaming smile?

Joe was listening to The Blitz on Sirius NFL Radio with co-hosts Adam Schein and John Riggins (hey Justin, what’s with the NFL thieving the name of your radio show?) and the duo was discussing how the Cardinals, if they are to keep their Super Bowl team intact, are going to have to be a bit creative with their salary cap.

If the Cardinals are to keep Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin, specifically Warner, then it will be hard for the Cardinals to justify keeping former first round pick and backup quarterback Matt Leinart and his $6 million a year salary.

Both Schein and Riggins suggested if the Cardinals do sign Warner and can find a team to cough up a second round pick that Leinart would be gone. This got Joe to thinking:

Would it be in the Bucs’ interest to maybe offer the Cardinals a third round draft pick and see if they take the bait? It’s clear the Bucs need to develop a quarterback and getting a former first round pick for a third round selection might be worth the gamble. Better a third round pick flame out than a first round pick.

Of course, Leinart already has some baggage. It is rumored that Leinart, a former Heisman Trophy winner from USC, enjoys the good life of an NFL quarterback and the perks that come along with it slightly more than working at his craft, which is partly why he lost his starting job to Warner last season.

Still, Joe believes that Leinart can still find ways to kill time on Clearwater Beach, at Ybor City and the Channelside district and still be able to put in the required work needed to develop into an NFL starting quarterback.

One is under contract with the Bucs. Both throw a lot of picks.

Hmmm. It seems another offensive guru other than Chucky has Brett Favre on speed dial.

Joe has unearthed for you a five-month-old Boston Globe story about new Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski and his loving relationship with Favre from their six years together in Green Bay.

Joe recommends you read the story and ask yourself if you’d be surprised if Favre is wearing pewter and red soon.

“He always made practice fun,” said Jagodzinski. “It never seemed like work for him. He liked coming out and practicing. He was like a kid playing in his backyard. He made everyone around him so much better.”

Joe really and truly does not want to see Favre in a Bucs uniform. But it’s hard to ignore the signs pointing to the possibility.

Joe stumbled across something this morning that explained a lot about Chucky.

During Chucky’s final two years with the Bucs, he had an infatuation with Grizzly Adams, otherwise known as Jake Plummer who is hiding out in Idaho not unlike the Unibomber. Plummer claims he’s in virtual solitary confinment in the Idaho mountains due to the fact he is sick of football and enjoys waking up each morning able to walk pain free. Fine.

But Joe suspects Plummer is NFL exile because he is awash in shame. Consider this little tidbit widely published in 2004:

A rumor making the rounds on Arizona State fan message boards has Plummer getting cold feet and calling off his wedding in Hawaii only 90 minutes before the ceremony over the weekend.

Plummer´s agent confirmed the cancelation of his wedding to Sonya Flores and issued a statement from the Broncos quarterback.

Jake "a true snake" Plummer, who was a source of Chucky's lust, blew off his fiancee at the alter but later rebounded to marry Tampa native and former Broncos cheerleader Kollette Klassen.

“It is true that my wedding did not take place this weekend. While I understand that people have questions, it is my hope that they would respect our privacy as we deal with and sort through this very personal situation. Thank you.”

An NFL source in the know also had confirmed that, in fact, the wedding did not go off as planned and did not provide details or reasons for the sudden change of heart.

What a dirtbag! And it only stands to reason that a dirtbag (Chucky) would be so enamoured with another (Plummer).

Of course, things sort of worked out for Plummer after he blew off his fiancee in ’04. Plummer later married a Broncos cheerleader who is a Tampa native, Kollette Klassen.

If new Bucs general manager Mark Dominik does nothing else before the NFL draft, he needs to make sure unrestricted free agent wide receiver Antonio Bryant does not get away.

Thursday was the first day NFL teams could slap an unrestricted free agent with a franchise tag, thereby blocking said player from leaving.

The Patriots wasted little time yesterday by slapping quarterback Matt Cassel with the franchise tag. The Bucs have until Feb. 19 to make a move on Antonio Bryant.

How long before Bryant joins Cassel as a franchise player?

Joe has no doubt the brightest light to an otherwise dark season was the play of current unrestricted free agent wide receiver Antonio Bryant. No matter who the Bucs quarterback may be next season, Bryant easily makes the Bucs passing attack significantly better.

Carmella and Jeff Garcia are wasting no team leaving their cozy South Tampa home

All season long Joe brought you the colorful, insightful writings of Bob Garcia, Jeff Garcia’s dad. The ex-football coach wrote a blog for the Gilroy Dispatch, his hometown newspaper in California.

In the final edition this week the elder Garcia was asked about Jeff. He revealed that Jeff and his glorious pregnant wife Carmella are moving to Southern California.

Josh Koehn: So, I guess Jeff is still winding down from the season?
Bob Garcia: Yeah, he had a number of appearances at the Super Bowl he was quite happy with. And now they’re just coming back and re-establishing their home in Manhattan Beach. But I think they’re trying to move toward San Diego.
K: Oh, really?
G: Yeah, Manhattan Beach is a great little community, three or four blocks from the ocean, a healthy atmosphere, a lot of outdoor cafes and restaurants, and so on. Everybody is riding a bike, You go down to the beach, they’re walking and running, and volleyball all over the place, people surfing. And the thing about it, you think LA, but it’s not a lot like LA. There’s not the traffic. You get onto those little off streets and it’s a lot like Gilroy. Everything is close by. But the homes are so close together there’s no space. … There’s no room for kids. For kids to play, they’re saying, ‘We need some room.’ And they have a couple dogs.

Joe brings you this bit of gossip for two reasons: First, Joe takes every opportunity to publish a picture of Carmella Garcia. Second, it seems to reveal that Jeff Garcia has little intention of returning to the Bucs if he’s house-hunting 3,000 miles away. Of course, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t change his plans.

Nothing new here from Mel Kiper of BSPN. He still likes the Bucs to take Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman with their first round pick (No. 19).

Kiper, who can’t hold Justin Pawlowski’s jock when it comes to the NFL Draft, looks at potential NFC South selections in this video.

 By JEFF CARLSON

Jeff Carlson is a former Bucs quarterback. He trains QB’s of all ages with America’s Best Quarterback. You can catch Carlson weekly as co-host of The Game on 1040 AM, Sundays at 11 a.m.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson says the Steelers-Cardinals Super Bowl illustrated how much the Bucs need to improve

I was excited for the Super Bowl matchup of offense versus defense with both teams playing at the top of their games. Watching the game depressed me because I saw the Steelers and Cardinals playing in the Buccaneers’ stadium and it was obvious that the Bucs aren’t close to competing for a championship.

Where would the Bucs look to attack the Steelers’ defense? Do you think the Steelers could bottle up Antonio Bryant easier than Larry Fitzgerald? Could the Bucs pass-block against that confusing 3-4 or could Donald Penn handle James Harrison any better than Mike Gandy?

 On a defense that fell apart down the stretch here in Tampa, could the defensive front muster any rush on Kurt Warner to create problems? Could it slow down Edgerin James on draws or off-tackle? What would it do trying to cover Fitzgerald, Boldin and Breaston all at the same time?

 Both the Cardinals and Steelers had top-notch quarterbacks leading their clubs to a great finish and the Bucs have Brian Griese and Josh Johnson under contract.

 Need I say more.

The Dream has added a second defensive line coach, Robert Nunn. Joe agrees with The Dream; the line needs extra help.

Joe is intrigued by the Bucs’ newly-hired defensive line coach, Robert Nunn.

Not that Nunn is such an exciting name, nor did he set the world on fire with his coaching skills at his last gig in Green Bay. But, says Pewter Report, Nunn will be defensive line coach WITH Todd Wash, the D-line coach last year.

While Nunn is new a D-line coach in Tampa Bay, Todd Wash has been retained, giving Tampa Bay two defensive line coaches under new defensive coordinator Jim Bates. It is believed one coach will handle the defensive tackles while the other oversees the defensive ends.

This move is a telling acknowledgement by Raheem The Dream. He apparently saw what Joe and everyone else did last season. The D-line was a major weakness and needs extra help.

Whether it was a lack of talent and/or beef on the line, The Dream is clearly saying with this non-traditional coaching move that he is determined to get the absolute most he can from Gaines Adams, Chris Hovan, Jovan Haye, Greg White and Julius Peppers.

Did Joe just say Julius Peppers? Hey, it’s February. A guy can dream a little.

Joe is also getting a gut feeling the Bucs will run a 4-3 defense.

When you’re the NFL team with a dusty pile of salary cap money, no legitimate quarterback and at least reasonably close to being a playoff team, that qualifies you to make the Brett Favre rumor list.

Add to that you courted the guy last year and your new offensive coordinator worked with him previously, you jump to the top of the list.

With each passing day, Favre is less likely to stay with the New York Jets. After the season, he said he’d wait a month to make his decision on retirement. We’re still waiting.

The Bucs haven’t made even a rumble about re-signing Jeff Garcia or Luke McCown. And the love for Favre around the Meadowlands is wearing thing. Columnists are asking him to leave town.

If the Bucs plan to draft a QB, Joe has to wonder whether Favre for a year makes some sense. He’s still better than most, and the Bucs have a brutal schedule in 2009.

There are those who believe the Glazers are hurting for cash. Favre guarantees a windfall.

And The Dream is the coach who said the Bucs will “Stay the Course.” That course, like it or not, has largely been to run with a veteran quarterback.

In a Kansas City sports radio interview, disgruntled Chiefs RB Larry Johnson claims former Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil tried to trade Johnson to the Bucs.

Stunning news from Kansas City.

It’s no secret that Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has wanted out of Kansas City for some time. Usually when players don’t get their way with that type of wish, they try to make life miserable for the organization so the powers that be wish the player was off the roster.

One way to accomplish this is to piss and moan to the fourth estate, which Johnson has chosen to do.

In an interview with KCSP-AM 610 in Kansas City, Johnson unloaded, even dropping a mini-bombshell that he nearly became a Bucs running back. Apparently this trade nearly came about when Dick Vermeil was coach.

Quickly checking some references Joe finds that Vermeil coached the Chiefs from 2001-05. Joe finds it difficult to believe the Bucs would have traded for Johnson while Mike Alstott was in his prime. So by deductive reasoning, Joe assumes this trade may have nearly come down after the Bucs won the Super Bowl following the 2002 season.

Since Johnson was almost traded to the Bucs once, would general manger Mark Dominik  – a guy with ties to the Chiefs’ organization – possibly be interested in a high-priced malcontent running back likely past his prime who also (allegedly) seems to have a habit of slapping around women in night clubs?

Doug Williams gets a bigger role in the Bucs front office. Joe hopes that leads to another season of him playing Dr. Phil for Antonio Bryant.

Joe was glad to see the Bucs promoted ex-QB Doug Williams to coordinator of pro scouting. That moves him into new general manager Mark Dominik’s old job.

Essentially, Williams becomes the team’s chief talent evaluator of potential players.

Joe likes the decision, especially since Williams is a confidant of Antonio Bryant, who will be a free agent shortly. Williams’ promotion could go a long way toward Bryant re-signing with the Bucs. And the Bucs desperately need him to return.

Earlier this year Williams revealed to the St. Pete Times that Bryant is a high-maintainence dude who needs a lot of love and reassurance.

Antonio Bryant and I talk all the time because he’s a guy who needs somebody — between (receivers coach) Richard Mann and myself, we’re the two people he’s going to talk to when things don’t go right.”

At the time, Joe wondered why Bryant would need so much counseling when he enjoyed a near-flawless season. So Bryant sure seems like the kind of guy who would hold it against the Bucs organization for letting Doug Williams walk.

Not that WIlliams doesn’t deserve his promotion, but keeping Bryant around is much more critical. Williams is considered an emerging GM candidate who might be gone next season anyway.