Now Joe has been harsh on certain media types who have a naive notion that the Bucs will move to Los Angles, London, Bangkok, wherever, because there are often a good handful of unsold tickets at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

People, especially those who should know better, peddling this premise just demonstrates to Joe that said people have done little to no research or refuse to.

Now on the other hand, on the rare times (generally once a year) that Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer speaks, Joe has to give credit to eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune for getting Glazer on the record to dispel this myth that the Bucs are looking to leave the Tampa Bay area.

Q: If attendance doesn’t improve, would you consider relocating the franchise?

A: That’s not even an issue. We have worked as hard as anybody to get tickets sold. It’s tough circumstances in Florida. The economy’s not great and it’s a changing world. We have to adapt to that changing world. I think we saw progress last year and fans are enthusiastic about the upcoming season.

EXACTLY! Glazer just reinforces what Joe has written time and time again.

We are changing as an American sports culture. More and more people are choosing to enjoy the at-home experience than to go through all the costly hassle of dust-choked parking lots in the broiling sun, insane prices for beer, and limited replays with not always a great seat.

Roger Goodell has been talking about this for roughly three years. Shoot, just this past season, the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers had their worst attendance in over a decade. The Steelers! You know, Pittsburgh, Football Town USA?

And no, the financial effects are barely a blip. Just on revenue from national TV and radio broadcast rights alone, per Forbes.com, the Bucs and every NFL team will receive $200 million annually starting in 2014. This is before one ticket is sold, one beer is poured, one car is parked, one corporate ad is sold, one TV ad is sold, before one red cent is collected from digital and mobile revenue, and not even counting the river of cash flowing in from NFL Network.

Read the lease the Bucs have with the Tampa Sports Authority — it is public record — and you can see why the notion of the Bucs leaving is comical.

With all the revenue NFL teams have at their disposal, a couple of thousands seats short of a sellout is, in the big picture, irrelevant.

The Bucs are going nowhere, folks.

When the Bucs inked stud safety Dashon Goldson to a major contract, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik was lauded from Tallahassee to Naples.

Just a few days later when defensive end and Bucs sack leader Michael Bennett and defensive tackle Roy Miller — who the Bucs raved about at every turn last year as if he was Joe Greene — walked away for about the price of a luxury box at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, fans turned on Dominik rather quickly.

But as former Bucs defensive end Booger McFarland notes, it is not easy being Dominik these days, writes McFarland, who co-hosts “Booger and Rich” heard on locally WHFS-FM 98.7.

If the season started today theoretically we can play with the defensive linemen we have. Bowers, McCoy, and  Clayborn sound pretty good when all are healthy and humming. But when you talk corners, it’s a completely different deal. The sound of Johnson, Gorrer, and any other slappy in the secondary just doesn’t do it for me.

So Mark Dominik is in charge of changing that, but he must be careful. We need the signings/trades to impact our team like Vincent Jackson, not like Mario Williams. We need Simeon Rice not Albert Haynesworth. Which spins the arrow right back to where it should be pointing, at Mark Domink.

It’s up to Dominik to fix the areas in which we are weak or down right awful. So as we all sit and wonder what’s going to happen and start to panic because there haven’t been any corners signed or traded for, remember not only does Dominik’s reputation depend on it, so does his job.

Look, even Dominik admitted when he was interviewed on SiriusXM NFL Radio last week that the Bucs need upgrades at cornerback. He was blunt about this, as are many fans. So it is not like Dominik has blinders on.

It is still March. Lets wait a while to see how things shake out? Training camp is a good four months away. The draft is a month away.

That’s a lot of time to make moves to bolster the Bucs at cornerback.

For those missing old friend/2012 run stuffer Roy Miller, the Jaguars cranked out a live chat with him on their official website.

There were interesting nuggets:

First, Miller would choose Nicki Minaj over Mariah Carey. (Good, that leaves Joe’s pick available). Also, Miller named Gerald McCoy as the top NFL player he’s been exposed to. Miller cited McCoy’s attitude and leadership. And Miller shared that he wasn’t fond his free agency experience, calling it “nerve-wracking,” and he seemed sad about his departure from the Bucs.

“You are with a team and you finally realize the business side of all,” Miller wrote.

Miller also raved about former Bucs defensive line coach Todd Wash, who, after screwing up in Tampa a successful stint in Seattle, will now coach Miller in Jacksonville.

Now this is a smart yet futile move, if correct.

If the Bucs do land Darrelle Revis from the Jets, or even another free agent cornerback, the days of Eric Wright with the Bucs are over. Wright, busted for popping Adderall last season by the NFL, had a clause in his contract in which Dominik could void it and cut him if he was suspended for violating the NFL substance policy.

Well, if the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, the great Mike Florio’s source is accurate, Wright surely has played his last snap in Tampa Bay.

It seems Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is trying to trade Wright.

Given the current cornerback market, Wright surely would have to agree to a dramatically reduced deal in order to facilitate a trade. Which could mean that he’ll refuse, making it difficult if not impossible to trade him.

In the end, the Bucs may have to just cut him — which then would allow him to sign the best deal he could find on the open market.

No, there is no friggin’ way Wright is worth anywhere close to his contract. Not when better corners are signing for less than a third of the nearly $8 million the Bucs are on the books (for now) to pay Wright for 2013.

It seemed clear that the only way the Bucs kept Wright was if they couldn’t upgrade the corner position, a position that is woefully inadequate for the NFL.

Does this nugget of news suggest Dominik is confident Revis will be wearing Bucs pewter and red colors this fall? Sure smells that way.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe loves when Carlson fires away. Carlson is often seen as a football color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company, America’s Best Quarterback. Plus, he’s a really cool dude.

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com

Quarterback Coach Greg Schiano (I thought he was a defensive coach — did anybody check his NFL passing statistics to see if he could have an opinion?) diagnosed Josh Freeman’s mechanical problems recently and came up with interesting observations, some of which are correct.

Here’s how Schiano spelled it out for TampaBay.com.

Yes, the Bucs need cornerbacks worse than Joe needs a beer on a Florida July Friday afternoon. Many Bucs fans are weirded out by the prospect of the Bucs talking turkey with the Jets for Darrelle Revis. They are pacing around their house like Cornholio.

And for good reason. If healthy — key phrase there — Revis is not just the best cornerback in the NFL, he almost takes care of two cornerback positions. This subject was grazed in a BSPN NFC South chat.

EastEndBoy (DC)

If Tampa lines up Revis and Leonard Johnson (or a 2nd round rookie), with Star Loutelelei as the new DT, how strong does the defense look?

Pat Yasinskas

A lot better than it looks today.

Here’s the thing about Revis: If the Bucs somehow grabbed him, he would make Leonard Johnson (or Danny Gorrer or Eric Wright — but not Myron Lewis) a better cornerback?

How you ask? Let Joe explain:

With an All-Pro corner on one side, and an All-Pro safety (Dashon Goldson) and a talented first round draft pick (Mark Barron), the Bucs could roll coverage and cheat to the side of the field where Johnson/Gorrer/Wright would be.

So by just adding one outstanding cornerback, it would immediately make the second corner much more effective.

Joe knows eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune just parked himself in front of Team Glazer for a half hour or so at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona this week. So Joe’s figuring Kaufman might have special insight behind his bold claim about the next Bucs Ring of Honor inductee.

Via Twitter today, Kaufman told his minions to expect Warren Sapp to follow Lee Roy Selmon, John McCay, Jimmy Giles and Paul Gruber into the beloved Ring.

@IKaufmanTBO – Not much suspense surrounding the next member of the Bucs Ring of Honor. Expect new Hall of Fame inductee Warren Sapp to be the 5th man in

Joe’s fine with the choice of Sapp, if Team Glazer goes that direction.

Joe likes the old-school-first approach, but it would be cool to have Sapp in the Ring on the heels his Hall of Fame induction in August.

Might “Warren Sapp Day” prompt a sellout in Tampa? After the fan response to the 10-year Super Bowl anniversary game last season, Joe believes it would.

Yes, Bucs fans are yearning for a cornerback — a good cornerback not named Eric Wright.

One name on the tip of Bucs fans’ tongues for weeks is Brent Grimes, the 2012 Falcons’ franchised player who tore his Achilles on opening day. The Bucs have been linked with chatter with Grimes’ agent, but now the Bucs might have to push all-in or lose out.

BSPN claims Grimes has a multi-year offer on the table from the Cleveland Browns.

Interestingly NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas says losing Grimes to the Browns would then thrust the Falcons, who cut Dunta Robinson weeks ago, into the cornerback market where the Bucs are still sniffing around.

Well, if this latest from the New York Post is accurate, then it’s no wonder Darrelle Revis is still employed by the Jets.

Per Post reporter Brian Costello this morning, the Jets have yet to decide what they want in a trade for their star cornerback.

According to league sources, Idzik has not been clear with what he wants exactly in return for Revis. The Post reported earlier this week that Tampa Bay was losing patience with the Jets as negotiations have stalled.

Jimminy Christmas! Somebody needs to inform the bungling Jets they can’t make a deal without a price tag.

Joe suspects the translation of this is the Bucs put an offer on the table for Revis and the Jets rejected it without lobbing back a counter offer.

Weeks ago Derrick Brooks talked about how Greg Schiano would pluck the “weeds in the roses” this offseason, and it seems Arrelious Benn was among the crabgrass.

Benn, recently traded to the Eagles where he got a contract extension yesterday, told PhillyMag.com that he wanted out of the New Schiano Order.

Although he doesn’t have the hands of Jason Avant, Benn, who is a good blocker, thinks he can be effective in the slot.

“I think I have the skill set to play both [inside and outside],” he said. “I think I’m a mismatch in the slot with my speed and size. We’re going to see where I fit in, and I’m going to go with it.”

Asked if he was expecting to be moved, Benn said, “I was expecting it. I’m not going to lie, I was expecting it. I wanted to move forward. I didn’t want to be there.

“I just needed a change of scenery. I just needed a fresh start. The situation just wasn’t going right. That’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Benn’s a good guy, but perhaps he wasn’t cut out for the mental toughness needed to thrive under Greg Schiano? In contrast, Roy Miller and Michael Bennett were eager to stay in Tampa.

The Bucs gave up on Benn, and Benn gave up on the Bucs. Joe’s wondering which came first.

Joe knows Bucs fans are still throwing things at their TVs in disgust for the Bucs letting defensive linemen Michael Bennett and Roy Miller walk away for the price of two pizzas at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

As Joe wrote a week ago, he had heard the Bucs were spooked by nagging injuries Bennett had (and played through) and thought those injuries would only grow worse.

Joe doesn’t know about Miller, but Joe does know Miller was always dinged up and played through a nasty back injury. IF the Bucs let Bennett, their top sacker, walk for this reason, perhaps the same logic applied to Miller?

Joe thinks it is a gamble to put so much responsibility on the shoulders of Da’Quan Bowers, who has yet to play a full season in the NFL because he himself is often sidelined by some malady.

Don’t fear, Bucs coach Greg Schiano says. He is taking the bull by the horns and says he and his coaching staff will develop Bowers into a feared pass rusher, so he told eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune.

A better pass rush would help and Schiano said Bowers is poised for a breakthrough season.

A second-round pick in 2011, Bowers recovered from an Achilles injury and posted three sacks in limited action last year. He is awaiting the fallout from his arrest a month ago for carrying a gun at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

“He’s a tremendous athlete for a man his size,” Schiano said. “He’s explosive and he’s done it. It’s our job to make him do it consistently. When he hurt his Achilles, it changed his body. Rather than being negative, he got in with our strength staff and changed his body. I think he’s prepared to take the next step.”

Bowers showed flashes of being a dominant pass rusher, though Joe isn’t sure he can defend the run as well as Bennett.

The words from Schiano are reassuring, but in Joe’s eyes, the first goal is for Bowers is to play consistently and remain healthy for a full season.

In a segment aptly titled “Loudmouths” from New York-based SNY-TV, Adam Schein and Chris Carlin talk about a potential Darrelle Revis trade from the Jets’ perspective. Joe’s a big fan of Schein, but he’s really off the mark here calling “Malcolm Glazer” a “meddlesome” owner.

The fellas here seem to think Jets owner Woody Johnson likely will be the first to cave in to get a deal done with the Bucs.

Former Bucs defensive end Steve White floated all kinds of Bucs takes during his appearance on WDAE-AM 620 on Monday with host Tom Krasniqi.

White even wondered aloud whether the Bucs will go into the 2013 season with DaQuan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn as starting defensive ends because rockstar general manager Mark Dominik can’t afford anymore busts or perceived busts among his premium draft picks. (You can catch all the audio via the link above.)

But even with Bowers and Clayborn as the preferred starters, White would like to see another pass rusher so the Bucs can be effective getting after the quarterback with four guys.

“I think Osi [Umenyiora] would fit here,” White said. “If you want pass rush, he can get you that.

“Most of our run defense comes from blitzing anyway. So I thought he would be a good guy, [John] Abraham, any of those [premier] guys.”

As Dwight Freeney, Umenyiora and Abraham remain unemployed and watch their cash value plummet, Joe also is wondering why the Bucs aren’t bringing these guys in for visits and having their medical team scrutinize them. After all, if the Bucs can score Darrelle Revis and squeeze a good year out of a veteran pass rusher to team with Bowers and Clayborn, the Bucs’ defense might be good enough to actually lead the team to the playoffs.

Now this is getting interesting.

The creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, the great Mike Florio, fresh off a trip to work the NFL owners meetings in Arizona, posted a very interesting item about the Darrelle Revis-to-Bucs rumors.

Apparently, per Florio, Team Glazer is the engine behind the trade talks.

One thing is becoming more obvious: The move to get Revis is coming from Tampa Bay ownership. That’s what one source with knowledge of the trade dynamics told PFT on Thursday.

The two teams are believed to have dug in on the question whether the package of picks will be headlined by a first-rounder in 2013 or a first-round selection in 2014. If that’s the only difference, and if the folks who sign the checks have decided they’re ready to write some big ones to Revis (even though the cornerback market has softened significantly in the past nine days), there’s a good chance they’ll direct G.M. Mark Dominik to give up the first-round pick in 2013.

Now this is a bit surprising to Joe. Generally, Team Glazer stays out of player personnel moves other than, obviously, to say they are willing to cut a check, like they have for top-shelf free agents over the past year.

There was a comment this week from Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer that jumped out at Joe, by way of eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune:

“To me, one year without a playoff win is too long,” Glazer said. “Ten years is extremely disappointing, but I have great confidence we have the people in place to reverse that trend. It’s tough to win in this league, but it’s within everyone’s control to change their course. Ultimately, it falls on our shoulders as owners. We’re not going to hide from our responsibility. All we’re going to do is work our tails off that it doesn’t continue.”

Is Team Glazer pushing Dominik to get a deal done? If that were true, Joe suspects a deal would already be done. Joe’s going to take another stab in the dark and suggest Team Glazer has OK’d cash for a potential Revis contract but is leaving the dirty work of hammering out a trade to Dominik.

While most people are watching March Madness — upset alert, Bucknell leads Butler — and swilling beers today, Joe is still working Bucs news.

OK Bucs fans, should we take this news to the bank? Joe isn’t so sure, but the latest Darrelle Revis-to-the-Bucs comes from unequaled NFL insider, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naive, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, beer-chugging Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

King was working his many, many sources behind the scenes at the NFL owners meetings earlier this week in Arizona and has come to be belief that Revis — who King termed both “problematic” and “damaged goods” — will eventually be in a Bucs uniform. And King says Jets general manager John Idzik will fleece Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik because the Bucs are so desperate for a cornerback.

The Jets, in discussions with Tampa, have apparently been stuck on acquiring the Bucs’ first-round pick this year, as well as an additional choice, which would likely come in next year’s draft. That would give New York the ninth and 13th picks overall this year.

But is that really the smartest way to go for the Jets? I don’t think it is. I think it’s much smarter for New York to try to get both Tampa picks in the 2014 draft, and to push for the Bucs’ top two picks next season. With the likelihood that this is Rex Ryan’s final season as head coach, and the certainty that New York will try one last time to make Mark Sanchez work at quarterback this year, it doesn’t make much sense to draft a quarterback in the first round. What happens if the Jets pick, say, USC quarterback Matt Barkley, and the new coach next year — if there is one — isn’t a Barkley guy? The Jets would be wiser to go for a 2014 first-rounder, giving the team two ones with the likelihood that the quarterback class would be stronger next year than this one. If they had to move up in the draft to get a passer, they’d have good ammunition.

The Bucs, meanwhile, would be poised to sign Revis long-term. Lots of numbers have been floated in the press in recent days, but I’m told Tampa Bay would be willing to pay Revis somewhere in the neighborhood of $15 million per year (with no state taxes in Florida versus a big chunk in New Jersey). Revis has proven in the past he won’t sit idly by if he feels he’s getting less than he deserves. The Jets paid Revis $32 million in bonus and salary over the past two years, and are slated to pay him $6 million in 2013. So if Revis knows there’s a team out there willing to pay him more than double what the Jets would this year, how do you think he’s going to react to being on a sinking ship without his contract being re-done by the Jets? Idzik, the rookie GM, hasn’t been in New York long, but he’ll find out how it feels to be skewered on the back pages of the tabloids if the team is losing and Revis is yapping regularly. Which he’s not afraid to do. And that won’t be pleasant.

Both a first and a second-round pick for a guy coming off an ACL surgery who has been known to hold out — and threaten to hold out — several times? That’s a bit much.

Joe is starting to think Dominik may just play it smart and walk away from Idzik. Look, this draft is deep in many ways for defensive linemen and cornerbacks and Dominik likes to wheel and deal on draft weekend.

Dominik holds onto draft picks the way Joe would like hold on to Rachel Watson in the small hours of the night. Coughing up a first and a second-round pick for Revis doesn’t seem to fit Dominik’s history.

Since this draft is deep and teams are begging to trade down — and few want to trade up — rather than coughing up two high draft picks for Revis, trade and move up to get two first-round picks this year, grab Xavier Rhodes and Desmond Trufant, sign Brent Grimes and the Bucs should be set.

And let Idzik pound sand.

A word of appreciation here for the stunning traffic heights JoeBucsFan.com has now reached. Thank you!

Joe could hit 600,000 actual visits to JoeBucsFan.com for the month of March, which would set a new monthly record. And there’s a great shot those 600,000 visits will come from more than 100,000 unique visitors, also a new record.

It’s becoming increasingly clear to Joe that these here pages have become the No. 1 source for serious Bucs fans, and for those that prefer a little edge to their news and commentary. And who doesn’t?

Joe promises to keep the train rolling. Fun and unique draft-related material is on the way, as are a couple of new wrinkles for football season, and a new media partnership.

Thanks again.

Joe sure hopes what’s written below is all just a matter of semantics and not some sort of bizarre revelation of what goes on — or what doesn’t go on — in the New Schiano Order, but Joe was stunned to read Greg Schiano’s comments yesterday on figuring out the causes of Josh Freeman’s bad games.

Speaking to Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman at the NFL owners meetings yesterday, Schiano gave Freeman a lot of love and said when Freeman returns his staff will dive head first into what went wrong when Freeman was at his worst.

Umm, should that already have been dissected during last season?

“If you look at Josh’s season, in 13 games he threw seven interceptions and in three games, he threw 10,” said Schiano. “That’s it in a nutshell. Let’s find the reasons why those three games occurred and eliminate the causes. When we get Josh back in the building, we’re going to dig into his feelings on what the causes were.

Again, this could just be a matter of word selection by Schiano, because Joe absolutely can’t imagine the New Schiano Order didn’t do everything in its power last season to figure out Freeman’s freefall. Joe has to be believe Freeman’s “feelings on what the causes were” have been widely known for months.

Or perhaps not? Maybe that’s why Butch Davis was playing job fairy for former quarterbacks coach Ron Turner during the season.

Yesterday, Joe brought you two nuggets (here and here) of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik’s interview on “Movin’ the Chains,” with co-hosts Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Below is the rest of the interview.

Tim Ryan: We welcome to the program, the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mark Dominik, how are you doing?

Pat Kirwan: Hello my friend. You are coming in to the winter meetings with draft picks and a lot of cap space, you land a big-name free agent safety, these are good times.

Mark Dominik: It was a hectic situation, and hectic time to get Dashon Goldson into our building for his first visit but it was even better when we got him locked for five years. We felt like he was the best defensive back in free agency. Obviously that is an area we want to improve on in terms of talent. So therefore he was a guy we targeted and we were hopeful [San Francisco] wouldn’t tag him and when they didn’t, we went after him and we made some other good moves. I like some of the young players we just picked up and we are still talking to clubs and still talking to agents as well.

Ryan: The back end of your defense, the corner population, no question as your young pass rushers get healthy and play more consistent, we all link the coverage to the rush but you have to get some guys behind them. Talk about the secondary.

Dominik: I think it is an important position and that’s why we talked about Goldson. I think he and [Mark] Barron back there will be a good combination. Hopefully, they will make the receivers think twice about coming across, but on the outside perimeters we have to continue to address. We liked the way Leonard Johnson stepped up towards the end of the year but also, Greg and I talk about improving the competition and we are not opposed to starting young players or drafting corners and put them in there and play, but we know we need to continue to upgrade the competition level at that position. There is no doubt about that, it’s no secret to anybody. We are still talking with some free agents and we are looking at the draft and any opportunity we can improve there we will take a shot.

Kirwan: No names required, you won’t name them anyway and I don’t need them but your assessment so far on the draft and the cornerback position. Good draft, bad draft, deep, quality players?

Dominik: No, I think it’s good. There are quality players all the way through it. There are players I think at cornerback that is consistently – it’s not quite the cornerback draft where as you get closer they start skyrocketing up the board. But certainly I have been involved in drafts where there were eight corners taken in the first round. I am not surprised that some of these guys have continued to move up. They have had good combines, a good senior bowl. Those guys I am not surprised that they continue to move up the board so I see a solid three or four rounds of good players and some back end guys that have some speed to them, some height-weight speed. And maybe small schools guys that may get pushed up, so I think it is a solid draft.

Kirwan: This is my estimation, it wouldn’t be fair for anyone else, I could be totally wrong here but for our listeners, if I was forced to come up with an answer there are probably four or five first-round corners and there are probably four or five second-round corners. There are some guys there I really like. So, in the first two rounds we could see 10 corners [selected] and all 10 of those guys, there would be an expectation to play those guys, almost right away.

Dominik: Yeah, regardless of what team you are, whether you are Tampa and need a lot of corner help and continue to add to what we have or you could be the Pittsburgh Steelers or whoever it is if you take a corner in the first couple of rounds, you expect him to come in and have an impact. The thing is, we are fortunate in Tampa with Coach Schiano, and who we have in the secondary with Tony Oden and Jeff Hafley are secondary coaches, they are not afraid to play a young guy. That’s a great thing.

Ryan: What about your first three picks last year and the impact those cats had, the Dougernaut, as I like to call him, and Mark Barron on the back end and a guy I think has such a huge future, Lavonte David. You hit it hard with all three of those guys. Job well done.

Dominik: That was a great draft class for us, Coach Schiano’s first class. And it was a lot of fun because we moved around a lot. As you guys know we moved back to take Mark Barron, moved up to take Doug Martin, moved up to take Lavonte David so we were kind of fluid and you have to love that. That’s the fun thing of the draft, massage it to get the players that you want. All three of those guys make a really good impact. Barron I thought played well at the end of the season. He kind of lost it in the middle of the season in terms of having a big impact. He made plays and had production but even in the last game of the season he deflects a ball from Tony Gonzales and it helped us beat the Atlanta Falcons with his play. I was excited for how he finished the season. It was a long year for all of those players. They go through all the training and the combine. Doug obviously speaks for himself. To be a rookie and to make the Pro Bowl, that is exciting. Lavonte, you know, was one of the most productive rookies and most productive players in the NFL from a defensive standpoint.

Kirwan: Talk about Josh [Freeman] with me for a moment. There are those games that are bad and there are a lot more games that are good. We are in the world of securing the best players that we have. Talk about Josh, his status with you guys and maybe a sketch of the plan you have for the future with him.

Dominik: Yeah, I think Josh knows we like him a lot. We are really excited for him. For that six-week period you are talking about we were the best in the league in scoring points and getting yards and we were hot. Josh can do that. At the same point, we all want to play better and he had some games where they were not up to his level of standard and we look at it no different – we’d like to look at it the same way as the Baltimore Ravens did. It worked out well for them in every way. I am sure they had no problem in writing a check coming off a Super Bowl championship so, Josh is a guy we think long-term with but right now we are just going to take our time and let him play and if that costs the organization more money, good, that’s great.

Kirwan: That’s how [Ravens owner] Steve Bisciotti described it last summer to us. I was standing on a stage with him as they won the Super Bowl and I said to him, “You know what this means?” and he goes, “And I am glad to pay.”

Dominik: Amen.

Ryan: It is consistency with him. I did a bunch of your games and what I always think about is the fourth quarter how it ended at the Carolina Panthers and what he did on that football field.

Dominik: Those were remarkable drives and great throws, precision throws with arm strength. That’s why we have so much faith in Josh and so much excitement for him. He’s only 24 years-old and he is on his way and he has a lot of experience built up, and we just want to see some consistency from him like everybody else does.

Ryan: Two guys I want to ask you about: I want to ask about the rehabilitation of Adrian Clayborn, who I think is big for your team and then the big one fella Carl Nicks at offensive guard.

Dominik: Good reports on them. Our players who didn’t finish the season with us are coming back strong. The only one who isn’t is Quincy Black, unfortunately, who sustained an injured arm in terms of nerve damage. Adrian Clayborn looks great and his ahead of schedule. Davin Joseph is ahead of schedule Carl Nicks with his toe is in great shape so those are three massive players for us. We are excited about what Da’Quan Bowers is going to do. There are a lot of guys who we didn’t get to fully utilize last year and that’s why we are excited, specifically Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks getting back on the team.

Ryan: Good players, good quarterback and cap space and draft picks. Love it. Mark, we loved having you here.

Kirwan: Awesome.