Last Saturday on WDAE-AM 620, Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik said he reads the stellar draft analysis of Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski.

So don’t you think you should, too?

As part of the exclusive unmatched draft coverage on JoeBucsFan.com, today The Commish fires off his look at the top 10 outside linebackers in the 2011 draft. Surely the Bucs are salivating over a few of these guys, unless you really believe Quincy Black is the future.

Enjoy. And brace yourself, The Commish is about to unleash a final eight days of draft coverage here that will blow your mind.

Outside Linebackers:

By JUSTIN PAWLOWSKI

1. Von Miller – Texas A&M
6’3’’ – 246 lbs – 4.53
Top 5

Why The Commish would take him: Miller has gained the reputation as the draft’s premiere pass rusher this year. He is an ideal fit in a 3-4 defense, but I think he’d be just fine in coverage in a 4-3 defense as well. His character and leadership skills are outstanding.  He doesn’t just have experience against top competition, but he dominated that competition as well.

Why The Commish would stay away: If there is a negative to Miller, it’s that he can play too aggressive at times and run himself right out of a play. He might be very susceptible to playaction. Miller also does not have elite size, so it’s possible for him to be engulfed by bigger offensive linemen.

Commish’s Final Say: There are plenty of teams clamoring for Miller. If he somehow gets by the Bills with the 3rd pick, expect the Bengals to get bombarded with calls from teams looking to trade up and grab Miller before the Cardinals.

Comparison: Joey Porter – Arizona Cardinals

2. Akeem Ayers – UCLA
6’3’’ – 254 lbs – 4.69
1st Round

Why The Commish would take him: I think Ayers is a player with great natural ability and room to grow. He showed off nice blitzing skills at UCLA with his use of his size and his speed to his advantage. Different from some converted defensive ends, Ayers is very fluid in coverage and a natural linebacker.

Why The Commish would stay away: Despite his size, Ayers biggest weakness is his lack of strength. He needs to get stronger to be effective in the NFL. With this lack of strength, Ayers struggles to get off blocks once offensive linemen are engaged.

Commish’s Final Say: In a weak pure linebacker class, Ayers has plenty of natural ability to be worthy of a 1st round selection. I’d like him either outside in a 4-3 or 3-4 defense, or I think he could play inside as well. He might be a bit of a reach at 18, but I think Ayers would be a great pick for the Chargers as they are desperate for linebackers.

Comparison: Shaun Phillips – San Diego Chargers

3. Justin Houston – Georgia
6’3’’ – 270 lbs – 4.68
1st Round

Why The Commish would take him: Houston’s first step and speed off the edge is the most impressive attribute about him. Houston also has very good strength, which he displayed at the combine, and which translates to the field. Houston was very productive the last couple years in a very tough conference.

Why The Commish would stay away: When I watch Houston, I only see him using one move, and that is speed off the edge. He does not have any counter moves and never goes inside on an offensive tackle. That might work in college, but that will not work in the pros.  Unless he gets good coaching and learns more than one pass rush move, Houston won’t be much of a pass rusher in the NFL.

Commish’s Final Say: I want to give Houston the benefit of the doubt and say that he’ll get good coaching and develop some other pass rush moves.  Right now, he looks a lot like Gaines Adams did coming out of college. Now, Gaines Adams never had the strength that Houston already has, which is why I think Houston should be able to learn a few counter moves that will incorporate his strength a little more.  If he does that, I could see Houston turning into a player like Terrell Suggs.

Comparison:  Terrell Suggs – Baltimore Ravens

4. Brooks Reed – Arizona
6’2’’ – 263 lbs – 4.68
1st/2nd Round

Why The Commish would take him: Reed is one of those players teams can rely on. He is a good character, high motor, and hard working leader. Reed is a smart player who is active on every single play. He already times really well, but he plays even faster than that.

Why The Commish would stay away: I have to wonder if Reed is only getting the love he has gotten because of his resemblance to Clay Matthews Jr. I would never draft a player solely because he looks like another player. Reed was not overly productive at Arizona either. I saw many times where Reed struggled to get off blocks of bigger offensive linemen.

Commish’s Final Say: Reed’s stock skyrocketed after he had one of the fastest 10-yard splits at the combine. It was a similar statistic that Clay Matthews was famous for a couple years back. Since Reed already was being compared to Matthews, it was natural that the 1st round started being mentioned with his name.

Comparison:   Clay Matthews – Green Bay Packers

5. Bruce Carter – North Carolina
6’2’’ – 241 lbs – DNP
2nd Round

Why The Commish would take him: Carter might be the best fit of any linebacker in this draft for a 4-3 defense. He is great in pursuit, excellent in space, and outstanding in pass coverage. Carter has great speed, but his strength is very underrated. Carter gained the reputation of having an excellent work ethic and attitude at North Carolina.

Why The Commish would stay away: Health is the major concern with Carter. He dealt with all kind of leg injuries from knee, ankle, thigh, and hamstring injuries that he played through in 2010. He finally tore his ACL in his left knee which has prohibited him from working out before the draft and also has teams wondering if he’ll be ready for the 2011 season.

Commish’s Final Say: Carters probably a 1st round pick if I wasn’t for is injuries and, in particular, his ACL tear. If he can get healthy, Carter could be one of the big steals in this draft.  With that said, he’s still a big risk as well.

Comparison:  Keith Rivers – Cincinnati Bengals

6. Mason Foster – Washington
6’1’’ – 245 lbs – 4.75
2nd/3rd Round

Why The Commish would take him: Foster was known as the “heart and soul” of Washington’s defense. He’s as good a leader with as strong a work ethic as you’ll find.  Versatility is also big with Foster as he has experience at weakside, strongside, and middle linebacker. Foster also likes to wear his emotions on his sleeve as he is extremely passionate and fiery on the field.

Why The Commish would stay away: Foster isn’t the flashiest player. He has a distinct need to get stronger and needs to do a better job of shedding blockers.

Commish’s Final Say: I had to write something for why I wouldn’t take Foster, but the truth is that he’s the type of player I want on my team. I love having fiery leaders at the linebacker position, and I think that’s just what the Bucs need.  I think Foster would be a great fit in the 2nd round for the Bucs.

Comparison: Mike Peterson – Atlanta Falcons

 7. Sam Acho – Texas
6’2’’ – 262 lbs – 4.68
2nd/3rd Round

Why The Commish would take him: Acho is an effort pass rusher who plays with great leverage and discipline. Acho also comes from a good group of hybrid linebackers like Brian Orakpo and Sergio Kindle, so the hope would be that he would contribute like Orakpo has, since Kindle dealt with injuries last year. Unlike Kindle, Acho has proven to be very durable and play through pain when needed.

Why The Commish would stay away: I think Acho needs to get stronger if he’s going to be competing with NFL offensive linemen. Acho tends to be engulfed by massive offensive linemen. As a converted defensive end, I also wonder how Acho will do in space and in coverage.

Commish’s Final Say: Acho comes from a good group of hybrids from Texas. I’m not sure he’s as talented as Orakpo or Kindle, but Acho surely plays with effort. I’m not sure I’d be willing to invest a 2nd round pick in Acho, but an effort rusher like him might definitely be worth a 3rd round selection.

Comparison:  LaMarr Woodley – Pittsburgh Steelers

8. Dontay Moch – Nevada
6’1’’ – 248 lbs – 4.44
2nd/3rd Round

Why The Commish would take him: Moch has become a cult legend in Nevada with whispers of a 4.2 40-yard dash while he was a player there. He didn’t run that fast at the combine, but he was still the fastest linebacker in this year’s draft. If you can’t teach speed and speed kills, then Moch should be very attractive to a lot of teams.  Moch also lives in opposing backfields as he had more than 20 tackles for a loss in the last two years and 17 tackles for a loss in 2008.

Why The Commish would stay away: With how fast Moch is, he struggles with agility and is very questionable as he moves back into coverage. Moch was a defensive end at Nevada, so there are plenty of questions as he’ll transition back to linebacker in the NFL.

Commish’s Final Say: I think Moch’s natural ability is extremely intriguing. If Moch gets in a system with good coaching, he has the ability to be a dominant force.  However, I do worry about the part of his game that requires more quickness and agility than speed.

Comparison: Larry English – San Diego Chargers

9. Chris Carter – Fresno St.
6’1’’ – 248 lbs – 4.62
3rd Round

Why The Commish would take him:  Carter’s biggest strength is quickness off the ball. As a defensive end at Fresno St, Carter was quick off the line, but also possesses some great straight line speed. Carter is an explosive athlete with some good power as well. He should excel rushing the passer from a 2-point stance.

Why The Commish would stay away: As a former defensive end, there are questions about his coverage ability. Carter does not have the ideal size to match up with bigger offensive linemen in the NFL.

Commish’s Final Say: The Bucs brought Chris Carter in for a workout and rightfully so. Carter is a very explosive athlete who should be very solid as an outside linebacker in the NFL. His strength will be blitzing off the edge.

Comparison:   Quincy Black – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

10. KJ Wright – Mississippi St.
6’3’’ – 246 lbs – 4.75
3rd/4th Round

Why The Commish would take him: The first thing that stands out to me with Wright is his durability. He finished his collegiate career with 47 consecutive starts.  Wright also has a great combination of size and speed. He is a hard worker with a motor that never stops.

Why The Commish would stay away: Wright just didn’t make many impact plays for Mississippi St. He struggles to shed blockers and plays way too tall at times.

Commish’s Final Say: Wright’s combination of size and speed should make him pretty attractive in the middle rounds. I do question a player with those attributes not being able to make more impact plays in college.

Comparison: Aaron Maybin – Buffalo Bills

Looking at the Bucs’ awesome 2011 schedule, if Joe were a casual Bucs fan only going to a handful of games, opening day on Sept. 11 against the Lions in the brutal summer swelter sure wouldn’t make the cut.

There are so many more attractive home games on the schedule, including the Cowboys on a Saturday night and the Colts on Monday Night Football in October, that Joe already figures the opening day crowd will be missing those only-go-to-a-few-games types.

So assuming a stunning glimmer of hope doesn’t emerge from One Buc Palace, the opener is sure to be blacked out. And please don’t tell Joe Lions fans come out in droves. They sure didn’t four months ago.

Hopefully, Joe gets this wrong. Blackout chatter surely will stain the glorious hype of opening day again, if that’s the situation.

Joe was hoping for a more popular team on opening day to help it sell out, but Joe’s not about to complain about this great schedule. The Bucs should be grateful to have four-of-six at home again, followed by the Bears in England and a bye week. Another 5-2 start is sure doable.

Bring on the fresh meat for the young Bucs to pound into submission.

Here’s the schedule for the “best team in the NFC:”

9-11 LIONS (1 p.m.)
9-18 @Vikings (1 p.m.)
9-25 FALCONS (4:15 p.m.)
10-3 COLTS (Monday Night Football)
10-9 @49ers (4:05 p.m.)
10-16 SAINTS (4:15 p.m.)
10-23 BEARS (in London)
BYE
11-6  @Saints (1 p.m.)
11-13 TEXANS (1 p.m.)
11-20 @Packers (1 p.m.)
11-27 @Titans (1 p.m.)
12-4  PANTHERS (1 p.m.)
12-11 @Jaguars (1 p.m.)
12-17 COWBOYS (8:20 p.m.) NFL Network
12-24 @Panthers (1 p.m.)
1-1   @Falcons (1 p.m.)

Joe is fired up. End the damn lockout already.

The Bucs opened 2010 with four out of their first six at home, and the same holds true for 2011.

There can be no whining about this schedule from an exposure standpoint. The Colts at home on Monday Night Football in Week 4 (Chucky’s return), and the Cowboys on a Saturday night in December on NFL Network, plus the Saints and Falcons at home in 4 o’clock games.

Like Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on the mountaintop, football fans everywhere can now read coffee-slurping, popcorn-shoveling, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving Peter King’s final mock draft.

The NFL writer for Sports Illustrated had the most accurate mock draft last year and while his mock draft is scheduled to come out this week in his magazine, it can also be viewed online with the SI.com vault.

King has the Bucs selecting Missouri defensive end Aldon Smith, though King thinks the team should look elsewhere.

20 BUCCANEERS
WILL PICK
Aldon Smith, DE/OLB, Missouri
SHOULD PICK
Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa

Tampa Bay is still saying novenas that Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers will fall because teams are worried about the health of his knee, and it’s not impossible that he’ll still be available here. But these two pass rushers are safer choices. Personnel men I’ve spoken to are very high on Smith, but Clayborn, though he’ll likely be a right end only, looks better suited to be an edge rusher than Smith.

Interesting the nuggets King came up with why Clayborn will be a better rusher than Smith.

At any rate, it will be comforting to see the Bucs get some heat from the edge.

Known for his brutal public honesty on Twitter and Facebook, leading the Bucs in sacks over the past four seasons, and loads of charity work in the Tampa Bay area, Stylez White is also known for his dislike of practice.

And Stylez Tweeted this morning that he’s dealing with the challenges surely facing many locked out NFL players.

@StylezWhite – At the car wash.. Man its Hard working out by yourself tryn to stay motivated… Dang! #Keepitmoving

First, Joe would advise Stylez not to fire off a Tweet like this when he might be an unrestricted free agent in a matter of days. Not the kinda thing to holla out there, even if you’re winning the internal fight to stay fit.

It’s going to be interesting to see how many players fall off the conditioning wagon during the lockout. No doubt there will be some surprises when teams eventually report, and Joe suspects it’ll be a lot more glaring than the mysterious few pounds Derrick Ward put on last year.

Former Bucs Super Bowl winning coach Chucky grills quarterback and potential first round draftee Blaine Gabbert in this BSPN video.

The man Joe has often dubbed “Tampa Bay’s voice of reason,” Tampa Tribune columnist Joe Henderson, recently penned his views on the Bucs 2011 home game in London and Henderson thinks the Bucs punted on third down by agreeing to the game.

Henderson doesn’t see an advantage to the Bucs playing in England. He assumes the overseas game is a strain on the team and thinks it could strip the Bucs of its biggest homefield advantage: searing heat.

I sure hope this isn’t a response to last year’s sea of empty seats at Ray-Jay. That’s the same stadium that until last year was sold out every time the Bucs played since it opened in 1998.In that same sit-down last month with the Tribune, Glazer noted, “Ticket sales have been strong. They were strong in January, strong in February and they haven’t stopped.”

So what’s the problem?

The game probably will be played in late October or early November. We don’t know for sure if the Bears would have been sent here in September or early October, but we do know that Wembley in late October is no sweatbox. Ray-Jay can be a real homefield advantage, but only if the game is actually played here.

So much for that.

Joe can’t argue with the potentially lost climate advantage the Bucs could have against the Bears in Tampa, but that’s surely no sure thing, especially if the game was at 4 p.m.

However, Joe’s not sure he can agree with Henderson saying the game is a strain on players. Joe would have to hear that from coaches and the guys wearing pewter and red.

This Bucs team obviously is very comfortable on the road and it gets a bye week following the trip to England. Playing in England seems like great bonding time and more togetherness to study Raheem Morris’ core beliefs.

Yes, the 2009 flight somehow injured Antonio Bryant’s knee, but Joe suspects that won’t be a problem this year.

Yesterday, Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy sat in for a segment of “Total Access” on the Lifetime Network for Men (the NFL Network). One of the things GMC spoke about what the atmosphere and mentality of the Bucs the first day he walked into One Buc Palace after being the third overall selection.

“When I walked in, I would have never known they didn’t have a good season the year before,” GMC said. “Coach Morris immediately told me, ‘We are going to be good. I picked the people I picked for a reason.’ It was always ‘We are going to be good.'”

GMC also spoke about many other subjects, such as if current draftees should go to New York for the NFL draft, a sore spot for NFLPA members, and just how good Josh Freeman and Mike Williams are as players.

No draft question is too tough for Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620. Joe’s resident draft guru will be here to field anything you throw at him.
Don’t be late!

[Joe was tipped off that Bucs second-year offensive guard Brandon Carter was looking for work. Thinking this could be a story about how the lockout is affecting players, Joe called Carter and found out that was not the case; Carter has plenty of cash stashed. But Carter chatted with Joe about playing for the Bucs, living in the Tampa Bay area and how he’s spending his lockout time at home.]

If it was up to Brandon Carter, the Bucs second-year offensive guard would be at One Buc Palace, working out like a maniac — twice daily — and in the down time between workouts, breaking down tape.

“Man, I love it,” Carter said about being part of the Bucs. The former Texas Tech guard (who never gave up a sack to either manbeast Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy while playing against the two in the Big XII) was on the Bucs practice squad last year until the final five weeks of last season.

“Tampa Bay is awesome. I love the young atmosphere on the team. I love the direction Raheem Morris is taking the team. I am excited. I think the next few years the team will be really good. I haven’t had one negative experience in Tampa. I enjoy Tampa. I’m excited about this year.

But “this year” has hit the pause button. Rather than spending time on the west coast of the east coast, Carter is back at his home in Lubbock, Tex. He works out twice a day. In the mornings Carter hits the weights. Hard. In the evenings, he works with a specialist to better his agility and speed.

“I’m signed for next year,” Carter said of his job status with the Bucs. “I’ll be back next year… whenever that is.”

Like the rest of his NFL brethren, Carter is sort of in a holding pattern. He has no idea when this labor mess with end and when he’ll move back to the Bay area and resume his football career.

With time on his hands, Carter is getting antsy. So much so he’s looking for work. But it may not be for the reasons one can decipher on face value.

“I’m not out there spending money and wasting time,” Carter said. “Sure, I’d like to have some extra money.”

It’s not his makeup to sit around and veg. Carter is a self-admitted workaholic. He has to be doing something all the time. Not too long ago, Carter delivered pizzas, which might have created some anxious moments for customers, seeing a 6-6, 310-pound delivery man in the dark of the night at the front door. Joe suspects tips came easy for Carter.

In recent months, Carter was a maintenance man at an apartment complex, though he doesn’t have much of a background as a Mr. FixIt.

“I learned to become a handyman,” Carter bragged. Some of his recent duties before the job came to an end included painting a pool and fixing a sprinkler system.

With a degree in exercise core sciences, a degree Carter said a lot of people who someday want to coach have, he is naturally hoping to put it to use in some way. Monday, just before speaking with Joe, Carter was offered a job at a neighborhood gym in Lubbock.

“That would be cool,” Carter said. “It would keep me in the gym all day and maybe do even more of a workout. If I can make some money at the same time, that’s a sweet deal.

“I never had a problem with being in a gym. I always loved it. I love the atmosphere, I feed off the people I am surrounded with. The guys and the girls who want to work hard, I feed off of them. I’m high intensity and when I get my work done, I just walk around and listen to the music.”

If nothing else, having a job between his twice-daily workouts keeps his mind off of the wrangling between NFL owners and the NFLPA.

“Honestly, I have been a workaholic all my life,” Carter said. “I’ve worked since I was 12. When I got back to Lubbock [from Tampa in January], I was bored.”

While Carter’s voice drops when he talks about the stalemate of the lockout, his excitement about playing for the Bucs and being part of the Tampa Bay community just jumps off the cell phone.

“The coaching staff is great,” Carter said. “I loved every coach. I can honestly say I never had any issue with any coach. The team was great. It’s cool to be on a younger team. In a sense, it felt like I was on another college team and going through the growing pains just like everyone else.

“The people [in Tampa Bay] are awesome. I never had a negative experience all the while I was in Tampa. I couldn’t imagine myself being anywhere else. I really enjoy it there. Florida is beautiful.”

Again, Carter sees big things coming from the Bucs in the near future.

“I always loved being the underdog,” Carter said. “Most didn’t give the team and the players the respect they deserved and we went out there and did things no one imagined. I’m really proud of that, and the team, and the coaching staff.

“I don’t think we got the credit we deserved but not one person on the team listened to or cared what anyone’s opinion was. We just worked hard every single day and became the team that we did. In the years to come, I think we will be a great team.”

Local sports fans have heard all the reasons/excuses from Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Buccaneers management that allegedly explain why those teams can’t sell more tickets.

The list is easy for any local to rattle off. Frankly, they’ve never sat well with Joe.

Joe thinks those organizations are far too focused on external factors affecting them versus internal systems and philosphies that drive the business success. As Joe wrote last week after word broke of the Bucs game in England, it didn’t feel right to Joe that the Bucs already seemed resigned to blackouts in 2011 — in April. 

Through most of 2007-2010, Joe worked in sales for a national company whose business was directly tied to — and negatively affected by — the plummeting real estate market nationwide. However, the company philosophy in its high-pressure sales environment was simple; massive sales growth would be achieved because the alternative was not an option.

The goals were reached, while competitors crumbled and the real estate market further tanked to record levels. 

In the face of a challenging business environment, there are always winners, just fewer of them. Why can’t the Bucs or Rays overcome, or at least perform much better?

Last night, former Seattle Seahawks and current Tampa Bay Lightning CEO Todd Leiweke took to the airwaves for an interview with JP Peterson on 1010 AM.

Leiweke painted a picture of Tampa Bay currently being an excellent market for professional sports and entertainment. He referenced sellouts at the St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday, Sunday and Monday for Lady Gaga, Iron Maiden and the Lightning, respectively. “We’re the fifth or sixth busiest arena [in the country],” he said.

Peterson pushed Leiweke to talk about the Tampa Bay market for sports teams and contrast it with his tenure in Seattle.

Leiweke said blaming fans and market conditions is “the first exit on the highway of excuses.”

He went on to talk about a season ticket base of “about 33,000” when he joined the Seahawks in 2003, during far better economic times. When Leiweke left Seattle in 2010 to join the Lightning, the Seahawks (fresh off two losing seasons) were raising ticket prices, had sold their maximum of 61,000 allocated season tickets, and had a waiting list of 10,000, per The Seattle Times.

Leiweke went on to say he expects the Lightning, whose attendance is up about 12 percent from last season, to enjoy sellouts throughout next season.

Interesting.

Joe thinks it’s time the Rays and Bucs change their public attitude on attendance and crank up the heat and scrutiny inside their organizations. It sure couldn’t hurt.

A rough local economy can do a lot of things, but it can’t stifle marketing creativity, first-rate customer service, a healthy attitude and good old fashioned hustle, especially from wildly profitible enterprises like the Bucs and Rays.

As the great Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com correctly connected the dots over the weekend, the NFL will release it’s 2011* regular season schedule Tuesday live on the NFL Network beginning at 7 p.m.

When (if?) will the Bucs play the Bears in London? When will the Bucs travel to New Orleans to beat the Saints for the third year in a row? When will the Bucs get their first crack at the Dixie Chicks to enact revenge on two close losses in 2010?

We should all know Tuesday night. Just tune to NFL Network, just like proud, loyal Bucs fans always do.

* — If there is a 2011 season.

For Bucs fans who crumble their empty beer cans in their fists, angry at the Bucs got perhaps playing in London (again) this season, you can point the finger at national TV network producers.

Bucs fans just want to throw their remotes at their HDTV screens because of the perceived lack of respect shown to their 10-win season despite a myriad of obstacles including suspensions, injuries and youth.

Gerald McCoy is getting sick of this as well. The Bucs second-year defensive tackle and third overall pick in last year’s draft put fingers to keyboard on Twitter to silence those who scoff at the Bucs.

@GK_McCoy: I was told that Tampa has no big play ability today. Lol so I guess the names #Freeman, #Williams x2, #Blount, #Winslow, #Benn mean nothing!

Bingo! There were games last year — the Arizona game springs to Joe’s mind — that Joe couldn’t believe the offense he was watching. Perhaps at no other time did Joe notice as many lethal weapons on the field at the same time since the Bucs won the Super Bowl.

And it’s this very reason that GMC points out is why the Bucs are playing in London: To make sure the NFL community and blinders-wearing TV executives get to know the Bucs young studs.

Much was made last week of the announcement, which came by way of WMVP-AM 1000 in Chicago (props to Joe’s longtime friend, former co-worker and current Chicago multimedia star Dave Owen for helping filter through the BS), that the Bucs would move their home game with the Bears to London.

Many Bucs fans, many season ticket holders, were enraged at the thought of having a second home game in three years ripped from their clutches.

But this may not be a done deal.

In a sentence buried in a story on NFL.com about the 2011 NFL schedule being released tomorrow night live on the NFL Network (for the non-males in Joe’s readership who don’t have the NFL Network, will you just take off your panties and get the network and be a man for a change, huh?), if the current labor impasse lasts past Aug. 1, the game will be moved back to The CITS from Wembley Stadium.

Should the current labor situation be unresolved by August 1, the game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Buccaneers season ticket holders will receive detailed ticket information from the club in the near future regarding team ticketing policy for this game.

Now Bucs fans are torn. Like all NFL fans, Bucs fans want this damned lockout to end, like yesterday. But if the lockout stretches into August, the Bucs will again play the Bears at home, in the stifling heat and sweaty humidity of The CITS.

What is a Bucs fan to do?

If the Legend of Sam Fuld continues to play like he is of late and the Rays are still within reach of a wild card race in August, it will help local sports fans wade through a non-NFL summer.

Of course, this is an NFL imposed deadline, likely a pawn in the CBA labor negotiations. Who is to say the NFL can’t move this deadline back a month?

(Hat tip Anwar Richardson)

Periodically while Joe is at one of his favorite watering holes nursing a cold beer and taking ample time to gawk at Courtney the Bartender, Joe wonders why Bucs fans always have a knee-jerk reaction to Team Glazer’s English kickball team.

Bucs fans often wake up their significant other in the wee hours of the morning, screaming in the middle of the night at Team Glazer and their kickball team. It seems that whenever anything wrong happens to the Bucs, somehow, someway, angry Bucs fans begin cursing about the Team Glazer’s interest in a team that participates in a glorified Easter egg hunt.

Too predictably, when word leaked via Chicago radio that the Bucs would host the Bears in London this season (if there is a season), Bucs fans not only pointed the finger at the kickball team in question, but Bucs fans began surmising that the Bucs soon would call London home, and not One Buc Palace off of MLK Blvd. in Tampa.

Joe often wonders — when not distracted by Courtney the Bartender’s, um, features — why these same standards are not applied to Stan Kroenke?

The Rams owner, like Team Glazer, also owns an English kickball team. And Kroenke  owns the Colorado Avalanche along with several minor league teams of insignificance. Joe has yet to read or hear one word that Kroenke is siphoning off funds or lacking attention to detail on the Rams because of his many other interests.

For reasons unknown, many Bucs fans believe an owner should never have any other outside business interests which is preposterous. When has a Redskins fan ever whined about Danny Snyder’s other business interests like Six Flags, which interestingly was run into the ground and into a bankruptcy court by the same derelict who ruined ESPN, Mark Shapiro.

Well, it seems not everyone is missing the boat on the unfair barbs thrown at Team Glazer. Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who has been friends with Joe for some 25 years, brought up this very subject recently.

The central question seems to be this: Will he spend money to acquire the elite pieces deemed necessary to put Arsenal back atop of the EPL table?

It’s roughly the same question Rams fans have about Kroenke as he begins his second season as the team’s majority owner.

With the NFL’s free-agent market shut down because of the labor dispute between the owners and players, it’s impossible to get an answer. But in a recent interview with Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch, Kroenke didn’t eliminate free-agent signings as a way to improve the roster but strongly reaffirmed his belief in the philosophy of building through the draft.

Well, well, well. Where have we heard this before?

Further, if there is any NFL team that would move to London, the Rams would be far, far more likely to move than the Bucs. Joe has yet to hear of or read a legitimate reason why Team Glazer would move the Bucs to London.

Also a funny thing is, along with Joe Robbie Stadium in south Florida and the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, whatever-the-hell the dome in St. Louis is called isn’t that much older than The CITS. The dome in St. Louis opened in 1995. The CITS opened in 1998.

The lease for the Rams in the dome expires in 2015 and it opens the door for the Rams to leave, per a 2008 Associated Press article.

To lure the Rams, civic leaders agreed to a deal requiring that the dome remains among the top quarter of all NFL stadiums. The next measuring date is 2015.

Starting in 2012, both the Rams and the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission can begin exchanging proposals on getting the dome to that elite status. If no deal is reached by 2015, the Rams have the option of ending the lease — and potentially moving.

Many observers believe the St. Louis dome ranks closer to the bottom of NFL stadiums. It has no expansive outdoor parking lot for tailgating, lacks a retractable roof and has been criticized for its sound system, lighting and for what some perceive as a sterile atmosphere.

Some have even written that the dome in St. Louis is already outdated.

So when people mock Joe for suggesting that, given the state of stadiums not much older than The CITS including Joe Robbie, the Georgia Dome and the dome in St. Louis which cannot get Super Bowls  (the St. Louis dome is just three years older than The CITS), Joe is confident that sooner rather than later, NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell will start squeezing the Tampa Sports Authority for an upgrade to The CITS or no more Super Bowls in Tampa.

In the meantime, when Joe hears about some Bucs fans screaming at Team Glazer for owning a kickball team, he wonders why Team Glazer is being singled out?

"Man, I love these kids, but I'm not running fuc*n Romper Room. If you think I'm fuc*n going to try to win a football game again with some green dude, you've lost your mind. Just get me Griese, Muir, Bisaccia and some talent on that O-line and I'll win you 9 games every damn year."

When Chucky’s now famous BSPN special with soon-to-be-drafted NFL quaterbacks returns for its second season Thursday night, one former Jon Gruden quarterback won’t be watching. That would be Shaun King. 

Speaking as co-host of The King David Show on WQYK-AM 1010 today, King said Chucky is excellent at breaking down film and has been a successful head coach but the entire premise of the ESPN QB special is garbage.

“I won’t watch it. I disagree with the premise of the show. The premise is that Gruden is some kind of quarterbacks guru and that having him as a destination for a rookie QB is the ideal situation for a rookie and that just hasn’t proven to the case,” said King, who played two seasons under the Chucky regime in Tampa. 

King’s point can’t be argued. Chucky has no success record with young quarterbacks, though that surely doesn’t take away from the entertaininment value of the special. Great Xs and Os and squirming draft hopefuls is a stellar mix.

Joe wonders whether Marques Tuiasosopo, Bruce Gradkowski, Josh Johnson, Luke McCown and Chris Simms will grab a bag of popcorn and tune in.

In a public service to Bucs fans, draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski summed up what draft hopefuls the Bucs have worked out and what it might all mean.   

It’s on The Commish’s must-read draft page on 620wdae.com. Click the link and scroll down.

Here’s his snippet on linebackers officially on the Bucs radar: 

Fresno State – Chris Carter
North Carolina – Quan Sturdivant
Georgia – Akeem Dent
*Miami – Colin McCarthy
UCLA – Akeem Ayers

There’s not one doubt in my mind that the Bucs are focussed on drafting at least one linebacker in this year’s draft. Like Justin Houston, I think Akeem Ayers is a backup plan if the top DEs are off the board. The Bucs could either draft them at 20 or trade back and possibly still get one of the 2. The other linebackers here just show that the Bucs are indeed spending time and money scouting linebackers this year. Chris Carter would be good value in the 3rd round, but it wouldn’t shock me if the Bucs grabbed him in the 2nd round if they really like him.

*private workout not at Bucs facility

Ahh, just 10 days until Day 1 of the draft. Joe is salivating. Surely the Bucs will take a linebacker early with the uncertainty of four unrestricted free agent linebackers currently on their roster.

Hopefully a small miracle will resolve the labor mess so these new Bucs will be sweating their butts off shorts at One Buc Palace in early May.

One of the more entertaining off-field moments of the 2010 Bucs season was Raheem Morris telling St. Pete Times columnist Gary Shelton that “stats are for losers” and then immediately following up telling Shelton he can worry about stats while the head coach worried about winning.

It was a great slap back at Shelton and the other scribes in the press room. But then Raheem proceeded to overuse the “stats are for losers” line in a big way.

History shows other coaches have used the phrase “stats are for losers,” including Bill Belicheat, so Raheem’s hardly alone.

And now CBS analyst Phil Simms has taken it all to a new level, per Peter King’s popular Monday column on SI.com. King quotes Simms recent comments to TheBigLead.com.

Simms was asked about a stat I had in this column recently, quoting Mel Kiper saying Blaine Gabbert had completed 44 percent of his throws on third down at Missouri last fall, while Andrew Luck was 71 percent on third down at Stanford. The inference being, of course, that not only was Luck a better prospect but also, seemingly, better on the most important down, which some might take to mean he’s a better clutch player. If you’re 27 percentage points better on third down, it’s a brick in the wall (to me, anyway) that you’re a better quarterback than the much-lesser guy on third down. A brick in the wall, I might add — not incontrovertible proof.

This, apparently, made Simms go volcanic for some reason. I’ll leave the emphasis the way The Big Lead wrote it for the rest of Simms’ quote about third-down efficiency for quarterbacks: “That means nothing. I could not care less. My face gets red thinking about that stat. WHO CARES! Well get him out of there on third down! Keep him in on first and second down! You’re not drafting his college coach or his college team. You’re drafting Blaine Gabbert. These numbers … why do I need numbers? … Believe what your eye tells you. I have never looked at one quarterback ever on tape through all the years and then when it’s done, I have never even thought, ‘What were his numbers?’ I never have. It has never even crossed my mind.”

Wow. The anger. What makes a man go off on statistics?

Joe applauds Simms, and him going off the deep end is well understood by Joe. Nice to a see a big shot fired at the stats crowd.

All the endless stats jammed down fans’ throats by TV executives, computer geeks and talking heads trying to fill time and impress people has gone off the deep end in professional baseball and in the NFL.

Enough already. Sure many stats are relevant and interesting. Yeah, Joe gets that lots of people love fantasy football and its interest has exploded league popularity, but the whole numbers jibberish has gotten out of hand.