It was a very abbreviated final day of minicamp practice at One Buc Palace today, thanks to Donald Penn’s punt returning ability.

OK, the not so svelte Pro Bowl left tackle didn’t actually return a punt. But he did catch a punt, with zero warning from the new Bucs coach.

The reward? Practice, and minicamp, was over.

Not even Penn knew why he was chosen for such an honor, learning of his task roughly an hour into practice.

“I guess because I’m always talking,” Penn joked.

It was a welcome relief to the Bucs players who celebrated as if they received word Rachel Watson was now single and free beer was on tap.

It was sort of a reward by Schiano who praised the Bucs for an intense minicamp, which was seconded by Penn himself. Schiano “wanted the intensity level to be this high,” Penn said, raising his right hand. “And it stayed there.”

As for catching the punt from a Jugs gun, Penn was confident he would catch it, and bragged the result would have been the same if Michael Koenen was punting instead.

Years ago, teenage Joe attended a basketball clinic that had a particularly frenetic high-energy coach. Joe remembers this guy because said coach screamed in Joe’s face to make an example out of him. Joe can still feel the spit hitting his face and hear the words, “Why am I working harder than you?”

Bucs wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck at practice, Joe can’t help but think of that hoops coach. Fleck maintains such a passionate intensity that Joe can’t imagine any Bucs wideouts slacking off — and getting away with it.

Joe tried to take you into Fleck’s wild world last week, and cool guy Bucs beat writer Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger offered a Fleck nugget yesterday.

One of the coaches who have a high-amount of energy is receivers coach P.J. Fleck. He’s verbal on every individual receiver and there’s no mistaking his stance on an issue.

Take Wednesday, after receiver Preston Parker ran this drill particularly well, this is what Fleck said, “I love it! I love it! I got a man crush on (Parker).”

It’s that kind of energy that is infectious toward a young team.

As Joe wrote yesterday, Parker is getting an awful lot of love this offseason, from Greg Schiano to Josh Freeman to a new contract to becoming Fleck’s man crush. Frankly, it seems Parker has matured, so a new Buccaneers.com feature story details, and he’s responding to Fleck’s style.

Joe’s hardly sold on Parker as a return man, but he seems on track for big numbers in 2012, especially if Vincent Jackson is stretching the field and demanding a lot of attention.

The ol’ ball coach, Raheem Morris, was back at the podium yesterday at Redskins minicamp and dished out 13+ minutes of fast-talking fun for the D.C. media. Here’s the video.

Raheem stopped just short of calling a D.C. reporter a mental midget when asked whether learning the 3-4 defense in Washington was a good career move.

“I never looked at it that way. I’m the very best,” Raheem said of the “mentally weak” question. “I was the best last year when I got fired. I’m going to continue to feel that way.”

Among other topics, Raheem talks about trash-talking in practice to get a competitive environment (something Greg Schiano surely would disagree with), building a culture, underwear, how he’s advised the D.C. offensive staff on developing rookie quarterback RGII based on his experience with Josh Freeman, and more.

He also compared London Fletcher’s leadership to Barrett Ruud’s.

Interestingly, the Washington Post noted that Raheem’s style can be an acquired taste.

Earlier, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan joked that Morris can get under his skin with his constant trash talk during practice. Morris said he was glad to hear it and intended to “pump up the juice a little bit during training camp.”

“To create that competitive environment, it’s like playing pickup basketball sometimes and you talk a little trash,” said Morris. “Go out there and have fun, while still getting the job done.”

 Joe doesn’t expect Raheem, as a position coach, to do many more news conferences. But Joe will be listening when he does. These things are just too much fun.

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Joe’s still amazed by how back in April many Bucs fans seemed willing to throw Donald Penn off the team in favor of future first-round pick Matt Kalil.

Penn has started 76 consecutive games, been a relatively consistent top performer, and he only turned 29 six weeks ago and was voted into the Top-100 of 2012 by his NFL brothers. But for some fans, Penn’s weight and a few bad games last year were enough to toss him overboard. Thankfully, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Greg Schiano are of sound mind.

What should be interesting and exciting to all Bucs fans is the way Penn looks in this new Scott Smith video on Buccaneers.com. The video focuses on the offensive line, and there are two good looks of Penn at different angles, and he appears significantly leaner than in past seasons.

Of course, Penn could go on a canoli, pizza and beer spree in the six-week break before training camp, but Joe would be surprised if that happened. Davin Joseph told Joe yesterday about how the team’s strength and conditioning standards were ramped up significantly under the New Schiano Order, and Schiano mentioned a fitness test that must be passed when players return in July.

While Schiano called the impending conditioning exam “fair,” Joe suspects it’s a bit more demanding than past years’. So look for Penn to maintain his leaner look for a while.

Much was made when Greg Schiano was hired that the great Bill Belichick (often referred to here as Bill Belicheat) was a mentor to Schiano and had a hand in him getting the Bucs job. 

Belichick’s son played for Schiano at Rutgers and the word was that Team Glazer consulted with Belichick — and got a glowing reference — before Schiano was hired. Then popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging Peter King of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports fame wrote that Belichick and Schiano were seen together regularly at the NFL owners meetings this spring.

Well, it seems that Belichick is still advising the leader of the New Schiano Order. Schiano himself said as much today on the Evan & Phillips In The Morning show, part of Mad Dog Radio on SiriusXM.

Schiano was asked to talk about Belichick’s impact on him.

“[Belichick’s] been a big help to me,” Schiano said. “Not only before I got here, helped me be a better coach at Rutgers, but then when I was considering the Bucs job and later on taking the job. He’s been a good guy to bounce ideas. Certainly we’re competitors now, there’s only 32 of us in this league, but you know wherever it doesn’t affect the competitive balance he’s been real helpful to me.”

Joe’s not going to get too excited about the Belichick-Schiano relationship, but it should be a huge positive to help Schiano get quickly through whatever learning curves he encounters.

Raheem Morris had his regular chats with Mike Tomlin, and while Raheem was hardly a model of success, the guidance Raheem got regularly from Tomlin and the Rays’ Joe Maddon likely helped him mature fast enough to field a 10-6 team that got a ton out of its rookies.

Underwear and helmets football returned to One Buc Palace today in Day 2 of manadatory minicamp for the New Schiano Order. Joe watched about 90 percent of the action and here are some impressions:

*Yesterday Joe wrote that Josh Freeman wasn’t impressive. Today was more of the same with Freeman displaying some shaky accuracy. That’s not to say Freeman didn’t make good throws and a couple of great ones, but if Freeman and fans are to hold him to a “franchise quarterback” status, then the standard must be high. Of course, it’s not always clear whether off-target throws are the fault of Freeman or the route-runner — the Bucs are learning a new playbook — however Freeman’s reaction after a play often is an indicator.

Today, Freeman was picked off over the middle at the start of 11-on-11 drills by Mark Barron. It was off play-action. He also overthrew a wide-open Tiquan Underwood on a deep ball in the end zone, among other off-target throws.

Some highlights were a great back shoulder touchdown throw from Freeman to Vincent Jackson against Myron Lewis in what look like tight coverage. Freeman also zipped a short TD pass to Jackson in the back of the end zone with Quincy Black covering. This one got Greg Schiano particular excited and he ran over to high-five Jackson. (No arm bar or chest bump). Schiano is hardly one to cheer on every caught ball, and this play for some reason really jacked him up.

*Myron Lewis looks healthy and surely looks like he belongs in the talent department. Of course, staying healthy has always been a major challenge for Lewis.

*Tiquan Underwood, the former Patriots wide receiver and Rutgers alum, definitely stood out today. At one point, he didn’t work on the “second-team” field when the Bucs split up the squad, and he made numerous catches and was open behind Aqib Talib when Freeman overthrew him in the end zone. (see above). Clearly he helped his chances of making the roster today.

*Dezmon Briscoe surely doesn’t look as sharp as he did when he was a standout in training camp last season. He had one drop today in limited balls thrown his way.

*Doug Martin looks very precise and fluid in his route-running.

*Schiano spent a lot of hands-on time with the punt team and punt defense, specifically extra teaching on defending a fake punt. Schiano is often praised by players for being a true teacher, and that was on display there. The punt team (not punt defense) had some issues on Tuesday and Schiano seemed pleased with today’s action and improvement.

*Pretty much every receiver had a drop today that Joe saw, including what might have been the first of the year for Vincent Jackson. Benn dropped one in the end zone and Sammie Stroughter had a miss at the goal line that left him visibly furious with himself.

*At one point Joe thought Mossis Madu was speedster rookie Michael Smith. That’s saying something for Madu’s burst and quickness.

*Rookie cornerback Leonard Johnson seems to lack some speed and appeared a little frustrated with himself in coverage.

*Watching Dallas Clark practice, Joe feels like he’s watching a fundamentals video — and it’s not of the guy in those videos who shows what not to do.

*Preston Parker clearly is getting a lot of love from the coaching staff. Twice today there were plays when Parker was not the one who caught the ball but he was the one getting loud vocal praise, presumably for his route running. Interesting that today the Bucs Twittered that Parker had an average “of 7.7 yards after catch in 2011 was 2nd among all NFL WRs.”

*Practice ended on a nice pass breakup by Anthony Gaitor covering Vincent Jackson.

The Bucs are back at it tomorrow for the third and final day of mandatory minicamp. Stick with Joe tonight and through the week for more.

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Last year during the asinine lockout, Davin Joseph talked about enjoying the opportunity to do Yoga in the offseason and other alternative training.

He even went so far to call the lockout “a blessing” last year because of the time it gave him to improve his body and work on more conditioning detais. And Joseph returned to the Pro Bowl as the Bucs’ lone representative after the 2011 season.

Today, Joseph explained that he still searches for time for personal workouts, but he’s been very busy training with the Bucs because “the standard of our conditioning has been lifted” above those of previous regimes.

“You don’t have much free time this offseason as you did last offseason, so of  course you went to be here first,” Joseph said. “Our first priority is to be here, and that’s my first priority. Anytime I can get a workout in outside of here I will. Most of the time we’re up here working pretty hard. I think we’re more power lifting this year. I think that’s been a major change, more power lifting, more conditioning, and so that’s been the major change of coaches [and we still have] the traditional lifts that every strength and conditioning coach is going to do. But the standard of our conditioning has been lifted. We’re really expected to be in tip-top shape by the first day, unlike other years.”

Joe finds the raising of the conditioning bar under the New Schiano Order very intriguing, especially with Joseph having played for Chucky and Raheem Morris. Even Ronde Barber today talked about how he hasn’t pumped this much iron in years.

This can only help. Raheem talked about wanting to be violent, but the Bucs were soft in many ways, and now fans know the standards have been raised. The Bucs may not deliver a winning season, but Joe suspects they’ll be far more physical.

Those looking for a glimpse into the what the defense of the New Schiano Order might look like will be pleased to hear the words of cornerback  safetyRonde Barber.

“He’s definitely an aggressive playcaller,” Barber said after practice today, comparing the 2012 defense to his past experiences.

“I get a chance to be an impact player in this defense, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Often coming across laid back, Barber definitely gave off an excited vibe today. “I haven’t lifted [weights] like I’ve lifted now since seven, eight years ago,” he said, referring to the intensity of the New Schiano Order.

Barber went on to call Mark Barron “a stud” so far but acknowledged that opening day is when Barron really will prove himself.

Greg Schiano might have given a glimpse into what his roster and or gameday/roster might look like come final cuts in early September.

Talking yesterday about various position battles, Schiano referenced having eight defensive linemen ready when the whistle blows.

“Who’s going to be our guys that go and show up on gameday, those eight guys ready to go. We want to be able to roll eight guys,” Schiano said of his defensive line. “Linebacker, great competition. Secondary, we have some good defensive backs. At the end of the day we’re probably going to have to end up letting go a defensive back that can play in this league. That’s always tough. But that’s a good problem to have, I guess.”

Of course, playing eight defensive linemen doesn’t mean one or two more aren’t on the roster but inactive.

Talking more about competition yesterday, Schiano said he was excited by the battles at wide receiver and running back but conceded that his starting offensive line is all but set. Joe had wondered whether free agent tackle/guard Javon Meredith, signed in March, would compete with Jeremy Trueblood, but that seems unlikely now.

Former Pro Bowl linebacker Bryan Cox, known for his versatility, intensity and all out insanity on the football field (Joe highly recommends the 1997 Sports Illustrated feature on Cox), as well as being a noted favorite player of legends Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, is the Bucs’ new “defensive front seven” coach. Cox dove into NFL coaching in 2006, four years after his stellar career ended. His connection with Greg Schiano goes back to the Chicago Bears, when Cox was playing for Dave Wannstedt and Schiano was there as an assistant coach. Joe had a chance fire a few questions at Cox this week, and Cox was quite candid and considerate.

JoeBucsFan.com: Having been around legendary coaches like Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, who Greg Schiano says is a mentor, what are the similarties with Schiano? Where do you see some parallels with Greg Schiano and those types of demanding leaders?

Bryan Cox: The biggest thing that I would say is that I feel like I played for three Hall of Fame guys in Coach Don Shula, Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. All three of those guys are Hall of Fame guys. It’s a shame that Bill Parcells didn’t get there [during the 2012 Hall vote]. So when you talk about those three guys that I played for, they were different yet the same. Of course Belichick is a little bit more similar to Parcells because that’s who he grew up under. Shula was a man’s coach. So he let men be men and just laid the expectation out and let you go. Parcells and Belichick are more of, they want to oversee the process. They want to look at everything. And they want one word coming out of the organization, there’s one way to do things, this is how it is. I think Greg would be more on that line. I don’t like to compare people because everbody is different; nobody is the same. But I think when you look at Greg, you look at discipline, you look at a guy that has unbelievable passion, you look at a guy that understands the game of football, and he has a clear vision. And when you tie that together, that would be one of the bigger traits that the Don Shula’s, the Bill Belichick’s, the Bill Parcell’s had, they all knew what they wanted. They all had an exact vision of how they saw it going. And I think that’s the thing you’d say about Greg.

Joe: These Bucs players now, do they have any clue as to your background and your style of play?

Cox: The one thing I’ve learned as a young coach is that they don’t care who I was. Some of them know and some of them don’t have a clue about me, but the ones that know, they want to lean on my experience as a player a little bit and they usually give you the benefit of the doubt until you prove you don’t know what you’re talking about. And so that’s been the biggest thing in this process. The players that have an idea, or that have researched, that have Googled or YouTubed, they will come in and say, ‘Ok, I remember this. I’ll lean on you for this.’ And they may ask you more questions. They’re a little more comfortable. They trust you a little more until you prove you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Joe: Looking at film of the Bucs’ defense last year, would you say there’s one major area of improvement that needs to be stepped up?

Cox: I think it’s unfair for me to speak about last year having not been here.

Joe: But I’m just asking about what you saw.

Cox: I think it’s unfair because you don’t know what they’re being taught or what’s being said because you’re just watching film and you’re just looking at it. The thing that, you know, the thing that you would say in any situation when you come into it is, ‘Something obviously didn’t go well last year for this new staff to here in place. So let’s start from scratch, I’m not holding you to what occurred last year. I’ll make my own opinion to who you are as a player as we move forward.’ So that’s the biggest thing. I don’t try to put last year’s expectations or lack of expectations, or lack of whatever it was, on a player, just kind of move forward and say here’s what we’re going to do.

Joe: How is Bryan Cox the coach different from Bryan Cox the player?

Cox: The coach is different because I’m wiser and more experienced. I’m not as vocal. It’s not a physical thing; it’s a mental thing now. And that would be the difference between who I am in my old age and who I was in my young age.

Much has been written about how Vincent Jackson has become a true leader around his fellow Buccaneers receivers with a Jerry Rice–like work ethic and attention to detail.

That’s been nice to hear and all. But Joe really was impressed by 33-year-old veteran Dallas Clark, a Super Bowl winner and a leadership type himself, volunteering today that Jackson is leading him on the Buccaneers. That’s really saying something.

Clark told Joe about his leadership style today.

 “I’m not a rah-rah. I just put my nose down and just work. That’s how I lead. And so I hope guys can respond to that, just the way I’m watching Vincent Jackson work, he’s leading me, you know,” Clark said. “And Josh Freeman, he’s leading. Collectively, we’re going in the right direction.”

It’s becoming exceptionally clear to Joe that the Bucs should have a win-now offense with the talent they can trot out on the field. If Clark can stay healthy, the Bucs really shouldn’t have any weak link to their offense.

Clark drew some rare over-the-top praise from Schiano (for a receiver) today after a sharp sideline route and catch during an 11-on-11 drill. “Nice cut Dallas. Nice cut Dallas.”

There was a second Buccaneer missing from minicamp today contrary to earlier reports from Greg Schiano. It was defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, who had a “knee scope” in the past week.

It was a simple oversight by Schiano, and the head coach corrected his comments about a couple hours after practice today.

Okoye will return to practice tomorrow but will not participate.

Joe is a bit troubled. The Bucs’ depth at defensive tackle feels thin with Brian Price on an excused absence in California, and now Okoye being injured.

Under blistering bright sunshine out at One Buc Palace today for the start of the Bucs’ three-day minicamp, Joe scanned the fields for two hours seeking the telling and interesting from the energetic New Schiano Order practice.

Here are some observations:

*Josh Freeman didn’t have his best day. He was picked off by Lavonte David, and at one point he missed three or four throws in a row during a red-zone simulation, 11-on-11 drill. There were other bad throws and Freeman just didn’t look his sharpest. At one point in a drill that forced quarterbacks to scramble and make a decision at roughly the 1 yard line, Freeman was told by what appeared to be QB coach Ron Turner to take another rep so he doesn’t finish on a bad note.

*On the flip side of Freeman’s interception was Lavonte David moving very well and really looking very comfortable and quick.

*Arrelious Benn got an earful from high-energy receivers coach P.J. Fleck after he dropped a pass in the end zone. “Open your hands.” Benn did some good things otherwise and was getting work returning kickoffs.

*Nobody seemed to have trouble getting open against E.J. Biggers.

*There’s no hitting or pads in these practices, but that doesn’t mean guys don’t move fast and get tangled up at times. Jeremy Trueblood found himself tripped up from behind and accidentally stepped on. Trueblood was not hurt significantly.

*Greg Schiano was furious after down-on-the-depth-chart rookie linebacker Antonio Leak busted through on what likely would have been a blocked punt. “That’s the second time that happened!” Schiano yelled.

*Mike Williams was returning some punts and he was being drilled by the special teams coaches to catch with “high elbows.”

*Freeman looks even thinner than he did last week.

*Freeman and Dan Orlovsky were pulled aside for what looked like a checkdown drill and were throwing to Dallas Clark and LeGarrette Blount, with Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams participating as targets about eight yards past Clark and Blount, respectively. No other players participated. Those trying to read into starting lineups can feel free to concoct theories off that.

*Yeah, it’s underwear practice, but Michael Smith is electric to watch on kickoff returns. Dude really has elite quickness.

*In a funny exchange while defensive backs were working on picking up fumbles (“knuckles on the ground!”) and finishing the play, Derrick Roberson picked up a wobbly, odd-bouncing ball and finished the play in the wrong direction. Greg Schiano just happened to be watching and yelled to Roberson, “We’re going to call you Jim Marshall if you do that.” Schiano then asked Roberson, “Do you know who Jim Marshall is?” Joe didn’t hear Roberson’s response. For those who don’t know how Marshall is, he had a famous wrong-way touchdown run in the 1960s, which stained his All-Pro career.

*The Schiano tempo didn’t let up in the summer temperatures. Screaming to have guys running to their next drill after 1 hour and 55 minutes of practice, Schiano barked, “This is how you’re going to feel at the end of the game. Push it right now.”

Stick with Joe throughout the day and all week for the latest on minicamp.

All hands were on deck for Day 1 of Bucs minicamp minus Brian Price, so said Greg Schiano after practice.

Schiano made it clear that Price is excused for all three days of camp.

Earlier this month it was reported that Price was approved to be training in California, where his family is mourning the recent loss of his sister in a car accident.

The leader of the New Schiano Order plays things close to the vest, but today after the first practice of mandatory minicamp, Greg Schiano went out of his way to praise Preston Parker and backup QB Dan Orlovsky.

Josh Freeman had good things today about Parker’s development, and Schiano piled on a few minutes later.

“I think he’s improving quite a bit, both as a returner and as a wide receiver,” Schiano said. “Not that he wasn’t productive before, because he was. But I see him doing things that are really going to be helpful. That’s why I said the competition at wideout is excellent. The cream will rise to the top, but it’s a good group, as we get more reps and reps, Josh is going to be more comfortable with it. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say Dan Orlovsky is doing a really good job. In his role, when he gets his chances, he’s really performing well.” 

Minus his fumbling issues as a returner, on top of being a rather average return guy, Parker was a solid threat last season with 40 catches, plenty on third down. His emergence can only help drive the rest of the receiving corps.

Interestingly during a practice exchange today, Sammie Stroughter aggressively caught and returned a punt and drew praise from Schiano, “Way to work Sammie. Way to work.” On the next repetition, Parker caught his ball and quickly drew the ire of Schiano and P.J. Fleck. “Chin. Chin. Chin,” they screamed. Chin’s is the camp code word for ball security, holding the ball tight and under the chin.

Bucs running backs coach and former NFL great Earnest Byner said his new students might not know much if anything about his background

Count Joe among those that assumed that an accomplished guy like Bucs running backs coach Earnest Byner would make it known to his crew of backs that he played 14 years in the NFL and left the game with two Pro Bowl visits, three 1,000-yard seasons and a Super Bowl ring.

But that’s not how it’s gone down at One Buc Palace.

It’s not that Joe thought Byner would bring his background up regularly, only that it would have at least been a big part of the meet-your-coaches festivities back in April.

JoeBucsFan.com: This is a very young group of running backs. Do you find that these guys know who you are and your background? And did you make any effort to introduce them to your story?

Earnest Byner: No. Not a whole lot. It comes up every now and again. But you know we all teach from our experiences. I’ve been blessed to have a lot of experience in the league and some not so fortunate. I don’t know whether they know me or not. (laughs) I don’t know if they know whether I played in the league or not. But they’re eager to grasp some of the concepts that we’ve been talking about. And some of the drills we’re doing out on the field, they’re using them. And I think they’re really excited about their overall opportunity.

Joe just found this all very interesting and surprising. And it’s no knock on Byner whatsoever. Surely Byner knows best when to play the I’ve-been-there card.

Joe hates to tease, but Joe asked the same question of former NFL great and Bucs new defensive front seven coach Bryan Cox, who delivered an extraordinary take on how current players view ex-players as coaches. Joe expects to type up his exclusive interview with Cox for Wednesday morning.