Popcorn-munching,coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging Peter King, of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports, is convinced the Bucs’ trade of Kellen Winslow was a chest-banging power play by the leader of the New Schiano Order.

In fact, the scone-loathing King opened his Tuesday story on the subject by telling readers “Greg Schiano is a control freak.”

And that’s the major explanation, at least in my mind, for why you trade a productive tight end like Kellen Winslow for something so paltry as a seventh-round draft choice, which the Bucs did Monday in dealing him to Seattle: The new coach doubted he was going to be able to control Winslow.

The Bucs are rewriting the rules of their program under Schiano. A friend of mine at Rutgers once told me Schiano was an acquired taste; he was insistent, for instance, that team meetings at road hotels be held with the room at a precise temperature. I forget what the temperature was. But that was the depth of his detail work. There’s nothing particularly wrong with that. It’s just that it’s not for everyone.

For Joe, this is just a bunch of silly drama by King. (Click through above if you want to read King’s complete take.) Outside of vibe-feelin’ and pool-party-loving Raheem Morris, nearly every NFL coach is a control freak. King’s going to have to come up with more than an anonymous source recollecting thermostat settings to convince Joe that Schiano is out of the norm.

If Schiano is so control-obsessed, then what is Butch Davis doing here, and why isn’t Schiano calling his own defense like he did at Rutgers?

Joe has no problem with Schiano’s controlling ways to this point. After seven years of Chucky, Bucs fans shouldn’t even raise an eyebrow watching a coach that likes to micromanage.

Look, Joe’s a competitive guy. Joe hates losing.

And Joe has just learned he’s been tossed into a new challenge and Joe is asking for your help.

Underway online is a vote for the best blog in the Tampa Bay area. Popular pop music station 93.3 WFLZ-FM is calling for votes for something called the iHeart Tampa Bay Awards in various categories. (Right now, Joe is in second place behind something owned by the Tampa Bay Times).

Click RIGHT HERE to vote for Joe. That’s right. Take 10 seconds and get the job done. Help Joe be his best self. Surely, Joe will be swarmed by Bucs cheerleaders looking for massages if he wins this contest.

Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com gives his take on the Bucs trading Kellen Winslow in this NBCSports.com video.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Longtime NFL Films guru Greg Cosell, nephew of the iconic Howard Cosell, has pored over Josh Freeman game film and has penned an interesting and rather sobering look at Freeman on his NFL Films blog.

Here’s a snippet below, but Joe definitely recommends you read the whole thing. In short, Cosell is very eager to see what Freeman does under a new coaching staff that can attack his many flaws.

Freeman’s size and mobility, however, camouflaged some concerns that were evident on tape in 2010. And as we know, the eye in the sky never lies. I already mentioned his technique issues, but they were exacerbated by a nagging tendency to drift in the pocket, rather than drop straight back on what we call the midline. His accuracy was at times scattershot; he missed on too many throws that you need to make. Most people don’t make the connection between proper technique repeated over and over, but it may be the most decisive factor in producing precise ball location.

I remember the Redskins game in early December of 2010. There’s no question a Jim Haslett defense gives a quarterback a lot of looks, both before and after the snap, but Freeman really struggled reading coverage. I sensed he predetermined a lot of his throws in the pre-snap phase, failing to properly assess the coverage after taking the snap. One thing that did stand out in 2010 was Freeman’s willingness to make tough throws; he was not tentative pulling the trigger. He made a lot of tight window throws. That’s a positive.

The overall point is that Freeman’s 2010 season, while the numbers looked good on paper, was not quite as strong as the perception. There were some concerns that needed to be addressed if he was going to reach the “elite” status many had already bestowed upon him. Those issues remained in 2011, and consequently Freeman’s third season spiraled downhill fairly quickly. I remember finishing the San Francisco tape on the season’s fifth Sunday — a game Tampa Bay lost 48-3 — and being very surprised at what a poor job Freeman did recognizing and reading coverage. He missed basic reads. He left the pocket too early, with no pressure forcing him to do so, because he was not getting a clear picture of the defense. Two weeks later against the Bears, he continued to struggle with his reads, his decision making and his accuracy. Make no mistake, the erratic accuracy is a serious matter.

This season really is a clean slate for Freeman. He’s got new coaches. He can draw from his experience, their experience, and those of veteran pass catchers Dallas Clark and Vincent Jackson. He’ll also have what should be a thunderous running game and a top-flight offensive line.

Essentially, the Bucs have now taken away every possible excuse from Freeman and given him weapons most QBs dream about.

Freeman has to show some serious improvement this season, otherwise the scary reality is that the Bucs will be thinking about drafting a quarterback come 2013.

New Bucs tight end Dallas Clark discusses what brought him to Tampa Bay and what he sees for himself this season in this Tampa Bay Times video.

This week’s practice was not as crazy or intense as past weeks’, but that is not to say it was recess. Little yelling or hollering until a horn blew to change stations and drills, then there was controlled chaos.

• Fan favorite E.J. Biggers made a beautiful play on Mike Williams. Williams got just behind Biggers and Josh Freeman threw high to Williams but Biggers quickly recovered, got right in front of Williams and skied high to break up the pass, knocking the ball out of Williams’ hands.
• In a scrimmage drill, defensive linemen quickly shifted but not quick enough for exacting coach Greg Schiano, who could be heard yelling, “Get lined up, get lined up.”
• Schiano didn’t holler just to holler and rag on players. After one play, Schiano could be heard barking, “Nice work, good work!”
• Bucs rookie running back Michael Smith, wearing Earnest Graham’s old No. 34, sure got a lot of snaps with the first team offense, and showed his speed once by racing around the left end.
• Schiano was right in the mix during a special teams drill shouting, “Redirect, redirect!”
• Arrelious Benn made several good catches throughout the practice, including a nice slant-in for a big gain.
• In one drill, the Bucs had running backs in a hand-to-hand combat drill to mimic shaking off linebackers as they came out of the backfield on pass plays.
• Linebacker Rennie Curran was getting work with the first team defense as was Anthony Gaitor at cornerback. Mason Foster was still at middle linebacker.
• How detailed is Schiano? In two-minute drill, on a bullhorn, Schiano instructed the offense, “Situation: minute, 34 (1:34) on the 34-yard line. First touchdown wins!” Schiano would periodically throw out a yard line to start from and a random time under two minutes. Also, Schiano got the entire team to gather around him in the middle of practice to explain how, if there are only 10 men on the field in the first half, he’d rather take a delay of game and save a timeout for a more critical point in the half.
• Devin Holland made a sweet play defending Tiquan Underwood on a deep pass down the left sideline.

A new tenet of the New Schiano World Order was unveiled today after Bucs practice.

Peppered with questions about freshly departed Kellen Winslow, Greg Schiano was clear that questions about ex-players — even it’s less-than-a-day-old news — will not be on his agenda this season.

“You know, we’re going to do something here,” Schiano said. “Whenever a decision’s made, I’m not going to look back on them. I’m just going to focus on the guys that are here.”

Schiano was then asked several different ways about Winslow and Schiano consistently said in some form or another that “I’d rather talk about the guys that are here.”

Joe has no problem with Schiano’s attitude, but it would be nicer if he simply said said he evaluated Winslow and thought the Bucs would be their best selves without him. Something for fans and media to bite into is always better than a version of Warren Sapp’s notorious “next question” model.

Of course, none of this is suprising about Schiano. He’s no rambling Raheem Morris, and Schiano is far too busy to be talking about Winslow when he’s trying to maximize the 1440 minutes in a day, as he likes to reference.

On whether the Dallas Clark signing sent a message to Luke Stocker, Schiano said, “There’s no message.”

Joe will have more from practice throughout the day.

In what feels like a somewhat bizarre contract extension, Preston Parker has nailed down a non-guaranteed $1 million deal for the 2013 season, per NFL.com.

Parker gets $50,000 to sign on the dotted line now but next year is not guaranteed. After this season, Parker’s third in the league, he would have been in line to become an old fashioned restricted free agent. And he likely could have scored more than $1 million if he had a good season in 2012.

Parker was due to earn $540,000 in non-guaranteed base salary as an exclusive rights free agent this season. As part of the extension, Parker received a $50,000 signing bonus (the only portion of the contract that is guaranteed) and is scheduled to earn $1 million in base salary in 2013.

 From a business standpoint, Joe’s not quite sure why Parker made the deal unless he was really itching for the $50,000 up front. On second thought, Joe takes that back. Joe would do almost anything for a $50,000 check.

As Joe sweats like zoo animal at the Bucs OTA practice today, Joe thought he’d share this stray nugget from manbeast Bucs guard Carl Nicks, who Twittered out his reaction to being named to the Top-100 Players of 2012 by his fellow players recently.

Nicks checked in after his All-Pro 2011 season at No. 76 in the NFL, but that was down from his ranking last year. It seems Nicks took this as a wake up call rather than an opportunity to complain or pat himself on the back.

@bigbrickhouse77 – Man.. It’s an honor to be on top 100 but I dropped like 25 slots!… I guess I got to step my game up!

Joe loves the attitude. And one of the few happy offseason thoughts for Joe is imagining LeGarrette Blount and Doug Martin pounding the rock behind Nicks and Davin Joseph and Jeremy Zuttah, a definite upgrade from Jeff Faine.

If Greg Schiano resurrecting the ’72 Dolphins offense works, Joe won’t have to worry much about the shaky Bucs defense. It will rarely be seen on the field.

Joe’s quick to praise and quote two of his favorite analysts, former NFL scout, assistant coach and personnel executive Pat Kirwan, and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of Movin’ The Chains on SiriusXM NFL Radio. But this time Joe must call them out.

Kirwan and Ryan opened their show Monday barking that rockstar general manager Mark Dominik wouldn’t be able to find a taker for Kellen Winslow. “Nobody’s trading for that contract,” Ryan said.

Kirwan agreed and both were certain Winslow would be cut and negotiate a less lucrative contract with multiple teams that would want his services.

Well, obviously, Ryan and Kirwan were proven wrong only hours later when Winslow was traded by Dominik to Seattle for a 2013 pick. BSPN reported it’s a conditional pick, a seventh- or sixth-rounder depending on Winslow’s performance for the Seahawks.

Joe’s not surprised by the demand for Winslow. Knee injuries aside, guys that catch balls, get a defense’s attention and play every Sunday are always in demand unless they are total cancers.

Ryan and Kirwan, who for years have visited the Bucs and most other NFL teams training camps, called Winslow one of the fiercest competitors in practice in the entire NFL. But that wasn’t enough for the New Schiano Order. Winslow is not “Buccaneer Men” material.

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Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik wants to emulate the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, annual solid teams if not Super Bowl winners whose rosters are all but totally comprised of players the team drafted or players picked up walking the streets.

It’s a laudable goal to obtain. That’s largely how the Bucs of the 1990s were built.

To do this, one needs to hit on quite a few draft picks.

So far, three years after the 2009 draft, with one exception, that draft is pretty much a washout.

After the trade of Kellen Winslow last night, who Dominik acquired with a second and fifth round pick, Joe decided to go back and see how Dominik’s first draft as Bucs general manager has played out.

It’s not pretty. Aside from first round pick Josh Freeman, there was not a consistent starter selected that year.

1. Josh Freeman, QB.
2. (Traded for Winslow)
3. Roy Miller, DT, who has never been much of a factor and is a bubble player this offseason.
4. Sackless Kyle Moore, DE, cut by the Bucs last year, still searching for his first NFL sack.
5. Xavier Fulton, OL, no longer with the Bucs.
7. Fan favorite E.J. Biggers, CB. After a decent 2010, he was terrible last year. Perhaps with a good coach this year he may improve?
7. Sammie Stroughter, WR. Good guy, decent wide receiver but injury-plagued through his first three seasons and with the addition of free agent Vincent Jackson, may be on the bubble as well.

At least by trading a second round pick for Winslow, Dominik got much, much more out of a second-round pick than Chucky ever did (think the bad Dexter Jackson and Sabby the Goat).

Pretty big news day yesterday for Bucs fans, and for Joe. Kellen Winslow announced in the morning his days with the Bucs were done and, just as hottie anchor Heather Van Nest was saying goodnight to viewers as the 11 p.m. WTSP-TV newscast signed off, Winslow was traded to Seattle.

Lots of commenters on this site cited all sorts of reasons for Winslow’s sudden departure, from his seemingly indifferent attitude about offseason team workouts to his run-ins with fans during games, to his past as a “soldier” and his salary were cited.

But here’s another element that may have played a major factor. First, some background.

Earlier this offseason, former Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer, now a fill-in host on SiriusXM NFL Radio, spoke about the development of quarterback Eli Manning. One of Manning and Toomer’s offensive teammates was tight end Jeremy Shockey. The former Canes star and college teammate of Winslow took advantage of Manning during the Giants quarterback’s first few years in the league, so Toomer detailed, bullying him after virtually every play in the huddle.

Toomer spoke how Shockey constantly demanded Manning get him the ball. Shockey, naturally, was open on each play, so he told Manning, game after game, week after week.

In short, Shockey was in Manning’s head, and it greatly affected his play. It wasn’t until late in the 2007 season, Toomer said, that Manning began to turn the corner, becoming one of the NFL’s better signal-callers. No small reason, said Toomer, was Shockey was on the sidelines with a broken leg.

The Giants parted ways with Shockey after Manning led the Giants to an improbably postseason run, capped by an upset win over the then-undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl.

With Shockey no longer intimidating Manning, Toomer said, Manning become one of the game’s elite quarterbacks. Toomer had stated that had Shockey stayed with the Giants, Toomer was certain Manning would have eventually melted down mentally.

Who was the Giants wide receiver coach during this period? Mike Sullivan, the Bucs current offensive coordinator.

Fast forward to 2011, specifically a mind-numbing awful Bucs season. How many times, in how many games, did we see Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman force passes to Winslow? Did a game go by that Freeman didn’t try to force a pass to Winslow when he was blanketed by an opposing defender, if not two, sometimes even three?

Then there was the ugly spat on the sidelines, caught by FOX TV cameras during the home game against the Saints, of Freeman and Winslow jawing at one another.

While no one at One Buc Palace has spoken about this in public, Joe’s of the belief that, like Shockey did with Manning, Winslow was in Freeman’s head last season, thus, was stunting Freeman’s development.

Hence, the departure of Winslow. Don’t dismiss the very real possibility that Sullivan didn’t want to deal with a repeat of what he had to tolerate in New York, with a star tight end bullying a promising young quarterback.

As the Bucs are wont to say, “It’s all about No. 5.”

Well, that didn’t take long.

Less than a day after Bucs tight end Kellen Winslow announced to America (and beyond) on SiriusXM NFL Radio that his days with the Bucs are done, Winslow has been shipped back to the west coast where he is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

The Bucs announced the move by way of Twitter tonight. The Bucs will receive a draft pick in return from Seattle but the pick was not specified.

Also, the Bucs confirmed that Dallas Clark is indeed a member of Bucs family.

UPDATE:  12:44 a.m. – ESPN is reporting the Bucs received a conditional pick, a seventh-rounder that can become a sixth-rounder based on Winslow’s performance in Seattle.

Earlier today, NFL.com’s Jeff Darlington stated that his sources within the walls of One Buc Palace claimed the Bucs would sign tight end Dallas Clark within 24 hours.

Apparently, the clock has struck.

NFL insider and SiriusXM NFL Radio weekend host Howard Balzer has Twittered that indeed the deal is done and the Bucs have inked Clark.

@HBalzer721 Buccaneers have signed former Colts TE Dallas Clark.

Now Kellen Winslow, as of 6 p.m. eastern daylight time, is still on the Bucs roster. However, this may soon change.

Interesting last night Joe received a Twitter message from a reader who claimed he was on a flight from Indianapolis to Tampa that arrived at Tampa International at 7 p.m. Sunday night. Said reader claimed he spoke with Clark on that flight and that Clark was to meet with the Bucs.

Joe couldn’t confirm the story last night, but with Winslow breaking news of his Bucs days ending this morning, it all added up.

Earlier today after Kellen Winslow broke the news of his demise with the Bucs on SiriusXM NFL Radio, station co-hosts of “The Blitz,” Adam Schein and Rich Gannon, discussed the move by Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

Gannon, as part of his duties as a game analyst for CBS Sports, got to watch Bucs  practices up close and personal and previously has made no secret he was appalled by how loose, slacking and undisciplined Bucs practices were, so he repeated today.

“Guys were sitting on their helmets!” Gannon gasped. It was practices, or lack of them, that Gannon believed led in part to Schiano washing his hands of Winslow.

Because of Winslow’s gimpy knees, then-coach Raheem Morris often gave Winslow practices off. Part of the rationale for this was that due to the wear and tear of an NFL season, Winslow wouldn’t have been able to finish a season on his knees without regular rest.

This, Gannon believes, did more harm than good and actually set a bad example. Gannon wondered aloud how a player could be expected to be sharp and focused for a game when said player regularly sat out practices.

This premise was reinforced in the ugliest of ugly Bucs games last year when, to wrap up the season in Week 17, there was a pass play where Winslow blew up teammate Kregg Lumpkin coming out of the backfield because Winslow missed an assignment and ran a wrong pass route.

Joe wondered at the time how in the world a starting player could run a wrong pass route in the last game of the season? To believe Gannon, lax practices or players not practicing at all was the root of the Bucs evil.

It was also a priorty for Schiano to clean up such a mess. When Winslow was spotted spinning discs in Vegas but somehow couldn’t find the time a few days later to attend an OTA session (yet Brian Price, with a death in the family, found a way to be here), that was likely the last straw for Schiano.

In this New Schiano Order, it is clear: If you are not with the team, then you won’t be on the team.

Joe hopes Dezmon Briscoe understands this. Quickly.

What do Mohammed Massaquoi, Andy Levitre, David Veikune, LeSean McCoy, Phil Loadholt, William Moore, Fili Moala, Paul Kruger, Sebastian Vollmer, Sherrod Martin, William Beatty, Sean Smith, Sen’Derrick Marks, Cody Brown and Richard Quinn have in common?

All were drafted in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and they all could have been taken with the Bucs’ 50th overall pick that was traded to the Browns for Kellen Winslow, who is no longer wanted at One Buc Palace.

So did rockstar general manager Mark Dominik screwup the trade that brought in Winslow?

Hindsight is so easy. A Bucs fan could look at LeSean McCoy’s name on this list and bang his head against the wall repeatedly.

However, the Bucs needed Winslow when they got him and he produced for three years straight and didn’t miss a game. Joe and any sane Bucs fan can make a good case that a reliable target like the Winslow of 2009 and 2010 absolutely was critical to Josh Freeman’s development. That same development Bucs fans are banking on in 2012.

Winslow was the go-to guy for Freeman in those two seasons, when Freeman had a winning record as a starter and emerged as the face of the franchise. Freeman isn’t the player he is today without Winslow’s influence.

But no one will find Joe standing on a rooftop praising Dominik for the Winslow deal. Back in pre-Winslow 2009, Joe pounded the drum repeatedly for the Bucs to trade for Tony Gonzalez for a second around pick, who the Falcons eventually snagged via trade with the Chiefs with that same second-round pick. Gonzalez has been flat out more productive than Winslow and is still going strong for Atlanta.

How will history evaluate the Winslow acquisition — and today’s news of his local demise? That’s to be determined.

But at this point Joe can’t call Winslow’s Tampa Bay history unsuccessful.

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