How important of a player is Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy? Well, Joe will get into that a bit deeper later today.

But the Bucs record with GMC in the lineup speaks volumes. When GMC lines up on Sundays, the Bucs are 11-8. When he is not in uniform, the Bucs are a ghastly 3-10.

Bucs coach Greg Schiano has studied tape of GMC and has come out impressed with how GMC disrupts plays and penetrates, so Schiano told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

“I’m excited to coach Gerald,” he said. “He plays defensive tackle the way I like. He comes off the ball with a flat back, he’s a penetrating guy who can change direction. We’ve got to get him back healthy and keep him healthy. I think he can be a dominant force if we can just get some miles underneath him, some plays.”

There was a difference when GMC was playing last year, the record and the play of the defense reinforces this.

Still, not even the biggest cheerleader would deny that GMC has to stay on the field this season for the Bucs to rise out of the quagmire that was the grotesque 10-game losing steak to finish last season.

Mort, Helmet Hair and the most frustrating quarterback in Bucs history gather around a table and kick around what QBs might become 2012 superstars in this BSPN video. Josh Freeman is mentioned.

You’re either a fantasy football junkie (Joe’s idea of fantasy football is a postgame hot tub with Rachel Watson) or a serious NFL fan if you can name the Chiefs leading rusher in 2011.

That would be Jackie Battle.

Undrafted in 2007, Battle landed with the Chiefs in 2007 and finally saw significant action last year. He finished with 149 rushes for 597 yards.

Joe brings up Battle’s name because for Bucs defensive end Steve White has identified Battle as a free agent he likes to give the Bucs some desperately needed depth at running back. White spit out the name on WQYK-AM 1010 this morning.

Joe’s not about to pretend he knows much about Battle. However, Kregg Lumpkin began last season as a 27-year-old with three career carries. Battle, 28, at least has some real experience under his belt for a power rushing team like the Chiefs.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik likes big backs, so he’s said before. Battle’s listed at 6-2, 238 pounds and has had success in short yardage.

Definitely a name to keep an eye on.

High-energy former Bucs secondary coach and ex-Jets and Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards got all fired up talking about Morris Claiborne and his crappy Wonderlic score during an interview on WDAE-AM 620 last week.

Edwards essentially said the Wonderlic score is a non-issue for a cornerback, loads of NFL players have been great with single-digit scores, and everyone needs to remember the job description is football player.

“Understand who you are drafting. Understand how he has to be coached,” Edwards said. “And remember this, you’re not drafting to be the substitute teacher. You’re drafting this guy to be a football player. And Morris Claiborne is a heck of a football player. You can’t teach what Morris Claiborne has, as far as a coach. He has talent. He can cover people. He has instincts. Coaches can’t teach that. Coaches teach technique. Now if you want a substitute teacher, I’m sure you can go find and draft a substitute teacher if you’d like. You gotta figure out what kind of football player you want to draft.”

In general, Edwards raved about Claiborne and said he was on broadcasts of SEC games two years ago and has had an opportunity to study him.

Back in the Bucs’ heyday, Edwards said, the draft philosophy was never to draft a cornerback in the first round with the old Tampa-2 defense, but times have changed and nobody knows what Greg Schiano’s defense will really look like.

The legitimate football talent evaluators in the media are now lining up behind former Boise State running back Doug Martin as the clear second-best RB in the draft.

NFL Network’s Mike Mayock has been singing his praises, and former Redskins (when they were great) and Texans general manager Charlie Casserly was on WQYK-AM 1010 with Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski yesterday labeling Martin as his No. 2 back. But Casserly told The Commish he’s certain Martin will reach the second round.

Yes, the Bucs have the fourth pick of the second round.

Presumably, the teams picking before the Bucs in the second round — St. Louis, Indy and Minnesota — won’t touch a running back with those picks. The Rams and Colts are desperate for receivers, and the Vikings have Adrian Peterson and, potentially, could have Trent Richardson by then.

So there’s at least strong chance the Bucs could have a shot at Martin. At 5-9, 223 pounds, Martin is considered to be a complete player with excellent speed but not lightning quick.

Joe’s not sure how well he would complement LeGarrette Blount, but the Bucs need a lot more than a complement. They need a true 1A, versatile back that can carry the load if Blount goes down. They also need to snag a solid role-player back in free agency.

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Sure, the Bucs’ linebacker play was atrocious last year, headlined by a rookie in the middle who didn’t have an offseason, one of the biggest free agent busts of the 2011 season, and a linebacker (Geno Hayes) who got benched for a while and is currently unemployed at 24 years old.

That’s why Bucs fans are quivering knowing the Bucs haven’t addressed the position in free agency and might not add a new LB until Day 2 of the NFL Draft.

So what does Ronde Barber think of all that?

“I think that shows they believe in our talent,” Barber said during an exclusive interview with J.P. Peterson of WQYK-AM 1010 yesterday. “They believe they can coach these guys up.”

Perhaps giving a glimpse into what will happen in 2012, Barber said, “I think Mason will be better in the middle.”

None of this suprises Joe. As a former linebacker, Greg Schiano might very much believe he, Bryan Cox, and the rest of his staff can realize the talents of Foster, Quincy Black, Adam Hayward and Dakoda Watson. As for Watson, Joe has heard credible rumblings that the organization is very eager to develop him.

Joe’s always amazed by people that work for the same company for a majority of their lives. Joe just can’t imagine.

The Bucs have one such employee, Jill Hobbs, who took a temporary gig with the Bucs processing season ticket orders on a manual cash register in 1976, per a story honoring her on Buccaneers.com.

The following spring, on April 15, 1977, Hobbs accepted a full-time position on the Buccaneers’ staff…and that means that, remarkably, this Sunday marks her 35th year with the team. 

In a surprise company ceremony this week, Team Glazer dropped a $35,000 check on Hobbs to commemorate her service. Click on through the story above. Joe thinks it’s pretty cool. Hobbs was the right hand for Rich McKay at one point in her career. The woman is a walking Bucs historian.

Perhaps Ronde Barber tipped the Bucs’ draft hand a bit this afternoon. Or perhaps not.

Surely it wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn the Bucs think highly of cornerback Morris Claiborne for their fifth-overall pick later this month. But it’s another thing to hear Barber talk about Claiborne’s recent visit to One Buc Palace and say “everybody’s high on him” and the Bucs probably will draft him.

Barber sat down for an exclusive interview with J.P. Peterson of WQYK-AM 1010 today.

Ronde Barber: When I was deciding to come back, I had plenty of meetings with Mark [Dominik], and phone conversations with Mark, they told me they were bringing a guy in [cornerback Eric Wright]. I was like, ‘That’s good. We need it.’

J.P. Peterson: You might bring in another [cornerback], Mo Claiborne.

Barber: We probably will.

Peterson: What do you think of him?

Barber: I don’t know. I haven’t watched any film of him. I don’t know how he plays or anything. He was actually in our [secondary] room. They did those little unofficial [predraft] visits or whatever. He’s a good kid. He looks good. He looks the part. Everybody’s high on him.

Not in the Trent Richardson camp, Joe will sleep that much more soundly tonight.

Apparently disinterested in serial loafer Sean Jones to bolster their secondary, the Redskins have latched on to troubled former Bucs cornerback Tanard Jackson to help them win a Super Bowl.

Jackson has signed with Washington, where he will attempt to be his best self again with Skins secondary coach Raheem Morris. The move was announced today.

The Bucs’ preseason and regular season games against the Skins just got more interesting.

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It’s officially the silly season, when NFL Draft lovers and rabid fans of teams meld into one twitching mess and start spewing all kinds of crazy talk.

It’s healthy. It’s good. It’s fun. Much of it is pie-in-the-sky nonsense, but it’s glorious.

Nobody around these parts covers the draft like CommishOnline.com. It’s where draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski has moved the written portion of his award-winning draft analysis. The rest comes on the radio from noon to 3 p.m. daily on WQYK-AM 1010.

The Commish has his eye on the cluster of a situation in Chicago with all-around stud running back Matt Forte. He’s that second round star running back the Bears snagged in 2008. Speculating with the rest of us, The Commish says the Bucs potentially could swap No. 1 picks with Chicago for Forte and pick up an extra third-round pick. It’s a fun read. Click on through above.

The Buccaneers could then focus on a number of possibilities with the 19th pick while already acquiring Matt Forte and an extra 3rd round selection.  Luke Kuechly, Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick, or a defensive lineman could all make sense for the Buccaneers with the 19th selection, while also not having to worry about drafting a running back with their 2nd or 3rd round selections.

It is the time of speculation, and as long as we see issues with Matt Forte in Chicago, I think it would be safe to assume that the Bears would be interested in moving him for the right price.  I don’t think there are many scenarios that would make a trade down by the Buccaneers seem like a good move, but something like this would make a ton of sense.

This is a good one to kick around the water cooler, especially remembering how rockstar general manager absolutely fleeced the Bears in 2009, trading them the late Gaines Adams for a second-round pick. (Yeah, Joe knows Jerry Angelo has left the building.)

Would Joe make this hypothetical deal? Tough call.

Essentially giving up on LeGarrette Blount plus passing on Morris Claiborne would make Joe queasy. There’s not another Claiborne-like cornerback in this draft.

Former Bucs stud Warren Sapp was great for making headlines as a player. In recent weeks, he’s been good at making headlines as an ex-player.

For a guy that made by his estimates roughly $60 million gross in his career, it’s nearly gone as he filed for bankruptcy recently.

Sapp phoned veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times to explain how he got in this mess, a combination of business deals gone bad and a lavish lifestyle replete with naked women paintings and wild animal-skin rugs.

“I’m not an interior decorator,” Sapp said. “Some designer put [the naked woman painting] on the wall, and I liked it. It’s in my bedroom. By the time a woman gets there, she might be naked, too.”

He laughs, then the conversation turns to the lion-skin rug at the foot of his bed.

“It isn’t as if I shot him,” Sapp said, laughing. “I didn’t go and get him. I just like the rug. I have a zebra skin rug, too, but I shot that one.”

Well, maybe the reason Joe is not married, aside from his beer-swilling, NFL Network-watching, 24/7 football-obsessed lifestyle, is that Joe never had the urge, inclination, desire or need to hire an interior decorator. His poster of Rachel Watson suffices for fine art.

(Column aside: What has happened to the Bucs cheerleaders?)

Maybe not hiring an interior decorator is a way of Joe living within his modest means? Once upon a time Sapp could afford such luxury. But when your lone income is a precarious NFL Network gig and even a chunk of that is garnished, such a lifestyle isn’t within one’s means.

Earlier this week, the Bucs made some roster news by cutting Tanard Jackson.

To be frank, the Bucs probably stuck by Jackson much longer than they should have, and finally washed their hands of a talented but thoroughly unreliable safety.

After blowing off the first week the team could meet with its new coaching staff to get a head start on learning the nuances of a new defensive coordinator, the oft-suspended Jackson paid for it, and is now walking the streets as a man without a team.

Initially, former Bucs defensive lineman Steve White didn’t lose sleep over the transaction by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, which White wrote about on “School of the Legends.”

Evidently T Jax decided to ditch the first week of meetings in order to rehab in New Orleans. Quite honestly that was a stunningly dumb move on his part in my opinion. He is one of those guys who probably should’ve been in Coach Schiano’s office the day after he was hired, trying to make a good impression. With his baggage and after the terrible year he had somebody close to him (agent, family member, real friend) should’ve made it clear to him that he was already on thin ice and needed to prove himself all the way over with a new regime if he didn’t pick up on that himself. That he didn’t “get it” gave the Bucs the perfect opportunity to both “make a statement” as well as start fresh with getting new blood in. From that standpoint I really don’t have a problem with the move.

But… here is where White had a problem with the move, and it is legitimate: The Bucs have virtually no one left at safety.

Sure, there is free agent Cody Lynch and a few guys that have scant playing time in the league, Larry Asante, Devin Holland and Ahmad Black. Oh, and Corey Grimm who is coming off his second season-ending injury to his legs in as many years.

Yes, one could say the Bucs are thin there at safety.

Joe’s going to guess that new Bucs coach Greg Schiano wanted no part of Jackson’s lack of credibility and dedication further rubbing off on younger players.

So it was, adios!

Now the Bucs have to go dumpster diving for a safety. This is what happens when you put faith in a guy who has demonstrated time and again to be unreliable.

Beer-swilling, multimedia good guy Rock Riley takes command of the WDAE-AM 620 airwaves this morning from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Of course, Rock will serve up all kinds of Bucs chatter, and strong nuggets from his many hours down at Rays Spring Training in Port Charlotte. So don’t forget to tune him in as you stumble around this morning still dreaming of the Bucs being a contender with their new players.

Those chained to a computer can listen live at 620wdae.com.

Joe wouldn’t mind seeing advertisements all around the Bucs’ home turf and website pushing fans to head to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for an evening of blackjack, cocktails and the debauchery that usually follows.

Of course, Joe far prefers the more laid-back, smoke-free and friendly poker and simulcast wagering confines at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, not to mention the unmatched feast at the Derby Club and live greyhound racing. 

The point here is Joe is a pro-gambling guy and doesn’t think adult wagering corrupts society. 

This is on Joe’s mind after the Sports Business Journal, via ProFootballTalk.com, broke word today that the NFL will now allow teams to take in casino gambling ads for the next two years.

Despite significant restrictions (including placement of the ads high enough in the stadium to keep them out of the range of TV cameras), Kaplan estimates that each team can raise “millions” via such efforts. Only casinos without a sports book are eligible, and each casino must contribute five percent of the value of the ad to the NFL’s anti-gambling program for its employees.

Joe has no clue how Team Glazer feels about gambling. But Joe suspects they might be in favor of bringing in a new seven-figure check. The Seminole Tribe running the Hard Rock spends a load of dough on marketing. 

Perhaps there’s a way to get the Indians to gobble up Bucs tickets and brand some Buccaneers slot machines that spit out pairs of game tickets when a spin nets three Rachel Watsons in a row.

Joe’s just thinking/hoping that creative minds find a way to knock out a blackout or two.

Bucs rockstar general manager got caught in the crossfire of former Bucs Ian Beckles and Shaun King as the two talked all things Bucs on WDAE-AM 620 this morning.

Beckles shared that he’s bothered by the Bucs’ lack of premier free agent acquisitions on defense. Ascribing motives to the Bucs’ front office, Beckles thinks Dominik stayed away from landing a blue chip linebacker and/or defensive lineman to avoid admitting past failures.

“They didn’t do anything for the front 7 of the defense. I was thinking about it, I’m thinking, ‘How the hell can they not improve up front?’ When you think about it, it’s really Mark Dominik not telling on himself,” Beckles said. “Because we have all these first-rounders on the defensive line, so if you bring in a high free agent then you’re saying you were wrong. And then we have Quincy Black we paid money to. Mason Foster. But you watched them last year, they couldn’t stop anybody.”

King agreed with Beckles and said, “I think some of that is Mark Dominik trying to prove he was right on some of these guys.”

Theories aside, King was most concerned by the Bucs’ draft shaping up as drafting Morris Claiborne in the first round and then being forced to draft a running back in the second round. That, King noted, gets the Bucs to the third round, “still not having addressed linebacker or safety.”

Of course, there’s plenty of time and salary cap room for the Bucs to sift through the loads of remaining free agents, and those who will appear after the NFL Draft, in order to fill holes.

As for Dominik allegedly considering concerns about the perception of his job performance ahead of the Bucs’ best interests, that’s a tough charge. Joe can’t say that take makes any sense, but Joe can’t call it an outlandish charge either. General managers and coaches across the league do that all across the league on a regular basis.

Joe loved the Carl Nicks signing and couldn’t say with certainty that he’d rather have, say, Stephen Tulloch, instead. So Joe sees no evidence that Dominik is worried more about his own job than improving the Bucs. Ultimately, Dominik will be judged by the records of his teams. Scoring well in drafts or paying a popular free agent doesn’t mean a GM built a successful team.

Of the many explosive Bucs takes former Bucs QB Shaun King let loose today on WDAE-AM 620, the man who led the Bucs to their second NFC Championship game made it clear that he believes LeGarrette Blount has not developed at an acceptable rate because he doesn’t “love football” enough.

King made a point that Blount’s deficiencies — alleged deficiencies in Joe’s mind — are still around because Blount’s work ethic hasn’t been there to make him a better blocker, pass catcher, and student of the playbook.

King is of the mind that 2012 is a big contract year for Blount — he’ll enter restricted free agency after the season — and that could be a motivating factor that pushes Blount to be his best self, as Raheem Morris might say.

While Blount may not have been considered a hard worker, Joe’s sure Blount was nowhere close to being a slacker.

It still amazes Joe that it’s so easy for so many, not just King, to be negative about Blount, a third-year undrafted guy who has a phenomenal season under his belt, never had a full offseason with a team, and has not been given a legitimate opportunity to show he can be a complete player.