The man charged with presenting Warren Sapp’s case for entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a matter months is unhappy about the high-profile negativity surrounding Sapp in recent days.

Tampa Tribune NFL writer Ira Kaufman, the Tampa Bay area’s only representative on the Hall induction panel, joined Tom Krasniqi of WHBO-AM 1040 yesterday and painted a grim picture of Sapp becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer with the class of 2013.

“He’s killin’ me. He’s killin’ me,” Kaufman said of Sapp. “And by that I mean that in nine months it’s going to be my pleasure, my privilege to present the case for No. 99 in front of the Hall of Fame panel. Forty-four people are going to be looking at him. I have very powerful ammo to get this man in [to the Hall of Fame,] I believe, based on the merits of what he did on the football field.

“But you’re right. Some of those people in that room are looking for a reason to vote, ‘No’, on this guy based on the way he treated them. We don’t need anymore ammo. We don’t need him getting fired from NFL Network, which could happen. We don’t need the bankruptcy. We don’t need him getting him in trouble with Jeremy Shockey; Whether it’s true or not, he shouldn’t have said it. All these ancillary things are not helping my case. So from a very selfish and personal point of view, he’s killin’ me.”

Kaufman said he doesn’t want to accept the consensus that Sapp won’t get into the Hall of Fame on his first try. Kaufman said he’ll feel like he failed if that’s what plays out. Thought Kaufman added that if Sapp were to be inducted into the Hall the following season with Tony Dungy and Derrick Brooks, that wouldn’t feel so bad.

For Joe, it’s just beyond weak that scribes who elect members of the Hall would make the whole process personal and keep Sapp — or anyone — out because they think he’s a jerk. There’s not much point to the whole thing without an objective, intelligent process.

In four months (minus one day) the Bucs will take the field — and hopefully stop the run for a change and not get mauled in the first quarter.

Preseason game dates and times were announced today and there are no big surprises. John Lynch will remain as color analyst alongside Chris Myers, and the first three preseason games will be on Friday nights. No games are set to air nationally. All games not blacked out locally will be broadcast on WTSP-TV, Ch. 10 live.

Friday, Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m., at Miami
Friday, Aug. 17, 7:30 p.m., TENNESSEE
Friday, Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m. NEW ENGLAND
Wednesday, Aug. 29, 7:30 p.m. at Washington

Clear your calendars for the first real look at the 2012 Bucs.

As Joe suggested yesterday, oft-suspended Bucs safety Tanard Jackson was let go not just because of a physical, but other elements were involved.

Jackson, who is rebabbing his shoulder in New Orleans, did not attend the Bucs first voluntary workouts last week at One Buc Palace.

Given the fact that was a first opportunity for players to learn their new coaches and get marching orders on how the offense/defense will be played, Joe thought that was borderline insubordinate to new coach Greg Schiano for Jackson to blow off the gathering.

Read between the lines for yourself on what Bucs rock star Mark Dominik told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times on the release of Jackson.

“What’s important to us as an organization is the growth of our football players and how they handle (things) on and off the field to become the best Buccaneer possible,” Dominik said Tuesday. “And that’s what we’re looking for.”

Now Joe has noticed that a lot of Bucs fans are wringing their hands over the loss of Jackson. But think this through.

Outside of one game last year, Jackson was one of the worst players on the NFL’s worst defense and a franchise record-setting horrible defense.

Is that really a loss?

Simply put, the Bucs couldn’t trust the guy.

Greg Schiano prides himself on being a teacher and having a staff of teachers, and he speaks lovingly of developing players and building through the draft. So Joe’s wondering whether Schiano, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and secondary coach Ron Cooper are relatively content with the safeties on the roster right now.

Perhaps cutting Tanard Jackson, a guy that was hurt and couldn’t be counted on anyway, feels like a huge relief and a huge opportunity to Schiano and friends.

The current safties are:

Larry Asante: a Dominik practice squad pickup entering his third season who at least flashed some good things with the Bucs
Ahmad Black: a Dominik draftee who was hurt through his 2011 rookie preseason and landed on the practice squad
Devin Holland: undrafted free agent coming off injured reserve after making the Bucs roster as a special teams ace last year
Cody Grimm: The man’s a wolf — and talented. Who wouldn’t be excited to have him, even if he can’t stay healthy?

Of course, Joe knows the Bucs will add bodies at safety, but Joe’s not expecting anyone too exciting in 2012. At some point, the Bucs are going to have to prove they can develop defensive players, and as an organization they’re probably damn eager to do it.

The safety position is scary, but at least Ronde Barber’s around and potentially could move into that role. At linebacker, things are just as scary, if not more, and there is no such potential savior on the roster.

You can watch the NFL Draft at home, or you can let loose your inner football fan in a big way at Joe’s opening night draft party at Pete & Shorty’s in Pinellas Park. Here are 7 reasons to be there:

1) Dream atmosphere for the draft-lover – In addition to the smell of beer and beef in the air, NFL Draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski will be there breaking down the draft live through most of the party via 1010 AM and the Pete & Shorty’s PA system. You’ll also be able to watch the draft on the stunning TV viewing at Pete & Shorty’s — NFL Network and BSPN. They have it all — indoors and outdoors. You can also get all multimedia with their top-shelf WiFi.

Look for Joe and former Bucs defensive end Steve White to be there and pop-in with The Commish on the air through the night. Joe also will be announcing more special guests associated with your beloved Bucs.

2) Cold affordable beer, full liquor and great meat products – Joe can’t say enough about the pork tenderloin sandwiches and Shorty Burgers and more at Pete & Shorty’s. Pork shank anyone? Yeah, they have salads and veggies for the healthy types.

Bud Light is sponsoring the party and there will be great drink specials flowing. Stay tuned for more on those.

3) Bud Light girls – What’s a party without girls? Even if they’re getting paid to be there and wear naughty yet tasteful outfits.

4) Uninhibited draft fun – While Joe doesn’t endorse mayhem and violence, Joe and Pete & Shorty’s fully expect fans to stand up and cheer, boo, belch, etc. A good Trent Richardson-Morris Claiborne argument or two is sure to break out.

5) Jersey giveaways – There’s probably some communist law that says Joe can’t say what jerseys will be given away, but Joe’s got three good ones to dish out, plus the hard to find 2XL Sabby Piscitelli model. (Goat not included).

6) Easy parking. No need to rush. — All kinds of free, legal overflow parking at Pete & Shorty’s. It’s all common parking areas in the CVS parking lot and plaza next door. Also, Pete & Shorty’s will stay open until midnight, or later if the crowd wants to keep the party going.

7) Joe’s going to be doing it all over again on Saturday (Rounds 4-7) on a somewhat smaller scale.

As an analyst on the NFL Network’s popular Playbook show, former 12-year offensive lineman Brian Baldinger has access to every inch and angle of NFL game film. And he doesn’t like what he sees from Gerald McCoy.

This morning on The Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620, co-host Ian Beckles asked Baldinger how many Bucs games he watched in 2011 and what he thought of the Bucs’ defense. Baldinger replied that he watched every Bucs game and he singled out three players: Adrian Clayborn, DaQuan Bowers and Gerald McCoy.

Clayborn was showered with love by Baldinger as the only defensive standout. But Baldinger said he didn’t think Bowers “knew how to play” and he questioned McCoy’s “consistent effort” and blasted his technique, saying he “plays high” and needs to get his pad level down.

Loyal listeners of Beckles know Baldinger found a welcoming audience with those criticisms of McCoy.

Joe wouldn’t give McCoy poor on-field grades for 2011. However, a player always gets an F when he’s not on the field, and McCoy has find a way to stay healthy. In terms of the Bucs’ Super Bowl aspirations, McCoy is worthless if he can only play half a season every year.

While the press release from the Bucs announcing Tanard Jackson’s release specified Jackson’s contract was “terminated” due to a “failed physical,” it seems there may have been at least one other reason that led the Bucs to part ways with Jackson.

Last week when the team gathered to meet their new coaching staff and to start to learn “The Greg Schiano Way,” Jackson was no where to be found at One Buc Palace.

That’s the word from Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune, who spoke with Jackson and Twittered out that Jackson was not in Florida last week while his teammates were.

@RCummingsTrib: Jackson says he didn’t make it to first week of offseason workout program. Also says he wasn’t told that played a part in his release.

In Joe’s eyes, for a law-and-order kind of dude that Schiano is, blowing off the first week of offseason workouts — even if they were voluntary — is pretty much a spit in the eye to Schiano.

For a guy like Jackson, one bong hit away from saying bye-bye to the NFL and who, after his first game back, played horribly, not trying to start off on the right foot with your new coach, well, that is pretty close to insubordination.

Yeah, Jackson said that he was rehabbing his shoulder, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times‘ Twitter feed. OK, Joe gets that. But short of some voodoo potion, what exactly was being done to Jackson’s shoulder in New Orleans that couldn’t have been taken care of at One Buc Palace?

@RCummingsTrib: Bucs have released S Tanard Jackson, failed physical.

Joe is not going to speculate what part of the physical Jackson failed. Unless that is released, and per HIPAA laws likely cannot be, there is no way to know short of what Jackson states.

Jackson was down to his last strike after being suspended twice for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. One more failed test, and he will be banned from the NFL for life.

This move weakens an already weak secondary. Ronde Barber likely is in his last year. Aqib Talib likely is in his last year if he plays at all. Cody Grimm is trying to recover from a second season-ending leg injury in as many years.

Secondary must be addressed in the draft by the Bucs, and probably early in the draft.

BSPN’s Todd McShay goes into the film room to study Morris Claiborne.

The signing of defensive tackle Amobi Okoye sure gives the Bucs some depth — some would argue much needed depth — on the defensive line.

Speaking about the move Sunday afternoon on SiriusXM NFL Radio, former Cowboys player personnel director Gil Brandt, the architect of the famed Cowboys teams of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, loved the move for the Bucs and likened the move by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to those of Al Davis.

Okoye, a former first round pick who was selected at the ripe age of 19, is the kind of player Brandt said Davis would have signed as well.

Brandt noted that Davis, the brainchild behind the Raiders, loved to pick up former first round draft picks who, for whatever reason, washed up with their original teams.

More often than not, Davis was able to squeeze a few more years out of these players, if not turn around their careers, Brandt said. This is why the Raiders were often looked upon as a last outpost for many players.

“If you looked at the roster of the Oakland Raiders over the years, it was always stacked with guys who were picked high in the draft,” Brandt said. “The Raiders took them and developed them. They stole a guy from us named Todd Christensen. Al knew he had upside.

“What I’m trying to say is you take [Okoye] now and hope the original team was right [in their draft evaluation] and hope that he realizes that maybe he has to work a little harder or get in better shape.”

Brandt was of the opinion that Okoye still has much gas left in the tank. Brandt believes that Okoye, coming out at 19, hurt himself. He said Okoye had a decent rookie year with the Texans and for whatever reason, slid backwards and then got lost in the wash when Houston converted to a three-man front.

Joe can only imagine the depth of the about-face inside One Buc Palace over the past eight days, since players were formally introduced to Greg Schiano and his staff.

The contrast to the Raheem regime has to be stark.

Schiano’s schooling everyone on the new Buccaneer Way and how discipline will go down. Military Mike Sullivan is leading the offense while loyal lieutenant Bill Sheridan teaches the Schiano defense. All happening while Bucs success operative Butch Davis stares everyone down in silence.

Joe can’t wait to see how this all translates on the field.

 But off the field, the impact of Schiano already is reverberating. DaQuan Bowers took to his 76,000+ Twitter followers yesterday to announce that his new head coach is in his head in a big way.

@DaQuanBowers91– Schiano hit home in our little meeting today made me rethink about somethings ……Sept cant get here fast enuff lol

Of course, there’s always a chance Schiano simply just recommended a new pregame meal to Bowers, but Joe suspects this all runs a hell of a lot deeper than calorie counts and choices of carbohydrates. Especially coming from Bowers, who’s an introspective musician type to start with.

Joe keeps hearing in his head Ronde Barber’s laugh last week when the Bucs icon talked about the tighter ship now in place at One Buc Palace. That snicker measured something very significant.

Twittering with his followers today, Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud busted out a line Joe can’t ignore.

Stroud floated that offensive tackle Matt Kalil could be in play for the Bucs with the fifth overall pick and then a Bucs fan fired back that he would like that because the Bucs could then dump Jeremy Trueblood. Stroud responded with the following:

@NFLStroud – @boss1sarge – This may shock you, but Kalil would play left tackle.

Now Joe was taken back because Joe considers Stroud’s comment absurd. Why would the Bucs possibly want to displace Donald Penn, a Pro Bowl caliber tackle in his prime? Is that how to be “all about No. 5?”

Making this more absurd to Joe was Bill Polian’s take on offensive tackles today on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Polian gave extraordinary detail about how offensive tackles struggle in their rookie season, “even Anthony Munoz.” Polian went on to explain that he and Bill Parcells are guys that like to draft two guys in one draft that can play left tackle when the team need is there, just to help ensure a team isn’t exposed at that position.

Regardless, Joe would be surprised if the Bucs draft Kalil, and even more stunned if he played left tackle in 2012, barring a draft-day trade of Penn.

Joe wants to see you have more fun going to Rays games and save money.

So get your butt on the No Excuses Tour chauffeured luxury bus to Tropicana Field, courtesy of Paradise Worldwide Transportation and Lee Roy Selmon’s. You get to ride in style — with beer and food in hand — and get dropped off right at the gate.

Click on through to grab a seat for April Rays games, and get all the details at NoExcusesTour.com. Don’t flush your gas and parking money down the toilet.

The architect of the Buffalo and Carolina and Indianapolis Super Bowl teams, Bill Polian, left the Colts this year and has found a home on SiriusXM NFL Radio. And Joe’s enjoying every minute of it. Wow! What a joy for hardcore football fans.

Today, Polian joined host Adam Schein on The Blitz and talked all things NFL Draft.

First, Polian said he shares a philosophy with Tony Dungy that claims top picks in the draft should only go to elite quarterbacks, guys who can sack the quarterback or score touchdowns, or an elite corner.

Polian went on to say Matt Kalil absolutely is not the Vikings automatic choice with the third overall pick in 2012.

Polian said the Vikings should look to trade down because there are two more elite tackle prospects available later in the first round. The Vikings, if they have health concerns about Adrian Peterson, Polian said, also would be wise to draft Trent Richardson. He called Richardson, Andrew Luck and RGIII the only “can’t-miss” prospects in the draft.

Polian said Richardson’s obvious skills, including NFL-readiness in blocking, are special, but it’s his “toughness and competitive fire and will to win” that sets him apart. Richardson is Maurice Jones-Drew with “more wiggle and shake,” Polian said.

Now what if Richardson and Morris Claiborne are gone when the Bucs go on the clock with the fifth overall pick? Would the Bucs draft Kalil or reach a little and grab stud Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly?

Polian says if a team sees a player as a perfect fit and a guy they need and can play 10 years, then it’s not a reach. It’s a smart move and one he would always applaud. Polian reminded listeners that it’s about winning football games not winning the draft.

While Joe loves the Amobi Okoye signing by the Bucs the other day, Joe has to wonder why Okoye wanted to come to Tampa Bay with reportedly widespread demand for his services across the NFL.

Okoye, 24, is coming off a four-sack season in Chicago that saw him play in every game and be on the field for more than half the Bears’ snaps. One would think he might shy away from coming to the Bucs, where young, premier draft picks Brian Price and Gerald McCoy surely are the guys the organization wants to snatch starting jobs at defensive tackle and be successful in them.

So given all the reports that McCoy will be 100 percent healthy before training camp, Joe has to wonder whether the Okoye signing is a signal that all may not be rosy with Price’s health. Keep in mind the signing came after players returned to One Buc Palace last week.

Yeah, the Bucs desperately needed quality defensive tackle depth, but Joe still can’t wrap his head around Okoye wanting to be a Buccaneer without strong odds that he’ll get a lot of playing time, which would mean playing ahead of Price. Especially considering that Okoye, who graduated college at 19, is known to be a super-genius.

It’s possible the Bucs put the most money on the table, or Okoye fell in love in love with the organization, but Joe suspects there’s more to it than that.

The past couple of weeks haven’t been pleasant for former Bucs great Warren Sapp.

The future Hall of Fame defensive tackle found himself embroiled in a national controversy when he fingered Jeremy Shockey, perhaps wrongly, as a whistleblower in the Saints bounty scandal.

Then, news was released that Sapp had filed for bankruptcy, owing millions of dollars to various creditors, including the IRS and child support payments.

Hours later, word leaked that Sapp, who hasn’t been on NFL Network in recent days, likely will not be retained by NFL Network when his contract expires in August. The thought is he’s gone, in part, because of the Shockey controversy, which some believe violated federal statutes protecting whistleblowers.

Not a good last couple of weeks.

Now, Joe has learned that Sapp is changing his Twitter handle. On face value, this may be nothing at all. But consider his Twitter handle was “@QBKilla.” Not exactly politically correct in this current world of the NFL as we know it.

When pundits, fans and very likely NFL warden commissioner Rogeer Goodell were left blanched by the Gregg William audio of him encouraging his Saints troops to maim various 49ers offensive stars, touting a Twitter handle that glorifies destroying quarterbacks may not be kosher any longer for an NFL employee.

So now if you go to that handle, Sapp admits he is shutting it down.

@QBKilla: Changed my handle to @WarrenSapp

This makes Joe wonder if Sapp, trying to win back favor with suits in the NFL and the NFL Network, decided to go PC and change his handle, to show he is sensitive to the changing NFL standards and does not advocate violence against signal-callers.

The timing of Sapp’s move is very curious indeed.

Joe has made his feelings well known about who Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik should draft with the fifth overall pick.

That would be LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne. With Ronde Barber surely playing his final season with the Bucs and troubled Aqib Talib in the final year of his contract, there will be a massive hole(s) at cornerback (yes, Joe knows Dominik signed Eric Wright).

Facing Drew Brees, Matty Ice and Cam Newton six times a year, that’s like playing with fire not having a competent secondary, almost begging for six losses before the season kicks off.

It seems Pat Yasinskas of ESPN is of the same mind. Answering a query from a reader in a recent NFC South chat, Yasinskas too believes Claiborne is a must-get.

Jaryd (Ashland, Va): I think it is absurd all the people clamoring for Trent Richardson to be a Buccaneer when there are more pressing needs in the Secondary and with the Linebackers…You will be able to find a very good complement for Blount in a later round. None of the best teams in the league are powered by a dominate running back but a running back by committee approach.

Pat Yasinskas: No argument here. I say take Claiborne at No. 5. You can always get a running back a little later.

If the Bucs had a solid secondary (much less just a below average linebacker unit), Joe could somehow be persuaded to draft Trent Richardson.

Problem is, the Bucs have massive holes on defense in a division with potent if not lethal offenses. The Bucs simply do not have the luxury of drafting for any offensive position with the fifth overall pick much less a running back when history demonstrates clearly there is much better bang for the buck grabbing a running back later in the draft.

Besides, the Bucs already have a running back. His name is LeGarrette Blount.