After Oregon’s Chip Kelly flirted with the Bucs as potentially the next Bucs head coach, but at the last moment, sort of a like a coveted high school football player on the eve of signing day, shunned the Bucs’ advances, it threw the Bucs back into coaching-search mode.

Days later, the Bucs settled on Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, who came with a strong reference from no less than Bill Belicheat.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune uncloaked another reason, maybe more so than the word of Belicheat, that sold Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik on Schiano:

He was able to get through to young players.

The Rutgers graduation rate, which was tops in the nation in 2010 and second in 2011, tells Dominik that Schiano not only can relate to players but also motivate and discipline them in a way that produces positive results.

“Because we have such a young football team, it’s really important that he be able to get through to the players and motivate them,” Dominik said at the time of Schiano’s hiring. “What he did with the graduation rate at Rutgers is amazing.”

“What that tells me is that young people are listening to him and buying into what he believes in and what he says about how you grow and become a professional, and not just on the field but off the field.”

Or, if Joe can play Devil’s Advocate, Schiano, like his mentor Joe Paterno, wasn’t looking for just football players to fill out his roster, but smart football players who valued a college education.

Now if Dominik and Schiano are trying to incorporate Paterno’s “Grand Experiment,” where Paterno proved his lifelong quest that one can build a championship college football team with student-athletes, not just football players, then Joe is all ears to this concept.

It sure seems that’s the way Dominik has drafted recently with smart guys like Josh Freeman, Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn, to name a few.

Amidst all the man love out in San Francisco between reunited Jim Harbaugh and Josh Johnson, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle has unearthed what may be a black mark on Johnson’s time in Tampa.

Branch interviewed former Cal head coach Roger Theder, a former NFL assistant who has been a personal QB guru for Johnson since high school. Theder said Johnson wasn’t being his best self with the Bucs.

“I think what Jim is looking for is that work ethic, and I think Josh lost that a little bit at Tampa,” Theder said. “He’s got it back now because he knows what Harbaugh expects. And Colin’s always had that great work ethic. So I think that’s going to be the deciding factor as far as which guy is the better quarterback.”

Now it’s unclear whether Theder is referring to Johnson’s entire four years on the Buccaneers, or just the final chapter of the Raheem Morris era, when it seemed most Bucs lost their work ethic.

Regardless, if Johnson had stopped giving it his all, then Joe’s glad to see him gone.

A classy limousine last night sure would have been glorious, right?

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And, of course, Paradise also has superior party buses and much more in its fleet.

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Usually, it’s current NFL players that like to recruit free agents to their respective teams. But in an odd twist of fate with the Bucs, it was newly signed free agents who lured back an old team veteran… indirectly.

That’s the word from Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune, freelancing with the NationalFootballPost.com, who reports that not only did the signings of new Bucs Vincent Jackson and Carl Nicks lure Barber back to the Bucs, Barber just may play safety.

By signing Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks and Eric Wright, the Bucs also enticed Ronde Barber to return for his 16th NFL season. The Bucs tried to get Barber back before free agency started, but Barber told the team he wanted to wait and see if the team did anything in free agency. The soon to be 37-year old was excited by the moves. The next move will be determining where Barber fits in Bill Sheridan’s new defense. Barber knows it will be open competition. It is possible he will remain a starter, or he could be a nickel player, or even a dime player. The team has not even ruled out a move to safety.

This is an interesting concept. Provided the Bucs draft Morris Claiborne with the fifth overall pick and troubled Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib is able to skate after his court proceedings in Texas next month, that would give the Bucs four good cornerbacks when you factor in free agent Eric Wright.

As Joe has stated before, safety is an issue with the Bucs. Tanard Jackson, after a great first game back from a year’s suspension, fell off the map quickly. Cody Grimm is trying to return from his second season-ending leg injury in as many years, so whether he can be 100 percent is unknown. It appears that Sean Jones’ days with the Bucs are over.

So if Barber, who previously resisted efforts to make him a safety, can be coerced to play that position, it would go a long way to helping the Bucs’ currently shaky secondary.

The way Barber is able to drape himself over tight ends, this move should be about as seamless as any move can be.

It’s official. Joe hates Curtis Lofton.

Per the Saints beat writers at the Times-Picayune, Lofton signed a five-year deal with New Orleans yesterday. Contract terms were not reported.

Joe’s not sure how any free agent with other options would sign with New Orleans right now, unless he’s a guy that’s all about the money. Why dive into that historic mess of a franchise? Perhaps Lofton is smitten with some bayou honey?

Yeah, Joe’s sour and this is not a we-didn’t-need him rant. The Bucs need a middle linebacker.

Joe has gone on record suggesting no team in the NFL had worse production from its linebackers than the Bucs. When running backs turned the corner on the Bucs, it was a virtual cattle stampede down the sidelines.

Shoot, the Rams, even more wretched than the Bucs, at least had James Laurinaitis at middle linebacker.

Now part of the reason the Bucs struggled (yes, Joe’s trying to be nice) at linebacker is that Mason Foster was at middle linebacker. In many ways, Foster was put in a no-win situation. Though Bucs brass believed — may still do — he has the talents to play middle linebacker, Foster played outside linebacker at Washington.

Folks, going from outside linebacker in the PAC-12 to calling plays at middle linebacker in the NFL in a few months, is nearly as big of a leap in level of talent as going from Rosie O’Donnell to Rachel Watson.

Throw in the fact Foster had virtually no help on either side of him, it’s any wonder the guy struggled. Shoot, even Ray Nitschke would have had his hands full with such odds.

Now there has been some words seeped out of One Buc Palace that Foster may move to outside linebacker next year, though Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has done his best to quash such talk.

Despite his ugly rookie season, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune suggests, in a TBO Bucs Q&A, that the Bucs should not give up on the experiment of Foster at middle linebacker.

Q: Do you really think Foster can play another year at middle linebacker?

Jim Stafford, Cambridge, Ontario

A: Sure. I’m not big on judging players based on one year of play on a bad team. Imagine if the league had done that with Brett Favre or Ronde Barber or even Warren Sapp. I believe Foster can play several years at MLB and I know for a fact that the Bucs believe the same thing.

– Woody Cummings

Joe tends to agree. Foster was, again, put in a no-win situation. Without any help around him, without any offseason to speak of, learning a new position in an elite league, it almost makes one wonder if Foster was set up to fail?

If Foster is to return to the middle, he simply needs help on either side of him in the worst way.

There’s a vocal group of fans and media that doesn’t make sense when it comes to LeGarrette Blount.

They love to bash Blount and call him incompetent to serve on passing downs. But these same people were all in favor of Raheem Morris’ departure and somehow they believe Morris’ inept staff knew how to evaluate Blount, develop him and use him to his fullest?  You can’t have it both ways.

This same group of fans and media criticizes Blount’s running style and all but calls the guy stupid for not hitting holes more directly, rather than celebrate having a young back with a stunning 4.6 yards-per-carry career average who still has lots of room to improve.

Then there’s the mythical need/desire for Blount to be a Superman, all-everything back. There’s a stud in the division by the name of Michael Turner who rarely plays on third down and has churned out monster seasons three of the past four years. Assuming Blount is worthless third-down material (Joe doesn’t buy it), so what? He doesn’t have to be that guy.

The whole Blount persepctive got under Joe’s skin again while Joe read Friday’s live chat from ESPN NFC South reporter Pat Yaskinskas. A reader and Yasinskas hopped aboard the Blount negativity train.

Kevin (Dade City, FL) PY, do the bucs draft richardson and trade blount(or keep him as a 3rd down back) or go for claiborne and give blount the starting spot? what do you think?

Pat Yasinskas: Like I said, I could see them going either way. But they’re not going to use Blount as a third-down back. Part of the reason they’re even in the market for an RB is because they can’t put Blount on field on passing downs. He might be a nice short-yardage back.

Joe can’t believe there’s a Bucs fan out there that actually took time to participate in a live ESPN chat and proposed a possible trade of Blount (forgetting about the foolishness of drafting Richardson with the No. 5 overall pick).  Then there’s Yasinskas saying Blount can’t play on third down (the guy caught 15 balls for 148 yards last year), effectively accepting the previous regime’s assessment, while earlier in the chat Yasinskas writes the Bucs coaching changes will improve the team.

Joe just can’t believe there’s such a down vibe around Blount the football player. Joe’s convinced that with better coaching, an honest commitment to the running game, and Carl Nicks on the offensive line, Blount could be looking at a 1,500-yard season and be the focal point of a lethal play-action attack.

Oh, no! Blue chip former LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne needed surgery on a wrist ligament yesterday, one that plagued him for much of the 2011 season. Might this scare the Bucs from drafting him?

In this Times-Picayune video below, you can watch Claiborne describe the injury, smile when asked about playing for the Buccaneers, and explain how good he felt running a 4.39 40-yard-dash at his Pro Day.

Joe bought his pre-owned Ford at Ed Morse Auto Plaza in Port Richey about 14 months ago. What a great experience and the car has been completely trouble-free. Click on through below to shop their great inventory. You won’t go wrong at Ed Morse.

Bucs fans, not totally satisfied with Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik’s Danny Snyder-like shopping spree buying Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks and Eric Wright, are clamoring for him to sign (at least) a linebacker.

Joe admits the Bucs almost have to go out and sign a linebacker to do something about what was arguably the worst set of linebackers in the NFL (though Joe gives Mason Foster a mulligan because he was a rookie and playing out of position calling the defense with no offseason to speak of; an impossible obstacle to overcome without help — and he had no help).

So if the Bucs do go out and drop cash on a linebacker, how much? The Bucs, so says Pat Yasinskas of ESPN, are the only team in the NFC South without a salary cap issue… but for how long?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only team in the NFC South without major salary-cap issues. I can’t give you an exact number on how much cap space the Bucs have right now because we have yet to see how much Ronde Barber’s new contract will impact the cap. But the Bucs were roughly $16 million under the cap a few days ago and they cleared $1.5 million off the books by releasing defensive ends Tim Crowder and Nick Reed.

Yes, Joe can predict readers will soon pelt him with “But the Bucs have X-amount of space… ” Yeah, sure, now.

Soon the Bucs will have to sign draft picks. Then around the corner is Josh Freeman’s new contract, which will be anything but cheap.

And if you max out the salary cap and God forbid a decent player goes down in training camp, just what will Dominik use to try to acquire a decent replacement?

Though it seems easy on face value, the Bucs don’t have a bottomless pit of cash to spend.

The Bucs running back seemingly everyone wanted to hate, Kregg Lumpkin (or as Joe referred to him as, “The Great Lumpkin”), is no more.

That means Bucs fans can no longer loathe him as he is someone else’s problem. Danny O’Neil of the Seattle Times reports The Great Lumpkin is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks tried to acquire Lumpkin two years ago when he was waived by the Green Bay Packers, putting in a waiver claim on him. Instead, Lumpkin was awarded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on waivers. He played for the Bucs the previous two seasons, appearing in 29 games.

Lumpkin, 27, is 228 pounds, meaning he fits in the mold of the bigger back the Seahawks had been seeking to serve as a complement to starter Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks were interested in Michael Bush, who wound up going to the Bears this week.

The reason why Joe, and many Bucs fans, were so skeptical of Lumpkin was that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik hard-sold Lumpkin to the masses last summer as the perfect replacement for Cadillac Williams, who Dominik did not re-sign.

Joe smelled a fishy sell from the word go because the Packers, hardly a team loaded with running backs, let Lumpkin walk. Packers general manager Ted Thompson simply doesn’t let players of any value walk the streets, especially an inexpensive running back.

If Lumpkin was as talented as Dominik tried to imply to Bucs fans, Joe reasoned, then Thompson would have kept him on the Packers roster.

Meanwhile, Caddy, the previous season, proved to be a great counter-punch to LeGarrette Blount. Lumpkin, clearly, was not.

Joe hopes Lumpkin has success in Seattle and in a twisted way is happy he’s not here to stoke the ire of Bucs fans.

In this BSPN video, Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount and his son want you to vote for him on the cover of Madden. Be careful what you wish for Bucs fans.

Tough-guy free agent middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch re-signed with the Lions yesterday for only $11 million guaranteed and $25 million over five years, so Twittered Lions beat writer Anwar Richardson, via CommishOnline.com.

That really stood out to Joe. Tulloch scored a little less than Quincy Black, whose deal last year for the same contract duration was reported at $11.5 million guaranteed and $29 million overall.

One might think the Tulloch deal now puts a ceiling on the devalued linebacker market and the expectations for free agent Curtis Lofton, the Falcons MLB that seems content to hang out on his couch rather than sign with a guaranteed eight-figure offer from the Bucs. (For the record, Joe couldn’t fathom ever waiting to sign such a lottery ticket. Suppose you get into a career-ending car accident tomorrow, ala B.J. Askew?)

Tulloch, per the Detroit Free Press, gets a lot of the same kind of love in Detroit that Lofton does in Atlanta.

He led the team with 111 tackles, set career highs with two interceptions and three sacks, and assumed a leadership role that had been lacking in the middle of the defense.

“Bigger than his production on the field is what he gives us in our locker room and what he means to our football team,” general manager Martin Mayhew said. “His leadership, his toughness, competitiveness, football character, his work ethic, all of those things are really important to us and really a great example for our younger players.”

For those bummed/angry the Bucs didn’t get Tulloch, the story linked above explains that Tulloch never wanted to leave Detroit.

Joe hopes Lofton is reading this and comes to his senses. So what if you earn less that Black, Mr. Lofton. You can still have a happy life and career in Tampa.

Earlier this week, Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman joined co-hosts Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan of “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, to discuss the Bucs’ new players via free agency and new coaching staff.

Of course Joe transcribed the interview.

Among the many things Freeman touched upon was how he will miss center Jeff Faine who was cut last week. Freeman suggested he had a stronger bond with Faine than perhaps any other teammate.

Tim Ryan: Let’s get out to the guest line, year No. 4 for the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lot of changes down in Tampa. Big offensive guard in free agency and a No. 1 wide receiver to throw the rock to in Vincent Jackson. Quarterback Josh Freeman joining us on the program. How you doing Josh?

Josh Freeman: Great how are you doing?

Ryan: How is your offseason going?

Freeman: Going good. Just trying to work on throwing, working with guys down at IMG down in Bradenton. Things are going great.

Ryan: Would you get your big a(r)ss out of the weight room, please. My God.

Freeman: I’ve been actually working to slim down. Rather than gain weight. Higher rep, lower weight. Still adding elements of power from lower body standpoint.

Ryan: What is your body weight now and what’s the heaviest you have played at for the Bucs?

Freeman: Heaviest I have played at was right around 260. Right now, I’m right around 240. Keeping it down and trying a little different strategy, I feel great winging the ball, working out with Chris Weinke and a number of guys here. Work is paying off. I feel good.

Pat Kirwan: Yeah, the more no-huddle they give you, the more you will need to be aerobically fit and take the pressure to the opponent. I can’t go much further without talking about Nicks and Jackson, man. These are exciting times for you. Let’s talk about the receiver, Vincent Jackson.

Freeman: As a quarterback, so excited. I remember the press conference, I had the feel that it was Christmas when you get some new toys and you can’t wait to go outside and play with them. These guys know there stuff. Talking to Vincent, he is a guy, he has lofty goals not just for himself but he has expectations for what this team can become. I am real excited to have the opportunity to work with them.

Ryan: Hey Josh, tell me about how you can get a little bit of a jump start working with the new staff, coach Greg Schiano, right at the beginning of April as opposed to teams coming back April 16 with no coaching changes. Will you get together with those guys before then along with Mike and Arrelious and Demon and Preston and Sammie and those guys and get some work done on your own?

Freeman: Yeah, it’s kind of an interesting predicament. With the new CBA, not allowed to meet with the new coaches until April but we are allowed to hit the weights and things of that nature on April 2 so, yeah, that’s the day. Like I said, kind of interesting with the CBA. The whole thing of learning a new system, you’d like to say you are doing stuff now, but you can’t so you try to do the best you can. Make sure you are physically as ready as you can be when OTAs come around. Just had the opportunity to talk to Eli Manning and ask him about Coach Sullivan. But at the end of the day, football is football. Some coaches might call a cut back a run back. Some coaches might have a route break off at 14 yards instead of 15. You never know but at the end of the day football is football and all the guys are out there working and as prepared as we can possibly be until we get that information. Just a matter of dedicating yourself to learn a new language.

Ryan: Josh let me ask you, did you get the chance at all or are you interested at all in talking to Philip Rivers or Drew Brees about your two new teammates? I would think as a quarterback you’d love to talk to Rivers to talk about the connection he had with Vincent.

Freeman: No, funny you said that. Last night at dinner one of my friends was like, “Hey, have you talked to Philip about anything?” No, [Rivers’] reputation with Vincent kind of speaks for itself. I guess I could talk to Philip to ask how it was working with him but at the same time, I kind of ruled against it because you don’t want to enter a relationship with any preconceived notions. All I want from Vincent is to come out and give it all he’s got and I know he will be huge for us. He’s a tremendous asset, a physical specimen. But no, I don’t want to prejudge anything.

Kirwan: That is a great answer. You don’t want anyone to sway you. You will get to know Vincent and it will be pure. Any hints about the offense that excites you? You know, something that makes you go, “Wow, I’ve been dying to do that.”

Freeman: No, I mean, I’m kind of in the dark right now. I asked Eli kind of the premise of the offense and a couple of different things, but all very vague, just trying to get an idea of the terminology. But I’d assume that coach is going to implement the offense he had in New York which they ran with a lot of success. But at the same time, yeah, really don’t know but excited about the opportunity to work with Coach Sullivan and Coach Ron Turner.

Ryan: How will this change things? I know that it will be a motivating factor for Mike Williams who will grind, Mike was way down on touchdowns, we know it is a team sport, so how will this change things for Mike and Arrelious and Dezmon and the receiver corps?

Freeman: Well, you turn on the film and you see Vincent being really difficult for teams to single out, really tough for teams to play man-to-man because he is such a big, physical presence. So I think we will catch a lot more zone and at the same time it will open up windows. If you are double-teaming No. 1, there will be just pure matchups on the backside and when you get to that point, it favors the offense. I think he will open up windows for Mike, for Arrelious, for Briscoe and Preston Parker and Kellen Winslow to step up and make plays.

Ryan: Yeah I can imagine it will make things easier for you to in predicting what the coverages are and seeing it. Put last year in a capsule for us and for all the Bucs fans out there for us. Tremendously tough year for all of you guys. Put your game in a capsule for the Bucs fans.

Freeman: Yeah, as you said, it was a frustrating year. First of all I was coming off a good sophomore campaign, and you start up the year with a lot of promise. We beat the Saints and we beat the Falcons within our first (six) games. We were feeling great, feeling great where we were heading. We went out to London against Chicago and the whole year, you were fighting and the rest of the year, slowly, you were getting beat down. So yeah, anytime you lose and lose that many in a row, it is extremely frustrating. You get to know a lot about yourself and you learn a lot about your teammates and how they handle all sorts of situations. It was rough all around last year. At the same time I’d like to think that I can grow from it and learned quite a bit about how those things happened and learn from my own personal play and from a leadership standpoint to avoid anything like that from happening again.

Ryan: Yeah, expand about that. What did you — what was the biggest thing during that diabolical year that you learned about yourself?

Freeman: Really, I had a great offseason. I never worked any harder than I did leading up to last year. What allowed me to be successful two years ago was just running the offense. Manage the game. Maybe if you fall behind by two touchdowns and yeah, maybe things aren’t going right. Just stick with it, take the check down and don’t force things. During the game, I felt like, after a couple of losses started to mount up, I felt like, “Ah, I’ve got to do something. I have to do something to make a play, to keep us from falling behind more” or whatever the circumstances may have been. I have learned a lot. “I know what I am doing. I can make something happen,” you know? And that confidence you built by working so hard may have gone too far and it’s something I have learned. “Oh, I know what coverage that is. I can make this play.” But it was kind of out of my character in what I needed to do to make the offense successful. It ended up coming back to bite us, me personally. You can learn a lot from that. Have to find a happy medium. You can be aggressive but you have to protect that football first and foremost. You have to let the game come to you.

Kirwan: That is cool, you are maturing and you are doing a good job of it. You will be fine. I have to ask you, Jeff Faine, if my numbers are right, he has been your starter at center for 23 games over the past two years. He is gone now. Your thoughts on replacing Jeff Faine? For a quarterback, a center is a pretty important guy.

Freeman: Yeah I know. Me and Jeff had a very close relationship. When I was first drafted he took me under his wing and taught me a lot about protections. We have had great times. Jeff is one of the guys on the team that I consider a big brother. I know he wanted to be with the Bucs and be with me, but it’s the game, you know. I was probably more upset when he called me and said he was going into a meeting [with the Bucs] and was pretty sure what the meeting was going to be. I was probably more upset than he was but at the same time, it’s the NFL. The league is constantly making changes. I can’t thank Jeff enough for the things he has taught me from a standpoint of how to go about your business both on the field and off the field, how to prepare, a whole plethora of different things. Jeff has been great and I know he has a chance of getting on a few teams, catching on somewhere else. I wish him the best of luck.

Ryan: Josh, how much gas does Kellen have left in the tank?

Freeman: Kellen Winslow, that guy is unbelievable, the way he prepares, the way he rehabs. He is mentally focused on the game. Who wants to be great. Who wants to get it done? I will say Kellen Winslow will be a valuable asset until the wheels fall off. The way he works, that could be a while. I am looking for big things from Kellen like I always am. I think he will continue to be good for us.

Kirwan: What is the mindset of your team: a) off a lost season, b) off losing your coach then you get a new coach, a college guy, then all of this action off of free agency. Is it turmoil? Is it absolute excitement? Where is the pulse of your team?

Freeman: From everybody I have talked to guys are eager to get back out there and eager to play. Yeah, we all loved Raheem and it is unfortunate how everything goes down in this league but nobody has time to sit around and sulk and be upset. You have to take it in stride and continue to push forward or you won’t have a chance. I know everybody is excited, excited to come back and start this thing over. A new beginning of sorts. We’ve made some changes. New faces but I’d say the core of this team is ready to go and put in some serious work to compete. That’s where we are right now.

Ryan: With Vincent Jackson signing it should help the receiver corps. Who are we not talking about that you are excited for in that receiver group. Is it Preston Parker? Is it Demon Briscoe? Talk about those guys a little bit.

Freeman: I would say, Mike still had a productive year last year. I think he will compliment him very well. Mike was the guy defenses rolled coverage to last year so now what are they going to do when we have two guys to roll coverage to? I know Arrelious Benn — you want to name everybody. Preston Parker stepped up and had some good games and I think his best games are ahead of him. Briscoe? That guy, wow, he has worked his butt off to be ready to go. It will be a matter of whatever the coverage dictates will get the ball. They are all capable of making big plays.

Kirwan: Have you grabbed any film of the Giants to get an idea of how they do things, how they use personnel groups and the patterns that they run? Do you look at the Giants stuff to get some idea for yourself?

Freeman: You know that’s interesting. I have been fortunate enough to get all of these DVDs and cut up and put them on a computer or an iPad, but I like to get the hard copies and put them in my Xbox. I like to do that so you can watch film from wherever. Fortunately, the teams that we scouted defense of were playing the Giants so they were already on the film so you pull that up and see what they are trying to do, see what personnel they are in, those types of things. Yeah, kind of cool but you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself and have preconceived notions about what the offense is trying to do and the plays that are called. You can call it a million different ways but film is never how it is in the playbook. But yeah, to see Eli sling it around, it makes me happy. It makes me happy to see an offense where the quarterback throws the ball. It makes me happy to see an offense where Eli is in control on the field, yeah. I’m really thrilled about the opportunity.

Ryan: Josh, we are fired up for you. Enjoy the rest of your offseason and we will talk down the road.

It was well-documented last week, when Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik went all Danny Snyder and signed wide receiver Vincent Jackson, Eric Wright and Carl Nicks, that Wright, a cornerback, was the lesser of the big signings.

But Dominik has his eye on Wright for a couple of years, finally landing that fish this spring. And while some Bucs fans may whine that Wright is not a standout corner, Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune, who also writes for the National Football Post, suggested that Wright is a “good fit” for the Bucs.

Wright was available only because the Bucs were able to strike quickly. The Lions wanted him back badly, but couldn’t get him under contract until Calvin Johnson’s extension was done. The Bucs took advantage of the situation.

Wright was a good fit because the Bucs are changing their defensive scheme. He’s more of a man corner, and he will enable new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan to press and leave him on an island.

The Bucs’ new schemes under head coach Greg Schiano played a part in this too. New head coaches tend to want more new players to implement their plans.

This is interesting. If the Bucs are going to play more man-to-man coverage in the secondary, would that better fit the talents of E.J. Biggers and Myron Lewis?

If so, perhaps the Bucs will be deeper at secondary, provided troubled Aqib Talib gets out of his jam in Texas.

When the Bucs went out and got journeyman Dan Orlovsky to back up Josh Freeman at quarterback, it was pretty obvious that Josh Johnson, Freeman’s back up for three seasons, would be gone.

Though never a full-time starter, Johnson had aspirations to start, which he would not do here unless Freeman was injured.

Johnson took a step closer to that goal tonight when, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, the 49ers signed Johnson hours ago.

Johnson will presumably compete with Colin Kaepernick, a second-round pick in the 2010 draft, for the backup spot behind Alex Smith.

In July, during the NFL lockout, Johnson openly talked about playing for the 49ers even as he had a year left on his contract with the Buccaneers.

“I’d get to come home, be with my family, play for a coach that changed my life and play for a team that I grew up loving,” Johnson said to The Chronicle.

Johnson was largely drafted by Chucky because of the numbers he racked up playing for Jim Harbaugh at San Diego (not San Diego State), a Division I-AA school.

Now, Johnson reunites with the coach, Harbaugh, that made him what he is, which many largely expected whenever Johnson’s contract ran out with the Bucs.

Now with an offensive coordinator that likely knows how to use him, perhaps LeGarrette Blount could lead the Bucs to another run at a playoff berth this season now that the Saints are in a tailspin?

The Bucs play in a division that, until very recently, teams bounced from the cellar to the top in a matter of a handful of games.

Recently, two of the last three seasons the Saints have had a stranglehold on the NFC South. And in that lone missing year the Saints finished second with 11 win and a playoff berth.

But this offseason, the Saints are, to put it mildly, in disarray. They lost their stud left guard (to the Bucs), they will lose their stud middle linebacker, they lost their coach for a year, their general manager for roughly half a year.

Oh, and All-World quarterback Drew Brees is PO’ed at the team for not giving him what he believes he is worth, and has yet to sign a contract.

This, so says Tampa Tribune humorist Martin Fennelly, is the perfect opportunity for the Bucs to stomp on the Saints and take control of the division.

You won’t see a worse offseason than this Saints’ offseason. Did we mention that record-setting quarterback Drew Brees is unhappy over his franchise tag? That whole franchise might implode. Maybe they should have brought in Tebow, just to have a saint among all those sinners.

What an opening for Schiano and the Bucs.

If the NFL teaches us one thing, it’s that teams can turn around quickly. We saw it in San Francisco. We even saw 3-13 turn to 10-6 under Raheem Morris. Then again, it then turned to 4-12 and there went the Rah expedition.

But now the Saints are gasping for air.

Fennelly makes a solid point: If unorganized Raheem Morris and his party atmosphere can lead the Bucs to a breath away from a playoff berth (which the Bucs lost out on to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers), then why not disciplined, hard-nosed Greg Schiano?

The Bucs have virtually the same team that Morris guided to 10 wins, and Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has added some flashy toys for quarterback Josh Freeman to play with.

With the addition of a stud linebacker (“Paging Curtis Lofton… Curtis Lofton… will you please answer your call from Tampa Bay?”) and drafting Morris Claiborne to solidify a shaky secondary, the Bucs could very well be in the running for a wild card… or more.

The Bucs have surprised people before.