Word around draft time was that Adrian Clayborn could only play right defensive end because of limitations from Erb’s Palsy. Then after the draft Clayborn explained why that was baloney.

Now Clayborn says he can rush inside, so he claimed on the WhatTheBuc.net radio show last night.

“I think I can line up at 3-technique, hopefully I won’t have to go down too much farther,” Clayborn said. “Left end, right end, 3-technique. I think I can play those positions. Mostly 3-technique on passing downs. But I hope I can do it all at the next level. I wish I had some experience in OTAs but, you know, the lockout and all.”

Given how the Bucs bounce guys around the D-line, perhaps Clayborn could rush inside. Though Joe’s not holding his breath.  

Clayborn went on to say the lockout is a big setback for rookies and an uphill climb. “Hopefully it’s not Mount Everest,” Clayborn said. “Hopefully it’s just a baby hill somewhere in Iowa.”

Clayborn also identified his strength as his hands and his weaknesses are pad level and leverage. Joe suspects Donald Penn might have quite a bit of fun exposing those in practice.

If you didn’t read the St. Pete Times story of Bucs tackle James Lee visiting a longtime, hardcore Bucs fan in the hospital, then here’s the link.

It meant the world to the fan with blood cancer.

“I just love seeing him happy like that,” said Geneva, Clark’s wife of 38 years. “There are three things in his life: God, his wife and the Bucs.”

Lee’s one of those guys who knows what a great impact he can have in the community — even as a relatively little known lineman — and embraces the opportunity routinely here and in South Florida.

Watch the video and visit Topper Town in Clearwater, Joe’s favorite A.R.E. dealer. It’s really time to get your truck in shape. And there’s no better place to do it than at Topper Town.

Topper Town has everything you need for your truck, SUV and car, plus decades of experience. Joe highly recommends these guys.

"You want weapons, Olie? We've got weapons."

There’s no need for Tiki Barber when you’ve got LeGarrette Blount, Kregg Lumpkin, and Allen Bradford.

That was the sentiment expressed by Mark Dominik yesterday when chatting with fill-in host Mike Florio on The Dan Patrick Show.

Of course, since Barber remains property of the New York Giants, Dominik is not permitted to talk about him specificially. But Dominik made it clear that he’s happy with the guys on his roster. It’s hardly a surprise that Dominik isn’t seeking an ancient running back who’s been on the couch and frolicking around Manhattan for several years. 

Dominik went out of his way to tell Florio and the national radio audience that Lumpkin is a little-known, up-and-comer who “played well in the last game for us.”

“We’ve got three big backs. Three young backs that we’re pretty excited about,” Dominik said.

Conspiracy theorists are free to interpret Dominik not mentioning free agent Cadillac Williams in a running backs discussion. Joe doesn’t think it reveals anything. But Joe also doesn’t think the Bucs would have any problem with Earnest Graham filling Cadillac’s role.

Are fans falling in love with the Bucs?

In what has to be viewed as a surprise considering the Miami Dolphins’ long history and status as the first NFL team in Florida, a recent poll shows the Buccaneers as Florida residents’ favorite professional sports team in the state.

Commissioned by the North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling outfit, an established left wing political pollster, about 850 people were surveyed and 17 percent picked the Bucs as their favorite in-state club.

The Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars checked in at 16 percent. The Miami Heat got 14 percent, followed by the Rays and Orlando Magic with 11 percent. The Lightning scraped up 4 percent.

Sure, the accuracy of the data is reported to be roughly +/- 3 percent. But as Antonio Bryant used to say, “Film don’t lie.” The Bucs are Florida’s favorite team.

A deeper look at the data shows women, those ages 30 to 45, and those who classified themselves as “very conservative” trended toward picking the Bucs.

Joe’s hoping this all translates into ticket sales sometime soon.

No stone goes unturned when it comes to rockstar Bucs general manager Mark Dominik scouring the universe to learn about players.

Asked today on The Dan Patrick Show for any kind of update on the somewhat mysterious million-dollar knee belonging to second-round pick Da’Quan Bowers, Dominik said his hands are tied during the lockout when it comes to monitoring and managing Bowers’ injury and rehabilitation. But that hasn’t stopped Dominik from using all angles, so he told guest host Mike Florio, of ProFootballTalk.com.

“I wish there was more that we could do. I follow him on Twitter,” Dominik said, referring to Bowers and trying to gain any knowledge of his progresss.

Dominik went on to say, from various media reports, Bowers is “obviously” doing what he’s supposed to be doing.

Interestingly, Dominik said Bowers had been rushing his rehab earlier in the year and when the lockout was briefly lifted the Bucs used that time to advise Bowers to “calm down and work on strength over conditioning.”

Dominik went on to repeat his we-know-knees confidence in his training staff, referring to the team’s success with Kellen Winslow and Cadillac Williams. 

Joe had to laugh when Dominik said he follows Bowers on Twitter. Knowing all the ridiculous personal information players are Tweeting, Joe just can’t imagine Dominik sifting through all that BS.

Many Bucs fans were in stunned disbelief when the St. Pete Times cranked out a story several weeks ago claiming the Bucs already had made the decision to cut Aqib Talib when the lockout is lifted.

Joe quickly tried to soothe Talib fans and fans of intelligent NFL management, writing that the unsourced claim by the Times didn’t fit Mark Dominik’s approach to the Bucs and didn’t make any logical sense, considering under that scenario the Bucs would lose a valuable player without getting anything in return.  

It seems there’s an update to the Times’ claim, courtesy of a live chat with Times columnist John Romano on TampaBay.com yesterday. A chat participant asked whether the newspaper still stands behind its claim of Talib being a goner. Romano dodged the question like Josh Freeman avoids a rush.

12:56 Comment From Kevin G.
Do you Times guys still stand behind the report of the Bucs releasing Aqib Talib at the end of the lockout? 

12:56: John Romano
Shortly after his arrest, there was a lot of chatter from One Buc Place that he would not remain on this roster. That chatter has quieted considerably.

Does anyone answer simple questions any more?

Less than a day after former Giants running back and tarnished network news broadcaster Tiki Barber’s agent claimed the Bucs and the Steelers were finalists for his services, the twin brother of Bucs great Ronde Barber may want to quit fantasizing on toting the rock for the Bucs at The CITS.

That’s the word from eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, as he wrote on TBO.com that the Bucs braintrust has “no interest” in Tiki suiting up in pewter and red.

At the age of 36, Tiki doesn’t fit in with Tampa Bay’s youth movement and the people that count within the organization have no intentions of signing him once he is granted his release from the Giants upon the end of the NFL lockout.

Kaufman went on to write that Tiki is not a “right fit” within the Bucs.

This eases Joe’s mind somewhat. But could this also signal that the Bucs greatly covet free agent Cadillac Williams? In Joe’s eyes, if the Bucs didn’t want Tiki, that leads Joe to believe the Bucs will make sure Cadillac is back.

Never mind that a month ago Joe detailed a WDAE-AM 620 interview when Adrian Clayborn explained he was losing weight to prepare for training camp, not bulking up. (Memories can be refreshed here.) There are still misguided souls that believe Clayborn looked soft, if not pudgy, at the players-only minicamp last week.

Joe’s not buying that. And Joe didn’t encounter anyone at the camp who voiced those observations. Next to Gerald McCoy, sure, Clayborn hardly looks rocked up, but he’s supposed to be smaller. And McCoy wears tighter clothes and has spent months recently with a renowned football trainer in San Diego.

Regardless, more evidence that Clayborn is on track appeared yesterday in a Tweet from Clayborn himself. Already one of the best Twitterers in professional sports, Clayborn spit out this gem illustrating how he’s focused on his diet:

@AJaClay – Sucks I can’t even eat greasy unhealthy food anymore and enjoy it. #tummyhurt

Joe’s concerned about Clayborn getting enough coaching and absorbing his playbook before opening day. Joe is not concerned about Clayborn’s fitness.

Back up the Brinks truck, the Bucs are going to toss cash around when free agency starts like a lottery winner at Mons Venus, so reports NFL.com senior reporter Jason La Canfora, who doubles as a talking head on NFL Network.

In a live chat today, the seasoned scribe says he’s talked to his share of NFL executives who agree wholeheartedly. La Canfora even claims the Bucs will have to “set the market” with fat contracts if the new labor agreement mandates an annual cash minimum on salaries. La Canfora also dropped the popular Nnamdi Asomugha bomb.

Mika – 12:23 PM
If there is a higher cap floor as is being proposed, how is Tampa going to be able to spend the money to reach it? Seems like they would need to drop $30mm+ in free agency. Don’t they pretty much have to sign Nnamdi to $16mm/year to meet these new standards?

Jason La Canfora, NFL Network

I was talking to two GMs this morning and ran this very scenario by them, and neither disagreed. The Bucs are going to have to set the market with a deal or two to get up to the cash thresholds if that ends up being in the deal. And while I hear Nnamdi would like primarily to go to a team that is seen as a perennial contender, he also knows money talks and he ain’t a spring chicken anymore Remember, the Bucs put a pretty massive deal ont he table for Haynesworth a few years back as well. I could see them out-bidding others for Nnamdi (but that average per year is gonna be more like $19M than $16M). That would not surprise me. Talib could be gone and Ronde is year to year at this point. They have added some youngsters to the DL and need to address the back end. I also could see them being aggressive to add a weapon for Freeman as well.

 

In separate interviews with Justin Pawlowski, The Commish of WDAE-AM 620, both Da’Quan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn acknowledged they might not grasp the playbook for a while but they already know how to get to a quarterback and drive his body into the turf.

(Perhaps they can teach Kyle Moore.)

Interestingly, in a position-by-position examination of how rookies may or may not be succesful following a lockout-shortened offseason, longtime NFL scout and executive Greg Gabriel writes that pass rushers are among those who can be expected to deliver an impact quickly. Gabriel penned his piece for NationalFootballPost.com.

On defense, linemen probably have the best chance to play early, especially if they are outstanding pass rushers. At the least, the good pass rushers can play in passing situations and just be turned loose. It may take a bit longer to play on running downs only because the coaches have to be sure they know the defense. A simple mistake can lead to a big play because the defender is out of position.

Joe is very intrigued by this take. It makes a ton of sense. It also could further explain why rockstar general manager Mark Dominik waited to snatch two defensive ends with his first two picks of 2011, knowing a prolonged lockout was inevitable.

Joe’s just going to hope either Bowers or Clayborn is healthy and exceptional. If the Bucs strike gold on just one of those guys, they should be in great shape going forward.

At various times and in various forms recently, Davin Joseph has told the media he wants to see the Bucs re-sign his pal Jeremy Trueblood and Barrett Ruud so Joseph himself can feel good about re-signing with Tampa Bay.

For Joe, Joseph’s comments come off as a calculated, public squeeze play attempt on Mark Dominik. This doesn’t sit well with Joe.

Perhaps Joseph is just being honest. But are we really to believe he’s going to thumb his nose at a fat contract from the Bucs — a team he claims to love — because, say, the Bucs consider Trueblood replaceable?

Here’s Joseph’s latest, via Anwar Richardson of TBO.com.

“I love the coaches here, I love the players, love the community, but at the end of the day, it’s a business,” Joseph said. “That’s the heartbreaking part about it. There are some guys that you’ve trained next to for five years and now you have to say goodbye because at the end of the day it’s a business.

“Hopefully, everything makes sense with me getting back here in Tampa, bringing my buddy Blood (Trueblood) back and making sure things work out well for the team and making sure everything is going forward because after having such a great year last year, I would hate to think we would make too many changes.”

Joseph’s comment about things “going forward” might hold some water if the Bucs were 6-10 last year and not 10-6 with a young roster. Again, for Joe’s taste, Joseph seems far too concerned with playing GM.

Just take the forthcoming offfer, assuming it’s fair, appreciate that you’ve got talent behind you and around you, and flatten everyone in front of you.

Tiki Barber to the Bucs just may happen after all.

When Chucky and Bruce Almighty tried to lure Tiki away from a network TV gig that was in the embryonic stages of crash and burn, Tiki took a pass on playing with his twin brother Ronde and the Bucs.

Now, unless Tiki’s agent agent Mark Lepselter is trying to use the Bucs as leverage — and we all know what paragons of virtue agents are — Lepselter told Tom Bedulla of USA Today that the Bucs and the Steelers are the among the final teams on his wish list.

Lepselter’s approach to negotiations — once they can occur — also suggests financial considerations are not foremost.

“We’re not looking to turn this into an auction,” he says. “There are only a handful of coaches he would want to play for.”

Barber notes that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Bucs are on that short list. He also received an overture from former Giants coach Jim Fassel to join the Las Vegas Locos of the United Football League for a season that begins in mid-August.

Joe has significant mixed feelings on bringing in Tiki Barber. On one hand he hasn’t run through a defense in five years. Joe doesn’t care how much he’s pumping weights, that isn’t football. While the time off from the brutal punishment a running back takes may help Tiki — look how much it helped Ricky Williams who took off a year to smoke dope with the aborigines — the main question is, can Tiki shake off five years’ worth of rust?

Then there is the clubhouse lawyer factor. New York writers claim there wasn’t a back in the Giants locker room Tiki didn’t enjoy stepping on, including those of Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin. The young Bucs don’t need that kind of nonsense in the locker room, to be frank.

If all things are equal, Joe would rather have Cadillac Williams on the roster rather than Tiki. In a perverted way, Joe would love to see Mike Tomlin’s reaction the first time Tiki called out handsy Ben Roethlisberger and/or Tomlin himself.

Mike Florio, of ProFootballTalk.com, will deliver the latest to Justin Pawlowski at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620.

Bearing the most stunning optimism yet as it relates to the asinine lockout, NFL insider and lockout guru extraordinaire Mike Florio, of ProFootballTalk.com, is on the air with Justin Pawlowski, at 5 p.m. today on WDAE-AM 620.

The Commish is filling in the for the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, and will drive The Sports Animal bus up to 7 p.m.

Florio will share his perspecive on the extensive Yahoo Sports report that claims an end to the lockout is damn close. Those chained to a computer can listen online at 620wdae.com.

Joe’s giddy as the next guy and eager to embrace solid news purporting a near end to the lockout mess. Is Joe ready to wager there will be training camp in July? No.

Former Bucs guard and current vocal critic Ian Beckles said he wants the Bucs to have plenty of quality bodies available on the defensive line when the 2011 season opens so the young guys can play roughly 40 snaps rather than an entire game.

“The more the merrier,” Beckles said, speaking as co-host on the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620 today. Citing the “shock” effect of the pro game on raw linemen, Beckles said he’s no fan of young D-linemen taking every snap, especially following a shortened offseason.

Also, Rick Stroud of TampaBay.com delved a little deeper today in to Gerald McCoy’s struggles last year, when McCoy was playing nearly every snap.

“They were moving me around,” McCoy said. “My first snap as an NFL player against Cleveland, I didn’t even play the three technique. I was an end. I was moving around all at the beginning of the year. I asked coach straight up, ‘Please let me play one position so I can learn it.’ I got it. He said, ‘Look, I want you to get off the ball. Do what got you drafted.’ I said, ‘All right.’ I started doing that, things started working. Then I took that tape and said let me take that tape and build off of that.”

Joe wonders what “coach” McCoy was referring to in the quote above — Todd Wash or Raheem Morris. Regardless, it further illustrates Beckles’ point.

If the Bucs feel the same way, then re-signing Tim Crowder and/or Stylez White becomes more of a priority.

Kellen Winslow has missed six games over the past five NFL seasons but none since joining the Bucs in 2009, yet Pat Kirwan, the former NFL coach and executive turned analyst, skewers Winslow for his lack of durability in a ranking of tight ends on NFL.com.

Have you lost your fastball, Pat? C’mon.

Kellen Winslow, Bucs (>): If he could ever stay healthy enough to play 16 games, Winslow’s numbers would be off the charts. Still, his 143 receptions rank third among tight ends over the last two seasons.

Kirwan tiered tight ends into five levels, and Winslow was in Group B with Tony Gonzalez, Heath Miller, Zach Miller and Chris Cooley.

At least Kirwan got that right.

If there is a Bucs fan who doesn’t love Ronde Barber, Joe has never met that person.

The Bucs cornerback stands for all that is good about football players: Smart, good citizen, durable and puts up numbers.

Bucs fans are pretty much united in their belief Barber is a Hall of Fame player and Joe doesn’t disagree. But Barber will have an uphill battle getting into Canton.

BSPN’s NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas decided to write an extensive, reasoned, well-researched feature detailing how more likely than not, Barber and the Saints Darren Sharper will be forever praying to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not inducted.

Yasinskas correctly points out that with Deion Sanders induction next month, it will bring the number of defensive backs to 22. The Hall of Fame does not separate safeties and cornerbacks, they are all lumped into one group.

So of the hundreds of players in the Hall of Fame inducted for the past roughly half-century, only 22 defensive backs have been enshrined.

That’s a pretty low figure.

That might be it for a Tampa Bay team that was known for its great defense in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Barber and Lynch each have a shot. But, at absolute best, maybe one of them gets in someday.

It should be pointed out Barber has transcended eras. He’s continued going strong since the departure of Kiffin after the 2008 season and has provided stability as Tampa Bay has gone through a youth movement.

Barber is 36 and has committed to at least one more season. Durability counts for something, but Barber might need a big 2011 season and maybe more to really get his résumé shining for the Hall of Fame.

It’s an outstanding point Yasinskas makes: rarely (twice, actually, if Joe’s research is accurate) will there be two defensive backs from the same team inducted. It’s pretty much a given that Lynch, after Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp, will get in, but perhaps not for a few years. Lynch very well could cancel Barber out.

Does Joe believe Barber should be included? Yes. Does it mean he will? No. The Hall of Fame voting is political and number of Super Bowl rings does play a factor whether voters will admit to it or not.

If Barber does get in, it might be quite a few years before it happens.

Standing ovation to the Bucs’ multimedia staff on its latest work showcasing Ronde Barber via a classroom Xs and Os film breakdown by secondary coach Jimmy Lake on Buccaneers.com.

Two cuts from the three-part series have been posted. Here’s No. 1, and click through here for No. 2. Essentially Lake walks and talks fans through a few plays highlighting Barber, explaining why Barber is exhibiting Hall of Fame greatness, even if he didn’t finish with an interception.

Hey Buccaneers, let’s get more of this and less of, well, everything else that doesn’t involve cheerleaders.

Interestingly, in the first Barber breakdown, Lake goes out of his way to say he believes Steve Smith is the No. 3 wideout in the NFL.

Since Lake was expressing that so freely and confidently, Joe had to wonder who else in the organization feels that way and whether Smith’s potential availablity could be too tempting for the Bucs to ignore.

In case you missed this when Joe posted last week … Joe and his multimedia comrades have churned out a sweet video wrapup of minicamp.

If this doesn’t fire you up for Bucs football, then you need serious medical attention. Enjoy.