The way Bucs rookie defensive tackle Brian Price is playing early in training camp, he will introduce himself to opposing NFL quarterbacks this season in a very rude manner.

OK, it’s Aug. 1 and Joe’s not trying to get too hyped up. Joe’s trying to temper his excitement.

Earlier today, Joe’s good friend Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune Twittered how no Bucs player is impressing like running back Kareem Huggins.

Joe respectfully disagrees. Brian Price is lighting things up.

The Bucs rookie defensive tackle, drafted in the second round, quite possibly is having the best camp of any Bucs player. Folks, this guy is a friggin’ beast!

While Joe didn’t see Price get a sack today, Price is tearing up the Bucs offensive line, the first string no less. Every play, and Joe means every play, Price is getting pressure on the quarterback and disrupting plays. The dude is lighting quick off the ball and with his brute strength is able to fight through double-teams even.

In one particular play, against the Bucs first string offense, Price fought through a double-team and flushed quarterback Josh Freeman out of the pocket to his right where he threw an incomplete pass in the flat.

This is exactly what the Bucs sorely lacked last year. Sometimes pressure is equally important as a sack because it blows a play up and that is exactly what Price was doing all day today.

Another cool thing about Price is how, when the ball (run or pass) gets past the line of scrimmage, how Price peels off the line and hauls ass downfield. In one play, Joe cannot remember who the receiver was, Price pulled off the line when Freeman let go of a pass to the right sideline, and Price damned near got to the sideline as quick as the ball. Had it been a complete pass, it’s very likely Price would have caught the receiver from behind. Surely the receiver heard Price’s footsteps.

At one point against the second-string offense, Price just lit up would-be blockers and chased Josh Johnson for his life. It was during this play Joe heard a fan scream while Price was wreaking havoc, “Look at him… look at  him… LOOK AT HIM!”

After two practices, Price is easily the best defensive lineman.

Yes, it’s early and this could all change tomorrow. But the way Price is playing, if he continues, Joe doesn’t know how the Bucs are going to be able to keep this guy off the field.

In short, if Bucs fans are looking to go to BucGear.com to buy a new jersey, after the first weekend of training camp, No. 92 should be on top of your shopping list.

It seems Drew Brees had nothing better to do with his offseason than help counsel a young quarterback in his division.

That QB would be Josh Freeman.

Either Brees is a sweetheart of a guy, has no respect for the Buccaneers, or Greg Olson has very seedy photos of Brees from their days together in college football.

Per Dan Pompei, of Nationalfootballpost.com, Olson got Brees to mentor Freeman for several days this summer.

Bucs second-year quarterback Josh Freeman had help from an unlikely source this offseason — Drew Brees of the division-rival Saints. Freeman spent a week in San Diego picking Brees’ mind and working out together. Usually, division rivals don’t try to help one another, but this was a little different because Freeman’s offensive coordinator in Tampa, Greg Olson, also was Brees’ quarterbacks coach at Purdue. Olson set up the get together. Olson also told me he used the offseason to emphasize several points with Freeman: he has to take care of the ball better, he needs to make better decisions, he should play with more balance, and he has to strive for more consistency with his drops. Olson said he likes what he’s seen from Freeman so far.

Joe’s happy for Freeman, and Joe’s happy that Brees doesn’t give a crap that he’s helping the franchise player on a division rival.

If Joe were a Saints fan, he’d be having an absolute fit right now.

Imagine new Falcons minority owner Warrick Dunn getting Ronde Barber to help out some young Atlanta cornerback. Crazy stuff.

Poised. Cool. Humble.

Gerald McCoy didn’t sound like a rookie in front of the microphone when he greeted the media yesterday evening with the ink barely dry on his massive contract.

Joe recommends you watch the video at Buccaneers.com.

Among other things, McCoy was asked whether he was a changed man now that he’s got $35 million or so guaranteed, ‘Do you stay motivated the same way now that the money is there?’

“Even more. The money, it’s there. But like I tell my family, ‘The money is for you guys.’ I worked hard to take care of my family. My goal is to be the best football player I can be. I want to be in the Hall of Fame. I want to be Pro Bowl. I want to be known as one of the best ever,” McCoy said. “That’s what I want to do. And by doing that, the money will come, and I will share it with your family. You know, the money is the money. I’m not saying it’s not great. You know, nobody’s going to say it’s not great. But I’m a football player. And that’s what I want to do.”

McCoy also confirmed his June practice session with Warren Sapp back, a major happening that was only reported by JoeBucsFan.com and inexplicably kept quiet by the Bucs.

“Everything [Sapp] showed he me, I just went and worked on it. Worked on it, and worked on it and I’m going to try and perfect,” McCoy said. “He showed me a lot of minor things. He said he can’t show me in one summer. …He says it’s going to take time.”

We stuck to “basics.” And Sapp advised ” you gotta go out there with no fear and you gotta go out there with a plan.”

Joe’s quite impressed by McCoy. But that’s all meaningless in about eight weeks, if he looks overmatched.

JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett

It’s another day of hard labor for Joe at the steamy, sweaty confines of Bucs training camp this afternoon. 

Everybody’s sweating out there! Today’s lone practice session starts around 2:30 p.m.

If you’ve been living under a rock and just joining JoeBucsFan.com today, scroll down and read the absolute boatload of training camp news, notes and photos you’ve missed. There’s quite a bit.

Nobody could have been happier than Josh Freeman yesterday after news of Penn's deal. JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett

Woody Cummings, of the Tampa Tribune, tells the story of Donald Penn’s signing and the weight clause that landed in the contract.

Cummings doesn’t miss a step, including Penn explaining how he put his foot down on getting that long term deal done  now, even if he had to give some things up.

So much for no leverage. Penn apparently had so much leverage that he had a long term deal already on the table from Team Glazer, despite the looming lockout.

“So I told (Arceneaux), do whatever it takes to get me in there, because I’ve never missed a camp before. That’s not the kind of guy I am, so let’s get it done. Let’s make some sacrifices if we need to, but let’s get it done.”

One sacrifice Penn will have to make might come at the dinner table. His contract includes a clause that calls for him to be weighed six times a year and to keep his weight between 330 and 335 pounds.

Penn said he doesn’t believe his weight gain a year ago was as big an issue as the Bucs and the media made it out to be, but he already has taken steps to make sure it doesn’t surface as a problem again.

Joe finds it very intriguing Penn spoke of making concessions to get into camp.

Joe wonders if Barrett Ruud ever even sniffed a long-term offer?

JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett

Joe knows many Bucs fans think Kareem Huggins could be a sleeper, that lightning quick change-of-pace back that could add an exciting dimension to the Bucs offense.

Of course, it’s all just speculation, since Huggins only has a handful of impressive preseason NFL carries on his resume and was Division 1-AA standout in 2007.

On Saturday, Huggins looked sharp, unlike Clifton Smith who put the ball on the ground. Joe expects Huggins to carry the load for the Bucs in the second half of every preseason game. Maybe he’ll show enough to stay off the practice squad?

Working hard for his media partners at the Buccaneers flagship radio station, WDAE-AM 620 and BucsCountry.com, Joe caught up with new Bucs linebacker Jon Alston after Saturday’s evening practice. The fifth-year veteran, who was a special teams standout in Oakland, shared some thoughts on the 2010 Buccaneers.

Joe: At 27 years old, you’re a real veteran on this team. What’s it like coming into this kind of young club, how are you adjusting, and how does that translate to practice?

Jon Alston: I don’t know if the young team has anything to do with it. I was just thinking to myself, personally, how much I enjoy being here. [On Saturday,] I caught myself taking a moment and seeing how well we practice here despite the heat and compared to other places I’ve been. I’ve been in the league a while, and the energy is great.

Joe: What’s your role on this team going to be? You came in with a repuation as a special teams ace, and the Bucs have built a very strong special teams unit.

Alston: Primarily backing up Geno [Hayes], and trying to learn both [outside linebacker positions] and be ready for anything. Geno’s a great player. There’s a lot I can learn from him, and the way Quince and Barrett play and approach the game, I can learn a lot there, too. Special teams is going to make sure I’m on this team. That’s where I’ve excelled and we have a group here that can win football games. I’m really excited about playing for Coach Bisaccia. …The guys have so much respect for him. They believe.

Joe: What about Bisaccia stands out?

Alston: Definitely what we do on special teams stands out in the offseason preparation and approach. … We work hard. We go out and call it C.A.T. club. …It’s an acronym and I’ll leave it at that. …When other teams are just lifting and watching tape, we’re out there practiciing technique, things that make you better on gameday. That’s something that’s paid off here. Coach Bisaccia is consistent and he’s honest. That’s the great thing. He is so steady. There’s no panic now that the pads are on. We’re practicing in OTAs the way we’re practicing today. It’s consistent, thoroughly, and that’s special in this league.

Joe: Walking into this team in the spring and now, does it feel like a 3-13 team? Do you get a vibe that the team is climbing out of a hole?

Alston: I don’t feel that, to be honest with you. The guys are very excited about how they finished last year against some good opponents. And there’s a lot of confidence among the defense from the way things turned around late in the season. The atmosphere is, ‘Let’s build on that.’ …There’s no here we go again. It’s a race to 10 [wins] as Rah likes to say right now. …The guys are buying into that. For the first day of practice, I was impressed with the tempo.

Joe: You’re coming from the Raiders organization, where the fans are notoriously intense. What’s been your impression of Bucs fans at FanFest and now after the first day of practice?

Alston: Raiders fans are great. They really are. I do like how intimate it was at practice here. Having the fans so close and so involved and so loud at pracitice, it kicks you up a notch. I’m from the South, from Louisiana. There’s a different mentality in the south about the football. Some people around the country might take offense to that. I know the SEC, but I was a Pac-10 guy, and played professionally out there. It’s a different kind of excitement in the South for football. This kind of fan energy is new to me at a professional level. …It’s exciting. The fans are why we’re here, and it’s great to be reminded of that at the opening practice.

Not only is Team Glazer writing checks faster than Joe does on the first of the month, Team Glazer seems to be loving every minute of it.

What’s going on?

Brighthouse Network, the same outfit that shamefully denies its viewers NFL Network, turned out an impressive video from Bucs camp (no surprise they don’t offer embed codes) that includes footage of Joel and Bryan Glazer hugging Donald Penn. Great stuff.

There’s also plenty of shots of the svelte Penn in action.

Perhaps it is true that “money will never be an issue” when building the Bucs into a winner?

These are confusing times for Bucs fans.

The media throng gathered before a smiley Raheem The Dream this afternoon hit the head coach with a question about Donald Penn’s waistline.

After all, fat seemed to be a huge part of the ugly public negotiating tactics earlier this summer.

It was a pointed and appropriate query. The reporter essentially asked Raheem The Dream if he had concerns about Penn’s weight skyrocketing now that he has a fat new contract.

“You know I don’t, because I know the man’s character. You know, if he had weight gain, and when he did have weight gain, he’ll put it under control. And that’s what he’s been working on. That’s what he’s been doing this whole time,” Raheem The Dream said. “So, for me, it’s more about how much he cares about his teammates and how much he cares about actually playing. He’s got a big weight lifted off his chest. There’s two ways to look at that story. He’s got a weight lifted off his chest. His family’s secure. He knows he can be secure. He’s knows he’s going to be here. There’s no ‘what if’ anymore. He’s a Buccaneer. And hopefully, he’s a lifelong Buccaneer. So, you can look at that thing either way. You know, there’s different guys that get money, they turn it down and they do different things. But we don’t believe that or we wouldn’t have gave Donald Penn the kind of money that we gave him or the contract that we did give him.”

(Translation: Raheem The Dream says he’s not worried because Penn cares.) It almost sounded to Joe like Penn might not have a weight clause in his deal.

Joe couldn’t care less. Hopefully, Penn will keep it under 330 and go out and dominate.

Joe’s good friend Derek “Old School” Fournier, of WhatTheBuc.net, who also is a frequent fill-in host on CBS Sports radio in town, cut a video breaking down the first practice of Bucs training camp 2010.

Joe got caught.

WFTS-TV reporter Sean Daly, left, shares a laugh with (formerly) Big Nasty as the two were about to air a live interview.

Bucs players come over to the stands to mingle and sign autographs for the fans just prior to the first day of training camp.

Linebacker Dekoda Watson by way of Florida State.

Rookie defensive tackle Brian Price who had a huge first day of training camp.

Derrick Ward runs past defenders in a drill.

"JOE! Where have you been? Come here you hunk of man!"

For some odd reason, Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man" springs to mind for Joe when he looks at his photo.

As Joe wrote earlier, Brian Price clearly was getting extra attention from Raheem The Dream at today’s morning practice.

And Joe was watching as defensive line coach Todd Wash leaned on Price a little bit and made him go through an extra rep on a sled drill.

Price later busted up a run play that had Raheem The Dream ready to chest bump, and the rookie looked quick.

It seems the Bucs coaches and players took notice, too, per the recent Twitter musings of eye-RAH! Kaufman, of The Tampa Tribune.

Ira: Rookie DT Brian Price says he still isn’t fully over his hamstring problems, but he certainly impressed teammates and coaches Saturday.

Joe winces at the thought of Price battling a hamstring injury on Aug. 1. The Bucs need him or Gerald McCoy to have a strong season if they want to progress on defense. That’s a tough chore for any rookie, and the hammy won’t make it easier.

Everything about training camp on the field is fun for Joe. It’s all football. All the glorious nuances of the game.

But, admittedly, Joe gets a little more fired up to see the Bucs line up 11-on-11 and throw the ball in full pads, rather than watching Barrett Ruud today in an intense coaching session with new linbackers coach Joe Baker, in which the two were demonstrating/discussing (disagreeing?) on technique.

So the fun picked up a notch late when Mike Williams, who had already made a couple of impressive athletic catches earlier in the day, lined up one-on-one with Ronde Barber in the flat.

It was pretty — for Williams.

Williams juked Barber and got wide open (the crowd oooohed), but Williams dropped the pass, which was slightly underthrown by Josh Freeman.

Fun stuff.

Joe was quite impressed with Arrelious Benn. The dude is strong. Joe know understands all that gay-sounding talk about his impressive lower body by Bucs coaches after the draft. Benn clearly is a guy who will be tough to bring down after the catch at the NFL level.

Benn didn’t have any drops – that Joe witnessed – and had what would have been a long-gainer on an out route, courtesy of a foolish gamble in man coverage by cornerback Derrick Roberson.

As for the other receivers, Sammie Stroughter had a bad drop, which he agonized over for a while. Terrance Nunn showed some sure hands, as did Micheal Spurlock, who seems to be just that little extra focused than others to make the team.

Reggie Brown didn’t stand out for Joe — good or bad. Although he apparently has befriended Michael Clayton, which can’t help his odds of making the team.

On a side note, Aqib Talib displays such incredible hands and body control in secondary drills, sometimes Joe wonders whether he should have been a receiver.

The Mad Twitterer and Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times talk about how Bucs general manager Mark Dominik, in a span of a few hours,  may have dispelled the notion by some fans that Team Glazer is cheap.

Careful, Peanut, don't drop the little girl. JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett.

Now Joe loves the electrifying play of Clifton Smith the return guy. Undrafted, he started his career fumbling like a madman, but he stuck with it (and Chucky stuck with him) and turned it around.

However, Clifton Smith the running back has always been a fumbler in his limited touches. It is what it is.

At training camp today, twice Smith put the ball on the ground working with the offense.

Now both fumbles were ruled to have occurred after the plays were dead, but both were pretty darn close. The first time the ground likely caused the fumble, and the other time he was stripped (allegedly after the whistle) and rookie defensive end Erik Lorig scooped it up and took off.

Joe knows these were not officially fumbles, but for a guy like Smith with a history of coughing up the ball, it did nothing to soothe Joe’s concerns about Smith getting involved in the offense.

The Bucs weren’t tackling this morning. Oh, they were battling hard at the line of scrimmage and in coverage with their pads on, no question about it.

But there was just that goofy-looking fake tackling after the play went past the line, as is done during spring practices in shorts.

Joe should have known that some fans would not be aware of such a practice. And there were several.

Joe particularly got a kick out of one guy who routinely was angrily screaming at players to “wrap up, c’mon, wrap up.” Poor guy probably went home thinking the Bucs will have the worst defense in the history of football.

But that guy got Joe thinking. Perhaps the Bucs should have had Sabby The Goat be the only guy on defense approved to tackle this morning?

The noise buzz around training camp from the various media types Joe mingles with was that quarterback Jevan Snead will be cut to make room for Gerald McCoy on the Bucs roster.

Yes, McCoy, or any player, is not officially rostered until he has a contract.

Why anyone was even talking about Snead was because he was nowhere to be seen on the practice field. Only Josh Freeman, Josh Johnson and Rudy Carpenter were wearing the orange “quarterback jersey.”

Snead, an undrafted rookie free agent, was a ridiculous longshot to make the team, especially after Raheem The Dream expressed his deep affection for Carpenter back in June.

Blocking icon Michael Clayton was doing his typical training camp best this morning.

He was looking fit. He was running hard. And he was catching the ball.

Why the blocking icon even had the crowd roaring when he made a great adjustment in the air to catch a Josh Johnson bomb with cornerback Brandon Anderson all over him (not exactly Talib, but still a great play).

Unbelievable! The blocking icon came to play. He was working on some special teams drills, as well, which caught Joe’s eye.

Joe got at good laugh when a Bucs fan standing next to Joe was visibly offended by the sight of Clayton on the field, “Clayton. Clayton would drop his pads, if he had to carry them.”