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.

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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.

Uncertain whether Gerald McCoy can play a full season, whether Brian Price can recover from a painful, awful hip procedure, and if Roy Miller can ever become an solid player, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik apparently believed defensive tackle is a weakness on the team.

Thus, Dominik has signed Bears defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, so reports NFL analyst Adam Caplan.

@caplannfl: The #Buccaneers and DT Amobi Okoye agreed to a one-year, two mill deal, his agents Darin Morgan and Ian Greengross confirmed. … $700k of Okoye’s deal is guaranteed. He’ll give them an inside pass rusher in nickel situations. … If all are healthy (big if), the #Buccaneers could wind up having the best DT rotation in the NFL this season.

Yes, if all four defensive tackles are healthy — a major if — depth should be of no concern at tackle.

It also may be why Dominik hasn’t fallen over himself to get an inside linebacker.

Entering his sixth NFL season, Okoye turns just 25 in June and was a former first round pick of the Texans. Last season, he started one game for the Bears, played in every game for Chicago, and recorded four sacks. Per NationalFootballPost.com, Okoye was second on the Bears in playing time for interior linemen and was on the field for 55 percent of defensive snaps.

What a great signing for the good guys. Joe has to wonder if Dominik found a way to get a positive assessment of Okoye from Rod Marinelli, the iconic former Bucs coach now the Bears defensive coordinator.

Okoye is no Pro Bowler, but the Bucs were desperate for quality depth along the interior D-line. Price and McCoy have been hurt more than they’ve been healthy, and Miller and Frank Okam have a lot to prove.

Joe will sleep a little easier tonight, though Joe’s recurring linebacker nightmare is likely to surface.

Yes, Joe knows he’s been harsh on the Bucs linebackers since the grotesque 10-game losing streak, which proved fatal for then-Bucs defensive coordinator/head coach Raheem Morris.

For good reason, the Bucs linebackers were terrible and the worst linebacker unit in the NFL.

But Joe has given middle linebacker Mason Foster a mulligan. The poor guy received no help on either side of him and when defensive tackle Gerald McCoy went down with a season-ending injury, it just got worse for the guy.

Throw in the fact he played out of position, was a rookie, was forced to call assignments and had no offseason to speak of, it was a recipe for disaster from the word “go.”

And it was a disaster.

Foster’s name came up in a Twitter discussion by Andy Benoit of the New York Times. Benoit believes — as do Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio — that the loss of Ruud was the reason why the Bucs collapsed last year and that Foster being lost in space did not help matters (despite Benoit referring to Ruud as “terrible.”)

@Andy_Benoit: As some have pointed out, Bucs D dropped off after losing Ruud. 1 reason for that: Mason Foster, remarkably, was a worse MLB than Ruud. … Signging a veteran ILB would make sense for Bucs, but that also doesn’t quite fit their M.O. SOMETHING needs to be done at that spot, though

Yes, “something” needs to be done in the worst way. It doesn’t appear the Bucs are going to re-sign Geno Hayes. That leaves a hole in the starting unit right there.

The fact Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has been unable (thus far) to land an inside linebacker suggests to Joe this will be a target in the draft.

Or, Dominik is waiting for the “second draft,” when teams make cuts after the draft.

Just an incredible slate of live greyhound racing on tap at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg tonight. Wow! And the weather’s going to be perfect! Plus everything is always perfect at Tampa Bay’s best poker room and at the stunning Derby Club buffet. Of course, the Derby Club Lounge and Gallery Club Lounge are more options to enjoy.

Just for being there, FIVE lucky patrons will win $500. Make a great night — into the wee hours — at Derby Lane.

Joe’s really grown weary of the relentless LeGarrette Blount bashing and doubting running rampant among Bucs fans and many in the media.

One thing that really gnaws away at Joe is that it seems everyone is sooooo quick to embrace the notion that Josh Freeman will bounce back to top form in 2012. But somehow, the concept that LeGarrette Blount will boune back to his stunning 2011 form, let alone improve with his first legitimate offseason and a new running backs coach, is somehow inconceivable to so many Bucs fans and pundits.

Why?

Now Joe likes Freeman and believes he’ll bounce back on some level this season. Don’t misunderstand Joe. However, we’ve often heard of Freeman’s great work ethic and how the Bucs needed to put more talent around him. Even rockstar general manager Mark Dominik has offered up those two comments. But it’s funny how nobody mentions how adding a true No. 1 receiver, the best guard in football and better coaches, might bring Blount back to 2010 form.

NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas’ live chat on ESPN.com is what set Joe off this morning. There’s all kinds of takes on Blount in there, including Yasinskas saying, “I think it’s pretty obvious and will become more obvious going forward what Schiano thinks of Blount. I think there will be significant moves at RB for Tampa Bay.”

Joe’s just shaking his head. And Joe’s going to lift a cold beer tonight hoping the Bucs draft Morris Claiborne.

Whenever Joe thinks of Barrett Ruud, Joe thinks of the simple yet poignant breakdown that former Bucs defensive end Steve White told Joe a couple of years ago. “Guys with 100 tackles every year don’t suck.”

Perhaps the Bucs learned a little of that lesson last year.

Regardless, Ruud is no longer unemployed after an injury-plagued season in Tennessee that saw him start and play in nine games, record 57 tackles and mentor rookie MLB Colin McCarthy. The Seahawks snatched Ruud up yesterday.

Not that Joe would have wanted to see Ruud back in a Bucs uniform, but the must stunning aspect to the Bucs offseason has to be lack of action on the linebacker front.

Joe’s wondering if the new Bucs coaching staff thinks they have a somewhat hidden gem in Dakoda Watson.

Former Bucs great and future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp is not doing so well these days.

Per TMZ.com, Sapp has filed for bankruptcy in Florida. In short, Sapp owes a boatload of cash to a lot of people, and his assets won’t cover the costs.

According to the docs, Sapp owes more than $6.7 million to various creditors … including hundreds of thousands of dollars in child support payments and alimony to at least 4 different baby mamas.

Among the debts, Sapp says he owes $853k to the IRS for 2006 and another $89k for 2010. Sapp says he also owes $2,858 in medical bills for “Corrective Speech and Language Therapy.”

Well, the speech therapy can likely be written off as a business expense so long as Sapp keeps his NFL Network gig that pays him just over $500,000 a year.

However, Sapp’s contract with NFL Network runs out this summer. Given the fracas over Sapp incorrectly outing Jeremy Shockey as a whistleblower, which could be against federal statutes, Sapp may not be back with NFL Network.

Some of the assets Sapp listed in the court papers include:

• 240 pairs of Jordan sneakers and sandals
• Large Nude women painting
• Lion skin rug (female – lioness)

Also, Sapp claims he has lost his Super Bowl ring as well as the championship ring he earned with the Hurricanes.

This is just sad all around, especially the kids who are not getting their financial support.

It was pretty clear that Bucs folk hero “Run Micheal Run” Spurlock wasn’t going to return to Tampa Bay in 2012, but it’s now official. Spurlock joins his ol’ pal Rich Bisaccia in San Diego, where he just penned a one-year deal.

Spurlock was one of three guys Bisaccia singled out when he bailed on the Raheem regime before last season. Joe wishes Spurlock well. The guy’s a class act through and through.

As Joe has written previously, Preston Parker was a below average kick and punt returner last season while Spurlock didn’t see a lot of action.

A healthy Sammie Stroughter is solid returner, but does he even make the roster? Will Morris Claiborne return kicks? More question marks for 2012.

Joe’s made the point many times that LeGarrette Blount has had limited time to develop and spent last season in the hands of a misguided offensive coordinator. Yet Blount still has a 1,000-yard season under his belt and has flashed brilliance throughout his two-year career, plus the guy caught 15 balls at 10-yards a clip last season with scarce chances.

In Joe’s mind, the Bucs clearly couldn’t figure out how to use Blount to maximize his extraordinary potential, so Joe must assume Blount literally can be a dominant running back with better coaching and discipline — something that appears to be in place at One Buc Palace.

Former Bucs defensive end Steve White (1996-2001) seems to be of a similar mindset, so he outlined on WDAE-AM 620 earlier this week.

“I just think the major thing is ball security,” White said of Blount. “Last year, if he doesn’t put the ball on the ground, we’re probably in quite a few more games and our fortunes may have changed in a few of them. Now would it have stopped the regime change? That’s hard to say.

“He was so phenomenal at times. The only thing that held him back was those fumbles.. … Then a lot of times when he’s fumbling the ball it’s at the end of a fantastic run. So if he can just keep the ball in his hands, I think that will go a long way. We really don’t know what he is as a third-down guy because he’s not really been given the opportunity to do it in a game. Coming from a system like Oregon, I would pretty much assume he can catch the ball. He probably can pass block; he’s a big enough guy to be able to do it.

“I remember there was a time when people didn’t think Mike Alstott could block as a fullback, and then he got a new running backs coach and became a pretty good blocker. So that’s something that can definitely can be taught. I think just the one thing comes down to it, just like we saw with Tiki Barber, who showed flashes of brilliance but couldn’t stop putting the ball on the turf. Once he did get over that hurdle he became a Pro Bowl running back. So I think the same kind of holds true for LeGarrette; he’s a got a ton of ability, he just has to be more on the details and quit turning the ball over.”

That said, White went on to say he would draft Trent Richardson with the fifth overall pick, if the Bucs don’t do anything else with the roster between now and the draft. White said the Bucs are so thin at the position right now they’re almost forced to pick Richardson if he’s available.

There’s no denying the Bucs will draft a running back, but Joe would far prefer the Bucs use their second round pick on a running back, scoop up the best remaining RB bodies, including a third-down specialist, in free agency and roll the dice with Blount has their true No. 1 back.

Before Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik went on a spending spree when free agency began not quite a month ago, landing among other players wide receiver Vincent Jackson, it was thought the Bucs were in the mix to land stud wide receiver Justin Blackmon out of Oklahoma State.

Since, Blackmon’s name hasn’t been tossed about much, and for good reason claims eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. Kaufman is of the mind that Blackmon is off the board on the Bucs’ war room mock draft, which Kaufman wrote on a recent Bucs TBO Q&A.

Q: Do you think it would be a bad idea, if available, to draft Blackmon at number 5? Then if LaMichael James is still there in the second round to grab him also? That would make our offense explosive for the first time, maybe even a top 5. I don’t believe our offense has ever been a top 5.

Bryan, Riverview

A: It’s been a long time since the Bucs were blessed with an offense that kept coordinators up until the wee hours. Your Blackmon scenario sounded plausible until the Bucs signed Vincent Jackson as a free agent to provide a deep threat. With Mike Williams and former second-round pick Arrelious Benn on the roster, I don’t see Tampa Bay going for Blackmon at No. 5. The thinking is Jackson will open things up for the other WRs and TE Kellen Winslow to do some damage over the middle.

— eye-RAH! Kaufman

Wow, with a three-wide set of Jackson, Blackmon and Mike Williams, with tight end Kellen Winslow involved, you are talking about a truly frightening passing attack.

Throw in LeGarrette Blount abusing linebackers for playing soft due to the passing threat, damn, talk about putting points on the board.

If LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne is selected before the Bucs are on the clock, Joe wouldn’t be so dismissive about selecting Blackmon.

Joe saw this half-asleep last night on Twitter and thought it may just be a random rumor.

But apparently it is not. It seems Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is wooing Chicago defensive tackle Amobi Okoye. That’s the scent that Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times has sniffed out.

We’ve learned the Bucs are interested in signing Okoye, interest that is said to be mutual. But Okoye has other suitors, too, including the Broncos, Bengals and Bears. It does not seem a resolution is imminent, though that could change quickly.

A return to the Bears seems less likely if you believe Chicago general manager Phil Emery, who was quoted in the Chicago Tribune saying, “Right now, Amobi is trying to decide which direction he is going. We’ve had conversations with him. So far, we have not been able to work out a deal. Amobi is probably going in a different direction.”

Okoye, if acquired by the Bucs, would fit nicely in a three-man rotation at defensive tackle. He would provide an upgrade over the current third tackle, Roy Miller, and would take some of the load off of Price, who struggled in 2011 to fight through his ongoing pelvic and hamstring issues.

Yes, this does add up. Price is trying to recover from an injury that is still very much a question mark. To date, though numbers prove he is valuable on the field, GMC has yet to play a full season. And pretty soon, Roy Miller is going to have to show something.

Yes, Joe wants a linebacker nearly as much as he wants to see Rachel Watson pulling herself out of the Gulf, crawling into Joe’s boat.

But if the Bucs can beef up the defensive tackles, it should help the linebackers out.

Lord knows the Bucs linebackers need a world of help.

Because he has had two season-ending arm injuries in as many years in the NFL, some Bucs fans are down on first round draft pick Gerald McCoy.

Joe has gone on record that the guy is disruptive, which sometimes is as important as a sack, except to the calculator guys.

Joe has been rounding mocked for this but, even though Joe scoffs at the numbers crowd, sometimes numbers don’t lie.

This is the message Evan Silva of Rotoworld.com put forth on Twitter.

@evansilva: Perhaps telling stat: Bucs are 11-8 with Gerald McCoy in the lineup over last 2 seasons. 3-10 when he’s been out.

The Bucs defense was 3-10 without him. Wow.

Joe has been harsh on the Bucs linebackers, and Joe thinks it is deserved. Name a worse set of linebackers in the NFL, please.

But Joe gives Mason Foster a mulligan for a number of reasons, one of which is the guy had zero help on either side of him.

Looking at GMC’s numbers per Silva, it was clear that with GMC off the field, Foster had no help in front of him either.