Some Tinseltown heavyweights reached out to Joe recently to work with them on their tailgating/cooking/football junkie reality show. An episode will be shot in Tampa next month.

Now Joe, after making sure this wasn’t some bizarre porn outfit much research on this Hollywood group, decided to get involved in Backyard Blitz.

A casting call is coming up soon in the Tampa Bay area. Plus there will be opportunities for audience members to be part of the show and get paid cash for that, in addition to eating free food (definitely Joe’s idea of hard labor.)

Joe’s going to have a lot more info. soon. But for now, if you think you want to be on TV, here’s Step 1.

BE PART OF THE COMPETITION
Do you go crazy for the TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS? Are you all about tailgating before the big game? If you’ve got team spirit and want to put your BBQ skills to the test, we’re looking for you!

You and a teammate of your choice will go head to head with two other tailgate-tested teams to huddle up around the grill and prove who the MVP’s will be in this competitive cook-off.
You’ll need two dishes to score your touchdown! So put down the playbook, pick up the cookbook and get ready to run your drills behind the grill on Backyard Blitz!

Send the following information for you and your teammate to BackyardBlitzCasting@gmail.com
NAME
PHONE NUMBER
2 CURRENT PHOTOS
FAVORITE BUCCANEERS PLAYER(S)
HOW YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATE KNOW EACH OTHER
SIGNATURE TAILGATE DISHES

Joe advises following the directions above closely in order to be considered. …Again, Joe will post more information very soon. 

Having only cobbled together three wins last year and going through two coordinators by the halfway point of the season, it’s easy to see why many are skeptical that Raheem The Dream will have any lasting power as the Bucs head coach.

But no less an authority than Herm Edwards believes Raheem The Dream will lock up some job security this season.

Twittering as he often does early in the morning, Herm fielded a question from a Bucs fan about Raheem the Dream and gave a short but clear endorsement of him.

@TWOZRO:  can the Bucs improve enough to keep Rah Mo employed? I want to see him blossom.

@HermEdwardsESPN:  Yes

Unless the Bucs totally trip up this season — not unlikely given the fact quarterback Josh Freeman has limited weapons and the defense will rely too heavily on rookies on the defensive line — Joe can easily see Raheem The Dream coming back for the 2011 season, provided there is a 2011 season.

Six wins would pretty much lock up Raheem The Dream for another season.

Last summer when Joe interviewed Bucs tight end Kellen Winslow, he compared Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman as a “black Ben Roethlisberger.”

Pat Kirwan has another famous quarterback that Freeman reminds him of.

During a recent chat on NFL.com, Kirwan cautioned Bucs fans not to get their hopes up too high for Freeman — this year. Down the road, Kirwan dared to predict Freeman could be the next Warren Moon.

Bucs Fan, Tampa, Fl
Hi Pat, Do you see Josh Freeman possibly making an impact this year for the team?

Pat Kirwan, NFL.com
I’m a big fan of Josh Freeman. As I’ve stated many times before, he reminds me of a young Warren Moon. His challenge this year besides his own development is bringing along two rookie WRs and getting them up to par with the NFL game. That is a big challenge. Two or three years from now, he may be the best from his class.

Coming from Kirwan, this warms Joe’s heart. Like Kirwan, Joe is not expecting anything from Freeman. Look, how can anyone expect Freeman to shine when he doesn’t have anything to work with? His running backs are average at best, and to be honest, that’s a stretch. Freeman’s best receiver isn’t even a receiver, it’s his tight end. His two top receivers likely will be rookies.

Joe Montana might even struggle with that supporting cast.

Joe recently touched base with Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times to get more background information into Bucs second round draft pick, defensive tackle Brian Price. Sondheimer, who covered Price both at UCLA and in high school, was kind enough to fill in Joe on some details on Price, both the player and the person.

JoeBucsFan:  Granted, here on the west coast of the East Coast, we don’t get to see too many UCLA games. What made Brian Price such a special defensive tackle?

Eric Sondheimer:  Price showed exceptional strength in beating offensive linemen one-on-one, whether stopping the run or bursting through to pressure the quarterback. His combination of quickness and strength made him a unique player.

Joe:  Was there a particular play or a specific game that you watched Price play at UCLA and first thought to yourself, “Wow, this guy’s playing on Sundays?”

Eric:  I saw him at Crenshaw High, and there just wasn’t anyone to play with him. That’s why USC tried very hard to recruit him, even sending a limo to try to pick him up on a recruiting visit. But he had already made up his mind to attend UCLA, which was having trouble get top players from Los Angeles. He turned out to be as good as advertised.

Joe:  You stated in a previous e-mail that you covered Price in high school, as well, so you likely know him just about as well as any reporters. I know Price had a difficult upbringing. Can you flush out some of the details about what a rough background he came from and the personal challenges he faced?

Eric:  Price had a brother killed. He comes from an area where gangs are prominent, but he has always been a good kid who loved sports and respected his coaches. His father works as a softball coach at Crenshaw. He knows the difference between right and wrong. He wants to succeed and wants to work hard.

Joe:  What is it on a personal level that may impress you about Price or something that not many people may know? He is the kind of guy teammates follow or gravitate to? Is he a rah-rah kind of guy or does he simply lead by example?

Eric:  When UCLA played a bowl game at a very cold site, he was the one wandering around in freezing temperatures with his shirt off before the game. I don’t know if that makes him crazy or he was simply setting an example for teammates to ignore the conditions. I never asked. This past weekend, he came back to his high school to help run a lineman clinic for high school and youth football players. That shows he hasn’t forgotten where he came from. He is very likable and approachable. He loves football. He loves to win. He loves to have fun. He’s a Los Angeles kid who appreciates what it has taken to get where he’s at.

Joe:  Since you’ve seen so many of his games, from your research and knowledge and insight, how would you project Price to be as an NFL player, say, five years down the road?

Eric:  I think Brian Price is going to be a dependable, steady player for years in the NFL. He has the body and physical makeup to be a standout at times. His only weakness at UCLA was conditioning. He had to come out of games at times. But run stoppers and pass rushers are needed, and he can be both as long as he stays injury free. Price showed exceptional strength in beating offensive linemen one-on-one, whether stopping the run or bursting through to pressure the quarterback. His combination of quickness and strength made him a unique player.

A tiny percentage of Joe’s readers will see JoeBucsFan.com featured on the cover of the Tampa Bay Business Journal today.

It’s not Sports Illustrated, but it’s a nice spread and Joe appreciates the interest from the Bay area’s top business publication. JoeBucsFan.com has exploded. JoeRaysFan.com has even greater traffic. And it’s pretty cool that intelligent people are taking notice.

However, this was a business story and missing from it is Joe’s passion for everything Buccaneers. One person who read the story this morning e-mailed Joe to say, “Gosh, it almost came off like you weren’t a crazy Bucs fan.”

That saddened Joe enough to write this post.

Joe’s here every day because he loves the Bucs and enjoys sharing that passion with his readers. Sure, Joe’s a capitalist and is trying to make some real money. Perhaps that’ll happen in a couple of years, but the reality is Joe might have a better chance of getting a rubdown from Jenna Lee.

And if anyone knows Jenna Lee, please tell her Joe is pleased to escort her to Bucs training camp next week.

It seems Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole continues to rank the best units in the NFL by team. He recently typed his list of the best defensive back crews in the NFL and has the Bucs slightly above average.

No. 15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  The Bucs possess the most volatile secondary in the league, a group defined by mercurial CB Aqib Talib. When Talib is right, he’s a ball-hawking machine. When he’s not, he disrupts the team in every way possible. This group could be great or it could be a train wreck, which is one of the reasons CB Ronde Barber is coming back for his 14th season. Barber is supposed to help keep the likes of Talib, Tanard Jackson and Elbert Mack going in the right direction. Talk about a tough job.

Joe believes this to be utter nonsense. While Talib was hardly a choirboy last year, his distractions hardly affected the Bucs secondary. Rather, it was largely the heinous Jim Bates Experiment.

Joe believes, potentially, the Bucs have one of the better secondaries in the league and it was easily a Bucs strength last year. It just shows how one massive crater in the secondary — Sabby the Goat — dragged the Bucs defensive backs down to middle of the pack in the NFL.

Stephen Holder, of the St. Pete Times, also felt compelled to write about the Bucs relying on an inexperienced and underachieving receiving corps coupled with a 22-year-old quarterback.

Joe’s agonized about that situation for weeks, as Joe wrote yesterday.

In Holder’s brief look, he mentions that Micheal Spurlock, the man who made Bucs history in 2007, was a standout during OTAs and is making a case for a final receiver spot.

Even a veteran afterthought such as Reggie Brown impressed coaches with his work ethic and precise route-running. Meanwhile, Micheal Spurlock did his best to convince the staff that he is more than a return specialist, and he made a pretty convincing argument. Second-round pick Arrelious Benn had his moments, too.

Spurlock is an interesting option for the Bucs.

Joe wonders whether Clifton Smith just had bad luck with his two serious concussions last season or does he now have a fragile head?

Sammie Stroughter, who had a return for touchdown last year, seems to be a definite starter at wide receiver and the Bucs might not want him to be their No. 2 return man.

Spurlock might be a wise choice for a roster spot — and inexpensive — but there’s no way he’s on the team if blocking icon Michael Clayton, and his $3 million+ guaranteed sticks around.

Gerald McCoy may have lightning get-off at the line of scrimmage, but he doesn’t plan to bring that kind of frenetic urgency to his contract negotiatons, so he told The Oklahoman for an interview published today.

Bucs training camp starts in 13 days, and McCoy said he plans to wait to sign until No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford sets the money bar for this year’s draft class. 

The only problem – for Bucs fans – is that several outlets are reporting that the Rams, Bradford’s new team, may be throwing a lowball offer at him in an effort to squeeze him into signing a deal. Essentially, the Rams may have leverage because a new NFL new labor agreement likely will include a low wage scale for rookies

How are contract discussions coming?

(shrugs shoulders) I definitely want to be on time, but we just have to see how it goes.

What do you think of former teammate Sam Bradford‘s contract situation?

King Sam! Sam will get his deal done. I think Sam will be there, and as soon as Sam gets his deal done, mine will be done.

Are you waiting on Sam to sign?

It’s kind of one of those deals where you would rather let the first pick sign first. You don’t want to do your deal first and his contract is way higher than yours. But if you waited yours would have been higher.

Yesterday, at an event in Oklahoma, McCoy told the Associated Press: “Given the fact that we’re about to enter a lockout, you’ve got to get as much money as you can.”

Joe can’t fault McCoy for pushing for maximum dollars for himself and his family. And there’s no reason to believe that McCoy is going to be unreasonable.

But as Joe wrote yesterday, Joe has no confidence that this will be a smooth process, despite Joel Glazer telling everyone that “money will never be an issue” when building the Bucs.

One possible upside for McCoy getting to training camp on-time is the Rams start camp two days before Tampa Bay. If Bradford’s negotiations go down to the start of camp, that at least gives the Bucs and McCoy a couple of business days to ink a deal before he misses any precious time putting his face on people with his undewear off and big boy pads on.

Joe admits he’s been an insomniac lately. Thinking about who actually is going to play wide receiver for the Bucs and wondering how Josh Freeman will develop enough of a rhythm with those guys to WIN on opening day is enough to drive Joe batty.

Call Joe crazy, but Joe cares about winning more than anything else.

All the “lasting contender” buzz is very cute but it won’t be soothing when the whistle blows against Cleveland in September.

That brings up the question of how much time Freeman might see in the preseason. Should he play more than most quarterbacks given the state of the Bucs?

Sadly, Greg Olson and Raheem The Dream don’t really have much (any?) experience handling a 22-year-old starter in the preseason along with a huge crop of rookie and young receivers — and veteran receivers — who have so much to prove.

Arrelious Benn was the 39th overall pick in what was considered the deepest draft in a generation. He’s got to play a lot. And Michael Williams is the Bucs’ lovechild of the underwear sessions better known as OTAs. He’s playing a lot.

Then there’s 25-year-old Maurice Stovall, who actually caught 24 balls last year and earned a shot to see if he can get it done. Sammie Stroughter needs his time, and surely the Bucs want to get a long look at Reggie Brown to see if he’s better than Clayton recaptured any of his lost glory.

Joe sincerely hopes blocking icon Michael Clayton is only around to deliver to ferocious hits to future UFL players and catch fade routes from Rudy Carpenter.

After 2009, Joe just has no confidence the Bucs know how to get this all figured out smoothly, successfully and quickly, without needing a half a season for the coaching staff to right the ship.

Hopefully, Joe hopes can stop the anxiety for a night. Perhaps Joe can take his mind off it by thinking about the Bucs’ depth at defensive line and linebacker. … Ahhh, never mind.

The next and possibly ugly battle to be waged on the NFL labor front is underway. That would be the signing of the 2010 first-round draft class.

Owners across the league are hoarding cash and preparing for a lockout in 2011. So who could expect them to start gleefully throwing around alleged market-rate dollars for rookies? Especially when a rookie salary cap seems an inevitable byproduct of a new collective bargaining agreement (whenever that actually happens).

Woody Cummings, beat writer for The Tampa Tribune,  believes a big squeeze might be forthcoming from the Rams to No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford, and force a trickle down effect of holdouts that could include Bucs manbeast in waiting Gerald McCoy.

At a time when a five-year contract and $50 million in guaranteed payouts would be the norm for Bradford, there is talk the Rams may try to get Bradford to accept a three-year deal that includes less than $30 million in guarantees.

That would represent a significant step backwards for the players, who are already facing the strong likelihood that a far-less-lucrative rookie wage scale will be part of the new collective bargaining agreement.

The players, of course, are hoping to maintain the status quo at least through the current negotiating season. That desire could result in several rookie holdouts, possibly including McCoy, who was drafted third overall.

Surely Team Glazer would never stand for negotiations that could affect the Bucs’ on-field performance. After all, Joel Glazer recently said “money will never be an issue” when it comes to building the Bucs. Why Joe even expects Glazer to step in soon and demand that Mark Dominik sign Donald Penn to a long term deal.

Kidding aside, with defensive tackle Brian Price missing a load of offseason practice time already because of school commitments and an injury, the Bucs certainly can’t afford — on the field — to have McCoy miss any training camp.

Given the labor situation, Joe has little hope of a smooth, holdout-free process.

The Bucs opened reservations for free tickets to training camp’s opening day today at 10 a.m., via the free-to-join One Buc Club on the team’s website.

However, on the home page of Buccaneers.com there is no mention of tickets being available now, and to the best of Joe’s knowledge the Bucs haven’t sent out any news releases or drummed up excitement at all.

But you can get those tickets in hand right now. Joe’s got six printed off his trusty Epson . … (One for Joe, one for the other Joe, one for Rachel Watson, one for Roxanne Wilder, one for those two Latina twins who were kind enough to ask Joe to take their picture at last year’s training camp).

It’s an easy ordering process fulfilled via Ticketmaster.

Joe contacted the powers at One Buc Palace yesterday after the learning of today’s launch while viewing of an unrelated video on Buccaneers.com. The Bucs didn’t deny tickets were going up for public consumption, but they surely didn’t seem interested in getting the word out.

Bizarre.

One would think the marketing folks there would want to take off their underwear, put on their big boy pads and put their face on people when it comes to such an exciting event as the opening of training camp. (For those unaware, this seemingly sleazy reference is actually a Raheem The Dream quote).

Oh, well. 

Joe recommends you get your tickets now. Tickets for Day 2 of training camp will be released Saturday morning.

Josh Freeman has built an amazing reputation in just over a year.

The guy lives in the film room and on the practice fields at One Buc Palace. Everyone agrees he’s shown A+ dedication.

Now he’s even jumped head first into serving the community with, among other things, a youth football camp and recently a celebrity bartending appearance for charity. Here’s a photo below courtesy of WhatTheBuc.net:

Ahhh, it’s good to be quarterback.

Linebacker is one of several positions where the Bucs are painfully thin

The new in-house super expert at NFL.com, Michael Lombardi, is not expecting much from the Bucs in 2010.

Why Lombardi boldly predicted the Bucs could have a breakout season and win only six games.

Lombardi, the former Raiders, Eagles and Browns personnel executive, revealed little hope for Tampa Bay and his fellow Hofstra alumni Raheem The Dream in his NFC season preview.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The bad news for the Bucs is they only won three games last year. The good news is they won two of the last three games. Is that a signal that they are improving? Is this the momentum needed to launch a successful campaign in 2010? I am not buying it. The Bucs are a young team on and off the field. Young quarterback, young wide receivers, young defensive lineman, young head coach, and young general manager, which means they make mistakes. And last year they made them all over, from players signed, to play-calling, to game management, to turning the ball over. They are, however, starting to collect talent, which leads you to believe on paper they could be a team capable of breaking out and doubling their win total. However, winning in the NFL with youth is a challenge and the Bucs will use the 2010 season to grow up (all over) and possibly be ready to challenge in 2011.

Joe thinks Lombardi is pushing it to say the Bucs would be “breaking out” to win six games. As Joe has written before, the Bucs played 3-6 football to close the season and somewhat righted a sinking ship, with stability at quarterback and Raheem The Dream taking over the defense after the heinous Jim Bates Experiment.

Barring injury, Joe expects the Bucs to keep playing 3-6 football, which would leave them with five or six wins.

Logic aside, the reality of a six-win season and the Bucs’ painfully young roster void of veteran experience puts a hefty knot in Joe’s stomach. With a couple of typically inevitable key injuries, the Bucs’ season could get ugly very quickly.

Buried in an NFL.com story about the strained NFL labor situation is some tantalizing fodder for the growing legions of Bucs fans obsessed with the team’s finances.

Jason LaCanfora, of NFL.com, studied the new annual report of the publicly held Green Bay Packers organization and analyzed some of his findings. He revealed the Packers’ total revenue of $258 million included $157 million from the NFL’s revenue sharing pot last year.

Of that $258 million, more than half ($157 million) came from national revenues which are shared by all franchises via the television contracts, road-game revenues, national media rights and sponsorship deals. Local revenues — money derived from sales at the Pro Shop, for instance — were actually down $500,000 from a year ago, and have been flat for about three years. Murphy identified the struggling economy as a leading contributor to that.

So it stands to reason that the Bucs, like all other teams, also got $157 million from the mother ship. That’s a sweet piece of change, especially when your player payroll is $84.5 million, like the Bucs’ was in 2009, per the USA Today salary database.

Joe is pleased to know the Bucs are making piles of money.

"Joe, is that you?"

Bucs junkies should be getting excited today. No, there’s been no big free agent signing.

But per the latest Buccaneers Insider video on the team website, registration for tickets to training camp’s opening day (July 31) kicks off Friday at 10 a.m. Fans must register for the One Buc Club, and then they can throw their names in the hat for camp tickets.

Joe’s not seeing additional information on the team website.

In what appears to be good news for camp-goers, Bucs videomaster Scott Smith reported that bleachers are being erected “all around field 3.” That may just be a figure of speech, but perhaps the Bucs are adding seating, as there was no stadium kind of setup last year.

More seats would be a good thing. It was awfully hot out there at times last year, as Joe often found himself wedged between two sweaty, stinky dudes on the metal bleachers. Although watching Roxanne Wilder work the sidelines took the sting out of all that bonding with strangers.

Don't expect Greg Olson to have his feet held to the fire if Josh Freeman struggles in 2010, says Tampa Tribune beat writer Roy Cummings. JoeBucsFan.com photo by Kyra Hallett.

While Joe hammers away to deliver his readers all things Bucs every day, Joe loves this somewhat quiet time of year. It gives Joe a chance to enjoy plenty of relaxed conversation with his media colleagues.

Joe caught up to esteemed Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings recently, and the veteran beat scribe at The Tampa Tribune & TBO.com graciously agreed to a Q&A session for JoeBucsFan.com readers.

Joe hit up Cummings with questions about expectations inside One Buc Place, the rookie class and more. …Thanks, Woody!

Joe: This new Bucs regime already has gone through two offensive coordinators. Whispers are that if Josh Freeman struggles this year a lot of the blame will fall on Greg Olson. How concerned are the Bucs that Freeman could end up like Alex smith or Jason Campbell and have a flavor of the year for an offensive coordinator? What’s their mindset on that?

Tampa Tribune beat writer Roy Cummings: One thing you have to remember about Josh Freeman is that he has spent all his time as the Bucs starting quarterback working in Olson’s offense. He wasn’t getting very many reps during the time Jeff Jagodzinski was in charge, so I would think he had a pretty easy time making the adjustment to the new scheme. And that’s a scheme that, for the most part, is very familiar to the people who will be playing around him. If Josh Freeman struggles this year, I don’t think it will be because of Greg Olson’s offense or a change a year ago in coordinators. It will be because he’s a first-year starter who is still learning not only the league, but his own strengths and weaknesses.

Joe: How much rope will the Bucs give Raheem The Dream? How will he earn a passing grade from the organization in 2010?

Cummings: I think Raheem’s rope is a pretty long one and extends well beyond this season. The key for him is to A) stick with the rebuilding plan that the Glazers have implemented and B) get the players to buy into his approach and his system. The first part of that equation is pretty simple, because it only calls for Raheem to grow as the team grows. The second part is a little trickier because it requires Raheem to continue to get the most out of his players at a time when they are going to produce only modest win totals – at best. As long as the players believe in Raheem and play hard for him, he’ll be fine. If you see any sign of quit in the players, though, particularly the key players such as Josh Freeman, Kellen Winslow, Gerald Mcoy, etc., then Raheem’s in trouble.

Joe: The Bucs have a profound lack of experienced, proven depth at most positions. How much does this concern Mark Dominik? And do you expect to see the Bucs make more Keydrick Vincent–like signings as the season draws closer?

Cummings: The Bucs are not as concerned about the lack of veteran depth as you might think. It is a concern up front on offense because those guys are charged with protecting Josh Freeman, but in other places the Bucs are more than willing to go with the kids, even in reserve roles. Remember, the Bucs’ goal right now is to build a team that can be a Super Bowl contender for eight to 10 years or more. It will probably be another year or two before they complete the process, so the lack of veteran depth is simply a byproduct of the rebuilding program. As this team grows and gets closer to becoming the team the Bucs want it to be, they will add more veterans. For now, though, they want the kids to play.

Joe: There’s been a lot of buzz around rookie Mike Williams. What’s your take so far on this big crew of rookies? And who else seems to have that something special to be a standout contributor in his first season?

Cummings: I think the buzz created by Mike Williams is well warranted. With all due respect to Arrelious Benn, Williams is the best receiver prospect on the Bucs roster. He has stud ability. So do Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. Those two guys are special and should eventually give the Bucs one of the best interior defensive fronts in football. Of all the other rookies the one I like the most is Myron Lewis. I think he can make an immediate impact on defense as a right corner in the nickel package. The other guy to watch is Dekoda Watson. I’ve talked to a couple of scouts who compared him to a young Derrick Brooks. I’d say give Watson a year or two and then watch out. He could creep up on this team and become the best linebacker they have in the bunch.

Joe : “Joe” is not convinced the troika of running backs is that good, and now Earnest Graham will take a pounding from Day 1 at fullback. This, more than a lack of receivers, will hurt the Bucs. Is Dominik convinced he has the right guys in the backfield or will this, along with defensive end, be an area of primary need next year?

Cummings: To me the running back situation is a glass-half-full, glass-half-empty sort of thing. Some believe the Bucs are very deep, some, like you, don’t. I can see both sides. The good news is that if Williams goes down, the Bucs have a proven and capable backup in Ward and another proven and capable option in Graham. That makes them pretty deep at RB. The problem is that they don’t have a legitimate fullback. Graham can fill that role in Greg Olson’s offense because he’s an excellent pass catcher, but the Bucs have to be hoping that Chris Pressley or some other fullback emerges for them. If that happens, they become even deeper because they can then move Graham back to running back. Bottom line: the depth problem is not at RB, it’s at FB. Correct that and the Bucs should have no trouble putting together a capable rushing attack.

Joe: Over decades, you’ve been a beat writer for various major sports teams. With training camp just two weeks away, do reporters get excited, too? Do you get fired up for football season?

Cummings: Absolutely. The hours are long and the workload is heavy, but it’s the start of a new season and I’m very excited to see where this team is headed. The Bucs right now are like a new book or a new movie that you’ve just started reading or watching. At this point we’re still being introduced to the major characters and we have no idea where it’s all headed or what the outcome will be. That’s exciting and adventurous.

Watching the final BSPN video feature on Chucky coaching local high school football in Tampa reminded Joe that Raheem The Dream has taken an awful lot from his coaching mentor.

Raheem The Dream doesn’t talk much about “Coach Gru,” but he always speaks of him in the highest regard publicly. And, heck, he brought back Chucky’s playbook in a big way after flushing Jeff Jagodzinski.

After losing their recent spring game, Chucky told his downtrodden high school charges that they needed savor their misery. “When you’re hot. When you’re sore. When you’re exhausted. Those are the times that you gotta love. That’s what I miss most about football. It’s time like this.  You gotta love misery,” Chucky said.

Last year at training camp, Raheem The Dream said players need to “learn to love to be miserable.” 

On who’s standing out [for their toughness] at practice, The Dream was quick to answer.

“Our O-line … John Gilmore, when he steps in there he’s angry. He’s violent. … Tanard Phillips, Jermaine Phillips. … You see Geno Hayes stepping up his demeanor. …Antonio Bryant not avoiding tackles in practice. …Roy Miller is tough, physical. Done everthing we’ve asked.”

And The Dream fired a shot at fourth round pick Kyle Moore out of the University of Southern California. He said Moore has not been consistent with his effort in the heat on a daily basis. “I tell him. ‘You have to learn to love to be miserable,’” The Dream said.

First, Joe finds it interesting in this 2009 quote that Raheem The Dream cited Antonio Bryant as a tenacious player in practice.

That aside, let’s not forget that Raheem The Dream is a true Chucky disciple.

Enjoy the Chucky video. His misery speech to the kids is at the end.

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also wants you to get to know THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the team goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t. 

With only 2 1/2 weeks remaining the offseason, you’re going to start hearing increased chatter on all the sports networks near and far; football season is about to start.

And you know what that means Bucs fans; it’s time for the local media to start to advancing two myths you will hear about often.

Myth 1: The Bucs have a long way to go to be competitive in the strong NFC South.

Really? That’s funny, because last year’s 3-13 team played competitively in five of its six division games, if I remember correctly, and every pundit agrees the Bucs improved themselves dramatically this offseason in talent at the need positions.

In 2009 among division foes, only a visit by the New Orleans Saints resulted in a game that was out of reach entering the fourth quarter. The season finale against the Falcons at Raymond James ended up a 10-point loss, but it was tied with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and only a field goal with 1:00 left sealed the victory for Atlanta.

The rest? Two games against the Carolina were so competitive they rank as some of the better games played in recent history. The Carolina at Tampa Bay game saw the Bucs score two touchdowns in a 10-minute span to tie the game, and only a late fourth-quarter drive secured a Panthers win. Josh Freeman’s five interceptions spoiled what was otherwise a dominant Buccaneer performance up in Charlotte.

The away games against the Falcons and Saints were special indeed, with the Atlanta game marking the return to play-calling for Raheem Morris. The Bucs played the Falcons down to the wire, where a controversial fake punt call was more the culprit for the loss than any lack of competitive nature. And the Bucs game at New Orleans was the highlight of the season, when a far less talented Bucs team beat the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, IN THEIR HOME!

So next time you hear someone on the radio talk about the Bucs needing to wait some time before they can be competitive in the NFC South, please set them straight.

Myth 2: The Glazers wont spend any money on free agents.

Funny, Bucs fans are the most fickle of fanatics it would seem. Just a year ago we were complaining “how could the Bucs regime give Kellen Winslow Jr. an undeserving contract like that”and “they must be crazy to give Michael Clayton 25 Million dollars,” while at the same saying over and over that the Bucs are too cheap to spend money.

What was the 10 million dollar franchise Tag on Antonio Bryant? Maybe you didn’t like where the money was spent, or how. But the bottom line is the Bucs went out and got the best running back on the market (Derrick Ward), the best tight end (K2 via a trade), and one of the best kickers available to replace a fan favorite who could not nail a 50+ yard FG any more.

These same Bucs fans that were calling Antonio Bryant the next David Boston all of a sudden were calling for Bucs heads for letting him get away.

Keep in mind that in 1996, free agents were available then too for the Bucs’ holes on the team at safety and cornerback, and other positions. If free agents had been acquired, John Lynch and Donnie Abraham would have not gotten valuable playing time, which would have delayed the breakout year of 1997.

Regardless of any debt the Glazers have with Manchester United, the NFL TV Contracts supply NFL Owners with enough revenue to keep a team running smoothly on its financial side.

They may not have large amounts of cash to offer signing bonuses, but the Glazers can offer guaranteed contracts if they need to attract free agents. Similar strategies around the league by other NFL owners for some reason are conveniently being left off the local airwaves. 

Whether the facts amount to an improved record remains to be seen. But thankfully the season start is just around the corner.

Who better than Chucky to get you in that work frame of mind this Wednesday morning.

Love Chucky or hate Chucky, it’s hard not to crack a smile of admiration watching these BSPN videos of him behind the scenes coaching Carrollowood Day School in Tampa.

Joe’s even debating heading to this high school team’s opening night, just to watch Gruden blow a gasket. Great entertainment.