Here’s one for those who want the Bucs to pull the trigger on Trent Richardson. And while Joe doesn’t fall into that category, Joe admits the following now has Joe squirming in his chair just a little.

The premier draft guru in the nation, Mike Mayock of NFL Network, has now reversed course on Richardson after intensive film study on the top running back in the draft. Previously, Mayock, a former NFL safety, didn’t have Richardson in his top-5. Via ProFootballTalk.com, Mayock is now pounding the drum for the Bucs to grab the Alabama RB.

“Boy was I wrong,” Mayock said of suggesting Richardson might get out of the Top 10. “He’s going in the Top 10. Let’s face it, if the two quarterbacks [Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III] go 1-2, and the Vikings are not in the market for a tailback at No. 3 because of Adrian Peterson, this kid is going 4, 5 or 6. He’s the best tailback I’ve seen come out since the aforementioned Adrian Peterson. He brings toughness, he brings speed, he brings pass protection.”

Mayock said that if the Browns pass on Richardson at No. 4, he can’t see why the Bucs would pass on him at No. 5. Mayock said Richardson running behind the Buccaneers’ offensive line in Greg Schiano’s offense could have a big impact as a rookie.

“Trent Richardson might be the best position player in this draft,” Mayock said. “I watched 150 of his carries today. I watched every catch he made on tape today. . . . I watched every pass protection I could find in about a 10-game span, and he might be the best pass-protecting running back in this draft also. So when you talk about toughness and perhaps the best positional player in the entire draft, I think if he is available at No. 5, with that offensive line, they’ve got to pull the trigger.

While the Bucs can get good, complementary running backs for LeGarrette Blount in the draft and via free agency, Joe can’t be certain rockstar general manager Mark Dominik isn’t having the same assessments as Mayock and doesn’t want to be known as the guy that passed on Trent Richardson.

Then there’s Greg Schiano’s repeatedly stated commitment to the running game. Joe even had a chance last week to have a cozy, off-the-record chat with Schiano and the head coach was eager to further define that commitment at Joe’s request. 

Maybe the Bucs will draft Richardson? If nothing else, Mayock’s high-profile and likely accurate grading of Richardson is sure to drive up interest in possible draft-day trade offers to the Bucs for the No. 5 pick — if Richardson is still on the board.

See what happens when NFL types get together whether it’s the Super Bowl or the combine or the NFL owners meetings? News happens.

Today’s nugget of news is typed out by Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times who got a few words in with Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik this morning at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach.

Among the wide variety of subjects Dominik discussed was that Bucs fans should settle and embrace the crop of linebackers currently on the Bucs roster.

In short, Dominik says he’s not going to chase any more linebackers. Not now anyway.

As for the linebacker position – which has been under much scrutiny because the team has elected not to make any linebacker signings – Dominik said the priority is to allow the new coaching staff to work with the current players before drawing firm conclusions. The Bucs will have a new defensive system, which they’ll start learning when coaches and players are permitted to begin working together on April 2.

The Bucs will have a minicamp in mid-April, before the NFL Draft.

“I think they have to get to know the guys a little bit better,” Dominik said of the coaches. “They haven’t even had a chance to be in the classroom to actually learn anything. Until our guys get to line up and actually occupy the three (linebacker) spots, and then we get that minicamp before the draft, that’s going to be an education for everybody. The classroom is going to be the key.”

In Joe’s eyes Dominik is playing a well thought out, reasoned game of poker here. He knows the linebackers need an upgrade, if for no other reason than it appears Geno Hayes won’t be back, unless of course the Bucs are planning on starting pass rushing specialist Dekoda Watson.

The same reasoning Dominik gave for not courting a linebacker could have been said for the wide receiver position, the offensive line and secondary, all areas where the Bucs have made personnel moves in recent days.

Dominik’s words are basically twofold: One is to the London Fletchers of the world: the Bucs will welcome you with open arms but are not going to overpay. Also, not long from now is the second free agent period, the time before training camp when teams cut veterans.

A diamond in the rough very well could be found in May or June. At this point, it doesn’t pay for Dominik to be aggressive for a linebacker.

One of the more exciting nuggets coming out of the NFL owners meetings today is word from Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman that Vincent Jackson is a model player in practice.

Kaufman caught up with Chargers head coach Norv Turner, who gushed over his former star wideout. Here’s a nugget of the interesting read.

“Vincent’s an outstanding worker who loves to practice with high energy,” Turner said. “He runs up the field and comes back, runs up the field and comes back and does it again and again. We’re a vertical passing team and he’s a guy who a lot of times won’t let you take him out. He just keeps going.”

Turner expects his younger brother, Ron, to make an impact as quarterbacks coach on new head coach Greg Schiano’s staff in Tampa. Ron Turner formerly served two stints as offensive coordinator of the Bears.

“When you go in with a group and you’re all starting together, it’s an exciting time,” Norv said. “I’m one of his biggest fans. Ron coached in Chicago and the Bears went to a Super Bowl. He’s gotten the most out of the players he has coached.”

This is really music to Joe’s ears. For Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn to have a true professional to model their professional development after daily is a phenomenal thing. Last year the Bucs sold fans that coaches with NFL experience, like former receivers coach Eric Yarber, could fill a leadership void successfully.

Thankfully, the Bucs won’t have to rely on that silliness at receiver this season.

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"Hey, Mr. Glazer, did you hear Mike Mayock say on the NFL Network last night that Stephon Gilmore has the best ball skills of any corner in the draft? Oh, you have Bright House cable at home? I'm sorry about that."

The years-old, fiery, often heated debate among Bucs fans — “Should troubled Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib stay or go?” — arose once again yesterday when his trial on gun-related assault charges was delayed until June.

This episode is just one of many that have surfaced with Talib, seemingly every four to six months, since he was drafted by the Bucs.

At least the man is not boring.

Some — such as Joe — believe the delay of the trial scheduled weeks after the draft raises the stakes that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik will draft LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the fifth overall pick.

But hold up, says Joe’s good friend, “The Commish,” Justin Pawlowski of WQYK-AM 1010. Pawlowski is of the mind that Talib’s status with the long arm of the law in Texas has not now, nor will influence Dominik’s draft board.

I sincerely doubt Aqib Talib’s situation is effecting anything the Buccaneers are doing this off-season. I believe that Talib will be looked at as a luxury if he is with the team and allowed to play in 2012. Mark Dominik has always told me that you can never have enough quality cornerbacks. The Buccaneers have already signed one as a free agent, and I wouldn’t be shocked if another one is drafted in late April either.

This is an interesting thought to Joe. Dominik likely was approaching the 2012 season, prudently, with the thought that Talib would not be available because of his legal hassles, and the shadow of a suspension from NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell looming.

Whatever amount of games Talib suits up for the Bucs in what very well could be his final season with the team (his current contract expires after the 2012 season) is simply gravy on Dominik’s plate of mashed potatoes.

When news broke yesterday that Bucs troubled cornerback Aqib Talib had his trial on gun assault charges pushed back to late June, thus sort of putting the Bucs in a pinch about not knowing his 2012 season status prior to the NFL draft, Joe assumed the chances Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik selects LSU cornerback Morris Clairborne with the fifth overall pick all the more likely.

Joe’s assumption is what Tim Ryan wants to see happen.

The former Bears defensive tackle and current co-host along with Pat Kirwan on one of the most intelligent football shows in the free world, “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, touched base with eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune and suggested Dominik should do his organization a favor and just cut Talib now and wash their hands of his never-ending drama.

Speaking Monday at the start of the league’s annual spring meeting, Ryan said the Bucs can no longer count on Talib, who faces a trial [June 25] in Texas on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

“You can’t trust Talib — his behavior pattern tells you that,” said Ryan, who also co-hosts “Movin’ the Chains” on Sirius XM NFL Radio. “Even if he gets acquitted, you can’t trust him. How many opportunities has he had? It’s time to wave goodbye. He’s one of the most talented corners in this league, but you can’t control him. When it gets to crunch time, he reacts with poor judgment.”

Joe has a hunch the Bucs won’t cut Talib. Sure, if he pleads out, or worse, is found guilty, Talib also will have to stand in front of the court of NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell to face a suspension, since Talib is a repeat offender in the eyes of the league.

How many games Talib will be suspended — unless he is found innocent — remains to be seen. Given the fact that the 2012 season is Talib’s last under his current contract, Joe’s hunch is Dominik will take as many games as he can get from Talib, and then let him walk after the season.

Yeah, Joe sees the story by Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud that claims Ronde Barber will have to fight for a starting job. Joe’s believing that about as much as he believes Rachel Watson will knock on his door at the stroke of midnight begging Joe to pudding wrestle her.

Stroud, of TampaBay.com, talked to Greg Schiano and claims Barber will have to earn a starting nod.

In the end, Barber got what he wanted — a chance to compete as a starter.

“I see it like every other position,” Schiano said. “That’s the great thing about competition. Let it play out the way it does through performance. The best man wins. That’s the way I like it.”

Joe’s quite confident Barber, the NFL’s reigning ironman with 199 consecutive starts, is not going to have to prove himself by impressing in OTAs and making splash plays in preseason. That’s absurd. Joe can’t imagine Schiano would bench the Bucs icon under any circumstances.

Barber will own his rightful spot in the starting lineup on opening day, and that will be his to lose. How much Barber plays is another story. Hopefully, he’ll be rotating with Aqib Talib, Eric Wright and Morris Claiborne.

The odds of the Bucs drafting stud cornerback Morris Claiborne just got ramped up a bit as troubled Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib’s trial for gun-related assault charges has been pushed back further.

Dallas County court records show “conflicts and discovery” listed as reasons for the rescheduled date. Now the trial is scheduled to begin June 25, nearly two months after the draft. Talib’s mother’s trial for the same charge, scheduled to start today, also was pushed back to the same date.

“We have no desire to reach a plea agreement with the state regarding this case,” Perez told Mark Cook of PewterReport.com. “We look forward to getting this behind us and behind Aqib before the (NFL) season starts.”

Whether sentenced or not, a Texas judge is not the only long arm of the law Talib will have to face. If Talib pleads out, it is likely NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell will give Talib a time out of a few games.

Not knowing if Talib will be around this year — or beyond — increases the likelihood of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik drafting Clairborne.

At this point Joe’s not sure which area of the porous Bucs back seven needs more help, linebackers or secondary?

Joe’s really getting a laugh from credible reports that Bill Parcells is about to have a sit-down with pariah Sean Payton about taking the Saints head coaching job for 2012, while Payton sits home wondering why he flushed $8 million down the toilet as a leader of BountyGate.

Now Joe’s not about to call 70-year-old Parcells an old bag that hasn’t coached in six years or won a playoff game since the 1990s. The man will land his bust in Canton one day. And after all, Joe would not have cried if Marty Chokenheimer had been named Bucs head coach.

But Parcells is very much a coach that leads through the intimidation and fear that comes with being a supreme ruler of a franchise. So what exactly are Saints players going to fear when they know Payton is returning the following season and is probably calling shots from a secret cell phone to begin with?

Joe’s confident a Tuna takeover in New Orleans would do a great job deflecting Bountygate distractions but little for the Saints on the field. Joe’s not worried about what Parcells landing in the division would mean for the Bucs in 2012.

Ever since popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, beer-chugging Peter King, the NBC Sports guru and Sports Illustrated scribe, predicted the Bucs would finish 2-14 in 2010 (10-6 was their final mark), Bucs fans have enjoyed piling on King.

Now it seems King has added another rallying point for those who loathe his commentary around Tampa Bay. In King’s must-read Monday Morning Quarterback column today, King labels the Broncos signing of free agent cornerback Tracey Porter to a one-year deal as his No. 1 deal in free agency, in part because Porter is better than the Bucs’ Eric Wright, who got paid a lot more money.

1. CB Tracy Porter from New Orleans to Denver. The other day in Denver, I spoke to John Fox about the supporting cast for Peyton Manning, and one of the things I gently reminded him was his defense allowed 40 points or more in five of 18 games last season. “I know,” he said. “We plan to do something about that.”

This is a very solid first move, bringing in a better corner than two (Eric Wright, Aaron Ross) who got richer first-week contracts. The only X factor with any former Saint, however, concerns the bounty investigation, and whether any players will be suspended. We don’t know whether Porter was involved, and whether he’ll face any discipline.

Joe’s not about to sit here and claim he’s pored over isolated game film of Porter and Wright, but Joe’s comfortable writing that King hasn’t either. At least King is consistent. He had Porter ranked as the 28th best free agent in 2012; Wright didn’t make King’s top-50.

Just something to file away to keep an eye on in 2012.

The Bucs surprised most fans and broke the bank signing free agents Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks and Eric Wright, and don’t forget Jeremy Zuttah, Dan Orlovsky and iconic Ronde Barber, who Joe suspects isn’t playing for peanuts.

So was there a resulting stampede at the box office? Were the Bucs flooded with energized fans eager to gobble up all things Bucs? Joe asked the powers at One Buc Palace and was told an answer would come at a later date.

So Joe is left to wonder as the limited numbers of $300 Bucs season tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.

Up in Buffalo, the Bills have been openly giddy, spitting out to the media that the team sold 1,650 new season tickets (cheapest are $351) in the three days following the Mario Williams signing, so reported the Buffalo News.

A few examples, from the Bills:

• More than 6,000 people have signed up to inquire about the new Mario Williams jersey marketed by Nike.
• The team’s website, BuffaloBills.com, registered almost 3 million page views March 15-16, before and after Williams’ signing.
• The Bills say they now have 453,400 followers on Facebook and Twitter (The Bucs have 495,000+)

Yes, Joe realizes unemployment is much lower around Buffalo than in the Tampa Bay area. However, per The Business Journals, the Tampa Bay market is more than double the population of greater Buffalo.

There’s a long, too long way until opening day — plenty of time for the Bucs to market tickets, add to the roster and impress in preseason. But Joe’s not expecting an end to the dreaded blackouts anytime soon.

Joe likes to share JoeBucsFan.com milestones with readers. And today is one of those days.

A quick look at Joe’s top secret files at JoeBucsFan headquarters reveals that today Joe will churn out his 10,000th post of Bucs news, nuggets, commentary and more since launching this site in August 2008. That’s more than any other media in that time frame and averages out to more than seven posts per day.

So why does Joe crank out so much material? The simple answer is because people read it. This will be a record month for Joe with more than 500,000 actual visits to JoeBucsFan.com. Another reason is Joe enjoys inspiring Bucs fans to be more passionate. Plus Joe will not back down from a commitment to his glorious advertisers — to barrel ahead as the true must-read destination for Bucs fans.

Joe looks forward to another 10,000 posts.

So the Bucs struck out getting Curtis Lofton. Given his quotes and how long he was on the market, it was pretty clear he didn’t want to play for the Bucs, so people barking that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik should be held accountable need to step back.

If a guy doesn’t want to play for a team, it doesn’t matter if Dominik or Bill Polian is the general manager.

So now the pickings for a linebacker — a position that just cries out for an upgrade of some sort — are getting slim.

One player who may be on Dominik’s radar is Washington free agent London Fletcher. While Fletcher is a damned good teammate and could possibly help guide the young Bucs into the right way to play football, the trick with Fletcher is that he is a robust 36 years old and turns 37 in May

How many decent middle linebackers out there are playing at a high level at 37?

Even as an old man by NFL standards, Fletcher had 96 solo tackles last year. That’s pretty strong.

Let’s just say Joe wouldn’t be upset if Dominik turned his focus now to Fletcher, so long as it is no longer than a two-year contract. A one-year pact might even be better.

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

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

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

He was able to get through to young players.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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