Former Bucs offensive lineman Jerry Wunsch, proprietor of the upstart Big Mike’s pizzeria chain — an establishment that would be well served by investing in Joe’s advertising — spent a little time today in studio on the Ron and Ian Show, on WDAE-AM 620.

Chatting with host and former Bucs teammate Ian Beckles about the NFL labor situation, Wunsch explained that he’s had recent discussions with bigwigs on the owners’ side of the table and the players’ side. Wunch said from the owners’ perspective “there’s a 100 percent” chance of a lockout, and he characterized the players’ current resolve as “150 percent” chance of a lockout.

“So that’s a 250 percent chance of no football in 2011,” Wunsch said.

Wunsch talked a lot about the NFL’s need to take care of retired players as a big issue for the players’ association. He offered the example of former Packers and Dolphins tight end Marv Fleming, whose 12-year career wrapped up in 1974. Wunsch said Fleming has health issues from playing football, never earned more than $60,000 a year, and his NFL pension is now $149 a month.

Wunsch’s comments, specifically the “250 percent” line, were a real slap in the face to Joe.

There’s a part of Joe that can’t imagine those involved in the cash machine that is the NFL would ever be so stupid as to lose a season.

Last year the Bucs held a training camp practice/pep rally (replete with cheerleaders and cold draft beer) at Community Investment Tax Stadium, commonly referred to as the C.I.T.S.

(If representatives of the financial firm in St. Petersburg that owns the naming rights to the C.I.T.S. wants Joe to call the stadium by its official name, Joe will be happy to, for a price. Just e-mail Joe at Joe@JoeBucsFan.com for details.)

Per Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times, who had a Bucs live chat this afternoon, the Bucs informed him while the chat was in progress, that there will be another training camp night practice/pep rally open to the public this year.

steve t
do u know if the bucs are gonna have a pract at ray jay at night like they did last yr..any talk goin on

Stephen Holder
I’m told now that, yes, there will be a night practice at RayJay. Breaking news from the Bucs! Thanks to the PR staff who apparently are reading this chat!

Joe believes this is very cool. It was a pleasant night from what Joe remembered last year, and Joe certainly enjoyed the lesser priced cold adult beverages.

Blogger, author and former Bucs defensive end Steve White, author of the highly acclaimed Bull Rush column on JoeBucsFan.com, has spelled out a refresher course in “under defense” for all to enjoy.

Click here to check it out on his blog. It’s a sweet, big gulp of Xs and Os to help you get through a football-starved June afternoon.

But I think that there is a misconception that Black blitzes every play in this defense. He doesnt. On passing plays unless a blitz is specifically called Black still drops back in coverage. It actually gives him and our defense an advantage at times in that by being on the line he can jack up the tight end a make it hard for him to get out on a route. In our division with Shockey and Gonzales thats huge. And we can still play cover 2 out of an under shell so being physical with the tightend also helps our middle linebacker who often times will have to cover them deep down the seam.

This is especially timely given Raheem The Dream recently gushing over Quincy Black after the opening day of minicamp. (You can watch Raheem The Dream’s first minicamp news conference and hear him talk about Black on Buccaneers.com, and those who care can notice that one of his quotes is cleaned up for a story about Black posted earlier this week on Buccaneers.com. )

White also wrote about under defense previously right here, and Black vs Cato June several weeks ago.

Reading all this Xs and Os stuff has Joe yearing for opening day of training camp — just one short month away!

One of the excuses floated when future Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks was jettisoned like a used beer cup was to get Quincy Black more playing time.

With few exceptions, Black didn’t exactly remind Joe of Brooks, unless fans wished Brooks was back.

Things should look better for Black this season, so the Bucs linebacker said. That’s because Raheem the Dream has learned how to utilize his skills, so reports Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune.

While Black played strongside linebacker, he often was asked to play far off the line of scrimmage. Once Tampa Bay realized Black (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) was better utilized closer to the ball, Bucs coach Raheem Morris changed his strategy.

“We went a little more under front because of a guy like Quincy Black,” Morris said. “I don’t know if we ever had a linebacker with Quincy Black’s physique, rush ability, how big he is, how strong he is, how physical he is and also fast.

“We were able to take advantage of some of his strengths.”

Bucs fans are hoping that now that Raheem the Dream has a season under his belt he has learned quite a bit. Joe hopes one of these lessons is how to get the most out of Black, which could go a long way to improving a subpar defense.

Bucs general manager Mark Dominik has always impressed Joe as a cooperative, straight-shooter kind of a guy. Unlike his predecessor who considered the fourth estate a form of the Ebola virus, Dominik was and has been always friendly and forthcoming.

That seemed to change recently when Dominik told the Bucs press corps that he would fine Donald Penn for not showing up to OTAs. Problem was Dominik had no such authority to pull off a stunt like that and, later, through a team spokesman, claimed his proclamation was nothing more than a ruse to coerce Penn into signing.

Given the already testy relationship the NFLPA has with owners, FoxSports.com columnist Alex Marvez claims Dominik’s stunt has actually hurt negotiations between the owners and the NFLPA who are bargaining for a new CBA.

We’ve had the ugliness of other players who’ve already earned millions of dollars kvetching about not making more millions. Darrelle Revis is so unhappy with his deal that the cornerback removed himself from drills to protest at recent Jets practices. Tennessee running back Chris Johnson told The Tennessean he can’t play for $550,000 this season after a 2,000-yard rushing campaign in 2009.

Revis and Mankins believe they were misled by team officials who promised new contracts. Mark Dominik went one step further. Tampa Bay’s general manager told Donald Penn the left tackle could be fined for missing minicamp if he didn’t sign his restricted free-agent tender. Dominik was fibbing, which further adds to the growing mistrust between labor and management.

Joe was disappointed to learn of Dominik’s failed ploy on several levels, including the fact that Dominik did himself no favors in a number circles by trying to con Penn’s agent as well as conning the same people he may need some day to keep his job secure.

While at the NFL rookie symposium this week, Bucs rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy decided to try to motivate a bunch of kids at the rookie symposium barbecue.

Basically McCoy is just talking to various kids in this NFL Network video and laments how he couldn’t play on a trampoline when he was little.

This aforementioned video will allow some of Joe’s readers who have decided to foolishly subject themselves to the onerous Out House Networks syndicate to reacquaint themselves with the highly underrated Stacey Dales.

Joe has repeatedly posted how, though he LOVES the hearts and passion both Earnest Graham and Cadillac Williams have for the game, Joe just believes their best days are behind them.

Seems as though Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports agrees, though he is a bit harsher. In grading each NFL team’s running backs, he has the Bucs at No. 26. Friends and fans of Graham may want to skip the critique and go to Joe’s next paragraph.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A tip of the cap to Bucs leading rusher Cadillac Williams, who came back last season after suffering through injuries for two years. Still, it’s not like Williams was all that electric, averaging only 3.9 yards per carry. Likewise, backups Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham were just roster flotsam. The Bucs have a bunch of guys who are nice backups at this point. They need somebody who can be a starter.

Joe has stated before he believes the Bucs to have quite a few average backs, but he never went as far to call them backups or “flotsam.”

Graham has had season-ending injuries the past two seasons and he is 30. Not a good combination. Cadillac is running on two rebuilt knees. Also not encouraging.

Joe believes the Bucs might need to keep their eye open for someone cut late in training camp who is lightning quick. That would be a good change of pace with Williams and Graham.

Joe must have been listening to his good friend Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, and his regular Saturday show “The Blitz,” thus missing this following gem.

Over the weekend, former Bucs great Warren Sapp unloaded on almost-Bucs defensive tackle Facestomper Haynesworth, a defensive tackle for the Redskins.

Seems as though Facestomper is upset that he may have to play in a 34 defense this season, despite the fact he signed a lucrative contract just last year and in recent weeks cashed a $21 million check, more money than some South Pacific island nations. As a result, Facestomper has yet to show for any offseason workout with the Redskins.

Sapp isn’t cool with Facestomper sitting out and unloaded on him while appearing on “Press Coverage,” with co-hosts Howard Balzer Vic Carucci heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, via Cheeseboy Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post.

“Let’s stop the BS, like we like to say,” Sapp told Vic Carucci and Howard Balzer on SiRIUS NFL Radio. “I mean, c’mon, son. You sat at the table. The people told you they had a very lovely check for you….Albert Haynesworth, you took the check, now show up to the job, son. It’s that simple. You take that kind of check. I mean, I’ll flip dogs for you. I mean, c’mon, what you want me to do, you want me to return punts? I mean, what? C’mon. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.”

One of the hosts pointed out that Haynesworth even had issues with Greg Blache last year, when the Skins were running a 4-3.

“How about he had issues with showing up for the Cowboy game and the Eagle game,” Sapp countered. “I mean, if a body part’s not missing, you’re showing up for division games. Are you kidding me?”

Sapp had quite a few more choice words for Facestomper and it’s safe to say that Sapp is not much of a fan of Facestomper.

Remember, Bucs fans, Mark Dominik was “this close” to signing Facestomper last year, only to lose out in the bidding war to Danny Snyder and the Redskins.

Dominik is likely still lighting candles in thanks for swinging and missing on that one.

A golden rule of the Internet is to avoid publishing fancy, half-naked pictures of yourself along with your contact information.

Former Bucs stud running back Michael Pittman, per his Facebook account, has recently experienced the pitfalls of not following this sage wisdom.

Joe follows various current and former Buccaneers cheerleaders on Facebook and Twitter to stay abreast of everything Bucs. It’s also entertaining.

By following Pittman, who played for the Florida Tuskers of the UFL last season, Joe has learned about Pittman’s passion for modeling and other rather useless bits of information, such as Pittman seems to have patented a weatherproof big screen TV encased inside a giant football. Joe is one of Pittman’s 2,500+ Facebook “friends.”

Over the past few months, Pittman has published tasteful yet skin-heavy photos of himself from a recent modeling shoot. And it seems Pittman found some male admirers as a result. That’s no surprise, although it seems Pittman was unprepared for that, and rather unhappy about it.

He posted the following reaction yesterday.

This is the last time I’m going to tell you Gay “DL” brotha’s! I tried to be nice about this before! But don’t come at me with no gay sh** again!! I Love Women Period!!! None of y’all don’t know me and the sh** is disrespectful as hell. Stop leaving dumb a** messages in my inbox!

For the record, Pittman used asterisks to censor the curse words, not Joe. 

Joe’s hoping Pittman publishes more photos of the big TV and less of himself topless.

The 2010 season will be a pivotal year for the Bucs. Once the season is over, a lot of decisions will be made.

One decision that won’t be made is who the Bucs starting quarterback will be. Of course, that’s Josh Freeman. But this season will answer quite a few questions about Freeman, namely his progress developing into an elite NFL signal-caller.

Don’t anoint him as the next Terry Bradshaw quite yet, cautions eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. While the Bucs and the fans have high hopes for Freeman, Kaufman reminds people that this will be his first full season under center.

Q:  How do you think Josh Freeman will do this season against some of the hardest defenses?

Corydon Metcalf, Indiana, Penn.

A:  Freeman has a long way to go in terms of recognizing coverages and learning to throw the ball away instead of trying to force things. That 6.2 percent interception rate is way too high, but he was only a rookie and now he’s had a full offseason to work with offensive coordinator Greg Olson and new QBs coach Alex Van Pelt. Teams like the Steelers and Ravens will test the accuracy of any QB and Freeman is working with a young group of wide receivers. His development would be helped immensely if the Bucs can manage a productive ground game.

— eye-RAH! Kaufman

The run game is, of course, critical, and Joe’s not overly optimistic of it improving much. The Bucs were in the lower third of the league in rushing in 2010, and those running backs didn’t get any younger.

Throw in the fact Cadillac Williams is running on recycled knees and that fullback Earnest Graham suffered two season-ending injuries the past two seasons, Joe isn’t exactly resting easy at night content with the Bucs run game.

If you subtract embattled left tackle Donald Penn from the lineup, it’s even more troubling.

Without a running attack, the offense will be put on Freeman’s shoulders. Will he be ready?

Like Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune pointed out last week, fellow Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times explains how the Bucs, thought by many to be cheap, would save money by meeting embattled left tackle Donald Penn’s contract demands.

Holder is convinced Penn will not be in attendance when the Bucs hold their first training camp practice at One Buc Palace July 31.

That’s when the Bucs better start sweating. They need to improve their fortunes after a 3-13 season. And after last offseason’s many shakeups, they’ve seen first-hand what unexpected changes can do to a team (changing coordinators, quarterbacks, etc.), and they would be unwise to compound those mistakes.

For a team that is betting so heavily on quarterback Josh Freeman, it makes little sense to leave his blind side protected by a second-year project, Demar Dotson. And even if Penn were to ultimately cave, the question remains how much is gained and lost under such a scenario?

Ask yourself: How many blows is Freeman subjected to in the meantime as the club quickly gets into its preseason games? How much cohesion is lost among the members of the offensive line because one of their key components is missing? And what, exactly, is the long-term plan at left tackle, a position that has been unstable here for too many years? For all the talk about building for the long term, the decision not to sign Penn sure seems short-sighted.

For those that claim Joe is posting too many Penn articles, Joe suggests people point fingers at the parties involved in Penn’s contract talks. To quote Holder, Penn’s contract status “represents the biggest issue facing the Bucs.”

Don’t blame Joe!

A couple of months ago Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson told the The Tampa Tribune that Derrick Ward would see more action this year, in part to help “get Cadillac through another year.”

“Part of the reason Derrick was signed was our concerns about Cadillac Williams coming back from two devastating knee injuries. I didn’t think he’d play last year, but Caddy played well for us. We will play Derrick more this season so we can get Cadillac through another year. We’re going to utilize all of them, but there’s no doubt spreading the football among three backs is difficult,” [Olson said].

At the time, that statement simply seemed like Olson acknowledging the obvious: that Cadillac is damaged goods and the Bucs want to get much more out of Ward. Remember, the Bucs are paying Ward a lot more cash than Cadillac.

Now, Pat “Vacation Man” Yasinskas, of BSPN, reports that Cadillac is completely healthy and the No. 1 running back.

… It’s not hard to imagine Williams turning in a bigger year in 2010. He’s completely healthy now and he’s the unquestioned starter at running back. The Bucs have shifted Earnest Graham over to fullback and Derrick Ward, who was signed last year with the dream of him becoming the feature back, has shown he’s just a backup.

Joe’s not so sure Vacation Man is accurate when it comes to the clarity of the Bucs running back situation. Cadillac’s health is relative. He played well last year with his carries limited because of his two horrific knee injuries. But Joe would be stunned if the Bucs chose to rely on him to carry the load in 2010.

Ward may be “just a backup” in Vacation Man’s world, but Joe suspects Ward will get every opportunity to lead the Bucs in carries and prove the front office’s investment in him was a wise move.

Much to the chagrin of JoeBucsFan.com commenter JimBuc, Bucs left tackle Donald Penn has yet to sign and the whole mess shows no end in sight.

One of the current Bucs fully understands what Penn is going through. Last year, Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud, like Penn this year, tried to force the Bucs hand in order to get a new contract.

He’s still waiting for one and, like Penn, this appears to be his last season wearing Pewter and Red unless a contract is reached.

With Penn sitting out, Ruud spoke last week with Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and voiced his solidarity with his brother in pads.

Meanwhile, Ruud noted he cannot worry about what he cannot control.

Ruud, of course, also wants a long-term contract extension like the one Penn stayed away from offseason voluntary workouts and this week’s mandatory mini-camp, in an attempt to get from the unyielding Buccaneers.

But unlike the hard-line offensive tackle, Ruud decided against holding out of offseason workouts or missing the mini-camp, to force the issue with team management.

“I’ve come to the point where it will (happen) or it won’t,” Ruud said. “For me, personally, the best thing to do was to be here and be with everybody else,” Ruud said. “And go through OTA’s and learn the defense. I thought that was the best situation. The best thing to do is have a great year. If you have a great year, something good is going to happen for you. That’s kind of my focus right now.”

With the Donald Penn mess first and foremost in Bucs fans minds as the team prepares for training camp in roughly a month, most have forgotten Ruud also is in the same boat as Penn.

How Penn plays this year, and more specifically, how the Bucs defense plays, may go a long way toward Ruud returning to the Bucs for the following season, whether that is in 2011 or 2012.

Earlier today, Joe ran a story outlining how the local media edits Raheem The Dream’s quotes at times with a heavy hand to the point of altering a quote’s complete meaning.

Joe explained that editing quotes is a standard journalism practice without detailed guidelines, and Joe speculated that the Bucs public relations staff may have provided a specific “sanitized” quote to the media after a news conference last week.

In fact, Joe has learned today from the Bucs organization that the team did not circulate any press conference quotes following last week’s minicamp. So the specific quotes Joe referenced from the head coach were cleaned up solely by the Tampa Tribune and St. Pete Times writers referenced.

Joe tossed out this speculation about the Bucs for two reasons:

1. Because The Tampa Tribune and St. Pete Times used the exact same quote, although the video of the head coach making the comment on Buccaneers.com was something significantly different.

2. The Bucs public relations staff omitted a powerful Raheem Morris quote from its circulated news conference quotes after the Bucs-Eagles game last year.

Again, Joe has no problem with anyone cleaning up a quote. It’s just very interesting to debate what constitutes going too far. In this case, the Bucs are eliminated from the debate.

Joe’s assuming most Bucs fans heard that Derrick Brooks’ alma mater, Florida State, has decided to retire his No. 10 in a ceremony this fall.

That’s way cool for Brooks, or for any athlete, to have their number retired by their former school.  But this news made Joe wonder, how long will it takes the Bucs to retire Brooks’ number?

Joe sincerely hopes it doesn’t take the Bucs as long as it did the Bears with Dick Butkus’ No. 51.

It took some 20 years after Butkus, arguably the greatest linebacker to ever play, finished his playing days, that the Bears finally came around to retire his number. Cynics suggest it was because Butkus sued the Bears because of shady team medical practices that hastened the end of his playing days..

Joe believes it would be unconscionable for any other player to wear Brooks’ double-nickel.

Joe knows it didn’t take Team Glazer very long after Mike Alstott retired to put his No. 40 in mothballs. Joe wonders if the same would happen as quickly for Brooks when he announces his retirement?

Last year Joe was truly geeked about the Bucs’ offensive line. Joe really thought the O-line was on the cusp of being great.

But during the process of trying to implement zone blocking, the line seemed to fall apart. It didn’t help that there was no Arron Sears at left guard.

Jason Cole, of Yahoo! Sports, believes the Bucs line is slightly below average. In ranking each team’s offensive line, Cole has the Bucs at No. 20.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs were awful when it came to running the ball (No. 31 overall in run efficiency), but really did a pretty good job of keeping the quarterback clean (No. 11 in pass blocking). They did that despite the carousel of quarterbacks that started with Byron Leftwich and ended with rookie Josh Freeman. There’s still a long way to go, but the group is steady and anchored by center Jeff Faine and guard Davin Joseph.

That ranking, by the way, is the lowest for any NFC South team.

Now Joe is assuming Cole is including Donald Penn as the starting left tackle. Joe really doesn’t want to think about how the left side of the line could crumble if Penn holds out.

In response to reader e-mails, yesterday Joe gave his take on different publications cleaning up Raheem The Dream’s quotes. And Joe promised to produce a good side-by-side example the next time one appeared.

Thanks to beat writer Stephen Holder, and possibly his editors at the St. Pete Times, some sanitized Raheemspeak is in today’s newspaper and on TampaBay.com.

The quote in question comes from Raheem The Dream’s news conference to close last week’s minicamp. Anyone can watch the news conference on Buccaneers.com.(The quote in question appears at about 11:30 of the video).

Here’s the JoeBucsFan.com transcription published last week:

“I just think in Year 2 you get a better direction and sense of where you should be. You know, before this, before you become a head coach, you just think what you should do and hope it’s right,” Raheem The Dream said. “Now, I’m at a different stage. I’m at a different point. I’m like Josh Freeman, as a head coach. I’m at a different point where I got direction. I know exactly what we want to do, and now it’s up to me to demand that we execute, demand that we be accountable of it. From a players’ standpoint, a coaches’ standpoint and also a management standpoint.”

Here’s Holder’s version of the quote in today’s Times:

“In Year 2, you have a better sense of direction and where you should be,” Morris said. “Before you become a head coach, you just think you know what you should do and hope it’s right. Now, I’m at a different stage. I’m like Josh Freeman as a head coach. I’ve got a direction, and we know exactly what we want to do. Now it’s up to me to demand that we execute.”

Holder — or his editors — omits what Joe thinks is a key expression from the head coach. “Now I’m at a different point where I got direction.” … Holder — or his editors — changed that to “I’ve got a direction.”

For Joe, that’s taking way too much latitude to edit Raheem The Dream, to the point that it subtly changes the meaning of what the head coach was saying.

As Joe wrote yesterday, editing quotes is thoroughly acceptable journalism. But when it comes to Raheem The Dream, where many in the local media set the boundaries — surely not just Holder — is curious. 

Ironically, a quote identical to Holder’s appears in a TBO.com story by eye-RAH! Kaufman on June 24.

Joe can only conclude that the beat writers published this quote off a transcript provided by the Buccaneers public relations staff, versus going through the often tedious task of transcribing the fast-talking, rambling Raheem The Dream themselves. SEE UPDATE: Bucs say they did not release any transcribed quotes. 

It’s surely common for any team’s PR machine to do the tough transcribing work, cleanup quotes and spin them in the “right direction” for the media, so their job is easier.

Joe’s not casting stones here, just following up on readers asking why Joe quotes Raheem The Dream one way, and others quote him differently.

Hopefully, this example answers the question.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. If Joe has heard it once he has heard 10,000 times:

Team Glazer is cheap.

Why, to hear some folks scream about Team Glazer and their debt on their English kickball team, if Joe didn’t know any better, Team Glazer was panhandling outside the CITS last weekend during fanfest.

With starting left tackle Donald Penn likely to sit out training camp in a contract dispute, this only fans the flames of those who believe Team Glazer won’t open up the wallet.

Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune has an interesting take on the Donald Penn mess. He believes it would be cheaper for Team Glazer to actually sign Penn and cave to his demands.

Penn can miss training camp without penalty, sign no later than 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 11, a day before the season opener, and still receive his entire 2010 salary. He likely would be limited for a few weeks until he was in playing shape, leaving [Demar] Dotson as Tampa Bay’s primary left tackle.

If Tampa Bay drafts a left tackle high next year, that player’s salary could potentially be more than giving Penn another contract. Even if the NFL invokes a rookie salary scale, the Bucs could dish out a huge amount for an unproven left tackle who may not be ready to protect Freeman.

If this is accurate, and Joe has no reason to suggest Richardson isn’t accurate, this leads Joe to believe that perhaps the Bucs may have something on Penn other than his late-season diet.

Joe’s inbox has been peppered lately with inquiries as to why Joe offers up different quotes for Raheem The Dream than those read in the mainstream media and on the Web-only, formerly environmentally unfriendly Pewter site.

Some readers are confused. 

First, Joe must explain that the tenets of journalism allow for quotes to be “cleaned up” in order to help convey a clear message and/or to not to be used to make someone look bad through quoting misspoken words. So it’s considered perfectly acceptable to fix grammar and chop up quotes.

It happens all the time in news, sports and more.

Joe, however, uses a very gentle hand on Raheem The Dream’s quotes when transcribing them. Little is cleaned up when compared to others’ heavy touch.

Joe believes that as a leader of the organization, how Raheem The Dream delivers his message is nearly as important — and nearly as interesting — as the message itself. For example, historically the President of the United States is quoted without any editing beyond uhs and ums.

Frankly, some local publications use wide latitude to clean up Raheemspeak, far more than Joe thinks is acceptable. Joe gets that the head coach goes on some incredible rambles that need to be condensed for public consumption, especially inside a newspaper where space is an issue. But for the Internet, where space is a non-issue?

But Joe repeatedly has seen situations where Raheem’s words are sliced and diced to the point of creating a false impression of him and his message. And Joe has seen the same done for other Bucs coaches.

The next time Joe comes across a great example, he’s going to publish some side-by-side comparisons right here.