Bucs defensive tackles coach Keith Millard works with his pupils earlier this summer in training camp.

Of course Joe is geeked for football to begin now that the asinine lockout is an afterthought. Aside from the obvious — football — Joe is geeked to see the improvement of the defensive line.

Last year the Bucs defensive line was impotent in getting to the quarterback. It didn’t help that Gerald McCoy, once he started to turn the corner tore his biceps and was lost for the season and that Brian Price barely got his career started as he had hamstring muscles torn clear off the bone.

But Joe is geeked for another reason: Keith Millard takes over to coach up the Bucs defensive tackles. Millard, who was hand-picked by no less an authority than former Bucs great Warren Sapp, has already worked wonders with GMC in identifying why he didn’t succeed as well.

Millard is more excitable than the players, he has an effusive, burning passion for the game. Also, Millard told Joe himself that it’s just the little things that the defensive linemen need to improve to be successful.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune documented one of those little things. It seems Millard didn’t like how Bucs defensive linemen used “tilted” stances and instead, wants the Bucs to square up against opposing offensive lines.

Gerald McCoy, the Bucs second-year under tackle, is on board with that idea. Already, he said, he is noticing the benefits of the squared stance. He said the tilt stance loosened him up but the squared stance is more effective.

“I’ve been in the backfield a lot more (in practice) than I ever was before, because I’m right there on a guy at the snap and if he overreaches, it’s like, boom, I’m in the backfield,” he said.

“I don’t have to worry as much about being in my gap, because if I take a step and I’m already in the backfield, then they have to decide what to do with me and that’s disruption, and that’s what we want.”

Fellow first-year Bucs defensive line coach Grady Stretz told Cummings that a tilted stance sometimes would take a step and a half away from a defensive linemen.

No wonder the pass rush sucked so bad last year! If an offensive lineman can get at least a step advantage on the snap of the ball, he’s going to own any defensive lineman.

Just having Millard on staff alone should result in the Bucs having 10 more sacks next year.

Grand master of CommishOnline.com, Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620, asked Raheem Morris to share all things Aqib Talib during a radio interview Saturday.

And the defensive mastermind/head coach was eager to serve up his take on Talib’s maturation process, even daring to compare him to Bucs icon Warren Sapp (Joe suspects Sapp might not like that).

“I don’t think people really know that Aqib is really somewhat of a leader for us in our locker room. And not so much of giving direction, but as an example-setter,” Raheem said. “Nobody plays as hard or studies as hard as an Aqib Talib. He learned it from one of the best.

“You know, he was a heavy student of Ronde Barber and how he carries himself in the building and how he portrays himself as a football player and what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. He lives, you know, pretty much under Ronde when he’s in this building. And he leads by example when it comes to pressing the buttons when it comes to one-on-ones, or pressing the buttons when it comes to team activities or practicing hard, or just giving all out effort. And sometimes his passion gets in the way of that and it gets him in trouble, both on and off the field.

“So, we’ve dealt with that and we’re going to continue to teach him. And hopefully he can grow up here soon and be that ultimate leader that you want him to be. You know, he’s very similar to [Warren] Sapp along those lines. When Sapp was young he had some issues and as he got older he matured and got a lot better. But they’re both great players and they have the ability to be great leaders.

Joe liked how Raheem said Talib’s “passion” gets him in trouble. Great word choice.

Joe can only hope Talib is able to focus his passion on doing right by the team that has stood by him unwaveringly.

Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson watches quarterback Josh Freeman on the first day of training camp this summer.

As Joe has documented, he was fortunate enough to watch the Bucs practice at The CITS from the sidelines. It gave Joe a chance to chat, albeit very briefly, with Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson as the fireworks were exploding overhead and Olson and the team had to hop on buses back to the team hotel. Olson was kind enough to give Joe a few moments of his time.

JoeBucsFan: How do you see the offense coming along? Obviously you are always looking to improve but now in your second full season as the Bucs offensive coordinator, without giving away any secrets, is there something you are surprised with that your offense is doing so well or are there areas of concern?

Greg Olson: For me, it’s the fact that we haven’t been able to get together over the summer, like the minicamps. We’re still trying to get in synch and get everyone on the same page. We’ve come a long way though but we still have a way to go. We still have four preseason games to get ready and we’ll be ready [for the regular season].

Joe: Has it been that much of a challenge for you as it has been for the players, that you only have five weeks to get ready for the regular season?

Olson: Yeah, but one thing about this group is that we are almost all returning starters for us so it’s just a matter of them getting used to playing with one another again and to know that the goals are going to be higher this year. They are a very hungry team. Last year we were very close to the playoffs and this year this group is very single-minded right now, looking forward to getting into the playoffs.

If you’re planning to head to Jacksonville to watch the Bucs play the stinkin’ Jags in December, keep reading.

Via Joe’s partners at Paradise Worldwide Transportation, Joe is chartering a 29-seat, chauffeured luxury bus to and from the game. There will be pickup/dropoff points in Cleawater and Tampa with secure parking that will be finalized this week.

The luxury bus has big comfortable seats (far better than Greyhound style) and you can bring along alcohol and food.

In a matter of days, Joe will be selling a roundtrip ticket on the luxury bus to Jacksonville for $59.00. It will not include a game ticket, and Joe is not doing a group ticket thing. There are plenty of game tickets available in Jacksonville, and Joe wants the average guy to be able to grab the bus and a cheap ticket outside the stadium, if he doesn’t buy one in advance.

Joe expects this trip to sell out quickly when it goes on sale right here later this week. Every last detail will be available at that time.

If you already know you want in, e-mail Joe with the subject line “Jacksonville.” — joe@joebucsfan.com — And Joe will e-mail you with a 24 hour heads up before the bus tickets go on sale.

The rolling taligate, as Joe likes to call it, will be a lot of fun. And you can expect a first-class trip from Paradise, which has run The Blackout Tour and the No Excuses Tour for Joe.

Joe kept busy during Saturday night’s Bucs practice by snapping photos with his modest SLR camera with, frankly, an insufficient lens for shooting football. Enjoy.

E.J. Biggers is ready to haul in a pass in defensive back drills.

Just like a good receiver would do, E.J. Biggers watched the ball into his hands.

Reporters listen intently to Bryan Glazer's words.

Aqib Talib goes high for a ball during defensive backs drills.

Jeff Carlson makes a point to Bryan Glazer during a panel discussion with, from left, Rock Reilly, Bucs radio analyst Dave Moore, Carlson and Glazer.

Lakeland's Ahmad Black gets acrobatic for a ball in defensive backs drills.

Pass receiving drills.

Bucs wait in the tunnel to take the field before practice.

Cody Grimm skies to reach a pass in defensive backs drills.

James Lee (77) keeps Da'Quan Bowers (91) away from Josh Johnson (11).

Jeff Faine waits in the tunnel to take the field.

Allen Bradford (38) is about to be gang-tackled by Adam Hayward (57), Quincy Black (58) and Corey Lynch. Just out of the frame to the left was Aqib Talib. Hayward splashed Bradford on this play causing a fumble and Talib couldn't quite grab the ball before it went out of bounds.

Ted Larsen gears up.

Wide receivers get ready to take the field as they wait in the tunnel before practice.

Donald Penn takes a break to watch the quarterback competition on the JumboTron.

The defensive line waits in the tunnel for their names to be announced just before practice.

E.J. Biggers wraps up in a defensive back drill.

Bryan Glazer listens to a question from Rock Reilly during a live TV interview.

Josh Johnson looks downfield while defensive tackle Frank Okam tries to elude a block.

Former Bucs cheerleader and new Bucs video host Tiffany Jimenez smiles for Joe as Joe's good friend Justin Pawlowski seems more impressed with what's happening on the field.

It’s a glass-half-full, glass-half-empty argument. The Bucs outplayed and beat the Saints last year in New Orleans with a slew of backups, rookies and little known players.

An optimist might say that shows how deep the Bucs are and how much better they’ll be with so many starters returning in 2011. But a pessimist might wonder whether the Bucs that beat the Saints are better — or at least more effective collectively — than the Bucs that missed that game. 

Defensive tackles Al Woods and Frank Okam were strong in New Orleans, and Alex Magee got a big sack, one of three for the Bucs that afternoon. Barrett Ruud called the shots in the middle while Adam Hayward and Dakoda Watson got a lot of snaps with Quincy Black on the shelf. Larry Asante intercepted Drew Brees, as the secondary covered the absences of Aqib Talib and Cody Grimm. Then there’s Derek Hardman, James Lee and Jeremy Zuttah. Add all those contributors together, and there’s 10 guys that might barely see the field for the Bucs on opening day against Detroit next month.

At the end of a loving Gary Shelton column today in the St. Pete Times about Ronde Barber, the Bucs icon made a strong point about the major loss of Ruud.

Barber pointed out the Bucs won’t be the same team that left the field in January, which got Joe thinking about how much change, in fact, will be in place in five weeks.

[Barber] on departed linebacker Barrett Ruud: “We have so many guys who are hungry. I know we have some huge shoes to fill to replace Barrett. I understand the business, but if we had to play a game right now, we’re not the same team we were on January in New Orleans just because he’s not there. We need a dominant (middle) linebacker to emerge in the next couple of weeks. You talk about underappreciated? Barrett was underappreciated.”

This is a big reason why Joe is chomping at the bit to see the Bucs in preseason action. There’s an awful lot to see come together, more than it might appear.

With what must be the highest paid offensive line in the NFL leading the way, Team Glazer will cut player payroll checks for about $110 million this season, so reports NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com.

Now Joe has yet to read the new labor agreement — nor does he ever intend to — but it seems this news means the Bucs are committed to spending close to the new salary cap even with relative peanuts being shelled out to their power trio: Josh Freeman, LeGarrette Blount and Mike Williams.

According to figures I just obtained, Tampa Bay’s current salary-cap figure is $108,086,940. That’s 88 percent of the $123 million salary cap. In other words, the Bucs have $14,857,394 in cap space.

Yasinskas went on to write that his data does not reflect Tim Crowder’s new contract.

Frankly, Joe doesn’t care all that much. Joe doesn’t aspire to be an accountant or a salary capologist, and Joe prefers to watch football rather than spreadsheet data. Considering the Bucs are under the cap, which means they can keep every player they want, there’s little intrigue here.

Regardless, cue the music in the comments below for those crazies who’ll craft 10 million+ reasons why Team Glazer hates their team.

Maybe Joe should be less sensitive and more understanding of those in the media who work so hard to finger Aqib Talib as guilty and destined for a suspension.

But frankly, it drives Joe insane. Joe doesn’t get it. And Joe can’t let it go.

The following two paragraphs appeared in a Rick Stroud beat notebook on TampaBay.com Saturday night: Read it and then Joe will break it down.

Waiting for discipline: Despite the rhetoric coming from the Bucs, they expect commissioner Roger Goodell to levy harsh punishments to the handful of players who violated the personal conduct policy during the lockout.

That includes CB Aqib Talib, whose trial on charges of assault with a deadly weapon has been moved to March 2012. The hope is Goodell will wait until Talib has his day in court and allow for the presumption of innocence.

In the first paragraph from Stroud, he tells us the Bucs are saying one thing but believe another. Why not just call the team a bunch of lying spin masters and get it over with. That aside, it’s a setup to labeling Talib guilty of breaking league rules by saying the Bucs lump Talib among players that violated the league conduct policy during the lockout.

Really? Does anyone of sound mind and body believe the suits at One Buc Palace really consider Talib guilty?

Surely these high-ranking men studied the only available information about Talib’s assault with a deadly weapon case — it’s all right here for you — and walked away wondering whether Talib even used a gun or broke any law, let alone violated a nebulous league policy enforced by a power hungry hatchetman commissioner. 

In a nutshell, Stroud’s latest here on the Talib beat is misleading. Not as misleading as reporting a super secret source at One Buc Palace said the Bucs have already decided to cut Talib, but a gadget play nonetheless.

It all started with a laptop, a dream and a passion for the Bucs.

JoeBucsFan.com met the world three years ago today.

Feeling compelled to work tirelessly on behalf of his fellow Bucs fans, Joe set out to inform and entertain Bucs fans like nobody in history.

Thankfully, fans slowly began to flock here and proceeded to blast Joe for his strong opinions and call Joe a jerkoff and a loser hiding behind a cartoon. But they kept coming. They told friends.

Some of Joe’s media pals helped spread the word, and soon Joe knew JoeBucsFan.com was a place some fans wanted to go every day — whether they liked it or not.

Joe finally knew his humble website had arrived when traffic here exploded on the night Jon Gruden was fired.

More than 8,300 Bucs-related posts later, today Joe is proud and grateful to report that 2011 alone has already brought 1.7 million actual visits to JoeBucsFan.com.

Joe humbly thanks all of you.

Over the years, countless readers have kindly offered to buy Joe a beer one day. Well, now’s your chance on this special occasion. The options are below via PayPal. Joe promises to use the money for your specific gift — seriously.

In what his perhaps his best recap he ever recorded — Joe knows how tricky doing this live is — Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net shares his thoughts of the Bucs night practice at The CITS Saturday.

OK, Joe got back from the night practice and has cracked open his first beer of the evening — it won’t be his last.

Joe’s got photos he will post tomorrow, sorry for the fuzzy cheerleader photo above but Joe thought his readers will overlook how it’s slightly out of focus.

Some random thoughts on the night practice.

* Joe wrote this last year and he will repeat it tonight: Thank you Team Glazer for putting this together. It was a blast last year and it was equally enjoyable this evening. Shoot, even the players did their best to delay getting on the bus back to the team hotel so they could watch the fireworks.

Last year Joe decided to be just a fan and swilled lowered-priced beer. Tonight, Joe was on the sidelines.

Just a great night no matter where anyone was. Seeing Bucs players competing against one another was fun and everyone knows they were going all out because egos were involved.

* Not to stray too far from football, but Joe is happy that multimedia mastermind Scott Smith took Joe’s advice and hired former Bucs cheerleader Tiffany Jimenez to be a video host at tonight’s event. Joe wrote this before when the Bucs had her do video features: There are certain lasses that are made for the camera and it’s not their looks, but their personalities. Tiffany’s bubbly personality just jumps off the computer screen. She really should be working TV in some capacity like a co-host of one of these weekday morning gabfest shows or perhaps a game show. (“A new car!”)

Joe stands up and gives Smith a standing ovation. Nice. And to Tiffany, keep up the good work. You really should find yourself an agent. Sadly, Joe is not an agent.

* Joe was pleased to watch defensive backs hitting each other during drills and wrapping up. In each hit in this drill, a defensive back pretended to be a ball carrier. When the defenders hit the ball carrier, each time the defender wrapped up.

When Joe was in high school his coach, who had just retired from the Cowboys (Gene Stallings was Joe’s coach’s position coach),  pounded that drill into our heads daily and if we didn’t wrap up, we ran. It drives Joe bananas that NFL defenders don’t wrap up. Good to see Bucs coaches have the players utilizing wrapping up in these drills.

* In wide receiver/cornerback competitions, Mike Williams couldn’t shake Aqib Talib. In another, Preston Parker had E.J. Biggers beat bad but Biggers turned on the rocket booster, made up the real estate and picked off a pass. Nice.

* During a scrimmage, Allen Bradford made a nice grab over the middle of a Josh Johnson pass for about eight yards and tried to elude defenders by running to the left sideline, running right at Joe. Bradford got totally lit up near the sideline by Adam Hayward and fumbled and Talib nearly had a fumble recovery but the ball rolled out of bounds.

* Joe at one point was standing five feet behind defensive tackles coach Keith Millard and there’s only one word to describe Millard: Intense. Every play was like a goal line stand to win the Super Bowl. When his tackles got pressure on the quarterback, Millard would react like he won the lottery, jumping up and down like a little kid on Christmas morning who just got a new bike from Santa.

Mind you, this is a practice, not even a preseason game much less a regular season game.

* Johnson made a pretty touchdown pass to Ryan Purvis but it really wasn’t fair. Quarterbacks are not allowed to be touched and Johnson was surrounded by three defenders. If this were a game, Johnson would have been buried alive.

* Adrian Clayborn is damned quick off the snap.

* Are fans, by way of the fourth estate, seeing a change in Bryan Glazer? Normally reserved, Glazer held court with a mob of reporters and later did a live TV interview with Rock Reilly and Out House Networks.

Joe can say this: If people think Team Glazer doesn’t care about wins and losses, think again. But they are committed to Mark Dominik and share in his beliefs and philosophy. Don’t expect the team to go wilding on the free agent market until Dominik believes the time is right to plug in a hole or two.

Patience, fans, patience.

In the meantime, have fun watching the Bucs. Joe, and tens of thousands did tonight.

Joe didn’t realize Jayson Blair was back employed at the New York Times under the name Andy Benoit. What a freakin’ joke.

This Benoit character penned 2,000+ words breaking down the Bucs in a season preview story today. Joe stopped reading after the paragraphs below, when Benoit painted a picture of LeGarrette Blount getting 1,000 yards with smoke and mirrors.

And yet, put on the tape and it’s easy to see why Blount went undrafted (no, character concerns were not the primary reason – they almost never are in the N.F.L.). A roundly built 247-pounder, Blount is far from fast. More damning is he’s not powerful. Blount can’t seem able to lower his shoulder and deliver a great blow. At times, he even stops his feet and braces for contract. His timing and vision are unrefined, and his blocking and receiving skills are poor.

Still, Blount is able to produce, mainly as a lumbering runner who’s difficult to bring down in the open field (think of a bear that’s been just shot with a tranquilizing dart). But this kind of style makes for an inconsistent rushing attack. Blount might put up yardage, but defenses have no reason to fear him. And it’s still to be determined whether such a punishing style can be sustained for an entire 16-game slate (Blount played in 13 games last season, starting seven).

This has Joe steamed, not that Joe expects anything less from the New York Times. In one breath the guy writes that Blount is “not powerful” and can’t “deliver a great blow.” Then he goes on to say Blount might not last a whole season with his punishing style. Which is it, pal?

Joe has long believed that Blount’s arrival revolutionized and revitalized the Bucs offense, and the guy got 1,000 yards old school, in 14 games or less, yet he’s not revered as a superstar around these parts and surely not around the NFL.

Imagine if he cranked off a season like that in New York. Blount would be the second coming.  

Thankfully, the Bucs have stuck Blount’s image on the side of the C.I.T.S. this week. Rightfully so. And if you want to do a good deed, email your thoughts to this Benoit character, who also works for CBSSports.com. He can be found at andy.benoit@NFLtouchdown.com .

Bucs coach Raheem Morris generally says what’s on his mind, which Joe finds quite refreshing if not entertaining. CBSSports.com’s Pat Kirwan once referred to Morris as “brash.”

So when unpopular Florida governor Rick Scott, the man who will go down in history as killing a federal high speed rail project between Tampa and Orlando, dropped by One Buc Palace for a tour Friday, Joe could have guessed Morris would have had a good one-liner for Scott.

But Joe was shocked to learn Scott, apparently thin-skinned from harsh criticism and his awful approval ratings, not just shot back at Morris but tongue-lashed the third-year Bucs coach, as documented by Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times on Twitter.

@STROUDNFL: Bucs coach Raheem Morris tells Fla. Gov. Rick Scott, “I would’ve liked that light rail, but don’t worry about that.” … Fla. Gov. Rick Scott responds “The highspeed rail? I’ll do that deal for you. Here’s the deal. It’s a great deal… I’m going to give you $2.4-billion, you have to put up a billion. You have to lose, oh, $100-million or so a year… And if you ever get tired, you have to give me my $2.4-billion back.”

WHOA! Politicians of all sorts go to events, dog and pony shows, where they are heckled or needled by someone and rarely if ever does said politician snap like this at a fellow celebrity no less, right in front of the pen and mic club.

This just goes to show how defensive Scott is about what his legacy as the state’s chief executive will forever be remembered for — which happened in the first few weeks of his administration.

Maybe Scott’s all too aware how he sabotaged himself by his high speed rail decision and all but guaranteed he would be a one-term governor, just days after he took the oath of office.

Draft guru and emerging sports genius Justin Pawlowski, The Commish of WDAE-AM 620, drives The Sports Animal bus from 4  p.m. to 6:30 p.m. today live from Bucs open practice at the C.I.T.S.

The Commish has been buzzing around One Buc Place relentlessly and no doubt will have some great Bucs interviews and chatter, plus talk about last night’s Rays romp, on a Friday night no less.

Bobby Fenton

Before The Commish, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Bobby Fenton will bring his analytical and always-informed style to the airwaves. It’s the not The Free Stretch, but it’s free on WDAE-AM 620. Joe’s just geeked that Bobby is able to pop up on “The Animal” from time to time. Wish it was more often.

Those chained to computer can listen online at 620wdae.com.

The preseason opener is always a glorious time, but the excitement never lasts long enough.

Starters are gone quickly and the drama fades fast, like when you realize the young lady you brought home was stuffing her bra.

But this year will be a bit different, so says Raheem Morris. Speaking at his Friday news conference, the defensive mastermind/head coach explained that the usual diet of 12 to 15 snaps for starters in the preseason opener is about to change. 

“You might want to get up to the 20s [in total plays]. Let these guys play a little bit because they missed a little bit of stuff,” Raheem said.

Raheem said he expects the same amount of starters reps in Game 2 of the preseason.

Another byproduct of the asinine lockout. But barring injury, this should raise the fun-factor.

Listening to Raheem Morris’ news conferences daily, Joe hears more and more Chucky.

Not Chucky the head coach, but Chucky the BSPN talking head who never saw a player he didn’t like. Raheem seems to love everybody on his roster. Joe gets how coachspeak goes, and the Bucs don’t exactly have a bunch of stiffs running around, but Joe’s not detecting Raheem publicly lighting a fire under anyone’s ass or showing any sign of jumping off the Love Train.

Now that Joe has that off his chest, Raheem is, of course, liking how Mason Foster is zeroing in on the mike linebacker job, even taking first team reps.

 “I’m really liking where Foster’s going. I’m really liking him taking control of the defense,” Raheem said today. “He’s going to make some full speed mistakes, which I’m a fan of when you’re a rookie. I’m ok with that, and so are his men around him. They’ll help him. They’ll guide him through.”

Joe’s about over training camp and can’t wait to see these guys fire it up on Friday night in Kansas City. It’s been too long.

Joe’s feeling a lot better now that the Bucs have brought back free agent defensive end Tim Crowder, who signed a two-year deal.

The man Raheem Morris called the “King of Hustle” last year is an important piece of the puzzle. Yeah, Joe really means that.

In the back of Joe’s mind lives the obvious injury concern with Da’Quan Bowers. Keith Millard brought it up just yesterday. Sackless, never sleepless, Kyle Moore has a lot to prove. And Alex Magee might not be the most reliable guy in the world.

Crowder plays both sides of the line, is a major cog on special teams, and in Joe’s mind he should have qualified as an emerging player worthy of rockstar general manager Mark Dominik’s thumbs-up. Thankfully, he did.

Crowder might be the only good thing to come from Jim Bates, who snagged him in the second round of the draft with the Broncos back in 2007.

Maybe the first nasty injury of the preseason just occurred at One Buc Palace during the Bucs practice this afternoon.

Details are sketchy about what happened to defensive tackle Gerald McCoy but reports are his day is done as he left the field in pain, per Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

@TBO_Buccaneers: McCoy now has a large wrap around his right shoulder. Looks like they’re icing it.

Damnit. GMC was just turning the corner last year when he tore a biceps and now it appears he’s got a bum right shoulder, after all the work in the offseason he did and how he has taken over as the leader of the defensive front.

As one can imagine, Joe hopes this is just minor.

UPDATE: Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times reported that GMC’s injury could be a stinger and that he ripped his shoulder pads off right away.

UPDATE II: Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger Twittered that Bucs trainers are icing down GMC’s right shoulder.

UPDATE III: Per Stroud, Bucs trainer Todd Toriscelli escorted GMC into One Buc Palace.

UPDATE IV: Cummings quotes Mark Dominik via Twitter that GMC’s injury “nothing scary” and he is day-to-day.