Joe doesn’t have to go anywhere else to find that Bucs fans were not rejoicing in unison over rock star general manager Mark Dominik’s first two picks in last weekend’s draft.

Long before the draft, a number of Bucs fans screamed about Adrian Clayborn’s messed up right arm. A number of Bucs fans are eating their fingernails worried about Da’Quan Bowers’ knee.

But Gary Shelton believes those two defensive ends, unproven in the NFL, are still better off than what the Bucs had for defensive ends last season, so the veteran St. Petersburg Times sports columnist opined in an online chat on his paper’s site yesterday.

Comment From Gary F.
What are your impressions of the Buc’s draft picks and their new defensive line??

Gary Shelton
I like the Bucs’ draft from the No. 20 position. It’s a lot harder to impress there than, say, in the top five. But they have two players who should start. Do you worry about Clayborn’s sack total as a senior (3 1/2). Sure. Do you worry about Bowers’ knee? Sure. But what would have worried me was staying pat with the defensive ends that had. That’s scary.

Joe will have something more about the defensive ends later today. But Shelton is right on. Of course Clayborn and Bowers are risks, what draft pick isn’t? The gamble here is the Bucs improve their production from the defensive end position.

Not drafting any defensive ends would ensure limited to no production just like last year. The Bucs can’t go anywhere but up even with question marks all over their duo of rookie bookmarks.

Hurry up! Turn on WDAE-AM 620! Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski, unmatched local draft guru, is making a rare Saturday morning appearance and will broadcasting his sometime Saturday show, “The Blitz,” until noon today.

As one can imagine, Justin will be talking Bucs. He’ll be talking Bulls. He’ll be talking Beear and he just might put a bow on last night’s high school games.

In short, if you are not planning to listen to Justin today, Joe has one question: What’s the matter with you? At least you can listen to the live audio stream from the station’s website.

For those wondering why Team Glazer owns the club that has spent at or near rock bottom for the past seven seasons, St. Pete Times columnist Gary Shelton perhaps served up a little clarification yesterday during a live chat on TampaBay.com.

Shelton explained that Team Glazer will open the vault when the Bucs are ready to compete for a Super Bowl.

Comment From TimTim: The Glazers are not cheap. They just spend all the money they have paying $50 million transfer fees plus the players salary so Man U can have a new scorer. Man U is a dominant team with the worlds most expensive players. Why is their philosophy completely opposite with the Bucs? 

Gary Shelton: According to the Glazers, and I spent a half hour with Joel in New Orleans in late March, it’s a matter of cycles. They swear they will spend the money when the Bucs are ready to compete for the big game.

Much of it might be the differences in the sports. To compete with Man U, ownership has to pay international transfer fees. In the NFL, there is a salary cap. Also, when is the last great NFL team to buy itself a title? You win in the NFL by developing your own players. Ask Indy, New England, Pittsburgh.

That said, I think this is the year to augment with a player or two. 

Coming off a 10-6 season with stud talent on the roster, including the addition of Rambo and the next Ray Lewis, surely this is the season Team Glazer will deem the Bucs a Super Bowl contender.

If Shelton is to be believed, then one could conclude the Bucs don’t see themselves as contenders if they don’t dabble in what will be the biggest free agent class in history. That would be very sad.

Joe has growing warmth in his heart for Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik. Speaking Wednesday on The Jim Rome Show, Dominik referred to himself in the third person, just like Joe does!!

Rome asked Dominik a question about his “pods” drafting philosophy, (a story delivered to the masses by Joe and Justin Pawlowski), and the GM praised Rome for “doing research on Dominik.”

Nice.

During that interview, Dominik referenced how he spent loads of time interviewing former college left tackles and offensive linemen all over the place asking them who their toughest defensive-end matchup was in the college game. Dominik said Adrian Clayborn’s name was given repeatedly as the nastiest load on the block.

Hearing that reminded Joe of Dominik drilling Brandon Carter about Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Suh last year.

Seems like a simple, wise method by Dominik. Hopefully, the college O-linemen weren’t blowing a bunch of smoke.

Last month St. Petersburg Times Bucs beat reporter Rick Stroud rocked NFL circles with a stunning report that the Bucs were going to cut troubled cornerback Aqib Talib over his various dalliances with the law, despite not quoting any sources.

The only reason this hasn’t happened yet, Stroud noted, was that with a lockout in place, teams cannot make any player transactions. The instant a CBA is in place or the courts ordered the NFL to reopen its doors for normal business, Talib will walk the streets amid the hundreds of thousands of the nation’s unemployed, Stroud claimed.

In various interviews since, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has dodged any questions related to Talib and Bucs coach Raheem Morris has sort of danced around the issue.

No more.

In speaking with Shaun King and Toby David while appearing on the all-too Jewish-sounding “King David Show” on WQYK-AM 1010 this afternoon , Morris strongly shot down any suggestion that Talib has already been sentenced by the Bucs.

Shaun King: On the Aqib Talib issue, have you heard from Roger Goodell about this?

Raheem Morris: No. We have our own discipline policy for our players and we do extra things in addition to what the NFL may do, and it’s all within the CBA. We sometimes fine people or have them sit out games or not participate in certain things. Right now the guy [Talib] has not been judged. Once he is judged, I am sure the NFL will step into play. The reports that we have already determined Talib’s future are completely false.

Whoa. No question who and what Morris was referring to there. That, my friends, is what Joe calls a shot across the bow.

Now mind you Morris didn’t say the Bucs would not cut Talib, but they haven’t decided yet, waiting until the Texas judicial system has run its course.

While Morris may have made a not-so veiled remark at Stroud and his Talib story, Talib is far from out of the woods with the Bucs.

Yet.

Raheem Morris went on a radio media tour this week, appearing on mulitiple stations. And of course, rockstar Mark Dominik wasn’t denied, checking in with the national Jim Rome Show on WDAE-AM 620 Wednesday.

Both were asked about second-round pick Da’Quan Bowers, and part of their responses included comments about the Bucs’ experience with knee injuries. Essentially, Dominik told Jim Rome that his staff knows bad knees, like those of Kellen Winslow and Cadillac Williams, and isn’t daunted by managing Bowers’ condition. Raheem offered a similar talking point take on 1040 AM.

Joe doesn’t quite know what to make about the mystery surrounding Bowers’ knee. Joe gets the whole theory of Bowers’ perceived value and risk/reward in the second round, but for a team that insists on building through the draft, Bowers’ represents one hell of a gamble. It’s not like the Bucs are going to go out and sign a beast of a free agent pass rusher in case Bowers’ can’t get healthy.

Joe also wants to add one famous Buccaneer knee that Dominik didn’t take credit for managing correctly– that would be the one belonging to Antonio Bryant. It turned out to be the right move to not give Bryant a long term deal and to not re-sign him. Clearly the Bengals’ weren’t as wise.

Warren Sapp was one of the greatest defensive tackles in NFL history much less Bucs franchise history. He still tries to help out the Bucs as he hand-picked Keith Millard as one of two new defensive line coaches and likes to brag on NFL Network about Bucs coach Raheem Morris, “We raised him.”

A Bucs fan asked Woody Cummings recently on the Bucs TBO Q & A feature what else Sapp is doing with the Bucs.

Q: Hey guys! Hate this no football thing! I have wondered if Warren Sapp has been working with Gerald McCoy at all since he has come into the NFL. I know he was more excited with him than Ndamukong Suh over in Detroit. Has he done anything with him and what do you expect from McCoy this year?

Josh Beason, Florida

A: Sapp worked with McCoy a little bit on the field before the season started last year and the two have remained in close contact since. Not sure if they’ve worked much this offseason, but my guess is they have. McCoy says he’s back to full strength following his biceps injury, so I would expect him to pick up where he left off last year when he got hurt. He was just starting to pick things up and make an impact on a regular basis and I would expect that to continue from the start, whenever that start may come.

— Woody Cummings

This may very well continue this summer. Sapp has already reached out to Bucs second-round pick Da’Quan Bowers presumably he is also going to do the same with first-round pick Adrian Clayborn.

Joe thinks it’s cool that the old guard of the Bucs is still doing its part to help the new Bucs succeed, sort of like passing the torch.

Yes, Raheem Morris went there.

On Wednesday, during an interview on 1040AM, Raheem told host Tom Krasniqi that he didn’t want to hang extraordinary expectations on his third-round draft pick, Mason Foster, but Raheem seemingly couldn’t contain his enthusiasm for Mason.

Krasniqi asked Raheem what linebacker past or present in the NFL he likens Foster to. And Raheem went right for the top of the mountain under Lawrence Taylor. He picked Ray Lewis. 

Raheem said Foster’s movement, practice devotion, desire, hand usage and splash-play ability, among other traits, are all in the Ray Lewis mold.

Raheem also went on to detail how hard Foster practiced at the Senior Bowl explaining that Foster put his face on everyone.

Joe can’t wait to see what this kid’s got.

Shedding blocks is a great quality for a linebacker, especially important for the men that patrol the middle of a defense.

Bucs third-round pick Mason Foster is one of those guys, so Raheem Morris passionately told J.P. Peterson of WQYK-AM 1010 yesterday.

The head coach/defensive mastermind seems like he can’t wait to use his new toy.

Raheem Morris On Foster: Seeing him live at the Senior Bowl and to see how he brought his attitude and demeanor to practice. And then you translate it over to game tape, when you go back and you watch more tape on the young man, and you see how physical he is with his hands, how well he moves men, how well he’s able to come off the edge, how you’re able to vary some of the positions the he can play, and play him in multiple positions. … He was asked to do different things in games, rush off edges, fill a hole, spill a player, and just be active as he can be. And that was the thing that really drew us to Mason Foster, especially because of where we’re at as a league right now. We don’t know who’s going to be a free agent. We don’t know who’s going to be [a] restricted [free agent]. And to have a guy that you can fill in at the spot that you don’t get via free agency, that really makes a great deal for us.

Foster seems like a super smart pick for the Bucs. If the guy really is this versatile at the NFL level — big question —  he’ll be valuable in the league an awfully long time.

Joe always loves hearing a young player reference the history of the NFL.

You’ve got to really love the game if you’re a 22-year-old running back and you compare yourself to two of the old-time greats.

Bucs sixth-round pick Allen Bradford, the 5-11, 240-pound manbeast out of Southern Cal, was asked today on WDAE-AM 620 what current NFL running back he most resembles in style. Bradford paused, then said he doesn’t compare himself to any modern backs. He said his style is more like Herschel Walker and Jim Brown, and he’s learned to run and protect his knees.

Joe thought that was very cool.

“I like to attack than be attacked,” Bradford said.

What wasn’t too cool was Joe doing some research on Bradford and learning that he’s got a history of injuries.

But Bradford says he’s healthy and hearty — 9 percent body fat — and ready to show fans why he was given the nickname “monster.”

A few weeks ago, St. Petersburg Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud made a profoundly strong statement without quoting any source that the Bucs have made up their minds: troubled Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib was a dead man walking at One Buc Palace.

Stroud claimed that the moment the NFL (or the United States judicial system) gave teams the green light to make player transactions, Talib would be jettisoned in a matter of seconds.

Hold up, says Bucs coach Raheem Morris. In speaking with Tom Krasniqi on WHBO-AM 1040 this afternoon, subbing for the vacationing Fabulous Sports Babe, Morris shot down reports of Talib’s demise in Tampa Bay.

Tom Krasniqi: There have been rumors that once [the lockout comes to a close] you will cut ties with Aqib Talib. Is there any truth to that?

Raheem Morris: No. We have not talked about that. That has not taken place. We will, but that time has not come yet.

Now Morris clearly stated a decision on Talib has not been made yet but he was adamant Talib’s future status with the Bucs hasn’t even been discussed.

Joe finds that a bit interesting but Morris said it in his own words: The report that Talib is gone is not true.

Yet.

America’s harshest critic of Barrett Ruud is no doubt former Bucs offensive lineman Ian Beckles, co-host of The Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620.

Numerous times on the air Beckles has gone wild on Ruud and challenged readers to sit down with him and watch film of Ruud and prove that he’s a good linebacker. In short, Beckles thinks Ruud is softer than a black banana.

Beckles isn’t shy, so it’s no surprise he confronted Raheem Morris about Ruud’s play during an interview today. The head coach was ready — with a backhanded compliment of Ruud.

“I know you’re one of Barrett Ruud’s biggest critics, but he just brings so much more to the table than the lack of physicality,” Raheem said, not challenging Beckles’ claims that Ruud is too soft.

Raheem explained that Ruud is so valuable in coverage and in leadership, among other areas.

And Raheem gave yet another indicator that the Bucs place a high value on Ruud. Raheem told Beckles that the Bucs might need to lean on Ruud and other free agents if the lockout drags on. 

Shortented time to prepare rookies and young players “increases the importance of free agents, your guy [Ruud] so to speak,” Raheem said.

Joe will have more from Raheem’s interview later.

Ruud holds a place in Raheem's heart

If Joe’s favorite Vegas sportsbook took odds on free agent signings, the line on the Bucs re-signing Barrett Ruud would have gone down yesterday.

Raheem Morris all but told J.P. Peterson on WQYK-AM 1010 to read between the lines when it comes to the head coach’s desire to bring back his leading tackler and most notable free agent on defense.

Raheem Morris: Those guys you just mentioned, Davin Joseph, Barrett Ruud, Quincy Black all the guys potentially free agents, all the guys that may be free agents, or whatever the case may be. The only thing you can say about those guys is they’ve got a lot of money in my emotional bank account. Those guys have made plays for us. Those guys have gone out every day and sweat. They’ve gone out every day and led. They’ve done it the right way, and hopefully things will work out for Tampa, and we don’t lose good players. And we get a chance to re-sign our guys like we always talked about. You know, everybody’s always talking about free agency in Tampa, but we want to go out and draft guys, bring them here, let them play well and then re-sign them. And that’s how our free agency kind of goes because we want to keep the guys on our team that we feel like can help us win championships.

Joe doesn’t doubt the Bucs’ interest in Ruud. The real question is what the Bucs think he’s worth — and what Ruud thinks he’s worth. Hopefully, the damn lockout is kicked to the curb this week and Bucs fans can get a quick answer.

Raheem Morris was on fire talking about his team and some of his new young men yesterday. The head coach brought his A-game energy to an interview with J.P. Peterson on WQYK-AM 1010 and said he has big plans for fifth-round pick Ahmad Black.

Raheem likened the former Gators safety/cornerback to Cody Grimm and Tanard Jackson (pre-drugs) and said only Black’s pre-draft measurables are what draft him into the fifth round. But the Bucs, Raheem says, don’t care much about those numbers.

Raheem on Ahmad Black: We’re in the room and Ahmad Black’s on the board, and we’re in the fifth round. And I looked right at Mark Dominik and he looked at me, and we looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, if we didn’t have a combine the week before, we would have took Ahmad Black in the second [round].’ Throw all that stuff out the window. He’s a football player. He reminds me of a guy like Cody Grimm that’s going to come in here and shock some people and potentially get on the field. Or another guy that came in here and did really well for us as a rookie, Tanard Jackson going out there being a shocker in the fourth round and transitioning from a corner. Man, this guy Ahmad Black, man, when he gets on the football field, he’s got ball skills, he’s got awareness, he knows what to do when he gets the ball in his hands, and he absolutely loves the game. And that’s the kind of guys we want to have.

Joe finds it interesting and important that Raheem said “potentially get on the field.”

Frankly, Joe’s not sure many Bucs fans are tuned into the reality of the 2011 Bucs. This is not a team where rookies are necessarily going to get playing time. And they’ll have to fight a lot harder than last year to make the roster.

In 2010, the Bucs needed unprecedented numbers of rookies to come in and not just play, but play extremely well.  This season, especially considering Mark Dominik’s reputation, late-round picks might be on other teams before opening day.

There are players on the Bucs roster that if the recent draft didn’t raise their antennae, then they are in for a rude awakening whenever training camps begins this summer (fall?).

Good guy Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times yesterday afternoon listed several (one of which is Kyle Moore, who Joe wrote about as well). Holder writes about Bucs players as winners and losers in the draft and atop the list he has for Bucs losers is middle linebacker Barrett Ruud.

Barrett Ruud: The Bucs plan to have third-round pick Mason Foster begin his career at middle linebacker, which is of great significance to Ruud. The four-year starter at middle linebacker is a free agent and is looking for a long-awaited payday after having his free agency postponed last year because of the uncapped season.

There have been some ill feelings on Ruud’s part because he wasn’t offered a contract extension as Donald Penn — also a restricted free agent at the time — was.

The addition of Foster doesn’t automatically mean the Bucs are moving on. But it does mean Tampa Bay, at a minimum, has a Plan B in place and will certainly use that to their advantage in contract negotiations.

Joe will have more about Ruud and Raheem Morris later today that Bucs fans will want to read. But Joe’s not ready to pack the U-Haul for Ruud quite yet. Many Bucs fans simply cannot grasp the concept that in Raheem Morris’ defense, Ruud is not required or asked to be a prototypical linebacker that every football fan has a popular image of. In layman’s terms, Ruud is a glorified safety; not a linebacker.

Putting a Ray Lewis or Jack Lambert-type middle linebacker in Morris’ defense would be a horrible fit, like having a wishbone quarterback play instead of Josh Freeman. To have such a linebacker would mean Morris would have to completely rebuild and retool the defense.

In other words, it would be a return to the heinous Jim Bates Experiment.

More than a few Bucs fans have to hit a bottle of Mylanta daily — along with other types of bottles — nauseated over the fact the Bucs will once again play a home game in London.

Bucs fans have tried to come up with various scapegoats for the decision, the most (un)popular of which is that damned English kickball team that Team Glazer owns. That property is a veritable pinata for Bucs fans who blame the team for just about everything from beer prices at The CITS to the high pollen count from oak trees.

But Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune states the Bucs playing another home game in London was more a favor Team Glazer did for NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell in his time of need.

Oh, and there is a silver lining for Bucs fans in the Bears game being moved to London, so Cummings details in a TBO Bucs Q & A article.

Q: Does anyone know why the Bucs are going back to London for the second time in three years? With only five games played in London, the Bucs are the only team going twice — and most have not played there. Worse, the Bucs are giving up two home games to play there. Is this because they cannot sell out at home? Or is it because the Glazers own Manchester United? Considering the NFL originally planned for all the teams to go there (in a cycle), it seems a little early to break that policy. I think there is a story behind this.

Sam Shukovsky, Wilton, CT

A: First off, the Bucs are going to London again because the league asked if they wanted to and the team said yes. Why they were asked to go for a second time when others haven’t gone once is uncertain, but it no doubt has something to do with the uncertainty regarding the CBA and the start of the season. The league needed to set this game and probably took the first teams to agree to go. Second, the Bucs see it as an opportunity to market their team, even to the fans back home. There is a fear on their part of the game not selling out at home and it not being shown locally. They’ve agreed to reimburse the season-ticket holders for their loss. The good news is that this “home” game will be seen locally on TV. Had it not sold out, it would not have been. The only people losing out in that case are the season ticket holders, and they’re being reimbursed.

— Woody Cummings

True, the game played in London ensures that Bucs fans will get to watch the game on TV in the Tampa Bay market, Joe gets that. But with a game in October, Bears fans, fresh off an appearance in the NFC Championship game, would have flocked to the Tampa Bay area all but locking up a sellout.

In October, the weather has already turned miserable and lousy in Chicago, which it is for nine months of the year.

Since Team Glazer did a favor for Goodell, perhaps Goodell can do a favor for Bucs fans, you know, like getting a damned CBA locked up sooner than freaking later.

Or at least give the Tampa Bay area another Super Bowl.

In his trial in New York in an attempt to skate on pot charges, former Bucs quarterback Chris Simms threw his friends under the bus claiming they were the ones smoking left-handed cigarettes.

New York cops had a different story, per Scott Shifrel of the New York Daily News.

Chris Simms was so stoned that the Tennessee Titans quarterback was “like a zombie,” the cop who arrested him at a traffic stop told jurors on Monday.

Simms, 30, son of former Giants quarterback Phil Simms, reeked of marijuana and refused to take a blood test after the July 1 stop, Police Officer Francisco Acosta said.

“He was out of it, like a zombie,” Acosta told jurors. “He was very, very unsteady on his feet.”

The thing is, if Simms would have just sucked it up he would have had a wrist-slap by New York authorities. Instead, Simms, per Shifrel, is looking at a year in a cage if convicted.

How dare popcorn-shoveling NFL scribe Peter King, of Sports Illustrated, write that Team Glazer has a limit on what it would pay a player even if said player is a superstar.

Didn’t King read Joel Glazer’s famous quote,”Money will never be an issue when building this team?” How dare King all but say he thinks Glazer’s comments are hogwash. Why would King attack the credibility of Team Glazer?

King shared his toughts in his recent mailbag at SI.com.