Last year had to be frustrating for running back Michael Smith. Drafted in the seventh round, Smith, lighting fast, was thought to be a darkhorse scatback backing up Doug Martin and a lethal kick return man.

Instead, after the first game, Smith became captain of the inactive list. He never wore a helmet for another game.

Joe got a chance to chat with Smith, who clearly hopes to take the field in more than one game, so he said after the first practice of mandatory minicamp yesterday.

“You take it how you see it,” Smith said of being wed to the inactive list. “I look at it as an opportunity to stay in the NFL. I just listened to the coaches. They told me what I need to do, what I need to work on. My opportunity didn’t come last year. Hopefully it will come this year. I just have to keep working hard.”

Smith thinks that being in the second year of the New Schiano Order can only help his quest to get on the playing field.

“I understand the offense better. I understand the schemes,” Smith said. “That will help out.”

A new season brings new goals. Last year, Smith’s initial goal was to make the team. He did. Now there are different goals (aside from staying off the inactive list), especially with a new running back in the mix, Mike James.

“I take nothing for granted,” Smith said. “I still have to make the team. At the same time, my confidence is a lot better, I know what [coaches] expect and show them what I’ve got, not thinking about plays when I show hesitation.”

When Joe asked Smith about returning kicks, he beamed like an old lady from Pasco County who just won Powerball.

“Yes, he has talked to me about that,” Smith said of special teams coach Dave Wannstedt, who Smith loves playing for. “Experience. I go up there and try to pick his brain about this, this and this. If I ask him about something, he always has an answer to help me, whether it is setting up blocks or returning the ball. Just like [running backs coach Ernest Byner].

Smith broke out laughing noting how Wannstedt, 60, may be the most excitable if not vocal coach on the Bucs’ practice fields.

As far as Bucs coach Greg Schiano’s take on Smith, Schiano said Smith “is a kick returner” who will get plenty of preseason work while Martin rests to keep the Pro Bowl running back fresh.

After minicamp practice today at One Buc Palace, Joe joined the dean of Tampa Bay sports talk radio, Steve Duemig, of WDAE-AM 620, in studio to talk all things Bucs. “The Big Dog” was kind enough to give Joe a lot of time.

You can soak it all in below. Duemig also let the cat out of the bag; Joe will join Duemig every Wednesday at 5 p.m. starting in late July.

Who’s going to start at tight end for the Bucs? Luke Stocker surely is a favorite. Joe caught up with Stocker yesterday to ask him about his reworked body and more.

JoeBucsFan.com: Mark Dominik was impressed by you putting on 20 pounds this offseason. Why’d you do it and what did you do?

Stocker: Yeah, I bulked up. I got to the point where I was 275. And I felt like I was a little too heavy out here moving around, so I actually cut some weight. I’m about 268-267 right now, feeling real good, moving well, and probably in the best shape I’ve been since I’ve been here.

Joe: Is that something the team asked you to do?

Stocker: No. You know, it really wasn’t something I was consciously making an effort for. I knew I wanted to get in the weight room and bigger, stronger and faster. That’s kind of the result of it, just working hard in the offseason.

Joe: The competition at tight end this season, what do you make of it? What can you tell fans about that?

Stocker: You’ve got a bunch of guys here that have been in the league a few years, who just can’t wait to make the opportunity for themselves. Myself, Crabtree, Zach Miller, guys like that are really trying to establish themselves in the league and want to get an opportunity to start. The Bucs are putting the competition on the line for all three of us to push for that job. So it’s a good opportunity for all of us.

Joe: Where do you think your game has evolved most this offseason and in general?

Stocker: In the past two years I’ve been utilized as a blocker in the offense. And I think this offseason I really concentrated on being more of a passing threat and pass catcher. And I’ve really made some steps in that direction.

Joe: Is there something you did? Did you work out with any quarterbacks?

Stocker: Definitely. Me and Josh [Freeman] and Dan [Orlovsky], we all got together several times and caught passes just trying to build that chemistry and accumulate reps.

The leader of the New Schiano Order is acting more like a CEO these days, versus what he was doing last season at this time.

It’s been somewhat noticeable to Joe at offseason practices that Greg Schiano is a bit more subdued and is having fewer moments where he pulls players aside for 1-on-1 lessons or group counseling.

Today, Joe asked Schiano about what’s changed in his coaching, and Schiano said he’s taken a step back. Even though he loves the hands-on, Schiano said, he must stay focused on all phases and the execution of the team mission through his coaching staff.

“Probably a little less. Just because everything, the vision of the program, you know the guys have had it for a while so I can kind of observe more,” Schiano said. “It’s fun to coach for sure, get your hands in there. But when you’re coaching one guy, you’re not seeing everything else that’s going on. As a head coach, you need to be able to see the big picture. So, you know, it’s a delicate balance.”

Joe’s pleased to see a guy like Schiano, who’s known for being a headstrong micromanager, really embraces more of a CEO style of head coaching. Schiano’s got a massive coaching and advisory staff, complete with big names and guys with Super Bowl rings. It’s pretty clear he’s eager to rely on his people and let them do what they do best.

What an honor!

Joe will sit down with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, to talk all things Bucs at 4 p.m. today. The Big Dog always has an entertaining show, which kicks off at 3.

You can also listen on 95.3 FM through much of the Tampa Bay area. Those chained to a computer can listen live via the station’s website.

Joe scribbled down some notes as the Bucs opened mandatory minicamp Tuesday with NASCAR driver Casey Kahne in attendance as a special guest.

*Mike Williams biting the football.

*Defensive backs practicing going low and swatting the ball away from would-be ballcarriers using dummies.

*Defensive linemen practicing wrapping up. Linebackers practicing pick returns.

*Running backs working on footwork high-stepping through dummies while keeping heads up looking at imaginary passes in the flat.

*Jheranie Boyd and Tiquan Underwood doing a nice job of hauling in passes from Mike Glennon.

*Jerry Johnson seems like the only receiver who cannot catch a pass from Glennon.

*Safeties coach Jeff Hafley can be heard yelling during drills to his players, “Angles, angles, angles!”

*A lot is being made of the fight for the No. 3 receiver between Kevin Ogletree and Underwood, but Joe suggests that Chris Owusu is very much in the mix, just by how he is flashing this spring.

*Boyd makes a helluva catch going low to dig up a Josh Freeman pass on a down-and-out to the right. Boyd didn’t break stride and pulled in the pass smooth as silk.

*Ogletree makes a nice stab of a Freeman pass in traffic.

*Vincent Jackson blows past the defense so badly that he has to come back to catch an underthrown Freeman pass down the right side, and still scores with ease.

*Doug Martin squirts through traffic on the left side and breaks through, all the while biting that football.

*Mismatch: Glennon and Owusu hook up on a beautiful pass over the middle to roast Myron Lewis for six points. Lewis was eating dirt in Owusu’s tracks.

*Either Luke Stocker ran a terrible route or Freeman terribly underthrew him as the ball hits the turf well in front of the Bucs tight end.

*Cornerback Deveron Carr flies in from the right side on a blitz forcing Freeman to unload the ball.

*Williams totally loses safety Sean Baker on a juke move for a catch on the left side.

*Seemingly steaming on the inside on a steamy morning, Darrelle Revis watches practice near a goal post.

*Wide receiver Terrium Crump with a good catch on a slant from Glennon. This shouldn’t be a surprise since Crump was one of Glennon’s targets at North Carolina State.

*Joe was unable to notice the receiver as he was screened by half the team but Glennon threaded the proverbial needle in triple coverage over the middle, throwing the ball high so his receiver could make a play. While this looked nice, Bucs coaches likely cringed. High passes over the middle in the NFL just beg to be picked off.

*And here comes the crowd noise…

*Nearly a coverage sack on Freeman as Ahmad Black was all over Stocker like stench on scat.

*The captain of the inactive list, Michael Smith, hauls in a screen pass from Freeman on the left side for a nice gain. Later, Freeman hits Williams perfectly on a slant pass.

*On each and every play, left defensive end Da’Quan Bowers gets his hands up and with his wingspan it almost looks like field goal uprights from the quarterback’s perspective.

*Freeman overthrows Mike James but there was very good coverage on James.

*Williams skies high for a touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone, barely beating a streaking Cody Grimm.

Rookie quarterback Mike Glennon may have earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in 4 1/2 years at North Carolina State, but he’s no prodigy when it comes to the Bucs playbook.

Glennon explained today that most if not all of the Bucs plays have been rolled out this offseason, but he’s not ready to take the field.

“Definitely not there. I have a general idea of what we’re trying to accomplish on every play. But I need to get in the playbook more and have a better understanding come camp,” Glennon told JoeBucsFan.com after today’s practice. “With time and with reps I’m sure that will come. I’m definitely a lot more comfortable than I was a month ago. I know the play calls. I know what’s going on. Now I just have to continue to improve every day.”

Now Joe doesn’t expect Glennon to be ready to start a football game today. Heck, it’s ok if Glennon isn’t ready on opening day. (Joe’s not among the wackos that expect Glennon to be the franchise savior.)

Joe’s only illustrating how much there is for a rookie to soak in, especially at QB, especially in a system that QB coach John McNulty told Joe took Mark Brunell and Eli Manning a few years to master.

Greg Schiano seems rather blown away by the commitment of Darrelle Revis

The odds of Darrelle Revis being not just ready for opening day but ready to dominate seem to rise daily.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik said last week that Revis was expected in pads on Day 1 of training camp. This afternoon at One Buc Palace, Greg Schiano painted a picture of Revis going far above and beyond in his rehabilitation.

“There’s no substitute for the player,” Schiano said. “The player has to be willing to do it. You talk about putting in overtime. Darrelle’s putting in overtime — late afternoons, weekends, this guy, all he’s doing. None of that’s required. … This guy, his rehab is pretty aggressive.”

Joe’s been hesitant to expect a full recovery by Revis in time for training camp and in time to reveal the old, All-Pro Darrelle Revis on opening day. But now even Joe is getting a bit swept up in the hoopla.

While news of the Bucs grabbing former Bears 2011 first-round pick Gabe Carimi for a paltry sixth-round pick was met with virtual glee within the walls of One Buc Palace Monday, that was not the case among national pundits.

Take Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Kirwan, a former Bucs scout and Jets front office man, and Ryan, a former Bears defensive tackle, are not impressed with Carimi, a right tackle/right guard, in any way.

In fact, the duo had doubts Carimi will make the Bucs’ final roster cut of 53 come September.

Tim Ryan: When his technique breaks down he will break down physically. In his mind, he anticipated and projected he would be fine [coming off a knee injury his rookie year]. That certainly wasn’t the case. He will be fighting for a roster spot with the Buccaneers.

Pat Kirwan: He sure will be. Again this is the old – I am sure there are other teams, specifically Tampa Bay – that had a first-round grade on him coming out. They get the opportunity to take on a guy for a sixth-round pick, that’s not a problem for the. And they have the cap space. And they probably haven’t spent any money on him yet and they could probably release him at the end of camp if they want to and not be in the hole for anything. So, I get it. I know why they would do it. But there is a lesson to be learned here. He is not the first lineman to bounce around here. Can he beat out Demar Dotson?

Ryan: No.

Kirwan: No. Can he beat out…

Ryan: He can’t beat out anybody on that line.

Kirwan: Where is he as a swing player? Do you see him as an inside swing guy?

Ryan: Maybe that’s where his value is. I think he played better at guard but he has the ability to play the core positions.

Kirwan: I can see him making this team if he comes in there full of fire. If not, um, no harm no foul. You lose a sixth round pick. But to take a long summer peek at a guy, it’s probably worth it.

Like Kirwan said, Joe believes this is a no harm/no foul type of move by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.

The elephant in the room here that neither Kirwan nor Ryan factored in Carimi’s new position coach happens to be Bob Bostad, the very same guy who developed Carimi into an Outland Trophy winner and a first-round pick.

If anyone can resuscitate Carimi’s football life, Joe believes it will be Bostad.

The Bucs’ opening day kick returner last season, running back Michael Smith, who captained the inactive list for the remainder of the 2013 season, is back in the mix at kick returner.

New Bucs special teams coach Dave Wannstedt reinforced yesterday that the punt returner and kick returner positions are “obviously wide open,” and he named new free agent wider receiver Eric Page, along with WRs Chris Owusu and David Douglas, as among those battling, and Wannstedt called out Smith, “as far as the kick return stuff.”

What’s a bit scary is that those four guys have seven games of NFL experienced combined — five belong to Owusu, who has yet to field a return in the NFL.

Just based on how the roster might shake out, Joe’s not liking Smith’s chances. It’s all but a sure thing that Tiquan Underwood and Kevin Ogletree will score the No. 3 and No. 4 receiver positions, which means the New Schiano Order wants that No. 5 receiver to be able to be a returner.

Joe also learned from running backs coach Ernest Byner yesterday that he’s impressed with the versatility of Erik Lorig and newcomer running back Brian Leonard. That can’t bode will for Smith in the numbers game.

Early in Bucs safeties coach Jeff Hafley’s career, he got a shot to hit the big time when Dave Wannstedt tabbed him for the secondaries coach at Pitt.

When Hafley showed up on campus there was a certain junior already making his mark on the team, a cornerback. Perhaps you heard of him? He goes by the name of Darrelle Revis.

So now Revis and his old position coach meet again, this time with the Bucs. Sure, Hafley will concentrate on safeties, but that doesn’t mean he won’t work with the corners now and again (Bucs coach Greg Schiano hates to pigeonhole assistants with titles).

Back when Hafley first met Revis, he knew right away Revis was going to be one special player in the NFL, so he told Joe yesterday at the Bucs assistant coaches media day.

“There was no doubt in my mind,” Revis would be great, Hafley said. “I had never been around a player at that time in my life that worked this hard, practiced this hard, competed this hard. He’s just a special person and I was a young coach and he was a junior in college. It was awesome to be around then and it will be awesome to be around now.”

Hafley is like the P.J Fleck of the Bucs defensive coaches. Fleck, now the head coach at Western Michigan, was the Bucs wide receivers coach last year, a young guy, a fiery guy, a guy who is a Type-A personality. Hafley is sort of like that.

So when Joe first brought up that Revis would return to the defensive backfield he coaches, Hafley looked like he wanted to race out to the practice fields and try to catch passes against Revis.

“It’s awesome!” Hafley said about his reunion of sorts with Revis. “I can’t explain it in words to see him here and to see that look in his eye and to have him be a part of this program. It is unexplainable to put in words how happy I am to have him back here.”

Maybe not quite as “unexplainable” as it is to some Bucs fans, hungry for a playoff win after a decade-long drought.

En route to becoming the Bucs’ new quarterbacks coach, John McNulty had two well known gunslingers help teach him the art of QB communication: Pro Bowlers Mark Brunell and Kurt Warner.

McNulty entered the NFL as a quarterbacks assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars learning under Chris Palmer, Bobby Petrino and perhaps more importantly, Brunell, That was back in 1998, when the Jaguars were a powerhouse under Tom Coughlin, who ran nearly the same offense the Bucs are running now, McNulty explained to Joe today.

“It was a unique perspective to sit in the room and watch the way a couple of different guys would try to communicate things in this [Bucs] system, what was kind of understood and what wasn’t, what they thought [Brunell] understood and what [Brunell] would turn around and look at me and say, ‘That doesn’t make any sense.’ Just to see it from the player’s perspective was invaluable.”

McNulty later was a heralded receivers coach with the Arizona Cardinals. He described Warner as operating a clinic on quarterback leadership, something McNulty soaked up.

“Working with Kurt Warner [as receivers coach] for a couple of years in Arizona was really enlightening because Kurt was a guy that kind of ran the show himself and showed a quarterback can convey the urgency needed and tell guys exactly what he wants, and he was able to back it up on Sunday with his performance. So that was really quite an experience,” McNulty said.

Will any of this mean McNulty is an effective quarterbacks coach for Josh Freeman?

No. But it offers perspective on McNulty’s clear focus on communication and preparation versus mechanics.

McNulty was a “scout team” level defensive back at Penn State when he met Greg Schiano, who was a graduate assistant coach there. The two loosely kept in touch before Schiano added him to the Rutgers staff, where McNulty became offensive coordinator.

Years in the college ranks didn’t wipe out McNulty’s deep knowledge of the Bucs’ offense, which he told Joe multiple times is a near clone to what Tom Coughlin ran in Jacksonville and New York.

McNulty said he’s being patient with Josh Freeman, even in the face of extreme pressure to succeed from various sources.

“It took Brunell a few years. It took Eli a few years in this system. It takes time to just be able to go out there and just do it,” McNulty said. “So you try to simulate those reps as much as you can in the classroom, because physically it’s just hard to get all the looks and the different plays and all that. And [Freeman’s] been excellent with it.

“And I mean it could tire you out where you get to the point where you say, ‘Hey, c’mon. I got this.” But he’s been very good with [studying.] He’s a very intelligent football player. He knows a lot of football. He’s played in a lot of systems. So, you know, he’s able to funnel all of that knowledge and energy into, “Here’s what we’re doing here.” You know what I mean, when you’ve played in three or four different systems, you can kind of just run them together. So I think the second year with this, what we’re asking him to do, he’s done a great job with it so far.”

Again, McNulty is dialed in to the details of Josh Freeman’s preparation and communication, all while he balances trying to get a rookie QB ready to win a football game. He’s got his plate super full.

If somehow McNulty can pass on some of the Warner leadership or the precision of Brunell successfully, then the Bucs will benefit big time.

There’s been all kinds of wacky national and local blubbering about the possibility of rookie Mike Glennon becoming the Bucs’ starting quarterback in 2013.

Yes, the Bucs want Glennon to be a star, like they do every player on their roster. And they want their coveted competition for Josh Freeman. But there’s also the flip side to Glennon being on the roster. He’s a rookie and he may be nowhere close to ready to win an NFL football game.

Joe asked rockstar general manager Mark Dominik today about the likelihood of the Bucs keeping Dan Orlovsky as a third quarterback given that Glennon is a green rookie. Dominik was clear that the Bucs are absolutely “leaning” toward keeping three QBs and he praised Orlovsky’s experience.

This was somewhat interesting to Joe, as a third quarterback is something the Bucs haven’t had on the roster in years. And if they keep a third QB, that would impact other guys on the roster bubble, presumably on offense, such as captain of the inactive list, Michael Smith, and the bottom rung of receiving corps.

Joe thinks there’s at least a decent shot the Bucs can gamble (assuming everyone’s healthy) by cutting Orlovsky after training camp and re-signing him off the street if necessary. Joe’s not confident Orlovsky will find a new employer so fast.

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Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan believes Josh Freeman is significantly more advanced than a year ago.

As Joe rhetorically asked last week, virtually every football follower nods in agreement when a player says he is more comfortable beginning a second season under a coach’s reign, so why then is this same latitude not granted Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman?

In a roundabout way, Joe posed this question to Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan during the Bucs assistant coaches media day this afternoon.

Freeman having a year under his belt with Sullivan “has helped tremendously,” Sullivan said. “When you look at the conversations he and I were having last April and last May, we were on things very simple, very basic, in terms of formation. Now, he is way beyond that. He is able to conceptualize; he knows what we are trying to do. Sees the bigger picture. We are not bogged down.

“I don’t care who the player is or who the coach is. There are going to be some growing pains, there is going to be a process. We had to fight our way through that process last spring and through the preseason and even into last fall. As you recall, [Freeman] started off slow then hit a groove and then he had some things occur. I can’t emphasize enough how exciting it has been and how gratifying it has been to hit the ground running this spring with a year under the belt and everybody is so much more advanced.

“It’s the quarterback’s ability, it is Josh’s ability to be able to be comfortable and be able to not be thinking and process but, ‘Here’s the call. Here’s the actions – boom!’ He is getting that automatic ability [snaps fingers], which is where we need him to be at. So we are excited.”

As Joe has stated before, the Bucs will go as far as Freeman can lead the offense.

Not only having a year of experience in Sullivan’s offense, but a year becoming familiar with Vincent Jackson and a year becoming familiar with Doug Martin, it can only help Freeman, and the Bucs.

Bryan Cox weighed in on a goal for Gerald McCoy and what will make him a true NFL superstar

What makes a true legend of the NFL?

Joe listened to Bucs pass rush coach Bryan Cox (a stud player himself way back when) share some of his philosophy on that today at One Buc Palace.

For Cox, being a superstar is about raising the level of teammates. And that’s the goal for Gerald McCoy in 2013, Cox said.

“I saw a guy that was mature, ready to take the next step, very into it in the meetings, very intelligent. And so you’d just like to think and hope that this year he can build and bring some guys with him,” Cox said. “Because true great players bring, you know, other players’ level of play to a different level. That’s what we’d like to expect from him this season.”

Cox went on to praise McCoy’s accountability and said McCoy vocally taking responsibility for everything before he looks to help others “is a trait you’d like to see in any leader.”

Joe liked hearing of the extraordinary high bar being set for McCoy. Man, if he can raise the level of those around him, especially his young, talented and inexperienced D-line mates, the Bucs will be in phenomenal shape.