When was the last time the Buccaneers gave one of their own a whopping contract extension before said player’s contract was played out?

It’s been a long while. Joe can’t recall.

That brings Joe to Mike Williams, who is entering the final year of his four-year, $2.3 million contract, which also has additional incentives in it. There’s been loads of published chatter about how the Bucs are eager now to lock up Williams for years to come. But Joe is skeptical this will get done.

Why would the Bucs want to drop the necessary pile of guaranteed cash on Williams now when they could let him play out 2013 on the cheap and still potentially franchise Williams for 2014, if they can’t re-sign him after this season? The 2014 franchise tag still would be less guaranteed money (about the same gifted to Michael Clayton) than it would take to secure Williams long-term today.

There is the theory of using this season’s remaining mile of salary cap room to front Williams money to help keep cash available to re-sign other top Buccaneers down the road. But it’s rare around the NFL, and un-Buccaneer-like, to drop a bag of cash on a young guy (Williams turns 26 next week) when it’s not necessary.

The Tampa Bay Rays do a masterful job locking up talented players by waving lottery tickets in front of their faces before they have to, ones the players cash in versus waiting for bigger paydays. It doesn’t happen often in the NFL.

Joe suspects the Bucs will toss a calculated carrot in front of Williams to see how hungry he is.

The Bucs’ woeful pass rush won’t be rescued by former USF defensive end George Selvie anytime soon.

Selvie was signed by the Bucs in March but was booted from the team late yesterday as part of roster changes to make room for the following guys on the 90-man roster.

Jheranie Boyd, WR, 6-2, 190, North Carolina
Jace Daniels, OT, 6-4, 300, Northern Michigan
Chris Denton, WR, 5-11, 195, Mount Union
Ka’lial Glaud, LB, 6-2, 230, Rutgers
Andre Neblett, DT, 6-0, 310, Temple

No, Joe didn’t think journeyman Selvie was some sort of Bucs savior. However, the Bucs’ pass-rush conundrum is still there.

The New Schiano Order is a letting so much ride on the backs of DaQuan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn. Remember, for those yearning for rockstar general manager Mark Dominik to sign John Abraham or Dwight Freeney make a late move for a pass rusher, Dominik told Sirius NFL Radio last week not to expect another big signing from the Bucs because they’re happy with their roster.

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There’s a lot to like with Bucs rookie nose tackle Akeem Spence. First, Joe isn’t sure the guy ever wipes the smile off his face. He’s always in a good mood.

Joe would be, too, if he could build himself into an NFL draft pick anda potential starter by hitting the weights big time, documents veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times.

“The weight room — that’s where I make my living, man,” he said. “Anytime you don’t see me in the locker room, you’ll probably find me in the weight room trying to get stronger.”

The question with Spence is how much he can apply that strength to his football play. At Illinois, he didn’t always use the best leverage, which is one of the reasons he was still there in the fourth round.

“I hear it, but I don’t try to pay attention,” Spence said. “I’m weight-room strong, but I feel like I take it to the field real well. Sometimes people don’t understand it’s the scheme. With me being so strong, sometimes people expect me to grab the blocker and throw it into the backfield. But at the same time you’re still playing football. You’ve got to pay attention to the scheme.”

As so eloquently spoken by the great Warren Sapp, “You don’t pump weights on the 50-yard line.” So true.

What does impress Joe with Spence, aside from his beaming smile, is that Spence is durable in the devil’s den that is interior line play. He started 38 straight games and left Illinois after his junior year.

Well it seems Bucs legend Ronde Barber’s decision whether to come back for one (or two?) more season with the Bucs has been made.

The only thing left is for him to make his decision public.

That’s the word from Tampa Bay electronic sports czar J.P. Peterson, a confidant of Barber’s. Peterson appeared on WTSP-TV Channel 10 (one of Joe’s proud media partners) Monday night to discuss Barber’s status with Ch. 10 sports director Dave Wirth.

Peterson had a text conversation with Barber Monday night and Barber told Peterson his announcement on his decision is “imminent.” Peterson took that to mean Barber will announce his future endeavors within a few days.

Per Peterson, Barber was about to announce what his decision was last week, but didn’t want to interfere with the ceremony at One Buc Palace to announce Warren Sapp’s entry into the Ring of Honor and jersey retirement announcement.

Joe was there for that ceremony and amongst the many ex-teammates of Sapp’s in attendance; Barber was not among them.

If Barber comes back, it’s hard for Joe to see him starting, surely not at safety with the Bucs investing heavily in Dashon Goldson and Mark Barron. Joe’s not sure Barber would start at corner either, so long as Darrelle Revis is healthy and second-round pick Johnthan Banks has no issues learning the NFL game.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik told SiriusXM NFL Radio last Thursday he would welcome Barber’s return.

Last week, just before rookie minicamp got going, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik dropped a phone call on Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio to talk all things Bucs. Naturally, Joe recorded the show (thanks to a tip from a loyal JoeBucsFan.com reader as Joe was busy with Warren Sapp news at One Buc Palace and missed the interview originally) so he could type it later.

What, you expect something different from Joe?

Tim Ryan: He is the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mark Dominik joining us on the program, hey Mark.

Mark Dominik: Tim, Pat how are you doing?

Pat Kirwan: Hey, Mark, how are you, man?

Ryan: I always appreciate you showing up and showing up on time, sort of like that haircut. Well-groomed and ready to go.

Dominik: (laughs) I appreciate that very much. I tell you, guys down here are excited. We have guys going through the locker room getting ready for rookie mini-camp. Seeing how our draft picks do and we have one of the biggest tryout camps as well. See how these young men can do in a quick weekend.

Kirwan: Let’s get into that. It’s a long, grueling process, trying to get everything right. Now you have the draft and now you get a chance to see if the players look like you thought they would during the research. I used to love that day: The first day the players are out there with the coaches. They are our property. Most of the time it was a great experience. Do you have any anxiety when you go out there to watch those guys for the first time under the guidance of your coaches and not the college coaches?

Dominik: You do, obviously. And you are right. It’s a very exciting day when they go out there on the field and move around and do some drills and watch their footwork and their explosion and get-off and all of those things. Those are all fun things we love to watch. In the back of your mind you are watching your picks and watching to see if they perform the way you want them to comparably to the guys that are out there. A bigger day is when we get to the veteran minicamp and after [the rookies] spend a couple of weeks with the coaches, learning and see how they measure up to the veterans and see how they hold up the ropes to get themselves in positions to make plays. Yeah, tomorrow is a special day in that you really get to open up your gifts on Christmas morning. You got to pick your presents but you haven’t got to touch them. Now the coaches get to touch them.

Ryan: Well, you haven’t had a chance to open up the biggest gift yet and that is Darrelle Revis. Love what you did at No. 13 by moving that pick to the Jets along with at third-rounder next year. Darrelle, health=wise Mark, where is he, what is he able to do and do you guys envision him being ready to go come September.

Dominik: Yeah, we feel great about Darrelle being in this building. I tell you what: Every day being around him, you understand what has made him such a great player. Unselfish guy. Great personality. Great teammate. He’s been good downstairs. He is now officially No. 24 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mark Barron has moved to No. 23. So Revis retains his number and Mark Barron is going to create his number which we like. And you know, from a health perspective he is ahead of schedule and right where we wanted to be. I think the most impressive thing about Darrelle is that he came into the big press conference with his family and everything like that, instead of heading back and getting stuff or anything, he never left our building since. He’s been downstairs because it is important to him. Staying with our training staff, staying on target to come out to practice the first day and being able to line up against the Jets Week 1.

Ryan: Other than having a great teammate in Darrelle Revis, what is Barron getting for the number switch? Is he getting paid? Did you just coerce him to do that? What happened?

Dominik: We let those guys handle their business downstairs. We stay out of it. We let those two men work it out. I think part of it is Mark Barron understands that Revis spent six-plus years developing that number and shows what he has done with NIKE and Barron said it was also a chance to be a great teammate and show that he is welcoming him in here. And I think that shows the secondary is already growing close with Goldson and Barron and Revis and Eric Wright and now with Johnthan Banks, I think they will continue to grow together fast.

Kirwan: That leads me to Banks. I said this about Banks when we had to review him on the radio show, look, you can harp on his speed, you can criticize him on his speed but he has played very well his whole college career with the same speed. He has figure out how to play at a very high level with the gifts he has got. I wouldn’t worry so much about it. I think the guy has an understanding of what he is and what he isn’t and a guy who is going to play very effectively in the NFL. Your thoughts on him and how do you overcome the speed issue, and I would love to hear from you as I am sure you have your own idea on what you saw on tape.

Dominik: I would say the main thing was, did it show up? You know that from your years in scouting. What does the tape say? Thing that you say when you step back from this draft class and just really from the league in general, 25 percent of this draft class came from the SEC. These are the same players that Banks has lined up against the past four years. The players that are playing in the National Football League, a lot are coming from the SEC. He is lining up against some of the best receivers on the college level for four straight years. He has done it. Then you watch the tape, he has the quickness, he has the feet that you look for and really need to have. He has anticipation and instincts that make a great corner. Look, if we were all caught up on 40 times back in 1997 when Ronde Barber came out, then Ronde Barber probably wouldn’t have been a Buccaneer. Instead at the time, Jerry Angelo, Rich McKay, Tim Ruskell made a smart selection for this organization and the guy hasn’t missed a game since. You know, you have to look at all of the big picture and Banks has the important elements that we think will make a great corner.

Ryan: Is there still a spot for Ronde Barber, Mark, if he wants it? Take us through that conversation.

Dominik: There is. I have to say I haven’t spoken to Ronde since after the draft, but there is. It is his decision. It is his choice. We are leaving it there for him. If he wants to come back there is absolutely a spot for him and a spot for him the rest of the season.

Ryan: Man, I tell you, your secondary looks so much better, not just on paper but on the field going into 2013 season. When I look at your third round selection Mike Glennon, the quarterback out of NC State, it tells me that with Damontre Moore and other pass rushers still on the board, you guys must feel really good about Adrian Clayborn coming back and Da’Quan Bowers and some of the other guys you have rushing the passer. Talk about your d-line.

Dominik: Yeah, that’s one thing we did address in the draft. I think we stayed true to the board. I think that a lot of people will say in the third round a lot of people did have Mike Glennon rated on our draft board and we also felt there was a need in our organization to draft him so that is why we pulled the trigger on a really young, we think is an ascending young quarterback, a guy with a lot of potential in front of him. A guy with a big arm and can throw the ball down the field and can throw off of play action, a guy who played for some great coaches who coached some great pros at that level. And then the first selection of the third day of the draft we went aggressive on the defensive line, we selected three guys on the defensive line. Gholston from Michigan State and we traded up to get Akeem Spence to be our nose tackle and took a young man from University of Buffalo, Steven Means who has a lot of traits to be an interesting pass rusher at the next level?

Ryan: Where is Da’Quan health-wise and how is Adrian Clayborn coming off of his injury?

Dominik: Very fair questions. Da’Quan is great. Everything is fine. He had the unfortunate injury last season but everything is good this offseason. He is ready to go and Adrian is well ahead of schedule. He has been outside running around. He has not been cutting as much because we don’t need to as much as he would like to. There is no need to force it. Both of those guys are ready to rock and roll Week 1 against the Jets.

Kirwan: Mark, I have heard different views on how they are handling their quarterback situation. I’ve heard everything from it is an open competition to its this guy’s team. Define yours for us. I am assuming it is Josh’s football team and then I’d like to know how many quarterbacks you think you will keep on the roster.

Dominik: I would say that it is Josh’s football team. Again, he set a lot of Buccaneer records for us last year and he is a good quarterback who got a lot of experience that we are excited about and will continue to == you know, I am excited about having Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph in front of him…

Ryan: Yes!

Dominik: … so that Josh will continue to feel comfortable back in that pocket so he can make more plays. So it is his football team and I am excited to have him on this football team and have him be the leader on that side of the ball. Quarterback-wise? Could we keep three or four? We could keep as many as four. Some teams kept two. We kept two and had one on the practice squad. This year with the addition of Mike Glennon and I like Dan Orlovsky as a true veteran leader and we have a kid with some potential in Adam Weber so we will see who plays in the preseason as well. We will take four to camp and see how it plays out from there.

Ryan: Mark, what is it with Josh Freeman because one week, he looks great and the next week, not so good. He certainly has the skill sets. Is it just about, obviously winning games, or is it about consistency with him?

Dominik: Yeah, I think that is what we all want. Again, I agree with what you are saying Tim. There is a consistency you want. For about six to eight weeks, he showed it. That is one thing we have to remind ourselves of. It’s not just the negatives, but consistency yeah. He did play at a premiere level in this league. I am still, we are still very optimistic in Josh’s future, and that is why we make sure to surround him with guys not only the offensive line and keep that intact but going out in free agency and pulling a Kevin Olgetree or a Steve Smith to continue to get more weapons for Josh but to keep him clean up front in that pocket.

Kirwan: We asked Ron Rivera this and we will ask Coach Belichick the same later, about the draft, you didn’t have that many picks, you had six if I count them up right here. That makes to me, with short picks or even with the standard seven, the undrafted class becomes critical and there is an opportunity for at least, maybe one or two or three guys to make the football team. How did you feel about the college free agent pool after the draft, Mark?

Dominik: We thought it was fairly strong. There were some spots that looked like there was some good ability to it. Guards and centers we felt really good about that. And at corner, we still pulled out a couple of guys we felt excited about.

Kirwan: You have a lot of cap space. You are using it prudently. Actually, I think it is coming along quite nicely. Yet, when I look at the league you are in a very good spot. I’m interested to know – you don’t have to tell me any names – if you will be active in free agency? Are you actively shopping or do you like the 90 that you now have? Are you still hunting for guys?

Dominik: We are always a little bit in the hunt. As you know, you are always looking for a way to improve your roster. Do I see a big signing in our future? I don’t see that. Our team is pretty excited about where we are at. Again, let’s see if these young guys can keep going. We want to see [Tom] Crabtree more. We want to see Banks. We want to see [Jonathon] Casillas work, who we picked up in the offseason. A Keith Tandy who we drafted last year. Guys with ability that are still developing. That is what is exciting. We stocked this team with some veterans like Brian Leonard who I think brings a lot to this team. A guy like Derek Landri who has been in the trenches a long time and can play tilted nose for us…

Ryan: Don’t let the bad body fool you, Landri can play.

Dominik: … No doubt about it and we are excited for him. He can fill in different roles for us, be active each Sunday and play a lot. If he is a starter or a backup, we know he can play. It may not be glory work but he can help the whole team produce at a high level. We feel good about where the 90 is headed right now. We are 90 strong and if we don’t do anything else, we are happy with this group.

Ryan: Hey Mark, last one for me and I am going to predict something here, you can agree – I am sure you are not into predictions – or disagree. I see more sacks in 16 games for Gerald McCoy this year than I have seen in his whole career. When you talk about ball-screening guys behind him in terms of coverage guys, it all works together. As I said since I was a college player. I used to turn around and say to Mark Carrier: “Pressure pick/coverage sack. I get the pressure, you get the pick; you get the coverage, I get the sack.” McCoy is going to get double-digit sacks for you this year, you watch.

Dominik: Well, again, he is continuing to develop as well going into Year Four. He had two unfortunate injuries his first two years and finally got to play a full season last year. Still, there is a lot more coming with Gerald and again, having Landri or Spence next to him, obviously having a healthy Bowers and a healthy Clayborn, he’s never had those on the field at the same time, really. And so all of those things coming together finally, then with the backend with Revis and Eric Wright and Johnthan Banks and the two big safeties behind them. The play of Lavonte David and Mason Foster we like. We’ve had a guy who has been around for three years Dekoda Watson who will do everything he can to be the SAM linebacker. We are excited about the group. We have a long way to go, this is just the start of the offseason program but I know our coaches are working hard to get the most out of each guy and we will be ready to go for training camp, Week One.

Ryan: I don’t care where he is right now, Schiano has the whistle in his mouth.

Dominik: (laughs) He probably does. He is pacing somewhere in this building to make sure things are getting done the right way. That is why he is a good football coach.

Kirwan: Mark, go ahead and enjoy what’s left of the spring preparation for training camp and we will see you for sure on the camp tour.

Dominik: Thanks guys.

Joe’s not big on small-time Bucs transactions, but this one is intriguing given the below average play (for a starter) of right tackle Demar Dotson last year and the fact that the Bucs didn’t draft an offensive lineman.

Per a small Michigan newspaper called The Mining Journal, the Bucs have signed tackle Jace Daniels out of this past weekend’s rookie minicamp.

The Buccaneers have not officially announced the signing of Daniels yet. With 90 players currently on the roster, the team will have to release someone to make room for Daniels.

The NMU senior 6-foot-4, 300-pound left tackle started all 11 games for NMU during his junior and senior years, earning All-GLIAC second-team honors in 2011 and first-team accolades in 2012.

If the Buccaneers decided not to keep Daniels after this weekend’s rookie camp, the 2009 Escanaba graduate also had an invite to the New York Giants’ rookie camp this week.

For those unfamiliar with Northern Michigan University, that’s Division II football in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Obviously, Daniels is a long shot for the Bucs roster, but perhaps the Bucs are confident stud offensive line coach Bob Bostad sees an opportunity to develop Daniels quickly. Per Daniels, the Bucs were communicating with him for weeks.

Interestingly, and likely relevant, Daniels’ college head coach, Chris Ostrowsky, was the 1998 high school coach of the year out of Newark, New Jersey, aka Greg Schiano country.

Lost a bit in the Darrelle Revis/NFL Draft madness was Gerald McCoy being named by NFL Network, per the vote of NFL players, as the 92nd best football player in the league.

Now Joe knows that despite McCoy making a Pro Bowl last season without winning the fan vote, and staying healthy, and helping to anchor the NFL’s best run defense, McCoy still has his share of doubters.

This Top-100 designation should beat them back at least a little bit more. Below is McCoy chatting on NFL Network about what the honor means to him and about his personal goals. And he’s seated on the set next to new Bucs safety Dashon Goldson, who was No. 96 on the list for his play with the Niners last year.

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Former Bucs QB Shaun King weighs in on how the Bucs’ 2013 draft should be graded today.

One way to grab Shaun King’s attention is to start heavily praising the Buccaneers’ 2013 draft class.

King’s not feeling it right now. One of three QBs to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game, King told WDAE-AM 620 host J.P. Peterson how and why he gives the Bucs average marks and why he’s eyeing the Panthers for future grades of this Bucs draft class.

“I hear people say this draft was a “B.” I’m like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,” King said. “I give them a “C” because they didn’t really draft a starter. Akeem Spence is probably going to get a chance to compete with [Derek] Landi. but he’s not the starter. [Johnthan] Banks is going to get a chance to compete with Eric Wright, but he’s probably going to start off as the nickel.

“Really, to me, this draft grade comes down to what kind of an impact [defensive tackle] Star Lotulelei has in Carolina versus Darrelle Revis in Tampa. Because what people are overlooking is at No. 13 they would have had their choice between star, Sheldon Richardson and Sharrif Floyd. All three of those tackles were there. So you just think about having one of those guys under contract for the next five years next to Gerald McCoy.”

King went on to express his concern about Revis’ health as it relates to his position. “Show me the defensive player that’s bounced back from the ACL,” King said, referencing offensive players known for successful recovery. King says it’s a different animal on offense, where “you know where you’re going and you know where you’re cutting.”

That’s an intriguing point by King, and it puts another Buccaneer being heavily counted on into the spotlight: Adrian Clayborn. (You can catch the entire interview below.)

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Is Jonathan Casillas truly the answer at outside linebacker for the Bucs?

In the past couple of months, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has done a wonderful job upgrading what was a historically rotten NFL secondary.

Adding guys like Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson and drafting a rookie like Johnthan Banks makes the Bucs look like they’ve gone from the outhouse to the penthouse of defensive backfields.

Bucs fans were focused on upgrading the secondary, rightly so. But what about outside linebacker, where there is a hole left by the injury to Quincy Black? This subject came up in a recent BSPN NFL South chat.

STeve (DC)

WHy does everybody have Casillas signed in as our OLB opposite of Lavonte? Hayward and Watson have been big time contributors when they have had the chance…i see Hawyard starting on opening day

Pat Yasinskas

Could be. Casillas isn’t anything special.

Good grief, does this “STeve” character watch Bucs games, or does he just wear cheerleader skirts on Sunday afternoons?

For years Bucs fans wanted to run Black out of town for horrid play perhaps more than any other player. But last year, however, Joe will be the first to say Black was playing good football.

Imagine what happens when a player gets coached up?

So if, for three or four years Black was among the worst starters on the Bucs, doesn’t that say something about Adam Hayward and Dekoda Watson that they couldn’t unseat Black?

Look, Joe thinks the world of Watson, but the man is a one-trick pony. He’s a fantastic special teams player.

As far as Hayward goes, the only thing Joe can think of where Hayward made a name for himself was for going MMA on his position coach on the sidelines last year.

Time will tell about Jonathan Casillas, though it does speak volumes that Casillas couldn’t start for the Saints, which had the NFL’s worst defense last season.

Does Josh Freeman need a “nudge,” as is suggested in this NFL Network roundtable analysis of the Freeman-Mike Glennon dynamic?

Joe’s never bought the value of the “nudge” factor. But Freeman does need some kind of tweak to right himself back to 2010.

As former longtime NFL general manager Charley Casserly says in the video, Freeman’s play “inexplicably tailed off” late in the 2012 season. And it’s that unsolved mystery when the pressure was greatest that must be unraveled in Freeman’s head.

Interestingly, during a chat with Justin Pawlowski on 98.7 FM last week, Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik talked about Freeman needing to manage the very fine line of “maintaining his competitive edge” by making all the throws his talented arm can execute while not forcing.

John McNulty, you’ve got a challenge on your hands, one that likely holds the playoff hopes of the Bucs.

Just like in business, it’s good to network in football.

Former South Florida tight end Evan Landi and Bucs coach Greg Schiano go back a ways. Landi attended Schiano’s summer camps when Schiano ran the Scarlet Knights program at Rutgers.

Then, Schiano’s squads would have to face the Bulls and Landi annually. So when the Bucs began signing undrafted free agents last week, Landi was already on Schiano’s radar.

“I go way back with Evan,” Schiano said. “I was always a fan of his. He kind of does everything. I think he’s got potential.”

Landi does pretty much do everything. He was offered a professional hockey contract coming out of high school but decided to stay with football. A quarterback at Coral Gables High School, Landi was converted to a tight end at South Florida. In his final game with the Bulls against Pittsburgh, Landi ran the ball, caught a pass and threw a completion.

Now Joe doesn’t expect Landi to see a whole lot of playing time if he makes the final 53-man roster, an uphill battle for any undrafted free agent.

If somehow Landi does make the final cut, Joe sees Landi as being a special teams handyman, being able to do all sorts of things given his athletic versatility.

The most important bad knee in Tampa since Cadillac Williams’ hasn’t left local soil.

That surgically repaired knee, of course, belongs to Bucs savior Darrelle Revis.

In this NFL Network video, Rich Hollenberg reports from Bucs rookie minicamp and says a Bucs honcho made it clear that Revis has stayed in town since signing his giant new Bucs contract two weeks ago. Revis has the full attention of the Bucs’ training and medical staff but there is no update on his health.

Joe wouldn’t care if Revis rehabbed in Toronto, if that’s was what got him most ready for opening day against the Jets.

However, Joe realizes the Bucs also need Revis for his leadership, and for that he needs to be here steadily. He’s off to a great start.

When Bucs veteran defensive end Eric Curry, who Warren Sapp was not fond of, griped about doing pass rush drills on the third day of training camp in Father Dungy’s first year, Sapp knew the Bucs were headed in the right direction.

Throughout the weekend, Joe will bring snippets of the many, many, many stories Bucs great Warren Sapp shared Thursday with the Bucs pen and mic club about his career.

Soon-to-be Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp makes no bones about the fact he thought he was much better than most Buccaneers when he arrived in Tampa Bay in 1995, even though Sapp was a rookie. And he was right.

Sapp still talks with disdain about Sam Wyche’s “Three ring circus,” as Sapp calls it, and last week he remembered what he thought was the turning point where the Bucs left their losing ways behind.

This took place on the third day of training camp under Father Dungy while Sapp and other defensive linemen were working on pass rush drills, a tactic most of the veterans loathed. Sapp, proving to be astute even at a young age, thought the Bucs needed such work.

“Eric Curry playing outside… there was some bad football being played. I go back to those days with Rod [Marinelli] and doing pass rush drills. On the third day, Curry looked at us, ‘We’re going to do this everyday?’ I was like, ‘Yes! I won’t have to look at his [arse] any more. He’s out of here.’ If you don’t want to do this? I mean, this is regular work in the summer.

“‘We’re going to pass rush everyday?’ Really? Last time I remember I ran one game and got a sack and you played 15 before you got a sack. Really? What the hell makes you so good that you don’t want to do this every day? So I couldn’t understand it.

“So we slowly understood the process of Tony [Dungy] and his coaching staff building something special.”