Joe is desperate for training camp to begin. It’s the best way to ignore Pat Burrell. So in an effort to try to pass time between now and July 31, Joe has begun a countdown of Top 10 issues facing the Bucs. Joe will study a subject with the top item appearing Aug. 1.

When Joe heard the Bucs were moving 30-year old safety Jermaine Phillips to linebacker, in a sense replacing the great Derrick Brooks, Joe had to check if he was drinking too much Bushmills.

But he wasn’t. Raheem The Dream also was sober, best as Joe could tell.

How could this be? Joe knows players have switched positions in their careers and become Hall of Fame players. Ronnie Lott was a cornerback who was moved to safety, for example. Dan Dierdorf was flipped from right tackle to center.

The difference between those two and Phillips is Lott and Dierdorf were essentially playing the same position later in their careers. How much different is it to block at right tackle than at center? Of course Joe knows there are different responsibilities but the core fundamentals of blocking are the same: footwork, handwork, positioning, etc.

When Lott was moved to safety, he still knew how to cover receivers. He just had a different zone of coverage in which to concern himself.

Phillips, on the other hand, is entering a new world. To ask a 30-year old to learn a totally new position when most players his age are looking at retirement is crazy beyond words to Joe.

Whenever Phillips was hurt, the Bucs’ secondary suffered. Now he is not in the secondary at all, unless Raheem The Dream has a change of heart.

This is another reason for Bucs fans to have ample supplies of alcohol nearby when the opposition has the ball this season.