Grilling Logan Mankins discusses how refreshing a new season is for him.

You know how dogs hide behind couches and under beds from the Florida lightning storms? Well, dogs (and cats) trembled for their well-being on football Sundays last year, the way Bucs fans stomped around the neighborhood in outrage over a kick-in-the-nuts 2-14 season.

No player may have felt the boot in the sack quite like barbecue pitmaster Logan Mankins. The left guard was traded to the Bucs by Bill Belicheat on the cusp of the 2014 season, going from the eventual Super Bowl champions to the lowest rung in the NFL, the last place, league-worst Bucs.

You could tell by Mankins’ demeanor at his first press conference in Tampa Bay that he was blindsided. Joe got the impression Mankins’ head was in Foxborough all season long. He surely didn’t play to his normal top-shelf level, but to be be fair, he was dinged up from the first week of the season.

Mankins discussed this and other matters when he stopped after minicamp practice to talk to Joe and other members of the Tampa Bay pen and mic club at One Buc Palace today.

“Much more comfortable,” a noticeably slimmed down Mankins noted of being with the Bucs this offseason as opposed to parachuting in last year. “Nice to have an offseason with the team. I know everyone now. [The trade] is not happening right before the season. Family-wise, personal-wise, job-wise, everything is much smoother now.”

Joe had heard rumblings that veteran teammates last year were not impressed or enamored with former left tackle Anthony Collins, who still finds himself looking for work.

Mankins seemed to indirectly confirm the whispers Joe heard about Collins when Mankins discussed the demeanor of the 2015 Bucs

“Been a good spring for us,” Mankins said. “We have a better feeling in our offensive line room right now. I feel guys are working harder and putting a better effort in. Only time will tell but we will see how things go in training camp to see if we have the same type of mentality.”

The difference in the offensive line? Two rookies trying to make a name for themselves but no Oniel Cousins and no Collins. Everything Joe had heard about Cousins was he was a consummate pro (but struggled on the field), so feel free to do your own math here.

Mankins also breathed a sigh of relief that 2014 is in the rearview mirror and things are looking better.

“Any time you have a record like [the Bucs] and each week, you are in games with a chance to win them and you find a way to lose every week, it starts to wear on you,” Mankins said.

One reason for optimism, Mankins said, is new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.

“It is hard to replace experience,” Mankins said. “Dirk has been around a long time. He has coached a lot of games in this league and knows how to read the defenses.”