Joe is troubled to learn that Bucs legend and overall great guy Scot Brantley is dealing with some nasty health issues.

Seems as though he had two small strokes, was found to have a hole in his big heart, and has lost a significant amount of vision in one of his eyes, so reports Keith Niebuhr of the St. Petersburg Times.

Scot Brantley, a former Buc and Florida Gator standout linebacker, said Wednesday he is on the mend and in good spirits following recent heart surgery in Ocala to repair damage caused by a “mini-stroke” he suffered last fall. A second mini-stroke, sustained this January, caused severe harm to Brantley’s left eye. “I’ve lost 90 to 95 percent of my vision,” said Brantley, a longtime Tampa resident. “My right eye now has to work twice as hard. I might not ever regain vision in the left eye.”

Brantley is one of Joe’s favorite people. Just a really, really, really good guy and a linebacker who was tough as nails. Brantley was always eager to chat when our paths crossed and he never big leagued anyone. Joe last chatted with Brantley at Ferg’s prior to the St. Pete Bowl and traded e-mails with him shortly thereafter.

And though Joe loves Dave Moore on the Bucs broadcast team, there were few duos who meshed as well behind the mic for the Bucs better than Brantley and Gene Deckerhoff. Joe always made sure to listen to those two at games when Joe had Bucs season tickets

And who will forget Brantley unleashing decades of frustration, just like all Bucs fans, when Derrick Brooks sealed the Super Bowl win, by uncharacteristically bellowing, “DERRICK BROOKS!” as Brooks returned the interception for a fourth quarter touchdown?

Joe was wondering why Brantley seemed to fall off the face of the earth. Now he knows why.

Get well, Scot! There’s plenty of snook and kings and reds waiting to be caught, and turkey to be shot.