Evidence is growing that Raheem The Dream will be quick to lose the smile when Bucs players step out of line. I'll "rip their faces off and they can accept it."

Raheem The Dream has told the world he wants a violent team, one that plays with venom and practices with that same intensity.

And what All-American football fan can’t get excited about that kind of talk? It’s a violent game, and that aspect of football should be embraced. It’s surely not a loser’s mentality.

That said, Joe is intrigued that The Dream’s growing body of quotes and media features reveal a violent streak behind that million-dollar smile of his.

Even Friday’s well done company-line, OTA wrap-up story on Buccaneers.com quotes The Dream’s violent philosophy on disciplining players who step out of line.

The Dream talks about ripping their faces off.

“If you give them something, they’ll do it, and when they don’t you can rip their faces off and they can accept it,” said Morris. “We’ve had incidents as far as people not listening or people not getting stuff done, and when it’s brought to their attention you get them to respond. You’d be surprised at how much they do care. NFL players and pro players period just get a bad rap of not caring when they do. You just need to bring it to their attention and tell them what you want and they’ll do it.”

Today, old-school St. Pete Times columnist Gary Shelton busted out a too-long feature about Raheem The Dream growing up on the tough streets of Irvington, New Jersey, where the Bucs head coach fought on the streets and once roughed up a boy who threw an egg on his new leather jacket.

“Raheem chased them down,” Kyle said. “He was roughing up one of the guys, and he kept saying something I couldn’t understand because he as taking so fast. About the eighth time, I finally understood. He was yelling “You’re Going to Clean My Jacket.”

As Steele says it, the phrase comes out as a high pitched squeal: “You’regoingtocleanmyjacket.”

“Back in the day, fighting wasn’t a bad deal,” Morris said. “It was just a fight. You didn’t have to worry about getting stabbed or shot. It was hand to hand. No one was afraid to get their backs dirty.

Joe gets a kick out of The Dream referencing “back in the day.” He’s only 32 years old. And it’s that fight of a youngster that still seems to simmer in the Bucs new head coach. 

Let’s hope it rubs off on the Bucs in the right way.