Carmella Garcia always helps Joe keep things in perspective. Some words of wisdom from former Bucs defensive lineman Brad Culpepper today were also worth noting.

A moment of perspective.

Training camp is fun. Training camp is a breath of fresh air after too many football-free months. Training camp is a great place to reunite with the game and the cheerleaders and drool over the lovely Roxanne Wilder from the One Buc bleachers.

But frankly, what’s going on right now on the practice field doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot.

Sure, a few of the Bucs’ key questions are being answered, such as it’s becoming glaringly obvious that Josh Freeman is not being fast-tracked to start on opening day. However the real meaningful evaluation of the team — especially any young team like the Bucs — starts with the first preseason game. 

Former Bucs defensive lineman Brad Culpepper expressed similar feelings quite clearly this morning during an interview on 620 WDAE-AM, The Sports Animal.

“It’s all fluff. All nothingness, until they start playing preseason games,” Culpepper said. “There’s no reason too get excited about anything right now.”

Asked about Raheem The Dream’s training camp approach, Culpepper said he loves that The Dream is calling out players, not playing favorites, and putting the pads on early. But, Culpepper said, “playing hard only gets you so far in the NFL.”

Joe couldn’t agree more. There’s a big red circle around Aug. 15 on Joe’s wall calendar. Let the games begin.