Rough debut for returner Kaelin Clay

The good news is rookie returner Kaelin Clay didn’t fumble last night in his NFL debut as the Buccaneers’ top returner.

The bad news is he left many fans longing for Solomon Patton, Arrelious Benn, Eric Page and other scary names from Bucs past. (more…)

Joe’s got more exclusive stuff from the Bucs’ locker room last night

Lavonte David has a giant new contract, and last night was the first time he got a chance to wear a Bucs uniform and approach a game as a big-money, cornerstone piece of the franchise.

In the bowels of a steamy postgame locker room, Joe chatted with Lavonte about what, if anything, is different now. (more…)

Bucs fans should relax about Jameis. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

There is no need to run to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The Bucs did not draft the reincarnation of Josh Freeman.

As Packers superstar quarterback and main squeeze of Olivia Munn, Aaron Rodgers, once told Packers fans after a loss, “RELAX.”

Why is Joe not freaking out? (more…)

It was a very new day for Kadeem Edwards

Before fans go completely nuts because of the Bucs’ offensive line issues last night, Joe wants to remind everyone that Logan Mankins played exactly one series.

And he played pretty well, much better than last year. (more…)

“America’s Quarterback” talks about his first NFL game. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Like Bucs coach Lovie Smith said: Jameis was Jameis last night. He started slow and finished fast.

If nothing else, “America’s Quarterback” knows how to run the two-minute drill (just ask Gus Malzahn). With the ball in his hands and less than two minutes in the first half, Jameis engineered a long scoring drive. (more…)

Johnthan Banks’ defense of a would-be Vikings touchdown apparently wasn’t good enough for Lovie Smith, eeerr, Ronde Barber.

Joe is freaking fed up with this Mike Jenkins nonsense. For anyone — even the head coach — to suggest to Joe or to Bucs fandom that Jenkins, a first-round bust thrown overboard by both the Cowboys and the rotten Raiders, should be starting over Johnthan Banks is an absolute insult.

What Jenkins has done to deserve Lovie Smith’s undying affection is lost on Joe. Something isn’t right. (more…)

There exists a massive, unhealthy level of tension among Bucs fans. And it won’t fade until Tampa Bay has a winning record again.

So Joe gets why Teddy Bridgewater carving up the Bucs’ first-team defense (7-for-8 for 86 yards) last night has fans freaked out. Joe talked to Gerald McCoy about it after the game. (more…)

Lovie talks throwing the ball.

And here you thought Lovie Smith was some old school defensive guy who would rather win games 6-3 and turns his nose up at teams that throw the ball more than 200 yards a game.

Well, meet the new Lovie Smith. At halftime, he offered quotes to Bucs media relations folks, and to read the words from Lovie’s own mouth, it sounds as if he has become the second coming of Don Coryell. (more…)

Joe swears, Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, is the most naturally confident young athlete he’s ever seen.

It’s almost hard to explain. Take what Jameis told Joe after the Vikings-Bucs game. (more…)

Yes, Joe was live in Minneapolis last night and has loads to share from the Buccaneers locker room, stuff you won’t find anywhere else.

Joe will start with this nugget from Louis Murphy. (more…)

Calming competence from Bucs OC.

One of many sreason the Bucs were a complete and total trainwreck last year was what passed as an offensive coordinator. Of course, Jeff Tedford had a heart issue and never made it to the regular season, which left ill-suited acting coordinator Marcus Arroyo.

We saw what a mess that was. An unadulterated mess. (more…)

Seems RB Doug Martin has his vision back.

Joe had heard all about the new Doug Martin. Joe saw a noticeably leaner Muscle Hamster in training camp.

But would that translate into a game-situation? Joe believes it did tonight in Minnesota. (more…)

Bucs WR Louis Murphy did nothing to lose his job tonight.

Joe knows Bucs fans are racing to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at this very moment they are so freaked out over the first preseason game tonight. So Joe will sort of play along too, but won’t get wet.

(Remember, the Vikes already had one preseason game under their belts.) (more…)

It’s one preseason game. Calm down!

But having typed that, Joe understands Bucs fans’ angst. The offensive line is only slightly better (maybe) than last year, partially because of two rookies on the front line. (more…)

Joe can’t sugarcoat this. Backup center Garrett Gilkey should not play center for the Buccaneers any longer.

It’s dangerous. As Roberto Duran eloquently said, “No Más.” (more…)

Late in the second quarter tonight, the complexion of the Buccaneers’ season changed. (more…)

The Bucs lost more than a meaningless preseason game

Well, that sure was a buzz kill. The Bucs’ defense picked up where it left off on its worst days last season. And the first-team offense did not score a touchdown. (more…)