How Stinking Panthers TE Greg Olsen fares will speak volumes about Lovie Smith’s defense.

When you know a specific player is coming at you and a defense still cannot stop said player, it says something about the players used to defense said weapon, or the defense employed to stop said weapon.

Either way, it all falls back on one man today. That would be Bucs coach Lovie Smith. (more…)

Mike Evans makes a stunning admission: He forgot what real football was like.

So how rusty was Mike Evans last Sunday?

Consider this, he hadn’t been tackled since 2014. The old school NFL players in Joe’s reading audience just crapped their pants. (more…)

Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter

In these unsettled times of devastating Bucs losses, constant change and growing pains, Joe thought it would be wise to bring back THE OPTIMIST.

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t. … Of course, THE OPTIMIST’s opinions are his alone and are not influenced by Joe. (more…)

Much better start than Lovie.

Yesterday, Joe brought word that yet another former Bucs great is preaching patience with the continued losing of the Bucs under coach Lovie Smith.

That would be 3-16 Lovie (and counting). (more…)

The stat geeks seem to be laughing at the Buccaneers when they break from their spreadsheets and stop pretending they know what they’re grading. (more…)

Mike Alstott has words for Bucs fans. They don’t sit well with Joe.

Who is ready to sit in the Den of Depression tomorrow and hear the A-train whistle blow again? Joe sure is. Chills.

That whistle, of course, is for Ring of Honor entrant Mike Alstott, who lives in Pinellas County and often counsels Buccaneers fans. (more…)

You asked for it, you got it. It’s the TV map for tomorrow’s game between the Stinking Panthers and the Bucs, live from the Den of Depression. (more…)

Joe already shared that Mike Evans thinks Jameis Winston is so on target he might be fooling referees.

But Evans also has other theories when it comes to pass interference calls against him. (more…)

Despite being benched, CB Alterraun Verner is in Lovie’s corner.

Joe can understand any player, much less a proud guy like Bucs cornerback Alterraun Verner, being totally peeved about being benched and having to bite his tongue in frustration. (more…)

Joe’s unsure what tomorrow’s game means for the underdog Bucs against the Panthers, winners of seven consecutive regular season games, plus a playoff game in between their 2014 finish and their undefeated 2015 start.

For Lovie Smith, a victory, or at least a strong showing, might mean a chance to stop contradicting himself and speaking in clichés. (more…)

Around these parts, Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston is known as “America’s Quarterback.”

In his hometown of Bessemer, Ala. and college, he is known as “Jaboo.” (more…)

With the Bucs back in Tampa for a two-game home stand against the Panthers (Sunday) and Jaguars, Joe demands one simple goal be accomplished: win a home game.

Frankly, it’s the only thing that will keep Joe from lying prone in the fetal position, weeping and nursing a bottle of Jack Daniels. (more…)

NFL “Rookie of the Week.”

For the second time in as many weeks, the Bucs have the NFL’s “Rookie of the Week.”

Last week, it was America’s Quarterback, Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston. (more…)

Mike Evans hopes to avenge his two-catch, 13-yard effort against Carolina in December.

The newly crowned NFC Defensive Player of the Month, Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, is a huge trash talker.

And not only did he and Mike Evans get into it last year, but they engaged in an offseason Twitter spat, too. (more…)

Brady Quinn

Smile, Bucs fans.

Joe’s got national love for what Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, has accomplished, and a victory prediction for Tampa Bay! (more…)

Lovie Smith can’t let Greg Olsen beat him for the third time in 20 games

Aside from the obvious blowouts, perhaps the most telling sign the Bucs’ defense had serious issues last year came on December 14 against the Panthers. (more…)

Joe remembers all the Raheem Morris haters blubbering on and on back in 2010, because the Bucs didn’t have a “signature win” under their belt.

These lunatics claimed the Bucs had five, six, seven, eventually 10 wins without beating a good or a full-strength team. (more…)

Yes, Joe was on ESPN Tallahassee radio yesterday talking Bucs with Jeff Cameron, he of “The Jeff Cameron Show.”

Joe has long been a fan of Cameron, a St. Pete native who puts together damned good radio. (more…)

Already making his NFL mark.

(Yeah, Joe likes that headline.)

When the Bucs waved goodbye to all-around good dude and Ric Flair freak middle linebacker Mason Foster last year, it was largely because the Bucs wanted someone quicker to cover the deep middle, which in Lovie’s defense is the middle linebacker. (more…)

Bucs veteran center Joe Hawley said the rookie offensive linemen don’t play like rookies.

Joe is still buzzing over how the shaky Bucs offensive line, facing arguably the most formidable defensive line in the NFL on Sunday, not just kept the jersey of America’s Quarterback, Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston clean, but didn’t allow a sack. (more…)