Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith

The legion of Donovan Smith haters, fueled in part by the misguided professional stats nerds, are having another morning.

Of they should be. (more…)

A bitter morning today as Joe is trying to get the taste of Pepto Bismol out of his mouth from chugging four bottles after Mike Smith’s defense again wet the bed. (more…)

Liked by orangutans.

Joe understands for whatever reason, fan favorite Chris Conte irks a lot of Bucs followers. (more…)

Ira Kaufman is the most beloved, revered and esteemed Buccaneers columnist in town. He has hung his hat at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters since July 2016. Tampa Bay’s only Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, Ira busts out columns here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and his award winning podcasts fire Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can also see Ira every football Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on FOX-13, Scott Smith’s Tailgate Sunday.

BY IRA KAUFMAN

Postcard from Atlanta.

First look at cavernous Mercedes-Benz Stadium, check.

Tasty beet salad at the world’s busiest airport, check.

Buc victory? Not so fast. (more…)

Joe fully expected this morning to wake up in his downtown Atlanta hotel to hear hoots and hollers from locals on the sidewalk as Julio Jones races through traffic to make it to the nearby Hooters unscathed. (more…)

Down on playcalling

Damn, was this frustrating.

There the Bucs were, 2-and-2 with 7:51 remaining, driving well and trailing 27-20 on the Atlanta 19 yard line — and they came up empty. (more…)

Big win. Big locker room posture by Team Glazer.

Sometimes body language can tell a story — or at least help a keen Bucs observer develop one. (more…)

Blackjack!

It’s now 21 consecutive games for Doug Martin without a 100-yard game.

And Martin continued his two-year swoon today with a brutal afternoon against the Dolphins.  (more…)

Accused again

UPDATED 1:53 p.m. – Oh, boy.

True or not, this new report absolutely stinks — and it’s all over the country. (more…)

Focused

The leader of the Buccaneers exercised some A-plus time management skills this afternoon. (more…)

The Sage of Tampa Bay sports, Hall of Fame voter and JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman, knows the elephant in the room is all the national chatter about Jon Gruden taking over as head coach of the Bucs in seven short weeks. So Ira is doing his old-school reporter diligence to dig out what this reality means at One Buc Palace. 

If you’re interested, you do NOT want to miss Ira’s podcast tomorrow — or today’s column.

BY IRA KAUFMAN

Cameron Brate says there’s enough time, and he’s right. (more…)

Super Bowl QB Rich Gannon talks about his time in Tampa last week

It wasn’t shocking that the Bucs beat the Jets yesterday, but it was stunning to see Tampa Bay shake off its shameful, quit-looking beating in New Orleans to look like a hungry and passionate football team. (more…)

Shining choice

Here’s a nod to one of the biggest 2017 offseason decisions of the Jason Licht/Dirk Koetter regime. (more…)

UPDATED 11:58 a.m. –  America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, acknowledged his visit to renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews yesterday. (more…)

Disbelief

You have laugh — or cry.

It’s just part of the “Bucs life” when you read one of Tampa Bay’s free agent busts of the year publicly lament how bad the team is with eight games to play. (more…)

There’s no way Joe will sleep tonight.

So here’s some of the Bucs-related stuff buzzing through Joe’s head:

1 – So the Redskins let DeSean Jackson and Chris “Swaggy” Baker walk this past offseason, along with 1,000-yard receiver Pierre Garçon, and yet they’re a solid, competitive football team at 4-4 with Bruce Allen calling the shots.

(more…)

Head-scratching and damning commentary

At Abe’s Place on Sunday, you might find Joe struggling to lay off the bourbon (not the amazing wings) before the Bucs-Saints game.

Why? Joe absolutely cannot believe what America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, was saying at One Buc Palace today. (more…)

The data is in from Joe’s weekly, 24-hour Dirk Koetter Confidence Poll, and the head coach took a beating this week. (more…)

Disrespected. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)

Man, talk about a slap in the face. (more…)