Click on through to shop at BillCurrieFord.com. Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is ready to help you PERSONALLY and give you the Ira Kaufman discount. Just ask! He’ll also give you an extra $1,000 for your trade-in. Don’t Worry, Drive Currie!

BY IRA KAUFMAN

The Bucs had a clear path to win this football game. It was right there in front of them as a national audience looked on in prime time.

Then they stumbled all over themselves and ended up on the side of the road, broken down and beaten.

Tampa Bay almost overcame an awful defensive performance but in the end, the Bucs’ second-half offense was equally culpable in a hard-to-believe 36-30 setback in OT. Instead of bolting to a 4-1 start, the Bucs will now have extra time to prepare for another division road game at New Orleans.

It might take a while to get the bitter taste out of their mouths because they had every opportunity to beat the Falcons in a shootout. Atlanta just kept coming as Kirk Cousins threw for 509 yards, primarily against wide-open targets who exploited a soft secondary. (more…)

There are a lot of reasons the Bucs lost tonight. Kirk Cousins notched 509 of them.

But was there any bigger than what happened on the Bucs’ final drive and immediately before it? (more…)

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Click above to shop now at Tampa’s first family of Ford, BillCurrieFord.com. Don’t Worry. Drive Currie! Reach out to Ira’s friend and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan for a hearty JoeBucsFan discount, and remember their extreme commitment to customer satisfaction at Bill Currie Ford.

Pregame for Thursday Night Football with The Sage of Tampa Bay Sports & Joe. Fast-moving, fun and insightful. Enjoy!

The wisdom and fun of Ira and Joe is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click play above or listen at Apple Podcasts or Podbean.com, Other platforms, too.

Bill Currie Ford is one mile north of Raymond James Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is Ira’s great friend. He’s ready to help you personally — and to give you the Ira Kaufman discount on top of all their amazing deals. E-mail, call or visit Sean at the Bill Currie showroom.

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Click above to shop now at Tampa’s first family of Ford, BillCurrieFord.com. Don’t Worry. Drive Currie! Reach out to Ira’s friend and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan for a hearty JoeBucsFan discount, and remember their extreme commitment to customer satisfaction at Bill Currie Ford.

Ira and Joe are all fired up about this somewhat historic and landscape-changing win. Recorded at the stadium Sunday night. Enjoy!

The wisdom and fun of Ira and Joe is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click play above or listen at Apple Podcasts or Podbean.com, Other platforms, too.

Bill Currie Ford is one mile north of Raymond James Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is Ira’s great friend. He’s ready to help you personally — and to give you the Ira Kaufman discount on top of all their amazing deals. E-mail, call or visit Sean at the Bill Currie showroom.

Using Tristan Wirfs.

Since former Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians stepped down after the 2021 season, the run game of the Bucs fully and totally confused Joe. (more…)

Click on through to shop at BillCurrieFord.com. Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is ready to help you PERSONALLY and give you the Ira Kaufman discount. Just ask! He’ll also give you an extra $1,000 for your trade-in. Don’t Worry, Drive Currie!

BY IRA KAUFMAN

THAT’S how you rebound from a clunker.

The Bucs polished off a 3-1 September with a dominating victory against the Eagles on a field so sizzling that an Eagle player needed to plop into an ice bath near the locker room while the game was still in progress.

Tampa Bay was equally hot on both sides of the ball in a 33-16 triumph that wasn’t even that close. In taking a 24-0 advantage midway through the second quarter, the Bucs owned a 252-0 advantage in total yards.

You read that right.

The beatdown was in stark contrast to last week’s humiliating 26-7 loss to Denver. After seething for six days, Tampa Bay took its frustrations out on the favored visitors.

Baker Mayfield threw for 237 yards in the opening half and the Bucs ended a 23-game streak of not scoring a touchdown on their opening possession.

Everything was clicking early against a Philadelphia defense that limited the Saints to only 12 points last week. The Bucs own the top spot in the NFC South heading into a Thursday night matchup in Atlanta.

Bright lights, big city. (more…)

The Bucs are now 12-10 when Todd Bowles is their head coach at The Licht House, but that’s not the kind of advantage Joe is referring to after today’s clobbering of the Eagles. (more…)

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Click above to shop now at Tampa’s first family of Ford, BillCurrieFord.com. Don’t Worry. Drive Currie! Reach out to Ira’s friend and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan for a hearty JoeBucsFan discount, and remember their extreme commitment to customer satisfaction at Bill Currie Ford.

A very feisty and full episode with The Sage of Tampa Bay Sports and Joe. Enjoy!

The wisdom and fun of Ira and Joe is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click play above or listen at Apple Podcasts or Podbean.com, Other platforms, too.

Bill Currie Ford is one mile north of Raymond James Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is Ira’s great friend. He’s ready to help you personally — and to give you the Ira Kaufman discount on top of all their amazing deals. E-mail, call or visit Sean at the Bill Currie showroom.

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Click above to shop now at Tampa’s first family of Ford, BillCurrieFord.com. Don’t Worry. Drive Currie! Reach out to Ira’s friend and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan for a hearty JoeBucsFan discount, and remember their extreme commitment to customer satisfaction at Bill Currie Ford.

Sunday’s groin-stomp loss to the Broncos, and the aftermath, dominates today’s episode with The Sage of Tampa Bay Sports and Joe. Enjoy!

The wisdom and fun of Ira and Joe is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click play above or listen at Apple Podcasts or Podbean.com, Other platforms, too.

Bill Currie Ford is one mile north of Raymond James Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is Ira’s great friend. He’s ready to help you personally — and to give you the Ira Kaufman discount on top of all their amazing deals. E-mail, call or visit Sean at the Bill Currie showroom.

So Baker Mayfield has eaten a whopping 13 sacks through three games, some because he held the ball too long.

The only people happy about this are board members of the Kyle Trask Cult. (more…)

Click on through to shop at BillCurrieFord.com. Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is ready to help you PERSONALLY and give you the Ira Kaufman discount. Just ask! He’ll also give you an extra $1,000 for your trade-in. Don’t Worry, Drive Currie!

BY IRA KAUFMAN

I found a silver lining in Sunday’s Horrorshow against the Broncos … it was over in less than three hours.

It was quick, and yes, it was brutal.

The 26-7 beatdown was Tampa Bay’s worst home setback since midway through the 2020 season, when the Saints marched into town and administered a 38-3 seal clubbing. That Buc team went on to win the Super Bowl.

This Buc team is just trying to recover before the Eagles arrive in Week 4.

One loss, as thorough and dispiriting as it was, isn’t going to wreck the 2024 Buc season. But once again we are reminded that you will get your asses beat in this league if you aren’t ready to compete.

It was ugly from the start and never really got better. When the Bucs finally built some momentum by reaching the end zone on a terrific grab by Chris Godwin late in the half, they allowed the Broncos to drive for a field goal to make it 20-7. That was a telltale sign it was not going to be Tampa Bay’s day.

Denver applied steady pressure against Baker Mayfield while Bo Nix usually had enough time in the pocket to find favorable matchups.

Nix, who struggled in his first two games at the pro level, looked poised and confident against a Buc defense missing three key starters. He threw the ball accurately and on time while also hurting the Bucs with 47 yards on the ground, including a TD run around right end.

The Buc offense lacked juice, except for rookie back Bucky Irving. The protection in front of Mayfield was awful, especially up the middle. It was a game Graham Barton, Ben Bredeson and Cody Mauch will try hard to forget.

We’ve seen this Buc act before. (more…)

The ancient football axiom says, “put the ball in the hands of your playmakers.”

Another one says, “score first and good things will happen.” (more…)

Joe suffered through watching both Broncos games this season with rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

Joe’s favorite line during the Week 2 game against the Steelers came from CBS color analyst Adam Archuleta. (more…)

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Click above to shop now at Tampa’s first family of Ford, BillCurrieFord.com. Don’t Worry. Drive Currie! Reach out to Ira’s friend and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan for a hearty JoeBucsFan discount, and remember their extreme commitment to customer satisfaction at Bill Currie Ford.

The Sage of Tampa Bay Sports and Ira have plenty on the buffet to prime you for Week 3 against the Broncos. Enjoy!

The wisdom and fun of Ira and Joe is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click play above or listen at Apple Podcasts or Podbean.com, Other platforms, too.

Bill Currie Ford is one mile north of Raymond James Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is Ira’s great friend. He’s ready to help you personally — and to give you the Ira Kaufman discount on top of all their amazing deals. E-mail, call or visit Sean at the Bill Currie showroom.

Joe issued a warning on Friday’s Ira Kaufman Podcast. (more…)

Yeah, Joe is thinking Super Bowl. Why not the Bucs after today’s thrilling theft of a victory in Detroit?

A depleted Bucs defense proved it’s not only physical, but it’s ready to grind through major adversity. (more…)

Stunning win by the Bucs today in Detroit, and without hesitation, Joe will call the Bucs legit Super Bowl contenders.

The Lions’ five-game home winning streak was snapped by a nasty Tampa Bay defense that found answer after answer for Detriot’s vaunted passing attack. The many Bucs injuries didn’t matter. (more…)

Bucky Fever, also known as Bucky Irving Fever, is alarmingly contagious.

A virtual pandemic of sorts broke out Sunday at The Licht House. (more…)

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Click above to shop now at Tampa’s first family of Ford, BillCurrieFord.com. Don’t Worry. Drive Currie! Reach out to Ira’s friend and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan for a hearty JoeBucsFan discount, and remember their extreme commitment to customer satisfaction at Bill Currie Ford.

You want Sage Ira’s thoughts on the Week 1 clubbing of the Falcons? Here’s his initial postgame reaction with Joe. Enjoy!

The wisdom and fun of Ira and Joe is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click play above or listen at Apple Podcasts or Podbean.com, Other platforms, too.

Bill Currie Ford is one mile north of Raymond James Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, and Bill Currie Ford GM Sean Sullivan is Ira’s great friend. He’s ready to help you personally — and to give you the Ira Kaufman discount on top of all their amazing deals. E-mail, call or visit Sean at the Bill Currie showroom.