Will DE Robert Ayers break the sack jinx?

It is just galling to Joe how this friggin’ franchise, the Bucs, has barfed all over itself trying to create sacks. (more…)

Screw with Mike Smith’s players and he will screw with you.

Until the Bucs check in at One Buc Palace to report for training camp, Joe will try to get in the mind of defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

Joe will regularly deliver excerpts and/or highlights from Smith’s book, “You Win in the Locker Room,” available on Google Play and iTunes. (more…)

Spring bystander with a fat wallet

The Bucs have a pile of key question marks entering the 2016 season. Most teams do.

For this countdown series, Joe looks at this year’s top X-factors, guys with question marks who could be great difference-makers, positive or negative, based on changes in their performances. (more…)

Louis Murphy’s untimely nap last weekend in a locked museum was followed by a call to 911. (more…)

Joe headed to Twitter yesterday to advise the world that Andre Johnson, Roddy White and Anquan Boldin combined for 153 receptions and 1,798 yards last season while missing just two games. (more…)

Start or bust?

If there is an area in which Joe expects a significant improvement, it is the secondary. (more…)

Noted NFL talking head expects improvement.

Excitement is in the air.

The Bucs have a new coaching staff, a new defensive coordinator who believes in flexibility and putting players in position to succeed (imagine), a head coach who believes in scoring and, last but not least, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. (more…)

No communication breakdown.

Until the Bucs check in at One Buc Palace to report for training camp, Joe will try to get in the mind of defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

Joe will regularly deliver excerpts and/or highlights from Smith’s book, “You Win in the Locker Room,” available on Google Play and iTunes. (more…)

Former Bucs defensive end Kyle Moore used to nap in defensive line meetings.

Current Bucs wide receiver Louis Murphy now has his own napping reputation. (more…)

Predictable?

The mystery surrounding what Mike Smith will roll out on defense doesn’t feel like a mystery to one noted NFL film guru. (more…)

The Bucs have a pile of key question marks entering the 2016 season. Most teams do.

For this countdown series, Joe looks at this year’s top X-factors, guys with question marks who could be great difference-makers, positive or negative, based on changes in their performances. (more…)

Joe misses the old NFC “Norris” division.

Joe misses the Bucs being in the old NFC Central. (more…)

Secure.

Joe senses more optimism from the Bucs than Joe has in a long time, surely the most since the end of 2012, when it seemed former Bucs commander Greg Schiano was on the cusp of something. (more…)

Flexibility.

Until the Bucs check in at One Buc Palace to report for training camp, Joe will try to get in the mind of defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

Joe will regularly deliver excerpts and/or highlights from Smith’s book, “You Win in the Locker Room,” available on Google Play and iTunes. (more…)

Bucs fourth-round pick Ryan Smith

Yes, this year’s Tampa Bay draft was about more than just Vernon Hargreaves, Noah Spence and Roberto Aguayo. (more…)

Just days after seemingly defending Bucs stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, the PFF tribe had an about-face and took the hammer to GMC this morning. (more…)

Can Dirk Koetter channel whatever got the Bucs off to fast starts in 2011 and 2012, under two different head coaches?

Believe it or not, several Buccaneers players have experience winning, even guys who spent their last five seasons in Tampa. (more…)

Was fire part of the Vernon Hargreaves choice?

A quote officially delivered by the Buccaneers yesterday lets Joe know Dirk Koetter might be a super big fan of Mike Evans. (more…)

Numbers don’t add up for one scribe.

Yes, sometimes Joe enjoys digging into numbers. It’s not very becoming, Joe always notes about the PFF tribe, but Joe tries to keep an open mind. (more…)

Lauded by respected NFL analyst.

It may not have yet been the Fourth of July, but Pat Kirwan was in a patriotic mood. (more…)

Preaches culture.

Throughout the month until the Bucs check-in at One Buc Palace to report for training camp, Joe is going to try to get in the mind of Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

Joe will regularly deliver excerpts and/or highlights from Smith’s book, “You Win in the Locker Room,” available on Google Play and iTunes. (more…)