(Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)

After the loss to Cleveland two weeks ago, Gerald McCoy suggested that not enough of his teammates hate losing enough. That can’t be said about Josh McCown.

As has been well-chronicled, the Bucs quarterback was so overcome with rage, anger and disgust after Tampa Bay lost Sunday to the Dixie Chicks, he broke down crying and could barely keep himself together at the podium for his postgame press conference. (more…)

Hearing Gerald McCoy talk about patience today and reference how the Glory Days Buccaneers defense didn’t mesh right away and took a while to get it right is driving Joe mad.

Stop rewriting history! Just stop it! (more…)

Shaun King says the Bucs’ offensive line isn’t good enough to continue the current approach

Stop trying to pound the rock and establish the run early every game and let the passing game set it up for you.

That was the strong message this afternoon from former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, a devout Bucs fans and national analyst for Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports Network. (more…)

(Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)

One of the very few bright spots of the dismal 2014 campaign has been the development of rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. The Texas A&M product, once he got his feet wet after a few weeks of NFL play, has become the go-to guy for Bucs quarterbacks, not Vincent Jackson.

The play of Evans has not been lost on national NFL analysts, such as Andy Benoit of theMMQB.com, who recently raved on Twitter about Evans while breaking down Bucs tape. (more…)

Yes, Joe’s a Josh McCown denier.

Joe can’t accept that a McCown return as the 2015 starter is in the best interest of Joe’s beloved Buccaneers. (more…)

Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Will the Bucs pay Vincent Jackson about $10 million next season to be their No. 2 receiver?

Great question. And it represents one the most interesting elements of the Bucs’ final seven games. (more…)

Last year, Lavonte David had a whopping seven sacks and five interceptions. That landed him the record books for a linebacker.

This year? David has a goose egg when it comes to picks and sacks. Lovie Smith is not getting the most out of him. (more…)

Fans love raw, emotional reactions of professional athletes. “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” is how they characterized it back in the day on Wide World of Sports.

Gerald McCoy talked about his emotional, Sunday rip of his teammates last night. (more…)

The Bucs’ passing game, well, Joe holds his breath whenever Josh McCown/Mike Glennon goes back to pass. The run game? Thought the Bucs gave up on that.

Still, since he was reinstated to the starting lineup, McCown believes the offense is more complete than it has been this season. (more…)

Michael Koenen is last in the NFL in average yards per punt.

Bucs fans are outraged and Joe not only senses their anger, but understands their disgust.

Contractors who hang drywall in the area are reporting a brisk increase in jobs due to Bucs fans punching holes in their walls when Michael Koenen is punting. (more…)

The power of suggestion has made its way into Tampa Bay’s’ pre-snap calls.

The Bucs are trying all kinds of angles to force turnovers. So far, it hasn’t worked well at all. (more…)

The decline of Bucs RB Doug Martin is surprising.

Sometimes, for reasons not quite clear, running backs just lose it. Often it is the wear and tear of the position, which can be brutal physically.

Take Bucs running back Doug Martin. After a strong rookie season, Martin has steadily declined to a point where he may be the No. 3 running back for the Bucs. (more…)

Redskins stud RB Alfred Morris should be a stout test

About the best thing Joe can say about the sorry 1-8 Bucs is that its rush defense ranks 15th in the NFL.

It’s sad when that is about the best thing you can say about a team, that maybe its best element is average.

But that is the 2014 Bucs.

Well, that average No. 15 rush defense is going to get a helluva test come Sunday. (more…)

The Bucs’ defensive leader missed practice today. (more…)

Redskins OLB Ryan Kerrigan is a one-man gang.

Bucs coach Lovie Smith always preaches turnovers. Win the turnover battle and you likely win, Lovie says. It’s a football axiom as old as the game itself.

What was true in 1900, is often true in 2014: Turnovers will kill you.

It is the same edict former Bucs commander Greg Schiano demanded. Unlike Lovie, Schiano’s players responded to this. (more…)

A former Buccaneer talks offense

What do the Buccaneers do well?

The wiseass might say, “lose.” But in all seriousness, it’s a critical question as Tampa Bay tries to salvage something from the season and the Lovie Smith regime attempts to evaluate its needs. (more…)

Once upon a time at the NFL Scouting Combine, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith told Joe the following:

“Oh, no. We want a bellcow [running back]. But along with a supporting cast. You need a one-guy and Doug [Martin] is our one-guy. But he needs a supporting cast. We want a bellcow with a great supporting cast. That’s what we have in our running back situation.” (more…)

Bucs cornerbacks coach Gill Byrd

Joe’s written previously about how there’s some sort of disconnect going at One Buc Palace.

The Bucs are repeating mistakes yet Lovie Smith has said countless times his primary criteria for hiring assistant coaches is that they be “stern teachers.” (more…)

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, national champion James Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s regular nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback to wear No. 5 ever in the state of Florida. (more…)

Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett’s charges are pretty vanilla, notes the Washington Post.

Bucs fans should start embracing that, at 1-8, Tampa Bay is a horrible football team. If not for an accident, the Bucs could be winless and in the NFL basement.

What we all thought would be strengths before the season are weaknesses. Hell, there is no such thing as a strength when at team is 1-8, it’s only what element of the team sucks least? (more…)

The unexpectedly steep learning curve for the Bucs defense seems to be personified by Mason Foster.

He’s a big part of that woeful, 31st-ranked Bucs pass defense, and former Bucs defensive end Steve White (1996-2001), a coaching intern this season under Lovie Smith, has seen enough of Foster. (more…)