Call Joe a sap if you will — he’s been called a lot worse — Joe really believes Bucs commander Greg Schiano and Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman get along. Joe really does.

Listen to Freeman or listen to Schiano talk about their relationship and you hear the passion, see the body language, when they try to explain there is not a rift between the two.

But there is a rift, soft of. A professional rift. And Peter King has connected the dots of why there is growing frustration. It has nothing to do with personalities. It has every thing to do with production (or lack thereof).

Olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading King of theMMQB.com and SI.com explains that Schiano is irked — and rightfully so — with Freeman’s ugly win-loss streak.

I think—no, I know—that Josh Freeman was not one of the top two vote-getters to be named a Bucs offensive captain. When the Bucs elected their captains, the vote came right after Freeman’s oversleeping and missing the team photo, and he probably wouldn’t have won it anyway because of the team-wide respect for winners Davin Joseph and Vincent Jackson. But stories circulated that coach Greg Schiano cooked the vote to make sure Freeman—allegedly not one of Schiano’s favorites—wouldn’t be one of the two captains. A trusted source says that absolutely didn’t happen. So put that story to bed. Not that it matters much; Freeman’s not going to be the Tampa Bay quarterback much longer if he continues to lose (the Bucs are 1-7 in his last eight starts, and in their last eight games) and complete 54 percent of his throws (his completion percentage since the start of the 2012 season). People, I believe, are getting this wrong, about Schiano having it in for Freeman. He doesn’t. Schiano’s a performance guy. When you lose seven of eight and oversleep for the team photo after a so-so offseason, Schiano’s not going to be a fan. Has nothing to do with a personality conflict. It’s a performance conflict.

Can you imagine? 1-7 in his last eight games? This is on top of Freeman now being a miserable 6-16 against teams with a winning record, a disturbing 4-12 in his last 16 road games, and a gut-wrenching 5-12 in the month of December for his career, and Tom Brady and Bill Belicheat staring you in the face.

Can you blame Schiano? If Freeman continues to slide, and as the Freemanites demand, he keeps Freeman in the starting lineup, Schiano could believe he’s going down with Freeman’s ship. At some point, you have to start worrying more about your job security and the security of your College of Coaches as opposed to the fragile demeanor of your underperforming franchise quarterback.

Is Joe calling for Mike Glennon? Hell, no! Joe is still adamant that the Bucs’ best shot at the postseason is Freeman, and yes, the Bucs are not quite out of the playoff race (yet).

New Bucs linebacker Jonathan Casillas is a very stand up, candid and personable guy, and that demeanor was on display when Casillas joined The Sports Page show on WDAE-AM 620 early this morning.

Casillas does not sugarcoat. He talks about how the pain of this Saints loss will be hard to shake by tonight, and he doesn’t exactly offer ringing endorsements whenasked about confidence in Greg Schiano and Josh Freeman. Casillas, who spent the past four seasons with the Saints, also seems a bit confused by Bucs decisions that put the game in Drew Brees’ hands.

Take a listen below. The Freeman-Schiano question is at 6:14 of the interview.

No, this is not a new regular feature by Joe. Instead, it is getting to be an appalling weekly missive that Joe hopes ends next week.

Every Monday, Olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King of theMMQB.com and SI.com offers a “Goat of the Week” for a player/coach who delivered the biggest choke job of the NFL weekend.

Last week, sadly, King correctly fingered Lavonte David for his mind-numbingly stupid penalty that cost the Bucs a win.

The ugly trend continues this morning; King crowned Bucs commander Greg Schiano with “Goat of the Week.”

Goat of the Week
Greg Schiano, head coach, Tampa Bay. The choice Schiano had to make with 70 seconds left in the fourth quarter and a 16-14 lead over New Orleans, with a 4th-and-3 at the Saints’ 29, in a game in which neither team had any timeouts left: He could have punted and pinned Drew Brees at the, say, 10-yard line with 64 seconds left. Brees would have needed maybe 60 yards to get into Garrett Hartley field-goal range. Or he could have the August waiver signing from Buffalo, Rian Lindell, try a 47-yard field goal. If Lindell made it, the Saints would have had to drive for a touchdown to win the game. If Lindell missed it, the Saints would get the ball at their 37- and need 30 yards to be in field-goal range. Schiano decided to try the field goal. It was shanked. Brees went 54 yards, sweatlessly, to the winning chip-shot field goal as the clock expired. Bad decision by a coach under fire.

Now Joe doesn’t know that Schiano is under fire. But with more stunts like this, he will be and should be.

If Schiano soon cannot break his 0-5 streak in games decided by a field goal or less — 0-5!!! — Schiano should be raked over the coals.

Pardon Joe for a moment while he returns to CVS for more Nexium.

Legions of Bucs fans heard the disbelief in TV analyst and Bucs icon John Lynch’s voice yesterday. “Baffling that this happens at this level,” Lynch said of the Bucs’ repeated pre-snap penalties for the second consecutive game.

Lynch uttered that after Demar Dotson’s failed to toes on the line up on properly at the line of scrimmage. Dotson’s procedure penalty negated a 73-yard touchdown to Vincent Jackson.

For Joe, the Bucs getting another delay of game call to start a drive was tops among the “baffling” lack of discipline on display in the loss to the Saints.

The teamwide sloppiness is on the coaching. Greg Schiano said so himself. Joe can only suspect that players are not being drilled enough in certain areas and there is no fear of accountability for the screw-ups.

If stupidity and/or a lack of awareness are the only causes, then that’s a tough thing to fix at this point in the season — and still beat top opponents like the ones on the Bucs’ schedule.

Good luck fixing everything, Coach.

This Monday column is sort of a morning stream of consciousness about the game yesterday, what Joe will write today, and what to look for in the future, along with random non-Bucs thoughts, as well.

Adjusting: The Bucs like to brag they are a physical team and this will not change. Good. Just be smart.

There simply is no way penalties are a good thing. Yet there are some otherwise sober Bucs fans who want the Bucs defense to rack up penalty after penalty after penalty. Why?

Bucs fans love hard hitting. Who the hell doesn’t? The thing is, you can’t go high anymore on an offensive player. Bucs fans don’t want to hear this because they don’t like the rule. Neither does Joe, but Joe is not dumb enough to want the Bucs to get penalties.

The game has changed. It isn’t going back to what it was. No amount of kvetching will change this because the people who are upset are not on the NFL competition committee.

It’s football in the 21st Century. Like we saw with Lavonte David and Dashon Goldson in Week One, if you open the door for an official to think about throwing a flag, then he probably will. The key is, don’t give refs the opportunity.

Darrelle Revis admitted last night the Bucs must and can adjust, yet still be physical. Goldson and Mark Barron seem defiant but at some point if they rack up enough penalties, then they could get suspended. Just what good would that do?

Not a damned thing.

Will he stay or will he go?: Look, Joe thinks the best chance, albeit slim after yesterday’s loss, of making the playoffs is with Josh Freeman at quarterback. But Joe has doubts about Freeman’s immediate future with the club.

Freeman knew all summer that eyes would be on him as he entered the final year of his contract. So far he has crapped the bed. Sure, Freeman has been inconsistent yet clutch, putting the Bucs in position to win on their final possession the past two weeks.

But those opportunities came only been because the Bucs defense has played lights out. If the Bucs were just playing mediocre, then Freeman’s three-quarter siesta yesterday, and his inconsistency last week, would have cost the team greatly and he wouldn’t have had a chance to put the Bucs in a position to win the game at the end.

Joe is starting to fear, now that the Bucs are 0-2, Freeman’s days are numbered, barring a steady turnaround and a playoff run. It sure seems as if this team will be quarterback shopping come February. The Bucs are built to win now; not when Mike Glennon is ready in two or three years.

Doug Martin: Think he isn’t one of the Bucs’ best players? Dude ran for 144 mostly=hard-earned yards. Can’t blame the loss on him.

If not for Martin’s hard running, it is doubtful the Bucs were in that game. What a great weapon to have.

The Bucs would be in a world of hurt without Martin.

Sean Payton: Joe has known him (though not really well) since college. He was a BS’er in college, and he still is today.

Of course, Payton defended Bucs commander Greg Schiano’s decision to kick a field goal, rather than the kill shot of a first down. Naturally, the field goal was missed. Why wouldn’t Payton defend Schiano? As many of Joe’s readers pointed out, Payton’s better off with an unproven coach still in the division.

That may be true, but when is the last time you read or heard an NFL coach mock the moves of another after a game? Coaching is a fraternity and they rarely mock each other, especially in public.

Nausea: How are you feeling this morning? The last two weeks, watching the Bucs kick themselves in the nads in the final minute of each game is frustrating beyond belief. Right now, we are looking at the potential end of the Josh Freeman era with the team on the cusp of losing its first three games and for the 12th straight season, coming up empty in a quest to win a playoff game.

The Bucs easily could be 2-0, atop the NFC South in possession of all tiebreakers. Now, Bucs fans are beginning to wonder if they should start researching next spring’s draft, and it isn’t even October yet.

How horrible do you feel this morning with the ugly reminder that few teams rally from 0-2 to make the playoffs? Joe is about speechless, and is borderline sick.

Adrian Clayborn came to play: Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn was literally all over the field last night, mostly playing right defensive end, some left defensive end, and occasionally outside linebacker in an odd formation. Hey, Clayborn even broke up a pass in coverage in the left flat. Yeah.

But his day will be remembered for his personal foul for going high on Saints quarterback Drew Brees, negating a sack/fumble. As Joe has pointed out in today’s NFL, if you go high to hit a player, you are begging for a flag.

That’s one reason why Joe wasn”t outraged over the call. Joe is conditioned to expect flags on hits to the quarterback. Happened last week to Lavonte David and it will likely happen this coming weekend in New England.

You know what, though? On the same drive Clayborn got flagged, and the Bucs received other penalties for unnecessary roughness? It didn’t cost the Bucs one point. The defense eventually had a beautiful goal line stand and got off the field.

That won’t happen very often.

Marked team?: Dashon Goldson, after the game, didn’t disagree when asked if he thought the Bucs were a team targeted by officials. Joe can understand why he feels this way, but it just isn’t right.

Believe it or not, if officials screw up, there are consequences with the league. They can either be drummed out of the league or be demoted and get crappy assignments.

No, if anything, the NFL is targeting players who won’t adjust to the new rules. And if Goldson and others are indignant about the new NFL and continue to hit high, fans better get used to more flags.

Joe has to believe one of the, oh, 87 members of the Collage of Coaches that Schiano employs can teach these guys where to aim on a ball-carrier.

Bad odds: How many teams make the playoffs after starting the season 0-2? Try 12 percent. How disgusting do you feel now? Hell, it’s still the middle of September and the season feels lost already.

Trust, belief and accountability: Just who is accountable here on this team? This moniker is something Schiano wears on his sleeve. Who does he hold accountable for not knowing how to tackle? Who does he hold accountable for wide receivers, some who are paid handsomely, that cannot catch the ball? Forget Kevin Ogletree, what about Vincent Jackson? Is it truly Freeman Schiano doesn’t trust, or is it Jackson, who struggled yesterday hanging onto the football?

By the numbers: Joe knows Bucs fans, not all, but quite a few, throw their morning bowl of cereal across the kitchen when Joe brings up the fact that Freeman is now a rotten 6-16 against teams with a winning record, a ghastly 4-12 in his last 16 road games, and is a frightening 5-12 in the month of December for his career, the month when a franchise quarterback should thrive.

Well, it’s time to spread the numbers around a little, courtesy of eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. Since Bucs commander Greg Schiano took over last year, he is 0-5 in games decided by a field goal or less. 0-5!

So unless an opponent needs a touchdown to win late in the game (at least), the Bucs are doomed in the New Schiano Order. Talk about playing scared to win!

Eating pineapple: Last year, Joe thought middle linebacker Mason Foster would be eating pineapple, playing in the Pro Bowl, until he faded down the stretch. Yesterday, Foster had one of the best defensive plays in recent memory with an 85-yard pick-six, looking like James Harrison during his Immaculate Interception for the Steelers in the Super Bowl a few years ago, played on the very same soil.

Joe will have more on this later today, but Foster, being the cool guy he is, credited his teammates for making the play, i.e. blocking.

Please come back, Carl: The Bucs need Carl Nicks now. If the Bucs have any prayer of making the playoffs, then Nicks must return in a hurry.

Yeah, Joe knows the guy just recovered from MRSA in his foot, and he still has that nasty toe, but Joe is nearly ready for Nicks to be shelved for the season if the Bucs lose at New England. Why get beat up and maybe lost for good if the Bucs are out of it? Better to just sit out a season and come back next year fresh and healthy.

Yeah, Joe just typed that.

Strong defense: The way the Bucs are playing on defense, it almost seems like a return to the good old days when the Bucs had zero offense and all defense. You know, when Trent Dilfer was quarterback?

Yesterday’s game looked like the NFC championship game in 1999, when the Bucs played one of its best defensive games in franchise history against an All-World quarterback, only to have its offense shat the bed.

Just how can the offensive players, aside from Doug Martin, look their defensive teammates in the face this morning when the Bucs arrive for meetings at One Buc Palace?

Around the NFL

New England: Joe wants to get excited because the Patriots, the Bucs’ next opponent, look mortal in their first two games. But here is what scares Joe: Bill Belicheat has a week and a half to prepare for the Bucs.

That is not something that gives Joe any sense of confidence the offense will magically appear next week.

Atlanta: Doesn’t seem like the Dixie Chicks are playing all that well, either? They lost a close game to the Saints and didn’t exactly set the world on fire yesterday. It is starting to look like the NFC South is wide open, and the Bucs have already shot themselves in the foot. Unreal.

Baltimore: Man, the Crows need receivers. Guessing Ozzie Newsome is kicking himself for giving Anquan Boldin away for a sixth-round pick.

Buffalo: Either EJ Manuel is the real deal or the Stinking Panthers are a terrible team. Joe’s going to guess the latter. The Ron Rivera Watch is in full bloom.

Chicago: Bratty Jay Cutler and the Bears are playing some good ball. Marc Trestman sure inherited a decent team. NFC Central is shaping up to be a good playoff race already.

Green Bay: They waxed the Redskins yesterday and Aaron Rodgers just may be the best quarterback in the NFL. The Redskins are also 0-2 and given how cray Redskins fans are, Mike Shanahan will need armed guards to walk the streets in the district.

Houston: Barring injuries, it seems they are playoff bound. Sometimes, luck is better than skill, as the Texans needed overtime to beat the woeful Titans. Last Joe checked, Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, who threw for 298 yards, was a third round draft pick.

Miami: Big win for the Fish on the road in Indiana. Gee, it sure doesn’t seem like Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is needing four seasons to master the NFL.

Kansas City: The Chiefs squeaked out a win over the Cowboys, but was there a better coaching hire in the offseason than Andy Reid? Mock Scott Pioli if you will for being a micromanager that drove his front office insane, but the man stocked that team with talent.

San Diego: Wait a minute. The Chargers and goofy Philip Rivers beat the Eagles? How? Joe thought this Chip Kelly was the next VInce Lombardi! Joe thought Kelly had reinvented football. He cannot lose. This couldn’t have happened. No!

Arizona: Carson Palmer comes through and beats the Lions. How much longer are the Lions going to put up with Jim Schwartz? Talk about underachieving. With the addition of Carson Palmer by the Cardinals in the offseason, Joe guesses it proves you can find a productive veteran quarterback rather than drafting one.

Denver: Peyton Manning is a freaking machine. But is this season just another run of the mill Manning year? He may be the greatest regular season quarterback the game has every seen. But when January rolls around, he only wishes he was half the quarterback Joe Flacco is.

Oakland: Yes, the Raiders beat the Jags. Whoop-tee-do. Is there a more miserable franchise in the NFL than Jacksonville?

Seattle: They crushed the 49ers last night. And they found their franchise quarterback in the third round. And he didn’t need four-plus seasons to figure out the NFL. Imagine.

Non-football thoughts

1. The Rays seemed to have plugged the ugly leak in their boat and are now in a fight for the wild card. The Rays, led by Merlot Joe, were on the cusp of a monumental choke job. They may still choke but it seems the worst of the collapse is over.

2. Cardinals TV broadcaster and Twitter antagonist Dan McLaughlin Twittered how the Cardinals pitching is set for years and years with its young arms. That may be so, but let’s worry about 2013 first, huh?

3. The Lightning opened camp this week. Yeah, the NHL is back already. Isn’t it interesting that the NHL, which for reasons unknown does not translate to TV at all, has zero issue with attendance at the Ice Palace? But the NFL, a sport made for TV, and baseball, which is a decent TV sport, has trouble drawing flies to games in Tampa Bay?

You do the math.

4. It irks Joe that you get ambushed by airlines when checking in with baggage fees.

5. Saturday was the first time this year Joe got to veg and watch college football from noon to the wee hours of the next morning. Man, there is nothing better than to sit in the Laz-E-Boy and watch college football literally all day. What a country! And did Wisconsin get hosed or what at Arizona State? Man!

6. Joe loves Johnny Football. Dude is so much fun to watch, and oh, yeah, is one helluva quarterback. If Texas A&M had any kind of defense, Johnny Football would have throttled Nick Saban for the second straight year. No quarterback has burned Saban like Johnny Football has while Saban has been at Bama.

Joe has no idea if Johnny Football will be an NFL quarterback but as a college thrower/scrambler, its been a long time since Joe watched such a fun and exciting player. Maybe not since Michael Vick played for Virginia Tech.

7. Best quarterback in college football? Teddy Bridgewater, no question. Johnny Football is right behind him. Is it too soon to put Famous Jameis in this list at No. 3? Wonder if Chip Kelly will try to draft Johnny Football?

8. Once again, Joe pleads, stay out of Syria. America has no business in that mess. Watch gas prices skyrocket once the first American bomb lands in that hellhole.

9. Back to travel: How lucky are we in the Tampa Bay area to have such a wonderful airport at TIA? It may be one of the best, most convenient in the country.

10. Last New York story: Joe forgot to include this element in his recounting of his trip to the Big Apple.

When Joe arrived at Newark airport, he took two trains to Hackensack, the nearest station to his hotel. Upon waiting for his last train at the Secaucus Juncton, Joe noticed a guy in his mid-20s who Joe thought was talking on a Bluetooth.

The dude would ramble about something, be quiet, and begin rambling again seconds later. It took Joe a bit to figure out he was talking to no one in particular and was not on a cell phone. This guy seemed agitated and was pacing wildly. It sounded like he got fired as once in a while he would mumble something about losing his job.

Periodically, he would start to bark out and recite Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address for no apparent reason.

At one point, a professional-looking, twentysomething chick smiled at Joe as she too was amused with this guy’s antics. She told Joe that she also appreciated this guy’s sense of history.

Ah, Jersey.

11. Some Bucs fan had a lousy tailgate experience yesterday. Driving to the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway yesterday from Hernando County on the Suncoast Parkway, Joe noticed, just a mile or two inside the Hillsborough County line, that there was a gas grill in the median near the southbound lanes, standing upright!

Joe is going to guess a tailgater lost his grill enroute to the stadium. What blow that must have been when he/she got to the parking lot. Guess they had to eat cold hot dogs.

Joe’s been hard on No. 3 receiver Kevin Ogletree since the preseason. Why? He drops passes and lets balls through his hands. And what good is a receiver that can’t catch?

Ogletree caught a five-yard touchdown pass yesterday, his first and only catch of the season. He’s now on pace for eight on the season.

The Bucs have lost production from that No. 3 slot. Either they don’t trust Ogletree (understandable) or he’s not getting open.

But given that the Bucs also have lost quality and receptions from their tight ends corps, Joe’s not liking how limited the Bucs’ offense looks. The Bucs need more production from those positions.

Josh Freeman talked on his radio show last week about the superior route-running of Ogletree, and about how Freeman got a great endorsement of that Ogletree skill from former Ogletree teammate Dez Bryant during the offseason. So what gives?

There’s no question in Joe’s mind that the Patriots will make Josh Freeman beat them on Sunday. Freeman’s going to need more than two pass catchers to pull that off.

Dapper Darrelle Revis spent quite a few minutes talking to Joe and the Bucs pen and mic club after the gut-wrenching Bucs loss to the Saints.

Revis was asked about the personal foul penalties on Adrian Clayborn, on Dashon Goldson, on Mark Barron for excessive hits. While Revis said the Bucs want to be a hard-hitting team, they have to play by the NFL rules.

“How the rules are today, we have to [adjust],” Revis said. “We are still going to play aggressive football. Maybe you can lower the hit? Or do something where we don’t get the penalties which have been a big problem for us.”

On the helmet-to-helmet flag on Clayborn during his sack of Brees early in the game, Revis was uncomfortable with that.

“To me [the call] looked questionable,” Revis said. “But I don’t know what the refs were looking at. I really don’t know what they are studying.

“The game is fast. guys are just playing. They are literally not trying to headhunt. We are playing hard, aggressive fast football.”

Joe can understand why Bucs fans are so volatile, both positively and negatively, to Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman.

Because his play brings out the ire in us all.

Maybe not as bad as the Jets game, Freeman struggled today. At the time Mason Foster channeled James Harrison in the Immaculate Interception and scored an 85-yard pick six, along the very same sideline and soil that Harrison did in on one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history, Freeman had but 81 yards passing.

And this was nearly three minutes into the fourth quarter. That is simply unacceptable.

But then, like magic, Freeman, seemingly when the team needed him the most, just like last week, drove the team into field goal territory to set up what could have been the winning field goal.

Unlike last week at the New Jersey Swamplands, Rian Lindell missed, setting up a too-short field for Drew Brees and, well, we all know the rest of the sad story.

Yes, Joe knows there will be Freemanites who will reach for excuses to defend Freeman. How many teams in playoff contention have to make excuses for their quarterback week after week, season after season?

Right now as we sit nearly midnight on the East Coast, playoff hopes for the Bucs are grim. Joe thinks it is the beginning of the end of the Josh Freeman era. It will end in December, barring a playoff berth.

Joe has heard just about every excuse for Freeman there is. If the Bucs lose, it’s the defense, or his receivers, or his line, or his running backs, or the weather or his coaches or Mars is behind the moon, his supporters will say, and have said for years now.

How about just coming to grips with the fact Freeman just may not be all that? His inconsistency really is Mylanta-inducing.

Sadly, after today’s loss, Freeman’s mark vs. teams with a winning record dropped to a dismal 6-16.

Joe and every other Bucs fan should be thanking the heavens for Doug Martin. He’s that good.

Martin was back to his workhorse, superstar self today, hammering out 29 carries for 144 yards against the Saints. He hammers defenders between the tackles and is explosive, smart and tireless. And it’s clear his difficult opening day was more a function of a dysfunctional offensive line.

Gabe Carimi and Davin Joseph both looked rejuvenated today, and they gave Martin enough room to seize daylight.

It’s sad the Bucs wasted his performance. How do you knock around Drew Brees, pick him off twice, run for 160 yards on just 33 carries and still lose?

The Bucs found a way.

Few Bucs fans will sleep tonight, tossing and turning in their beds, stomachs racked with acid reflux over Bucs commander Greg Schiano’s decision to attempt a 47-yard field goal on fourth-and-three with 1:10 remaining after call a run play on 3rd-and-6.

Rian Lindell’s attempt was no good, and Saints quarterback Drew Brees had a short field to work with when he sliced through the Bucs defense to set up the Saints’ game-winning field goal.

Had the Bucs attempted a pass and converted for a first down, or even scored a touchdown, the game would have been over. So many Bucs fans turned to Twitter and other social media and blasted Schiano for playing too conservative — once again — and costing the Bucs a win.

Well, Saints coach Sean Payton, a former college classmate of Joe’s, doesn’t want to hear it. In his postgame press conference, Payton raced to Schiano’s defense.

“It was the right thing to do,” Payton said of Lindell’s failed attempt. “I think it was the right thing. It had plenty of distance, right?”

Well, yeah, if the ball would not have hooked so badly, and gone through the uprights, the Saints would have been in a pickle, needing to go the length of the field after a kickoff needing a touchdown to win.

The thing is, a first down puts the game away for the Bucs. Joe has to wonder whether the clear struggles of Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman (yet again) led either Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan or Schiano to simply not trust Freeman to get a first down.

To Joe, that speaks volumes. Oh, and Freeman’s updated record against teams with a winning record? It’s now a woeful 6-16.

Joe realizes many readers here lose sight of the fact that Joe is a crazed Bucs fan.

Joe’s actually loved the Bucs for decades. Joe even almost got fired in 2007  for leaving his former office early (consequences be damned) to see the Bucs lose to the Giants in the playoffs in 2007. That’s how much Joe loves the Bucs.

Joe’s mentioning this now because Joe is really having a hard time stomaching the Bucs’ first two losses of this season. They didn’t have to happen. They’re making Joe ill. It sucks to be a fan of a team that repeatedly kicks itself in the balls. Joe wants to shut down this site for a day and drink mass quantities of beer. (Don’t worry. That won’t happen.)

It’s one thing if a team lacking talent is sloppy and foolish, but it’s another thing when it’s a Bucs team like this one — one with a load of talent on both sides of the football.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik did a strong job stocking Greg Schiano’s cupboard this season. But the coach isn’t cooking up much worth eating. Sure, some of Schiano’s recipe looks great, but ultimately the stew is sour to the taste.

This is a damn rough night to be a Bucs fan. Joe feels for the Bucs faithful.

Joe knows Bucs fans went wild over the personal foul called on Adrian Clayborn’s hit and sack on Drew Brees. The zebras believed Clayborn went for Brees’ head and the flag came out.

Bucs fans erupted both on Twitter and in the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway. After the hour-long lightning delay where lubricated fans got more of a chance to fuel up, Joe was honeslty thinking there would be a disturbance of some sort the crowd grew so unruly.

It was like a power play at the Ice Palace when a penalty is called against the Lightning and the crowd boos throughout the whole penality. That’s what it was like at the Bucs game following that call.

However, former director of NFL officials and FOX NFL analyst Mike Pereira saw a far different result than what many Bucs fans saw.

@MikePereira: Correct call on the hit on Brees – though it’s very close. Lynch is right — err on the side of safety when you hit the QB high.

Bingo! It’s not how you blast a guy, it is where you blast a guy. Bucs coach Greg Schiano and his staff are going to have to teach their defenders to hit lower. Dashon Goldson, among others, has vowed to continue to be physical, and that’s good. Just drill their arses in the ribs, man.

Joe loves hard-hitting football. NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners don’t.

Guess who wins? The owners, of course.

Joe used to holler and scream and throw things and call quarterbacks girls who wear panties for how the NFL protects them. Guess what? Joe had to adjust what he should expect from the NFL. It’s not the same league he grew up watching when the Steelers and Raiders would have virtual street brawls with chains and brass knuckles disguised at football games.

Those days are gone. They are never coming back. This, maybe, is why Joe seems to have a disconnect with so many fans. When quarterbacks get hit anywhere close to the head, Joe expects a flag. But many Bucs fans do not.

Bucs safety Dashon Goldson, who Joe likes a great deal because of his physicality, is a known headhunter. After the Bucs loss to the Saints, Goldson said he believes there is a chance the Bucs are a marked team by the NFL because of their physicality.

“We are just trying to play football,” Goldson said. “We are a football team. We play football.”

As for possibly being a marked or a targeted team?

“Oh sure, you have two hard-hitting safeties,” Goldson said. “You have a dominant defense. A physical defense. We could be a target.”

The above is why Joe didn’t freak out when Adrian Clayborn sacked Saints quarterback Drew Brees and was flagged for helmet-to-helmet contact and a personal foul. The way refs are encouraged to throw flags first and ask questions later, Joe expected a flag.

Just like Lavonte David last week, when he cost the Bucs a win by shoving Jets quarterback Geno Smith out of bounds, by Clayborn going high for a tackle/sack, he opened the door to allow a zebra to throw a flag. And that’s exactly what happened. Don’t give the refs a reason to throw a flag. It’s not that complex.

The Bucs are going to have to learn to target a player’s belt buckle, that way there is simply no way a mistake can be made that a Bucs defender went for the head.

Is it sad the way the NFL has morphed into flag football? You bet. But those who do not adjust get buried. Fortunately for the Bucs, Clayborn’s hit (and Goldson’s and Mark Barron’s) did not directly cost the Bucs a point, as the defense got off the field eventually.

The Bucs are 0-2, and per the Buccaneers Radio Network, teams that start 0-2 only make the playoffs 12 percent of the time in the modern era.

Throw in a brutally talented NFC this year, and the Bucs are in a darn tough spot.

Joe doesn’t know what the odds of postseason glory are for 0-3 teams. Joe’s afraid to ask Regardless, the Bucs are in a near must-win spot in New England next Sunday.

Greg Schiano talked about the tough topics on the Buccaneers Radio Network moments ago on WDAE-AM 620 following the agonizing loss to the Saints tonight. 

On the 3rd-and-6 call, where the Bucs needed a first down for the win deep in Saints territory but the Bucs ran the ball, Schiano said he and his staff was confident in their choice.

“We thought we’d get it the way they were playing the run,” Schiano said.

Did Schiano really believe running on 3rd-and-6 would get the first down? Apparently so.

On the Bucs’ 10 penalties, many of them sloppy pre-snap issues and illegal hits: “It’s my job to get us to do things the right way. With the help of my staff and a team that cares about each other, we’ll get this fixed,” Schiano said.

Joe hopes Schiano can get stuff “fixed” fast. But the problem is much of the sloppiness should be happening to begin with, not from a team whose head coach is a discipline-first guy.

The Bucs are playing Vincent Jackson about $11 million a season. He’s a manbeast that can’t be covered and, when he’s occasionally stopped, it’s likely Jackson’s own doing, or he’s stopped by another dumb Bucs penalty.

But Greg Schiano — twice this season, and late last season against the Saints — won’t let Jackson and Josh Freeman win a game for him.

Schiano obviously doesn’t trust Freeman, but he shouldn’t be quitting on Jackson. Joe’s wondering what the hell is going through Jackson’s mind. What does Jackson have to do to get a shot to close out a game? Isn’t that why they’re paying him? Is that why Jackson shoved aside his position coach on the sidelines late in the game, for fear (rightfully so) that he’d be ignored with the game on the line?

Against the Jets last week, Schiano needed one more first down to effectively ice the game to set up a short field goal with no ticks on the clock. But he didn’t go to Jackson, instead opting for three lifeless runs up the gut to Doug Martin.

Bucs lose.

Last year, Schiano ran against the Eagles on 3rd-and-long to set up a punt when he could have thrown to Jackson for the win.

Bucs lose.

Today, with a 3rd-and-6 deep in Saints territory, Schiano played not to lose. Rather than throw to Jackson, he went for the run to set up a long field goal.

Bucs fail. Drew Brees succeeds. Saints win.

Ironcially, Schiano’s core beliefs are Trust, Belief and Accountability. Somehow, playing not to lose doesn’t fit that mantra.

Again, Greg Schiano didn’t trust Josh Freeman. It was 3rd-and-6 and the Bucs had a chance to WIN the game with a first down deep in Saints territory, and Schiano took the ball out of Josh Freeman’s hands and called a toss to Doug Martin. No first down. Missed 43-yard field goal. Game over.

Schiano is more conservative than Alan Keyes.

Repeated dumb penalties — again — dropped passes and two Josh Freeman turnovers plagued the Bucs and the New Schiano Order today.

“Sloppy” and “undisciplined” are two adjectives that sadly suit the Bucs.

Tampa Bay lost its home opener to the division-rival Saints and fell to 0-2 — two things just can’t do in the NFL. Greg Schiano’s Buccaneer Men have now lost seven of eight dating back to last season.

The seemingly endless Bucs screwups outweighed outstanding stuff from the Tampa Bay defense, including a memorable goal line stand and a Mason Foster Pick-6 that will be talked about for a long time.

The Bucs sacked Brees four times and intercepted him twice and still lost. That can’t happen.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham was too much to handle, to the tune of 10 catches for a whopping 179 yards and a touchdown. Drew Brees was slowed and took his share of hits, but he still lit up the Bucs’ secondary for 322 yards.

The Bucs’ playoff dreams are in trouble, and now it’s off to New England for a true must-win game.

Freeman, the franchise QB, finished 9-for-22 for only 125 yards and one touchdown, plus an interception, and a fumble after failing to get rid of the ball. Yes, Freeman’s stats were hurt by penalties off the ball, but the stats don’t lie. Freeman was his inconsistent self.

Welcome to the Bucs first home game of the 2013 regular season. Joe is geeked; the stands are full.

Joe encourages you to comment about the game in this here post. As always, you may share e-mails of links to illegally streamed broadcasts of the game, but if you post the URLs here, you will be subject to banishment.

The Bucs need a win. Drew Brees needs to be punished. The hour of redemption is here.

Enjoy the game and don’t forget after the game, Joe will bomb you with story after story after story.

Though free of his MRSA infection and healthy and practicing, the human armoire, Carl Nicks, will not make his 2013 debut today. Presumably, the Bucs want him to get into a little better shape first.

Joe’s no doctor, but Joe’s not quite sure how Nicks gets into game shape without playing some real football.

Here’s the Buccaneers official inactive list for today: QB Dan Orlovsky, CB Michael Adams, RB Peyton Hillis, G Carl Nicks, TE Tom Crabtree, DE William Gholston & DE Steven Means.

Last year, the Bucs faced off against the Cowboys and then Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s confusing three-man fronts, and the Bucs had arguably their worst offensive performance of the season.

Josh Freeman was awful: 10-for-28 for 110 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Doug Martin struggled, too.

Last week, Freeman and Martin also were stymied by Rex Ryan’s blitzing 3-4 defense at the Meadowlands, completing less than 50 percent of his passes.

Coincidence? No, Freeman said on his radio show Tuesday.

“You look at Rex Ryan and he’s known for pressuring and bringing a lot of blitzes. We played against Rob in Dallas last year, and he was mixing it up with the fronts, and you turn on the Saints film, and there are definitely similarities,” Freeman said.

Rob Ryan is now commander of the Saints’ defense, which is banged up and has less talent than what the Cowboys had. But the Saints shut down the high-flying Falcons last week.

The Saints clearly will present looks that are uncomfortable to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan and Freeman. Hopefully, the third time is a charm.

Game 2

Saints at Bucs

Kickoff: 4:05 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV, Channel 13 locally. Outside the Tampa Bay area, DirecTV Channel 714.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM 103.5, and WDAE-AM 620); SiriusXM Channel 85.

Weather: Per WTSP-TV Channel 10 meteorologist Kate Wentzel, there is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms during the game with a high of 92. Winds will be out of the east-southeast at 3-8 mph. In other words, a steamy day.

Odds: Per FootballLocks.com, Saints -3..

Outlook: Joe will start out with refreshing news for Bucs fans who are a step away from slitting their wrists they are so upset over how the season started. Per CBS Sports’ NFL guru and researcher Pat Kirwan, last year 16 teams that lost Week One, and 10 bounced back to win a game in Week Two. Now for the Bucs to do that, Saints quarterback Drew Brees simply must eat dirt.

It doesn’t matter if you have four Hall of Famers in the secondary. If you give Brees time to throw, he will slice a defense apart. Brees must be pressured; that’s all there is to it. Joe is starting to believe the cutesy stunts the Bucs run most of the time are a waste. How about going mano y mano and beating your man?

It would sure help if the Doug Martin got rolling. Not only will it help the Bucs’ offense, but a strong running game keeps the ball out of Brees’ hands. He can’t hurt you standing on the sidelines.

It would also help if Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman had a complete performance. Last week he struggled most of the game, but to his credit, when the team needed him most, he drove the Bucs down late in the game for a go-ahead field goal.

The game plan can be and should be summed up in five words: Make Drew Brees eat grass.