“And I respect Raheem Morris with the utmost respect. But a lot of these guys has quit, man. They’ve shut this thing down. I know quit when I see quit. And quit is not disguised tonight. It’s evident they’re not mentally, physically, emotionally in this thing tonight. — Deion Sanders on NFL Network at halftime of the Bucs-Cowboys game.

“And that’s bad Rich, because Raheem Morris is a good coach, and for his players to quit on him it’s not even fair.” — Marshall Faulk immediately following Sanders’ comment.

Joe referenced parts of the quotes above in a post immediately following the Bucs-Cowboys game, but today Joe went back to the videotape to give you the exact words.

It was a brutal moment in the history of the franchise, getting called out on national television by a couple of Hall of Fame players.

Joe’s waiting for Raheem’s “next-man-up” theory to really show up in the form of benching players that are embarrassing the franchise. Raheem always talks about the importance of the bottom of the roster. Well, if these guys can’t see the field now, then Joe’s just going to throw his hands up in the air.

Yes, Joe realizes a guy like DE Daniel Te’O Nesheim got some snaps against Dallas and showed some life, and Joe saw Quincy Black on the field less than usual and Dakoda Watson do some good things. But Joe would like to see broader changes, including on the offensive line and the end of the Sean Jones era. Let’s see who wants to play.

Joe routinely hears Bucs fans and pundits claim that the Bucs have fallen apart because, in part, that they don’t have enough veteran players that have the character and experience to weather tough times.

Joe finds this reasoning silly, and Joe points to the offensive line as Exhibit A.

Arguably, the line has had its two worst games of the season over the past two games. The running game has done nothing. Donald Penn has been beaten badly. Jeremy Trueblood looks soft. (Yes, Joe remembers when you could at least count on Trueblood for intensity and finishing blocks.) Raheem Morris even criticized the entire left side of the offensive line after the Jacksonville drubbing. And Josh Freeman has been getting heat.

Last Joe checked the O-line is a veteran unit cashing massive paychecks coached by a highly-regarded veteran offensive line coach handpicked by Greg Olson.

This is one reason Joe hangs a lot on the Bucs’ coaching staff. Even the treasured veterans seemingly have checked out.

"C'mon, Olie. We got you Luke Stocker this offseason to add to your arsenal. You're not being your best self."

In the mind of popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, beer-chugging Peter King, the Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports, Raheem Morris may soon be looking for a job, in part, because of the team’s collapse on offense.

King looked at game logs and came up with these disturbing numbers in his Monday Morning Quarterback column.

7. I think the 17 offensive drives by Tampa Bay over two games — plus the fact that at one point in the last two games the Bucs had allowed 68 straight points — show why Raheem Morris is in such jeopardy. The defense has regressed hugely, and the offense is right on its heels. The 17 futile drives against Jacksonville and Dallas: punt, punt, fumble, interception, end of half, interceptions, fumble, punt, punt, downs, interceptions, fumble, punt, punt, punt, punt, end of half.

All Joe can do is bury his face in his hands.

Joe suspects King is seeing what’s obvious to Bucs fans — that the Bucs are failing miserably in the fundamentals and in all aspects of offensive and defensive play.

To what awful level have the Bucs sunk? Why, one writer went so far to invoke the winless 1976 Tampa Bay Bucs.

And said writer was not stretching things either. Pat Yasinskas of ESPN was comparing the ugly defense of the Bucs. Combined with the woeful showing in Jacksonville and the abysmal start against the Cowboys, well, it was one of the franchise’s worst.

The Bucs fell behind 28-0 in the first half after allowing 41 unanswered points to Jacksonville last week. The 69 consecutive points allowed are the second-highest total in franchise history. The worst was in 1976 when the Bucs allowed 79 straight points in a three-game span, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The last NFL team to give up more than 69 consecutive points was the Titans, who allowed 76 in 2009.

Wow, numbers like that, no wonder the Bucs defensive coordinator is taking heat from all corners.

Wait a minute! The 2009 Titans? Weren’t they coached by, um, yeah… Jeff Fisher! You can scratch his name off the list.

First, let Joe congratulate the Kansas City Chiefs for firing their third-year head coach Monday and jolting their team into an inspired victory against the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers today.

In other developments, the Redskins and Panthers were kind enough to score victories Sunday and catapult the Bucs into a tie for the fourth-worst record in the NFL. 2012 draft position is looking brighter!

And with the Panthers win, the Bucs now sit in last place in the NFC South, which means they’re all but guaranteed to play the lowly Rams and Vikings next season, bottom-dwellers of the NFC North and NFC West. In 2012, the Bucs will play the entire NFC East and the AFC West.

In Joe’s mind, the Bucs head coaching job got a lot more attractive today.

Today Raheem Morris admitted the Bucs didn't play hard for him last night.

Facing the media this afternoon at his postgame news conference, a relaxed Raheem Morris didn’t offer anything enlightening.

In fact, Raheem said nothing about last night or this losing season leaves him surprised. “Nothing comes as a surprise when you don’t play hard, fast, smart and consistent,” Raheem said.

Raheem went on to say the team failed against Dallas in all four phases of those “core beliefs,” as Raheem calls them.

Raheem specifically was hard on the Bucs offensive line for not executing against what they knew was coming.

It was a “breakdown on both sides of the ball, up front we didn’t get it done,” Raheem said.

Joe’s at a loss for what to say about a team that doesn’t play hard with their coach’s life on the line on national TV at home — on the heels of two consecutive blowouts. Barring a Christmas miracle, it’s going to be real ugly on the field the rest of the way.

“Our fans are our stockholders. They’re what we play for — the people in our stadium and the ones that watch on TV. That’s what it’s all about: winning and how they feel about the team. If they don’t feel good about the team, then there’s something wrong. . . I think you all know the sense that’s out there. It was time for a change.” — Bucs owner Bryan Glazer following the firing of Chucky in 2009.

Joe published this quote about 3 1/2 weeks ago when the seat under Raheem Morris was just getting toasty. Now, of course, his seat is hot enough to cause a second-degree burn.

When Joe thinks about how Team Glazer would/should proceed, Joe thinks about this quote, so Joe published it again today.

Glazer’s quote seemed important to revive, as last night’s pattycake effort against the Cowboys was the last straw on this regime for many fans Joe talks to. But Joe doesn’t talk to everyone, so here’s your chance to have your say after sleeping on last night’s game:

In a bold, strong, damning opinion piece, veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton came “this close” to demanding Team Glazer jettison embattled Bucs coach Raheem Morris.

Instead, the St. Petersburg Times scribe tried to think of a defense for bringing Morris back for the 2012 season.

Shelton couldn’t, and stated the best thing for the Bucs is if the team parts ways with Morris.

As far as any lingering debate over Morris, this should just about do it. How can the Glazers not demand more than this?

Argue, if you will, that this team was just too young, or that the owners were just too cheap, or that the roster had more holes than spackle to patch them all. All that noted, there isn’t enough improvement to this roster for Morris to keep his job. This team is lost. It does not have enough maturity, or enough resilience, or worst of all, enough effort to stay on this wayward course.

This was too ugly for human eyes, and where have you heard that before except every week for two months? The Bucs made it close with a couple of scores in the third quarter, but that doesn’t change things. The players of the Bucs provided a rather weak argument that Morris should keep his job — or that they should keep theirs. They lost for the eighth straight time, a number that should climb to 10 over the next two weeks, at which time the unraveling should be complete.

Shelton is right, there is little defense for Morris at this point. Sure, people could nitpick at Dominik, though his decision not to bring back Barrett Ruud — a point that Tim Ryan of SiriusXM NFL Radio was absolutely accurate in every way when he defended Ruud this summer — seems to have blown up in Dominik’s face.

Sure, some could make a stretch and suggest the lack of an offseason hurt the Bucs. This just in: the other 31 teams in the NFL also didn’t have an offseason or a full training camp.

How many people were complaining about a lack of an offseason when the Bucs were 3-1 with a win over the Falcons… and later 4-2 with a win over the Saints? Limited offseason wasn’t much of a stumbling block then. Two months later all of a sudden it Pearl Harbored the Bucs 2011 campaign? Oh.

As it stands now, the horrid play of the linebackers can be directly linked to letting Ruud walk away, and that’s on Dominik. But it’s not just the linebackers that are playing bad, it’s the whole team, sans a pair of rookie defensive ends (which Dominik drafted).

The same things have reared their ugly heads each week for roughly two years now have killed the Bucs the past two months: Slow starts. This malady has never been corrected and that is on the coaching staff, plain and simple. The lone game the Bucs actually had a strong start, they still lost by 27 to a garbage team (Jags).

There is no way to sugarcoat it now. The Bucs defense is bad. And it just so happens the head coach is also the defensive coordinator. Didn’t Morris bring a halt to the heinous Jim Bates Experiment because it wasn’t working? The defense is just as bad now, allowing an average of 32 points a game in this eight-game tailspin which is simply unacceptable.

The Bucs gave up 28 first downs last night. Are you kidding?

Unless the Bucs upset the Falcons, Joe cannot see Morris returning. Not even a win on the road against the Panthers will likely save his job.

And yes, Joe is sad about this. Because if a coach has to be replaced, that means the Bucs are underachieving and not making progress.

In this mess that is the Bucs season, at least Joe can bank on the play of rookie defensive end Adrian Clayborn.

The gentle giant from St. Louis by way of the University of Iowa has a motor that just won’t quit. When you hear others claim the Bucs give up, they are not referring to Clayborn.

After the game, Clayborn actually didn’t want to talk. The soft-spoken man was upset with the team’s loss, of course, but more so over what he perceived as poor play.

It was Clayborn who helped put the Bucs on the scoreboard first with what NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock called “relentless effort,” chasing down Tony Romo for a sack and a forced fumble that Dekoda Watson scooped and scored with.

“It was just one play in the game,” Clayborn said. “I messed up a lot in this game but [the sack] was a critial play. I was lucky to come up with a sack. I could have had a lot more if I played my normal game.”

Now that Clayborn has played in 14 games, more than any college, one could argue he is hitting his rookie wall. Clayborn quickly dismissed such a notion.

“Nah, man. When you love football you can’t hit a wall.”

Joe loves Donald Penn, but he’s played a couple of bad games in a row and some of his postgame words to Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman were ridiculous.

Per the TBO.com Bucs Twitter feed, Kaufman shared this Penn quote:

@TBO_Buccaneers: Ira: More Donald Penn — “We’re such a better team than we’re showing. It’s a bump in the road. We’ll get things right in the offseason.”

No, Donald. The Bucs are not a better team than they’re showing. Your teammates have been embarrassed three weeks in a row when they’re supposed to be playing their best yungry football. Thankfully, tonight you broke a streak of 69 unanswered points scored against your team, but that doesn’t mean you’re good.

Bump in the road? More like a giant pothole.

Joe’s heard this kind of we’re-better-than-our-record mentality from Josh Freeman on his radio show and other Buccaneers. It’s like they’re in denial that they repeat the same mistakes repeatedly and have lost eight in a row.

Joe appreciates the Bucs that are willing to talk to the media during this epic slide, but at least call it what it is.

Veteran defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was one of the few Bucs players willing to talk after yet another beat down, this time by the Dallass Cowboys.

It’s not that the players were rude, it looked like they were in a wake. The locker room was a virtual morgue. Big Frank Okam sat in a folding chair, body language screamed frustration. Okam just stared ahead with an empty look in his eyes, as if he was staring down nothing in particular.

He looked like he just learned someone ran over his dog.

Albert Haynesworth spoke and attempted to a mount a massive defensive for his embattled coach Raheem Morris. But in doing so he mentioned some damning things.

Haynesworth kept saying how the blame should go on the players, not Morris. Then he said of when with his previous team, the Patriots, they were about to play the Bucs in the preseason, “Bill [Belicheat] talked about, how much talent this team had. How fast they are, how they can run away with the game.

“We have to put that all together and play like that now. We don’t need to be down 28-0 and have Raheem come in here at halftime and tell us to suck it up. We don’t need that. We need that at the beginning of the game so we don’t have to rally at the end.”

Joe can at least feel a pocket of warmth in his heart thinking about Adrian Clayborn and his relentless motor and 7  1/2 sacks, including a sack and a forced fumble tonight.

The Bucs haven’t had a defensive end with that many sacks since Stylez White had eight in 2007.

But the downer is that Clayborn is such a standout on the field when he’s primarily right now a hustle player. Buccaneers Radio Network analyst and former tight end Dave Moore got to the essence of this point about Clayborn after the game when he said, “The problem is his effort stands out.”

Moore went on to praise Da’Quan Bowers’ effort and say Clayborn’s other teammates need to look within themselves and raise their intesnity to put out some good film in the final two games.

A nationally televised night home game against the Dallas Cowboys and the Bucs don’t even bother to show up in the first half?

Nice job, fellas.

Adding insult to injury, Deion Sanders was on the Bucs’ sidelines telling the NFL Network audience at halftime that the Bucs have quit on Raheem Morris. And colleague Marshall Faulk agreed. “A lot of these guys have quit, man. … I know quit when I see quit,” Sanders said.

Of course, Bucs fans and Joe didn’t need Hall of Famers to tell them the obvious — that the Bucs have forgotten how to compete.

Raheem Morris might be pounding “core beliefs” to his team, but they’re not getting through. More dumb penalties, poor ball protection, ugly tackling, a slow start and an anemic offense were on display again, and the defense continues to have no answers and is historically dreadful.

In addition to the now eight-game losing streak, this makes three consecutive home blowouts to close the home schedule. No franchise can accept that.

Something has to change radically.

OK boys and girls, have at it. Open thread for the Cowboys-Bucs game. Will this be Raheem Morris’ final home game as Bucs coach?

Cowboys at Bucs

Kickoff: 8 p.m.

TV: NFL Network. Also, for those sorry individuals/women who do not have the NFL Network, the game will be streamed live on NFL.com.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 93.

Weather: Per Accuweather.com, sweatshirt weather. Still hard for Joe to believe at night in December one only needs a sweatshirt or a light jacket but this is such a game. Temperature at kickoff will be 67 and won’t fall much farther, with a projected temperature of 65 at game’s end, all under partly cloudy skies.

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs +7.

Outlook: Is this the last time Bucs fans see embattled coach Raheem Morris walking the sidelines at the football stadium on Dale Mabry Highway? Morris is certainly on thin ice as Bucs coach, very thin ice and seemingly the only way of saving his skin is if the Bucs win a game or two in the remaining three weeks. Problem is, one of those games, tonight, the Bucs are playing a team fighting for its playoff life. The Cowboys are a damned good team and somehow have choked away three wins this season late in the game, twice the past two weeks. For the Bucs to somehow keep the game close in the fourth quarter, the Bucs will somehow have to stop Felix Jones. As we all know, that’s not likely to change the way the Bucs defense is giving up chunks of yards on the ground. If the Bucs get blown out (again), it could get very, very ugly tonight as Bucs fans have had all day to get lubricated. If the Bucs (Donald Penn) can keep DeMarcus Ware off of Josh Freeman’s back, the Bucs may have a prayer.

Video: The good people of the NFL Network have a game preview. … and NFL Films looks at the game in their own unique way.

It’s unclear to Joe why St. Pete Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud refuses to believe that Team Glazer is true to its word and doesn’t consider money when planning to make the Bucs a winner.

To refresh fans’ memories, about 20 months ago Joel Glazer said “money will never be an issue” when building the Buccaneers.

But in a column today Stroud speculates about Raheem Morris’ future and urinates in the face of Glazer’s statement, saying the Bucs won’t open their wallets wide enough to replace Raheem with a big-name coach.

Personally, I believe the Glazer family (which owns the Bucs) is rooting for Morris to win the final three games, silence some of the critics and keep its plan on course.

Why? For starters, they like Morris. Bryan Glazer sits next to Morris on the team charter to and from each road game. They’re frequently together socially.

But a bigger reason should be obvious: The Bucs aren’t looking to pay a big-name, proven coach $5.7 million a year knowing full well they can’t hire one without agreeing to spend at least $50 million of salary cap space on veteran free agents.

Hmm, $50 million on free agents next season? That’s a pretty ludicrous figure. The Bucs could have seriously upgraded their talent level and depth this season for about $15 million.

Joe also must add that the Bucs and the rest of the league, per all legitimate reports, will be forced to spend a cash minimum starting in 2013, so in some ways the Bucs job would be very attractive to a big-name coach. The Bucs currently have good young talent in the trenches and at quarterback, and a pile of money to spend on the horizon.

But all that aside, it’s entertaining and interesting to Joe how Team Glazer says one thing and a beat writer scoffs at it and ascribes sinister motives to ownership.

Joe would be interested to know why Stroud thinks its “obvious” Team Glazer won’t invest heavily in a head coach. They did it with Gruden’s second contract, then fired him three years early and paid him off a fortune. They also had no problem hiring veteran assistants Jeff Jagodzinski and Jim Bates and then firing them and paying them to watch soap operas for years.

If Raheem had a respectable season this year, Team Glazer surely would have been forced to extend his contract and pay him at least a few million a season. If Raheem returns next season and has success as a lame duck coach, then he’s sittting on a huge future payday.

Joe’s not buying that money will be an issue in deciding the next head coach.

Veteran WTSP-TV, Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth offers some powerful takes in his look at tonight’s Dallas-Bucs game. It’s all part of the great sports coverage at WTSP.com.

There’s no good explanation for the depth of the Bucs’ demise, but Josh Freeman stood tall and tried to offer some insight during The Josh Freeman Show on WDAE-AM 620 Wednesday night.

Freeman said last year’s team was much better despite largely the same roster. Penalties and losing got in the team’s head this season, Freeman said.

“Honestly, it might have played on our confidence a bit. Guys for whatever reason couldn’t get over that hump,” Freeman said. “It’s cost us ballgames, you know, and really that should never be the case. You kind of gotta put each week behind you and get prepared for the next week.”

It’s sad to Joe that the Bucs lack the necessary mental toughness that’s led to this heinous seven-game losing streak. If the coaches and the small handful of veterans can’t get through to the team very quickly, then Joe’s not sure what the 2012 fix is other than bringing in the right free agents and gutting the coaching staff.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company,America’s Best Quarterback. Plus, he’s a really cool dude.

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

The “Us vs. The World” bunker mentality has been used successfully to help teams play with a chip on their shoulders, producing a more intense, closely-knit team effort.

This kind of concept was probably used to get the much-improved Bucs effort against the Green Bay Packers after looking so bad against the Houston Texans the week before.

It was short-lived as they got blown off the field by teams in the cellars of their respective divisions in the Panthers and Jaguars. Can Raheem Morris find that chip again and put it back up on their shoulders tonight as the Bucs show their brave home fans and a national television audience that they are not the Colts of the NFC?

Enough “gray-matter” talk

Does anyone find it as hard to listen to Morris tell all the long-time Bucs beat writers that everything they write is just gray matter and nobody outside of their palace means anything? I was taken aback to hear just how sunny it is inside One Buc Place and how it is everyone else making it seem so gloomy. Really? I’m all for positive attitude and the power that it has in life, but getting ready to set an all-time NFL record for giving up 9.1 yards per (first half) play should be a time for sober reality-checks.

Tim Tebow showed up at my house this week on the cover of Sports Illustrated and I was immediately inspired! His accomplishments this year have been simply amazing. He has taken on every naysayer with grace and is simply playing unbelievably hard-nosed football.

He has smiled all the way while stuffing everything back in the face of every “expert” on all the networks, newspapers, magazines and blogs. In the face of never-before-seen levels of scrutiny, he is going about his business with a similarly sunny disposition as well, but he is succeeding (7-1 starting record), not failing miserably. He has his teammates, coaches, management and fans believing in his intestinal fortitude, hard work and maybe even his God.

The Broncos’ coaching staff decided it was better to win in unconventional (ugly) ways than lose by trying to make Tebow play a game of football ill-suited to his abilities.

Amazing how the same players that started the season 1-4 could go 7-1 with the switch of just one player. Almost as amazing is starting the season 4-2 and going on to lose seven straight, some in pretty embarrassing fashion. The embarrassing fashion has been in effort level for many and some of those same players now telling those gray matter reporters that it would be sad for Morris to lose his job.

How about this Kellen Winslow? Go out and give a speech like Tim Tebow did after losing to Ole Miss (that was commemorated on a plaque at Florida Field and followed with a national championship) and better yet, give an effort anywhere close to the lip service speech you gave a years ago about being a soldier.

Tebow walks the walk of his talk and, although many get turned off by it, the Denver Broncos are on the verge of the playoffs and even a division title after starting off the worst in the league if it weren’t for the Colts.

This season may be lost for our beloved Buccaneers, but spreading some of that sunshine outside the walls of Buccaneer Island by leading your young teammates on pure effort level might be the way back from the black hole that all of us in the gray matter watch each week.

It is serious time for a sober response to the dire circumstances of the future of this franchise and just how far the fans can be pushed before mutiny.

Like children so eager to believe in Santa Claus, just give us your best Tebow-like effort against the Cowboys and we will believe too. Make the gray matter writers put something in the paper that gives all of us hope that there is more in our stockings than just coal.

The lovely Tifany Simons and Gregg Rosenthal discuss the mess that is currently the Bucs in this NBCSports.com video.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Could Saturday be the debut of the Dezmon Briscoe end around?

That’s quite doubtful, but we do know that Arrelious Benn won’t be dropped for a loss this week. He’s been ruled out of Saturday night’s game against the Cowboys. Benn was concussed against Jacksonville and it seems he’s not ready to go, so the Bucs revealed via their official Twitter feed.

@TBBuccaneers: The Friday injury report is out. WR A.Benn is the only Buc ruled out so far. DE M.Bennett, DT B.Price & WR S.Stroughter are questionable.

The Cowboys hardly have a lockdown secondary, so the loss of Benn is a blow to the Bucs’ chances on Saturday, assuming they can shake their demons and compete.

Remember just before the season when Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik nearly inked Cowboys offensive tackle Doug Free?

Yeah, Joe thought you may have forgotten about that.

The Cowboys and Bucs were feverishly going after Free’s services when Free decided to stay in Dallass. Now, Saturday, that may come back to haunt the Bucs and Dominik.

Free will be squaring off against Adrian Clayborn. While Free gave up a couple of sacks last week against the Giants, he believes he is ready to shut down Clayborn, writes Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Cowboys left tackle Doug Free uncharacteristically gave up two sacks to Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul last week, including one that cost the team a safety. Freeseems intent on playing better this week against Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who has 6.5 sacks this season.

“I’ve just got to keep working. That’s about it,” Free said Thursday.

Free has allowed six sacks, three quarterback hits and 22 quarterback pressures this season, according to Pro Football Focus.

This could be a critical area for the Bucs. Glamour boy Tony Romo seems to melt down late in games. If the Bucs can keep the game close and Clayborn can get some heat on Romo, Joe suspects good things will happen.

Jason Horowitz and Pat Kirwan discuss not just the Bucs game against the Cowboys Saturday night, but the future of embattled Bucs coach Raheem Morris in this CBSSports.com video.