Late Friday, when not a whole hell of a lot of people were listening, the always entertaining and thought-provoking Stylez White was a live guest on Total Access on WDAE-AM 620.

The Bucs’ defensive end touched on a variety of subjects, and Joe’s got some highlights for you.

White said he played both ways in the Arena League, where he was a tight end and a sack machine. White said he once caught a screen pass and “looked like a big Barry Sanders out there.”

As most Bucs fans know, White had a long road to the NFL. He called his time playing in Germany in NFL Europe “a good culture shock.” He said he earned “$10,000 plus living expenses” in NFL Europe and his Cologne squad traveled mostly by bus and train. 

On being more fit in 2010 than he’s been in past seasons, Stylez said he’s been watching his diet and “slowing down from a little partying.”

Asked by JoeBucsFan.com-loathing host Scott Ledger about running backs Gregg Lumpkin and LeGarrette Blount, White talked about their different practice styles.

“Lump is more of a smoother back. He be all prettied up in practice, taped up, matching, have all red shoes on. A pretty boy in practice. Really smooth running and stuff,” White said. “Blount is Blount. He’s like the blue collar guy. He just goes out and works. He’s just one of those hard working in practice; he doesn’t say much in practice.”

As for how Stylez prepares for a home game, he said he picks up takeout from Mimi’s Cafe for his gameday breakfast. “I get my french toast and sausage, and scrambled eggs and cheese, orange and cranberry juice.” White picks up the eats  about 7 a.m. and then typically buys a newspaper “from the guys on the corner” before chowing down at home.

Joe found it funny that Stylez doesn’t have the newspaper delivered, but Joe, too, likes to support the hard-working guys on the corner.

The lovely Tiffany Simons has her take on former Bucs running back and skank Kardashian tail-chasing, infield-dirt-hating, responsibility-dodging Derrick Ward in this NBCSports.com video.

Recently, Joe had chance to chat briefly with Bucs right guard Davin Joesph. Joe tried to get an idea of how things are different this season for the Bucs offensive line and the offense as a whole than last year’s chaotic season.

Joe: How much better has it been that you and the rest of the offensive line had a coordinator to work with for a full year?

Davin Joseph: It was important for all of us to be here in the offseason. We had the majority of guys in and we were able to find out what our identity would be and what our strong points would be. Of course, as the season develops, we decide what type of offense we will be. That foundation is laid in the offseason and we took advantage of our offseason to the fullest. Lot of guys in OTAs, and working hard in minicamp and training camp. So it’s paying off for us on the offensive end. We are not scoring as many points as we would like but we know that our hard work is going to pan out for us.

Joe: Is the line doing anything different Xs and Os-wise? I know last year coaches tried to implement zone blocking. Is your blocking a hybrid?

Joesph: We’re just understanding what we like to do. Of course, it’s a hybrid offense where we can spread it out a little bit if we have the type of guys at receiver and of course if we have the type of guys in the backfield. So we have a combination of everything. We’re just trying to be able to move the ball and get first downs and stay on the field, which is the most important.

Joe: Is it less of a hybrid than last year?

Joseph: I think it’s better for us than last year. I think [last year] we were trying to do some things we were not accustomed to. Force feed? You could say that, especially with the change in coordinators. There were a lot of complications. With the offseason like we talked about earlier, it helped determine what kind of offense we want to be.

Joe: So this past year has been much smoother?

Joseph: Oh! Day and night!

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There are few bigger fan favorites among the Bucs than Cadillac Williams. There are fewer — maybe none — who have as big a heart as Williams has; a drive, a passion for the game.

Williams showed that in coming back from not just one, but two knee surgeries.

However, the NFL is about production, not warm and fuzzy hugfests. Cadillac hasn’t been producing, it’s that simple and the numbers don’t lie. Williams ranks among the bottom of running backs for average yards per carry.

In this TBO Bucs vlog, Woody Cummings and Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune discuss the present and (if there is) the future of Cadillac Williams as a Bucs running back.

Look out. Pat Yasinskas, NFC South writer for BSPN.com, has been talking to people.

And Yasinskas is learning that his network of NFL “coaches, players and personnel people I talk to” doesn’t think Ronde Barber is a Hall of Famer.

In a mailbag offering for his Disney outfit, Yasinskas writes he personally doesn’t think Barber is Hall of Fame material, either. Heck, he’s not quite sure John Lynch gets in.

Kristen in San Diego, Calif. writes: It sounds like Chad Ochocinco respects Ronde Barber as if he was a Hall of Famer. Why don’t you think he will end up in the HOF? Personally, I think he is great.

Pat Yasinskas: I think Barber has been an excellent player for a very long time. I might be proven wrong down the road, but the coaches, players and personnel people I talk to don’t think Barber’s a Hall of Famer. They view him the same way I do, as a guy who has had a very good career in a system that was perfect for him. Besides, I think some Tampa Bay fans need to be a little more realistic in what being a Hall of Famer is really all about and how the system works. To date, the Bucs have one Hall of Famer, Lee Roy Selmon. He’ll be getting some company very soon. Derrick Brooks is a slam dunk the moment he shows up on the ballot. Warren Sapp will get in as well. That’s two guys right there from an era where the team won precisely one championship. They were not the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s and that will come into play when that age of Buccaneers comes up for Hall of Fame consideration. You’re not going to see a crop of five Bucs from that time period go into the Hall of Fame. John Lynch? My guess is he’s got a chance and will probably get in after a period of time. Barber and Mike Alstott are the other two guys that some Tampa Bay fans talk about as potential Hall of Famers. I think they fall into the same category — guys with very nice careers, but not quite Hall of Famers. Should we throw Simeon Rice into the discussion, too?

As usual, Joe and Yasinskas live on different planets. The fact Yasinskas isn’t sure Lynch gets into the Hall is enough to make Joe wonder (again) what Yasinskas is doing on gamedays. Remember, this is the same guy who wrote Derrick Ward played pretty in Miami during the Bucs preseason after Ward had 12 carries for 20 yards and two fumbles.

Regarding Barber, he’s the got the numbers, the name recognition, the ring, and widespread respect. He’s no first ballot Hall of Famer, but it would be surprising if he doesn’t make it one day.

In an effort to try to will the Rays and the Bulls to wins today, Derek “Old School” Fournier, of WhatTheBuc.net, dons Rays and Bulls gear. Oh, he doesn’t forget about the Bucs, either.

Now Joe is sure all his readers fly to Vegas to wager legally, versus placing bets with the guy whose cell number changes every week. 

Regardless of how or why you wager, Joe knows there are many aspiring handicappers reading. So to please the gambling crowd, Joe has turned to superpicker Bob Fox. A writer for various sports publications over the years, Fox flashed his stellar picking skills back in 2008 on JoeBucsFan.com, when Joe had a contest here among sports media members.

Fox will be here weekly to give you a few games. Last week he was 4-0!

By BOB FOX
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Florida Gators 20, LSU Tigers 10
 
There are some really interesting college games this week. Besides this one, there is also No. 23 ranked Florida State vs. No. 13 ranked Miami, plus 17th-ranked Michigan State vs. 18th-ranked Michigan. This particular game has the No. 12 LSU Tigers coming into the swamp to face the No. 14 Florida Gators. The Tigers got extremely lucky in their win over Tennessee last week, while the Gators self destructed in their 25 point loss at Alabama. I look for the luck to run out for the Tigers and for the Gators to correct their mistakes. It appears Tigers head coach Les Miles will keep Jordan Jefferson in as his starter at QB. Look for plenty of errors in the decision making process for Jefferson. Gators QB John Brantley got hit hard at Alabama, but still stayed in the game. Brantley is a much better QB than Jefferson, plus has better weapons to utilize. The Gators can also use change of pace QB Trey Burton, who has rushed for 7 TDs. The Tigers defense is very tough (ranked 6th nationally), but I expect Brantley, Burton and other Gators like RB Jeff Demps to make more big plays than the Tigers will on offense.
 
Green Bay Packers 27, Washington Redskins 20
 
The Packers come into this game like a MASH unit, as they have already lost RB Ryan Grant, S Morgan Burnett and probably ILB Nick Barnett for the season due to injuries. The Redskins haven’t escaped the injury bug either, as RB Clinton Portis will be out several weeks, plus had to place former Green Bay and Tampa Bay punter Josh Bidwell on IR with a hip injury. The reason I like the Packers in this game is their offense is still very lethal, with QB Aaron Rodgers and his assortment of weapons like TE Jermichael Finley, while the Redskins defense comes into this game ranked 30th in the NFL overall, including 30th vs. the pass. QB Donovan McNabb has had success against the Packers in the past (remember 4th-and-26), but I don’t see him matching Rodgers and company point for point. CB Charles Woodson of the Packers continues to amaze, as he returned his 10th pick for a TD last week vs. Detroit. Only Rod Woodson (12) and Darren Sharper (11) have ever returned more in NFL history.
 
New York Giants 27, Houston Texans 21
 
The Texans took a step back last week in their loss to the Dallas Cowboys, while the Giants showed what a formidable pass rush can do to an opponent. Ask Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears, who is out this week with a concussion. The Texans have the 2nd ranked offense behind QB Matt Schaub, RB Arian Foster and WRs Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter. The bad news is that Schaub is sacked a lot (11), and that’s what the Giants do best. The Giants have the 3rd ranked overall defense in the NFL, plus lead the NFL in sacks along with Green Bay and Tennessee. Expect Schaub to get hit a lot. The Texans on the other hand, are ranked 31st in the NFL in defense, so expect QB Eli Manning to utilize his weapons at WR like Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham quite often, as the Texans are also ranked 31st in pass defense. 
 
New York Jets 20, Minnesota Vikings 17
 
QB Brett Favre is coming back home to New York Monday night, where he played for one year after his messy divorce from Green Bay. I don’t think he will be treated kindly, either. The good news for Favre is that he finally able to get WR Randy Moss on his team, after two years of asking for that same scenario in Green Bay, only to see his hopes squashed. But Moss is indeed Favre’s teammate now, as he is back in Minnesota, after his trade by the New England Patriots.  Moss will definitely help Favre in the passing game, as will RB Adrian Peterson in the rushing game, but the Jets will make enough big plays both offensively and defensively to win the game. The Jets have won three games in a row and have put it together offensively behind QB Mark Sanchez, who has 8 TD passes and has not thrown a pick. RB LaDainian Tomlinson has also proven that he is still a force in the rushing game as well. Favre only has a 60.4 QB rating with two TD passes to six picks. I expect him to force some throws Monday night.

When the Bucs opened the season against the Browns, Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib was supposed to go to his room without supper, in so many words, thanks to NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell for Talib’s cabbie-punching incident.

And as ordered, Talib did not play. Instead, he hung in his own private luxury box at the CITS, a luxury box he paid for out of his own pocket, and watched his teammates beat the Browns.

Trouble was, Talib was not even supposed to be in the stadium, wasn’t even allowed to buy a ticket off the sidewalk and watch his teammates, per NFL rules.

Talib professed ignorance of this Mickey Mouse rule and begged Warden Commissioner Goodell for forgiveness.

Last night while Joe was away from his computer, news came from Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune, Twittering away on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed, that Goodell would not suspend Talib (again) for paying for his own luxury box while in detention.

CB Aqib Talib will not be suspended by the #NFL for allegedly attending a Bucs/Cleveland game while suspended in game one.

Joe just finds this rule that a player can’t even buy his own ticket to a game to watch his teammates play to be silly if not insipid. Joe’s with Talib every step of the way on this one.

Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz take a deeper look into the Bucs-Bengals game Sunday in this CBSSports.com video. Kirwan doesn’t like Cedric Benson but he does like “Mike Whatshisname.” Joe wonders if you do as well?

No surprise that Chad Ochocinco is acting like a big-talking diva wide receiver in anticipation of the Bucs-Bengals game Sunday.

It seems his comments to the local Cincinnati media reveal he’s counting on a very big day. 

After seeing double and triple coverage against Cleveland, Chad Ochocinco might not face as many multiple coverages against the Bucs.

“I see it as a respect thing (the blanket coverage from Cleveland). In games like Tampa Bay I will make my hay,” Ochocinco said.

Ochocinco enters Sunday’s game tied for 11th in the AFC in receptions (23) and ninth in yards (296). With his next touchdown, he will become the franchise leader with 63.

Ochocinco surely knows Aqib Talib won’t cover him all day, and he probably loves his odds with the rest of the Bucs’ secondary.

The Bucs’ pass rush will be extraordinarily crucial to victory Sunday. Without it, the Bucs are sure to give up their share of big plays. And pressure on the Bucs’ offense, on the road, is not going to lead to many victories this season.

Joe’s got a feel good blackout story today.

It seems the Bengals front office rallied their community partners to buy up remaining tickets to the Bucs-Bengals game at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. And that will get the game on local television in Cincinnati and surrounding areas, so reports the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Channel 19, which will air the game, Kroger, Fifth Third Bank, Bud Light, AT&T and Gold Star Chili helped ensure the sellout, and the Bengals purchased tickets for distribution to local military families.

Per the Enquirer, that makes 55 consecutive sellouts (term used loosely) in Cincinnati and there are some promotions in place to put some heavily discounted tickets in fans’ hands.

While Team Glazer apparently ate tens of thousands of tickets last year to ensure home sellouts (term again used loosely) , it seems that’s just not going to happen in 2010. One would think the near sellout against Pittsburgh last week, 61,000+ announced attendance, would have been the easiest game to make it happen.

Joe must confess that the Bucs’ bye in only Week 4 of the season has driven him absolutely crazy.

It’s just way too early for a bye, especially after waiting all those months for the real action to get going.

Week 4? C’mon. Thanfully, the great Bucs videos at BucStop.com have helped keep Joe sane.

Compounding the madness is the Bucs are in such a unique situation, in that so much more needs to be learned about the team. Tampa Bay squeaked out a win against Cleveland, crushed a quarterback-challenged, winless Carolina club on the road, and then got mauled by the Steelers at home. The 2-1 record is great, but it comes with a lot of question marks.

Joe is itching to get those answers, and those don’t come during bye weeks. 

Bucs great Scot Brantley echoed those sentiments during an interview on 1010 AM yesterday, stretching out his vowel sounds like only he can doooo,  “We’re really going to learn a whole lot about the Bucs over the next three games.” he said. “We have to see more.”

The next three games are in Cincinnati and then at home against the Saints and Rams. Joe only expects one win, but the Bucs need to really compete in every game to feel like the plan is working.

Yesterday Joe passed along word about bitter, delusional Kardashian-chasing running back Derrick Ward, who was stupidly (again) shooting off his mouth that the Bucs are not committed to winning.

Naturally this irritated a lot of Bucs fans but it also seemed to irritate professionals who cover the team as well. At least it seemed with eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.

Twittering via the TBO Bucs Twitter feed, Kaufman sounded off on what a hypocrite Ward is.

Derrick Ward has no business questioning Bucs commitment. Ward never seemed fully committed in Tampa once he was shown the money.

That’s about the only thing he was committed to doing, cashing his check, oh, and chasing skank Kardashian tail.

Where was this committed Ward when Josh Freeman was working into the wee hours of the mornings in April and May breaking down film with rookie wide receivers Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams?

Apparently, Ward was instead breaking bread. And a lot of it, getting a gut nearly as big as Joe’s. Some commitment, coming into training camp overweight.

Where was this committed Ward during most of OTAs when he was mostly MIA?

Typical Ward, everything and everyone else is to blame except the guy staring him in the face in the mirror.

What next, Ward’s next bad game — likely his next game — he will still whine about playing on a baseball infield in Miami (which never seemed to slow down Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown, Kareem Huggins or countless great NFL running backs who regularly played on baseball infields)?

Of all the Kardashians to chase, Ward runs after the worst one.

That seems to Joe about par for the course.

Memo to Ward: The next time the word “Buccaneers” is in your mouth, it ought to be thanking the team for being naive enough to give you a trunkload of cash.

Fraud. An absolute disgrace you wore Warrick Dunn’s number.

Count Joe among those in great pain over the Rays looking the Jim Bates Experience today. So Joe thought an evening pick-me-up was in order.

USA Today has churned out a feature story exalting the budding superstarness that is Josh Freeman.

It’s a nice read.  

“We hit the jackpot in terms of his work ethic,” Buccaneers offensive coordinator Greg Olson says. “He’s got really good parents who talk about the value of hard work and preparation. 

“Here’s a kid that’s willing to come in and do what’s asked of him by the coaching staff. You don’t ever know how a kid will be when you pay him all that money. Will he be coachable? Will he do all the work?”

The article delves into how exactly Greg Olson had the nerve to ask Drew Brees to mentor Freeman and Josh Johnson during the offseason, as well as Brees’ response.

Joe hopes the Bucs reward Freeman with more talent at the skill positions. If the salary cap floor returns next year, Joe suspects that will be inevitable.

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Bitter Marvin Lewis and his Bengals like to blitz, and Joe expects they might enjoy it even more with still-young Josh Freeman under center for the Bucs and a lot of inexperience among Bucs receivers.

This is one reason Joe believes Bucs fans will still see plenty of Cadillac Williams on Sunday. The Bucs are still all about protecting Freeman, and Joe finds it hard to believe the organization is going to trust LeGarrette Blount and Kareem Huggins to pick up a lot of those blitzes.

Former Bucs defensive end Steve White (1996-2001) looks at some keys to Sunday’s game on his personal blog and says success on the ground is likely a major key to beating Cincy.

How will the offensive line hold up? After a dismal outing against the Steelers the offensive line will look to rebound against a team that hasn’t sacked the quarterback this year but find ways to get a lot of pressure with their blitz packages. How well we run the ball may define whether we win or lose this game.

White is on the money. Josh Freeman can’t be expected to carry the offense, not with this receiving corps.

Joe believes Greg Olson is under pressure this week to craft a winning game plan against a beatable but good football team. Olson has had two weeks to dissect the Bengals and prepare. It’s time for him to shine.

The Bucs have to compete, and that means the offense must show serious improvement.

Bucs beat scribe Woody Cummings, of The Tampa Tribune, cruised around the Bucs locker room today sniffing for reaction to Derrick Ward blasting his ex-teammates via a New Jersey newspaper.

Among Ward’s comments was a line that basically said he’s wiped his time in Tampa from his memory.

Per Cummings, this attitude amused Cadillac Williams, who surely knows Ward gobbled up about $6 million from Team Glazer.

“How the heck can he forget about the Bucs?” said Williams. “He should thank the Bucs for the way they paid him.”

Raheem Morris took the high road during his afternoon news conference, simply repeating that he wished the best for Ward and saying it was pointless to talk about a player disconnected from the organization.

Joe’s still a little stunned that Ward said the Bucs’ offensive line wouldn’t block for him. That’s got to be one of the most ridiculous takes in NFL history. Talk about paranoid.

After finally fulfilling that guarantee of a great game about six weeks too late, Kardashian-chasing running back Derrick Ward was miffed at the Bucs this week and spouted off to the Star-Ledger in New Jersey.

Ward believes the notion he needed a second chance was fostered by the Buccaneers’ front office, which he blamed for spreading word he was overweight and unfocused. Though Kubiak concurred Ward was out of shape and challenged him to “get down,” Ward claims he was only 2 pounds over the 233-pound goal Houston set for him. He said he weighed 232 with the Giants.

Ward’s bitterness toward the Buccaneers revealed itself when he said the Texans are “a team that actually wants to block for their running backs, actually wants to win and doesn’t set their goals to a (lower) standard.” He even said he’s blocked out his time in Tampa.

“I feel like I went straight from New York to Houston,” he said.

Sour grapes, Mr. Ward.

Saying stupid stuff like “the Bucs didn’t want to block for their running backs” is absurd, as is saying the team didn’t want to win.

However, Joe could understand that Ward, after all that time in New York, might not have comprehended the whole building-a-lasting-contender philosophy. Especially since he likely heard a lot of win-now kind of stuff when the Bucs were courting him as a free agent in 2009.

As for Ward being angry the Bucs spread word before cutting him that he was overweight coming into camp, all Joe can say is the scale don’t lie.

While no beat writers around town wrote about Ward being out of shape before the Bucs brought it up late in training camp, that doesn’t mean Ward didn’t check in with a higher body fat and weight than he was supposed to register.

Joe doesn’t recall Ward issuing some fat denial and offering to step on the Bucs’ team scale for the media.

Ward knows the truth, and just like Kubiak referenced above, he didn’t hit the mark.

A Thursday morning tradition on JoeBucsFan.com is watching the lovely Jenny Dell reading a bunch of stat-geek babble off a teleprompter and coming to a conclusion about who will win the next Bucs game.

Typically, Joe just admires Jenny with the sound off. But this time Joe listened, and Dell delivers harsh numbers for Bucs fans. Ouch!

Joe’s not a stats geek at all, but some numbers tell quite a story.

Ronde Barber is poised to tie a league mark on Sunday that has stood for decades, so claims CBSSports.com. 

And, if healthy, Barber will break the record at home in two weeks against the Saints.

With his 171st consecutive start Sunday, 14-year CB Ronde Barber will tie Hall of Famer Dick LaBeau for the most consecutive starts by an NFL cornerback.

Of course, Barber is a true Bucs icon, but Joe didn’t know he was closing in on this record held by a legend of the game. LaBeau didn’t play in the 16-game era, but that takes absolutely nothing away from Barber’s accomplishment.

Joe is impressed. Hopefully, the Bucs will honor Barber for breaking the record during the Bucs-Saints game on Oct. 17.

Not to take away from this loving JoeBucsFan.com moment, but Joe has to wonder if reaching this milestone had anything to do with Raheem Morris deciding not to move Barber to free safety when Tanard Jackson was suspended.

Morris did talk about how strongly he was considering the move with Barber.

Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud discusses how the Bucs secondary will be a critical element in Sunday’s game at Cincinnati in this St. Petersburg Times video.

Joe’s taken a handful of e-mails asking why he hasn’t written about rookie seventh-round pick Erik Lorig coming off the practice squad and working at tight end and fullback when he was drafted as a defensive end.

The answer is simple: none of this excites Joe.

Frankly, it scares Joe.

Joe appreciates Lorig working on being versatile and keeping an NFL paycheck. Good for him, and good for the Bucs for trying to get the most out of a guy. But if Lorig plays any meaningful minutes outside of special teams this season, Joe knows the Bucs are in a heap of trouble.

So that’s where Joe stands.