With news that the Raiders and Chargers are going to be blacked out, Joe is finally fed up with insensitive Bucs fans who mock those who are not going to games.

The Chargers are expected to have a solid team this year, perhaps win the AFC West, yet this week will mark the second blacked out game this season for San Diego.

The Raiders are one of the most historic sports franchises in the nation, with a rabid, strong following.

Both these teams have more going for them than the Bucs. What they also have in common is that both are located in California, which is an absolute trainwreck economically. If California’s terrible unemployment rate isn’t bad enough for residents, the taxes will choke any sensible citizen.

Oh, and the unemployment rate in San Diego isn’t quite as bad as it is locally in the Tampa Bay area, pushing 13 percent.

In short, fans not going to the games or not owning season tickets has little if anything to do with Team Glazer or, perhaps, not even the expected Bucs rebuilding season.

As James Carville, then working for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992 once so famously uttered, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Earlier this week, amid national hysteria of what a rotten sports market the Tampa Bay area is, the Rays generously gave away 20,000 tickets to the final regular season home game. The Fruitdome was packed, the Rays handed out the freebies in 90 minutes.

If this town was so rotten of a sports market, the Rays would not have been able to give away that many tickets in such a narrow window of time.

Oh, anyone see a televised game at Florida State this season? To hear the Seminoles crowd, the fact the school ran off the man who built the program to historic levels, Bobby Bowden, was supposed to be a watershed moment for the school, that the football team would be a college football version of Lazurus.

FSU booster accounts were bursting with streams of newfound revenue, so the narrative went, since that old coot Bowden was gone.

Yet Seminoles home games have been played this season before scores of empty seats. Joe wasn’t aware Team Glazer was affiliated with Florida State?

No, the Bucs’ blackouts have little to do with Team Glazer despite what the haters may suggest. The blackouts have everything to do with about a third of people’s homes underwater worse than the Upside Down Barge Reef off of Indian Rocks Beach, one of Joe’s favorite local dive spots.

Big Brother NFL has dropped a written hammer on eight Tampa Bay area bars that apparently unlawfully showed the blacked out Bucs-Steelers game to patrons Sunday, so reports Ray Reyes of The Tampa Tribune.

Joe must wonder, if eight were warned by the NFL, then how many establishments actually grabbed one of the unauthorized Internet feeds and showed the game? 20? 30? 40?

Per the Tribune story, each location got a letter telling it to stop showing blacked out games or face a fine up to $150,000 per showing.

No surprise that the league is cracking down. The NFL protecting TV revenue is almost like a mother protecting her newborn. Joe’s almost surprised the NFL didn’t actually file suit. If the first step is a warning, then what’s to stop a pile of other locations from showing the next Bucs home game, which is nearly certain to black out?

Joe’s not surprised that one of the bar owners is giddy over the free attention he’s gottten.

O’Brien’s will no longer be using live video streams from the Internet, but the pub owner said blackouts of Bucs home games won’t really affect his business because he caters mostly to Steelers fans.

“The publicity’s been crazy,” O’Brien said about the live-streaming that drew more than 200 fans to his pub on Sunday. “I have no regrets about it.”

Perhaps O’Brien will start marketing WiFi access and offer a free pitcher to any patron with a laptop during Bucs home games.

Mike Florio, the curator, creator and guru and ProFootballTalk.com says the NFL is on similar high alert in San Diego, which also is suffering blackout blues.

Joe predicts it’s only a matter of time before the NFL finds a fan or two to send a scary letter.

If you’ve been wondering what former iconic blocker Michael Clayton has been doing as he earns $3 million from the Buccaneers on his couch this season, Clayton is still contributing to the team.

Speaking Wednesday on Total Access, on WDAE-AM 620,  rookie standout wide receiver Mike Williams talked about how Clayton is in his ear daily.

“A guy like that, that helped me every day in practice, after practice, telling me what to look forward to, telling me what DBs are going to do, a guy who had success in this league. …It was hard seeing him go,” Williams said.

 “Clayton made me watch his rookie season [in the offseason]. …I still talk to Mike every day. He tells me I’m running too high on my routes.”   …[He says my] routes are terrible. ‘I could defend you and I’m an old man.'”

“He’s telling me to “keep my shoulders down.”

Williams also explained that it was intense pressure from Josh Freeman and Clayton that helped him learn the playbook very quickly.

As for Williams’ ugly, critical fumble against Pittsburgh, Williams said it was first time he fumbled in a game at any level.

Joe did a double take on that. But that’s probably welcome news for Bucs fans concerned about Williams holding onto the ball.

Much has been made of Mark Dominik doing extreme homework on wide receiver Mike Williams before the 2010 draft.

Williams was a man among boys (minus Dez Bryant) at the NFL Draft combine, but his non-criminal troubles at Syracuse had NFL teams leery. 

Dominik did his diligence and snatched Williams in the fourth round. So how far did Dominik go to check out Williams? The Bucs’ top rookie explained on Wednesday night on WDAE-AM 620.

“They went all the way back to my third-grade teacher. She texted me like, “An NFL guy came to talk to me.” They went all the way back as far as third grade,” Williams said. “They did a lot of research.”

Joe wonders what they could have asked the third-grade teacher, “Did Mike learn his multiplication tables quickly?” or “Did Mike ever wee-wee in class?” Perhaps Dominik had a lead on Williams shooting a spitball.

Whatever Dominik did to check out Williams, Joe wishes Bruce Allen had done the same thing on Tanard Jackson, another Syracuse guy. 

Williams went on to say he was focused on working his way up the roster before the season when he got a surprise phone call before training camp from receivers coach Eric Yarber, who Williams said told him he’s be the starting X receiver on Day 1 of camp.

Williams went on to say he’s close friend with Josh Freeman. He says the two play pool and cards all the time and Freeman can’t beat him.

Yes, this Jeff Garcia video below is a shameless way to post a Carmella Garcia photo and still stay in Bucs mode.

Hanging on to the game in the UFL, playing in Omaha for Jeff Jagodzinski, Jeff Garcia leads his team to a fourth-quarter comeback against Duante Culpepper’s team. Garcia makes the game-winning toss to Rendrick Taylor, the manbeast rookie fullback who was one of the Bucs’ final cuts this year.

Funny how Garcia still hasn’t figured out how to slide.

Some Bucs fans still seem to think the Bucs are not in a rebuilding mode and that the Bucs can trade for help on offense.

But Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune softly reminded Bucs fans that the Bucs are building from within, therefore, don’t expect a trade to help out.

Q: The Jackson that I think we’re missing more than Tanard (IDIOT) is Vincent. Another receiver to stretch the field and force defenses to remove that eighth man in the box would help Caddy and everyone else by opening up the middle of the field. Jackson’s not that old, and wouldn’t be the first “character” challenge that we’ve taken on. Winslow, Williams, and Stevens have had little drama. Are we in the hunt?

Nashville Buc Fan, Nashville, Tenn.

A: I don’t think the Bucs have much interest in Vincent Jackson. They’re pretty happy with the young receivers they have, and in a rebuilding program you just have to be patient with them. One of the big problems is that the Bucs still haven’t had anyone really step up at the flanker spot. If someone can jump out there, everyone will benefit.

— Woody Cummings

As far as wide receiver help, Joe fully understands if Bucs general manager Mark Dominik decided to pass on trading a fifth round pick for an elite receiver like Santonio Holmes, what makes people think Dominik will cough up a significant amount more for a lesser player?

Even the most casual Bucs fan can see Kellen Winslow stand out on the field, displaying extreme athleticism and focus on the ball.

It’s even obvious during practice. He’s exciting with mad skills.

Sadly, Winslow only has 11 catches this season, way off his 2009 pace, and he’s a tad behind his NFC South brethren, Jeremy Shockey and Tony Gonzalez.

Joe expects some breakout games from Winslow, and the Bucs will need that, if they are to compete against solid teams this season.

While Winslow was pretty quiet on Sunday, he did turn in a phenomenal one-hand grab on a tipped ball thrown by Josh Freeman early in the game. On a scale of 1-1o, the difficulty there was 11.

Raheem Morris was asked about that play and Winslow’s impact during his news conference yesterday. Raheem is smitten with his tight end soldier. 

“He’s a freak. There’s no other way to put it. He makes plays that I don’t coach. He makes plays that he just has that inate ability to make a play,” Morris said. “But he’s awesome. He’s a freak, man. He brings energy to our football team like no one else.

You know, we all joke about him a little bit. I see Geno [Hayes] out there doing the Kellen routes today because we missed him on the practice field. He brings us a different type of energy and a different type of flow, and a different type of playmaking ability.”

With all that ability, Joe would like to see the Bucs get him more involved. There is no reason to save or baby Winslow. He’s in his prime. He’s got limited life left on his knees. Let him loose all over the field.

Allow Joe to offer Bucs fans a virtual dose of Zoloft.

Ross Tucker, speaking on Sirius NFL Radio this morning, as he co-hosted “The Opening Drive” with Bob Papa, suggested the Bucs may not be a bad team at all.

Despite the fact the Bucs are 2-1, many Bucs fans are licking their wounds after the beatdown administered by the Steelers last week.

Tucker wonders whether such thought is valid. He pointed out that of the three Steelers opponents this year, they are all 2-1, that the only loss the three teams that played the Steelers suffered were to the Steelers.

That’s right, the Falcons, Titans and Bucs are all 2-1, each becoming roadkill for the Steelers.

So, in a manner of speaking, the Bucs, in Tucker’s eyes, are no worse than the Falcons or Titans.

JoeBucsFan.com has teamed up with his good friends at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa to put some Cadillac Williams jerseys in your hands.

This is simple.

Sign into your personal Facebook account and then head over to the Facebook page for Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa. Click on the “Like” button at the top of the page and you are automatically registered to win a Reebok replica Cadillac Williams jersey (retail value $79). 

Two winners will be announced on the Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa Facebook page on October 1., 2010

Winner selected at random from Facebook entrants/followers. Ed Morse employees are not eligible.  Must be 21 years old to win with a valid driver’s license. Cadillac Williams Jersey offer expires September 30, 2010. Winner will be announced via Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa Facebook page.

The Commish, Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, turns in another one of his comical yet very serious Fantasy Football updates. A true NFL draft and fantasy football guru, The Commish offers up his tips and takes, including the pickup of the week.

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also wants you to know THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the team goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t.

Caution: Objects in mirror closer than score indicates.

Before you pronounce the Tampa Bay Buccaneers D.O.A. following that unpleasantly aromatic display against the Pittsburgh Steelers, I feel it my duty as “The Optimist” to remind everyone exactly what that loss was on Sunday.

One non-divisional, non-conference loss.

Nothing more, nothing less. The Buccaneers clearly were outmatched and handled on the scoreboard. But truth be told, only the scoreboard reflects the difference between the talent level on the Steelers and the Bucs.

For those who wish to downplay Charlie Batch, I offer up this tidbit of history; He is now 5-2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having gone 4-2 with the Lions beating Tampa Bay four in a row from 98-2000. Batch has thrown over 50 Touchdowns in his career; he is an NFL backup Quarterback. It does not matter if he is second string, or third string or fourth; that is a matter of politics.

He is a quality backup, and capable of beating any other team in the NFL. Everywhere else, the Steelers outmatched our Bucs, and their level of development compared to ours should come as no surprise.

When we last played Pittsburgh, we were a 2006 falling-apart franchise that should have started the rebuilding process right then and there. Pittsburgh was a veteran group only a year away from Super Bowl status. Today, they’re still a Super Bowl contending team; we are still a growing baby by comparison. The score showed it.

But while the scoreboard was capable of measuring the difference between the Black/Gold and White/White on the field, the stat sheets were not. That is because this young Bucs team was for the most part able to play with their older cousins for quite sometime they got punched in the mouth. First Downs: 18-17 Bucs. Total yards: 387-303 Steelers. 3rd down efficiency: 44%-43% Pittsburgh. Passing yards 228-186 Bucs.

So I ask, which Buc/Morris/Dominik/Glazer hater would not point out a Bucs disparity on the stat sheet if they beat a team 17-14 but gave up 340 yards of offense? Then be fair on the other side, and realize that two fluke touchdowns by the Steelers had a big effect on the course of the game and the outcome on the scoreboard.

Would the Bucs have had a chance to win if Cody Grim and Aqib Talib made the plays in the endzone instead of being goats? Of course, there’s little chance it have made a difference. Pittsburgh is an elite team, even without Big Ben, because Big Ben is NOT the player the Steelers revolve around.

So does a 38-13 pasting kill off what was a promising season? What kind of Bucs team is this?

The Bucs have shown it can and will beat the lesser teams in the NFL, teams similar to what the Bucs were last season. They are a Bucs team that is not mature or developed enough to compete against the elite in the NFL, but probably will compete against the average to above average teams, depending on when and where they play them.

Even the best Bucs teams got shellacked at some time during their season.

The 1999 Bucs reached the NFC Championship game, but suffered the worst loss in franchise history 45-0 to the Raiders.

Even the defensive 1979 Bucs team that also managed to reach the NFC Championship game played to a 0-0 tie at halftime against an Archie Manning-led New Orleans Saints. Final score? 42-14 Saints!

In 1997, the turnaround season that started Pewter Power, gave us a 31-0 loss to the NY Jets at the Meadowlands.

So even the better Tampa Bay teams have suffered blowout losses, and unlike the NY Giants or NY Jets from last year, the Bucs were not played out of the stadium. Tampa Bay was not even competitive in those games last season, but against Pittsburgh, the Bucs were able to move the ball and play competitively except for a handful of plays that went the way of the Steelers. Does this mean the game was completely even except for a few plays? No, Pittsburgh outrushed the Bucs 201 to 75.

The Bucs used to make plays on defense and make plays on Offense. So until they are good enough to do so again, they should expect scores and results like this possible when you take on a team that much better than you. 

But this schedule is not full of Pittsburghs, it’s full of teams that the Bucs CAN beat, and that is why this season is FAR from a disaster, even though the last game was.

Rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy took some pointed questions from fans on The Gerald McCoy Show on WDAE-AM 620 on Tuesday.

One caller wanted him to assess the pass rush and his performance against Pittsburgh. McCoy didn’t hold back.

“Honestly, that was addressed in meetings. That the pressure needed to go up and it wasn’t as strong as it needed to be. And also, that was one of those things where I say we grade ourselves critically,” McCoy said. “It was such a nasty feeling watching that on tape because our defense is better than that. We’re better than that up front.

“You know, I went home after the game and knew I didn’t play my best. And if you really care about how you play, and not just playing this game for what you can get from it, not use it as a job but play the sport that you love with a lot of passion and all your of heart, after something like that it’s going to bother you.

“Just fix it. You can’t sit on it, dwell on it. It’s Week 3. People lose games. Honestly, what are we tied for first in our division? Who expected us to be there in Week 3. You gotta take all the positive from everything you see. Going through Week 3, I’ve done everything I could to help my team.”

Joe’s glad to hear McCoy sounded ill while thinking of watching the Steelers game on tape.

McCoy went on to say that Raheem Morris made it clear to the defensive line as a group that it was not up to par.

“Raheem addressed us [Tuesday] and let us know that wasn’t good enough,” said McCoy, who went on to say Morris told the group he hasn’t lost faith in them because he saw their success in the first two games.

Joe really can’t quibble with McCoy at this point. It was just one game, and the defense surely was stout in the first two. Fans and the Bucs will learn an awful lot about the team in the next two games against the Bengals and Saints.

There are few more repsected NFL writers in the country than Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Nearing 30 years covering the Steelers, Joe caught up with Bouchette — a great guy — prior to the Steelers-Bucs game Sunday. Joe wanted to get an NFL perspective on the Bucs and there are few better football sources to tap into than Bouchette.

Joe: Was the Bucs 2-0 start a fluke?

Ed Bouchette: No, there’s no flukes in the NFL! Were the Cardinals a fluke when they made it to the Super Bowl two years ago? So, no. I like what Mike Tomlin says, “You are what you put on tape.” That’s what the Bucs have done. Have they been opportunistic? Yes, just like the team they are going to play today. The Bucs have [forced] six turnovers to two. The Steelers have [forced] eight turnovers to two. The Bucs are being outrushed and they are being outpassed but they are winning the turnovers. So, no, I don’t think they are a fluke at all. They’re a good young team.

Joe: What about this team do you like?

Ed: Without Tanard Jackson today, with Cody Grimm in there, Russ Grimm’s kid, it’s going to be hard. You know, I don’t like their running game. I’m not sold on their offense. I think they have a good, sound, young defense with a good inside linebacker, Ruud. They are a reflection of their coach: Energetic, young. I don’t know that they are going to make the playoffs. But hey, 2-0, they only won three last year, they’re off to a good start.

Joe: What do you make of their running game? There’s a lot of debate about that down here. Some say it’s the offensive line. Joe is inclined to say it’s the running backs.

Ed: Well, Cadillac has been hurt. He’s not the same as he was. That’s tough to come back from [two knee surgeries]. I think that’s going to be their problem [lack of a running game] and I’m not sure that is something they can overcome this year. That puts pressure on the young quarterback, Freeman. I don’t know if they have the passing game like the Steelers had last year to overcome a [sluggish] running game. I would be surprised if they do a whole lot on offense this year.

Joe: So, do you think that next year, this might be a team that the NFL should look out for?

Ed: Oh, definitely. When you are young and you have a good young quarterback — I know the jury is still out on Josh, it’s only his second season though he looks like he is  on the right track. If he can progress… we found that out in Pittsburgh that if you have a quarterback, you can do just about anything. You can overcome a lot of other issues if your quarterback is good. That’s what the Steelers did last year. They were 9-7 and right in it. Their defense wasn’t playing well and their running game wasn’t very good and their offensive line wasn’t very good. But because of Ben Roethlisberger they were able to stay in the playoff hunt.

Joe: Kellen Winslow said this last year, he called Freeman a black Ben Roethlisberger. Guys on Sirius NFL Radio also compare him to Roethlisberger because of his size, his escapablity and his arm. Do you see any similarities?

Ed: I haven’t seen much of Josh. Obviously, they are not on TV much when I’m not covering the Steelers. I just don’t see the Bucs on Monday Night Football. But everything I have heard — he’s 6-6, 250 already scrambled for 77 yards this year, he has an amazing passer rating. In fact, this morning I was on a TV show in Pittsburgh and [a co-host] called him “Little Ben” I said, ‘It’s hard to call a guy 6-6 little.’ He’s an inch taller than Roethlisberger. Everything I hear, he’s like Roethlisberger.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune believes Bucs offensive line coach Pete Mangurian is not coaching up his troops well enough.

Many Bucs fans wring their hands at night wondering just what has happened to the Bucs’ running game (or lack thereof).

Joe points to Father Time and simply physics: Earnest Graham is an old man by NFL running back standards and Cadillac Williams is not Steve Austin. and two knee surgeries do not make an NFL running back bigger, stronger, faster.

Woody Cummings has a different foil. A Bucs beat writer for the Tampa Tribune, Cummings believes there should be heat brought upon offensive line coach Pete Mangurian, as Cummings writes in the latest TBO Bucs question-and-answer feature.

Q: Do you believe that the offensive line is not as good as advertised? Or is the coaching to blame for the lack of a running game this year?

Theodore Arbolante, Bakersfield, Calif.

A: I’m really starting to wonder about the O-line. There is talent there. I think Jeff Faine is as good a center as there is in the league. I think Davin Joseph is as good a right guard as there is in the league. I think Donald Penn is a very good left tackle. But the sum of the parts isn’t that good. This was a rising bunch three years ago. Now it seems like an area of weakness. I have to blame the coaching, because I believe the talent is there.

— Woody Cummings

Do the math: Since Bill Muir lost his gig with the Chucky purge on that Black Friday and the Bucs tried to force feed zone blocking into the Bucs’ offensive line — which was on the cusp of being great — a scheme the line was not built for, the Bucs’ front five hasn’t been the same.

You know, round hole, square peg?

Still, Joe has seen enough holes not utilized or recognized by Bucs running backs to reinforce his premise about the running game. The blocking has been better than last year. So maybe Mangurian is getting the job done?

"These old timers are dogging me"

If it’s possible to lob a grenade from a blog post, then former Bucs defensive end Steve White just tossed one in the direction of One Buc Place.

White is no fan of Raheem Morris’ explanation of why he’s OK with stunting Gerald McCoy’s development at undertackle.

And White not only details why he’s at odds on this issue with Raheem, he mentions that his longtime Bucs teammate, undertackle for the ages Warren Sapp, feels the same way.

Here’s a snippet, but Joe recommends you read the entire long take on White’s blog.

But McCoy will either take longer or never develop into a good to great undertackle if he is also trying to be a decent defensive end on either side as well as part time nose tackle as well. It’s just not going to happen.

And the reason why I’m being so vocal about this is because it reminds me so much of the way Gaines Adams was mishandled may he rest in peace. I don’t care who I piss off I’m going to keep talking about it either until it changes or the season ends. I may end up looking like Ahab screaming at the sea but I really don’t care. I know what kind of undertackle Gerald McCoy can be. I watched him in college, I saw him in the preseason and I saw glimpses in the first game against Cleveland. Its not selfish to want to see more of that, its smart. You don’t draft a guy number 3 to be a utility man, you draft a guy that high to be a dominant force AT ONE POSITION.

Maybe in 3 years when McCoy has established himself and has some game experience under his belt he will be able to dabble a little more at end keep his productivity up at undertackle but I don’t see it happening as a rookie. And the thing of it is the defense doesn’t “need” him to move around. That’s just not true. We have enough talent on our defense to not have to use gimmicks and trickem dickem stuff. That defense can line up and whup people’s ass if they are put in a position to do so. Last year I could understand trying to fool people to victory but not now. Not with the talent we have on this defense.

White dropping the line about Sapp agreeing with him is earlier in his post. Again, you’ll have to read it all on White’s blog.

Raheem said moving around McCoy along the D-line is critical to the Bucs being successful now, so therefore Joe has no issue with the move, even if it has negative long term effects. If Morris thinks he needs to do this to win and therefore keep his job, despite the possible longterm effects on McCoy, then so be it. The coach has to play to win.

Raheem is from the Chucky coaching tree, and as Chucky might say, “Hey, man, it’s all about this year. If I need McCoy bouncin’ around or playing #$%^’n hopscotch, then you better #$%^’n believe he’s going to do it.”

Given Raheem has admitted using McCoy in various positions is affecting the speed of McCoy’s development, then for Joe that’s a sign Raheem is feeling a lot of pressure to win with his young team. Otherwise, why not play the guy exclusively in the 3-technique where he and Mark Dominik raved about him locally and nationally for months?

Essentially, Raheem Morris said at his news conference today that Gerald McCoy can not only handle bouncing around the defensive line during games, he has to do it for the best interest of the defense.

It’s necessary, even if it slows McCoy’s development at undertackle, Raheem explained following a question about the subject.

“If I was thinking selfishly for McCoy, I probably would say, ‘Yes.’ But thinking selfishly for at defensive standpoint, that makes us better,” Morris said. “Our defense needs him to move around to be productive, and be smart, and be sharp, and be wise beyond his years so to speak. And he has been. …During the season, you’ve got to do what’s best for the football team.”

Joe’s glad to hear Raheem concerned about winning over everything else. No surprise. After all, he is from Chucky’s win-now coaching tree, and Raheem’s got to know that he’ll very much be judged on how many Ws he chalks up this season.

It’s also good to see the MSM is doing its daily reading of JoeBucsFan.com and/or former Buccaneer defensive end Steve White’s blog. Here’s a post about White’s concern with McCoy’s development posted yesterday here.

Perhaps it’s “The Professor,” John Clayton’s Pittsburgh bias, but in this BSPN video, Clayton believes Cody Grimm has become a scapegoat for some in the Bucs’ loss to the Steelers Sunday.

Raheem Morris has said multiple times that rookie free safety Cody Grimm played well Sunday except for his ugly miscue that led to the Steelers’ first touchdown Sunday.

Confidence in Grimm aside, the Bucs defensive mastermind/head coach said he is wrestling with moving Ronde Barber into the free safety position.

Speaking on The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620 Monday, Morris said Barber, after 13+ seasons at cornerback, is a great fit at free safety but his great play this season at CB is a major hindrance to making the move.

“There’s not doubt in my mind, as Ronde plays out the twilight of his career here, that he can definitely move into safety and do some of those things for us that we get from our athletic safeties. We definitely think about it all the time,” Morris said. “Myself and Ronde have these discussions numerous amount of times.

“What was lost in the shuffle [Sunday] was Ronde’s game. It was lost in the confusion. How fast, how hard and how he played [Sunday] was unbelievable. He had eight tackles, one assist, two tackles for loss, and his effort on every single play was unbelievable.

“It’s so hard to move a guy that’s playing that high of a level at that position you do have him in. Because potentially you open up two problems. Now you’ve got a new safety and you got a new corner in, rather than having one new position. That’s always the fight I have with myself.”

Now, to give credit where it’s due, those who read former Bucs defensive end Steve White’s blog know that he’s been lobbying for Barber to move to safety since the day Tanard Jackson was suspended, so kudos to coach White.

Joe can’t argue with Raheem’s logic. Barber’s having a strong season. Don’t mess with what’s working. Not yet.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

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.

The Buccaneers ran into a better team on Sunday. They were beaten soundly by a team playing without its best quarterback directing the offense.

If the Bucs and Steelers played 10 more times, no one would be surprised if the Steelers won all 10, even though beating a team twice in a row is quite difficult. Luckily for all of us, they don’t have to see Pittsburgh again, but they will have to see New Orleans and Atlanta twice, as well as the Ravens. Playing other teams that don’t have it quite all together (Rams, Cardinals, Lions, 49ers) give us hope that there are a few more wins to be had this year.

 But, what to do about competing with the better teams in the league? Pound the rock more?

I read and hear that message from some and always think to myself it sounds good, but how many times can you pound yourself into the same wall and leave yourself in long third-down situations before you realize something must change?

I can’t imagine many people making the argument that Cadillac Williams is better than the defenders coming at him. Titans running back Chris Johnson is better than his defenders. Johnson can create space and yards on his own. Cadillac needs help. The Bucs’ offensive line needs help to create gaps in the defensive front seven defenders. That happens through effective play-calling and deceptive play design.

Currently, the Bucs aren’t incorporating much deception into their running game. Thus their personnel isn’t good enough to line up and run downhill effectively enough to give Josh Freeman and his youthful receivers short third-down-or-less situations — or fewer third-downs altogether by actually running for a first down once in a while and giving the play-caller more flexibility on first and second downs for good play-action passing.

What is needed is Josh Johnson to be incorporated into this offense to bring some jazz and pizzazz.

And even if it doesn’t work, at least it will be more entertaining than the status quo. I brought up this subject in the past and obviously haven’t been listened to, but the Bucs messed around with Johnson in some “Wildcat” situations in training camp and were successful against the Bucs’ defense, which I would suppose might give them hope that it could work against others, as well.

Again, I am not advocating taking Josh Freeman out of the game or out of the QB position. The Jets are taking their star QB out and using Brad Smith (former Missouri quarterback with qualities very similar to Johnson) very successfully and the Philadelphia Eagles are reaping the benefits of using Michael Vick’s elusiveness to create massive holes in the defense and a whole heck of a lot of excitement for Eagles’ fans. I am specifically talking about using Johnson in motion from a receiver position.

The Bucs’ running game would immediately improve, if they started bringing Johnson behind the formation quickly and either tossing it to him for a run/pass option, putting linebackers and defensive backs in bad positions of having to choose to tackle the elusive Johnson, thus leaving receivers open for big plays or Johnson open to pick up big gains with his legs.

This threat would also help the offensive line create more creases and cutback lanes for Cadillac Williams, as the defensive line has to help stop more wide running plays and tiring as the game goes on when Williams seems to get better. The defensive line would also have to slow its pass rush to deal with the fast east/west movement of the offense, which would see the quarterback moving the pocket around more often.

For a few years now, the NFL has been evolving into a QB dominant league (Colts, Saints, Cardinals, Patriots) and pounding the rock has diminished as teams have found moving the ball a bit easier by design than by brute force.

I don’t see the Bucs being very successful as a brute force kind of offensive line, even though they do have some “nasty” in them at times.

Giving them a little help with a little misdirection now and then sure can’t hurt their rushing average, but it sure would help a lot of things, including keeping the ball out of the other team’s hands and improving defensive statistics, as well.

Now even a defensive head coach could get down with that. Getting Josh Johnson on the field against the Bengals will help take the ball out of Cincinnatti’s receiving dynamic duo and could give the Bucs their own dynamic duo.

Earlier this year, coffee-slurping, oatmeal-loving, popcorn-shoveling Peter King of SI.com incited a near riot among Bucs fans by claiming the Bucs would win but two games this season.

After the Bucs met King’s prediction after two games, the longtime Sports Illustrated scribe began to warm to the team.

While he’s not about to make excuses for the Bucs after they got pounded by the Steelers, King confessed he does “like” the Bucs.

THE BUCS ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK. “First of all, I just wanted to say thank you for not doing a rip up of the Bucs, but to put down the Bucs would have stolen away the thunder from your BFF Batch and all your favorite players in Pittsburgh. I think Batch is a stand up guy, Troy P is one of the best football players I have ever seen, Hines Ward is dirty, and Ben is a pig, but I digress. My point is: three plays worth 21 points (touchdowns each with the point after), and it’s a different ballgame. Grimm didn’t turn around, Talib should have intercepted the ball that landed in his hands instead of tipping it up, and a very large and slow man running that far for a touchdown after a tipped interception. Tomlin was very smart to start Batch, and it’s why he is a good coach.”
— Frank, Varico, Fla.

Look, when a team’s fourth-string quarterback has the kind of day Charlie Batch had Sunday, it’s not the time to say it was a fluky loss, which it sounds like you’re saying about the Bucs. I like the Bucs, but they’re not in the Steelers’ league yet.

Yeah, the way the Bucs got pounded, it’s a little juvenile to say, “Well, if Player-A made a play and Player-B made a play and Player-C made a play, the Bucs would have only been trailing… “

Good teams don’t resort to that.

Joe has stated this so often he’s tired of reading his own words: The Bucs’ running backs are at best, mediocre.

Many Bucs fans gasp in outrage whenever Joe writes this as if he’s dropping a load in the middle of Sunday morning Mass. Bucs fans, understandably, think of Earnest Graham and Cadillac Williams like a comfy Teddy Bear. Joe loves both of these guys, too, but sadly, the numbers don’t lie.

The Commissioner, aka Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620, also is of the belief the lack of a Bucs rushing attack is not the fault of the line. Writing on his blog, Pawlowski came away impressed with the Bucs offensive line against arguably the best defense in the NFL last Sunday.

The offensive line isn’t as bad as most people think. Going against one of, if not, the toughest defenses in the NFL, I actually thought the offensive line played ok.  After seeing the way Blount ran effectively, I’m starting to think that it’s the RB and not the offensive line that’s the problem.  Cadillac’s a good story, but he’s not a good RB.  That’s on the coaching staff to realize that.  As for pass protection against one of the best pass rushing defenses in the NFL, I thought Freeman was getting as much time as he was going to get.  Freeman held onto the ball too long at times which lead to a couple sacks.

Joe believes the running of LeGarrette Blount, a guy who doesn’t even know the playbook, may have finally opened the eyes of Bucs fans.

The holes are there for people to run through. And even if there aren’t holes, as Marshall Faulk has stated recently on the wonderful NFL Network, good running backs can overcome bad offensives lines.

The Bucs’ offensive line is not bad.

File this under the category of “Too Little/Way Too Late,” suspended Bucs safety Tanard Jackson has decided to enter rehab to try to clean himself up.

Steve Wyche of NFL.com, who was at the Steelers-Bucs game Sunday, reported tonight that Jackson will try to check himself in to an undisclosed rehab clinic.

Tampa Bay safety Tanard Jackson plans to enter a rehabilitation center in the near future as part of a process to keep on the straight and narrow and to get back into the NFL, a team official told me. Jackson was suspended last week for a year after a third violation of the substance abuse policy.

The Buccaneers plan to stand by the talented safety, whose suspension had a drastic effect on their defense. Without Jackson, Pittsburgh attacked rookie safety Cody Grimm (one of five players featured on NFL.com’s On The Fringe series). Wallace started the Steelers’ offensive onslaught by grabbing a 46-yard touchdown from Batch over the seventh-round draft pick, who struggled tracking the ball.

Not to tear off the scab of an unhealed wound, but why the hell did Jackson wait this long to go to rehab? Joe knows why: This is a desperate attempt to save his career.

Jackson, a free agent after the season prior to his third-strike-and-your-out flunk of a banned substance test, was due to hit the jackpot and make millions.

Now, he’s hoping he can just make league minimum, if he can find a team crazy enough to sign him.

Selfish… stupid… both words apply here.

What a night! Joe’s a big Rays fan, like most of his readers, and the Rays are in the playoffs. Tonight’s win was the first of hopefully five celebrations for Rays fans everywhere and especially at the widly popular JoeRaysFan.com.

A look at the 2010 postseason Major League Baseball schedule reveals that no American League playoff games will be played on Sunday, Oct. 17 or Sunday, Oct. 24, when the Bucs have home games against the Saints and Rams, respectively.

This is good news for fans who love the Bucs and the Rays.

Sadly, Joe doubts the scheduling will help the Bucs avoid television blackouts for those two games. And loads of people soon spending fat cash on baseball playoff tickets won’t bode well for the Bucs selling tickets in these challenging economic times.