Joe told you earlier that Raheem Morris is now a huge LeGarrette Blount fan, to the point where he named the rookie running back the Bucs’ No. 1 option in short yardage and goal line situations during The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM on Monday.

Here’s even more detail into the Bucs’ head coach’s mindset when it comes to Blount:

“He made some really good football players miss. I can name a couple. He made [Lawrence] Timmons miss a tackle in the backfield. He made Troy Polamalu miss a tackle in the backfield. And those are really good football players of high quality. We don’t play that quality every week. If he can do that to that defense, on his terms, then hopefully he can get that the rest of the season,” Morris said.

“And that’s why it’s really exciting for me. I know everybody is gloom and doom, and everybody is in the tank, but I still have young players on the cusp and still coming. Arrelious Benn, Legarrette Blount, these young men haven’t even scratched the surface yet. And we’re 2-1. And we have a chance to get these guys ready in the bye week.”

Again, Morris referred to everybody (the media?) being “gloom and doom.” Joe’s just not getting where Morris is feeling a sky-is-falling vibe. Whatever motivates you, coach.

Co-host TJ Rives pressed Morris for more on Blount. “Enlighten us. Is [his knowledge of the playbook] at 25 percent, 50 percent?” Rives asked.

“That’s being generous. You know, the young man’s been here for two weeks. And he’s really been running scout team running back for us,” Morris said. “We go into a game and say, ‘hey, these are the five runs we want him to know. These are the couple of things we want him to be able to do.’ And he’s able to go out there and execute.

“Now you just got to keep adding to that gradually and slowly. He knows probably more than we give him credit for right now, but you’ve got to be smart when you’ve got young players like that, especially with a young football team.”

“Being a head coach and a defensive coordinator, and I’m watching this big young man running through the holes in practice, and I’m going, ‘Coach Olson, we’ve gotta find a role for this guy.'”

Kareem who?

Derek “Old School” Fournier, of WhatTheBuc.net, was so disgusted talking about the Bucs’ loss to the Steelers in this video, he began shutting down his equipment before the video was finished.

You can hear it in Raheem Morris’ voice. He’s got a lot of love and excitement for undrafted rookie running back LeGarrette Blount. 

Why the Bucs head coach is so fired up he said Blount has earned the role of short-yardage and goal-line back for the remainder of the season. Morris made the revelation on The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620 on Monday, archived on 620WDAE.com.

“For me it was a mentality with LeGarrette Blount,” Morris said. “You know, we got the ball down on the 1 yard line. And we’re in a 2-minute mode. And we stopped. And we’re in goal line offense. Our mentality was to run the ball in on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because I know how much they pride themselves on stopping the run and not allowing people to go in there. So we knew it would be all out pressure up the middle … and we had two downs to get it.

“You know, it was no second guessing what play we were going to call. We wanted to run the ball in the end zone with LeGarrette Blount and make a statement for our young football team and for us that we’re going to get this yard no matter what. Safe to say, in a live situation, in live bullets, that LeGarrette Blount has earned the short yardage and goal line back role from now on.”

Joe is glad Raheem made the point of “making a statement” for his young team by grinding out a critical one-yard TD run on the ground against the Steelers’ defense.

This is exactly why Joe was upset at the play call against the Browns when the Bucs had the ball with 39 seconds left, a 4th-and-1 situation on the Browns 5 yard line leading 17-14. They rolled out Freeman and he threw the ball away. The play there, per Morris’ core beliefs, was to let his young team pound out that one yard to end the game.

Joe’s just glad Morris is back to his core beliefs and buiding confidence through violent play.

Bouncing Gerald McCoy all around the defensive line like the Bucs have been doing may not be doing the rookie any favors.

That’s one point former Bucs defensive end Steve White makes, among many others in his popular Bull Rush column, which now lives over on White’s personal blog.

White breaks down the play off all Bucs D-linemen each week. Here’s his take on McCoy’s Sunday performance:

Gerald McCoy: I had McCoy down for a pressure, that’s all, and I was probably being generous. He didn’t necessarily have a bad game because aside from one play when he got caught with an influence trap he was in his gap most of the day. He also had a pretty good rush with an arm over on that first touchdown pass Charlie Batch threw. He beat the guy off the line of scrimmage but he wasn’t precise with his move and he didn’t dip low enough to be able to turn a tight enough corner with the guard still riding his back to be able to get a hit on Batch. Instead he just made him move a little bit to his left and then he set up again and chunked it down right over Grimm’s head.

McCoy’s pass rush on the whole regressed though in my opinion. He is now getting stuck right down the middle of guards instead of getting on an edge and rushing the guy. It goes back to why I am not a fan of moving him around to end. Hell let the kid learn how to be a dominant undertackle first. Let him learn to set up moves and counter moves from a 3 technique with game reps. Every rep he takes at end is potentially a rep he is losing at undertackle. A rep that could make him better. A rep that could teach him something. In the end we may see another one of those jack of all trades, but master of none if they don’t let him develop at the position they drafted him to play in the first place.

Just my opinion.

As much as Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik raved about McCoy being the prototype “3-technique” since the NFL Draft, Joe is surprised the Bucs’ defensive mastermind/head coach is throwing so much variety at the young man.

McCoy, as White noted, has routinely played all positions along the D-line.

That doesn’t mean McCoy can’t handle it; he had success in multiple spots through the first two games. But there’s a lot to be said for keeping things simple for rookies.

If there’s a guy on the Bucs’ roster who knows a thing or two about turning in a goat-like performance, it’s Sabby Piscitelli. His struggles were well documented last year.

In fact, Raheem Morris, before the 2009 season was even complete, even said he had to “fix” Sabby during the offseason.

On Sunday, Sabby took the opportunity to put his experience to work in counseling Cody Grimm in the Bucs locker room, so says eagle eye reporter Tom Balog, of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Grimm was burned badly for the Steelers’ first touchdown in the 38-13 loss.

Sabby Piscitelli, who was bypassed for the free safety job, is not letting his hard feelings for the decision interfere with his role as a good teammate.

The fourth-year veteran put his arm around rookie Cody Grimm and offered words of encouragement in the post-game locker room Sunday afternoon, after the seventh-round draft pick gave up a pair of first-half touchdowns in coverage, that contributed to the Buccaneers’ downward spiral in a 38-13 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Classy move by Sabby, though having him in Grimm’s ear might unsettle many Bucs faithful.

But it should be noted that former Bucs blocking icon Michael Clayton took rookie receiver Mike Williams under his wing during this year’s OTAs and training camp, and Williams is one of the bright spots on the team.

Perhaps Sabby is best suited as a coach.

Sadly, one cannot get a Primantis sandwich at the CITS.

Aside from beer and babes, one thing that makes going to a Bucs game special for Joe is shoveling food down his gullet like Peter King does popcorn.

Often, this entails grilling or going to a tailgate party.

But Esquire magazine believes fans should leave the grub to the CITS. It ranks all NFL stadiums for food and has the CITS at No. 13.

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (The CITS)
Number of concessions: 500
Number of restaurants: 0
Local options: Good (but all pirate-themed: Treasure Cafe, The Galey, Crows Nest)
Beer selection: Good (Miller, Coors, Red Bridge Gluten-Free beer)
Pro: Smoked short ribs.
Con: It’s Tampa.

Joe was unaware one can get ribs at the CITS, but damn, that would be messy trying to eat ribs and watch football and balance a beer.

Oh, and for the obligatory “What’s the CITS?” question, Joe reminds one and all that Google is your friend.

Colorful Bucs defensive end Stylez White delivered an analogy yesterday that the Bucs were urinated on by the Steelers. In other words, White was quick to say the Bucs got manhandled and will move on.

Speaking during a live Monday broadcast on WhatTheBuc.net, White said there’s a lot of overreaction going on to the Bucs’ first loss of the season.

“We’re 2-1; It’s not like we’re 0-3. You know what I mean. It could be worse. We took a lump. We got our first loss of the season, and we’re still going to have the quiet confidence we had since training camp and OTAs. It was a game we lost, and we’re gonna move on,” White said.

“It was one of those things. Some days your the dog; other days you’re the tree. They were just a better, better team than us yesterday. There’s no excuses. They played better. They played harder. They were more physical and they won the game. It happens. I’m OK with it. You know what I mean. I’m OK with competing. I don’t like the score, but all we can control right now is getting ready for Cincinnati. That’s it.”

Yes, the Bucs are 2-1. And they’ve got a solid chance to get their record to 4-2, before hitting the toughest part of their schedule.

Joe’s hoping that “quiet confidence” White speaks of turns into a raging animal come Oct. 10 in Cincinnati.

It’s not even October and the Bucs are having a bye week. Rather early, no?

No, says eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. Twittering via the Bucs TBO Twitter feed, Kaufman believes the early bye week comes at a perfect time.

All of a sudden, the early bye week looks like it’s coming at an opportune time for the Buccaneers, embarrassed at home.

Joe isn’t so sure. With so many rookies playing, the proverbial wall is going to slam them in the face. A bye week, say a month from now, would have been much better for the Bucs than this early.

With the extreme early bye, Joe has a feeling the Bucs are going to be dragging terribly shortly after Thanksgiving. To suggest the Bucs need a bye after getting hammered by the Steelers in Week 3, suggests there may be panic within the walls of One Buc Palace.

Part of the reason Pittsburgh quarterback Charlie Batch played like Sammy Baugh against the Bucs Sunday was that he had plenty of time to get off a pass.

Yesterday in his weekly Monday press conference dealing with the previous game, Bucs coach Raheem Morris confessed that was a problem.

His problem; not the Bucs defenders. Good guy Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times explains why Morris, also the Bucs defensive coordinator, decided not to bring the kitchen sink at Batch.

Coach Raheem Morris, also defensive coordinator, said he drew up a defensive game plan that called for a minimal pass rush, ignoring the urge to blitz or attempt creative methods of bringing pressure after such tactics worked well at Carolina.

“Some of that was by design by me,” Morris said.

Morris said Batch’s history indicated the Bucs should have protected against quick throws and draw plays, the sort of calls that can burn a defense that blitzes. The problem was, the Steelers took advantage on a couple of occasions, using the lack of pressure to get WR Mike Wallace downfield, where he caught touchdowns of 46 and 41 yards.

This is understandable. Batch was the fourth string Steelers quarterback for crying out loud. No one dreamed he would go Dan Marino on the Bucs.

But Batch’s play sort of reinforced the old NFL saying that if you give any quarterback enough time, he will pick a defense apart.

Former Bucs DE Steve White

Count on former Bucs defensive end Steve White (1996-2001) to shoot you the “Good, Bad and Ugly” from every Bucs game on his blog.

Of course, there was a hefty portion of ugly out of Sunday’s blowout loss to Pittsburgh. Joe’s got a snippet here for you, and the rest you can find on White’s site.

Reminiscent of 2009, the Bucs abandoned their commitment to the running game — impressive in weeks 1 and 2 — and White’s no fan of that approach.

Offensive game plan: The Bucs were in the shotgun wayyy too much yesterday and I believe we didn’t run the ball nearly enough. I know that the were down early, but I still felt like we could have and should have continued to pound the rock until it cracked. I know we had a few penalties, but to me a commitment to running the ball means running on first AND second down more often than not during a game. It also means going from under center most of the game so the defense can’t be sure what you’re going to do. It also allows the quarterback to see the coverage as it changes. Not only that it opens up play action because it allows the quarterback to fake the run in a way that might actually get the secondary to react or at least hesitate. If we are really going to have a tough, violent offense I would really like to see it rather than just hearing about it constantly.

White’s got a lot of great analysis in his breakdown.

Joe, too, would have liked to see the Bucs stick with that commitment to the run, especially after LeGarrette Blount had success on the Bucs’ third series of the game. Joe can’t get too caught up in that at this point, though, because it was obvious the Bucs were completely overmatched regardless.

As Raheem Morris said, they “played a heavyweight.”

Unfortunately, the Bucs played the role of Henry Tillman against Mike Tyson. They got some shots in early, but the more violent side won.

Thousands of local Bucs fans sat home yesterday and watched the Steelers-Bucs game via unscrupulous Internet feeds of the CBS-TV broadcast, which was not aired in the Tampa Bay area.

How can JoeBucsFan.com make this assertion?

Well, JoeBucsFan.com readers were polled Friday afternoon and asked how they would enjoy the game, which the NFL blacked out because the game did not sell out before the league deadline.

With more than 1,000 poll respondents, the No. 1 answer was “unlawful Internet stream” getting 35 percent of the vote. The No. 2 answer was “On TV outside the blackout zone” at 20 percent. “At the stadium” checked in third with 18 percent.

So is it illegal to watch the game online in your home?

That answer is unknown at this point, says Deanna Kendall Shullman, chair of the Media and Communications law committee of the Florida Bar. Shullman specializes in first amendment and media litigation, as well as intellectual property issues.

“I don’t know of any cases that the consumer is also responsible under a copyright theory for watching,” Shullman said. “I’ve never heard of a copyright claim in that particular instance.

“If I were looking at a news article on my computer or other copyrighted material, it’s likely that it is downloaded to my hard drive. That’s not violating any copyright that I know of. …There’s no, oh gotcha, you pulled it up.”

Shullman said if there were a copyright violation for consumer use it would not be criminal.

Criminal punishments for viewing child pornography online is covered under obscentity statutes.

As for bars that choose to profit from unlawful Internet feeds of blacked out games, the NFL likely is much more likely to crack down on them, Shullman said, versus attempting the difficult task of policing consumers.

The genius marketers ownership at O’Brien’s Irish Pub & Grill in Tampa told The Tampa Tribune they showed the game to their patrons but didn’t advertise it.

It’s not clear what type of trouble bars such as O’Brien’s could find themselves in, but the NFL doesn’t seem pleased that places are finding ways around blackouts.

“We protect our copyrighted game telecasts,” NFL spokesman Dan Masonson said in an e-mail. “The local blackout applies to these commercial establishments.

When we become aware of a violation, we alert our legal department, which will take action.”

Joe suspects O’Brien’s will soon get one of those fancy certified letters in the mail from the NFL.

Joe doesn’t judge those fans who watch the game online. However, Joe believes promoting these seedy Internet feeds is unethical and unlawful. So Joe does not permit posting of these websites in the comments section of JoeBucsFan.com.

While head coach Raheem Morris and Cody Grimm will admit the Bucs rookie safety may have been roasted on Mike Wallace’s first touchdown yesterday in the Bucs ugly loss to Pittsburgh, both claim Grimm played fine after that.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune isn’t so sure. Appearing on the “Fabulous Sports Babe Show” on WHBO-AM 1040 earlier this afternoon, Cummings suggested the Bucs are looking for ways to  help out Grimm, if he remains as the starter.

“I know [the Bucs] are going to look at other guys, possibly bring some in and work some other guys out and that’s not a bad thing,” Cummings said. “It’s a little obvious that [Grimm] is a little out of his league right now. I know they are looking at bringing guys in. Maybe they go to a three-man rotation [at safety]? Maybe Corey Lynch gets some time? Maybe Sabby Piscitelli will get another  shot?”

Cummings went on to say that the blame of the loss should not nor cannot be blamed on Grimm making his first start, just that Grimm isn’t quite ready to be a primetime NFL player and, like other safeties of Bucs past including John Lynch, needs to find his sea legs first.

Gotta give it up for the Bucs head coach staying candid and real. Winning the first two games didn’t go to his head.

Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman hit Raheem Morris with a question today at his noon news conference that essentially asked Raheem to talk about the Bucs’ “subpar effort” on defense, the first time in may games.

Morris agreed with the subpar-effort comment and was critical of Aqib Talib and the speed with which his defense played. “Yesterday could have been a four-pick performance and a Pro Bowl type day for our left corner.” Morris said.

Most coaches would shoot down a reporter questioning his team’s effort. Not Raheem.

Morris explained the bye week would be an OTA-type format to emphasize speed and fundamentals.

No, Raheem Morris isn’t calling for drug use to jump start the Bucs sluggish running game.

The head coach talked during his news conference today about getting more from Cadillac Williams while working in rookie running back LeGarrette Blount, who clearly seemed like a favorite of the head coach after his debut yesterday.

“It’s not time for “wholesale panic,” Morris said at his news conference, referring to making changes to some starting positions and Cadillac specifically. “We gotta get him some blow,” Morris explained, so he’s not getting 25+ carries a game.

Regarding Blount, who Joe thought delivered some real hope for a stronger running game during his punishing first-half runs Sunday, Morris shared lots of love for Blount’s production in limited time with the organization.

“Blount’s only been here two weeks,” the head coach said. “Now, having a bye week, you can give him some more bases. Some fundamental core beliefs.”

Joe can only imagine how good Blount will be once those core beliefs are instilled.

Raheem Morris went on the defensive today at his noon news conference standing up for Cody Grimm, who was burned in ugly fashion on the Steelers first touchdown.

The head coach, and noted secondary guru, was quick to say the tape on Grimm’s performance, outside of that play, looked great.

“We still have young players on the come. Arrelious Benn at the end. LeGarrette Blount. Cody Grimm, actually, when you look at the tape,” Morris said. “After that first play, he played really well. He played as sharp as I’ve seen a rookie in a while. He played better than Tanard [Jackson] did in his first game out in Seattle.”

Joe’s glad to hear Grimm is looks good under his head coach’s scrutiny. But Joe expects the mistakes to continue. Grimm remains a rookie seventh-rounder learning a new position. That won’t change for a while.

Look for the Bucs rookie receiver snagged in the second round this year to play more against Cincinnati in two weeks.

Asked at his noon news conference today, Raheem Morris talked about more looks for his players “on the come,” including Arrelious Benn.

“Would I like to increase Benn’s role? Yes,” Morris said. “He can certainly help us some more. He’s young. He’s powerful. He’s dynamic.”

Benn had three catches, albeit with Troy Polamalu out of the game with the outcome decided. Regardless, he’s looks to Joe like an untapped weapon Greg Olson needs to find a way utilize.

Ed Bouchette and Gerry Dulac give their takes on the Steelers’ win over the Bucs Sunday in this slow-loading Pittsburgh Post-Gazette video.

Blackout Tour attendees in Lee Roy Selmon's yesterday. Photo by News-Press of Fort Myers.

So Joe’s been plugging this “Blackout Tour” for weeks, where fans can hop a luxury bus to Lee Roy Selmon’s in Fort Myers to watch blacked out Bucs games and get a free draft beer and a free plate of wings.

To date, each Blackout Tour bus has sold out and fans have enjoyed the experience.

The good folks at the Fort Myers News Press came out to Lee Roy Selmon’s yesterday to talk to the hardcore Bucs fans who made the bus trip from Derby Lane in St. Petersburg.

“We all work for a living and it’s hard to pay all that money to go to a game. But this tour is a great alternative,”said Roche, a welder who wore Bucs fullback and Mariner High graduate Earnest Graham’s No. 34 jersey under a red Bucs cap over a red bandanna.

Roche slapped hands with other Bucs fans anytime the team made a positive play Sunday. But there weren’t many as the Bucs (2-1) were blasted 38-13 by the Steelers (3-0).

“I’d rather pay for this than go to the stadium and pay $150 for tickets, parking and food,” Brandon resident J.R. Eldridge said before biting into a wing. “It’s a great atmosphere. The best part is I’m around some great Bucs fans here.”

Joe’s glad his readers are enjoying the Blackout Tour, courtesy of Paradise Worldwide Transportation. The cost is $24.95 per person. It’s a lot of great fun to bond with other hardcore Bucs fans. And make no mistake, you’re a serious fan if you’re driving to Fort Myers to watch the game on the big screens.

Click a Blackout Tour link and get your tickets now for the next Blackout Tour games in October, when the Bucs face the Saints and the Rams. Tickets are 100 percent refundable if the Bucs game miraculously ends up being televised in the Tampa Bay area.

Oatmeal connoisseur Peter King, of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports, had a chat with superstar-for-a-day Charlie Batch following the Steelers bashing of the Bucs yesterday, and King shared some of their talk in his popular Monday Morning Quarterback column.

The Pittsburgh quarterback revealed that rookie Cody Grimm starting at free safety had the Steelers salivating before kickoff.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance for another start here,” Batch told me from Tampa. “But what was great today was we had everything in the game plan, and we were going to take our shots downfield early. We were just trying to open it up, because we weren’t playing us, honestly. And before the game, Mike [Wallace] said to me, ‘Give me an opportunity, Chuck. Throw it up there for me.’ We decided that if 35 [Grimm] ever turned his back to me, I was putting it up there.”

That’s exactly what happened on one of the TD bombs to Wallace. Batch put it up for Wallace, and Grimm lost the ball, and Wallace won it in the end zone. Just like the Steelers drew it up.

Of course, it’s no surprise the Steelers wanted to pick on Grimm and saw the Bucs secondary as a weakness with the absense of Tanard Jackson.

In Raheem Morris’ postgame news conference, he clarified that he has no plans to rotate safeties like he did in 2009. And he was reserving judgement on Grimm’s overall play until after reviewing tape.

Regardless of Grimm’s grades, Joe suspects a Sabby sighting on defense is about as likely as a Rachel Watson sighting in Joe’s hot tub.

There was little for Joe to be happy about with yesterday’s loss. He stretched yesterday to find some positives.

Veteran St. Petersburg Times columnist Gary Shelton could find none. He believed the Steelers exposed the Bucs in every imaginable way Sunday.

For most of Sunday afternoon, the Steelers pushed the Bucs backwards across the field at Raymond James Stadium. Think of it as a favor. Play after play, the Steelers helped point out all the things the Bucs are not. Bruising, for one. Powerful, for another. Relentless, for a third.

For the Bucs, it was as if the Steelers turned on a light to show the Bucs what a real 2-0 team looks like. You know, one that runs the ball, and one that rushes the passer, and one that wins the big plays at the line of scrimmage. Also, one that wins 38-13 despite backing off the throttle in the second half.

This was brutal. This was punishing. This was Ohio State playing Bowling Green or, perhaps, the Bowling of a Lesser Color.

Simply put, it’s time to rally the troops. The Bengals are a paper champion. They barely beat Carolina with a rookie quarterback making his first start. With a week off, the Bucs can beat Cincinnati.

Jon Anik and Cris Carter, of BSPN, break down the Bucs’ loss to Pittsburgh.

This dude Charlie Batch is an old man by NFL standards (35). He was the No. 4 quarterback on the Steelers’ depth chart entering the season.

Now, as a starter until horny Ben Roethlisberger, who gets way too handsy with college chicks, returns from suspension, the Steelers are relying on the former MAC quarterback. And he responded Sunday with three touchdown passes, the first of the season for Pittsburgh, and slapped around the Bucs like a UFL team in handing Tampa Bay its first loss of the season.

Anwar Richardson, of the Tampa Tribune, documented just how difficult Batch made life for the Bucs defensive backs.

Pittsburgh faced second-and-7 on Tampa Bay’s 41-yard line when Batch noticed Wallace matched up against Talib and unloaded. Talib tried to grab his second interception, but the ball bounced off his hands into the waiting arms of Wallace, who hauled in his second touchdown of the game.

“That’s why he plays cornerback. They can’t catch,” Wallace said. “I always got to play the ball. He made a good play on it, but he dropped it and I caught it.”

There were not many balls for Steelers receivers to grab in the second half.

If Joe was an uncaring arse, he’d point a finger at safety Cody Grimm for getting roasted twice. But Grimm is a rookie seventh round draft pick, what do you expect? He’s still learning.

No, if Tanard Jackson had just kept the bowl down, Grimm wouldn’t have been out there. If any fingers are to be pointed at the Bucs’ secondary, it should be at the selfish clod Jackson, not Grimm, who let his team, and Tampa Bay fans, down. Again.

Veteran columnist Gary Shelton knows why the Bucs lost today. He summed it up in his very first sentence in this St. Petersburg Times video.