Early in the season Raheem Morris used to openly fantasize to the media about his dream of pounding teams into submission in the fourth quarter with LeGarrette Blount.

That was his ultimate scenario, Raheem said, culminating with the Bucs taking a knee, which Raheem calls his favorite play in football.

You had your chance today, coach, and you abandoned your dream. Someone wearing a headset didn’t get the memo on your core beliefs.

Consider that on the Bucs’ scoring drive early in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 17, Blount powered his way 27 yards to get the Bucs to the Detroit 12 yard line. He wasn’t used again that drive, which ended in a field goal.

On their next drive, still tied at 17, the Bucs had first down on the Detroit 15 with a chance to run down the clock and get a touchdown or set up a game-winning field goal with little or no time for the Lions to return. Blount never got the ball again.

Two handoffs to Cadillac Williams and a quarterback keeper by Josh Freeman led to no first down and the Bucs kicked a field goal before Detroit closed out the game.

Alan Keyes isn’t that conservative.

Where the hell was Blount? Isn’t 15 carries for 110 punishing yards enough to realize the Lions couldn’t stop him?

Joe wonders who the Lions wanted to run the ball late in the game like that, Blount, Cadillac or Freeman? You can bet it wasn’t Blount.

Joe would bet anything that the Lions are grateful for the gift the Bucs gave them.

Merry Christmas, Detroit.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Joe gives away great prizes every month.

In October it was an Earnest Graham jersey from Paradise Worldwide Transportation.

In November, Joe’s friends at Brandon Auto Mall and Ed Morse Auto Plaza in Port Richey gave away Reebok replica Aqib Talib jerseys. And, of course, Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa dished out a Cadillac Williams jersey.  

And there’s more jerseys to come on Monday!!  All you have to do is “Like” the Ed Morse dealers above on Facebook and your name will be in the hat to win. Click the links above and get it done now. Or get more details on the Win Stuff page on JoeBucsFan.com.

Joe actually is developing writers block. He’s so sick from this awful loss he wants to throw up on his keyboard. But the more Joe thinks about doing that the better the chances Joe actually does yack on his keyboard.

So in an effort to avoid cleaning up a nasty, smelling mess, Joe’s trying to think of something good that came out of this playoff-killing loss to the rebuilding since 1957 Detroit Lions.

That would be Derek Hardman.

In case anyone isn’t aware, Hardman made the start for the Bucs at right guard, his first for the Bucs. The reward was having to stop manbeast Ndamukong Suh.

The result? Suh had his lowest game totals of the season. Suh had a grand total of two tackles and Hardman blocked him each and every play.

“Obviously he is one of the better players I have ever gone up against,” Hardman said. “I didn’t do enough to win.”

Mr. Hardman, yes you did. You kept one of the best defensive tackles off of your quarterback, Josh Freeman. Joe understands how you would be down in the dumps after this vomit-inducing loss.

You, Mr. Hardman, did indeed go above and beyond the call of duty to help the Bucs win.

Go have a beer (or an adult beverage or two). You deserved it.

Moments after the Bucs lost, Joe was trying to think of some of the excuses crazy Bucs fans might concoct to wave off the severity of the Bucs loss to the rebuilding since 1957 Detroit Lions, a loss has ended the Bucs playoff hopes for anyone based in reality.

One of the excuses Joe imagined fans would use was a favorite of Chucky’s: injuries. Nope. Joe isn’t buying. Every team is beat up this time of the year.

Another excuse Joe thought of that fans might use is the rookies hit a wall.

While Joe hasn’t heard that excuse yet, it’s also bogus.

There was Mike Williams performing the way Bucs fans have grown accustomed to: extraordinary.

There was Arrelious Benn making himself into a factor again, throwing a one of the nastiest stiff arms Joe has ever seen.

There was LeGarrette Blount using his beautiful combination of speed and power to gains chunks of yards on the ground.

No, there’s no way anyone can use the Bucs rookies as a reason the Bucs lost. If anything, it was the rookies who gave the Bucs a chance to win.

The Bucs needed one stop. One!

There were 92 seconds left in the game. A playoff berth hung in the balance.

The Bucs defense, once so vaunted it forced third world countries to the negotiation table, suddenly turned meek at the most inopportune time.

The rebuilding since 1957 Detroit Lions, led by grizzled signal-caller, the immortal Drew Stanton, marched downfield for a field goal to send the game into overtime.

Joe’s so ill he can’t drink a beer, instead having a bottle of Mylanta at his side this very moment.

The freaking rebuilding since 1957 Detroit Lions, bearing a 26-game road losing streak, up and rose and punched the Bucs in the mouth and stole their playoff money.

Joe cannot and will not use excuses of injuries. Like other teams don’t have injuries this time of the year?

The Bucs needed one stop to stay in contention for the playoffs against the putrid rebuilding since 1957 Detroit Lions. At home.

Simply put, the Bucs don’t belong in the playoffs.

It was third down. The Bucs had the ball on the Lions-2 with just under nine minutes left in the game and the Bucs trailed 17-14.

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman goes back to pass. He sees tight end Kellen Winslow in the back of the end zone, locked in hand-to-hand combat with a defender.

Winslow was clearly held. It was the kind of grip Joe someday hopes to clasp Rachel Watson with in the wee hours of the morning.

Winslow, as Joe imagines Rachel Watson might, struggled to turn himself free and when he did, Winslow make a crazy catch for what appeared to be a 20-17 lead.

But no! A zebra thought different. Ignoring the fact Winslow was literally handcuffed by a defender, Winslow was flagged for offensive pass interference. The touchdown was waved off. The Bucs had to settle for a field goal.

There is no way of sugarcoating it: The call was horrible.

“It looked like two guys locked up,” Freeman said

It was more than that. It was the Bucs playoffs vanishing before our very eyes. The Bucs never recovered, the season rendered to wondering about the draft in April.

This is the latest example of why interference calls should be reviewable by officials.

So the playoff dream has died in the most sickening way possible, in a loss to the ugly Lions, which had lost 26 road games in a row.

No surprise the Bucs lost, primarily, by getting gashed up the gut something awful.

Joe is absolutely sick to his stomach.

The Bucs couldn’t punch in a touchdown from 1st and goal on the 1. WTF?

Joe will have so much more through the day after finding a way to kill the pain.

Maybe the Bucs can salvage a winning season. Maybe.

Week 15
Lions at Bucs
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: Blacked out locally. Those living outside the Tampa/Orlando TV markets can watch the game on DirecTV 713. The game can be viewed for free on NFL.com at midnight via Game Rewind (free registration required).
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 158.
Weather: Per Accuweather.com, nice day but a little bit chilly. Jacket weather. Sunny all day with kickoff temperature expected to be 66 and will drop slightly at the end of the game. Little wind is anticipated.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Bucs -4.5.
Outlook: The Lions are garbage. Simply put, if the Bucs lose to this team today, the Bucs have no business in the playoffs. Of course, the Bucs have a gift for making nobodies at running back look like Tony Dorsett. So, as always, stopping the run will be and should be a concern for defensive coordinator/head coach Raheem Morris. Given the Bucs are basically putting a defense together with bailing wire and duct tape, this may be a challenge, even against the toothless Lions. One way to get around this would be, of course, light up the scoreboard offensively which the Bucs have the capability of doing. Arrelious Benn has really broken out of late and that cannot but help take heat off of fellow rookie wide receiver Mike Williams. Take pressure off of those two and looky here, Kellen Winslow is wide open. And, oh yeah, the defense forgot about LeGarrette Blount. In Joe’s eyes for the Bucs to get to the playoffs Greg Olson will have to throw caution to the wind (except on third-and-short) and punch the gas pedal. The Bucs have the horses to do that.
Video: The fine folks of NFL Films preview today’s game. … The Playbook crew of the NFL Network examine what makes the Bucs offense click. … The TBO gang looks at the Bucs playoff chances as well as how the Bucs continue to find a way to win. … Good guy Stephen Holder and Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times discuss how the Bucs will replace Gerald McCoy. … slur-hurling Trey Wingo, Mark Schlereth and Mike Golic of BSPN make their predictions for today’s game.
Fun facts: Today could be an interesting day for both team’s tight ends. Kellen Winslow has at least three catches in 10 straight games while Detroit’s Brandon Pettigrew is second in the league with most catches for a tight end with 62 catches.

Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net believes Bucs fans overlooking the rebuilding-since-1957 Lions are foolish (or in so many words) in his weekly Bucs game preview.

Joe learns something when he reads NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas of BSPN.com.

(Joe’s not speaking to the value of the information, just that he learns something.)

One of Yasinskas’ lessons during Friday’s live-chat on BSPN.com was about defense.

Previously, Yasinskas has written about how he believes Shelton Quarles and Hardy Nickerson were not studs and the middle linebacker position in the Bucs defense is just an afterthought. Friday’s lesson expanded on that concept when he claimed Barrett Ruud was a goner after the season because the Bucs won’t pay big money for anyone patrolling the middle of the field.

RedzoneJones – Why would the Bucs let Ruud go when their defense isn’t where they want it to be as of yet it would create another hole

Pat Yasinskas – Because he’s going to have an opportunity to get big money elsewhere. They’re not going to pay big money for an MLB because it’s not a critically important position in their defense.

Joe attended a different football school.

Joe’s always been of the belief that middle linebacker is extraordinary critical in any defense, in addition to the fact that every position on an NFL defense is important because NFL offenses as well as coaches are talented enought to exploit a weakness.

Regardless, Joe’s not sure why Yasinskas doesn’t see that the Bucs are getting gashed right up the gut, an area where Ruud hangs out. Two years ago, Yasinskas wrote a feature about how Ruud was a Pro Bowler, a guy who deserved national love, an up-and-comer. Yet Ruud has regressed but Yasinskas thinks he’s going to command dollars too big for the Bucs.

Yasinskas is a fascinating writer. For Yasinskas’ next football lesson, Joe can’t wait to learn what other positions on the football field aren’t critical.

With 52 catches, seven touchdowns and 784 yards receiving, it makes sense that attention on Mike Williams is helping the breakout of Arrelious Benn. 

Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network last night, Williams talked about how he’s enjoying the respect and challenge of defenses focusing on him more than they did early in the season.

“They’re changing coverages for me. I run to one side, and they change the coverage. It’s like giving me respect now. It’s getting a lot of other guys open,” Williams said. “Like the Atlanta game, if you all see the last drive of that game, they broke a linebacker out to press me with the corner over top and the safety over the top of him. I’ve never seen that before in my life. That was crazy.”

Joe imagines that with Benn emerging over the past seven weeks capped by his breakout game in Washington, life might get easier for Williams on Sunday and through rest of the season.

If Williams can reach 60 balls and hit 1,000 yards, it’s going to be hard to keep the Rookie of the Year honor from him, unless LeGarrette Blount also finishes strong and takes too many votes from him. 

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.

With the Detroit Lions here Sunday, all eyes will be on rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh who was the fan favorite here in Tampa Bay to be drafted by the Bucs. Most fans if you ask them feel like the Bucs ‘settled’ for McCoy; and seem to have an “I told you so” attitude when discussing the differences and accomplishments of Detroit’s rookie this year.

There is a really simple message to all those fans; Get over it.

For starters, the Bucs NEVER had a shot at getting Suh, Tampa Bay had the No. 3 pick in the NFL, Detroit was at No. 2. They were not looking for a trade. They wanted Suh and they got him. That’s not to say that in the end McCoy is a mistake.

Things were looking bleak for Gerald McCoy through the first two months of the season and then he got two half-sacks against San Francisco in Week 10 and then two full sacks the next week. But McCoy tore his bicep muscle and is down for the season, stuck with his three sacks to Suh’s eight.

This just in folks, you don’t have to have the best player to win a Super Bowl, nor do you have to be No. 1 to win in general.

The Bucs had Simeon Rice, one of the best defensive ends at the time, but not THE best. Michael Strahan probably was better, but Rice filled the need for the Bucs.

Tampa Bay needs a dominating defensive tackle that penetrates into the backfield from the 3-technique. McCoy is that guy; or rather he will be, in a year or two as he develops more. Suh is excelling right off the bat, but that’s nothing new.

We all knew Suh was the better player coming out of college. We also knew McCoy was the better fit for the Bucs’ D-line. He still is, so the only thing required now is patience.

Suh has had veterans around him, McCoy was put in from week one with Stylez G. White as the most veteran teammate on the line, and Roy Miller next to him.

Advantage: Suh.

So when your at the stadium watching the Lions, watch Suh with all his talent on display like we used to watch Barry Sanders amaze us. Barry was the best of the best, but Warrick Dunn was getting the job done just fine.

The lovely Tiffany Simons and Gregg Rosenthal discuss the Bucs rush defense, or lack thereof, in this NBCSports.com video.

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

Joe hopes Drew Stanton has 40 pass attempts Sunday.

OK, Joe will admit it. He doesn’t watch the Lions each week on his NFL Sunday Ticket, which may be man’s greatest invention since the bottle opener.

Joe’s got nothing against Matthew Stafford, who Joe believes will be a fine NFL quarterback — if he can ever stay healthy. Joe thinks the world of manbeast Ndamukong Suh, who if he stays healthy may be a Hall of Famer the way he has burst onto the NFL landscape.

But (as Sirius NFL Radio’s Adam Schein always refers to Michigan’s NFL team as, “the rebuilding since 1957 Detroit”) don’t Lions don’t do much for Joe. That written, for some reason, Joe has the image of the Lions as a smashmouth team.

Apparently, that’s not the case, per eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. It seems the Lions — yes, the Lions! — are a pass-happy team, so Kaufman Twittered on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed.

Tampa Bay’s pass rush should get a workout Sunday. The Lions average 41 throws per game, second in the league to Peyton Manning’s Colts.

Wow! Joe never would have guessed. Of course, part of the reason for so many passes is that the Lions are always behind. But if Drew Stanton is throwing the ball 40 times Sunday, well, even with a weakened defensive front from injuries, Joe likes the Bucs’ chances.

No surprise that Donald Penn landed a national segment on Jim Rome’s TV show after Penn’s candid gem of an interview on NFL Network last week.

Hollywood producers aren’t stupid. Lovable, somewhat scary looking overweight linemen with a great sense of humor are funny.

In this video, Penn meanders around the Bucs locker room and cafeteria playfully interviewing various Buccaneers and Raheem Morris. This may not be the national love some fans are seeking, but it is national love.

Veteran Tampa Tribune beat scribe Woody Cummings is ready to break out Team Glazer’s checkbook and lock up Raheem Morris as Buccaneers head coach for the next three years.

In a passionate column on TBO.com, Cummings makes the case that Raheem has done enough. Here’s an excerpt:

There’s no reason to make Morris squirm through the coming offseason. Sure, he’s got another year left on the deal he signed a little more than a year ago, but that’s a club option.

The club should pick up that option now, or soon after the season ends, and throw another couple of years onto it for good measure. Morris, who so many seemed to think was in over his head a year ago, has earned it.

You don’t often say that about a coach with an 11-18 career record, but if Morris can do what he’s done this year with a collection of kids and castoffs, think what he could do with a more experienced and talent-laden roster.

Now Joe thinks Raheem has done a remarkable job this season on multiple fronts. He and Mark Dominik have crafted an extraordinary turnaround following the self-inflicted Bates-Jagodzinski debacle they dropped on Bucs nation. 

But when it comes to extending Raheem’s deal, Joe’s going think like a Glazer for a moment. (Joe might even put on a Paul Scholes jersey and hate Dan Sileo, just to capture the spirit.) 

Now Joe can’t think of why Team Glazer would do anything more than pick up Raheem’s option for next season.

It’s a very nice thought to toss Raheem a couple of additional years of guaranteed money, but there would be no good business reason for it. The smart move is to give Raheem 2011, see if the team keeps moving forward and see how fans react at the gate.

Raheem isn’t going anywhere. If the Bucs are knocking on the playoff door again next December, Raheem’s surely not going to turn down a handsome long term offer for a third-year head coach with two winning seasons.

Don’t expect a new deal for Raheem next month.

Lord of the Bull Rush, former Bucs defensive end Steve White, talked about team discipline today during an interview on The Fabulous Sports Babe Show on 1040AM.

White relayed a story from 1996, Father Dungy’s first season, when the head coach broke out the overhead projector to illustrate a few points to his young squad. This day’s lesson was on staying out of trouble.

White said Dungy emphasized three elements that are always involved when there’s off-the-field trouble.

1) It’s after midnight.

2) Alcohol and drugs are consumed.

3) A strange woman is nearby.

“Everyone in the room that day, even if they didn’t heed the message, they heard it,” White said.

Joe had to laugh. Thinking of the debauchery Joe’s engaged in that potentially could have landed him in handcuffs, Nos. 2 and 3 were always part of the equation.

Joe wonders whether Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris would ever consider asking Father Dungy to speak to the team when it returns for the 2011 season. Heck, Chucky shuffled in Tiger Woods to rub off on the Bucs and stand on the sidelines, surely a lecture from Father Dungy would be more appropriate.

Joe’s not going to give away who Pat Kirwan picks to win this Sunday’s game, but Kirwan suggests Bucs fans should be scared to death that the Lions have been running the ball well in recent games. Given the Bucs keen ability to let third string nobodies run like the second coming of Jim Brown, Joe believes Kirwan’s concern in this CBSSports.com video is valid.

A reporter out in Detroit decided to pen a story today that essentially looks at how the Bucs have eight wins but aren’t that good.

What a fresh concept. Ugh.

Carlos Monarrez, of the Detroit Free Press, caught up with Lions players and head coach Jim Schwartz, who points toward the Bucs’ greatness in the turnover department.

“They’re plus-eight in turnovers, which is sixth in the league,” he said. “So, six teams will make the playoffs. If you want to say they’re playoff caliber in that, they are.

“They’ve done a good job of intercepting the football, and they’ve done a good job of taking care of it on offense. So that’s probably where it starts.”

Though not last week in Washington, the Bucs have been stellar at protecting the ball. And they should be salivating at the chance to intercept Drew Stanton, he of the off-target pass, and put some hats on rookie running back Jahvid Best.

Joe sincerely hopes LeGarrette Blount’s fumble last week didn’t scare Greg Olson too much.

OK. Enough already.

Joe’s all in favor of the Lingerie Football League, but put it where it belongs, in a giant mud pit off I-4 with bleachers all around and $1 drafts, $2 binoculars and $3 whipped cream bombs to toss on the field.

Joe applaudes “Old School,” of WhatTheBuc.net, for heading over to the local LFL media day to do some, ahem, serious interviews yesterday. But Joe sincerely hopes everyone realizes this football is nothing more than organized Jell-O wrestling at the Ice Palace.

In this interview below, we learn that this gorgeous Tampa Breeze player is proud to know all the positions, her teammates are amazing and things will be harder this season.

Gordita-friendly quarterback Josh Freeman sat down on the Buccaneers Radio Network last night to answer an unusually large number of fan questions.

Freeman was sent in all sorts of directions. Joe scribbled down some for you.

On why he wears No. 5, Freeman said he took No. 5 because he didn’t want to pay Luke McCown for No. 12.

On growing out his fro: “When I wear my helmet it feels so good.”

On the funniest thing he’s seen in the NFL: Freeman picked Donald Penn’s catch, run and first-down celebration last year in Philadelphia.

Freeman said Josh Johnson lining up at wide receiver in not a decoy. He said there are presnap reads where the Bucs would throw him the ball. Freeman said Johnson has good hands.

As for Sunday, Freeman said Detroit likes to press man coverage and look for the Bucs to go deep after that man-to-man coverage. (Joe sincerely hopes that doesn’t happen on second down of the first drive after LeGarrette Blount runs for six yards on first down.)

Freeman said he’s “a bit of a momma’s boy. I love my ma. I didn’t want to be too far away from her.” He said that was a  factor in him picking Kansas State despite having offers from “every conference.”