THE PESSIMIST is a diehard Bucs fan whose negative writings appear occasionally on JoeBucsFan.com. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Joe. However, Joe sure gets a kick out of them.

Ha! Forget about Adriana Lima schmuck. You get to wake up to THE PESSIMIST this morning… before THE PESSIMIST has even had his morning coffee. Boy, are you in for a good one.

THE PESSIMIST is fired up and it’s not yet 8 a.m.!

Now THE PESSIMIST has read where Joe has BSPN blocked on his DirecTV. That freaking cheap arse still has standard-def but he can urinate enough money away at a chicken wing joint on a Friday night Twittering about Courtney the Bartender, who he claims is a Brooklyn Decker lookalike, to pay for two high-def TVs.

Maybe if Joe wouldn’t be such a drunk and be so horny and quit drooling over some hot, well-endowed babe he has absolutely no shot of bedding, he’d have a high-def TV, or maybe he doesn’t understand just what type of private entertainment can be viewed on a high-def TV?

Anyway, Joe may not have BSPN but THE PESSIMIST does. And let THE PESSIMIST tell you it’s getting about as bad as watching some old woman drop a deuce: You know it’s going to be ugly, you know it’s going to smell and you know what the end result will be.

THE PESSIMIST habitually turns BSPN on Sunday mornings and there’s sweaty-ass Chris Berman screaming at THE PESSIMIST for some unknown reason, working himself into a lather about Peyton Manning. Then BSPN has to flip to “goddamned Ed Werder” who is breaking some sort of story about Brett Favre picking his nose. Then, Berman tosses it to SalPal who is reporting from Philadelphia that Jerry Jones is frustrated with Jon Kitna.

Frustrated? THE PESSIMIST is frustrated just watching the slug. Joe’s frustrated because he can only look at Courtney the Bartender. THE PESSIMIST isn’t the fool paying Kitna seven figures. This is news?

Not to be outdone, there’s the never-blinking Rachel Nichols, breathlessly talking about how Tom Brady doesn’t need servants to tie his shoelaces, straining to contain herself as if she’s Melissa Rivers talking about some backless number Reese Witherspoon is wearing.

Damnit you SOBs! You cover the NFL, not three teams (Dallass, New England and the New York Jets)! You are supposed to cover the NFL, not five friggin players (Manning, Brady, Favre, Terrible Owens and Chad MuchoStinko)!

What about the Bucs? A team that came out of nowhere? Worst to almost first. A team some predicted would win two games is fighting for a playoff berth in the middle of December. This is Cindarella stuff! But no, you have to shove down THE PESSIMIST’s throat the 752nd story about the friggin’ Patriots. Jerks!

What about Josh Freeman who is shaming Mark Sanchise with his uncanny ability to win games in the fourth quarter? Dude’s so clutch THE PESSIMIST is going to have to start calling him “Montana.” Where’s that story? Or is it more important to “report” how Capt. Lou Albano Rex Ryan towels down Sanchise after a steambath?

What about Mike Williams, who is leading all rookie receivers in yards? What about Arrelious Benn who is starting to light things up? What about LeGarrette Blount?

Wait a minute. THE PESSIMIST may not want you to do anything on Blount. THE PESSIMIST can just about guarantee the first thing out of Pedro Gomez’s mouth would be “punch.”

THE PESSIMIST would just love to punch Norby with this shinola the four-letter calls coverage. Cover THE PESSIMIST’s arse! That’s not coverage what BSPN has, that’s slurping. Friggin’ disgrace these people!

Speaking of people THE PESSIMIST wants to punch, Dull Patrick is almost as bad. What’s the erection these friggin’ suits in Manhattan have with Dallass? The Cowboys suck! You mean you can’t flex a better game for a Sunday night (you know, maybe the Bucs?) that football fans would rather watch? Football fans that is, not Long Island yentas who would rather talk about jewelry and Palm Beach and their tennis club memberships, who wouldn’t know the difference between a down marker and a goal post!

Well, maybe Joe has it right after all? Maybe THE PESSIMIST should block BSPN and start watching more NFL Network? At least people there use common sense.

Hey Joe, when is Courtney the Bartender working? Next time you Twitter about her at midnight on a Friday, would you at least please get her picture you lowlife standard-def drunk, huh?

Help THE PESSIMIST out, will ya?

Jason Fernandez of Clearwater is one happy JoeBucsFan.com reader.

This proud Bucs fan is the winner of the latest prize giveaway from Joe’s partners at Topper Town. Fernandez snagged the $150 gift certificate or Standard UWS Toolbox, the final holiday giveaway from Topper Town. But can still check out Topper Town online for great deals.

Fernandez said he drives a 2010 F-150 FX4. Joe suspects it’s going to look a lot sharper real soon.

Joe’s giving away more Bucs jerseys right now from Ed Morse. Get all the details here. The next drawing is Dec. 20.

Redskins holder Hunter Smith gave the Bucs a win by botching a snap on a conversion that may have sent the game into overtime Sunday. In this CSNWashington video, the Bucs have sent the Redskins reeling so much, Donovan McNabb is about to be benched, thanks in large part to the Bucs second half defense. Whoops!

Raheem Morris has talked about building the Bucs the way Father Dungy did back in the day.

The 2010 season was going to be 1997 all over again, Year 2 of the dream, building and developing through youth and patience, firming up the core beliefs, etc. (or “yadayadayada” as Raheem likes to say)

Mark Dominik has referenced the same kind of rhetoric. And both have talked about drafting college captains and men of great character and building a team that would make the community proud. 

But then there’s the off-the-field scoreboard, the one that counts arrests, civil suits, assorted funny business and how the Bucs regime reacts.

There’s a big difference between the Raheem era and the Father Dungy era.

Dungy ran a tigther ship than Raheem does. That’s undeniable. Is one better than the other? Is one better for fan support or on-field performance? That’s for fans and Team Glazer to judge for themselves.

Former Bucs guard and WDAE-AM 620 host Ian Beckles says off the field behavior is important and that a head coach shouldn’t get a pass when his team is behaving irresponsibly.

“If we’re going to applaud Tony Dungy for having tight reigns on a young team, then don’t be so quick to let [the Geno Hayes arrest and other incidents] go,” Beckles barked at a caller today on the WDAE airwaves.

The overall take by Beckles is that there’s a problem with Bucs discipline and it falls on the head coach.

Yes, the Bucs roster is disproportionately young and young guys do stupid things. Joe gets that. But Joe also gets that the players are failing their head coach. For some reason, too many don’t respect him enough to behave. Jeff Faine said keeping the young guys on the right track is a constant challenge.

Maybe that’s not Raheem’s fault, but he still gets the blame. This isn’t 1997 all over again.

Though happy with the win Sunday, Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net isn’t overly giddy with Greg Olson’s gameplan Sunday.

Bucs rookie Derek Hardman took blame for a fumble on the goal line last Sunday.

It was distressing enough for Joe to throw an empty beer bottle at his standard-def TV.

The Bucs had just got a first down and goal after a remarkable Josh Freeman to Arrelious Benn 43-yard pass. It looked like the Bucs were about to go up 16-9, pending an extra-point.

But rather than do the smart thing — which Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson finally did later — the Bucs decided to get fancy at the least desirable place on the field and had Derek Hardman, starting at right guard in place of injured Davin Joseph, pull.

In doing so Hardman knocked the ball out of Freeman’s hands. The ball rolled into the end zone and the Redskins recovered.

Thankfully, the Bucs rallied later and won. Still, Hardman didn’t try to hide from his mistake, so reports video star Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune.

“I was trying to get off fast and we’ve never had that problem. It just helps that we were able to come back and score.

“That was a big deal at the time and would have been a big deal if we weren’t able to come out with a win.”

That’s way cool of Hardman to man up and take the blame but Joe can’t fault Hardman. There was no reason to call that stunt of a play — with a rookie starting his first game no less! Joe has asked this before live on WDAE-AM 620 for all the world to hear and will ask again:

“Why is Olson so allergic to having Freeman run the ball up the center’s arse on short-yardage situations?”

Look what the Bucs have done to the Redskins crowd as a result of the Bucs win at FedEx Field Sunday in this CSNWashington.com video. Joe is amused.

While many Bucs fans stress and kvetch over the alleged fifth down play — many of those hollering over it lost money due to a point spread; the Bucs win be damned — there may have been a far more grievous sin by the zebras.

Was a touchdown robbed from Arrelious Benn?

It was early in the fourth quarter and the Bucs trailed by a mere point, 10-9. Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman connected with Benn for a 43-yard completion down the middle that with the naked eye Joe thought Benn scored on.

But no. The zebras said Benn was down at the one. Next play, Freeman fumbles into the end zone and the Redskins recover.

Unlike the phantom (?) fifth down play, this took points off the board for the Bucs. Yet this play seems to be swept under the rug by Bucs fans (gamblers?) and much of the focus of ire is on the alleged fifth down play.

Right-thinking Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune did not lose sight of the Benn catch. He wondered aloud if Raheem Morris should have challenged that play. Morris did not.

Benn may not have been touched down by Redskins safety Kareem Moore as his momentum took him into the end zone. And if the replay booth took a second look at the play, the Buccaneers may have been awarded a touchdown, a touchdown they otherwise would not get, as it turned out.

“I certainly thought about challenging it,” Morris said. “I’m on the 1 yard-line, I want to go score. I couldn’t get a good look at it from up top, not a good enough look to challenge it, to be worth it, until the next play.”

Again, if Joe was going to nitpick plays by the zebras, Joe would shine a spotlight on Benn not being awarded a touchdown rather than a couple of used car salesmen with connections in The District working the chains for peanuts.

Moose Johnston and Kenny Albert seem quite impressed with the Bucs’ comeback ways in this FoxSports.com video.

Video: NFL on FOX: Bucs survive

Judging by the comments from Bucs fans on this here site, and from angry phone calls and Twitterings over the past day, Joe has a sense that Bucs fans are outraged at NFL officials.

There was certainly some sort of goof-up near the end of the Bucs win over the Redskins Sunday. Enough that enough people think the Redskins got a fifth down.

Mike Tanier of FootballOutsiders.com heard all the ruckus and decided to do some research on his own about the issue.

So let’s see: we have about two feet of links missing from the first down chains, which somehow stretch from the 12 to the three-yard line; a generous spot for Armstrong’s catch; an umpire taking the ball away from a fellow official in good position to make a spot and going for a stroll around the red zone with it; and a pass play that gained somewhere between 9.25 and 10.05 yards on first-and-10 in a close game that isn’t measured, even though the clock stopped. Raheem Morris should have demanded a measurement, or the officials just should have done it themselves. If those chains were stretched out, Armstrong would never have been rewarded a first down. Then again, Morris might have preferred giving the Redskins the first down: extra downs mean extra shots at the end zone.

I don’t think this was a case of home cooking. I think it was raining. The chain gang got a little lax about placement. The referees wanted to keep things moving. Shanahan was screaming about timeouts, and everybody was focused more on the clock than the markers, which became less relevant once the Redskins were inside the five-yard line. Everyone on the field assumed that Armstrong had a first down: the down indicator stayed consistent through the whole series, and, there is no evidence of confusion among the Buccaneers when they line up for the Moss touchdown. And of course, the missed extra point rendered the whole sequence moot.

The reason why Joe hasn’t gone ga-ga over this issue is that, well, the Bucs won the game. Additionally, the Bucs didn’t complain while the alleged misdeed actually took place.

So in Joe’s eyes, at the risk of sounding irresponsible if not unethical, this issue/non-issue is a moot point.

It’s a common belief that Bucs general manager rock star Mark Dominik will continue to add to his magical resume by loading up on defensive ends in next spring’s draft.

Hold up! says Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski.

The sometimes Saturday host of the critically acclaimed “Blitz” on WDAE-AM 620 has had it with the Bucs linebacker play and the grotesque excuses people make for Barrett Ruud and advises — no, demands! — Dominik load up on linebackers in the offseason, so Pawlowski writes in his weekly “What I Learned About The Bucs” on his blog.

1. I learned that the linebacker position is getting worse, not better. When Ryan Torain gets over 100 yards rushing in less than 10 minutes, somebody needs to be held accountable. Sure, the defensive line wasn’t great, but the linebackers still need to find a way to make plays when they know the opposing offense will be running the football. Despite his sack, Quincy Black has been nonexistent and won’t be a big loss at all now that he is out for the season. Barrett Ruud was back to being Barrett Ruud and avoiding all contact. Geno Hayes is a splash player, but disappears at times. Oh, and Geno Hayes is an idiot. As we close in on 4 months away from the NFL draft, one thing I know is that the Bucs must bring in an impact linebacker in the 1st or 2nd round.

Joe has heard both sides argue pro and con about Ruud and Joe very much has kept an open mind about it all. But the excuses and lack of results from Ruud are trying Joe’s patience. Joe has witnessed other teams play a Tampa-2 and Joe doesn’t see those teams’ middle linebackers play like they are in third place in a three-man 100-meter dash.

And Joe certainly doesn’t remember Shelton Quarles — much less Hardy Nickerson — playing a glorified safety position masquerading as a middle linebacker.

When a rookie safety (Cody Grimm) plays the run better than a middle linebacker, when a old cornerback likely in his final season (Ronde Barber) makes more splash plays against the run than a middle linebacker, Joe doesn’t think it’s a stretch to suggest either someone is playing out of position or someone simply isn’t playing.

Erik Kramer discusses the race and the playoff chances for the Dixie Chicks, the Saints and the Bucs in this FoxSports.com video.

Video: Online OT: NFC South

Joe has read his good friend Justin Pawlowski, the sometimes Saturday afternoon host of the critically acclaimed “Blitz,” heard on WDAE-AM 620 write it; Joe’s read the same trial balloon floated by video star Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune as well.

And so “it” has happened. The Seahawks-Bucs game has been flexed.

But no, the TV suits in Manhattan aren’t crazy enough to pull a sexy matchup between Matty Ice and Drew Brees off the Sunday primetime schedule. Instead, the Seahawks-Bucs game, which likely will carry grave playoff consequences, has been rescheduled by the NFL for a 4:15 p.m. kickoff.

If luck and history means anything, that means outside of the greater Seattle and Tampa Bay area, the game will be broadcast to such metropolises as Fargo, N.D.

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman talks with Tony Siragusa about beating the Redskins in this FoxSports.com video.

Video: Freeman, Bucs top Redskins

In the past few weeks, Joe has been abundantly impressed with how the Bucs defensive backs have been able to get to the ball.

But in a season-long trend, Joe has been disturbed at how many interceptions the Bucs are dropping.

Peter King noticed this through his bowl of oatmeal and his mug of coffee too. He wrote in his weekly must-read Monday Morning Quarterback that the game yesterday would have been a blowout if the Bucs defensive backs could have hung onto the ball.

If the Buc defenders could catch, the Redskins would likely have gotten routed Sunday, and he could be on the first Acela out of Washington this morning. Exaggerating there a bit, but McNabb was mostly dreadful against the Bucs. They just couldn’t catch what he was handing them.

Look, can’t Bucs receivers coach Eric Yarber spend a few minutes with these guys to teach them how to catch? Joe heard his good friend “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620 say last week if the Bucs defensive backs could have hung on to the ball, they would have beaten the Dixie Chicks last week.

Hey, it’s great that they are breaking up passes, don’t get Joe wrong. But at least keep the ball in your hands once in a while, huh?

Speaking at his noon news conference, Raheem Morris was asked whether Geno Hayes will play Sunday against the Lions.

Raheem answered affirmatively and said Hayes “will be here.” And Raheem said the Bucs will handle his arrest by waiting for a league response and investigate internally and subsequently respond.

Right now on the Bucs it seems that pushing a cop and acting like an idiot in public is not as serious as driving around with a bag of weed and something used to smoke it.

Raheem also said Gerald McCoy and his torn left bicep will need surgery.

The head coach heavily praised Michael Bennett’s second half work at defensive tackle handling the Redskins’ zone blocking, as Bennett picked up a lot of reps in McCoy’s absence.

With Quincy Black surely out for the season with a broken arm, the Bucs likely are hunting a new linebacker to put on the roster or practice squad.

Perhaps the cop who tackled Hayes this morning is available. Not too shabby, although he did have the benefit of shooting Hayes with a stun gun first. But maybe he can fill the A-gap?

TBO.com reporter Keith Morelli has updated his story to include more from the police report of Hayes’ arrest this morning outside a Tampa nightclub. Apparently, Hayes’ cold weather evening wear was Taserproof.

According to Price’s affidavit, Hayes “was loud, verbally abusive and made threats to myself and staff from the club.”

Hayes, who is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, was warned that he would be shocked with a stun gun if he didn’t leave, and Hayes persisted, the report said.

Price used his stun gun, but Hayes’ clothing was too thick for the shock to subdue him, the report said. Price then tackled the linebacker and took him into custody.

Morelli also reported that Hayes pushed a female officer at the scene.

Hayes pushed police Cpl. Robin Penix aside and stood between her and the acquaintance, who became disruptive, and another unidentified man, police said.

This just keeps getting worse for Hayes. While D’Angelo Hall got away with pushing a referee in yesterday’s Bucs-Skins game, and the NFL didn’t mind that Aqib Talib threatened a ref, pushing a cop won’t go away easily.

It seems from the gist of it, Mike Wise of the Washington Post believes Little Lord Fauntleroy (Danny Snyder) hired the wrong people in the recent past to run this team, the Redskins, that he should have hired Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris.

Wise’s column mocks that Hunter Smith, the Redskins punter who gifted the Bucs a win by fumbling a snap for a conversion that would have sent the game into overtime. Wise suggests there are plenty of goats for the Redskins including the guy calling the shots at Redskins Park.

Blame him for nobody in Ashburn recognizing that a Tampa Bay team could be the blueprint in two years, that stockpiling draft picks and finding creative ways to procure young, hungry players might be the right way to go in the NFL, that Over the Hill Gang II might not work.

It’s not too much to ask the holder how a 3-13 team a year ago, with a young quarterback like Freeman and a young coach like Raheem Morris, is now on the cusp of being a playoff team – while 4-12 in 2009 with Zorn is on its way to being 5-11 in 2010 with Mike Shanahan.

So is Wise hinting that Snyder made a mistake in hiring Bruce Almighty, Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan and throwing millions upon millions of dollars at Facestomper Haynesworth who is sitting at home, warm and comfy, watching his ex-teammates slog through the rest of the season?

Interesting that one of the most storied franchise in the NFL may now be jealous of how the Bucs do business.

Yes, the ghost of Jim Bates returned to haunt the Bucs in the first half yesterday. Redskins running back Ryan Torain notched his third 100-yard game of the season in the first quarter, running with ease up the gut of the Bucs’ defense.

It was a gashing of epic proportions.

So who’s to blame? A sizable chunk falls on Barrett Ruud, so says former Bucs guard Ian Beckles, co-host of The Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620.

Beckles pounded Ruud on the air Monday for his soft play.

“He’s running away from contact. He didn’t use his helmet yesterday,” Beckles said of Ruud. “He wasn’t playing football. Football is a violent contact sports. Not in his world. Nobody can dispute that.”

Beckles said he suspects Ruud may be a bit of an untouchable in the Bucs locker room when it comes to taking heat for poor play because of his leadership role on the defense.

“Somebody has to get reamed [in the film room] when a running back gains 100 yards in 10 minutes,” Beckles said.

Fans can expect the Bucs’ true evaluation of Ruud come March when the free agent signing period begins.

Paul Severio and Cris Carter break down the Bucs win over the Redskins and discuss the phantom fifth down in this BSPN video.

Joe’s not going to go into a ton of background here, but this is an issue that Joe feels should be made a cold hard reality to alleged Bucs tough guy Geno Hayes, who absorbed a pile of volts from Tampa police this morning courtesy of a Taser. 

People die from getting shot by Tasers. They go down and never get up again.

Their hearts stop and all kinds of bad stuff happens. And most of the people whose bodies don’t handle thousands of volts from Tasers are weakened from something other factor or condition.

It’s likely that Hayes was drinking last night, given that he was arrested at a nightclub after 2 a.m. Alcohol consumption alone affects heart rhythm, and getting shot with a taser while under the influence can be a dangerous combination.

Add to that scenario that Hayes’ body had just endured the draining associated with playing in an NFL game, and getting shot with a taser was even more potentially deadly for him.

Plus don’t forget to throw in that the cop probably turned up the juice on the gun in order to be sure there was enough to take down an angry linebacker.

Somebody at One Buc Palace needs to show Hayes all the articles online of people dying after getting Tased. Maybe the team doctor needs to explain that it’s nothing to mess with. Maybe mentor Derrick Brooks needs to intimidate him the old fashioned way.

Maybe Raheem needs to tell the team to stop embarrassing him.

The story gets worse on Geno Hayes, who was arrested early this morning outside a swanky Tampa joint.

Veteran Tampa Tribune cops reporter Keith Morelli, a beast on the basketball court, details that Hayes was playing wiseguy/tough guy with police.

According to the report made by a Tampa police officer, Hayes “was loud, verbally abusive and made threats to myself and staff from the club.”

Hayes, who is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, was warned that he would be arrested if he did not leave, and he did, the report said. But he returned a short time later, the report said.

The officer ordered Hayes “to walk away from the front door,” and Hayes “took a stance and refused to leave,” the report said. The officer told Hayes he would shock him with a stun gun if he didn’t leave, and Hayes persisted, the report said.

“He was tasered and taken into custody,” the report said.

Joe hopes other Bucs weren’t with Hayes at the time. If so, surely some of them should have been smart enough to tackle Hayes are do anything possible to remove him from the situation.

Morelli goes to report that a stun gun was used on Hayes during an arrest in his college days. That one sure taught him a lesson.