First it was Cody Grimm. Then it was Davin Joseph. Then Aqib Talib. Then Jeff Faine. Yesterday it was Gerald McCoy and now Quincy Black.

What do those players have in common? They are all lost for the year.

Black broke an arm against the Redskins, so said Raheem Morris after the game.

Not counting special teams, 22 players start for the Bucs. They have now lost six. That’s over 25 percent of their starters gone to injury.

Yet the Bucs are still in the playoff hunt. If you count Tanard Jackson, who was lost to the season, suspended for testing positive for a banned substance, that’s nearly one-third (7 of 22) of the starters who were lost for the season. If one is to throw in Brian Price, who was a part-time starter, then yes, the Bucs have lost a third of their starters.

Not to be repetitive, but the Bucs, despite these facts, are still in the playoff hunt with three games left in the season.

The Bucs lost 13 games last year and were putrid in every sense of the word. Now, the Bucs are on the cusp of the playoffs one year later, missing seven starters.

If Raheem Morris is not voted the Coach of the Year, then the award is nothing more than a fraud and should be completely ignored by thinking fans.

Oh, with all of these injuries, an 18-game schedule doesn’t look so cool as it once did.

Typically, Joe’s only interested in clothing when it has to do with how much of it women are not wearing.

Nobody’s going to label Joe a fashionista anytime soon.

But Joe was a bit obsessed with LeGarrette Blount wearing a half-sleeve shirt under his uniform Sunday. Joe was surprised to see it because Blount spoke passionately Friday night on the Buccaneers Radio Network about how a sleeve gets slick in rainy weather and can lead to fumbles.

Blount specifically said he would not be wearing a sleeve Sunday in the Washington downpour in order to have maximum ball security.

But look in the picture from Sunday’s Bucs-Skins game. Blount is chasing his own fumble, punched from his clutches by D’Angelo Hall.

So what gives? Joe looked at Blount’s college game photos. No sleeve. So it’s not like he can’t run without it. Perhaps he got nervous during the one-hour radio interview Friday and mis-spoke? But Joe doubts that.

This is almost a great a mystery as Greg Olson giving up on the run in the first quarter.

UPDATE: The Tampa Tribune is reporting Hayes was, in fact, at the Blue Martini, also at International Plaza. Still, Joe prefers IHOP.

Joe liked the old days under Chucky when multiple Bucs were hanging out at a low-rent Tampa IHOP in the wee hours and getting into verbal and physical scuffles with patrons.

That was a blue collar football place, where guys making six and seven figures could sit around and slam pancakes and bacon, and presumbly gawk at strippers hungry for sausage and eggs after a physical shift.

Unfortunately, Geno Hayes was arrested last night at The Capital Grille at International Plaza, a swanky joint where bottles of wine are revered and its website describes it as a place that Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt would be proud to enjoy —  “the grandeur of Tampa’s golden age is alive and well.”

Yuk.

Per the Hillsborough County Jail report, Hayes was arrested there shortly after 2 a.m. today. The were misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct. Hayes bailed out of jail a few hours later without having to sit in a cell.

Joe sincerely hopes Hayes, 23, was not asked to leave but loudly demanded to keep searching the bar for a lost cognac snifter instead.

Jeff Faine talked about the daily struggle to keep the young Bucs in line off the field. That sure seems to be true.

Former Florida State kicker and current (for now) Redskins kicker Graham Gano talks about choking against the Bucs yesterday, much to Joe’s delight, in this CSNWashington.com video.

At the time, late in the game on what looked to be Washington’s game-trying drive, Joe thought for a moment maybe the Redskins got a fifth down. (While playing high school football, Joe’s team actually beat the bitter crosstown rival scoring a winning touchdown in the final seconds on a fifth down.)

Joe was inundated with comments, e-mails and Twitter messages that indeed there was a fifth down and Bucs fans simply ignored it since the Bucs won.

There was no fifth down, per eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune who got to speak with game officials about the confusion, or misunderstanding.

While the Bucs sideline was aware of Washington’s first down, spectators and viewers had reason to believe the Redskins faced a second-and-short situation. And after an errant pass and a 4-yard loss by RB Ryan Torain, McNabb’s incompletion appeared to seal a Tampa Bay victory.

“The first pass that was made, the initial ruling was first down and the auxiliary box on the other side did not turn over,” referee Pete Morelli said. “It was showing second down. The primary box on the head linesman side, which is the main down box, had first down. So we corrected the 2 because it hung up there for a while and we corrected it to 1.”

Not much more to say about that, but call Joe a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil kinda guy in this respect. The Bucs won. That wipes away all the ills that may have happened at the hands of the zebras.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan talks about the Bucs win and the mysterious fifth down in this CSNWashington.com video.

You want ’em? You got ’em. All the highlights from the Bucs nailbiting win over the Redskins, courtesy of the good people of the NFL Network (and Joe!).

Arrelious Benn hauls in a Josh Freeman pass for 64 yards.

Adam Hayward recovers the muffed kickoff to start the second half.

Freeman to Benn for 43 yards.

Down goes Donovan McNabb.

LeGarrette Blount rumbles for 18 yards.

Kellen Winslow puts the Bucs on top for good.

And the extra-point attempt to tie the game…

All of the game highlights rolled into one video.

Benn runs for 17 yards.

McNabb sacked again.

Raheem Morris and Josh Freeman speak in their postgame press conferences.

Thanks for the clock management, Mike.

No style points today.

The win thing is all that matters for the battered Bucs, but frankly very little can be taken away from this W. 

Joe sees the Bucs in a playoff push and this wasn’t close to playoff football, despite the standout plays. If the Redskins aren’t playing like the Bad News Bears, then the Bucs fans are probably moaning about the team coming out flat and whatever the opposite of violent is.

Joe is comforted that Raheem Morris was grounded in reality after the game. No need to look at the film first on this one.

“Man, that was an ugly game by us,” Raheem barked at his team in the locker room in front the FOX Sports cameras.

Raheem used the “U” word again to the local beat writers at his news conference.

“We’re not going to be apologetic for any forms of wins,” the head coach said.

With the stunning number of Bucs injuries, Joe expects a lot of ugly the rest of the way, especially on defense.

Arrelious Benn talks about going home and lighting up the Redskins for his first NFL 100-yard game in this CSNWashington.com video.

Joe is hearing that movie trailer guy’s voice in his head:

From the offense that doesn’t trust Josh Freeman to quarterback sneak on 3rd-and-1 comes an all new adventure …

It will baffle Joe until his death why the Bucs rarely use Josh Freeman when they need a yard, so Joe was quite surprised to see Freeman sneaking for the critical two-point conversion that ultimately was the game-winning play.

While offensive coordinator Greg Olson was doing his usual first-half funny business, he used Freeman twice in short yardage — successfully — in the second half. Well done, Olie. Joe’s tipping his beer hoping you’re taking notes with a big freakin’ purple crayon.

As for Freeman channeling LeGarrette Blount on the two-point conversion absorbing two hits at the goal line and moving the pile, Joe will put that up against anything he’s seen in short yardage by the Bucs since Mike Alstott left the building.

The F-train cometh. Absolutely stunning.

Graham Gano celebrates his lone field goal today. Joe suspects he will be equally celebrating later this week if he is still employed by the Redskins.

When Graham Gano played for Florida State last year, he was one of the top kickers in the country.

Now, the capital of our country likely wants to hang him like John Brown. And Bucs fans are snickering.

Gano missed two very, very, very makeable field goals today and his holder botched a snap that would have given Gano a chance to send the game into overtime.

The Bucs won by a single point.

Hey Graham, Bucs fans and Joe thank you very, very, very much for helping keep the Bucs in the game after the Bucs played so terribly in the first half.

Joe suspects many Bucs fans who also went to Florida State are equally happy for the former Seminole.

Nothing personal Graham, but you are now the enemy to many Floridians.

Sure the Bucs were lucky to win. But this isn’t the BCS. The only thing that counts is a win. Joe’s happy to take it.

If it means the Bucs losing or Gano losing his job, well, Joe hopes Gano has his resume updated.

Doubtful anyone is going to look for a kicker that chokes this bad at this point in the season.

Thank you Graham Gano!

Just peeking outside his window, it’s a blustery day for Tampa Bay standards.

Compared with the weather in Washington, it’s downright balmy.

It was cold in The District. Temperatures in the 40s. Rainy. Windy. Many of the usual diehard Redskins fans decided to stay home by the looks of things on TV.

If was the first time the Bucs had to play in “football weather” this year. After a horrible start, they got the job done.

Barely, but a win is a win. This isn’t the BCS. Joe’s breathing easier.

So too was Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. He spoke on the Bucs radio network following the game and seemed a bit more relieved than happy.

“It was the first game we had to battle the elements. It was cold, raining and it came down to to how the guys fought it out. We found a way to win.”

On the game-winning touchdown pass to Kellen Winslow:

“K2 had a one-on-one. We practiced that play Friday. We ran through it a bunch of times. I told Kellen to go out and win this thing. The guy had great coverage on him and Kellen got it and took it to the house. It was a great effort by Kellen.

“On the two-point play with [offensive coordinator Greg] Olson, I was to go with the pass depending on the defense and I took it up the middle. I kept pushing and pushing and I got in.

“You never want to apologize for a win. This is still a win. We were able to get it done on offense and defense. Sometimes, things go like that. Our mentality was, take it to them and finish it off.”

Joe can’t sit on this. The sick one-hand catch by Cadillac Williams in the flat on 3rd-and-11 to set up the Bucs’ second field goal was extraordinary, especially with him contorting for the ball on a wet day.

Wow.

Sad that the FOX crew completely ignored the magnitude of the play. The Bucs are punting and probably lose the game if Caddy doesn’t make that grab.

Caddy now has 41 catches on the season. A free agent after the season, he’s playing for a contract at this point and Joe wonders whether he’s coming back.

Over and over and over the Bucs have had trouble early in games.

They might be the best second-half defense in the league, but the ghost of Jim Bates has haunted them in many first halfs, including in today’s 17-16 win.

It’s all great when you get the “W,” but Joe’s looking for a playoff standard at this point, and the Bucs have to fix all this.

Joe nearly punched a hole in the wall watching Greg Olson get away from the running before it started. 

On the first series, Blount ran for six yards to open the game, then Freeman slipped dropping back to pass on second down before scrambling for three yards. And then the Bucs had an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-1. Punt.

On the Bucs’ second series, the Bucs threw on first down for 12 yards. Then Blount punished Washington for 18 yards before a four-yard run on the next first down. Then the Bucs had a five-yard pass to set up a 3rd-and-1, where they then abandoned the run for a failed Mike Williams slant. Punt.

On series 3, Blount ran for three yards and the Bucs threw two incomplete passes. Punt.

That was the Bucs’ first quarter on offense.

Of course, the player have to execute, but Joe’s just not getting the playcalling. It’s not playoff caliber.

Bucs coach Raheem Morris was just speaking live on the Bucs radio network following the Bucs improbable win over the Redskins when he offered some dire news.

It appears defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is lost for the season with a torn bicep.

When asked about GMC’s status, Raheem said that GMC was “probably” lost for the season but added that GMC will be evaluated by doctors when the Bucs return home from Washington.

Naturally this is terrible news for the Bucs. On a team riddled with injuries, another starter couldn’t afford to be lost.

The Bucs, it appears, lost another key element.

Damn, Joe is bummed.

You could smell the big time breakout game coming from Arrelious Benn for a few weeks.

In addition to Benn maturing and making some plays, teams were obviously game planning to stop Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams, who seems to be stymied by the mythical rookie wall while Benn is smashing throught it. 

Benn had four catches today for a whopping 122 yards and a 17-yard run on and end around. 

Benn’s living up to all the pre-draft hype about his yards-after-catch ability and physical game. He’s now got 21 catches on the season.

He might be the Bucs’ No. 1 receiver at this point.

Things change on a dime in the NFL, and now the Packers are on the outside of the Wild Card chase looking in.

The Packers lost in Detroit today are now tied with Tampa Bay at 8-5, but the Bucs have three conference losses and the Packers have four, which gives the Bucs the tiebreaker edge.

Green Bay, with Aaron Rodgers hurt, now has a road game in New England and home games against the Giants and Chicago to close the season. They’re all but done.

Bucs 17, Redskins 16

Good, Lord did the Bucs luck out. Talk about the football gods smiling on the Bucs. Joe just can’t believe it.

The Bucs played horribly in the first half against a garbage team. Then fumbled into the end zone. Then allowed the Redskins to march the length of the field in the final minutes,  coming within a single point of sending the game into overtime.

But no! A bad snap. Joe doesn’t know whether to be happy or to pull out his rosary in thanks.

Stick around for much, much, much more from Joe.

Week 14
Bucs at Redskins
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTVT-TV in Tampa, DirecTV 708.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 158.
Weather: In case one hasn’t been monitoring the news the past day or so, the weather up north is positively miserable. Per Accuweather.com, the game is expected to be played through a constant rainstorm with the temperatures barely getting out of the 40s with a stiff 16 mph wind that is expected to increase throughout the game. Folks, that’s horrible weather. A snowstorm is better than being soaked in the cold with a nasty wind.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Bucs -3.
Outlook: Simply put, if the Bucs cannot win this game, they have no business being in the playoffs. Despite the awful cold. Despite the constant rain. Despite the stinging winds, it doesn’t mask the fact the Redskins are an absolute train wreck. Donovan McNabb has virtually no one to throw the ball to, sans an overrated if not over the hill Santana Moss. The Redskins have no rushing attack to speak of. Their best defensive lineman just got run from the team. To quote the great former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington, the Redskins defense is “weak in the belly.” The Redskins have no business winning this game. If the Bucs are a good team if not a playoff team, they need to overcome the elements, man up and put the Redskins out of their misery. Run. The. Ball. Run it! LeGarratte Blount. Cadillac Williams. Earnest Graham. Shove the ball down the Redskins’ throats early and often. If there was ever a game that begged, pleaded Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson to run the damned ball, this is it. Rotten rush defense combined with horrible weather. Run. The. Ball. Run the ball early. Run the ball often. If the Bucs lose this game, then there’s no business talking playoffs nor does this team have any business discussing playoffs. If the Bucs lose this game, it’s time to start looking at the draft.
Video: NFL Films looks at the Bucs-Redskins. … TBO suggests the Bucs are all about No. 5. … Slur-hurling Trey Wingo, Mark Schlereth and Herm Edwards of BSPN are all giddy over Josh Freeman. … good guy Stephen Holder and Rick Stroud break down the Bucs-Redskins game in this St. Petersburg Times video. … Jason Reid and Mike Wise make their predictions of the game in this CSNWashington.com video.
Fun facts: Redskins tight end Chris Cooley has a touchdown in each of his last three games against the Bucs. … Redskins receiver Anthony Armstrong has a 20.7 yards-per-catch average. … GMC has three sacks in his last three games. … Mike Williams leads rookies with seven touchdowns catches.

Editor's note: This is a Patriots cheerleader, not LeGarrette Blount in drag.

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

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

Fox gives you a handful of games here every week. To date, Fox is 30-21 on the season.

By BOB FOX
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Tampa Bay Bucs 20, Washington Redskins 17

The 7-5 Bucs have to quickly forget about their painful loss to the Atlanta Falcons last week, as they prepare to face the 5-7 Washington Redskins in Landover, Maryland. For a young team like Tampa Bay, it might be difficult to get over the type of loss they suffered against the Dirty Birds last Sunday. But the Bucs have to, especially if they expect to make a run for a wild card spot. The Redskins seem to be imploding, as head coach Mike Shanahan suspended DT Albert Haynesworth for the rest of the season earlier this week, and Shanahan has had issues with other players, most notably QB Donovan McNabb earlier in the year. Still, the Skins can be dangerous, as they have beaten the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. Washington has the 32nd ranked defense in the NFL right now, and the Bucs have to take advantage of that weakness. QB Josh Freeman is having a nice sophomore season and should be able to take advantage of the 29th-ranked pass defense in the NFL. The secondary of the Bucs will have to overcome the season-ending hip injury to CB Aqib Talib, and one can expect McNabb to test the Bucs’ pass defense, as he leads the 9th-ranked passing offense in the NFL. It won’t be easy, but I see the Bucs getting their fifth road victory.

New England Patriots 24, Chicago Bears 20

The Patriots (10-2) might be coming off the best played game of the entire NFL season, as they hammered the New York Jets 45-3 at home on Monday night. This week the Pats will be facing a surprising 9-3 Chicago Bears team that continues to prove the “experts” wrong. Today’s game will be played at Soldier Field and I expect the Pats to continue to play at a high level, although da Bears third-ranked defense will cause occasional issues for Tom Brady and company. Brady is having a MVP type season with 27 toucdhdown passes to just four interceptions for 3,029 yards and a NFL leading 109.5 QB rating. Brady has weapons galore to throw to with players like WR Wes Welker, WR Deion Branch and RB Danny Woodhead, as well as the great rookie combination at TE of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis is keeping defenses honest with his production on the ground too, as he has rushed for 699 yards and 11 TDs. The Bears have been much better on offense as of late. QB Jay Cutler has not made the mistakes he is prone to. Cutler has thrown 17 TD passes, compared to 10 interceptions, which is a lot better than the 26 picks he threw in 2009. RB Matt Forte is also having a very nice season as he has run for 748 yards and five TDs, plus three receiving TDs. Still, my money is on Brady and the Pats to win, as I see the Patriots forcing Cutler into mistakes (he has been sacked a NFL leading 41 times), similar to what the Pats did against QB Mark Sanchez on Monday night.

New York Jets 24, Miami Dolphins 17

The game today will have huge ramifications in the AFC playoff race. The Jets (9-3) will be trying to erase the 45-3 shellacking they received from the Patriots on Monday night, while the Fins (6-6) will be trying to keep alive their hopes to become an AFC Wild Card. Both teams have top-10 defenses going into this contest, as the Jets’ D is ranked eight, while the Miami defense is ranked fourth. The Jets run the ball much better though, as they are fourth in the NFL in rushing behind LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonne Green, while the Dolphins are only ranked 18th in rushing. The key to the game will be the play of the quarterbacks, and even with the bad game he played on Monday night, I see Mark Sanchez (16 TD passes to 11 interceptions) performing better than Chad Henne (12 TD passes to 15 interceptions). The Jets also have a better secondary than the Dolphins, led by CB Darrelle Revis. However, the loss of S Jim Leonhard to a season ending broken leg last week prior to the game against the Patriots makes the secondary of the Jets more vulnerable to the pass.Bottom line, I see the Jets making more big plays than the Fins this Sunday as they try to close in on a playoff spot.

San Diego Chargers 27, Kansas City Chiefs 20

The game will be like Little Big Horn for the Chargers, just as it was for General Custer. This game in San Diego will definitely be the Lightning Bolts’ last stand, as one more loss will stop any dreams about an AFC West title, along with any hopes for a wild card spot. For a team that is just .500, the Chargers (6-6) continue to statistically lead the NFL, as they are ranked second in total offense and first in total defense. However, the fifth-ranked San Diego rushing defense was gashed by the Oakland Raiders run game last week in the Chargers’ 28-13 loss to the Raiders last week. This week, the Chargers will be facing the NFL’s leading rushing offense led by RBs Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. QB Matt Cassell of the Chiefs (8-4) had an appendectomy earlier this week and his status for the game is uncertain. Cassell has had a fine season for the Chiefs, as he has thrown 23 TD passes to just four picks this year. If he was not in the lineup, it would be a major blow to Kansas City. We know that the Chargers will be led by QB Phillip Rivers, who is also having a fine year, as he has thrown 24 TD passes compared to 10 interceptions for 3,642 yards and a 102.5 QB rating. Unlike Custer at the Little Big Horn, I see Rivers and company winning this last stand.

Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan confesses his adoration for Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber and how he often talks trash via text with Raheem Morris in this CSNWashington.com video.