The lovely Tiffany Simons seems to be enamoured with Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman in this NBCSports.com video. Joe is enamoured with the lovely Tiffany Simons.

Yeah, sure, Joe knows the Bucs got run over by the Steelers like a scared German infantry division in from George Patton’s tanks, and then played the part of Georgia in a reenactment of Billy Sherman’s march to the sea against the Saints.

But those horrible memories of being pistol-whipped at home can vanish with a win in Atlanta Sunday.

eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune can just feel it. He believes if the Bucs pull off a win in the Georgia Dome, the Bucs will be the toast of the NFL, as he Twittered on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed.

If the Bucs upset the Falcons at the Georgia Dome, their cloak of anonymity will be gone and the national media will be jumping aboard.

So for all those Bucs fans that feel empty because that drip Chris Berman can’t yell stupid, scripted nicknames in his decades old and tired schtick, and those sad because Stuart Scott can’t babble even more unintelligible gibberish about the Bucs and Trey Wingo can’t launch more slurs at the Bucs head coach, your wishes can come true with a Bucs win Sunday.

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.

The Bucs coach though he was getting a bad rap from the local press. The local press liked the coach, but was wondering when he was going to get the Bucs to actually win. In his third season, Sam Wyche had the team with the Orange pants at 2-9.

The Buzzards were circling not only the Coach, but also the team, the stadium, everything. The Culverhouse trust demanded the team be sold to the highest bidder, no matter if keeping the team in Tampa was its priority or not!

Buzzards weren’t the only things twirling in the air…fingers of fans were doing the same; an obvious mock of Coach Wyche’s formation call — a finger in the air with a twirling motion.

At the Minnesota game, Tampa Stadium patrons sick of their team’s performance while losing to the Vikings 36-13 (a week after losing to San Francisco 41-16, which was a week after a 34-13 loss to Atlanta) started to throw stuff at the coach. I don’t mean cups, either. A pair of binoculars just missed Wyche’s head.

Suddenly, the Bucs got it. They closed out the 1994 season with four straight wins before losing to the Packers in the season finale. The Bucs used their high draft picks to take Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks. They won their 1995 opener at Philadelphia 21-6 over the Eagles, which had new boy genius offensive coordinator Jon Gruden. They Beat the Skins by a point. Sam was getting confident. They beat his old team by a FG, and he got louder. They beat the Vikings at home, a year after the near miss by the binos!

Then Sam decided to tell everyone the heck off.

“We are Five dash Two. “

In a few weeks, the press pointed out to Sam they were 5 dash 5. They finished 7 dash 9.

Fast Forward 15 years, and the Bucs are once again 5-2. But is there a dash?

Some would say we are just like that ’95 team, that the wins are just as close, that it’s just smoke and mirrors.

Still, there is something different about this Buccaneers team that makes you think a 5 dash 2 is not something that is going to happen this year. The head coach is not a retread living off the laurels of a SuperBowl apperance. That difference is Raheem Morris is a second year coach who learned under the tutelage of Monte Kiffin and Mike Tomlin as well as Jon Gruden.

To be honest though, the stats (which are for losers as were told) show 2010’s record is actually closer than the ’95 team’s wins. That team went 5-2 by beating teams with an eventual 39-41 record. Our Bucs? The five teams we’ve beaten are a combined 12-24! That’s a .333 winning percentage compared to a .487 mark for Sam I am.

The victories are a lot closer today than they were back then, too! That’s even more disturbing.

Still, that team had veterans spread out all over the place. Lonnie Marts and Hardy Nickerson were the linebackers joined by rookie Derrick Brooks. The secondary had Martin Mayhew and Charles Dimry and there were WRs Alvin Harper and Horrace Copeland, all had been in the league for years. 

Our Bucs have two rookie WRs and a second-year wideout. We have a rookie running back, rookie linemen on both sides of the ball, third-year linebackers and youth in the secondary.

This 2010 Bucs team may be beating the weak teams they are supposed to, but they are also telling us that they probably are going to keep beating the teams they are supposed to, and continue to grow as a team.

So just remember when your telling your friends what the Bucs record is today.

Its 5 AND 2, Thank You.

With a dash of first place.

You like it. Joe likes it. It’s called “smashmouth football.” You know, where an offense physically beats up a defense and, as Ray Lewis is known for saying, ‘taking your will.’ This is what Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net believes the Bucs will do to the Falcons.

Now Joe is sure all 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 members.

Fox will be here to give you a few games every week. On the season, Fox is an impressive 20-12.

By BOB FOX
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

TCU Horned Frogs 35, Utah Utes 31
 
This game is definitely the game of the week in college football, as the No.4 TCU Horned Frogs will be face the No. 6 Utah Utes in Salt Lake City in a Mountain West Conference battle (only the game of the week because they’re ranked so high).  A loss will drop the loser out of the BCS top 10 for sure. Here is what we know:TCU thrashed Utah in Fort Worth last year 55-28.  Both teams can score a bunch, but TCU has more weapons, in my opinion. The Horned Frogs love to run the rock, as evidenced by RB Ed Wesley, who has  938 yards rushing and 10 TDs. TCU can also pass though, as QB Andy Dalton has 16 TD passes., as he has led the Frogs to a 40.8 points per game average. The Utes are led by their QB combination of Jordan Wynn (13 TD passes, 6 INTs) and Terrance Cain (6 TD passes, O INT). Utah also averages 45.3 points a game. I see a much closer game than last year, but I still see the Horned Frogs being on top again.  
 
Atlanta Falcons 27, Tampa Bay Bucs 20
 
Before I begin my observations about this game, I want to let it be known that I am 0-4 picking Bucs games this year. I have predicted two wins and two losses, and I was wrong in every case. I also want to say that the NFC South is the best division in the NFC, as all teams are good, except for the woeful Carolina Panthers, who the Bucs should clobber again next week. That being said, I just don’t like the matchups in this game for the Bucs.  Yes, I know the Bucs lead the NFL in interceptions, and have won at least two games because of their secondary, but the Bucs are also 30th in the NFL in rushing defense. The Falcons run the rock real well, behind Michael Turner and company. The Dirty Birds are No. 5 in the NFL in rushing as a matter of fact, and are 6th overall in total offense behind QB Matt Ryan. I just don’t see Ryan making the mistakes that Max Hall, Derek Anderson, Carson Palmer and Jake Delhomme have made vs. the Bucs. I do see QB Josh Freeman continuing his climb as one of the best young QBs in the NFL, but he has to be careful, as the Falcons are fourth in the NFL in picks. The Bucs are a team on the rise and play very well on the road (undefeated), but the Falcons are also undefeated at home, and I see Atlanta getting the victory Sunday.
 
Baltimore Ravens 24, Miami Dolphins 20
 
There will be some pad popping and helmet smashing in this game. I think there could also be some money collected as well after the game in the suddenly fine-happy NFL. When did Gary Bettman become commissioner of the NFL?  Anyway, the Dolphins come into this game having never lost on the road so far in 2010. However, the Ravens are also undefeated at home, similar to the quandary in the Bucs-Falcons game. The Ravens lead the AFC Central along with Pittsburgh, and once again defense is part of the reason why. The Ravens are 10th in the NFL in defense right now, and have improved on offense as well, as QB Joe Flacco has some nice weapons at WR, plus RB Ray Rice behind him. The Fins are ranked 13th in offense, as QB Chad Henne has a solid run game and stretches the field with WRs Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess. Miami is also ranked 8th in total defense led by OLB Cameron Wake. The game will be physical, but ILB Ray Lewis and company will get the last laugh. 
 
Oakland Raiders 30, Kansas City Chiefs 20
 
It’s hard to believe that I have ranked this game as one of the best in the NFL this week. Believe it or not, the Chiefs lead the AFC West with a 5-2 record, while the Raiders (or Raidas if you are Al Davis) are 4-4 and have been blowing up their competition as of late. This game almost has an early 1970’s feel, with Len Dawson squaring off against Daryle Lamonica. The Chiefs lead the NFL in rushing behind RBs Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. The Chiefs are less than awesome however in the passing game, as they are ranked 31st behind QB Matt Cassel. The 14th ranked Kansas City defense better come ready to play against the eighth-ranked offense of the Raiders, led by RB Darrell McFadden.  Oakland is also the 9th ranked defense in the NFL, but they may have some issues with the Chiefs run game, as the Raiders are only ranked 25th vs. the run.  It also looks like the Raiders could be without CB Nnamdi Asomugha. Still, the Raiders have outscored their opponents the last two weeks by a 92-17 margin, so I see the Raiders making Al happy once again.

Yesterday, Joe gave you Jeff Faine’s take on the demotion of Jeremy Zuttah and the release of Keydrick Vincent. Interesting stuff, for sure.

But Faine had much more to say on The Jeff Faine Show yesterday evening on 1010 AM.

On his health: Faine said it “looks like next week” for his return. “We’re going to hold off one more week. …It’s going along real well. We hit the sleds this week. Ran on the treadmill [Friday]. …Coming back this week would have been three weeks early.

On media predictions: “Peter King is a fantastic journalist. At the end of the day you can’t take stuff personal. Personalities make predictions. It’s like shopping a business plan to someone and they don’t buy, you don’t take it personal.”

On Raheem calling the Bucs the “best in the NFC:”  Faine said he learned of the bold comment via text from a former teammate. He didn’t say the guy played for the Saints, but that was the strong implication.  It was clear Faine is certain the comment ruffled players around the NFL. 

“I think it’s a great play for us to believe we can be in the conversation, believe we can be the best in the NFC. Really, a lot of guys on this team don’t know any better. …For him to put himself out there is very courageous, and guys are buying in. It’s definitely helped the orgainization. Put a spotlight on it.

On the heels of blackouts, him saying that re-energized the team. Especially some of these younger guys that might be hitting their rookie walls.

On what evidence there is of a “rookie wall”: “I was talking to Mike Williams in the training room [Friday]. He was saying, ‘Man, we’ve got nine games left.’ Like it’s an eternity (laughing). Versus me saying we only got nine games left.

Trey Wingo, taking a break from hurling insults, joins Mark Schlereth and Herm Edwards to break down the Bucs-Falcons game in this BSPN video.

Bucs beat writer Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune appeared on the Fabulous Sports Babe Show yesterday, heard locally on WHBO-AM 1040.  Richardson was adamant Bucs coach Raheem Morris is his choice for NFL Coach of the Year. He discussed many other subjects as well. including Aqib Talib “boycotting” the media and the Bucs not ready yet for “varsity” football.

Fabulous Sports Babe: The Bucs are so banged up at defensive line it appears Alex Magee will play.

Anwar Richardson: Yeah, it’s looking like he will play with Ryan Sims being banged up and Brian Price being banged up and out for the year. They are running out of people, running out of players on the defensive front. They have Roy Miller and they want to rotate three defensive tackles. It has been evident this season that maybe you sign someone of the street. But a week or two later, you may be off the street but you will play. LeGarratte Blount was pulled off the street and now he is playing. You should expect to see Magee more because of injuries.

You don’t hear a lot about the guys on the line, but they are still one of the worst teams in the league at stopping the run and getting to the passer to get sacks. They are tied for 30th in the league for sacks. What can you say? Young guys still learning and guys like Kyle Moore and Stylez White not showing enough to get excited about. They are playing impact positions but not getting impact play. The Bucs have been able to get away with it for in the long term, they know better. That’s why they tried to get Shawne Merriman. They need a pass rush. They are playing well below expectations.

Babe: Is Brian Price going to need surgery?

Richardson: I definitely think there is something to the [rumors]. When I asked Raheem about it, he felt he would need surgery. The Bucs have been kind of cryptic, it’s a mysterious injury. No one knows how it occurred, didn’t know how serious it was. Though they had said it was week to week, now he’s on injured reserve. I think they know definitely it is something serious but they don’t want to come out and say it.

It seems like he will require surgery. He’s a dancer, and maybe he was talking about his dancing skills and maybe he was trying out with Dancing With The Stars and bumped into Sapp or something?

Babe: Is Blount the guy who can run the ball or is he just a guy that we all saw punch someone on TV?

Richardson: The thing I will say is, he has not shied away from that question and I’ve talked to him a lot. I give him credit. At no point — when you hit someone with a sensitive question and they don’t want to talk about it… Aqib Talib has boycotted the media, which is a violation of his contract, because he was outed for being in the stadium when he was suspended. Blount did something that was very recent and kind of a heinous act and he will still talk about it. I have to give him credit. But it comes down to, do you care about what he will do [off the field] or do you care about what he will do on a Sunday? Most NFL teams, that’s all they care about is what he can do on a Sunday, just as long as the player keeps his nose clean enough to play on Sundays.

Blount has been productive and he will get the majority of touches but the Bucs won’t let him start before Caddy because of the emotional attachment with Caddy. If Blount is productive and consistent, he will be the running back of the future.

Babe: With Caddy, they need to stop it, the emotional ties. He can’t run more than two yards a carry. Let them give it to Blount.

Richardson: They are beginning to realize that. Maybe Caddy can do something here or there. Last week when you saw them give it to Blount in the second half, they realized they had to give him the ball and get the ball into his hands. Caddy has been great. So far as a good guy coming back after two knee surgeries, he’s been great in that respect. No one ever calls [the Tampa Tribune] and says, “Hey, I saw Caddy in the mall and he was a prick to us.”

The NFL is all about production and Caddy is not getting it done and LeGarratte is. Are you going to be emotionally tied to someone and not get production or are you going to give it to someone and win games? That’s what the NFL is all about.

Babe: Are the Bucs ready to stop Matt Ryan?

Richardson: I’ve been saying this all week: They are stepping up to play the varsity. When they play the JV teams, they can beat them. When they have played against the varsity, you saw what happened. They played two varsity teams and lost by a combined 69-19. With Atlanta, we expect a playoff caliber type team. Yes, this is a measuring stick. Can they compete? I don’t say they have to win but they need to show improvement and how they can be competitive.

The Steelers game was out of control in the first quarter. The New Orleans game was worse, it was out of control before you could blink. If its 17-0 after the first quarter and 24-0 at the half, that shows they are just not ready to compete at that level. It shows Raheem’s “best team in the NFC” is just talk in the locker room. I want to see progress.

Babe: Are they putting too much pressure on Josh Freeman with all of this “best in the NFC” talk?

Richardson: With Rah, it’s always been an “us vs. them” mentality. Last year he was telling his players, “all we have is each other.” Now it is permeating. They are getting swag and confident. It’s not the first time Raheem has said something like this. In training camp he said it’s a race to 10. Now they are 5-2. If they keep progressing and get better, it may come true. Maybe not this year. No matter what Raheem said or what you say about him, I challenge anyone to say someone else is doing a better job than Raheem Morris.

Look at this roster. Look at this roster position by position. Who is a top five player? Is Kellen Winslow top five? I don’t know. Is Talib top five? I don’t think so. Max Hall? Look at what he did. No matter what anyone says about Raheem, he is doing a great job as a coach. You can say he is over his head but he is 5-2. You think Brad Childress isn’t over his head? Wade Phillips? Look at the talent level. They got Blount off the street. I mean you have Ted Larsen starting and they are racking up offensive points.

With all the stale free agents, with all the guys they have had to release, Stevens and Keydrick Vincent, Raheem’s doing a great job.

Babe: Is the offensive line getting better?

Richardson: It defies logic. You need continuity on the offensive line and they have not had that. You don’t see Josh Freeman getting slaughtered or guys coming in clean. Give credit to Pete Mangurian and Greg Olson. The offensive lineman say Josh Freeman is not holding onto the ball too long and that he is getting rid of it quicker.

Babe: What do you think about Falcons game this week in Atlanta?

Richardson: I don’t think they are ready for the varsity level. Maybe later in the year but not now.

Put your beers down on this chilly Florida Friday night and put your eyes on the screen to watch Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620 give his weekly fantasy football sage advice.

Bucs center and cerebral captain Jeff Faine weighed in today on the somewhat mysterious topics of why Jeremy Zuttah lost his starting left guard job and why Keydrick Vincent didn’t pan out as his replacement.

Speaking on The Jeff Faine Show, on 1010 AM, Faine said he strongly disagreed with Zuttah becoming a reserve and Faine revealed Vincent wasn’t up to the job mentally.

“Zutttah has obviously earned, I believe, the left guard position again. I’ve been in his corner the entire time. It’s hard for me to answer [why he lost his position] honestly without putting people in bad positions. To be honest I never saw what he did to lose his job,” Faine said. “He played well last year. It was his second year. …I believe you don’t realize the potential of an offensive lineman until the fourth or fifth year, espeically at center or guard where it’s very cerebral. …He’s been maturing and developing and had an upside that hasn’t been reached yet. I know he’d be offended if I said that in front of him.”

“I think it wasn’t the style of offense that suited Keydrick. I don’t feel he ever got comfortable. Up in Carolina, they run the ball 80 percent of the time. …That”s the just the offense that he was in, just a straight maul’em offense. Where as we’re a hybrid. The mental thing was tough for him to pickup.”

Joe can’t fault the Bucs for trying to get better on the O-line. However, as Joe wrote numerous times, Vincent never showed in preseason that he was better than Zuttah, and starting 10-year-veteran Vincent was not a fit for the Bucs’ stated 2010 plan. Vincent was far more suited to a backup role.

As for Faine not “putting people in bad positions” and revealing the truth behind the Zuttah demotion, Joe can only imagine where he could go with that.

Joe’s glad it all worked out for the best.

In a million years Joe never would have thought he’d be nervous because Ryan Sims was going to miss a game. But that’s where Joe finds himself just a few hours before the start of iced cold beer time on this lovely Friday.

The Bucs announced today that Sims is out for Sunday, along with Jeff Faine, Jeremy Trueblood and Earnest Graham.

Brian Price is done for the year. Sims is on the shelf. Kyle Moore is a waste rushing inside. And the Bucs might rely on newcomer Alex Magee heavily in Atlanta, and possibly a little bit from defensive tackle Al Woods, who found his way to Tampa this week. Woods was a fourth-round pick in 2010 by the Saints but didn’t make the team.

Don’t worry too much, at least Barrett Ruud is patrolling the middle to help stuff the run. Oh, uhhh, skip that.

In his Passing On The Game blog, former Bucs DE Steve White shares a few thoughts on this new development along the D-line.

It’s kind of ironic because I was just talking about why the loss of Brian Price to IR was so big the other day and now that Sims is going to be out people will get to see what I mean. That’s not a knock on Alex Magee though. Actually I don’t know much about him and I couldn’t say how he will fit in with our defense until he gets some snaps. But I would say its pretty damn scary when you think about the fact that he and Al Woods now make up the second team defensive tackles even though neither have taken a snap for Tampa and both were recently learning how to play in a 3-4 rather than a 4-3 defense.

And yes, it DEFINITELY matters.

I don’t know if both Magee and Woods will be up but even if they are I have a hard time believing that Woods would be able to learn the playbook quick enough to be ready to play meaningful snaps for the Bucs on Sunday. Magee on the other hand has been here for a few weeks so he should at least have some of it down pat. Its not like Sims was necessarily a world beater either but at least he knew where he was supposed to be on every play.

As for missing Trueblood and Faine for the second game in a row, Joe is very pleased that the O-line that had success in Arizona — Donald Penn, Ted Larsen, Jeremy Zuttah, Davin Joseph, James Lee — will get another shot together.

Joe believes they earned it, and trotting out a banged up Faine and/or Trueblood serves no purpose in the eighth game of the season.

If the Bucs continue to be successful along the O-line, Joe wonders if Trueblood and Faine would be accept backup roles in a team-first way.

Pat Kirwan and Josh Horowitz take a look at the Bucs-Falcons game for the lead in the NFC South in this CBSSports.com video.

The Bucs are 5-2. In many football crazy towns, this would be cause for shutting down businesses. This season in Tampa Bay, the Bucs’ winning ways have been met with yawning, skeptical raised eyebrows and blacked outgames.

In another rare video appearance by vaunted Tampa Tribune columnist Martin Fennelly, he and his colleague eye-RAH! Kaufman discuss in this TBO Bucs vlog why Bucsmania has not overtaken Tampa Bay.

One the main reasons for the Bucs’ upswing this season has been the lights out play of Bucs rookie receiver Mike Williams.

Some suggest Williams is a leading candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Joe certainly cannot disagree.

But if Joe had to take an educated guess, that award will go to St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford. Dude is getting it done and he has absolutely no one to throw the ball to. Guys off of the street. Glorified UFL receivers.

But hold on, says Peter King of Sports Illustrated. He Twittered this morning that, while he believes the award is Bradford’s to lose, King, if the season ended today, would vote for Pittsburgh offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey.

@MPCharles25: Any shot of maurkice pouncey as Off. ROY?

@SI_PeterKing: Very little, because Bradford’s been so good. But MP’s my midseason OROY.

Joe never thought of Pouncey, but yeah, he’s playing well.

Would Joe like to see Williams get the award? Sure. But if the Bucs somehow make the playoffs, Joe’s guessing that Williams will instead be comforted by his playoff bonus.

Oh, and yesterday, Joe tried to post a video of Peter King talking about the top teams in the NFC this has him specifically mentioning the Bucs. For some reason the video is having issues but here’s a link to view it.

Listening to Raheem Morris at his news conference yesterday, it almost sounded like the coach views Arrelious Benn as more of a deep threat than fellow rookie Mike Williams, who’s on pace for a 1,000-yard season.

Morris talked about Freeman’s 53-yard bomb to Benn in Arizona being the No. 1 option on that play and that Benn is suited for that kind of call.

“[In college,] he made big plays with his speed. You know, I forget what his 40 time was, but he certainly plays faster than that,” Morris said. “He plays bigger than he is. He plays strong and powerful. In this game, big men usually win a lot of battles.”

Joe expects the Bucs to look a lot more for the homerun shot against the Falcons. Atlanta is 27th in the league against the pass, with Carson Palmer carving them up for 412 yards in their last game and Kevin Kolb for 326 before that.

As Joe has written before, just the mere presence of LeGarrette Blount changes the Bucs’ whole offensive philosophy.

Adam Schein has recently been sighted trying to board the Bucs bandwagon. In this FoxSports.com video, Schein discusses how the Bucs will fare in this edition of Cosmic Schein.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video/?vid=a65df960-e6f2-48e8-adf4-b95e334f2d42&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videocentral_player" target="_new" title="Cosmic Schein: NFL Picks">Video: Cosmic Schein: NFL Picks</a>

The entertaining D. Orlando Ledbetter, of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, churned out a story that details Matt Ryan’s struggles against the Buccaneers.

In the four games, he has an average quarterback rating of 61.05 and has thrown six interceptions against two touchdowns. Tampa Bay has also sacked him six times.

“To me, it’s not a surprise that they are leading the league in interceptions,” Ryan said. … … 

Ryan doesn’t think the Bucs have his number.

“These guys have been in that system for a long time. Ronde Barber specifically has been in it for a long time,” Ryan said. “He understands what he needs to do and is really good at it. I feel like we have a good feel for what they do.”

Joe doesn’t expect the Bucs to have some sort of defensive epiphany on Sunday. Joe expects Atlanta to say ‘open wide’ to the Bucs and run Michael Turner and Jason Snelling down their throats.

Turnovers, Josh Freeman and LeGarrette Blount are surely what will lead the Bucs to victory, if they win.

In theory, players go out and play their absolute best — mentally and physically — on every play.

In reality, that doesn’t happen. So players need motivation, coaching and everthing possible to help them achieve maximum performance.

eye-RAH! Kaufman, the Tampa Tribune NFL writer, penned a story today that takes on the topic of Raheem inciting Bucs opponents with his “best in the NFC” comment. Among other things, Kaufman dredged up one of the great Warren Sapp quotes of all time.

The Panthers stirred up controversy with the Bucs in 2003 when Brentson Buckner declared teammate Kris Jenkins was a better defensive tackle than Warren Sapp, saying, “Kris can revolutionize the position. Sapp did it, but Kris is a new breed.”

Sapp’s reply to Buckner?

“Don’t throw rocks at the throne.”

Seven years later, Morris finds himself in Atlanta’s crosshairs.

“We’re always bringing up the bulletin-board stuff … that’s like a myth,” Morris said Thursday. “I’ve never seen Ronde Barber play harder because somebody said something negative about him. Your Sunday game day comes from within — it has nothing to do with what somebody said about you.”

As for Morris calling the bulletin board stuff a “myth,” Joe doesn’t buy it. That stuff matters on some level. It shouldn’t, but it does.

Considering Ronde Barber himself has talked about how naysayers on and off the field have motivated him through his career, Joe buys Raheem’s comment even less.

Pat Kirwan, a former NFL personnel executive and now a superanalyst for NFL.com and NFL Radio, is head over heels on the Josh Freeman bandwagon, but he’s not going there yet with the Bucs.

Talking Bucs football on 770AM in Fort Myers on Wednesday, Kirwan shared his Freeman love and opinion on the Bucs’ playoff chances.

“The quarterback is ridiculously good for a young kid,” Kirwan said. “Half Ben Roethlisberger half Warren Moon. He’s got that Ben thing about him breakin’ tackles lookin’ deep. And that’s how he wins these games late with all these fourth quarter comebacks. And he’s got the compusure of Warren. He’s not emotional. He’s very cold-blooded in the way he handles his opponent. I think his teammates start to play like him, which is great stuff.”

Despite Freeman, Kirwan said the Bucs just don’t measure up to the Saints and Falcons.

“Atlanta will run the ball. And that’s the problem team when it comes to [the Bucs’] run defense,”Kirwan said. “Can the Bucs put 32, 33 points on the board in a head-to-head matchup with the Saints?”

The NFC South with have a 10-win Wild Card team, Kirwan says, and he gives the Eages the second Wild Card with nine wins.

Joe’s not going to quibble with Kirwan and say the Bucs are better than the Falcons or Saints, but it seems Kirwan may not realize the Bucs have five very winnable games on their schedule — @San Francisco, Carolina, Detroit, Seattle, @Washington.

If the Bucs take four of those five games, that might be enough to give them the tiebreaker edge with a 9-7 Eagles team.

Joe’s put this off for too long.

During the Cardinals-Bucs broadcast on Sunday, the announcers said that one of Earnest Graham’s close relatives — Joe’s 99 percent sure it was his mother — is gravely ill and he had been dealing with that.

Graham was not practicing today at Tropicana Field, per TBO.com. And while Graham has been nursing a hamstring injury, Joe hopes he’s not out dealing with more pressing family concerns.

Joe wants to send his best wishes to Graham and his family.

Graham has always been very accomodating of Joe and Graham may be the most active in charitable activities among all Buccaneers. Graham spends his share of time helping in the Tampa Bay area, and around Fort Myers where he grew up. They even named a street for him down there after a resident unknown to Graham peititioned the city to make it happen.

Joe just wants to shoot his best wishes to Graham.

Joe’s been concerned about the secrecy surrounding Brian Price’s hip/pelvis injury that got Price placed on injured reserve and ended his rookie season.

From Joe’s experience, thin information released publicly usually means a serious problem.

So Joe was pleased to hear Buccaneers Radio Network host TJ Rives interviewed today and say that Price wanted to play and was pushing Bucs officials to get on the field. Rives made the comment during the Fabulous Sports Babe Show on 1040 AM.

Rives went on to say the Bucs shut him down and he hadn’t heard of any long term concern.

This obviously sets back Price’s development; he needs the reps. But Joe’s glad to hear somewhat positive news about Price.

Aside from Joe pining for Rachel Watson, Joe so looks forward to Thursday when Joe can gawk at the gorgeous Jenny Dell and hear her babble about football in a BSPN video.

So imagine Joe’s sheer horror this morning when he clicked on the BSPN link to await Jenny’s features when Jon Anik appears. To quote Tony Bruno, “This is an outrage!”

But Joe is dedicated to bring Bucs fans Bucs news. So now, you can listen to watch Anik spout statistical mumbojumbo.