It’s easy for Joe and Bucs fans to encourage icon Ronde Barber to play for the Bucs again next year. He’s been stellar this season and is clearly an invaluable influence on the young Bucs roster.

But after listening to Barber talk about his health on the Buccaneers Radio Network last night, Joe had to take pause.

Barber is a very physical cornerback, and Total Access host and former Buccaneer Dave Moore asked him about the toll on his body.

“There’s been about three weeks this year when I had 10 or 12 tackles that I did not feel good the next day. It takes me to about Thursday where I’m not limping around and I can get my arms above my head. But that’s just who I’ve been. It’s who I’ve always been,” Barber said. “That’s how I had to impress Monte Kiffin when I first started playing. You know I had to do those types of things to get on the football field and keep my position with this football team.

“It’s just carried over. Hopefully it’s rubbing off on my young guys. Because somebody’s going to have to do it after me.”

Barber referenced his “one knee that doesn’t straighten all the way out.” And he talked about his drive to play through injuries. He said he had a torn PCL (knee) and a broken bone in his hand during the Super Bowl run in 2002.

Now holding the NFL’s consecutive starts record at cornerback (174), Barber said his determiniation to never miss a game began during his sophomore year in high school, when twin brother Tiki Barber was the team’s starting running back and he was on the bench. Barber said he dealt with the same early struggles in college and pros, crediting former Bucs secondary coach Herm Edwards for sticking with him and being a driving motivator.

Barber went on to say he’s not a workout warrior. He said he routinely changes up his offseason regimen, this year going through biathalon training (running and cycling) with his wife.

“I’ve figured out how to work smart. I don’t kill myself in the offseason,” Barber said.

Joe’s just hoping Barber can stay healthy through 2010.

As you will hear (and see) in a video Joe has scheduled for this afternoon, Derek “Old School” Fournier is outraged people don’t respect the Bucs because the Bucs got absolutely chainwhipped by the two good teams they have played thus far, both at home.

Now Joe’s not the kind of guy who gives two whips what anyone thinks of the Bucs. But for those who cannot sleep at night without knowing what some slob in Connecticut who works for some Stalinist four-letter organization run by an Orlando mouse thinks of the Bucs, Joe quotes Peter King who said this morning, while he co-hosted “The Opening Drive” with Bob Papa, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, “Bucs fans ask what the team can do to gain respect. It’s very simple: Beat a good team.”

Well, Jenna Laine of NFL.com doesn’t need to hear anyone’s feedback on the Bucs. She has a list this morning of 10 signs the Bucs are legit.

Joe’s not going to spoil the list for you so you’ll have to click the link. But one sign Laine cites piqued Joe’s interest.

4) Buccaneers ticket hotline answering machine has messages.

Joe has two thoughts for those who sit in their office chairs and visibly shake while biting their wrists because of what others write and speak of the Bucs:

1) A Falcons fan called Peter King this morning and undressed the Sports Illustrated writer for not giving the Falcons any respect and for constantly slurping the Bucs.

2) Joe wonders if the same Bucs fans who pound their fists on the kitchen table because honest pundits point out the Bucs have been alley-beaten by the two good teams on the schedule — at home no less — also fight the good fight for Boise State being in the BCS championship game despite playing a low-rent schedule?

Bucs fans are still riding on Cloud-9 over the thrilling win over the Cardinals in Arizona. Part of that is because of the offense the Bucs showed.

Sure, LeGarrette Blount’s hurdling, eye-popping 48-yard run was sizzling and he helped open up the Bucs’ passing game.

As a result, Josh Freeman very well may have had his best game in the NFL. That’s what cool cat Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times reports. He touched base with Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson who lauded Freeman’s play.

“I felt like Josh probably played his best game as a Buc,” Olson said. “He went 18-for-25 for (72) percent completion (percentage), but after watching the film, really he had four drops; it could have very easily been a 23-of-25 game.”

Of course, Olson said they would have preferred a theoretical 23-of-26, if Freeman had thrown the ball away instead of taking a late fourth-quarter sack. But Olson said that the way Freeman handled the loud crowd, and adverse circumstances, made this game special.

“It was really a game where he was hitting hands and was very accurate, and to me, he was in the flow of the game and the game came to him (Sunday),” Olson said. “To see him do that on the road and … in a hostile environment where he’s having to make a lot of calls at the line of scrimmage and walk to the line of scrimmage and communicate to everybody. It’s really a tribute to him and what his preparation has been like.”

As Joe has written several times, the Bucs offense seems to be on the cusp of absolutely blowing up, now that it appears they have found their No. 1 back in Blount.

Joe’s of the belief that Olson needs to turn Freeman and the young offense loose. Throw the doors wide open. Until the Bucs defense shows it can shut down average teams (much less good teams), the Bucs are going to have to outscore opponents, as the Bucs did Sunday.

Giving up 305 yards passing to the likes of Max Hall and Derek Anderson gives Joe the hives. That’s not what playoff teams do.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

T.E.A.M — Together Everyone Achieves More — is an old acronym that has been used by teams and printed on t-shirts to keep the philosophy top of mind. 

I don’t think the Bucs have had any printed up this year, but this team epitomizes the concept.

The offense hasn’t been good enough on a regular basis to win the five games that they have notched thus far. The defense hasn’t either, and they’ve needed Josh Freeman’s late game heroics to pull out most of their wins. Special Teams encompasses both offensive and defensive contributors and has been pretty good generally (not counting Sammy Stroughter’s muffed punt this week). Parity between the offense and defense is a good thing because when one facet of the team is much better than another it can cause little dissensions in the locker room. Knowing they need each other is a positive thing for this team.

Now to the reality of the big picture: The Bucs are 5-2 and won again on the road. They are one game from the midway point of the season and are tied atop their division. Their current record is ahead of most anyone’s prediction, although when the schedule came out in the spring, the case could be made that eight wins was not out of the question with non-division games against Cleveland, St. Louis, Arizona (without Kurt Warner), Seattle, San Fransisco, Cincinnati, Detroit and Washington, none of which was expected to be fantastic.

One or two division wins against the Matt Moore led Panthers or the Falcons could be expected as well, so they are taking care of business with a favorable schedule and that is what has to happen in the NFL. Even Pittsburgh, with Ben Roethlisberger suspended, should have been a competitive home game with Charlie Batch throwing for the Steelers.

On Sunday, network broadcaster and former offensive guru/Super Bowl winning Head Coach Brian Billick called the Bucs defense “a very basic defensive package.”  A package that neither the Steelers nor the Saints had little trouble with and even the Cardinals put up what should have been enough points to win if Max Hall didn’t throw two first half TD’s to Bucs defenders.

The Cardinals started the little undrafted QB that Ron Jaworski said — among other less than stellar comments — didn’t have the skill set to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He was starting his third game and in his team’s 25 drives with him at quarterback had not registered a rushing or passing touchdown.

In fact, he had never thrown a TD pass before he got that on their second offensive drive to Larry Fitzgerald for the first points of the game Sunday.  The Bucs first touchdown came on a safety blitz that the little QB didn’t see and Sean Jones knocked him around enough to give Geno Hayes a “pick six.”  Max Hall would get pulled in the second quarter for a QB (Derek Anderson) that played so poorly they pulled him a few games ago for the little undrafted QB. 

The Bucs “very basic defensive package” was able to get four interceptions on the day and put two of them back in the end-zone for 14 of the team’s 38 points.  These two Cardinal QB’s were able to put up 28 points against this defense (and failed to score from inside the 5 before the half).

Following the defensive stop, the Bucs offense delivered a very impressive drive to kill the first half clock with a field goal. While they added three points, a big mistake was made that I hope will never happen again.

The ball was on the 3 yard line and Freeman backed up into a shotgun formation. He caught the snap and took a quick 3-step drop and then threw a “fade” route to Maurice Stovall. 

Some were surprised that they would throw it to Stovall since he hasn’t had much noticeable action this season. But the problem with the play is that it will never work no matter who the receiver is. The timing of a fade with only 13 total yards to the back of the endzone can’t work from the shotgun and especially with any time taken to drop back. The ball must be taken from under center and be put up in the air immediately. Stovall or any other receiver (even Mike Williams) will run out of room and any “run of the mill” defender should be able to knock it away with that much time to see the ball coming his way.

I’m surprised that the goal line fades from the shotgun formation weren’t nixed in practice.  If they keep that in the gameplan going forward, don’t expect success.

As a team the Bucs have a -27 point differential. This is not typical for teams that are 5-2, but is directly attributed to the blowouts from the Steelers and Saints and from the fact that four of their wins have been by a total of 10 points. That final stat is really amazing and something to be excited about. Winning close games more than every great once in a while cannot be considered luck, and the confidence that Josh Freeman, the rest of the team and coaching staff are building through winning close games and coming from behind can’t be underestimated for this season and beyond. 

The Bucs are tied atop the NFC and should be proud of that accomplishment and humble enough to realize it is a razor-thin difference to 2-5.

After losing their 10 point halftime lead to an average Cardinals team and needing another fourth quarter comeback for the win, Raheem Morris should have enough material for his T.E.A.M. to keep the “Us vs. The World” mentality going for a while. 

A win against the Atlanta Falcons (+36 point differential) would go a long way to making believers out of any remaining holdouts and may even put enough butts in those empty seats to get a home game or two on TV before the end of the year.

While Bucs fans are still celebrating Sunday’s eye-opening, tackle-avoiding hurdle by LeGarrette Blount, Raheem Morris says Blount’s hurdling is old news.

Speaking on The Raheem Morris Show yesterday on WDAE-AM 620, the Bucs head coach advised fans to visit Google and search Blount and hurdling. So Joe did just that and enjoyed the show.

To save you some time, here’s a Blount hurdle from the 2008 Holiday Bowl. Raheem praised Blount’s ability to hurdle the Cardinals’ defender Sunday and accelerate quickly afterwards. You’ll see the same stuff here against Oklahoma State.

Click below to visit Joe’s friends at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa.

Joe just typed that headline and it’s really surreal. As Joe noted yesterday, the Bucs are in a playoff race with a 5-2 record.

Now as pumped as Joe was — and still is — about that win Sunday over Arizona, Joe’s not quite ready yet to believe the Bucs will win the NFC South. But in this crazy NFL season, who knows?

The good people of the NFL Network tackled this very subject. Torry Holt and Charles Davis discuss the Bucs chances of winning the division in this video.

Check it out. You may be surprised at what they had to say. Let Joe know what you think of their responses.

Joe decided to take a brief moment from his grueling day banging on a keyboard to enjoy Raheem Morris’ radio show, heard exclusively on the Bucs radio network, locally in the Tampa Bay area on WDAE-AM 620.

During the show, which accepts callers, one Bucs fan was giddy like Joe and other Bucs fans about the play of right tackle James Lee in the win over the Cardinals, who was starting in place of injured Jeremy Trueblood.

The caller asked Raheem if Lee’s play meant that Trueblood will be sitting on the bench when he is healthy to suit up again.

That’s not happening, per Raheem.

While waxing poetic about the play of Lee, Raheem quashed any rumors of Trueblood losing his job when Raheem said emphatically that “Jeremy Trueblood is our starting right tackle.”

Joe’s played on enough sports teams and lived enough of life to know the power of visualization and believing in one’s abilities.

If you don’t feel the goal, see yourself obtaining it in your head 1,000 times and attack it relentlessly, there’s little chance of success.

From Muhammad Ali, perhaps the best self-motivator of all time who was The Greatest before he was champion, to Deepak Chopra’s “field of all possibilities” and countless great sports coaches across America in between, they all harnessed and preached the power of visualization.

And that’s essentially what Raheem Morris is doing now by keeping his foot on the pedal of the “best in the NFC” chatter.

During his news conference today, Raheem explained further that he is pushing “mentality before reality.” When Joe heard of this one-liner, it drove Joe nuts because he recognized the mantra but couldn’t remember from where.

Via the magic of the Internet, Joe realized it came from Raheem himself, shortly after getting the Bucs job.

During the lead up to the 2009 Super Bowl, Lakeland Ledger Bucs beat writer Rick Brown wrote a feature about young Mike Tomlin coaching the Steelers and Raheem talked about his friend and mentor.

“His attention to detail,” really influenced me,” the new Bucs coach said. “The way we set up pretty much our lesson plans, the way we got our message across, (the) different teaching styles that he taught me.

“It’s always mentality before reality. Mike Tomlin has been coaching Super Bowls for years in his own mind. Right now, he just made it a reality for himself. We just believe in that. That’s what he instilled in me and, of course, he’s had it already, a little bit of that swagger we talked about before.”

Joe’s all in favor of what Raheem’s doing. It’s a personal development method that, from reading above, is obviously part of his core beliefs. And if you’re going to sell this kind of mindset to you team, you might as well put your balls on the table and take it to the media.

Joe’s just not sure Raheem will know precisely how to handle it effectively when/if the Bucs lose a game and are no longer the “best in the NFC.” That’s probably his next great challenge in the locker room.

As for the Falcons’ getting their jock straps all twisted over the Bucs being the “best in the NFC,” so writes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, Joe thinks this is more of a distraction for Atlanta than a motivator. They should be far more worried about LeGarrette Blount and Josh Freeman.

Right now, Joe’s visualizing Rachel Watson joining him to watch Monday Night Football and asking to meet all of Joe’s halftime needs.

Mentality before reality.

At his 4 o’clock news conference, Raheem Morris said the Bucs will not seek the services of future Hall of Fame wideout Randy Moss, who was cut by the Vikings earlier today.

Raheem says that’s no knock on Moss; He simply likes his six wide receivers.

At 5-2 and at least thinking about the playoffs, Joe thought the Bucs might sniff out Moss. Hey, they could always cut him. But the reality is the Bucs are low on the waiver list, because of their strong record, and probably wouldn’t get a shot at him anyway.

Maurice Stovall or Randy Moss? Fun to think about.

Chatting with Bucs fans today around town, Joe is realizing that a lot of fans are not getting just how much better the Bucs are now that LeGarrette Blount will be carrying the ball 15 to 20 times a game.

The guy is a serious threat not only as an offensive weapon, but he’s in the heads of the defense. Few want to tackle the 250-pound manbeast. And on top of that, now defenses know he’ll go over them as well as through them, if he has to.

A reporter around Falcons camp asked Atlanta defensive tackle Corey Peters about Blount today, per CBSSports.com. Here’s what he had to say: 

T Corey Peters on Tampa Bay RB LeGarrette Blount, who had 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Arizona on Sunday: “He’s going to be someone we have to bring our pads with and be ready to play.”

Now what would have happened if Peters was asked about Cadillac Williams?

Joe suspects the answer might have gone like this: “Caddy’s done a lot in this league and he had a big game against the Saints last year. I saw that on film. Don’t let his 2.5 yards a carry fool you; he’s a dangerous back.”

Joe can’t emphasize enough how much Blount changes the offense.

As Joe has written before, Blount might not pick up the blitz like Cadillac, but an effective running game also will go a very long way in protecting Josh Freeman.

"I think we're more true to our core beliefs without a salary cap. Leave the free agency thing to Jerry Jones."

Tampa Tribune columnist Martin Fennelly is racking his brain to figure out whether Bucs fans will flock to home games now that the Bucs have proven they’re exciting and contending for a playoff berth.

Fennelly seems to find more questions than answers studying this subject today. Among the issues, Fennelly believes poor attendance is, in part, due to fans disdain for the actions or inactions of Team Glazer.

But it’s almost as if Bucs fans have been withholding their judgment early this season, almost as if they’re so beaten down that they want proof, always more proof, that this isn’t going to go away.

Yes, there’s the economy, too. And I think there’s some deep-rotted resentment toward ownership; the feeling that, true or not, the Glazers aren’t doing everything they can to make this franchise a winner again.

All of this is not the work of the liberal media. Fans, if you talked to them, have been decidedly neutral as Morris’ crew has surprised the league.

Now Team Glazer is not Vince Naimoli, the man who did everything he could to alienate fans from the Devil Rays and then was surprised when fans rejected him at the box office. Team Glazer has had major ups and major downs during their tenure in town, but in Joe’s mind they have to be surfing near the crest of a new wave right now.

Joe can’t imagine that today, at this moment, there’s more than a miniscule percentage of angry Bucs fans steaming with rage over Team Glazer’s handling of the team.

It’s very much Team Glazer’s executive decision-making — like it or not, respect it or not — that has the Bucs at 5-2 and sitting on a pile of talented young players and a mountain of payroll money they will have to spend when the NFL salary cap likely returns with a new labor agreement in 2011.

For Joe, Team Glazer is not a factor in attendance at the Bucs’ next home game against Carolina.

Eric Allen and Jim Basquil discuss the Bucs win over the Cardinals yesterday in this BSPN video.

Predicting the future, much like his head coach, Aqib Talib talked about a vision he had early in the Bucs’ 38-35 takedown of Arizona on Sunday, so recorded Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The interception also fulfilled Talib’s prediction to Barber in the first quarter, before his first interception off rookie free agent quarterback Max Hall. That interception prompted Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt to make a change at quarterback.

“I told him, when we saw Max Hall on the first drive, I just said, ‘We’re going to get him three times and I’m going to get two of them, Ronde.’ Really, just joking,” Talib said. “But it happened, though.”

Talib’s two interceptions yesterday put him second in the league in that category with five. And Talib was suspended for Game 1.

It’s amazing how a big game will loosen up a player. Talib even got chatty with Rick Stroud of the St. Pete Times.

Anderson drove the Cardinals to the Tampa Bay 20 before Talib stepped in front of a pass intended for Larry Fitzgerald at the 3.

“The last one was Cover 2,” Talib said. “They ran double slants. We squeeze on double slants, and Anderson tried to fit it in there.”

Talib’s five picks equal his total after eight games last season, when Talib had none in the second half of the campaign. That’s going to have to be the difference for Talib this year; he has to finish the season strong and healthy — two things he couldn’t pull off in 2009. 

Ronde Barber’s single-season record of 10 interceptions is in reach. Talib’s got all the talent in the world to make a run at it, and the Bucs could make it easy for him if they can generate more of a pass rush and not fall behind early in games.

Joe went on record just a scant few minutes (not hours) after the Bucs win over Arizona to suggest the Bucs offense is on the cusp of blowing up.

It humbles Joe to read veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton pretty much agree with Joe.

Shelton, like Joe, is not hoodwinked over the win to believe the Bucs do not have flaws. They most certainly do.

But the way Josh Freeman spread the ball downfield to Arrelous Benn, Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow, and the bulldozing running of LeGarrette Blount, well, it took Joe’s breath way, sort of like Joe finding Rachel Watson waiting for him on Joe’s leather couch flaunting some naughty getup.

Shelton wrote in the St. Petersburg Times that locals haven’t seen an offense with this kind of firepower since Bobby Bowden, Dennis Erickson and Steve Spurrier ruled the Sunshine State.

Man, what kind of offense might the Bucs have once the kids grow up

Never has there been this kind of explosion, this kind of weaponry, on a Tampa Bay football team. This is a franchise of Lars Tate and Michael Clayton, of Alvin Harper and Randy Hedberg, of second and 9 and third and 11. Throughout the history of the franchise, there have been great defenses, and from time to time, there have been great players scattered across the offense.

But not this many.

And not this good.

And not this young.

Joe, again, wrote this yesterday: Blount was the missing link. With Cadillac Williams at tailback, defenses had zero reason to be concerned with the Bucs’ running game. With Blount, he will not only keep defenses honest, but teams will have to bring someone extra in the box to stop him which means if teams continue to double Williams and shade Winslow, Benn and/or Sammie Stroughter should be free.

There are only so many players a defense has to spread around.

Folks, the Bucs have an offense that’s just about ready to blow up like we’ve never witnessed before.

No, Joe’s not joking with that headline. It’s true, crazy and delirious as it seems.

The Bucs are 5-2. Three more wins and they could sneak in as a wild card in this weak NFC. Raheem Morris’ goal of 10 wins doesn’t sound nearly as psychotic as it did a few weeks ago.

Are the Bucs a good team? Record says yes and Joe won’t quibble despite glaring, stunning flaws. But let’s think playoffs for a moment.

Let’s see if Raheem’s goal of the “Race to 10” is a reachable goal:

After yesterday’s win, going 5-4 the rest of the way isn’t that outrageous of a concept. The Bucs have four games left in the division, two games against Atlanta, one home game against Carolina and one trip to the Big Easy. The Bucs should split those four games. If that happens, that means the Bucs only need to win three remaining non-division games against the following teams:

Frisco is a winnable game.

Washington is a winnable game as the Redskins are a complete trainwreck right now (Really Mike Shanahan, eight weeks into the season and you claim that your starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb, doesn’t know your two-minute offense, but Rex Grossman does, really? That says a helluva lot more about you than it does about McNabb. When’s the last time you did anything without Joe Montana or John Elway? Maybe Al Davis isn’t so senile?).

Detroit is a winnable game.

Seattle is a winnable game.

Getting to 10 wins actually seems reasonable.

The Bucs are in a playoff hunt. For 2010. No joke.

Two months ago if you would have said Joe would type those very words, Joe would have had you committed.

“Like” Paradise Worldwide Transportation on Facebook and you will be automatically entered to win a Reebok replica jersey of Buccaneers fan favorite Earnest Graham. It’s the cool red one! 

Joe’s a sick if not boring dude in many ways.

Joe’s never been out of the country; never been to “de eye-lends,” not that Joe doesn’t want to go some time.

Joe’s never been much farther west than the Mississippi River (Hutchinson, Kan., being his farthest excursion west).

Joe prefers the four-corners offense to the tripe played in the NBA any day of the week. Joe has nothing to do with fantasy sports of any sort. Joe would rather watch the most boring of NFL games than the Red Zone Channel.

Joe would rather drink a Natty Light (not his preference, of course) than any flavor of wine. Joe would rather eat bratwurst or a Cuban sandwich or chicken wings than lobster. Joe prefers Jay Mohr over Woody Allen.

Joe thinks the movie Gettysburg — which doesn’t even have a chick in it — is one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever produced and would never, ever, watch some snotty French subtitled schlock (though Joe might watch SportsCenter if they ever gave Stuart Scott subtitles so Joe could decipher what the hell he is babbling and hollering about).

Joe would much rather stay home and vedge on his leather couch watching an out-of-town hockey game or baseball game than go to a play or movie or even a backyard barbecue. Joe would even watch NASCAR over something like Sex in the City.

A tailgate party is light years better than a dinner party.

And while some people get fired up over things like Broadway or paintings or manatees (pains in the arse that they are), Joe gets completely worked up over downfield blocking.

There were all sorts of things to chug beer over in the Bucs win over the Cardinals. Perhaps the best, and Joe assumes completely lost on just about anyone, was the downfield blocking of James Lee.

Playing right tackle in place of the injured Jeremy Trueblood, Lee made one of the greatest moves he’s seen in some time yesterday, in what may have been the game’s best play, largely thanks to Lee.

Just about everyone remembers LeGarrette Blount’s rumbling, hurdling 48-yard run that sealed the win yesterday. But if you look at the play closely, you will see two people trailing Blount to block: Mike Williams and Lee.

Yes, Lee!

The pride of South Carolina State had a fantastic play on Blount’s big run. First, it was Lee who got the seal block on Arizona defensive lineman Alan Branch, which sprung Blount and enabled him to get to the second level.

But as you can see in this video (Joe can’t embed, otherwise, certain suits at One Buc Palace get very upset), Lee wasn’t just satisfied with his initial block.

It was so cool to watch Lee, all 305-pounds, running right with Williams to block for Lee.

Damn, that’s hustle! Damn, that gets Joe freaking fired up!

So, yeah, you soft people who watch indie flicks with your brie and wine, bragging about European vacations and your friggin’ stock options and your new BMW, Joe would prefer to drink bad, cheap domestic beer with brats and watch standard-def DVR recordings of big, sweaty men rumbling downfield to block for their teammates.

Wine… mech!

"You see them, Ken. That's the best team in the NFC."

Nostradamus. Samuel. Muhammad Ali. Raheem Morris?

Clearly seeing the future, last week Morris called the Bucs the “best team in the NFC” when they weren’t. And now, one week later, they actually have the best record in the NFC at 5-2.

Magic.

Using the Bill Cowher method, Raheem has now joined some of the great prophets of all time. And there’s no stopping the head coach. The Bucs haven’t beaten a team with a winning record, their stats are for losers are among the top half of the league in only a few categories, but none of that means a pile of crap.

Scoreboard! That was the message Raheem gave the media again after Sunday’s win in Arizona, per the news conference video on NFL.com.

“I’m going to remain unwavered. You know, there’s no doubt about it, man. As long as my record says that we’re the best team in the NFC, I’m not going to let anybody tell me what we’re not,” Raheem said. “I’m certainly going to tell my team that we are. And that’s what we are, man. And like I said the whole week, ‘Somebody has to be No. 1. Why not us?'”

Well, why not? It’s fun to believe.

Now Joe will be on the edge of his couch Sunday but expects the Bucs’ balloon to be deflated in Atlanta and Raheem to kill the “we’re the best” rhetoric for a while.

But ultimately that’s OK, as long as the Bucs are in the game. The Bucs can absorb a loss, bounce back at home against Carolina and head to San Francisco at 6-3.

No matter what, the Bucs will be playing meaningful games in December, a great learning experience for the young players and a flat out miracle already performed by the head coach.

Joe’s bringing all his loyal readers — and haters — highlights of the Bucs’ crazy win over the Cardinals, courtesy of the good people of the NFL Network.

Geno Hayes with the first of two pick-sixes.

Another look at Geno’s pick-six.

Aqib Talib matches Geno’s play.

Talib’s pick-six again.

Josh Freeman and Mike Williams hook up for a 47-yard score.

Another look at the Freeman-to-Williams score.

LeGarratte Blount’s slices through the Cardinals defense for a touchdown.

Another look at Blount’s first score.

Freeman and Arrilious Benn go deep.

Another clip of Benn’s big play.

Blount slams his way into the end zone for his second touchdown.

Barrett Ruud gets an interception.

A second look at Ruud’s pick.

Freeman and Williams hook up for a 31-yard gain.

Bucs stop the Cardinals on fourth down.

Michael Spurlock makes a big gain with help from Freeman.

Talib collects his second interception of the game.

A second look at Talib’s second pick.

A package of Blount’s best runs of the game.

Josh Freeman runs for a 21-yard gain.

All of the Bucs highlights on one clip.

Blount pretends he’s an Olympic hurdler and rumbles for 48 yards and seals the win.

Upset with subpar Arizona clothing-optional establishments, Stylez White takes out his frustrations with Derek Anderson.

Bucs postgame press conference.

The star of the Bucs win is new fan favorite, bruising LeGarrette Blount.

After running through and running over the Cardinals, Blount had to time talk about the win on the Bucs radio network.

“Winning a football game is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter if I had 22 carries for zero yards, as long as we have a win, I am fine with any performance I have.

“On my first touchdown run, I had big cutback land and I won the battle. The offensive line opened up huge gaps for me. They’ve been doing that the last few weeks for me.”

On his fumble which Arizona returned for a touchdown.

“I took a big hit and got a stinger. That’s all that happened. It was nothing like me getting hit and them stripping the ball. I got a stinger.

“Coach Raheem told me to take a few minutes and make sure I was OK and to do whatever the trainers told me to do, to make sure I didn’t have a concussion. I got back in two or three plays later.”

On his one-yard plunge for a touchdown:

“We got our defensive lineman in at fullback and we all manned up. It was best man wins. I won that battle.”

On his electric, Renaldo Nehemiah-like leaping 48-yard run which basically sealed the win:

“I just had to run to the left and I saw them so I cut back to the right and a defender came at me. I waited to see whether he was going to tackle me low and my first instinct was to jump over him. Me being 250, I can’t juke anyone and I am not going to try to run over someone who is about to take my legs out.

“Definitely, my instincts took over. I was never a hurdler. I never did hurdling in track. It was just football instincts.”

On the win:

“Like coach Raheem says, we all play 60 minutes. This is not a 30-minute game and you can’t take a half off. You have to play fast and you have to play hard and you have to play smart.”

Today, old man Ronde Barber played his 200th game in the NFL, all with the Bucs. And the dude is still getting the job done.

Last week it was his fearless play at the line of scrimmage that helped contain Steven Jackson and help give the Bucs a win.

He was getting the job done today again when the Bucs secondary picked off four interceptions. Amazing.

Barber was giddy but seemed almost uncomfortable on the Bucs radio network talking about his career and the Bucs win.

“I relish being part of this team even more,” Barber said of the winning. It’s nice to be on a team like this. The guys appreciate what I have done. They give me grief but they respect what I’ve done and it’s mutual.

“We knew we would have an opportunity [to get interceptions] because [Arizona] struggles at quarterback. We didn’t think we would have four interceptions though, but we would have opportunities.

“[Aqib] Talib thought we would get three and that he would have two.”