Though some of Joe’s readers think otherwise, Joe greatly respects Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, even if Joe often needles him. One of the things Joe respects about King is he does his research (yes, it’s true).

This came through yesterday when he was co-hosting “The Opening Drive” with Ross Tucker, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio.

The subject of the Bucs came up and Tucker was aghast at the empty seats at the CITS for the Rams game. Unlike far, far, far too many of his northeastern media brethren, like that glorified romper room four-letter network, King understood why there were red seats disguised as fans and didn’t start pointing fingers at fans or the Tampa Bay area as a whole.

Ross Tucker: Peter, there was tons of empty seats, almost full sections empty. Even the lower bowl was empty, I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t that long ago that the place was packed when Brooks and Sapp played.

Peter King: When you had Brooks and Sapp, you thought you were watching a team that had a chance to go to the playoffs. The Bucs played the Steelers and the Saints at home and lost both games by 25. That’s not going to do much [to draw fans].

I understand the economy is a huge, huge factor there. The unemployment is 13 percent and that’s not counting many who are working any job just to have some income. If you go out of the immediate area just a little bit it’s a virtual Tent City, people are going homeless.

Also, so many people in that area are also invested in college football so you are not going to have a long waiting list for season tickets. But there are so many people there who, frankly, have yet to believe in that team.

Bingo! King summed the entire situation up in just a few sentences. People here are hurting financially. A third of homes are underwater. There are actually examples of people with PhD’s working at Publix in an attempt to keep a roof over their heads. These are desperate times for many.

And after the Bucs were gutted over a year ago to begin a rebuilding program and finished with a measly three wins, fans are a bit jaded after years of winning teams. Many see the 4-2 record, look deeper behind the numbers, and have a raised eyebrow.

Joe can already hear the whispers from various sources and it is disturbing him.

Local morning sports radio show hosts have stopped just short of saying it. Some crazed Bucs fans have not.

Perhaps with the memories of the late Gaines Adams all too fresh in people’s minds, some impatient, impractical Bucs fans are already calling Gerald McCoy a wasted draft pick.

One fan even had the nerve to suggest this to eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, in a recent TBO Bucs question-and-answer feature.

Q: With us being six games into the season and Gerald McCoy having 0 sacks and only 8 tackles so far, what’s your opinion on his play so far? Do you think Raheem moving him around on the line has anything with him not getting sacks?

Buco Pat, Tampa

A: The Bucs believe McCoy played his best game of the season Sunday against the Rams. He was active across the line of scrimmage and perhaps the sight of former Sooner teammate Sam Bradford motivated him. I think his days of lining up everywhere on the line are behind him. The Bucs want him to settle in at the crucial under-tackle spot. That’s why they drafted him.

— eye-RAH! Kaufman

Joe has been over this too many times to count. Much more learned NFL men such as Gil Brandt and Pat Kirwan have detailed how difficult it is for rookie defensive tackles to make the transition from college to the NFL.

In college, it’s not uncommon for a defensive tackle to go against a glorified child, a freshman or sophomore still unable to buy a beer legally in the United States. In the NFL, often, the same player is going against grown men, skilled in the art of blocking.

It can be a huge, difficult leap.

Kirwan earlier this calendar year documented just how difficult it is for rookie defensive tackles to do anything their first year. Last year, Roy Miller had better stats than any defensive tackle selected in the first round.

Sure, Joe knows someone will bring up Manbeast Ndamukong Suh. He will always be the benchmark for McCoy, which is rather unfair as a guy like Suh comes around once a lifetime.

Oh, and Suh is playing alongside Kyle Vanden Bosch, one of the better veteran defensive ends in the league. Don’t think that’s doesn’t help Suh out? How much better would GMC be if he had someone like Vanden Bosch playing next to him?

In short, lay off GMC. Expecting him to do anything this year is premature.

Not even Warren Sapp — who GMC is often compared to — did much if anything his rookie season.

Chatting away with fellow Jersey native Dave Moore on the Buccaneers Radio Network, Bucs center Jeremy Zuttah said the Bucs running game came alive Sunday behind changes along the offensive line.

Zuttah alluded to halftime adjustments born from reading the Rams’ defense, and Zuttah said a gameplan that included less zone blocking paid dividends.

“We just ran a few different types of plays. We’d been running a lot of zone plays, and we threw in some other stuff just to mix it up a little bit and I think it paid off,” Zuttah said.

Now Joe’s no expert on zone blocking, but Joe can see the Bucs have been using a lot of it with very little success. Joe can only assume the Bucs’ braintrust thinks the Jagodzinski way best suits the talent on the roster. But perhaps that’s changing. (Ahem, Bill Muir’s O-line in Kansas City leads the NFL’s No. 1 ranked running game.)

Host Dave Moore also asked Zuttah to name the vocal leaders, if any, in the locker room.

Zuttah responded by identifying Jeff Faine and Josh Freeman.

“I mean Free, from this year, just the way he’s trying to take command and he’ll look you dead in your eye,” Zuttah said. “Before that last two minute drill he said, “Guys, we’re going to put this ball in end zone.’ And, you know, you just believe after he looks you dead in the face and has no doubt. It’s puts a little of that no fear into you.”

Zuttah and Moore went on to talk about how they enjoy the MTV reality show Jersey Shore, which features the all out debauchery that has been the signature of the area for decades. This “Joe” is from Jersey and admits to, uh, participating in the late 80’s.

Joe doesn’t watch the show, but Joe is amazed the country is fascinated by sleazy dudes who want to do sleazy things to sleazy women who enjoy these sleazy acts. Well, maybe that’s not surprising.

Excitable, energetic Bucs head coach Raheem Morris raised eyebrows and made headlines Sunday when he emphatically stated the Bucs were the kings of the NFC after posting a last-minute rally to beat the St. Louis Rams.

Many scoffed, openly, about Morris. One reason for the mocking is that the Bucs were raked over open coals by the only two decent teams the Bucs have played thus far, the Steelers and the Saints.

Upon learning of Morris’ comments, a member of one of those teams put fingertips to smart phone and Twittered his reaction to the bold statements from the Bucs coach.

That player is Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley.

@LaMarrWoodley Do u agree w the bucs coach that theyre the best team in the nfc? lol

Well, it was the Steelers who caned the Bucs, at the CITS no less. So Joe assumes a member of the Steelers has earned the right to poke fun at Morris.

Once again, the Bucs can prove the naysayers wrong. Beat a good team. That could be Atlanta.

“The Professor,” John Clayton believes Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman is better than Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers. Clayton explains why in this BSPN video.

While certainly not calling for the Bucs to farm out the strong safety job to Sabby Piscitelli, former Bucs defensive end Steve White is stating the need for change at the position.

In his weekly, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly column on his personal blog, starting strong safety Sean Jones falls into the Bad column for his play against the Rams. 

Sean Jones: If you would have told me before the game that our starting Strong Safety would only have 1 tackle and 1 assist against the Rams and running back Steven Jackson I would have told you that you were nuts. But that’s exactly what happened. I can’t say that it all falls on Jones though because one thing that I’ve noticed about our defense is that they rarely line up our safties in the box when we want to have an 8 man front. Instead the safties usually roll into the box on the snap. I understand the need to disguise the coverages at times but I’m not a fan of doing it as much as the Bucs do it because I think it makes it harder for the safties to get their correct run fits on the run. But even having said that I just don’t understand how Jones could be that invisible against a running back that went for over 100 yards on us.

Some how, some way that has to change right away.

Maybe Jones’ back is the problem. It did cause him to miss nearly the entire Bengals game, which featured Sabby’s late-game heroics.

Joe routinely sees Jones taking bad angles and just not looking like the aggressive hitter he was in the preseason and early in the regular season.

Make no mistake, Joe is not calling for Sabby. That won’t happen. But Jones desperately needs to step it up. Has he made a big play this season?

What is up with Father Dungy? Has he not witnessed the rebirth of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

In this NBC Sports video, Dungy says Seattle is the top team in the NFC. Cohort Rodney Harrison at NBC says Dungy “must have got hit upside the head with a couple of bibles.”

"Oh, Joe. Of course the Bucs will win. They're the best team in the NFC."

It’s tough to win on the road, let alone on the West Coast, so Joe’s hardly chalking up a W for the Bucs in Arizona on Sunday. 

But realistically the Bucs have to win because it’s a winnable game. Arizona is a team in disarray without a decent quarterback. Their offense is a total mess, last in passing and 28th in rushing. Hopefully, undrafted rookie quarterback Max Hall gets another start.

Joe plucked the following from Dan Bickley’s column in the Arizona Republic.

We’re acting like Denny Green, and we need to stop.

“Maxhas big shoes to fill in regard to his position and the team’s expectations,” Warner said. “That lends itself to impatience.”

There’s no doubt that head coach Ken Whisenhunt has taken a tremendous gamble with the quarterback position. He left himself exposed and is beginning to hear national ridicule for entering the season with two rookies and a Cleveland reject. It didn’t have to be this way. But let’s not forget how much the offense struggled under Matt Leinart’s command.

Truth is, the moment Warner ruined their plan, walking away from $11 million, the 2010 season became a transition year.

The Cardinals are a mess but managed to beat the Saints.

Joe wonders if a win Sunday will all but guarantee Raheem Morris’ return in 2010.

After the Bucs were slapped around by the Saints, Gerald McCoy revealed he was so focused on being in position that he was playing more like a programmed robot than a defensive football player.

And Raheem Morris was on his case to shed blocks and make tackles.

Come Sunday against the Rams, McCoy said he finally played instinctive football.

“This week I didn’t think at all. Once we got to play. I knew what I had to do and let it go,” McCoy said on WDAE-AM 620 Tuesday night. “On the film, it’s clear to see how much differently I was playing [from previous weeks]. I was getting off the ball. I was getting off blocks. I was in the backfield. …It was my best game as a Buc. It was something I should have been doing from the jump, but like I said there was some confusion on my part. But I’ll continue to build on this and just get better each week.”

McCoy went on to chat about some of his weekly challenges, including dealing with savvy moves from experienced offensive linemen.

“There are some seasoned vets. There’s the vets who are just considered vets because they’ve been playing more than a year or two. But not all vets make the vet moves. There are some things that happen out there on the field where you’re like, ‘My gosh. I didn’t know that was possible. I never thought that offensive linemen did that,'” McCoy said.

“Like one thing that never happened to me in college that has happened to me here is as soon as the ball is snapped, offensive linemen whose arms are long enough, they just immediately put their hands in your face. On your face mask. It’s kind of like when you watch baskeball and Kobe Bryant is shooting, and when he goes to shoot they put the hand in his face instead of trying to block his shot. And they cover his face so he can’t see the goal. It’s kind of like that. They immediately hit you in your face and then it kind of throws you off a little bit. That’s never happened to me. That’s kind of a vet move that offensive linemen have used.”

As for the huge pile of trash talk that comes McCoy’s way during games, the Bucs’ defensive tackle says he never responds to it.

McCoy also said he was planning to attend a charity Halloween event last night dressed as Darth Vader. “It’s the only costume that fit me,” McCoy said.

The roller coaster of emotions that coffee-guzzling, popcorn-shoveling, oatmeal-loving Peter King has with the Bucs is exhausting for Joe to monitor.

Prior to the season, King was highly dubious of the Bucs, stating emphatically that the Bucs would win a grand total of two games.

Then the Bucs jumped out to a 2-0 mark and King began singing the praises of the Bucs, hosting Bucs general manager Mark Dominik on “The Opening Drive,” heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, waxing poetic about Dominik’s skills as a master team builder, going so far as to suggest quarterback Josh Freeman is an NFL offensive MVP candidate.

But then the Bucs got pistol-whipped by the Steelers and seal-clubbed by the Saints, both at home. Now, King has jumped off the bandwagon and, predictably, resumed his slurping of all things Brett Favre, a man King has long found irresistible.

King professed his renewed skepticism of the Bucs in his Monday Morning Quarterback, Tuesday edition mailbag on SI.com, writing as if he was stood up by a lover.

• DON’T SLEEP ON THE BUCS. “You mentioned the Redskins potentially being one of the NFC’s best teams, but crazy as it sounds, what about the Bucs? They have a QB who has proven clutch down the stretch and a young defense whose confidence grows each week. Can they make noise in the playoffs?”
–Isaac N., St. Augustine, Fla.

Well, I would like to believe in Josh Freeman and the Bucs as far as being a January factor. But the Bucs have played two good teams this year, the Steelers and Saints, and lost to each by 25 points. So let them win a game against somebody good, and then I’ll start to have some faith in the team.

King does make a valid point. The reason why so many people in NFL circles openly scoffed at Raheem Morris’ boastful claim that the Bucs were the best team in the NFC was that the Bucs have played two decent teams thus far, and were alley-beaten each time.

The Bucs will need to beat a good team — the Falcons spring to mind — for those across the land to take the Bucs as something more than a fluke; valid or not, accurate or not.

Click to shop online at Ed Morse Port Richey Auto Plaza.

Once again Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman decided to appear on “The Blitz” this morning, co-hosted by newfound Bucs fans Adam Schein and Rich Gannon, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio.

Soitenly, Joe transcribed the interview. Bucs fans should expect no less.

Adam Schein: Joining us again is the hottest quarterback in the National Football League. The kid has a knack for playing his best when it matters the most. Congratulations on another fourth quarter win Josh.

Rich Gannon: Hey Josh, how is that thumb doing? It doesn’t seem like it is bothering you anymore.

Josh Freeman: I really don’t even know something’s wrong unless I push it the wrong way, then it will hurt but it’s healing really nicely.

Schein: Take us through that final drive. We read in the Tampa papers that you told your teammates in the huddle, and I quote, “We are about to win this game. We have 81 yards to go. We are going to win this game.” Did you say that?

Freeman: I’m not sure if I said it like that verbatim but that is the gist of it. The defense did a great job in the second half giving us opportunities to score points. I looked at everybody and they knew what I was going to say. I just told them, “Hey, it’s our time again. We need everybody to step up. I need you to make some plays.” Everybody responded and executed well. It was a very emotional win to come from behind.

Gannon: Where have you made the most improvement in year two from your rookie year?

Freeman: Understanding the ebbs and flows of the game. There are so many scenarios and ways to win a football game. What I have found is to play better, knowing when and when not to take a shot. Last year if we were down two possessions in the first half, I remember throwing balls up for grabs and taking unnecessary risks. You’re not going to get back in the game with one play. It’s not always about getting the big play, but getting points on the board and getting momentum and playing for the second half.

Schein: I love that quote, “It’s our time again.” You have now won seven games and five from behind in the fourth quarter. How do you play your best when it matters the most?

Freeman: It’s not just me. It’s our whole offense and the defense. They gave us the opportunity to win. It’s a mindset, a culture. We have a lot of confidence. We are young and a lot of people doubt us. We may not play our best for 3 1/2 quarters but if we have the opportunity, we will score. Why not? That’s our mindset on Sundays. We can drive down the field no matter how many penalties. It was our defense that gave us a chance to win.

Gannon: Talk about Mike Williams as an impact.

Freeman: You know, it’s not hard to get on the same page with a guy like Mike. He’s an extremely talented athlete and a good individual. His work ethic is tremendous. I remember after he was drafted I talked to him on the phone before he came down. When he got here, you could see he was hungry. He didn’t have a lot of reps with the first team but once he had, he had a feel for it. He stayed after practice. He worked on the different nuances of the game. Mike is a great guy. I have a lot of respect for him and a lot of confidence in him.

Schein: Raheem Morris says  you are the best team in the NFC. What’s your reaction to that and are the Bucs the best team in the NFC?

Freeman: A lot of people have said Raheem is talking crazy. But he is a passionate coach and he’s our coach. If he says it, we need to believe it in our hearts. We are 4-2 and it’s not going as we thought it would but we are finding a way to win games. If we play our best, we’re now 4-2, who knows? We are trying to find a way to make Raheem’s statement correct

Gannon: I thought your team changed when Raheem took over as the defensive coordinator. Talk about your defense pitching a shutout in the second half.

Freeman: The defense did a great job. But to win a game in this league, you will have to score points. But we were only getting field goals. Luckily, we have a good kicker. The Rams did a nice job in the first half. The Rams have some talent. The halftime corrections our defense made, wow. Raheem thought we played the worst half of football of the season in the first half. Our defense took it to heart and shut them down. They kept them in third and long. It was great to see such an entire team effort.

Schein: Tell us about LeGarette Blount. I think he has a bright future in Tampa Bay.

Freeman: No doubt, no doubt. He’s doing a good job. The thing in college [slugging a Boise State player and trying to charge the crowd], it’s talked about but once in a while when we give him grief about it. He wasn’t here during training camp but when he was here, he’s done nothing but work to learn the offense. It’s not always pretty when he gets the bell but he is effective. He’s a great guy. We’re fortunate enough to have all the quarterbacks next to each other in the locker room and LeGarrette Blount’s next to us. He’s a good guy. He’s a tough guy, a hard-working guy. He fits in well with us.

Gannon: You’ve already won more games than last year, and you’ve won a few on the road. Your next five games are a brutal schedule but if you have success there, you position yourself in good shape. Have you talked about being a better road team?

Freeman: For sure, but being a better team in general. Winning three games in 16, that’s really bad. We took a look at where the team was going and why were losing. Playing on the road was a big thing. I feel as comfortable on the road as well as at home, though there can be some communication issues. I think we play tighter as an offense and closer as a team when we are on the road. I feel good about where this team is headed. If we win some games where we are not supposed to, it’s setting ourselves up for the fourth quarter of the season.

Schein: Raheem has told us that the turning point of this season was last year when you became the starting quarterback. You buy that?

Freeman: I do see that. Raheem has said that before. That’s why he drafted me. He told me, “When you are on the field, I don’t care who we are playing, I feel like we can win.” It’s great to have  coach who believes in me. That is huge. He lets me play my game and find a way to win. I try to make him right.

Gannon: When you saw Sam Bradford struggle at times, did it bring back memories of you last year?

Freeman: I guess it did. Sam is a great quarterback. You look at the passes he threw, there were not really any downfield. You could tell that by the playcalling they were trying to protect him but he was playing smart. He’s taking care of the ball. I was hoping Aqib Talib would get some balls but that didn’t happen. I told him after the game to keep working, that it only gets easier. It’s just a level of comfort that only comes with experience.

Schein: The Cincinnati game, was that your best NFL experience? I thought it was surreal.

Freeman: I don’t know. Every win we have had, there are a number of memories. It’s hard to rate them. But going on the road to Cincinnati, they played a great football game and caught us off guard with their blitz package. I got beat up that game. But winning that game, it was all worth it. Seeing Mike Williams step up and make plays and seeing Michael Spurlock make plays, for me, experiencing winning with my teammates, that is my goal. It’s hard to rate wins. The feeling is insane coming from behind. It’s a great feeling.

Gannon: You had an early bye. Where are the areas where you can be better offensively?

Freeman: All around. We leave too many yards on the field. We don’t capitalize enough. Really, it just comes down to making plays that are there for us to make. The Saints game, I overshot guys that should have been TDs.  That falls on me. If the offense is not playing well, that’s my fault. I have to convert on third down to keep these guys going. We play our best football when we are realized and we are more relaxed when we are prepared. I feel every week I’ve gotten better with that.

Were the Rams outcoached?

It seems Ronde Barber might think so. He chatted with talented NFL.com blogger Jenna Laine and offered up this nugget on the Bucs slowing the Rams running game in the second half.

In the second half, Jackson was limited to just 40 yards, with 13 different Bucs defenders taking him down. Barber and Ruud each recorded six tackles to help slow down the Rams’ new all-time rushing leader.

Barber was particularly effective in the box and helping the guys up front, especially in the the middle. Of the six tackles he made on Jackson, only one was made after allowing 4 yards or more.

According to Barber, his play up front, rather than playing deep was the result of Bradford and the Rams’ offense not utilizing enough passing plays.

“They turn around and hand the ball off 30 times and put up 200 and say, ‘You know what? We don’t need our rookie quarterback to beat this team. We’re going to let Steven Jackson do it.’ That was the feeling anyway,” said Barber, who finished the game with 9 solo tackles and an assist.

“There were a lot of short throws and a lot of safe throws for him. It worked to our advantage,” Barber added, also noting that Bradford looks “spectacular” on film for a young quarterback.

Joe, too, was surprised how conservative the Rams were with Bradford, although with a ball-hawking secondary like the Bucs have, it probably wasn’t a bad idea. Plus Aqib Talib could have had at least one interception anyway, and Bradford was hardly accurate on the short balls. So the hindsight probably is just that.

Joe wants to point out that Barber leads the Bucs with 33 solo tackles, which is pretty damn stunning for a guy his size and his age.

Don’t look for bruising, downhill-running, hole-finding, opponent-dragging LeGarrette Blount to start on Sunday in Arizona.

Blount’s job is to get in there and spark the running game if/when Cadillac can’t make anything happen, so said Raheem Morris on The Raheem Morris Show, on WDAE-AM 620 last night.

“Everybody wants to take LeGarrette Blount playing as phasing out Cadillac. These guys both got game balls [Monday]. I told Cadillac and Legarrette Blount both. I said ‘Cadillac is not only a mentor and a great person for LeGarrette Blount to follow and try to be like and mimic, but he’s also part-time his coach.’ He helps him out around the building. These guys help each other out. It’s no different what’s going to happen on Sunday. If Cadillac can’t get anything going in the run game when he’s going out there, then LeGarrette’s job is to go out there and try to pick us up.”

So there you have it. Blount is the clear cut No. 2 guy in Raheem’s mind. The guy who will jump start the running game if Cadillac stalls early, which he has done in every Bucs game outside of the opening series on opening day.

Joe would prefer the Bucs just give Blount the damn ball. Joe suspects good things would happen.

When Bucs fans think of the play of the game in the Bucs win over the Saints, naturally they will point to Josh Freeman’s one-yard pass to Cadillac Williams for the winning touchdown.

Understandable, but eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune begs to differ. Rather, he suggests looking at defensive end Tim Crowder’s lone tackle.

There was slightly more than five minutes left in the game. Steven Jackson broke loose for the Rams and was headed to a first down as the Bucs expected a pass.

But no! Joe will let Crowder describe the rest, via Kaufman.

“I beat the tight end to the inside and managed to wrap Jackson up from behind,” Crowder said. “He could have easily gotten that first down on that play. I looked toward the sticks because I wasn’t sure if he had the first down, but he was way short and we were off the field.”

Jackson’s 7-yard gain forced the Rams to punt instead of taking a few more minutes off the clock, giving the Bucs time to march 81 yards in a 16-play drive that consumed 4:35.

“That was one of those plays where you might not think it’s that big at the time,” Crowder said. “Looking back, it was huge.”

Of course, that forced the Rams to punt and the Bucs took over in what would be the game-winning drive.

Often, it’s unnoticed plays that go a long way to winning a game. Joe’s good with Crowder putting up such microscopic numbers as long as the numbers he puts up result in such key plays.

First it was Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune who decided to make a bold statement and suggest Raheem Morris is the coach of the year based on the results of the first seven weeks of the season.

It seems his colleague at The News Center, eye-RAH! Kaufman is of a similar mind. Take a break from gloating over his San Francisco Giants advancing to the Fall Classic, Kaufman Twittered on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed that perhaps no NFL coach is doing a better job this year.

No coach is getting more out of his talent base than Raheem Morris. Bucs could fly home from Arizona tied for the NFC’s best record.

As Richardson noted yesterday, with the possible exception of Kellen Winslow, there really is no one on the Bucs roster you could point to and say without blinking, that said player is a Pro Bowl lock.

Yet with a win Sunday at Arizona, the Bucs will be in a full-fledged playoff run.

Jay Glazer has a sitdown with Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, via video conferencing, about why Freeman is such a clutch fourth quarter quarterback in this FoxSports.com video.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video/?vid=08c4d0d0-12fd-4cca-82af-b8ce4f715d08&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videocentral_player" target="_new" title="After Party: Josh Freeman">Video: After Party: Josh Freeman</a>

"Oatmeal-slurping, two-win predicting Peter King won't even put us in his top-15."

As Bucs fans have read and heard, Raheem Morris ripped the spotlight from his young team Sunday and stuck it on himself after uttering the now famous “best in the NFC comment” during his postgame news conference

He defended it abruptly yesterday with strong bravado during his Monday news conference. But Monday evening, Morris gave listeners to his radio show on WDAE-AM 620 a more thorough explanation of his thoughts and feelings behind the comment.

“I told everybody that, you know, ‘you guys are the best. You know, you’re the best in the NFC. You have the least amount of losses in the NFC right now.’ And I mean it. You know, it starts with a belief, for me anyway. Somebody’s gotta go out and be the best. Why not us,” Morris said. “I want our fans to believe that way. I want our team to believe that way. I’m not really interested in whether other people or outside entities believe it or not. I think it starts with us believing in ourselves first. No different than what we’ve done since we’ve been young. No different than what we’ve all done when our parents first told us we can be whatever we want to be.”

Joe found this comment interesting and a good glimpse inside Raheem, as many parents do NOT tell their kids they can be whatever they want to be.

The head coach continued and explained that he got a personal endorsement from Derrick Brooks.

“I want to show that I believe in those guys. Let everybody else deal with pressure. You know Derrick Brooks called me [Monday]. He said, ‘I like that. You know, you make everbody else deal with pressure and you keep it light and right around there.’ And that’s what I’m going to do,” Morris said.

Joe finds Raheem’s decision to put the “best in the NFC” line out there fascinating. It could backfire in a huge way. And surely it’s some juicy bulletin board material for all but one opponent left on the Bucs’ schedule.

Will Bucs players start repeating that this week?

It does throw gasoline on the us-against-the-world fire that Raheem, Ronde Barber and seem to be thriving on. Maybe that’s a good enough reason.

Like many of Joe’s readers, Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620, also known as “The Commissioner” who hosts the wildly popular “Blitz” on Saturday afternoons, was upset with the Bucs offensive line for anemic play.

But Justin has seen the light. After watching what LeGarrette Blount did Sunday against the Rams, Justin is now convinced the Bucs’ rushing problem was Cadillac Williams, so he writes in his weekly “What I Learned” segment on his blog located on his station’s website.

3. I learned (or at least had confirmed) that the Bucs lack of a running game was due to Cadillac Williams and not the offensive line.
Legarrette Blount finally got to prove what I have been saying about him since the draft. All he’s needed was a chance. Why in the hell did it take so long for the head coach to realize this? I don’t know. Hell, the head coach wouldn’t even commit to Blount for next week. Blount proved that a good back can run with efficiency in this offense. Cadillac should be reduced to passing downs only, and Legarrette Blount should become the Bucs new identity on offense. Blount is the lone reason the Bucs even had a chance to win that game on Sunday. Here’s hoping the coaching staff realizes what they have and USE HIM.

Joe understands that Raheem Morris is concerned about blitzes and that, in the long run, the Bucs’ biggest goal this season is to keep Josh Freeman vertical.

With the Bucs in a playoff push — strange, but true — it’s time to see if Freeman doesn’t need training wheels any longer. Time to help him by having a more balanced offense.

In other words, rush Blount.

Last night Tony Romo, the pride of Eastern Illinois University, the same higher institute of learning that produced such luminaries as former Illinois governor Jim Edgar, Kevin Seitzer, Kevin Duckworth, Sean Payton, Mike Shanahan, Brad Childress, crazy John Malkovich and Joe, broke his collarbone.

Joe is chagrin that this would happen to any athlete, but if it would have to happen to anyone, it should be the starting quarterback at Dallass.

Sorry Tony.

It seems a running back failed to block a blitzing linebacker. Ross  Tucker of Sirius NFL Radio, twittering last night, suggested a blocking back is more important than a running back.

@RossTuckerNFL Fans don’t like hearing about things like RBs picking up LBs in pass protection but that stuff can decide football games & even seasons. Ask Dallas.

This is the conundrum that Raheem Morris faces. He and offensive coordinator Greg Olson have hinted this is why LeGarrette Blount has not received much playing time because he has yet to master blocking.

While Joe gets this, Joe thinks the opposite is putting Freeman in physical danger. The Bucs have… no… running… attack with Cadillac Williams. As a result, the offense is woefully imbalanced and defenses don’t need to load up eight in the box, and can kamikaze Freeman with attacks.

With Blount getting more carries, it will keep the defenses honest, and open up the Bucs’ passing attack.

Bucs beat writer Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune appeared on the too-Jewish sounding “King David Show” with Shaun King and Toby David heard on WQYK-AM 1010 this afternoon. Richardson talked Bucs and Raheem Morris’ loud pronouncement that the Bucs are the Kings of the NFC.

Shaun King: I think there’s no better coaching job in the NFL so far this year than Raheem Morris.

Anwar Richardson: Raheem is doing the best coaching job in the NFL. Name one Pro Bowl player on the Bucs. At least every team has someone that is really good at something. They don’t have a teammate that is great at anything, He has infested this team with swagger and confidence. You talk about a guy turning around a bunch of castoffs. A lot of these players are guys off the street, nomads. They had three wins last year and they are at four wins now? It’s a no-brainer.

King: As much as Raheem was criticized and ridiculed last year, all I am saying is give credit where credit is due. But they have a lot to work on.

Richardson: They are finding a way to win. It’s not a pretty team and they are not winning with pizazz. They don’t beat guys like, by, 17 or 21. They just hang around and hang around and in the fourth quarter they find a way to pull it out. The average margin of victory is not that high. Hey, it’s all about the record. They are 4-2. Dallas is 1-4. Doesn’t matter if they are glamorous wins or not. You can use all the excuses you want, they are 4-2. Dallas can use all the excuses it wants. They are 1-4.

Toby David: Was yesterday LeGarrette Blount’s coming out party?

Richardson: I agree with Shaun, that Caddy remains the starter but the best running back is Blount. The team has come to grips with it and with this offensive line, you need LeGarrette Blount. This offensive line is not a dominant group but they do create creases. Blount is able to take that crease and make it an eight-yard gain. Young running backs do that well. They don’t have the wear and tear on them. That’s why running backs always fall off when they hit their 30s. Young running backs play like there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. You will see more of [Blount] but he won’t be the starter. Raheem is tied to Cadillac as a starter. But you will see a lot more of Blount. … They are not as good as the top level teams. They are not as good as Pittsburgh. They are not as good as New Orleans but they may be good enough to win 10. They are in a race to 10.