Hats off to Roy Miller for calling the Bucs’ run defense as he sees it.

The Bucs’ rushing defense was miserable the last two weeks, and Miller told St. Pete Times beat writer Rick Stroud he finds it offensive.

“I cannot speak for everybody. I had two mistakes that make me sick,” defensive tackle Roy Miller said. “I gave up a couple yards on the two plays I made my mistakes on. Just as a defense, as a unit, we’ve got to pick it up and find a way to stop then.

“It’s disgusting. Just to know I had a part in that, that’s disgusting to me. Like I said, I had my mistakes, I had two bad plays. One is enough. When you have inconsistent play here and there, it adds up. It’s not that we don’t have the guys or the talent, we’ve just got to find a way to get it done.”

The Bucs are ranked 30th in the NFL against the run and No. 9 in pass defense.

Joe loves the accountability by Miller, who had even more to say. The talk is nice, but can it be fixed this season? Joe suspects that it will take quite a bit of time to turn around the run defense. Thankfully, the Bucs have time before they play the Falcons.

The FOX football gang of Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson discuss the Bucs’ success and, specifically, the development of Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman in this FoxSports.com video.

It doesn’t take a guy running around with a white cane to see that Bucs rookie wide receiver Mike Williams is a helluva player. Even Joe can tell.

Well, just how good of a rookie is Williams? eye-RAH! Kaufman, of the Tampa Tribune, has some evidence, as he posted on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed just how solid of an NFL start Williams has had.

According to the Bucs, 27 WRs were drafted in 2010. Tampa Bay’s Mike Williams has 3 TD catches — the other 26 have combined for 1.

That’s pretty damned impressive. Joe can’t imagine what Williams will be like with Freeman in, say, two years.

Now if the Bucs can only get a decent running back in the draft soon.

Bucs general manager Mark Dominik made an appearance this morning on “The Opening Drive” for a lengthy interview with co-hosts Ross Tucker and Peter King, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio.

Naturally, Joe transcribed the interview.

Peter King: I will come forward with what I thought of your team before the season which I am sure is great fun for the people in Tampa, that you would take your lumps and you would get your team well-positioned for the future by [losing] and be in a position for a good draft choice next year. And I have been made a total fool of by Raheem Morris and Josh Freeman and that your team is now winning and your team is more feisty than anyone ever would have heard of,  and a guy like Michael Spurlock who nobody every heard of makes a great play on a catch on the sidelines to set up a winning field goal… where were all of us so wrong?

Mark Dominik: Let’s be honest, we are 3-1 and we played some close games. But one thing we all attribute this success is that we have been building chemistry on this football team. That is how we tried to build the football team. I had a Jimmy Johnson philosophy in changing the roster around and making some hard decisions. Before, we were claiming guys off of practice squads. We have now set ourselves up into what I call the Tony Dungy philosophy in that we will go all young and grow together.

Ross Tucker: I thought you would take your lumps with the rookies you drafted at wide receiver and defensive tackle because those positions are so hard to learn. Are you surprised you have had this much success this year?

Dominik: I know it’s a lot to ask [to win with young players]. Our quarterback doesn’t have 16 starts. We tried to look at leadership and the maturity of kids we have taken. Cody Grimm, for example, is a great kid. He’s very mature and he takes football so seriously. What he did last week, I was not surprised because those are the type of kids we are going after. That is why we are in the position where are.

King: He had a rough day when the Steelers came to town but you knew he had the personality a tough day wasn’t going to ruin him.

Dominik: That’s right. But if you look at the film of Cody in that game, sure [getting turned around by Mike Wallace] was a bad play. But after that play, he played a decent game. So you want to build on that. You want him to brush that [Wallace] play off and he is the type of kid that will do that.

King: What a fantastic play he made on Carson Palmer last week, baiting him and baiting him and he waited and waited and waited.

Dominik: It was a coaching move to make it look like it was a Tampa-2 set and [Grimm] held his water and broke at the right time. It was a great move by Cody which gave us some wind in our sail.

Tucker: Can you explain the logic of trading for Kellen Winslow and signing him to such a contact? Barrett Ruud has not gotten a contract extension. I know each player is unique but what are some of the factors?

Dominik: When I spoke with Raheem about building a football team, tight end is a high percentage completion. For us to get a tight end like Kellen was a great opportunity. No matter who the quarterback is, good teams through the years have a very good tight end. Dallas had Jay Novacek. The Giants had Mark Bavaro. You name it. So when I traded for Kellen, I thought it was a sizable investment with the draft picks we gave up for him and I wanted to keep him around. I hope I make the good decisions on who gets the long-term contracts and it is fair for everybody.

King: The most interesting story on draft day was what you did in the fourth round on Mike Williams. I can’t tell you how many people’s jaws dropped that you did that, so many people, I’d say two-thirds of the teams, maybe more, had him off their draft boards because of his problems at Syracuse. Very few teams went to investigate him to the level you looked at the kid. But you believed in him when you did your research. What did you see in him as a person that it was a safe pick?

Dominik: When we watched the tape, we were convinced of his talent. We couldn’t let one or two things keep us away. Did he have a DUI or a violent [arrest]? No. We went back to his junior high school coach. We spent a ton of time to get a feeling on him. Those conversations gave us confidence to draft him and he’s a wonderful guy and we are pleased to have him.

Tucker: What does a general manager do during the week, what do you do today?

Dominik: I watch college tape. We got new film in, which is always exciting, and then I will look at tape of one or two free agents [to be] on other teams. Mondays I look at our game tape. You can never be a good football man if you don’t know your own football team. So today, I’ll watch a little bit of college tape and do a little bit of research on free agents on pro tapes and then I’ll watch our practice.

King: Cadillac Williams, he has not been productive this year. You have had some road blocks running the ball. How do you fix it?

Dominik: With Cadillac, we brought in [LeGarrette] Blount and [Kregg] Lumpkin and we have to get those guys up to speed. We may have put a lot of weight on Caddy’s shoulders and in this day of the NFL , you should not have one guy carry the load. Part of it was, I think we put too much weight on Cadillac. We need to distribute the wealth and I’m thinking you will see that with our football team.

King: Josh Freeman, tell us about that story about him coming into your office this spring. Can you repeat that story and how that translates into him being a leader?

Dominik: Back in February, I’m looking out the window and I’m on the phone talking with one of our owners, Joel Glazer, who called to talk football and I said, “You will be happy to know Josh is throwing balls to receivers.’ And Joel said, ‘Shouldn’t they all be?’ And I said, ‘Well, yeah, they should be, but he is.’ It shows how he wants to be a leader. Josh put in a phenomenal offseason, he never missed a day. He calls the wide receivers to come in and throw more. Even Sammie Stroughter called me one day and asked if he should fly in from Oregon and if there was anyone around to throw balls to him. That’s what I like to see. Josh is also a good closer for us in games. it’s very exciting.

King: Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, you surprised a lot of people that with all of your needs, you went defensive tackle and very heavy at one position. I saw Price getting carted off. What is his status?

Dominik: Gerald has played well but he does not have a lot of stats to show for it. There were plays where Kyle Moore made a tackle or a sack and Gerald was getting double- or triple-teamed. That’s the kind of production we are looking for, he’s taking double-teams. I’m very excited about how Gerald is learning how hard it is to play in the NFL at defensive tackle. You are freaking held all the time.

King: I think the Bucs are one of the best stories in the league, by far. Who would have thought that on October 17 that the Super Bowl champion Saints would travel to Tampa and the Bucs would have a better record than the Saints? It’s the theatre of the absurd but it’s why we love the NFL, we never know what will happen. I was mind boggled the Steelers came to Tampa and it was not sold out. I was mind boggled that on Monday there was an announcement that the game will not be sold out. Tell me why in your mind you are not getting to generate the buzz on your team. It is people fell out of love with pro football or it is the economy?

Dominik: The NFL is at an all-time high as far as viewership. The Rays struggled with the same thing this year and sadly, they just lost their series last night. The unemployment down here is at 12 percent. We are not disappointed in our fan base. It’s just the economy. We are a tourist industry so when people don’t have the money to enjoy our beautiful beaches or come here for the weather or our parks, it really hurts our economy and it costs a lot of jobs.

King: Is it disheartening to the team?

Dominik: It’s not disheartening to the players. They hear the crowd. The fans step it up. Our fans are loud. We are excited for those who can come to the games. I know it’s early in the season.

Tucker: If you get rid of Ronde, you will be the youngest team in the league.

Dominik: (laughs) We are keeping him around so long as he intercepts the ball.

King: He is amazing. I admire him so much.

Dominik: He is amazing and his next interception will No. 40.

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.

Let’s give the coordinators of the offense and defense some credit for the Bucs’ winning record.

While it isn’t perfect on either side of the ball by any means, there have been a few standout designs or calls that have given Bucs players opportunities to make plays. And the great news is, the players have stepped up and made the plays to make the difference.

A few weeks back against the Carolina Panthers, in their first division game and on the road, Ronde Barber had his second interception in as many games and got the deserved credit for always being in the right place. But Raheem Morris must get much of the credit for that critical interception because it was the design of the coverage that had Barber had in the right place at the right time.

Carolina came to the line in a three-receiver “bunch” group to the right side. As a quarterback, I’ve never liked the bunch look much, simply because it gives the defense too much power to disguise blitzes and/or coverage. The Bucs dialed up something I hadn’t seen before and, with the outcome of the play, probably something Matt Moore hadn’t seen either.

As the receivers came off the line and scattered in different directions as usual (seam, curl and flat), Tanard Jackson, who started in the regular safety position for a Cover 2 look (deep in the seam), faded all the way outside to the flat area. Aqib Talib faded back from his outside flat space and covered the  curl from behind. Ronde started the play faking a blitz and dropped back as the underneath and inside defender, holding the seam as Jackson went wide. The backside safety also gave Ronde help deep over the top, allowing him to sneak outside to the curl.

Moore was right to think that the curl would be open–and he would have been if Barber stayed with the seam route. But that help from the other safety allowed Barber to jump in front of the curl in what may have been one of the easiest interceptions of his career.

The “cool” design that allowed Barber to once again be in the right place at the right time needs to be recognized. Most defensive coordinators get famous for designing up blitzes and create big pressure to confuse blocking schemes and cause quarterbacks havoc before they throw the ball. This single coverage shift isn’t like designing the “46” Defense that made Buddy Ryan famous, or the Tampa 2 that Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin put on the map, but there aren’t that many opportunities to see a coverage that confuses the QB so that he throws the ball right into the chest of the defender. 

Ronde gets the stat added to his illustrious career, but give the defensive coordinator the assist on that one. 

On Sunday, Cody Grimm evened the score against the Bengals by taking his first career pick “to the house” because Morris designed up a look that had his safety close to the line of scrimmage at the snap and immediately after the snap had him turn and sprint to the flat, where Carson Palmer thought he would have a safe completion with no underneath coverage.

Normally, a linebacker is out in the curl area and squared up to the quarterback, so he just throws to the outside of the LB, but the Bucs covered it with a safety that was out of position at the snap. By sprinting to the spot and turning around at the right time, it allowed him to steal the pass and score.  Again, this credit has to be shared between player and coordinator.

On the offensive side, there is much to be concerned about with pass protection and blitz recognition by Josh Freeman.

Beating the blitz by throwing it up deep is great when it works, but is a low percentage proposition in general. The Bucs will certainly need to be better prepared to address quick pressure, and Freeman needs to recognize when there is one too many blitzers than there are blockers. They got away with a few balls that spent too much time in the air as Freeman got pressured from different angles.

What I liked was the “Dig” call to Mike Williams that resulted in a wide-open catch (even though the ball floated in the middle of the field) that would have set up a score if Williams didn’t fumble. This was a very good changeup after his success outside. It is great to know the Bucs have a guy that will go up, fight for and win the ball, but this can’t be the plan week in and week out.

This coming week will be very interesting to see how the Saints defense decides to attack the issue and how the Bucs’ week of practice time was used to fix the problem. 

The Saints have to be getting a bit nervous over their average start, while the Bucs can play with confidence over their unexpectedly hot start, but I think New Orleans will bring the pressure again this Sunday and make the Bucs prove that they can make the big plays when they count once again.

Let’s hope both coordinators have another little wrinkle up their sleeves to stop the defending World Champions.

Boy, if the Bucs can beat the Saints (who are playing more like the Aints) this Sunday, the bandwagon is going to fill up. “The Professor,” John Clayton, is already chugging the Bucs Kool-Aid as he gushes in this BSPN video about Josh Freeman and Mike Williams.

In his weekly NFL wrap-up column, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports breaks down the winners and losers.

He has the Bucs as winners, but he seems to be in a state of disbelief.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman
The Bucs are 3-1. I keep blinking and looking at that record and can’t believe it. Freeman is the reason why. The guy can make some unreal throws and keep drives alive in the clutch. His sideline pass to Michael Spurlock setting up the game-winning field goal against the Bengals was so good it was absurd. Once again, I point to the Ben Roethlisberger comparison made by CBS analyst Gus Johnson. Freeman’s team is nowhere near as talented as the ones Roethlisberger had early in his career, but it is a good comparison.

Well, Joe’s well aware that it didn’t take an imbecile like Hollerin’ Gus Johnson to figure this out. Joe quoted no less an authority than Kellen Winslow, Jr. during the summer prior to Freeman’s rookie training camp who compared Freeman to handsy, horny Roethlisberger, comparing the pair’s football skills, that is.

And what exactly is this fascination with Hollerin’ Gus Johnson? Since when is a hyena screaming into a microphone a good thing? The absolute only time that’s a good thing is if said person screaming has ample breasts and a firm arse, neither of which Hollerin’ Gus Johnson possesses to the best of Joe’s knowledge.

Why, if some carnival barker walked in your living room and brayed like Hollerin’ Gus Johnson after every friggin’ play, you’d punch him in the jaw or have the cops drag the moron off. But Hollerin’ Gus Johnson, who gins up fiction to make it sound cool, is a good thing? In what civilized world?

The only time Joe ever wants to be screamed at like that is when Joe is consummating a long, intense, sweaty, heavy-breathing, late-night tryst with Rachel Watson.

Every week in his popular Bull Rush column, former Bucs defensive end Steve White breaks down the play of each Bucs defensive lineman and looks at all things defensive line as a whole.

It’s always a unique, intense and long read. Joe always advises you to read the whole thing.

Following the Bucs-Bengals game, Stylez White was skewered with a fat dose of reality:

Stylez G. White: I have been saying for weeks that White has to start making inside moves to get offensive tackles to stop setting for his outside rush. And for weeks nothing has changed. Now Stylez did some good things against the Bengals. He had an assisted tackle. He had a great EX game going with Moore where he comes in and blasts the left guard and takes out two blockers to free Moore up. And he also had that great outside rush from the left side which I talked about earlier.

But I’m going to make a point here. I counted 7 times when Stylez had an opportunity to make an inside move. By opportunity I mean the left tackle took a wide set, the B gap was open, and the left guard at least initially was not looking for him to come inside.

SEVEN TIMES!

With a damn statue back there at quarterback!

Stylez won’t have a better opportunity to sack a quarterback who has no inclination to try to move very much in the pocket. And Palmer isn’t the type of guy to hold on to the ball and allow you to get to him consistently with an outside rush. And yet out of those 7 opportunities Stylez didn’t try even once to take what the Bengals were giving him.

Maybe the most egregious opportunity squandered was with 45 seconds left in the first half. The left guard literally turns his back to the B gap and the left tackle opened up so wide with his shoulders turned towards the sideline that he practically had a neon sign flashing “SPIN ON ME PLEASE!!!” Instead White tried to go around the horn again…and didn’t get there.

I have always had confidence in Stylez as a pass rusher. I was one of the ones who agreed with his assertion that he would have double digit sacks this year. But right now he is giving away sacks and pressures. Left tackles should be sending him thank you cards because he is letting them off the hook. And the defense is not as dominant as it should be because he continues to focus solely on beating guys outside.

There isn’t a premier pass rusher in the NFL at defensive end who does not make inside moves several times again. Not a single one. Simeon Rice who was one of the most productive and fastest defensive ends in Buccaneers history would make three or four inside moves a game at least. You HAVE to do it not only because it gives you an opportunity for quick pressure, but also because it gives left tackles more than one look so they can’t be comfortable in their pass sets.

Its just like a pitcher. If all you throw is fast balls, even if you throw heat, people are going to knock your shit out of the park. But if you throw a change up here or there you keep guys off balance. And you make it a lot easier on yourself.

Until Stylez starts throwing change ups our pass rush isn’t going to consistently scare anybody. And there is absolutely no chance he will get to double digits.

It is what it is.

For Joe, a successful, consistent pass rush from the Bucs’ defensive line feels like ancient history at this point.

Perhaps the Over Stick is in order?

Raheem Morris took on the Where’s-Earnest-Graham question from multiple callers to his radio show on WDAE-AM 620 on Monday.

First, Raheem explained that he’s waiting for a lead to get Graham and LeGarrette Blount more carries. Later, when hit with the query about playing No. 34, he used an NBA analogy to explain, in part, Graham’s role.

“For us, he’s Robert Horry. He’s going to be there when game is on the line and making the big shot,” Morris said. “You know, he’s all those little guys that Michael Jordan kicked out [to] over the years, Steve Kerr and John Paxson. He’s making big-time clutch plays that are absolutely winning football games for us.”

Joe (this particular NBA-fan Joe) gets that Raheem is picking his spots for Graham. But even clutch player extraordinaire Robert Horry averaged over eight shots a game in his career.

How bout getting Graham involved at least a few more times on Sunday, coach. You know, so he can be more like Horry.

Including rushes and receptions, Graham is averaging just six touches a game, up from two per game last year.

Graham has been consistently successful. Cadillac Williams has not. Michael Jordan always fed the hot hand. Why won’t Raheem and Greg Olson?

Yes, the Bucs’ running game is struggling. Donald Penn admitted as much during the Total Access show on WDAE-AM 620 on Monday Night.

However, the rushing attack is on the upswing. Cadillac Williams averaged three yards a carry in Cincinnati (his average entering the game was 2.5) and Earnest Graham broke a 61-yard run through a big hole. 

Penn explained that thorough, intense study during the bye week had a significant impact that should lead to improvement and consistency.

“The bye week we sat down and we watched every single play that we had called in the run game throughout the preseason and through the first three games. And we watched every play one after another. You know, to see if we had anything that was lingering over, if we were making the the same mistakes, I think that helped us a lot,” Penn said. “Seeing that and watching just one play every single time, you know to see the things that were consistent, and to see the things that were bad so we could fix it, I think it’s showing dividends. I think it is, really. I think it really played over into [Cincinnati], and I think it’s going to still play over.”

Penn, with clear frustration in his voice from the Bucs’ lack of consistency running the football, went on to talk about how the offensive line feels it has to do more for Williams. In response to a question from a caller, Penn also said Graham and Williams are the best running backs on the roster.

Joe’s glad good guy Tom Jones of the St. Pete Times isn’t his accountant.

Jones, who pens an enjoyable Two Cents column, secured the TV ratings of the head-to-head games played Sunday by the Bucs and Rays.

The Bucs ratings were 36 percent higher, per Jones’ figures, yet Jones tries to tell his readers the Rays are just as popular.

The Bucs-Bengals game on Fox earned a 15.1 rating, meaning 15.1 percent of Tampa Bay households with TVs were tuned in. That’s about 272,677 homes. The Rays-Rangers Game 4 drew an 11.1, or about 200,443 homes. But, two things to remember. It’s likely many viewers switched back and forth between the games, so both games would get credit in the same household. Secondly, TBS is a cable network, as opposed to Fox, so more people get Fox than TBS. That would help the Bucs game draw a larger audience. All in all, it could be considered just about a split viewership in Tampa Bay.”

Sorry, Tom. Your math is off. There’s no “split viewership” here.

While the Bucs game was on FOX-13, TBS is available in more than 85 percent of homes with television sets in the Tampa Bay television market, per ratings giant Neilsen. 

There is no comparison between the popularity of the Bucs and Rays. The math doesn’t add up. The Bucs are far more popular.

No surprise, but sad nonetheless, the huge Bucs game on Sunday against the Saints will not be televised in the Tampa Bay area, so reports Stephen Holder of the St. Pete Times.

In Holder’s piece, he goes on to say the Bucs season ticket base is “between 40,000 and 50,000” and therefore it’s hard to turn a sellout in the 65,000-seat stadium.

Joe has to quibble with Holder’s math a little, considering the 12,000 club seats (aka premium seats) at the C.I.T.S. don’t count toward the total needed sold to keep the game on local television. Plus, attendance on opening day was 47,211, per Holder’s newspaper.

Joe would not be suprised if the Bucs full season ticket base equates to just a sniff above 40,000, maybe even 39k and change. And Joe’s research suggests about 8,000 club seats are sold to season ticket holders.

But Joe’s an optimist at heart and suspects ticket sales will pick up quite a bit if the Bucs can stay in the playoff hunt.

If you can’t attend the game, or shun unlawful Internet streams, you can join Joe on The Blackout Tour. It’s a lot of fun.

In this CBSSports.com video, Boomer Esiason of the NFL Today talks about why the Bucs won.

Wondering when you’ll see Earnest Graham and LeGarrette Blount get their numbers called consistently and (hopefully) grind out four- and five-yard carries?

Well, it seems the plan is for them to tote the rock when the Bucs have a lead, so said Raheem Morris during The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620 on Monday.

“I’m loving where these guys are going and what they’re able to do and the stuff they provide us. I can’t wait til we get a lead here so we can really pound some people with those big backs. It’ll be fun,” Morris said.

C’mon, coach. How about some of that “fun” on the opening drive. There’s no reason to wait.

To refresh the head coach’s memory, the bulk of Blount’s carries against the Steelers were during the Bucs’ third drive of the game trailing 7-3. He came in and ran for 12 yards, 4 yards, 2 yards and 8 yards before the Bucs kicked a field goal to pull within 7-6.

And Graham? He’s proven he can average more than the 2.6 yards per carry that Cadillac Williams is churning out.

Joe’s not sure why Morris says he wants/needs a lead to get Graham and Blount significant carries. If he thinks they can pound the ball successfully with a lead — when everyone knows the run is coming — surely he should think that Graham and Blount can move the chains at other points in the game.

Perhaps one of the most hideous quarterbacks Joe has ever laid eyes on, but a man who will have you believe by the way he talks he was a 1990s version of Sammy Baugh, discusses Josh Freeman in this BSPN video.

It appears Mike Smith doesn’t know much about the Bucs.

Yet.

The Falcons coach made his weekly appearance this morning on Sirius NFL Radio and Peter King, who was co-hosting “The Opening Drive” along with Bob Papa, asked Smith what he thought of the Bucs.

Smith didn’t think much of the Bucs only because he has seen only scant snippets of Bucs games.

Peter King: I’d like to know something: I have been really fascinated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are feisty on defense. They have a really good leader in Josh Freeman at quarterback, even though he is only 22. How much time to you spend — if you spend any time at all — looking at other teams during the week that you don’t play them?

Mike Smith: Peter, I don’t spend any time looking at a team until the week that we play them. But we spent time in the offseason looking at the Bucs because our last game last year was against Tampa. You can see the groundwork they were building to have a very good football team.

Freeman has the skill set to be a very good quarterback. I think Raheem has those guys playing extremely hard and they are extremely opportunistic, taking advantage of a lot mistakes by other teams. From my vantage point just watching on TV, they are the up-and-coming team we thought they would be and they are a team that should be reckoned with.

Sabby Piscitelli fans, assuming there are some, were in full celebration Sunday, as their guy had the Bucs’ big interception to set up the winning score in Cincinnati.

Joe even gave Sabby the game ball, although it was clear Sabby didn’t play well before that game-changing play.

On Monday, Raheem Morris elaborated on Piscitelli’s demotion and how Sabby’s immature, angry response before opening day was a teaching moment for his young Bucs. Morris spoke on The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620.

“[Sabby] put it out in public and it became kind of a thing that brought our team together,” Morris said. “It was a great example for me to use for our team. It was a great example for me to use for our guys. It took him a while to get out of his funk. He’s been in my office. We have a dynamic and unbelievable relationship. And that’s the beauty of this whole thing for me to watch him get that pick yesterday and his whole team tackle him and beat him up underneath the stands. And absoulutely have a ball with him.”

Joe would have been happy to dive on Sabby and smack him around a bit, too. Joe sincerely hopes Sabby didn’t pay for any beers on Sunday night.

But, back to reality, Joe’s very glad starting safety Sean Jones is on track to return for Sunday’s home game against New Orleans.

One reason why Joe so enjoys listening to his good friend “The Commissioner,” Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620, is that he is not afraid to speak his mind.

Currently, Justin believes Cadillac Williams is washed up. In fact, Justin goes so far to write on his blog located on the WDAE website, that if Cadillac is not benched soon, he will drag the Bucs down the road to ruin.

The Bucs are defying the odds of winning by not being able to stop the run on defense and not being able to run the ball on offense. We’ll start on offense and the lack of production from Cadillac Williams.  I know that people are shouting all over Tampa to get Cadillac out of the game, and I am with them 100%.  The guy is a nice story, but he is not producing.  This isn’t a one-game stumble, this is a full season disappointment.  In the NFL today, as a RB, you must either have the speed to burst through the hole or have the power to bust through the hole.  Cadillac has neither.  Huggins 1 carry and Blount’s 4 carries gives us no idea if these 2 players can bolster such a poor unit.  Cadillac is one more season away from his 30th birthday and has already had 2 knee surgeries.  If the Bucs want to continue to win, they MUST find a running game on offense.

Look, Joe loves Cadillac’s heart. If someone like Randy Moss had the heart and desire and work ethic of Cadillac, my, word!

Given his two bum knees and his approaching old man status of NFL running backs, it seems Cadillac is out of gas. Joe will again repeat what Marshall Faulk said on the NFL Network.

Faulk noted that “good running backs can overcome a bad offensive line.” (And Joe doesn’t believe the Bucs offensive line is bad.)

Aqib Talib has been terrorizing quarterbacks this season

It comes as no surprise to Joe that the Bucs are picking passes off more than Wade Phillips picks his nose at a red light.

The Bucs were expected to have a strong defensive backfield and it seems even without Tanard Jackson, the Bucs’ secondary has a nose for the ball.

Good guy Stephen Holder, of the St. Petersburg Times, has evidence of that premise. The Bucs are intercepting opposing quarterbacks so frequently they are on pace for a franchise mark.

Bucs are on pace for 36 INTs… Team record is 32 in 1981. They’ve got 9 in 4 games, tied for second in NFL.

This is cool to read. Will the Bucs set a new team record? Who knows, maybe they can’t keep up this pace? But the Bucs’ secondary seems to be serving notice to the NFL not to test it.

Bad new for the Bucs.

Starting center and co-captain Jeff Faine will miss at least a few weeks with a “lower body” muscle injury, Raheem Morris said moments ago in his noon news conference.

Faine left Sunday’s dramatic win early in the second half and was replaced successfully with third-year versatile offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah.

Regarding starting strong safety Sean Jones, who was inured and replaced after the opening play by Sabby Piscitelli, Raheem said Jones “should be fine. He should be ready to go [Sunday].”

Raheem said rookie center Ted Larsen, the 2010 Patriots sixth-round pick from North Carolina State, “will have an opportunity to get a helmet on” as the backup center on Sunday against the Saints.

Former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996), co-host of the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620, says it’s time Bucs fans tip their caps to Raheem Morris.

Stunned by the Bucs 3-1 record, Beckles said the Bucs are not a physical team and are ripe to be exposed more in future games yet are thriving off their mentality.

“It doesn’t matter. They think they can win. And that’s half the battle sometimes,” Beckles said.

“It’s not so crazy,” Beckles said of Raheem’s Race-to-10 catch phrase for 2010.

Beckles went on to say that his eyes were keyed in during the game on Gerald McCoy. “It wasn’t pretty, Beckles said. “He is not physical at all. He was getting ragdolled a lot.”