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BY IRA KAUFMAN

It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.

On the surface, a 2-2 record is nothing to panic over. This two-game losing streak may be unsettling, but the Bucs are only one game out of the division lead at the quarter-pole, with a road win over first-place New Orleans in the bank. [read more]

Injury update.

If everything works out, Bucs tight end O.J. Howard will have an extra bye week. [read more]

Joe’s taking a big-picture look at some big offensive line decisions as we all get to exhale and regroup with the bye week providing time for healing and perspective.

Will Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet be worth the gargantuan money they expect to command? [read more]

Don’t even try to use him as a scapegoat.

Jenna Laine doesn’t want to hear it. And she damn near is daring the Bucs to use it. [read more]

Enough.

Mike Smith or his secondary coaches will get Dirk Koetter canned if they aren’t careful. [read more]

Tipping point.

Q. Did you anticipate getting as much single-high as you did early? Do you think that contributed?

Bears coach Matt Nagy: They were a single-high team, yeah. They were a single-high team. They mix in some zone, do some different — they played more man there towards the end. But they have that back end that had some injuries and some young guys back there, but for the most part, that’s what we thought they were going to do. [read more]

(Photo courtesy of Chicago Bears.)

Let’s hurry up and finish this column or Joe is certain Mitch Trubisky will throw another touchdown pass while we are not looking. [read more]

Postgame chatter from the Bucs locker room yesterday really makes Joe want to sprint to Abe’s Place for a cold beer or three. [read more]

There was good. There was bad. There was ugly.

And some of the ugly came from the guys tasked with blocking for Ronald Jones. [read more]

The chatter from the Bucs locker room last week was consistent from players: the return of Jameis Winston brought new energy to the team. The guy is an uplifting force. [read more]

BY IRA KAUFMAN

Admit it.

If you would have known that the Bucs were going to split their first four games this season, you would have been thrilled.

Now, you’re pissed.

As they have too many times in recent memory, the Bucs failed to show up for a road game. They deserved every bit of that 48-10 drubbing at Soldier Field, where conditions were perfect and Tampa Bay’s execution was anything but. [read more]

Had Bucs’ number.

It was almost sickening to watch, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky, at best an average quarterback, just carved the Bucs’ secondary apart like a roasted chicken. [read more]

Time to study tape.

Two men on today’s Bucs defense that know what it takes to win a championship. That’s Jason Pierre-Paul and Vinny Curry. [read more]

Bucs CB Carlton Davis, who suffered a groin injury, sits and watches his team absorb a beatdown by another NFC North team.

Do the Bucs have to pay off someone in NFL headquarters to not play an NFC North team on the road in September?
[read more]

A journeyman quarterback, 35-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick was tasked with leading the Bucs offense through the Jameis Winston suspension and keeping the team afloat in the process.

He succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. [read more]

On the cusp of infamy.

Yes, earlier today Joe called for Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith to be relieved of his duties. Joe takes no joy in this. [read more]

It’s not all gloom and doom on the Buccaneers defense. [read more]

Fields the Mike Smith question

It didn’t take long during Dirk Koetter’s postgame news conference for the head coach to field a Fire-Mike-Smith question. [read more]

Torrid pace continues

Joe’s fishing for positives, and those weapons for Winston? They’re all healthy now entering the bye week, including the offensive line.

The plate and the slate are clean for America’s Quarterback going forward. [read more]

Bucs made him look like Dan Marino.

Bears second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky came into today’s game with the Bucs with a grand total of nine career touchdown passes. [read more]