The Cowboys are doing what?

You know the company line for the Buccaneers and every great organization.

Joe can almost close his eyes and hear the soothing tones from Dirk Koetter and Jason Licht. [read more]

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No weeks off on the Ira Kaufman Podcast, so much to dissect. Always! Dive in here or enjoy at iTunes, Google Play or Podbean.com. Ranked on the Google Play podcast “Top Charts” for three consecutive months (all genres nationwide), the Ira Kaufman Podcast keeps you informed and entertained every Tuesday & Thursday — and there is NO offseason. Click or download above. It’s free and easy. Enjoy!

“Hey Ed, I love it out west. There’s no humidity. And I won’t have Warren Sapp hounding me to take him out on my boat. That’s why you moved to California, right?”

The hiring of Chucky by Mark Davis and the Raiders still has the NFL world buzzing before the divisional round of the playoffs begins. [read more]

Niners bruiser Carlos Hyde

Yes, your Bucs need a legitimate No. 1 running back, a valuable and reliable guy who can run the ball — and catch it — and carry the load along with emerging Peyton Barber. [read more]

GM Jason Licht

Former Bucs glory days defensive tackle Booger McFarland, now a busy ESPN analyst, has clarity on the issues holding back the Buccaneers. [read more]

Potential cap casualty or trade target

Joe tries not to get too wrapped up in who to sign in free agency in January because no one knows who will be available (yet). [read more]

Development has been fine.

Man, sometimes folks have to reach for an excuse. [read more]

Were Bucs doomed in August?

A couple of scenes from “Hard Knocks” will live in Bucs lore. [read more]

Axed by top-shelf NFC squad.

Moves and non-moves in the NFL get more curious by the day. [read more]

Ira Kaufman is the most revered sports personality and writer in town. He has hung his hat at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters since July 2016. Tampa Bay’s only Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, Ira busts out columns here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and his award winning podcasts fire Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can also hear Ira every Wednesday on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio at 5 p.m.

BY IRA KAUFMAN

Just how close are they?

According to the scoreboard, the Bucs are close. Real close.

According to the eyeball test and the depth chart, they have a huge challenge ahead to compete with the big boys in the NFL’s premier division. [read more]

Interesting slice of Buccaneers history here from none other than mercurial NFL superwife Miko Grimes. [read more]

Making it rain.

The backbone of a good football team is to draft well. And that hasn’t changed. [read more]

“Sell all those damn Google shares when it hits $1,109.”

One would think that an NFL Network reporter who peddles fake news to the masses would get fired or suspended by the league, which owns the network. [read more]

Jaw-dropping data.

The haters might choke on these numbers. [read more]

Absurd evaluation.

And folks wonder why Joe puts no value into the grading system manufactured by the well-trained orangutans. [read more]

“I know nothing, love everyone, love football, and I never wanted to leave the Raiders.”

Yes, Joe watched every minute of the grand and large Raiders news conference yesterday announcing Jon Gruden, Chucky, as the new head coach of Oakland/Vegas.

Chucky took all kinds of questions. Great entertainment. [read more]

Breakdown.

So, what did you think of America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, this season? [read more]

Ahh, the evolution of Jameis Winston. It’s been a wild, wild ride.

America’s Quarterback has grown in so many ways and regressed in others. [read more]

NFC South OC launched.

It is starting to smell as if two different NFC South franchises have completely different standards and goals. [read more]