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Bucs OC Dirk Koetter stated injured center Evan Smith is still considered a starter.
For the past three games, certainly beginning in Houston, the Bucs’ offensive line has been the shining light of the team.
It is almost a shock how far that line has come along since preseason began. [read more]
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter talks about Lovie Smith’s offensive impact
Whose offense is this?
Is it Dirk Koetter’s? Or is Lovie Smith calling the shots? [read more]
Practice news emerges
The way Loaf Jennings and Lovie Smith’s mancrush Mike Jenkins are (not) covering opposing wide receivers, it is enough to make family pets bury their heads under a blanket. [read more]
Joe hates being such a negative Nancy. What could possibly make Joe bang his head against a wall after Bobby Rainey was named NFC Special teams player of the week this morning? [read more]
Quick programming note here.
Buccaneers players don’t get time off until Friday, the first of four consecutive days off.
So today is a practice day at One Buc Palace, followed by coaches and players chatting it up with media.
Stick with Joe all day and week long for all kind of stuff from your Buccaneers. Also, Joe is live with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, this evening at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620. The JoeBucsFan Hour will be rolling.
Lavonte David speaks
Perhaps every linebacker wants to blitz on every play, but it’s noteworthy when Lavonte David says he does.
Why? Because David had more success in a defense that let him blitz repeatedly. [read more]
Lovie Smith’s scalp was saved by the Bucs beating the Jags.
Joe has written previously that Sunday’s win over the jughead Jags likely saved Lovie Smith’s job with the Bucs.
For if Lovie had pushed his home losing streak to 11 games by falling to the dregs of the NFL, combined with overall futility and grotesque swings and misses in free agency, he would have been hard-pressed to climb out of that hole. [read more]
Former Bucs QB Shaun King dishes on the Bucs secondary.
A guy walking around with a white cane can see the Bucs have issues at cornerback, especially after Johnthan Banks went down with a knee injury. [read more]
Lavonte David talks to Joe
Sunday against the rancid Jacksonville Jaguars felt like another day at the office for Lavonte David — if this was 2012, 2013 or 2014.
But it’s 2015, and David’s standout play was the exception compared the rest of his season. [read more]
New bromance brewing?
Yes, one could argue the Bucs could be 3-2 entering the bye week if they had a competent kicker.
Terminated kicker Kyle Brindza missed more often than a sloppy drunk at the bar with terrible one-liners trying to lasso loose women. [read more]
Ali Marpet has an ex-Buccaneer fan with a big microphone
Former Bucs guard Ian Beckles is no fan of Gerald McCoy. And he believes Joe Hawley and Evan Smith are backup quality centers, as Beckles said today.
But damn, Beckles loves him some Ali Marpet, the standout rookie right guard and the pride of Division-III Hobart College. [read more]
Vincent Jackson and America’s Quarterback share a moment basking in victory Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
Lost in Bucs fans wallowing in a home victory for a change — Joe is convinced many didn’t know how to act because such an event was so long in coming — is something the blowhard haters had to choke down with their warm Bud Lights on Sunday evening. [read more]
Lovie talks caped crusaders
During happier Bucs times, Tampa Bay was coming off a 7-9 season and had recently thieved a Hall of Famer in his prime, Darrelle Revis, from the Jets for first- and third-round draft picks.
Revis declared himself “Robin” to “Batman” safety Dashon Goldson, and Bucs fans were fantasizing. [read more]
Yes, hard-running Doug Martin, tied for second in the NFL in rushing yards through five weeks, will become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Joe smells Bucs fans needlessly panicking. [read more]
Impressive end zone image
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has found a tonic for his offense, an old school play that the Bucs have made look easy. [read more]
The play that may have saved Lovie Smith’s future in Tampa: George Johnson’s forced fumble that led to a defensive score. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
It is easy to see all the good things that happened for the Bucs.
It’s also easy to overlook just how close the Bucs came to gagging away Sunday’s win over the Jags. [read more]
In the hours prior to Sunday’s forgettable Mike Evans performance against the Jaguars, the Bucs’ second-year wide receiver said he heard those questioning his game and stating it was in decline since November 2014. [read more]
Bucs DE Howard Jones takes down Jags QB Blake Bortles for one of the Bucs six sacks Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
Bucs coach Lovie Smith always preaches sacks and how quarterback pressure is essential for his defense to work.
He may have a point, but it is also a bit misleading. [read more]
Panic talk continues
Joe isn’t sure there is reason to run to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
But just because the Bucs beat the jughead Jags on Sunday doesn’t mean quite yet they are playoff bound. [read more]
Akeem Spence
The growing depth on the Bucs isn’t just limited to the offensive line.
Defensive tackle Akeem Spence will be ready to practice next week, Lovie Smith said on the Buccaneers Radio Network this evening. [read more]
The Bucs pound the rock successfully and throw a lot of screen passes. It’s beautiful, glorious football, Lovie Smith said today. [read more]
