Bucs rookie left tackle Donovan Smith

Joe was so shaken by the following that it took Joe 36 hours to address it directly. [read more]

Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One benefit of Joe being in Minnesota for Saturday’s game was getting a chance to view the Bucs’ sidelines before and during the game. For example, Joe saw Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, do a Victor Cruz-like salsa dance a few minutes prior to kickoff. [read more]

It’s time for reserve tackle Kevin Pamphile to show up.

Last year, the Bucs drafted Kevin Pamphile and Kadeem Edwards in the fifth-round. Joe dubbed them the “Milk Cartons,” as their faces may as well have been on a half-gallon containers at Publix.

They were MIA on the football field for a team desperate for offensive line help. [read more]

The debut of Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, was quite an event across the Tampa Bay area Saturday, and the TV-ratings numbers match up to the hope-driven euphoria not seen around here in a decade.

Joe’s got data. [read more]

Former starting right tackle speaks out.

How unnerved Bucs fans are after watching a jailbreak of an offensive line send “America’s Quarterback,” Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, running for his life in the first preseason game, and seeing right tackle Demar Dotson go down.

Many fans are actually crying for unemployed Evan Mathis to play right tackle. [read more]

So it seems like the knee injury to Demar Dotson is enough that the Bucs are bringing in unemployed veteran tackle Gosder Cherilus to potentially fill the hole in Dotson’s absence. [read more]

Lovie feared for the safety of “America’s Quarterback” last night.

The offensive line is a work in progress, you saw what Joe saw last night. And with Garrett Gilkey playing center, Joe was downright frightened for the well-being of “America’s Quarterback,” Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston. [read more]

Lovie talks about Demar Dotson’s potential replacement

It seems Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson will be out an expected eight weeks due to a left knee sprain. That’s the word per the Twitter feed of Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. [read more]

Rough debut for returner Kaelin Clay

The good news is rookie returner Kaelin Clay didn’t fumble last night in his NFL debut as the Buccaneers’ top returner.

The bad news is he left many fans longing for Solomon Patton, Arrelious Benn, Eric Page and other scary names from Bucs past. [read more]

Joe’s got more exclusive stuff from the Bucs’ locker room last night

Lavonte David has a giant new contract, and last night was the first time he got a chance to wear a Bucs uniform and approach a game as a big-money, cornerstone piece of the franchise.

In the bowels of a steamy postgame locker room, Joe chatted with Lavonte about what, if anything, is different now. [read more]

Bucs fans should relax about Jameis. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

There is no need to run to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The Bucs did not draft the reincarnation of Josh Freeman.

As Packers superstar quarterback and main squeeze of Olivia Munn, Aaron Rodgers, once told Packers fans after a loss, “RELAX.”

Why is Joe not freaking out? [read more]

It was a very new day for Kadeem Edwards

Before fans go completely nuts because of the Bucs’ offensive line issues last night, Joe wants to remind everyone that Logan Mankins played exactly one series.

And he played pretty well, much better than last year. [read more]

“America’s Quarterback” talks about his first NFL game. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Like Bucs coach Lovie Smith said: Jameis was Jameis last night. He started slow and finished fast.

If nothing else, “America’s Quarterback” knows how to run the two-minute drill (just ask Gus Malzahn). With the ball in his hands and less than two minutes in the first half, Jameis engineered a long scoring drive. [read more]

Johnthan Banks’ defense of a would-be Vikings touchdown apparently wasn’t good enough for Lovie Smith, eeerr, Ronde Barber.

Joe is freaking fed up with this Mike Jenkins nonsense. For anyone — even the head coach — to suggest to Joe or to Bucs fandom that Jenkins, a first-round bust thrown overboard by both the Cowboys and the rotten Raiders, should be starting over Johnthan Banks is an absolute insult.

What Jenkins has done to deserve Lovie Smith’s undying affection is lost on Joe. Something isn’t right. [read more]

There exists a massive, unhealthy level of tension among Bucs fans. And it won’t fade until Tampa Bay has a winning record again.

So Joe gets why Teddy Bridgewater carving up the Bucs’ first-team defense (7-for-8 for 86 yards) last night has fans freaked out. Joe talked to Gerald McCoy about it after the game. [read more]

Lovie talks throwing the ball.

And here you thought Lovie Smith was some old school defensive guy who would rather win games 6-3 and turns his nose up at teams that throw the ball more than 200 yards a game.

Well, meet the new Lovie Smith. At halftime, he offered quotes to Bucs media relations folks, and to read the words from Lovie’s own mouth, it sounds as if he has become the second coming of Don Coryell. [read more]

Joe swears, Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, is the most naturally confident young athlete he’s ever seen.

It’s almost hard to explain. Take what Jameis told Joe after the Vikings-Bucs game. [read more]

Yes, Joe was live in Minneapolis last night and has loads to share from the Buccaneers locker room, stuff you won’t find anywhere else.

Joe will start with this nugget from Louis Murphy. [read more]

Calming competence from Bucs OC.

One of many sreason the Bucs were a complete and total trainwreck last year was what passed as an offensive coordinator. Of course, Jeff Tedford had a heart issue and never made it to the regular season, which left ill-suited acting coordinator Marcus Arroyo.

We saw what a mess that was. An unadulterated mess. [read more]

Seems RB Doug Martin has his vision back.

Joe had heard all about the new Doug Martin. Joe saw a noticeably leaner Muscle Hamster in training camp.

But would that translate into a game-situation? Joe believes it did tonight in Minnesota. [read more]

Bucs WR Louis Murphy did nothing to lose his job tonight.

Joe knows Bucs fans are racing to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at this very moment they are so freaked out over the first preseason game tonight. So Joe will sort of play along too, but won’t get wet.

(Remember, the Vikes already had one preseason game under their belts.) [read more]

It’s one preseason game. Calm down!

But having typed that, Joe understands Bucs fans’ angst. The offensive line is only slightly better (maybe) than last year, partially because of two rookies on the front line. [read more]