Starting right Patrick Omameh was lauded for his play Saturday night by Lovie Smith today.

Bucs fans climbed off ledges and drove away from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Sunday after the Bucs’ offensive line looked like they could block a little bit. It was relieving if not refreshing.

Images of the loss to Jacksonville to open the preseason were all too fresh in Bucs fans’ minds. That night, sans Demar Dotson, the line couldn’t block a tackling dummy. It was every bit the word “trainwreck” sounds like. [read more]

Another 20 percent emerges

The man who first leaked that the Bucs would be running an “up tempo” offense was back at home Saturday night when Tampa Bay’s first-team offense rolled out a taste of it for the home crowd. [read more]

For players on the bubble, the next two weeks are critical. NFL teams must shave their rosters to 75 players on Aug. 26 at 4 p.m., the first of the two major cut down dates. NFL teams must be at the regular season-mandated 53-man roster on Aug. 30.

Sometimes, if teams believe they have to move on from a veteran, they will release said player early, almost as a favor to provide plenty of time and options to latch on with another club. [read more]

Only one arm of giant-winged second-year defensive end Will Gholston is available to bat down passes and disrupt plays in the backfield.

Joe’s partners at WDAE-AM 620 are reporting that Gholston has an arm in a sling today. [read more]

A prominent former Buccaneer is blown away by the preseason dominance of Gerald McCoy but is wondering aloud where his defensive linemates are? [read more]

With Rashaan Melvin dinged up (again), the recent rash of cornerbacks injuries may force the Bucs to begin shopping.

One position, on paper, that was deep before training camp was cornerback. With the addition of guys like Alterraun Verner and Mike Jenkins, it seemed the Bucs were set when they joined promising returning starter Johnthan Banks and talented Rashaan Melvin.

Not quite three weeks from the regular season, that may not be. Consider: Verner is still not 100 percent coming off a July hamstring injury, which is always dicey. Jenkins, who Joe thinks has a helluva lot to prove, also is hampered by what the Bucs mysteriously refer to as a lower leg injury. Melvin, who has a reputation of being injury prone, has a bum ankle of some sort suffered in Saturday night’s game against Miami, and per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, is wearing a boot. [read more]

When you’re a 20-year-old rookie (yes, 20), the NFL is a wildly new experience. And when you’re as football raw as first-round pick Mike Evans, that means you’re almost always learning and adjusting.

Evans learned a hell of a lesson Saturday when he was stripped a few inches shy of the end zone, but there was more education in store. [read more]

Starting left guard Oneil Cousins won’t be sending former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht a Christmas card

The Tampa Bay offensive line looked improved Saturday night but that’s not saying a whole lot.

That was the message from former Buccaneers, Jets, Rams, Chiefs and Cardinals tight end Anthony Becht. [read more]

New big-money left tackle Anthony Collins had a message for Bucs fans and media before the first preseason game in Jacksonville: “Get your popcorn. Time to show the game.” Joe had questioned Collins about the skeptics who are unsure he will thrive because he’s never started half a season.

Sadly, the first batch of popcorn tasted charred and was filled with those nasty unpopped kernels. [read more]

Luke Stocker got his share of first-team action Saturday

You saw him. Big No. 88, healthy at last, healthy at last, was spotted on the field with the first team offense on Saturday night.

And no, Luke Stocker wasn’t there to squirt Gatorade in Vincent Jackson’s mouth. [read more]

The spreadsheet crowd has fresh proof. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Joe started hearing the rumbling last year from a guy who rumbles the walls when he speaks. Joe raised an eyebrow (picture Derrick Brooks) when last year Warren Sapp tried to tell Joe that Gerald McCoy was better than he was.

Joe wasn’t biting. Or buying. [read more]

Well, that didn’t take long.

When the Lovie Smith regime took over, Joe knows it liked tight end Tim Wright. Really liked him. In his rookie year, the converted wide receiver landed in the top half of tight ends in the NFL, despite being a Schiano Rutgers man.

In the offseason, suits at One Buc Palace raved about Wright. Early in training camp is sure seemed, at worst, Wright would be the No. 2 tight end on the team and would still see a lot of playing time. [read more]

Today, Lovie Smith said there will be “no life sentence” for Mike Evans, and the head coach weighed in on various players.

Head coach Lovie Smith watched last night’s game film and emerged for media this afternoon at One Buc Palace.

Lovie had plenty to say about the offensive line and more. [read more]

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy, who said the defensive line needs to improve, puts a move on a Dolphins guard last night. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Defensive end Michael Johnson signed a five-year deal worth $43.75 million, per Rotoworld.com. Some even suggested that paired with Gerald McCoy, Johnson would be the next Simeon Rice.

Frankly, unless Johnson flips the switch next month, the next person comparing him to Rice should be towel-snapped in the shower. [read more]

Johnthan Banks is really growing on Joe. The second-year cornerback has a real edge to him.

He plays angry. He talks angry. Heck, Joe can still remember glare on Banks’ face when Joe asked Banks about being named a backup cornerback on Lovie Smith’s initial preseason depth chart. [read more]

Skill position players like Bucs RB Charles Sims could not play through his ankle injury without surgery

The Bucs took a nasty hit Friday when highly-touted rookie running back Charles Sims had ankle surgery and would be lost for at least 12 weeks. For a team building its offense in part around his skills, this was bad news.

Of the three Bucs rookies with the greatest team expectations, wide receiver Mike Evans, tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Sims, it was Sims who appeared most NFL-ready. He was an effective if not a good runner and, of course, had very good hands. [read more]

The warm and fuzzy, happy-to-double-our-win-total crowd may not care about a prized Bucs defensive end looking anemic in the preseason, but Joe can’t ignore it.

So far, the real Michael Johnson, the one Tampa Bay paid handsomely, hasn’t shown up. [read more]

Think Bucs rookie sixth-round pick Robert Herron is “on the bubble” when it comes to making the Tampa Bay roster, well, not so fast.

After hearing Bucs general manager Jason Licht speak last night, Joe’s ready to anoint Herron an opening-day Buccaneer. [read more]

Right tackle Demar Dotson talks about the improvement the offensive line made from last week’s train wreck.

Mental health professionals throughout the Tampa Bay area saw appointments for counseling spike after Bucs fans were ambushed with a truly horrid display of blocking last week. Josh McCown’s life insurance policy terminated, he had to run for his life so much.

In the first half last night against Miami — Joe is only counting the first half because the second half was largely played by future carpet cleaners, high school assistant coaches, concierges and tire store managers — the offensive line was did a halfway decent job. Not great, mind you, but certainly better than that horror show of turnstiles last week. [read more]

Unless Lovie Smith is hiding former Gator and Olympic speedster Jeff Demps as part of a secret plot to thrust Demps on the NFL via Jeff Tedford’s never-before-seen plays, it seems Demps is on the wrong side of the roster bubble. [read more]

Bucs WR Mike Evans streaks down the left sideline for an apparent touchdown. But, no! He fumbled at the one with the ball rolling out of the end zone for a touchback. It proved to be the difference in the game. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Bucs fans got a glimpse of the future tonight, and almost immediately wanted a time machine to turn the clock back 30 seconds.

Bucs coach Lovie Smith always touts Mike Glennon as the quarterback of the future. And there he was, in a shotgun from the Miami-42 midway through the second quarter. [read more]