Jacquies Smith brings down Redskins QB Robert Griffin III. (Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers.)

Bucs defensive end Jacquies Smith is quite a story. Signed by Tampa Bay just after the first game of the season, it marked his fifth stop through the NFL and CFL in three years, and his first time on a 53-man, NFL roster.

All of a sudden, Smith has become a bright spot in a unit that has been miserable. [read more]

So what Buccaneers did Josh McCown reference as big-time team leaders yesterday on his radio show? [read more]

Bears fans are just about fed up with bratty Jay Cutler.

If one didn’t know any better, it was as if Josh Freeman came out of his Salmon Rushdie cave and took over the Bears offense the way the Monsters of the Midway have imploded.

Of course, the main target of Bears fans is the erratic play of bratty Jay Cutler. The Bears quarterback always seems to be copping an attitude of some sort. That’s cool when things are going well, not when you are being outplayed by Josh McCown. [read more]

A Chicago Tribune columnist tried to frame Bears GM Phil Emery as some sort of Judas Iscariot who plotted to overthrow former Bears coach Lovie Smith.

It wasn’t that long ago — a handful of hours — when Bucs fans, per Joe’s unscientific poll, were not all that confident about former Bears coach and current Bucs coach Lovie Smith.

Lovie, you may recall, had a basement in suburban Chicago where he hatched his plan to lift the Bucs out of the cellar of the NFL. So far, not much has gone right. [read more]

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, national champion James Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s regular nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback to wear No. 5 ever in the state of Florida. [read more]

It was time for the popular “JoeBucsFan Hour” this evening with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620.

All kinds of topics were on the table. [read more]

Danny Lansanah and Will Gholston celebrate an interception that helped the Bucs jump out to an early lead against the Redskins. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)

Few football teams — save Florida State, which has a loaded roster and a once-in-a-lifetime-quarterback — can cough up two- or three-score deficits in the first half and regularly rally to win.

But when the Bucs jumped out to a strong lead against the Redskins, not only did that surprise Andrew Astleford of Fox Sports Florida, but he dared to hint such a pattern could mean big things for the Bucs. [read more]

Lovie Smith is a pretty straight-forward, black-and-white kind of cat. His favorite phrase sure seems to be “simple as that.”

So Joe was a bit surprised yesterday when Lovie started talking about reading his players’ eyeballs. [read more]

There are few things to like about this current Bucs season. It is almost like this franchise is cursed. All the lofty expectations for the club, and then — BAM! — the bottom falls out and the Bucs are in a race for the top overall pick. Nobody saw this coming.

Neither did anyone see how Bucs rookie wide receiver Mike Evans would blow up so quickly. [read more]

Those six sacks by Tampa Bay on Sunday? The man who is arguably the premier Bucs Xs and Os guru says that wasn’t what was most impressive from the defense. [read more]

Tomorrow, Joe will compare results here to those of previous weeks.

The Bucs need a quarterback with franchise-QB potential.

The song was the same this time last year.

So yes, Joe’s cheering for convicted groper Zach Mettenberger, the Tennessee Titans’ starting rookie quarterback who is playing way above his sixth-round-draft-pick status. [read more]

The hype already is in full swing in the Windy City with Lovie Smith returning Sunday to coach against his former Bears, the team that fired him after a 10-6 season in 2012.

Injured Bears icon Charles Tillman shared plenty about how Lovie wants to stick it to the Bears. [read more]

Lovie Smith says things are ahead of schedule in one area of the Buccaneers’ development.

Man, that left Joe scratching his head last night. [read more]

Mike Evans said he noticed on film last week how the Redskins like to cover a wide receiver with a linebacker.

Say what you will about the Redskins; and boy, Redskins fans sure are. They have become unhinged after getting blown out by the Bucs — but it seems they are a very consistent team.

Both wide receiver Mike Evans and middle linebacker Mason Foster noticed tendencies while studying film on the Redskins, and sure enough, they repeated their patterns against Tampa Bay, which led to big Bucs plays. [read more]

Jacquies Smith puts pressure on Robert Griffin III. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)

One cool thing about the Bucs’ win over the Redskins was how much the Bucs pounded quarterback Robert Griffin III. And like the old school Bucs during the glory years, getting into the heads of quarterbacks leads to so many good things from the entire team.

Gary Shelton was having flashbacks to the Super Bowl run, as well. The veteran Tampa Bay sports columnist, who wrote his farewell column recently for the Tampa Bay Times, is starting a new chapter of his professional career, his own website dedicated to local sports views, his sports views, GarySheltonSports.com. [read more]

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, national champion James Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s regular nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback to wear No. 5 ever in the state of Florida. [read more]

Early Pro Bowl votes are in

The past two sad Buccaneers seasons mercifully ended with the kick in the groin of Lavonte David getting snubbed for the Pro Bowl.

The fancy national panel of sportswriters voted David an All-Pro last season, but fans, coaches and players combined to keep him from Hawaii. [read more]

Jacquies Smith (56) and Michael Johnson (90) bring Robert Griffin III down Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)

One pleasant surprise of the Bucs’ woeful, forgettable season has been the play of defensive end Jacquies Smith. He has three sacks this season, two of which came yesterday in the wipeout of Washington.

For weeks, Bucs coach Lovie Smith has begged, pleaded, and preached quarterback pressure and sacks. Sadly, these occurred about as often as catching a cold. [read more]

Clinton McDonald

Lovie Smith despises curse words. It’s a no-no around Lovie.

Just ask Brian Urlacher.

So it was an eye-opener today when Lovie raved about defensive tackle Clinton McDonald and evoked a PG-rated phrase. [read more]