Ten NFL teams average 30 or more rushing attempts per game.

And whaddya know, not one has a losing record. [read more]

“Tissue paper”

Look, Joe is not going to rag on an injured guy, and if you trust the words of Lovie Smith, Michael Johnson will never been 100 percent this season.

Joe waited for Johnson, the high-priced free agent signee, to make his first appearance as a Bucs defensive end, which he did last week in Pittsburgh by dropping Ben Roethlisberger twice. [read more]

Yes, Lovie Smith stood tall at the One Buc Palace podium this afternoon and took all kinds of questions from assembled media.

Joe’s already shared Lovie’s takes on Mike Glennon and Lovie’s effort to quash any quarterback controversy without actually quashing it. [read more]

Lovie should use the rest of the season to determine which defenders on the NFL’s No. 30 defense should return

One reason Joe weeks ago decided the time is now for the quarterback of the future was to get Mike Glennon more work.

If he put in 13 more starts this fall, then the Bucs would have 26 games (including last season) of Glennon on tape to gauge whether he really is the quarterback of the future, such as the empty proclamations by Bucs officials suggest. [read more]

Lovie Smith still won’t name Mike Glennon his No. 1 quarterback, and he’s not a big fan of the question. [read more]

Joe isn’t sure why, but it sure seemed as if Lovie Smith was doing his best to replace cornerback Johnthan Banks. Shoot, Lovie even went out and signed the notorious Mike Jenkins, and despite Jenkins missing virtually all of training camp and preseason, Lovie insisted Jenkins was a starter.

Joe watched closely and just shook his head. Mike Jenkins! [read more]

Fear is in the air and it’s not even Halloween.

Yes, there are highs (Mike Glennon), but the lows have analysts freaking out. [read more]

Good news is on the horizon. Joe hopes it soothes the excruciating pain of the overtime beating in New Orleans.

Yesterday, Bucs general manager explained there’s a shake up coming at running back. [read more]

Lovie Smith sure was happy with Mike Glennon while speaking to media after yesterday’s painful loss.

And Lovie is not alone. [read more]

Bucs RB Bobby Rainey scores in the third quarter. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Entering the season, the Bucs running game seemed to be a strength. Five games in, the Bucs are still looking for one.

Doug Martin is going on a near one-year rut of underperforming. Bobby Rainey, at times, shows some splash, but there is the ever-present fear of him fumbling. [read more]

Lavonte David took over defensive playcalling duties throughout yesterday’s game. (Apparently, Dane Fletcher couldn’t cut it).

And then David proceeded to drill Jimmy Graham and wound him for the rest of the game en route to 10 solo tackles. [read more]

“We thought it would be unfair to ask the fans to be patient with us,” Jason Licht, March 2014

“We just decided that we couldn’t ask our fans to be patient anymore,” Lovie Smith, July 2014

As a passionate Bucs fan, Joe is really struggling this morning. This Saints loss was especially painful. Joe is no masochist.

The toll of the Bucs winning just 12 of their last 47 games is weighing heavy. [read more]

A long look at the Bucs yesterday, today, and what to expect tomorrow and beyond.

NEW ORLEANS — Joe nearly had acid reflux last night, and no, he didn’t go to a Cajun joint for dinner, and he only had one beer, though it was a big beer.

For a team with an alleged defensive wizard head coach, who made his bones on defense and who makes no bones about the fact his team will be strong and physical and tough defensively, the Bucs coughing up 202 yards in the fourth quarter and one drive of overtime is beyond the pale. [read more]

Logan Mankins weighs in

Yesterday, flags flew in the Bucs-Saints game like seagulls when someone walks the beach with an overflowing bag of French Fries.

Just in the Drive from Hell, the drive that went in reverse, like a senior citizen punches the wrong pedal on his car (you know the kind, when a garage door is blown through, or new window is created in a donut shop), there were three penalties in six plays. That turned the game around and doomed the Bucs in the fourth quarter. [read more]

Right tackle Demar Dotson had strong words for his offensive teammates

Alterraun Verner was not the only man in the Bucs locker room who issued blame for the frustrating loss in New Orleans. Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson was honest and up front when he stated the Bucs’ offense, which shined for three quarters, didn’t get the job done when the team needed it most.

Dotson made no excuses and pulled no punches. [read more]

Lovie Smith seems to like his new quarterback. [read more]

One of the ugliest drives in recent Bucs history ended in a safety and seemed to be a turning point in today’s loss.

It will go down as one of the most painful, ugliest drives Joe can remember. It tops the leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman meltdown in New York last year.

At a time when one Bucs score could have sealed the game, the gruesome series gave up points at a terrible time. [read more]

There wasn’t just pain in the Buccaneers’ locker room. There was a little anger and frustration, too. [read more]

Trust Joe, in the past few years Joe has seen some bad losses. And don’t think the Bucs take those lightly. They wear on players because those are these guys paying with sweat and blood.

The scene in the Bucs’ locker room today was maybe the lowest Joe has ever experienced. The players knew — just knew — they had the game won if they only played average football. Yet in the final minutes, the team imploded on both sides of the ball. [read more]