A prominent former Buccaneer has gone to the game film and says he sees real growth from rookie Mike Glennon to the current Year-2 version.

The little things are standing out.

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Some of Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson’s family have the nerve to get free Saints tickets from him, and cheer against the Bucs.

Joe feels bad for Demar Dotson. He is being sold out.

The anchor of the right side of the Bucs’ offensive line, and the only O-line starter brought back from last year, Dotson in many ways looks forward to playing the Saints in New Orleans.

You see, Dotson is from Louisiana. So playing in the Big Easy is a chance to meet up with some kin.

But then, apparently, those same loving family members pull the rug out from under his feet, so Dotson explained to the “Custodian of Canton,” eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. [read more]

Drew Brees is really getting under Joe’s skin.

Last year it was Brees, captain of the Bountygate team, moaning about how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were filled with dirty, reckless renegades. Darren Sproles cried, too. [read more]

Mild-mannered Leslie Frazier was an enthusiastic guy (for him) at the One Buc Palace podium this afternoon.

It was clear that Bucs defensive coordinator is happy to have his stud horses back. [read more]

Shaun King weighs in

So did the Bucs open up the offense in Pittsburgh? Or was Mike Glennon just playing a lot more aggressively than journeyman Josh McCown? [read more]

For months, Joe has been working to get the word out: Austin Seferian-Jenkins is an absolute manbeast of a rookie tight end.

Here’s the scouting report for NFL defenses: Too wide, too tall, too strong, too intense, too determined, too quick, too angry after the catch. [read more]

“Did you hear the one about the Bucs locking down a tight end?”

 Lavonte David has yet to savor the sweetness of victory against the New Orleans Saints.

And a big reason for that is the deceptive eyes of Drew Brees, in addition to the stupid three-man rushes against Brees that Greg Schiano employed too often. [read more]

The putrid play of the NFC South is giving the Bucs hope. Is it false hope?

As awful as the Bucs played through the first three weeks of the season, no one in their right might would have suggested Tampa Bay was a playoff contender last week.

Not only are playoffs damned-near impossible to make after an 0-3 start, but the way the Bucs got seal-clubbed by the Dixie Chicks, no way.

There is no such thing as a must-win game in September, or October. That is just crazy talk, no matter how you spin it.

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What might have been. Former Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik tells more of the real story of the Bucs and Chip Kelly.

Yes, we are just past the quarter-mile marker in the mile run that is the NFL regular season, Lovie Smith’s first with Tampa Bay. But we really don’t know what to expect.

It’s like daydreaming about what would have happened if Chip Kelly, not Greg Schiano, agreed to be Bucs head coach back in 2012. Kelly, then the University of Oregon head coach, has been nothing short of sensational at every stop in his football life, including leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the playoffs last year. [read more]

Akeem Spence explained the spike in sacks was largely thanks to solid secondary play

A lot has been made of the Bucs offense the past week and that, with Mike Glennon at the helm, the long-awaited “Dunkaneers” finally showed up. Whether that was because of Glennon remains to be seen.

Well, anther thing that finally showed up Sunday was the long-awaited pass rush. The Bucs got Ben Roethlisberger on the ground five times. For long-suffering Bucs fans, that felt like two month’s worth of sacks. [read more]

Sometimes it’s nice to hear right from the head coach, rather than Joe’s quotes and spin on what the Buccaneers’ exalted leader is saying.

Lovie Smith was talking today, though he sure didn’t want to get into specifics on Drew Brees. [read more]

Alterraun Verner isn’t buying that the Bucs defense cannot cover tight ends

It’s getting to be an irritating broken record. The Bucs, for reasons unknown, just cannot cover a tight end.

It is as if Bucs defenders think opposing tight ends are active carriers of the Ebola virus. Or that the Bucs will break out into hives if they get close enough to smell a tight end. It is starting to p!ss Joe off. [read more]

Bucs G Logan Mankins discussed the improving Bucs offensive line.

Bucs fans have been grumbling about the offensive line since training camp. During preseason, the offensive line looked like a complete and total jailbreak. There was legitimate reason for angst.

At the time ,Bucs center Evan Dietrich-Smith issued a cautionary tale for Bucs fans. A new offensive line with new parts needs time to sort itself out. What fans witnessed in preseason would be much better as the regular season progressed. [read more]

Will Mason Foster play in New Orleans?

As he is wont to do, middle linebacker Mason Foster was ready to chat about Bucs football, wearing his trademark floppy hat in the style of Gilligan. “Mase” is always eager.

But of late, Foster hasn’t been ready to play football. He dislocated a shoulder against the Rams and hasn’t played since. That could change Sunday. [read more]

Dare to dream, Bucs fans. Your official “quarterback of the future” is.

Bucs starting gunslinger Mike Glennon has had his eye on the NFC South standings. [read more]

“You have to be s(p)itting me, Mark Davis! You actually want me to work with Derek Carr? Jiminy Christmas, take your sorry ass team elsewhere, man! Tirico would be a better quarterback!”

Periodically, Joe likes to share what is going on in the world of Chucky. You know, the guy who doesn’t get near the praise he should for bringing home the lone Super Bowl championship for the Bucs.

And frankly, the Bucs really haven’t been worth a squat since he was jettisoned that fateful Friday evening in January 2009. [read more]

A member of the Bucs offensive line weighs in on Snapgate

Considering the Bucs have had serious troubles snapping the football through the past two games, Joe can’t just write it off as a bad day.

And it is serious, especially when you’re about to head to the NFL’s southern cauldron of doom in New Orleans. [read more]

That quarter smile you couldn’t wipe off your face on Monday, that pride at the office, the lack of shame walking through Publix, that’s the sweetness of victory. [read more]

A plea to get physical emerges

Here’s a stat that’s surely got Lovie Smith seeking sleep aids: The Buccaneers’ defense is stuck with only one interception through four games. That ranks tied for 27th in the NFL.

The lone pick was a garbage-time theft of Falcons quarterback T.J. Yates by Danny Lansanah. Sadly, there is more troubling data. [read more]

Josh McCown will be back on the field sooner rather than later.

Joe can hear the cheers across the Tampa Bay area, from the white sands of Clearwater Beach to the strawberry farms of Plant City. [read more]