It sure would be nice if Bucs DE Michael Johnson (who?) could make a play or two Sunday.

Joe sometimes thinks the term “leaders” in sports is just gibberish used for filler. Gives people something to talk about.

At the end of the day, what truly matters is whether you can play. For example, Warren Sapp likes to jabber. It is in his DNA. If he wasn’t the Hall of Fame player he was, and instead a practice squad guy, all that woofing would just be hot air.

Take Josh McCown for example. [read more]

Joe’s got two names for you: Logan Mankins and Anthony Collins.

If the men protecting starter Mike Glennon’s blind side show up and earn their giant salaries in Pittsburgh on Sunday, then the Bucs should have a prayer.

[read more]

Lovie Smith raved about how quarterback Josh McCown is now “Coach McCown” in his new role supporting starter Mike Glennon.

Joe has questioned the value of McCown’s leadership. Do the Bucs look like a team with veteran leaders? [read more]

Joe saw at least 200 people lined up to get inside the new, giant Whole Foods Clearwater store yesterday. And the store already was full with shoppers. (Why so much excitement for organic lettuce, 37 varieties of hummus and stinky European cheeses?)

More people were probably there shopping than the number of folks who believe the Bucs can win Sunday, per Gerald McCoy. [read more]

Former Bucs QB Shaun King fingered two failures for the Bucs’ 2014 demise

Never pulling any punches, NBC Sports and Yahoo! Sports NFL analyst Shaun King is clear on why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are at the bottom of the NFL. [read more]

The “Custodian of Canton,” eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune, vows not to cut Lovie Smith any more “excuses” after last week’s debacle in Atlanta.

Joe knows Bucs players want to turn the page.

Joe knows some fans want to turn the page.

But when a team finds itself in a franchise-worst 56-point deficit — in the third quarter no less! — on national TV, staining the reputation of the franchise, neither the team nor the fans get to choose when the chatter about this game ends. [read more]

Joe’s lived plenty of life and really doesn’t remember a wide receiver playing through a broken wrist.

How would that not be a serious handicap? [read more]

This is how low Tampa Bay is right now.

National analyst takes on the Bucs involve thinking about whether the team will come to play on Sunday. [read more]

Evading tacklers and extending plays, allowing receivers to get open, is what makes Ben Roethlisberger so special, said Dashon Goldson.

Joe is frankly scared to death of what Ben Roethlisberger might do to the Bucs on Sunday.

If Matty Ice can shred the Bucs, imagine what Roethlisberger could do?

For a defense that has yet to demonstrate an ability to shut down a third-string scrub, much less Matty Ice, now comes the best quarterback the Bucs have faced this season, Roethlisberger, on his home turf no less. [read more]

The Bucs will see a familiar smile Sunday

Now here’s a trivia question: What former Buccaneers running back ranks among the all-time greats in yards per carry?

No, it’s not James Wilder (3.6 yards per carry), Errict Rhett (3.5) or Warrick Dunn (4.1). [read more]

Damn, the Bucs need a pass rush. It’s been the same song since Greg (later Stylez) White had eight sacks and seven forced fumbles in 2007, when the Bucs made the playoffs behind the strength of the NFL’s No. 3-ranked defense. [read more]

Former Lovie Smith linebacker Brian Urlacher still believes in the Bucs.

Brian Urlacher, the man who personified Bears defense for 13 seasons, including all the years current Bucs coach led the Bears, is about as tight with his former head coach as a player and head coach can be.

In fact, Lovie invited Urlacher to spend time with the Bucs in training camp to help out the Bucs in learning Lovie’s defense. [read more]

More national analysts call for Glennon to start permanently, and they believe Big Ben will feast Sunday.

Heading to the angry confines of Heinz Field is a tough assignment for any team, especially for Mike Glennon, who was sacked over and over and over on the road last year. (Not so much at home)

Interim offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo also gets to match wits with legendary Steelers coordinator Dick LeBeau. [read more]

The seal-clubbing the Bucs received at Atlanta last week is fresh in the minds of Bucs fans. Just the thought of it gives fans acid reflux.

In some cases, Bucs fans who bravely watched all four quarters of that debacle are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and have been found to aimlessly wander their neighborhoods in the small hours of the night, muttering the same question over and over about Mark Barron covering tight ends. [read more]

Mike Kafka gets a promotion.

In as close to a sure sign that the Bucs will turn to quarterback Mike Glennon to lead the Bucs out of the abyss and to the team’s first win of the season, the Bucs have added a quarterback to the 53-man roster.

The new quarterback is an old quarterback. Well, with his shaved head he looks old. [read more]

We have had the opportunity to be around Mike [Glennon] and Josh [McCown] quite a bit now, meeting rooms, not just the practice field. And, you know, when you look at the top things we look for in a quarterback, No. 1 being intelligence, No. 2 being accuracy, No. 3 being toughness, and then the fact that both of these guys have a strong arm, particularly Mike has a cannon. — Bucs general manager Jason Licht. — May 2014. [read more]

Joe senses some Bucs have taken advantage of Lovie Smith’s gentle ways

Joe thought it was interesting if not amusing earlier this week when, discussing the Bucs, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Lovie and his horrid start, “Knowing Lovie Smith, I know he will be undeterred by the start. As a matter of fact, he is going to be energized by it.”

Joe understands where Tomlin was going, but “energized?” Awful strange word to use when starting 0-3. PO’ed, maybe. Upset, maybe. Driven, maybe. Energized? [read more]

So what are the Bucs made of? What kind of character and will is in this Gerald McCoy-led locker room?

More answers are forthcoming. So far, reality hasn’t looked good. [read more]

Barring something terribly unforeseen, Mike Glennon will get his first 2014 start Sunday at Pittsburgh. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

The future is now.

The man who was the quarterback of past but not the quarterback of the present (for a few more days), who Bucs coach Lovie Smith deemed the quarterback of the future, will have a “good chance,” Lovie said, of starting Sunday at the Steelers in place of hobbled, turnover-prone Josh McCown.

As he did this spring at the draft when Lovie spoke glowingly about Glennon, Lovie resumed his love for the NC State product yesterday, lauding how he has handled the past 12 months. [read more]

Lovie Smith friend and former mentor Father Dungy shared perspective on quarterback controversies on NBC Sports Network last night. [read more]