“Keep grinding, my son.”

Former NFL head coach and quarterbacks coach Steve Mariucci, a former college quarterback himself, offered no defense for Josh McCown’s boneheaded plays yesterday.

In fact, Mariucci was confident Lovie Smith is thinking about making a QB change. [read more]

Thursday may be too early.

When Bucs fans learned that arguably the biggest piece of the Bucs defense, tackle Gerald McCoy, left the game with a broken hand Sunday, it made a gloomy day all that much darker.

If the Bucs struggled containing a journeyman backup and neverbeen slug third-teamer quarterback with GMC, just what kind of a nightmare would it be without him? [read more]

Joe’s proud to continue his partnership with LandryFootball.com, run by former NFL personnel man Chris Landry, who has worked as an assistant coach and scout for Bill Belichick, coordinator of the Titans scouting department, among other positions in pro and college football.

Landry will be providing an exclusive podcast for JoeBucsFan.com readers, which you can enjoy here every Tuesday evening. [read more]

The Bucs had — and still have — plenty of money under the 2014 salary cap available.

But one of Lovie Smith’s favorite NFL players, a guy he doesn’t want to face Thursday in Atlanta, plays for the Falcons. [read more]

Joe’s fiery “JoeBucsFan Hour” in the top-rated Steve Duemig show on WDAE-AM 620 was its usual fun time tonight.

Joe hit on all kinds of topics on both sides of the ball. [read more]

Despite starting Thursday, MLB Dane Fletcher will get about the same amount of practice reps as he usually does because of the short week.

A backup’s life in the NFL means you better know your s(p)it if you are called on in the middle of a game. That is where reserve middle linebacker Dane Fletcher found himself in when Mason Foster dislocated his shoulder Sunday.

Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier noted today that despite Fletcher being set to start Thursday night in Atlanta, Fletcher is getting about the same amount of reps this week. [read more]

Lavonte David might be the most peaceful mellow guy Joe has met who is not smoking pot or popping downers.

David is a calm, reasoned, level-headed, polite but intense guy. [read more]

For those who believe Jeff Tedford is secretly in the ear of quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo calling plays, that’s just not the case.

In fact, today Arroyo said he doesn’t know what Jeff Tedford would call. [read more]

Bucs CB Alterraun Verner is expecting a battle Thursday night.

Joe wrote Sunday night how outraged left tackle Anthony Collins was with the nutkick of a loss to a slug third-string neverbeen Lambs quarterback.

It seemed there are a good many Bucs fans out there that don’t think Bucs employees are as upset as they are. Not true. They just don’t show their emotions.

Take cornerback Alterraun Verner. He had all sorts of teams he could have signed with this past offseason. He chose the Bucs partly because of Lovie Smith, partly because he bought in to what Lovie was selling. [read more]

“Call your brother, Luke. Help the guy out.”

Former Chucky quarterback project Luke McCown now backs up Saints legend Drew Brees. The 0-2 Saints opened the season in Atlanta, where Tampa Bay plays on Thursday night.

So Joe thought he’d ask Josh McCown, Luke’s older brother, whether he’s getting some family assistance this week. [read more]

A rather somber Gerald McCoy chatted with media on the locker room of One Buc Palace today about his broken left hand.

Joe found it interesting that the mighty hand was not wrapped. Not even a Band-Aid. [read more]

Updated 2:05 p.m.: There’s hope for big-money free agent Michael Johnson, at least hope that he’ll practice today and play on Thursday night.

That’s the latest from Leslie Frazier, who talked to media this afternoon at One Buc Palace. [read more]

De facto offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo spoke to media today at One Buc Palace and explained how deep the process was of selecting Josh McCown as a free agent starting quarterback.

Arroyo talked about how he, as quarterbacks coach, along with other staff, studied every last available free agent QB. [read more]

Lovie Smith shared some of his quarterback philosophy last night. It didn’t seem to bode well for Mike Glennon’s future.

The Mike Glennon Mob might not want to hear what Lovie Smith said last night. [read more]

Bucs coach Lovie Smith professes to be a stats guy, an analytics kind of guy. And the Bucs even hired a guru to lead a growing department that only crunches numbers and works Excel spreadsheets.

Since Sunday, Bucs fans are still griping about a run called on 3rd-and-7 from the Lambs’ 9-yard line. [read more]

Ask Greg Schiano why he blitzed, and danced and stunted so often on the defensive line , and the former Bucs commander will tell you it was because he didn’t believe his front-4 could rush the passer on its own.

Ask Lovie Smith why the he blitzed Rams third-string quarterback Austin Davis much more than Derek Anderson was the previous week, and he’ll offer the same answer as Schiano. [read more]

The Bucs’ Super Bowl champion weighs in

The guy with the newest Super Bowl ring in the Bucs locker room, defensive tackle Clinton McDonald, doesn’t think his teammates are playing enough smart football.

He’s committed to fixing that, and ensuring the Bucs’ attitude stays healthy in the face of two frustrating losses. [read more]

Keep the faith, says Booger McFarland.

Joe understands the downright anger of Bucs fans. The team basically urinated away the first two games of the season against dog backup quarterbacks, in part, because a career backup QB Lovie Smith knighted as his leader, Josh McCown, made too many Pop Warner mistakes that doomed the Pewter Pirates.

Sensing the kick-in-the-groin loss to the Lambs and a third-string nobody ended Lovie Smith’s honeymoon with fans, former Bucs defensive tackle Booger McFarland is trying his best to calm the masses. [read more]

The new starter?

So if Doug Martin is healthy on Thursday, will he return as Tampa Bay’s starting running back?

Listening to Lovie Smith on his radio show tonight, one might not think so. [read more]

Gerald McCoy has a broken hand. Joe knows this because McCoy talked about it last night.

Lovie Smith didn’t call McCoy’s hand broken this afternoon and hinted McCoy could play Thursday night in Atlanta. [read more]