Joe often delivers readers data from the popular ProFootballFocus.com, which provides detailed grades for all players after every NFL game.

But make no mistake, Joe does not consider the ProFootballFocus stuff to be gospel. Yes, Joe realizes a handful of NFL teams pay for the data and consider it strongly, as Peter King of Sports Illustrated has reported, but logic tells Joe the data is extraordinarily subjective and Joe’s skeptical of the credentials of the evaluators.

League stats issued by the Buccaneers this week on pass blocking, however, are not debatable.

The Bucs’ offensive line is allowing sacks on only 4.2 percent of pass plays, tied for sixth-best in the NFL. The Bucs finished last season ranked 11th in the league in that category.

This is darn impressive, especially considering the injuries along the offensive line, and the fact that Josh Freeman isn’t known for his quick release and fast decision-making.

The numbers also add some fuel to the Josh Freeman doubters, who can add strong pass blocking to the list of offensive riches that surround Freeman.

The great Mike Florio

Consider it a promise.

Earlier this week, Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com had a “private communication” with a Bucs player in the waning hours after the shutout debacle in New Orleans where some player, who refused to be identified, claimed the Bucs college coaches should go back to college.

Yesterday, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune asked Bucs great Ronde Barber about Florio’s report and Barber dropped a naughty word he was so adamant Florio’s report was fabricated.

Not so fast, says Florio, who responded to Barber’s response last night.

I promise you that someone did, Ronde.

Who’s in a position to be more sure? The guy to whom it was told, or the guy who has no idea what his teammates have said in the hours after a frustrating shutout loss to one of their biggest rivals? That’s why we opted not to go with the same-old “we stand by our report” when asked for a response by the Tribune, choosing instead something far more pragmatic: “If Ronde is aware of every private communication in which his 52 teammates engage, that’s even more impressive than his Hall of Fame playing career.”

Our guess is that Ronde opted to react strongly due to speculation in the local media that he was the source. As his career in Tampa likely winds to a conclusion, it wouldn’t be the ideal way to make his exit. Regardless, we won’t say who said it. But I promise you that someone did.

As Joe wrote last night, Florio works for himself and NBC Sports, and that outfit frowns heavily on somebody inventing a quote. Florio’s a smart guy. He knows all too well his empire would quickly crumble (as well as his NBC contract, as well as possibly his law career) if he started manufacturing quotes just for a few clicks on his site.

Even the biggest fans of Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman must admit the fourth-year Bucs signal-caller has had a lousy last four weeks.

Freeman went from average (with a couple of major misses) to shaky to bad to wretched in consecutive games.

Bucs fans, seeing younger quarterbacks on other teams drafted in later rounds having more recent success than Freeman, have grown impatient by the week and have reached full throat in their anger after Freeman’s four-interception game to one of the NFL’s worst defenses, the Saints last Sunday.

Each week, Freeman explained some of his misses and interceptions were “miscommucications.” This just added to the fire fans who wondered aloud how, through 15 weeks of an NFL season, the quarterback cannot be in synch with his receivers.

In ways, Freeman’s use of the term “miscommunication” seemed to infer to some that he was pointing fingers at his teammates and blaming others for the errors.

Joe had a chance to ask Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan Wednesday to explain how there can be so much miscommunication with the end of the season just 11 days away.

“Whether it is an incompletion or an interception, there are a wide variety of reasons why [miscommunicatoin] can come into play. It could be a breakdown in protection. It could be a poor execution of a route. It could be a poor throw. Not to get into any of the specifics, there is always a reason. I think with a lot of things we try to do, at least offensively in the passing game, which we have had some success with certainly, is an ability to be on the same page, to read and adjust to a coverage. Any one particular pass could have a number of options off of it, not just a merely an ability to step inside or outside. There are some subtleties with that combined with protection standpoint whether there is – again, not to get into too many specifics – there are enough variables there that while this is not what we want to have happening now. In my estimation we’d like to be further along. I can certainly see along with the growing pains that it is part of the process within the system that sometimes you have those [miscommunications].

“The key thing is when they do happen they end up being, ideally, incompletions or having to punt the football on third down, both of which we don’t like but they are far better than turning the ball over. It is something that we are continuing to deal with but we are excited about.”

To break down what Sullivan is explaining sort of requires a dip into football history. The Bucs offense, a branch off the Giants offensive limb, has some hints of the run-and-shoot, which is a nod to Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Grilbride’s history with the old Houston Oilers where he ran a version of the run-and-shoot as the team’s offensive coordinator.

For wide receivers in the old run-and-shoot, it was sort of the “run to daylight” concept, freelancing. Not unlike what Vince Lombardi created with running backs in the 1950s when he was an offensive coordinator at West Point and later, the Giants. At the time, it was revolutionary, the running back didn’t just run through the hole — open or not — he was assigned on a play to freelance and “run to daylight.”

But Sullivan’s offense isn’t that exotic in that the wide receivers can just run wherever they choose and hope the quarterback reads their mind. On every route there are several options depending on where the receiver breaks, what play the defense is in, down-and-distance, any number of factors.

And when receivers break, there could be as many as five or seven different options per route on how to break off, again, based on many factors and what Sullivan terms “variables.” Think of it as each route a receiver runs has its own individual route tree.

It isn’t just the quarterback that has to read the defense. So too must the receiver. The quarterback and the receiver must meld together. Any slight deviation and it could look like an ugly incompletion, or worse, a pick-six.

This is why Freeman always talks about “miscommunications.” He may be reading one thing, a receiver might (incorrectly) be reading something totally different (or vice-versa) and the receiver will turn a route into something foreign to Freeman. In other words, quarterback and receiver are not melding, or “not on the same page,” an oft-used phrase.

Of course, opposing defensive coordinators know this and might try to deploy junk defenses or a confusing defensive look at the Bucs for the purpose not only of stopping a pass, but confusing Freeman or his receivers. It’s a giant (no pun intended) cat-and-mouse game.

It is for that reason that miscommunications can happen each game between Freeman and his intended targets. It’s also why Freeman’s teammates (receiver Mike Williams in particular) came out swinging in Freeman’s defense as the uproar from the fans grew loud and testy.

“I wouldn’t say there is too much thinking going on,” receiver Tiquan Underwood said about the miscommunications of late. “We have shown we can handle it. It’s not so much too much on our plate, it’s getting on the same page. At the end of the day, the receivers have to be on the same page as the quarterback. When that goes well, we have shown we can play well.

“It takes a smart guy to play in this system. We are all smart here and we can handle it and it’s our job. We just have to keep repping it in practice and get things right.”

In a perverse way, the current state of the Bucs is a dream for a tabloid columnist. It’s almost like walking into a trendy South Tampa hotspot on a steamy summer Friday night with a club full of nubile young lasses in various states of midriff baring, thinking to yourself, “Where do you start?”

This is what Alan Dell has done, sans the lasses, in documenting the craziness that has become the Bucs in recent days.

Dell, a columnist for the Bradenton Herald, points a finger at Bucs head coach Greg Schiano’s ironclad ways as the kindling that has turned into a blaze.

Fires seemed to be breaking out everywhere.

There was a spat between a player and coach on the sideline that resembled a scene from Jerry Springer, and an anonymous Tampa Bay player quoted on ProFootballTalk.com said his coaches should go back to college.

The Bucs defensive backs continue to look like chestnuts roasted on an open fire, and the quarterback has played like burnt toast for three straight games.

(Before Joe goes further, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune spoke with Bucs legend and current safety Ronde Barber who claims the quote in question used by Florio was fabricated by someone.)

As Dell points out later in his column, winning cures all ills. There was no grumbling in the Bucs’ locker room when the Bucs were winning.

Win Sunday, and fans will begin to forget a backup linebacker and “captain” going all Moe Howard on an assistant coach on the sidelines, and they’ll call off the wolves at Josh Freeman’s front door (for the moment) and get in a warm and fuzzy mood for Christmas.

Whoa! Ronde Barber has all but accused Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru a ProFootballTalk.com, of fabricating an anonymous source.

For those who missed it, Florio reported Monday that an unnamed Buccaneer voiced frustration following the Bucs-Saints game and said, “Can we send these coaches back to college?”

Well, Tampa Tribune beat writer Roy Cummings asked Barber and other Bucs about it today, and Barber told Cummings, “That’s a (expletive) made up quote. No one said that. I can promise you that.’’

Florio delivered a classic comeback, “If Ronde is aware of every private communication in which his 52 teammates engage, that’s even more impressive than his Hall of Fame playing career.”

For years, Joe has regularly communicated with Florio on a variety of topics, and Joe must side with Florio — if there is a “side” in this squabble. Florio takes his credibility very seriously and has absolutely no incentive to make stuff up.

Tampa Bay Rays fans know very well how popular the team’s summer postgame concert series has gone. When there’s a concert following a Rays game, typically by a big-name but B-list band, the game is sold out or close to it.

So Joe’s taking note of the Bucs’ postgame concert Sunday by a popular, Grammy-nominated Christian rock band. It’s being billed as Tampa Bay’s inaugural “Faith and Football” event. There’s additional music, motivational speakers, including Gerald McCoy, and Father Dungy is promoting the event on the Buccaneers website.

Don’t get too excited, Joe still expects the Rams-Bucs game to be blacked out on local television, but surely Team Glazer will be able to guage the concert’s impact on attendance.

If there’s a significant bump from Sunday’s event, Joe wouldn’t be surprised to see Team Glazer have more postgame concerts next season, one’s that could deliver a bigger impact to attendance, lift blackouts and deliver greater value to season ticket holders. Considering reports in the sports business community that described major upgrades to concession areas and new concession providers/management coming soon to Raymond James Stadium, Joe definitely expects Team Glazer to get more creative to put butts in the seats.

Of course, a great football team would eliminate the need for, say, ZZ Top to take an end zone stage after a Bucs game. Though it would be fun to see Mike Williams regrow his beard and join them.

The Bucs are out of the playoff hunt and their bellcow rookie running back has plenty of early mileage on him, but don’t look for Martin to get any rest until January.

Greg Schiano made it clear today that the New Schiano Order is, well, too new for Martin to sit down and rest a bit. Schiano said the same holds true for all his top players as the Buccaneers figure out how to win games.

Schiano said backups likely would see more action if the Bucs were, say, an established playoff team that merely missed the postseason this year.

Of course, Schiano’s perspective could change after Sunday’s game against the Rams, especially if the Bucs win, and especially if guys get banged up.

Joe is impressed. Josh Freeman’s coaches and teammates have rallied to his defense better than Bucs corners have covered opposing wide receivers all season.

In particular, wide receiver Mike Williams was almost angry and certainly disgusted how a large number of Bucs fans have turned on Freeman after he has circled the drain regressing each of the past four weeks.

Williams had an interesting nuggett that sort of put Freeman’s recent struggles into perspective.

“We run a certain team’s offense,” Williams said, referring to the Giants offense brought from New York by former Giants quarterback coach and current Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan. “The quarterback of that offense [Eli Manning] said it took him six years before he fully understood the offense. That quarterback now has two rings.”

Very early this season, Bucs fans had the inclination that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik should draft West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith in the first round in April.

Joe noted at the time that quarterbacks often have to be deprogrammed and reprogrammed to learn a new offense (and perhaps, the stain of Greg Olson’s offensive offense needed further purging).

Given Manning’s information, via Williams, perhaps Sullivan’s offense is so complex and perhaps he is adding new dimensions to the offense so much that maybe it does take some time before Freeman, or any quarterback, fully grasps all the nuances.

Joe cannot sugarcoat it. When the Bucs needed quarterback Josh Freeman the most, when the team was on the cusp of a postseason run, Freeman not only didn’t show up in three of the last four games, he has regressed each week the past month.

As a result, a great many Bucs fans have turned on Freeman, wanting Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to begin shopping for a new quarterback yesterday.

This morning during a conference call with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club, Rams coach Jeff Fisher, learning Bucs fans impatience with Freeman, reacted with frustration and suggested Bucs fans need to chill out.

“Oh, of course,” Fisher harrumphed, when asked if Bucs fans were out of line in turning on Freeman. “He has all the tools. It is not easy to play the position week in and week out. You face some defenses you are not used to seeing. He is a very talented athlete and quarterback and makes good decisions. There is no need for frustration. There should be nothing but optimism with Josh. He has a tremendous future.”

It is interesting to Joe how the NFL establishment has rallied to Freeman’s defense in light of his downward spiral the past four weeks. Wide receiver Mike Williams was almost angry if not disgusted by fans’ reaction to Freeman on Buccaneer Total Access Monday evening ,and Joe will have another intersting nugget from Williams later.

Doug Martin’s bad day Sunday likely cost him a trip to Hawaii

Ronde Barber explained the players’ third of the Pro Bowl selection process last night on his radio show. Joe found that to be pretty cool, as Joe had no clue how players pick who eats pineapple in late January.

Fan voting for the Pro Bowl ended Monday. Coaches pick this week. And via a unique, collaborative process, players submit votes over the next couple of days. Joe assumed ballots were passed out to players and everyone turned one in, but that’s not the case.

Barber said defensive teammates get together and submit one ballot for opposing offensive players by position. Defensive players can only vote for offensive players in their own conference, Barber said, and the team-ballot method is traditionally how it’s been done across the NFL. It’s a reverse process for offensive players, and special teamers vote on their counterparts.

Barber said the collaborative approach is the most fair. The example he gave was that he has no business assessing and voting for offensive linemen.

As for what Buccaneers actually get to this season’s Pro Bowl, Joe thinks Vincent Jackson is the only true “lock.”

Sadly, Doug Martin’s lousy day against the Saints on Sunday surely cost him a bid. Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch and Alfred Morris all have more yards and more yards per carry than Martin.

On defense, Joe would give Barber a strong shot, given his name recognition, a solid season, and the fact he was leading fan voting at last check. Joe would give a lesser but good chance to Lavonte David, plus an outside shot to Gerald McCoy. David has the tackling numbers and the respect of being the Bucs’ defensive playcaller, and peers and coaches might consider McCoy elite.

After four straight weeks of declining productivity, largely turning the Bucs from a team with a clear shot at a postseason berth to a team that will watch the playoffs on the couch, Josh Freeman has become sort of a pinata for Bucs fans. They’re impatient with Freeman’s lack of progress, especially in important games, and pine for the team’s first playoff win in a decade.

Joe can sense the tidal wave that has turned on Freeman believes the Bucs never will play in mid-January with him as a starter.

It has gotten so bad that Freeman’s teammates and even coach Greg Schiano have been quick to defend Freeman and be outspoken that the problems with the offense aren’t just Freeman’s and that he is working overtime in an effort to right his wrongs.

“He is the most focused on the team,” Bucs wide receiver Mike Williams said on Buccaneers Total Access Monday, heard locally on WDAE-AM 620. Freeman is “first one in here and last to leave with the coaches, I don’t see any other quarterback doing that. I know it sounds cliché but it is true. He tries to get better every day. He always knows what mistakes he has made and how to get better from his mistakes.

“Basically, he is a fighter. He will keep fighting. He is the ultimate competitor. He wants to win. That’s where he got his nickname from, the comeback kid. If we are in the game in the fourth quarter, I will give [the ball] to Josh every time. He is trying to do all the right things. People see a couple of mistakes and think it is his mistake and it isn’t even his, sometimes it’s the receiver didn’t see the read or we didn’t see the high and supposed to break off the route or sometimes it is the line. He is going to make mistakes as a young quarterback but he is going to get better too.

“That’s what people have to realize that it’s not always the quarterback’s fault and a lot of times it is not his fault. A lot of times it is just a communication issue.”

Williams wasn’t the first to come to Freeman’s back. So too did tight end Dallas Clark after the game, so reported NFL freelance writer Dory LeBlanc.

“It’s definitely not just one person,” Clark said. “[We] got a lot of things we have to iron out as an offense. Unfortunately in this league the quarterback, head coach, and other guys are always the first ones to throw under the bus, but I’ll be the first one to say it’s me, it’s everyone. We all have to play better and I think we have people here that will make it happen. But certainly no one should take the brunt of any of this. It’s a team thing right now and we have to get it fixed.”

When pressed about Freeman’s, which came at the worst possible time for the Bucs when they were 6-4, Schiano shrugged his shoulders and was confident Freeman will eventually come out on top, so he said in his day-after press conference Monday.

“If Josh Freeman wasn’t coming in and spending all kinds of time here and I wasn’t getting texts and our coaches weren’t getting asked questions at 10 p.m. at night about coverages and things like that, then yeah, I’d have reasons to be concerned,” Schiano said. “But I know everybody goes through better times and lesser times. I also know those who persevere, who tend to their work, they will be fine and Josh [tends to his work]. He will be fine. Sometimes if you get into a swell or a slump, you have to fight your way out.”

Even Bucs icon Ronde Barber got into the act last night on the Buccaneers Radio Network, specifically calling the 2010 and 2012 editions of Freeman– not 2011 — among the most detailed, hardest-working guys he’s ever been around. Barber said Freeman always has notes with him, is constantly talking Xs and Os, and only Brad Johnson might have been a more obsessed quarterback, which Barber says led to Johnson lasting 17 years in the NFL.

Vincent Jackson had the most yards of any Bucs player not named “Josh Freeman” in a record-setting day for the offense.

Well, there was at least something positive to come out of that debacle in New Orleans Sunday.

How many Bucs fans thought the Bucs offense was garbage, that Josh Freeman couldn’t do squat with the ball? Well, the good people of the NFL have news for you. It was a record-setting day for the Bucs offense, but not one Bucs fans will brag about too often at their local watering hole.

The Bucs set a record for offensive yardage by a team that was shutout, breaking a 43-year old mark set by the Dolphins. The Bucs racked up 386 yards; those Dolphins gained 383 when they were blanked.

Here are the dubious all-time five:

1. Bucs, 386, 12/16/12
2. Dolphins, 383, 11/1/70
3. Chargers, 374, 10/7/79
4. Bills, 364, 11/7/71
5. Jets, 360, 10/31/10

And yes, this surprised Joe as well.

Great interview here with P.J. Fleck, the Bucs wide receivers coach, who is now the head coach of Western Michigan University and, at 32 years old, is the youngest coach in Divsion I football.

Fleck was introduced in Kalamazoo today and cranked out this video interview for a local radio station. Fleck, a former 49ers receiver, says he was courted a few weeks ago and he delves into what it’s like to coach under Greg Schiano. Fleck echoes the trust, belief and accountability themes, and he explains that what sets him apart is, “I just love life.”

NFL freelance reporter Dory LeBlanc covered the Bucs-Saints game in New Orleans for Joe and grabbed some interesting comments from Dallas Clark after the ugly shutout loss.

On Josh Freeman’s struggles:

“It’s definitely not just one person. [We] got a lot of things we have to iron out as an offense. Unfortunately in this league the quarterback, head coach, and other guys are always the first ones to throw under the bus, but I’ll be the first one to say it’s me, it’s everyone. We all have to play better and I think we have people here that will make it happen. But certainly no one should take the brunt of any of this. It’s a team thing right now and we have to get it fixed.”

On the sputtering Bucs offense the past few weeks:

“We’re just making mistakes you can’t make in the NFL. We’re doing a lot of stuff ourselves. It’s a credit to the Saints. Saints had a great game plan, they made some really good plays and really kind of put us in a bind. It was unfortunate – we were feeling good about this opportunity and we just left one out there.”

On Freeman’s pick that was intended for him:

“That was just a combination of a good play and just wish I had an extra step to deflect the pass or get a pass interference on him. It was a tough start, but it was a great read on their part.”

On the shutout:

“It really hasn’t fully sunk in. But yeah, this is not a good performance. And it’s not one person it’s everyone. And that’s what it’s going to take to correct it – everyone. It’s something we have to address.”

Adderall-popping, suspension-serving Eric Wright returned to the Twitter universe after a long hiatus last week. And on Saturday, Wright, aka @EWrighteous21, wanted all 21,903 of his followers to know that he was set for a lovely beach weekend with his wife, filled with beauty treatments, spectacular dining and ringing up his Visa card.

Hopefully, Wright found time to watch his Bucs brothers getting drilled in New Orleans.

@EWrighteous21 — Sometimes you just need a change of pace.. Taking @LaTanyaWright to Laguna for the weekend.. Spa weekend, shopping and good food #RelaxMode

Joe shouldn’t be surprised, but Joe can’t believe a suspended NFL player would be foolish and/or clueless enough to tell the world he needs “a change of pace” after he let his team down AND while he’s scheduled to return to said team in a matter of days.

That’s just bad judgment, one of Wright’s strengths.

Just about every Bucs fan has seen the video by now, even if they didn’t see it live. Backup linebacker (now thrust into the starting position due to injuries) and special teams captain Adam Hayward got into a physical confrontation with front seven coach Bryan Cox in the debacle in New Orleans last Sunday.

Well, if Eric Edholm of ProFootballWeekly.com is to be believed, Bucs coach Greg Schiano is siding with Hayward on the incident.

First-year Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano apparently sided with the players in a sideline spat involving defensive assistant Bryan Cox in Sunday’s 41-0 loss to the Saints, a source told PFW.

Cox was seen during the TV broadcast being pushed by LB Adam Hayward in the second quarter, and LB Jacob Cutrera also was involved in restraining Cox. But Sources say that Schiano sided with the players and told Cox that he would not be back on the coaching staff if he repeated his behavior.

Cox was yelling at officials as Hayward pushed the coach back to the sideline. Schiano added Cox to his defensive staff in February.

Now Joe has no idea what prompted the incident. Coaches and players getting into it — verbally — is nothing new. Happens just about every game. Big deal. But when a player goes after a coach, Joe doesn’t care what the hell was said to provoke such a response. A player CANNOT physically get into it with a coach, under no circumstances.

If this happened in a closed practice or inside the locker room, no big deal. This happened in full view of a packed stadium, caught on TV. In other words, very public.

Thus, Joe demands a public penalty on Hayward. Even being benched for the first two series against the Rams is fine. The team has to do something publicly. This cannot be tolerated. From a “captain” no less!

The Bucs seem to be on the verge of imploding. Their first round draft pick, fourth-year quarterback has gone into hiding. The pass defense is just a rumor. A coward spouted off to Mike Florio about how bad the coaching staff is.

By not publicly rebuking a player for assaulting a coach, Schiano is risking a full blown mutiny on his hands. It’s getting ugly.

With the team on the verge of a meltdown, turning your back on physically assaulting a coach in public is akin to lighting a match in a room full of gasoline.

The last thing Schiano needs is to lose this team. It seems to Joe there’s a powder keg of unrest out there among the Bucs.

The Bucs will miss hands-on, high-energy, demanding P.J. Fleck next season, but did they miss part of what he offers recently?

Maybe it’s coincidence, but the Bucs’ receiving game has been struggling and it started right around the time wide receiver coach P.J. Fleck clearly was in the heat of a job search and subsequently was named head coach of Western Michigan University yesterday.

Joe also has learned that Fleck’s wife went into labor yesterday. Congratulations, Mr. Fleck.

But those two scenarios above are major distractions, and given how greatly hands-on and influential Fleck was, and the emerging “miscommunication” issues between receivers and Josh Freeman, Joe can’t help but wonder if Fleck’s distractions led to trouble on the field.

Bucs fans seemingly saw something like this go down with Monte Kiffin, when — and it was Joe’s first major scoop — Kiffin was being shopped by son Lane Kiffin as part of a package coaching deal to various universities. Subsequently, Monte Kiffin made it known he was leaving the Bucs late in the 2008 season, and the Bucs defense quickly imploded into something not seen since the Sam Wyche era.

Joe’s not blaming Fleck for anything, just searching for possible answers as to what radically transformed the Bucs offense into a subpar unit.

From everything Joe has heard and Joe knows, Josh Freeman is a workaholic when it comes to trying to become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

Thus far, Freeman in his four seasons has been at best, inconsistent. There are times where Freeman reminds Joe of Dan Fouts. There are times Freeman reminds Joe of Neil Lomax. There are times Joe cringes with the memories of Trent Dilfer dancing in his head.

This is part of the reason many Bucs fans either are ready to or already have thrown in the towel on the Bucs signal-caller, partially fueled by Freeman’s freefall the past four weeks from average to below average to struggling to wretched last Sunday, as the Bucs went from strong playoff contender to pretender to full-blown draft mode.

Part of the rancor comes from where Freeman was drafted. There is a certain expectation — real or imagined — that a quarterback drafted in the first round should put his team on his back and carry them to the playoffs.

That hasn’t happened, and the way Freeman has played this season, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, it’s hard to fathom Freeman doing that in the near future. Remember, the Bucs were in prime position for a playoff run at 6-4, and Freeman has regressed since.

Then there is the play of lesser and less-experienced quarterbacks, or at least NFL quarterbacks who were not drafted in the first round but likely are leading their teams to the postseason.

First there is Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers. Drafted in the second round last year, Kaepernick was plugged into the starting lineup in the middle of this season and has done nothing but great things, roasting the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football and then hanging four touchdowns in the freezing rain in New England on Sunday, handing the Patriots their first December home loss in 10 years.

Right now, can anyone envision Freeman doing that to the Patriots?

Then there is Andy Dalton, a second round pick in 2011, who is on the cusp of leading the usually dreadful Bengals to the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson also has the anti-Freeman crowd in a roar. The rookie third round pick has been nothing less than dynamic and has the Seahawks on the verge of the playoffs.

And who can forget Nick Foles, a rookie third round pick of the Eagles, who came into Raymond James and showed Bucs fans the way to play quarterback, the way to handle pressure, the way to slice through a defense for a game-winning drive, stuff Freeman hasn’t been able to accomplish enough over the past two years.

Because of the excellent play of quarterbacks with lesser expectations than Freeman had when he was drafted — no fault of Freeman’s — many Bucs fans have begun searching for torches.

When fans see these quarterbacks play so well, they ask, “Why can’t Freeman do that?” It’s a fair question given Freeman has more toys to play with than those signal-callers, and has had more games to polish his craft than the aforementioned QBs.

Look, Joe is confident Freeman will be your Bucs starting quarterback through 2013, and he very well may be re-signed by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.

But the patience of Bucs fans has grown short for Freeman’s ability to lead a team to mid-January games — not watching on the couch like the rest of us.

Minutes after the first-ever clobbering suffered by the New Schiano Order, Greg Schiano calmly told media that “I’ve been here before” and “I know what to do.”

That was great. Joe loved hearing the head coach go on the record telling everyone listening that he knows just how to handle it when a professional footballl team officially goes into a heinous freefall late in a season. The last coach surely didn’t know what to do.

Joe and every fan is watching closely and pulling for Schiano.

But if Schiano can’t snap the Bucs out of its funk in these next two games, especially with experienced assistant coaches and veteran senior advisors in Butch Davis and Jimmy Raye, Joe thinks it’s fair to say that Schiano did not know what to do.

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Greg Schiano took quite a verbal thrashing from multiple fans on his radio show last night. Schiano was patient and understanding and let callers vent, but he put his foot down hard after hearing Mark Dominik bashing.

Mad props to the leader of the New Schiano Order for letting fans attack the state of the Bucs on his radio show last night on WDAE-AM 620. Greg Schiano manned up and didn’t have producers cut off callers, specifically two back-to-back angry diatribes that each lasted more than two minutes, and he handled them with class.

Joe hasn’t heard such fiery, in-your-face criticism since Joe listened to The Boomer Esiason Show in 1994, when Jets fans would scream at the quarterback mercilessly every Monday evening.

Schiano didn’t get defensive, except when it came to a shot fired at rockstar general manager Mark Dominik, who Schiano called the best GM in the business.

Caller Brian following his 2 minute and 5 second, uninterrupted verbal thrashing of Josh Freeman, playcalling and the general Bucs experience of the past few weeks: Don’t let that general manager get in the way. Cause I’m hoping he’s next to get outta here. He should have went behind Jon Gruden, really, but I guess they’re going to give him a little bit more longer. Because he ain’t done nothing since he been here. Nothin’.

Greg Schiano: Alright Brian, I appreciate that. You know I’m glad that you were going to lay back on this one (playfully sarcastic) because, man, if Jimmy hadn’t called before, you might have really laid into me. Look, I understand your frustration. Let me just get a couple of things straight. No. 1, at the very end there you made a comment about Mark Dominik. There’s none better in this league. He’s doing an incredible job. He’s been a huge, huge help to me since we’ve arrived. You look at the draft we just had. You look at what we did in free agency. Just give us a chance, OK. Again, I understand the frustration. I don’t want to downplay that at all. But don’t be so sure that we’re going to lose the next two like you said. Just give us a chance and let us go out and play it out. … I strongly believe in our football team and our coaching staff, and I strongly believe in what we do and how we do it and how we approach things. We’re going to bounce back. And we’re going to play good football. And, you know, like I said, go out this week and play the very, very best  that we’re capable. I think that’s going to be something that our fans are going to enjoy seeing. I appreciate the passsion and how much you care. That’s what makes this place special.

Again, Joe has to give it up for the head coach for respecting and appreciating the fans’ passion — even when it’s presented negatively. And trust Joe, there was a load of negativity from these two callers.

As for Schiano’s love for Dominik, it’s not surprising. Dominik dropped three stunning draft picks in Schiano’s lap, and an elite wide receiver in free agency that made the entire offense better. As for the dreadful cornerback situation, clearly Schiano bought into the concept of Aqib Talib’s phony transformation as much as Dominik, so the head coach can’t knock the GM for what happened there.

NFL freelance reporter Dory LeBlanc attended Sunday’s Bucs-Saints game in New Orleans for Joe as a credentialed member of the fourth estate. Below she offers her vision on just how far Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman must go to be mentioned in the same breath as Saints signal-caller Drew Brees.

There was certainly an elite quarterback on the field at the Superdome Sunday, but his name was not Josh Freeman.

Saying I could predict every one of Freeman’s four interceptions as the Bucs’ struggling quarterback released the ball Sunday is a bold statement. But sitting in a press box, high above the field with an overview of all 100 yards affords a powerful point of view.

In particular, on the interception intended for Vincent Jackson, it was obvious when the ball was snapped and Jackson tore off in a straight the line, Freeman assumed the wide receiver would break off and turn into the hashmarks and the pass would land in the hands of Saints safety Rafael Bush, the only player in the vicinity. Clearly there was a miscommunication, and that in itself reveals a serious problem.

It was Week 15, and the Bucs’ offense had communication issues. Of course, communication issues are common across the NFL – but at times it seems Freeman is using a different playbook than his teammates.

For the second time this season, I’ve watched Drew Brees live, which is a much different experience than on TV. Whereas Freeman seemed as if he was on a different page from the rest of the offense through much of the game, Brees was – well, Brees: decisive, confident, and accurate. Brees worked the Bucs secondary like they were candy striping interns, as he surgically maneuvered drive after drive to almost perfection.

When Brees steps onto the field, the whole mojo of the stadium changes. Not just the way the 73,000-plus fans at the Superdome react, but the way the Saints offense reacts. There is no question he is a commander, and if there is a communication discrepancy, Brees has the wherewithal to make something happen and we’re all none the wiser.

On the flip side, no one is sure what happened to Freeman after he led the Bucs to a come-from-behind, overtime victory over the Panthers; I’m not sure Freeman knows. His ability to extend plays has ceased and his downfield bombs have become duds. More important, at this point of the season, there shouldn’t be communication issues between the quarterback and his No. 1 receiver, and if there are, they need to be recognized sooner and the progressions gone through.

As much as Brees has earned the moniker “elite,” Freeman’s performance Sunday showed he is far from it. For the Bucs’ and Freeman’s sake, let’s hope he can channel his pre-Falcons self in the remaining two games or it’s going to be a long offseason for the kid.