Lovie Smith had the Bucs hitting each other in the afternoon swelter today at One Buc Palace. And back on the field was All-Pro left guard Logan Mankins.

Ahh, music to soothe the panicked Tampa Bay fan. [read more]

Talk about pessimism; Joe just watched a CBS Sports analysis of the Rams being poised to score the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft, what some believe will be the Jameis Winston jackpot.

So if they somehow beat the Bucs on Sunday, where would that leave Tampa Bay? [read more]

QB coach Marcus Arroyo confessed today that the Bucs do miss Jeff Tedford (above) — contrary to previous claims by Lovie Smith and some players — as Tedford recovers from having heart stents implanted.

Ever since Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford took a medical leave of absence to have heart stents implanted, and subsequently has been slowly trying to get back in the swing of things at One Buc Palace, Bucs coach Lovie Smith and most players did their best to spin Tedford’s absence as no big deal.

Joe simply didn’t buy it then. And didn’t buy it Sunday when Doug Martin looked Joe straight in the face and forcefully said Tedord’s absence did not have an effect on the offense against Carolina. [read more]

The Buccaneers’ veteran leader, the elder statesman, very much played like a high school sophomore for much of last Sunday.

And it seems Bucs coaches assessed Josh McCown as a guy who was feeling pressure — from within. [read more]

Jeff Tedford missed his second straight day of practice

Updated: 12:51 p.m. Earlier this week, Bucs coach Lovie Smith noted that offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford was performing full-time duties. It was welcome news as Tedford recovers from having multiple heart stents implanted.

Tedford was not at practice yesterday, as he had a doctor’s appointment to get clearance to return to work full-time. Apparently, he does not have that. Yet. [read more]

So what were the Bucs talking about on the practice field yesterday.

What was their mindset? [read more]

In case you forgot, Bucs icon and Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks will be inducted into the Ring of Honor at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway on Sunday.

Packed house? Incredible demand for Brooks, the game and a free Brooks bobblehead doll? Not really. [read more]

It is really a salute to Gerald McCoy that he can play so well and get zero help from the edge, game after game after frustrating game. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Man, Joe just does not know what the Bucs are going to do about a pass rush. Oh, Gerald McCoy is beastly. He is tied for second among defensive tackles for most sacks (15.5) since the 2012 season. GMC is hardly the problem.

It is everybody else, with the possible exception of Clinton McDonald. The Bucs are simply getting nothing from the defensive ends. Nothing. [read more]

Various Bucs, including Lovie Smith, had plenty to say about defensive end Robert Quinn.

Bucs left tackle Anthony Collins earned his money Sunday doing a solid job against Carolina beat Greg Hardy. But it gets nastier this week with mighty Robert Quinn coming to town.

He’s younger, faster and meaner (but not to women), and he chalked up 19 sacks last season. [read more]

This should comfort Bucs fans about as much as a hammer to the groin.

Speaking last night on Total Access on WDAE-AM 620, Bucs captain Gerald McCoy talked about how far away Tampa Bay defensive players are from mastering their roles. [read more]

The immortal Austin Davis, Lambs third-string QB, may get the starting nod against the Bucs.

So here we go again. Yet another starting quarterback that is supposed to face the Bucs may not.

Lambs starter/second string quarterback Shaun Hill, who inherited the top spot when Sam Bradford blew his knee (again) in preseason (again), did not practice Wednesday. His Sunday status is up in the air, types Nick Wagoner of BSPN.

This mirrors last week when Stinking Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was day-to-day and missed practices leading up to the Bucs game. [read more]

Yes, not having Jeff Tedford available to call the Jeff Tedford offense was a real issue for the Bucs on opening day.

Marcus Arroyo put “a different spin on the way it goes,” says Josh McCown. [read more]

Lambs stud DE Chris Long is out for the Bucs game Sunday.

One strength of the St. Louis Lambs is its defense, specifically the defensive front. With ends like Robert Quinn and Chris Long, they can make for long, brutal days for quarterbacks and offensive tackles alike.

Well, the Bucs just got an early Christmas present from the football gods. Speaking this afternoon on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Lambs coach Jeff Fisher said Long will not play against the Bucs. [read more]

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier lauded MLB Mason Foster’s play Sunday

Joe knows there are two distinguishing characteristics of Bucs fans:

1) They love players with names they recognize, no matter how little gas is in the tank, no matter how horrible they may be, no matter how ill-fit they may be on the Bucs. It they know the name, he must be good. [read more]

Bucs DT Akeem Spence is more concerned with how the Bucs play defense than which stiff starts at quarterback for the Lambs Sunday.

As Joe wrote already this morning, the Lambs quarterback situation is a complete and total mess. Sam Bradford is out for the season with another blown knee. His backup, former Detroit tight end Shaun Hill, was gruesome in the first half of the Lambs home opener against the Vikings and was benched at halftime hurt and replaced by some piece of cheese named Austin Davis, a three-year NFL veteran making his first regular season appearance.

Monday, the Lambs signed former Texans quarterback and NCAA passing record-holder Case Keenum. [read more]

Joe didn’t see Jeff Tedford on the practice fields of One Buc Palace today. He wasn’t even on the bench wearing a floppy hat with Logan Mankins, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Michael Johnson. [read more]

The official injury report isn’t out yet, but the key wounded Buccaneers were wearing a floppy hat today and watching practice in the sun at One Buc Palace.

Not good.

Shown here in the floppy hat club, from left to right, Michael Johnson (ankle), Austin Seferian-Jenkins (wearing a walking boot on his right foot), limping Logan Mankins and Charles Sims. (Doug Martin is also sitting out, per The Tampa Tribune.)

Here comes the trash talk

Starting on the dreadful (after one week) Rams offensive line is right guard Davin Joseph, the former Buccaneers captain.

Joseph was well loved by his teammates, so look for Joseph to get quite an earful of trash talk on Sunday. [read more]

Lambs backup QB Shaun Hill was, as Charles Barkley would say, “turrible,” in the Lambs’ season opening loss to the Vikings.

Just like last week, the Bucs will face a backup quarterback Sunday when the St. Louis Lambs blow into town.

Last week, as we all remember, the Bucs couldn’t take advantage of facing the dangerous Derek Anderson who outplayed Bucs quarterback Josh McCown.

With the Lambs, their quarterback situation is a complete and total mess. [read more]

Mike Jenkins’ season is over

In some circles, it is believed the Bucs lost a cornerback this morning. Joe thinks otherwise.

In the early days of the Lovie Smith Administration, if Joe sensed any player was Lovie’s pet, it was the notorious Mike Jenkins.

Run out of Dallas and left along the side of the road by the mighty Raiders, Lovie decided to rescue Jenkins from unemployment and did his best to force Jenkins into the starting lineup. [read more]