Bucs DE Michael Johnson (90) gets in on a tackle today. He had three tackles and three assists but was nowhere to be found when Carolina QB Derek Anderson dropped back to pass. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Joe just wants to throw something, but is scared if he did he would be dragged away wearing bracelets owned by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.

But the law should be called because it is downright criminal how seemingly no one can help poor Gerald McCoy get to the quarterback.

Oh, the Bucs did have a free agent defensive lineman drill Stinking Panthers scrub quarterback Derek Anderson, only not the guy who Team Glazer wrote a heavy check to for that reason alone. [read more]

Anthony Collins and the O-line were not the problem

The Bucs’ offensive line was not the problem today.

Patrick Omameh, making his first career start, held up at right guard. Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins went down in the second quarter with a knee injury, but Garrett Gilkey, a seventh-round pick of the Browns last year, jumped in and you didn’t hear his name, which is what you want from an offensive lineman. [read more]

Why didn’t the Tampa Bay Buccaneers show up in the first three quarters today?

Why? It was opening day with a veteran coaching staff that’s supposed to know how to motivate. [read more]

OK boys and girls. Time for the real Bucs football!

Cam Newton is out. The weather his hot. Patrick Omameh is starting at right guard. And the Lovie Smith ere really begins.

Bang it here for all the fun stuff with the game and, as always, you may share URLs of illegal video streams among yourselves but pasting said URL in this thread can and will get you banned.

Have fun, Bucs fans.

Riverboat Ron is a full of baloney

Update: Cam Newton is inactive!

It’s 1 o’clock and it’s still a mystery whether Cam Newton will play against the Buccaneers in three hours. Of course, the Panthers surely know already and are simply playing head games with Lovie Smith and Leslie Frazier, and the oddsmakers in Las Vegas.

But now the head games have reached the company insiders at NFL Network. [read more]

It’s official, per NFL Network.

The Jeff Tedford offense will be introduced to the NFL today without its mastermind. [read more]

Game 1

Stinking Panthers at Bucs

Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. [read more]

T.J. Rives of the Buccaneers Radio Network moderates “The Pewter Panel.”

Hey Bucs fans, Joe knows you just cannot wait until 4:25 p.m. when the Bucs kickoff their season. Well, Buccaneers.com has a cool series of videos for you to watch now called “The Pewter Panel.”

In this series, a four-man panel including Woody Cummings and the “Custodian of Canton,” eye-RAH! Kaufman, both of The Tampa Tribune, are joined by Buccaneers.com multimedia maven Scott Smith and Buccaneers Radio Network’s T.J. Rives. [read more]

Greg Hardy and new Bucs left tackle Anthony Collins will square off for the first time today

1) Right guard: Will it really be Patrick Omameh starting? Lovie Smith never made that clear. If so, Joe wishes the Michigan product well in his first career start, but he’s got to play better.

2) Greg Hardy/Anthony Collins: The stat geeks say Collins didn’t allow a sack last season. Collins broke that alleged streak this preseason, however. Greg Hardy, the Panthers Pro Bowl defensive end, is a brutal matchup and he and Collins have never squared off. Joe’s fired up to see Collins with the battle. [read more]

Chris Owusu’s 14 career catches rank second among current Bucs receivers

Chris Owusu’s 14 career catches rank him second among Buccaneers receivers.

Wow!

That pretty much stamps the Bucs as the least experienced receiving corps the NFL. [read more]

When fan favorite tight end Luke Stocker arrived to training camp, many Bucs fans were counting the days before he was released. Stocker was loathed by Bucs fans not so much for the fact he was always hurt, but he had the misfortune of being drafted by former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.

And, as is well known from these irrational folks, if Dominik drafted you, then you were a bum. [read more]

Stinking Panthers backup QB Derek Anderson participated in a TV production meeting usually reserved for starters today

Last week Stinking Panthers starting quarterback Cam Newton missed two practices due to injured ribs. Stinking Panthers coach Ron Rivera said the decision to play Newton, who was throwing passes Friday, would be a game-time call Sunday.

So, unless Rivera is trying to pull an unprecedented act of gamesmanship, Newton really is in bad shape. [read more]

With one exception, Joe was not enamored with the afternoon games. Blah. When the SEC has patsy week, it’s bad. War nine-game conference schedule SECers.

Tonight features two heavyweight bouts. First ,of course, is Oregon hosting Sparty. The B1G versus perhaps the second-best conference in the land to the SEC (but don’t tell that to folks in the plains. They are convinced the Big XII is the second-best). [read more]

“The Road Warrior,” WTSP-TV traffic reporter Holley Sinn, has tips on how to get to the Bucs game quicker.

Driving to the Bucs game can be a major pain in the posterior. Just getting late to a tailgate is enough to ruin your day.

Leave it to WTSP-TV traffic reporter, “The Road Warrior,” Holley Sinn to help. She knows all the tricks to get you past the congestion and to your tailgate (or the game) quicker. Life is not made to be stuck in traffic. [read more]

The Bucs today cut WR Louis Murphy.

When the Bucs promoted kick returner Solomon Patton and cornerback Brandon Dixon to the 53-man roster from the practice squad today, someone had to go.

They were receiver Louis Murphy and cornerback Quinton Pointer. [read more]

Bucs return man Solomon Patton is expected to be promoted to the 53-man roster for tomorrow’s season-opener.

It was odd to Joe that a guy who usurped Eric Page of return duties in training camp and preseason didn’t make the final 53-man roster. It was even more odd that Bobby Rainey was listed as the kickoff return man.

It seems that is going to change before the first game is played tomorrow against the Stinking Panthers. Per Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, rookie Solomon Patton, currently on the Bucs practice squad, won’t be there for long. [read more]

The Bucs are sitting with $6 million to $8 million in unused salary cap cash for 2014, depending on what source you reference.

That goes against the Lovie Smith philosophy of spend every nickel, but Joe was hoping the excess green would be used to restructure Gerald McCoy’s contract this summer. [read more]

OK, so the Bucs host the Stinking Panthers at 4:25 p.m., tomorrow, eastern time. If you live in the southeastern United States, you have a chance to watch the game free via broadcast television.

Below in the purple-shaded areas are where Bucs fans can watch the game on their local FOX, over-the-air affiliate. Chris Myers and Ronde Barber are the announcers.

[read more]

It’s been a while, six long seasons of meaningless Januarys.

A couple more big media names have hopped on the Buccaneers bandwagon.

It’s playoffs for Tampa Bay, they say. [read more]

For some reason, Bucs fans take great comfort in the Panthers, and their 26th-ranked passing attack last year, losing the meat of their receiving corps, 35-year-old Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn, Jr.

Who knew LaFell and Ginn were stars? Joe must have missed the memo. [read more]