Flashback to 2010, the young Bucs were cruising with a 7-4 record and the 9-1, division-rival Falcons were in Tampa for a December clash with a premier 4:15 p.m kickoff. This was a huge game in the playoff chase, got plenty of advance national attention, and attendance was 53,955.

Yet yesterday’s attendance of 54,813 against San Diego was better. And Joe can assure readers there were no significant numbers of Chargers fans in the house.

So what’s changed?

Is it love for the New Schiano Order? Is it cheaper tickets now available in many sections? Was it dislike of Raheem Morris? Was it the Bucs checking in that season with a paltry payroll? Was it something else?

Interestingly, the Bucs now have a chance to go to 6-4 next week and come home to face the Falcons, who likely will be 9-1. Their game likely will be a nearly identical scenario to the clash in 2010. But will it draw more fans and show tangible growth of the fan base?

Joe’s given up predicting this kind of thing. But it will be a number worth watching.

Joe’s not much of a stats or fantasy guy (unless the fantasy involves Ms. Watson), but the data on Josh Freeman is hard to ignore.

Last year the story on Freeman was his regression from his magical season of 25 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2010. Now Freeman’s turned things around and has jumped into the top-tier quarterback conversation.

Consider some of his 2012 stats:

Interceptions – Tied for 5th fewest
Touchdown passes – Tied for 5th most
TD/Interception ratio – 4th best
Sacks taken – 4th fewest
QB rating – 7th best
Completions of 20 yards or more – 6th best
Completion percentage – 30th

That completion percentage is a black mark, but it’s clear he’s improving and at least some of that issue can be attributed to adjusting to a new offense early in the season. Many reads Freeman made yesterday were flawless.

If Freeman can keep cruising, it’s going to hard to keep the Bucs from a winning record — and keep himself from massive contract.

Now, yeah, the headline shouldn’t shock you. An NFL player hires a maid. Hell, Joe has hired a maid before (and no, not for the reason you are thinking! The maid cleaned Joe’s abode once.)

But this is a bit different. Bucs cornerback Leonard Johnson likes to keep his ego in check. Despite graduating from college and playing in the NFL, Johnson still lives at home in Clearwater. With his mom. In a not-so-safe neighborhood. And sleeps in the room he grew up in, on a twin bed no less.

Johnson spoke with the great Mike Florio Sunday night, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, and told Florio that while still living at home, despite being a big shot NFL player now, his mom still orders him to do chores around the house for rent.

But Johnson, savvy that he is, figured out how to get out of doing housework.

Off the field, the right place has been the place there’s no place like. Johnson, who went to high school in the Tampa area, has been living at home with his mother.

“It keeps me grounded and keeps me humble,” he said. “Mom is there to tell me what to do.”

Among other things, his mom is telling him to do chores. “I got smart,” he said. “I have a couple of game checks in the bank, so I hired maids to do them.”

Hey, Johnson is a smart guy. For some reason, Joe cannot see Johnson winding up on an ESPN 30-for-30 show called “Broke.”

Yeah, Johnson could probably go out and buy a house, or certainly rent a posh apartment. But why do that when he can live at home and save cash? Also, a lot of NFL players like to wear bling. Not Leonard, save for an earring.

Johnson is a good dude, which makes Joe even happier that he is excelling for the Bucs.

Here are quotes from some of today’s key figures in the Bucs win over the Chargers. Quotes are courtesy of the media relations departments of the Bucs and Chargers.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
GREG SCHIANO

(On LB Quincy Black)
“I think Quincy is going to be okay. He’s at the hospital for observation. I was really impressed with the medical people, how they handled the whole situation. It’s obviously something that we have to deal with but I think he’s going to be okay.”

(On the game)
“Our guys today played team football. That’s what we needed to do. It’s like a pitcher when he goes out there, maybe he doesn’t have his fastball that day, but he works the whole game with different pitches and battles through it. That’s what our team did, held each other up. It was critical that we could do that against a good football team. Philip Rivers was hot as a firecracker the last two games and we did just enough to find a way to win, which is a good feeling.”

(On CB Leonard Johnson)
“Leonard has stepped up in the last three games. He’s got an interception in each of the three games he’s played. The ability to pick it off and score; I don’t know how long the run was, but that was a pretty long run and, obviously as you look at the game, it was a critical play in the football game. Leonard is working his tail off to become a good quality corner in this league. The three (games) under his belt; he’s doing a good job.”

(On WR Tiquan Underwood)
“Tiquan (Underwood) has battled his way into the lineup and is doing a heck of a job. He’s working his tail off, too. I think Tiquan, in his journey in the National Football League, has gone through a lot and I think he’s learned a lot. He’s a good guy to have on this team.”

(On the offensive line)
“I think Bob Bostad and Steve Loney, the two offensive line coaches, have done a great job of just, ‘Hey we lost some good guys and the next guy has to step in there and we’re going to work it hard.’ We’re a work in progress without a doubt on the offensive line but the last couple of weeks they’ve really battled. I think the leadership of Donald Penn and Jeremy Zuttah has been really, really big.”

(On upcoming divisional game)
“I understand divisional games and how important they are, but, at the end, there are 16 games and they all count. These were huge (the past three wins). I think, as we go, we go one game at a time, so we’re going to enjoy this for a few hours and then we’re on to Carolina. That’s the only thing that will be on our mind. I know one thing, if you can take care of one game at a time you look up at the end and maybe you have something cooking.”

(On the secondary)
“There’s certain things we haven’t done as well as we would like, but we’ve made plays. Leonard (Johnson) with the interception for a touchdown and then at the end of the game making a play to put it on ice. Sure, we’d like to be doing things better and we will. Like I told you during the week, it’s not from a lack of effort; it’s not from a lack of want to. We just have to get everything clicking together – the pass rush, the coverage, the scheme, the coaching, all of it. We’re working at it, we’ll get it.”

(On the blocked punt)
“It’s an ongoing thing, but really I’m excited because we had an opportunity to block one today and then to score with it, and Adam (Hayward) did that. It was great to scoop-and-score there. We believe in that as part of our deal. It’s not exclusive, but we believe in that. When you can do it right it can be a real big play in the football game.”

(On the complete football game)
“I mentioned (earlier) that maybe we didn’t have our fastball today in every area, but what we did was we played off each other in all three phases. Guys made plays when we needed to make them. You usually don’t win a game when the time of possession is the way it was – 36 and change and 23 and change. It’s hard to win that way, but again some of those plays that made it that way were a blocked punt for a touchdown and an interception for a touchdown. Certainly the defense was out there for a long time today, but they bowed their neck and made a play when they needed to.”

(On the difference between the first few weeks and now)
“I don’t think we’re playing that differently. I think what’s happened is we’ve worked through, we’ve built cumulative receptions in what we do, we’re more comfortable with it and its given us a chance to make (plays) because the line is so fine between doing it and not doing it. Right now we’re tending to be on the other side of the line, which is good. We have good players and the coaches are working hard. You get now into game 10 coming up, and we just have to make sure that we keep our health, keep feeling good, mentally get it, and go out and be ready to play on Sunday. That’s going to be the challenge moving forward.”

QB JOSH FREEMAN

(On production from free agents)
“It is for sure. Tiquan (Underwood) scoring, Dallas (Clark) scoring, Leonard (Johnson)… Leonard’s the man dude. Then (Adam) Hayward. I thought it was just a great overall team effort. When I say great, guys just came out four quarters and played. We knew it was going to be a dogfight against a very good San Diego team. We knew we were going to have to come out and play the very best we could for four quarters.”

(On San Diego)
“To be honest, they played a lot more middle field open then we had expected. They’ve shown before primarily playing middle field closed. Keeping that extra guy in the box and played a lot of cover three zone. They opened it up quite a bit. I think they were trying to play in a way that they would play quarter halves, and keep that run support from that safety and try to play middle field open to eliminate some of the shots. We just kept grinding away and the defensive score and the special teams score kind of threw them out of a rhythm from the point of trying to sit back. They kind of pushed the envelope a bit, allowed us to get on top and one of those kind of sealed the deal.”

(On answering San Diego’s big scores)
“You’re playing an offense like the San Diego Chargers and the way they do so well, just getting the yards moving the ball down the field, eating up clock, it is crucial that you answer. The first one we answer that but then later on in the game when they had the lead. When they are eating up all of this time, the guys on defense were out there for so many plays, so much time, they need a rest. Our ability as an offense to spread it around and sustain some drives of our own. That allowed, not just for our offense, not just the points, but allowed the defense to get their legs, those guys went out and played hard. They played a very long game.”

(On RB Doug Martin)
“Doug has great hands. He’s small, (so) it’s kind of hard to throw it to him, other than that, he does an awesome job. No, I think ,Doug, he’s all around. Some guys are great at running the ball, some have great hands. Other guys are really good at catching the ball, but not really good at running, sticking their head in the hole and getting those dirty yards, but Doug does the all-around thing. The third thing is pass protection. I feel like Coach EB (Earnest Byner) does a great job for getting the running backs in positions to catch the ball, running the ball, reading their blocks, then also picking up the pressures, blocking linebackers running full speed through the hole.

(On avoiding interceptions)
“Yeah that’s kind of throughout the entire league. Turnovers are kind of the number one factor for wins and losses. You look at every win, every loss. The team that wins the turnover battle is pretty substantial. I want to say 80 percent, but more often than not you are going to win the game if you win the turnover battle.”

(On WR Vincent Jackson)
“It’s a win anytime we win for Vincent. That is what we are in it to do. Yeah, he was excited, that was the team that he played with then he just got here. Getting him involved, letting him make the plays that he did and come away with a win. Vincent, as you said, is a humble guy, he’s a team guy. No matter how big the game is inside his mind, it’s not going to affect him, it’s all about team. I’m really happy that we were able to get this win. For the team’s sake, then also for Vincent’s sake.”

(On the team’s 5-4)
“(We have) a lot of work to do. But anytime you win you have to be happy. Moving forward we just have to take it one game at a time. Some of the things we have been doing, can’t really look behind.”

WR TIQUAN UNDERWOOD

(On today’s game)

“We’re just playing complementary football. We played great game on offense, defense, and special teams as a collective unit; that’s how we got the win today.”

(On Tampa Bay’s third-quarter scoring drive)

“Whenever you come out of halftime, make your adjustments, and put a good drive together and put points on the board, that’s just a good feeling to get the second half going.”

(On his touchdown reception)

“The offensive line did a great job giving Josh (Freeman) time and he found me. Like (Freeman) said, (Vincent Jackson) was the first read. We ran good routes and Josh made a good throw.”

LB MASON FOSTER

(On the defense’s performance during the second half)

“(We) just tightened up, made some adjustments at halftime, locked in again. You know, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. We came out made some plays and its’ a big win at home.”

(On the backups stepping in and playing well)

“Everybody on our team works hard, everybody. Everybody in the organization works hard and does their job. It’s like the next man up. You get your chance to play, your opportunity; you’re going to make the most of it. I feel like everybody on our team is doing that right now.”

(On the injury to Tampa Bay LB Quincy Black)

“It’s bigger than football. He’s one of my good friends and a guy I look up to and helped me as a rookie and still helps me out today. So you see him hurt, it’s definitely a blow, but you got to keep playing and next man up. Adam Hayward is a big-time football player for us. You may not see him on base, but he knows every position and is helping us out. So I know he is ready to step in and make some plays, which he did. I haven’t heard anything (about Black), but I know he’s going to be all right.”

LB DEKODA WATSON

(On the blocked punt)
“We’ve been working on that, and it finally came through. Shout out to Ahmad Black, the whole punt team and coaches. We all came together and made it happen. (It was) my first one in the pros, a long time coming. I love special teams and working with (LB Adam Hayward). There’s nothing better.”

(On the team)
“We just have to continue to believe, and that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve definitely been buying in, and you’re starting to see it on the field.”

(On LB Quincy Black’s injury)
“It was definitely hard, he is one of our leaders. He is number one in command in the linebacker locker room. We are just going to wish him the best, and I know he will be strong enough. Knowing him, he’ll want to be back this week, but we’ll see how he feels.”

DT GERALD McCOY

(On not allowing a touchdown in the second half)
“We just came out and played our brand of football, we didn’t do that in the first half. It’s what the Bucs do: we come out and play a physical brand of football and make the plays we need to and have to.”

(On winning as a team)
“This is a team mentality. It’s not always just our offense or just the defense. We’re a team, we’re the Buccaneers. We had to win as a unit today.”

(On having a winning record)
“We’re not worried about the record. We’re taking it one season at a time. Our goal today was to be 1-0 in the San Diego season, so I’m happy.”

WR VINCENT JACKSON

(On seeing the Chargers on the other side)
“It seems like I’ve been here so much longer then I have. I feel so at home here, I feel so comfortable in the red now, so it didn’t feel that uncomfortable. Seeing those guys on the other side of course brought back some memories, seeing (Antonio) Gates and (Philip) Rivers. Great relationships over there with those guys, I wish them the best all of the time, but when we get out there between the chalk and its time to play, obviously we have to do our job.”

(On a team effort)
“I think we only had 15-18 plays in the first half, and still not that many in the second half. For our offense to be under 50 plays, we obviously have to be efficient. We did a good job of that, we managed the ball, drove the ball down, got a field goal, and got touchdowns when we needed to. Every game is not going to be explosive when you have another offense that is very capable. We just have to manage the game and take care of the ball when we have it.”

(On winning close games)
“Confidence and sticking to our training, that’s what its about. There are very rarely games in this league each and every Sunday that you see that the game is over in the first half or third quarter. You have to play a complete game, all four quarters. We harp on that each and every week in practice and that’s what we talk about, finishing. Finishing drives, finishing games, and we did a good job of that in the last few weeks.”

CB LEONARD JOHNSON

(On interception and touchdown)
“We ran Cover 2. I rerouted the receiver took him to my side, drop back in my zone and ended up jumping on the route. The ball came right to me. I was just so excited; I grabbed (the ball) and just went to running.”

(On what’s was going through his mind as he was running down the field)
“I was shocked that I caught the ball first of all, with my hands instead of my body. Once I grabbed it, I just went to running, praying that nobody caught me.”

(On the Tampa Bay defense)
“When you got guys around you that consistently tell you next play, next play, it’s kind of easy, you know, to just put the play behind you, knowing that it’s a long game to play. All the guys in the secondary came back to me, kept me uplifted. Just moved onto the next play and continued to play the game. ”

(On redeeming himself with the after giving up a big play early in the game)
“I honestly forgot all about the big play that I gave up early in the game. I was just excited getting a touchdown; that was my first touchdown since high school. ”

(On receiving the game ball for his touchdown interception)
“I’m keeping that. I’m keeping everything I can get my hands on.”

LB LAVONTE DAVID

(On how it is making the transition from college to the pros)
“I just love the game of football. I just try to do what I can man. Thanking God for putting me in this place right here, because you know without him none of this could be possible so every day I just go out there and just follow through with what I got to do and my teammates, I can’t thank those guys enough, they motivate me and keep me humble, so that’s why I go out there and do what I do.”

(On how to keep the winning streak consistent)
“I think we been doing an okay job of keeping each other up. Everybody stay sane, everybody just stay humble, and just keep doing what you’re doing, but obviously you know we can get better, just have to go back in the film room and correct some things and just take off from there. Go full throttle, play hard no matter what. No matter what the play is, long as we go full speed good things happen.”

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

NORV TURNER

(On the QB Philip Rivers interception was returned for a touchdown)
“He was trying to get it over the corner. Eddie (Royal) was in behind him. It was a throw you can’t make. He obviously should have thrown the ball away, should have thrown it out of bounds. (Then) we are in position to kick a field goal to tie the game.”

(On trying to overcome Tampa Bay’s splash plays)
“If you give up a blocked punt for a touchdown, and you give up an interception return for a touchdown, you are going to put yourself in jeopardy in terms of winning the game. I thought our guys, in terms of when we had adversity, they fought back. It was an awfully competitive game. We have a group of guys that are mentally and physically tough. Physically, we matched up and competed against a real good, young, talented team. I thought we accomplished a number of things we set out to accomplish. Obviously the thing we wanted to accomplish was to win the game and we weren’t able to do that.”

(On the mood in the locker room)
“This is as tough a group of guys as I’ve been around. We’ve got guys that have responded in every kind of adversity. We’ve had guys that have gone out there and played hurt, played when they shouldn’t have played, all those types of things. I know this group. It’s going to respond. We go to Denver, they’ll respond and our coaches will respond and put together the kind of plan we had today and we’ll go up there and fight our asses off.”

(On if losing is acceptable if the team still plays hard)
“What do you think? What do you think the answer to that question is? Answer it for me. Is it acceptable? No, it’s not acceptable. You know the answer to that. Is it acceptable having a blocked punt and an interception for a touchdown? No. That’s not what we’re trying to accomplish out there. We’re trying to win games and those things are keeping us from winning. No, it’s not acceptable to play hard and not win, but that’s what happened.”

(On P Mike Scifres playing through injury)
“It was tough. As I’ve said, I’ll start with Mike and I’ll go through the entire roster. They’re as tough as guys as you’re going to be around, mentally and physically. Could he have stayed on the bench and said, ‘I can’t punt?’ He could have, we could have done something else. That’s not the type of guy he is. That’s not the type of guys we have.”

QUARTERBACK PHILIP RIVERS

(On his fourth-quarter interception)
“Obviously there is a story to every interception, but the intention was to throw it over (CB Leonard Johnson) head. Eddie (Royal) was there and I saw (Johnson) the whole time. (The ball) just kind of stayed in my hand longer than I wanted it to, and took a nose-dive right to him. In hindsight, I wish I would have thrown it over his head, but I probably just shouldn’t have thrown the ball, period. Make it, kick a field goal and tie it up. This game is played in quick decisions and I made the wrong one there.”

(On turnovers this season)
“Those things are happening on the run and in live action. It’s a humbling game because it just shows how one play – essentially one play – can ruin a game and cost a game. Other than that, on the other interception, I wish I would have just thrown it a little further. It was either that or a sack and it was third-and-30 and I was just trying to give D.A. (Danario Alexander) a chance. Other than that play, we played about as good of an offensive game as we have all year. We killed ourselves on the interception for a touchdown and the two possessions before because we were rolling pretty good most of the game.”

(On the team’s loss despite big plays)
“Yeah, two negative plays for touchdowns: there was the interception for a touchdown and a blocked punt for a touchdown. If you spot a good team 14 (points) at their place, it’s tough to win.”

(On San Diego’s scoring drive following the blocked punt)
“This game is four quarters. You play really good for 58 minutes and have a couple of bad minutes and you lose. That’s the way it goes.”

WR DANARIO ALEXANDER

(On how his role has changed since coming to San Diego)
“I feel like I got to do my job. They brought me in to try to make plays. That’s what I come in and do every week. I come in and work hard and try to be on the same page as Phil (Rivers). It’s a good thing to know that they have the confidence in me to actually give me the ball. It’s a big deal for me.”

(On his 80-yard touchdown)
“It felt great. It was the first drive and we wanted to come out and start off fast. They called a snap for me and I wanted to make the best of the opportunity.”

(On expecting to have such an impact after being signed in early October)
“Not really, but I knew that if my number was called, I was going to make every play I could make. I’m just doing my job and just trying to be the best team player and try to get this team some wins.”

(On if he had any nerves when making some key catches on third down)
“I’m just out there having fun. That’s the main part. If you’re having fun, the nerves really won’t be there. So, I’m out there just trying to play my best game and just have fun.”

(On how the team recovers after a tough loss)
“We have to come back and do what we do. We just have to work hard throughout the week. I feel like this team, we’re pretty good mentally. It’s going to be a fun week.”

WR MALCOM FLOYD

(On the play of the wide receiving corps)
“We did a good job of moving the ball up and down the field. I think the receiving corps, today, we did a lot but it just wasn’t a winning performance.”

(On mistakes that come up in close games)
“I just got to play better. There were a few mistakes, a few miscues with Philip; I just got to work those out.”

(On the play of WR Danario Alexander)
“He’s doing a good job. I’m happy, but as long as we have a good quarterback, everything’s going to be all right. He’s going to give us the ball; he’s going to give us an opportunity.”

RB RONNIE BROWN

(On mistakes costing the team)
”I like to think it’s making mistakes at the wrong time. I think we all know what we need to do and what needs to be done to win a football game. At the same time, we’re still kind of getting the same mistakes, which is tough especially against a good football team. It’s hard to win like that, and you’re on the road. We just got to get it corrected, no ifs, ands, or buts. Everybody on the team, as a human, as a force, as a football team, we got to get it right.”

(On being 4-5)
“It’s not a good situation to be sitting here at 4-5, but, at the same time, there’s a lot going on around the league and I still feel like if we play the way we can, I still think we have an opportunity. There are a lot of other teams in similar situations with losses in our conference, so we just have to take care of our business and not worry about what everyone else is doing (but instead) worry about the San Diego Chargers.”

(On problems with the team)
“It’s just execution. I don’t think it’s individuals, I think it is just the execution part of it. I think if we do it right, (then) we are still okay doing what we are doing. I feel like this is a good football team, in terms of Tampa Bay, and they got on the road the past few weeks. In the first half we were able to execute and we were up. Then, in the second half we don’t execute and you see the results of that. I don’t think it is the guys (or) that we don’t have the talent as much as it is the execution part of it.”

RB RYAN MATTHEWS

(On the play that injured Tampa Bay LB Quincy Black)
“It sucks. We’re competing and everything, (but) you don’t want to see anything happen like that. We are all professionals and we are all trying to make a living off of this and to see someone go down like that it sucks. I’m going to pray for him. I didn’t know at first (that the injury was serious). I was kind of in my own little world for a second, and I got over there and he wasn’t moving, so, after a couple of seconds, I knew something was wrong. It’s sad, (and) it just sucks to see something like that. I’ll say all my prayers and everything to go out to him and his family.”

S ERIC WEDDLE

(On the key to slowing down the offense)
“The key is just to play solid defense – eleven guys trusting each other. We played well against the run and we have all year. The (Buccaneers’) big plays kind of hurt us, so unfortunately it’s a tough loss.”

(On the San Diego defense in the fourth quarter)
“I think (the fourth quarter) is where you have to be at the top of your game – completely focused. Any mistake is magnified 100 times because it’s that meaningful of a game. We just turned the ball over and gave up a touchdown in the fourth quarter. We did not play well as a team. We need to keep grinding. It’s not a talent issue; we just need to make the plays in the fourth quarter. When we do, we win the game and when we don’t we obviously lose. We need to keep believing. It’s going to be a tough week, but all you can do is put your head down and keep working.”

(On whose responsibility is it to turn the game around)
“It’s everyone. It’s a team. It’s not person who loses this game or one person that wins a game. We win or lose together. I won’t go out pointing fingers – I could have done better. I will see what I can do better first before I start pointing fingers. When each guy takes it like that and everyone does in here, no one is going to call each other out. We’ll get through it. That’s the drive in us and we have to have that.”

WR DANARIO ALEXANDER

(On how he is feeling after injuries)
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m pretty confident in my talent and what I can do. The main thing is just staying healthy and if I can do that, everything will come.”

(On having a solid individual performance in a loss)
“It is tough. It’s always good to get a win. Having a good day is okay, but having a win makes it even better.”

Last year at this time, Joe had no clue when or if the Bucs would ever have a winning record.

But here we are on Veterans Day, 2012, and the Bucs have a winning record. Hard to believe, but it is true.

This was not lost on Bucs middle linebacker Mason Foster when Joe spoke with him after the game.

“It is exciting,” Foster said. “We are playing good but we know we can get better. We have a young team. Young defense. I feel that everybody is hungry and everybody is making plays. We just have to keep getting better each and every day, each and every week and we are going to be alright.

“We have a lot of young players. We have to keep putting things together.”

It’s not just the winning record the Bucs possess, but they are truly in a playoff hunt. The Bucs are 5-4, past the halfway point of the season.

The Bucs travel to hapless Carolina next Sunday. It’s not beyond the stretch of the imagination that the Bucs will be 6-4 entering the Thanksgiving Weekend home game against the Dixie Chicks.

Two games over .500 at Thanksgiving? Based on watching that drek last year, who would have thought?

Philip Rivers’ precision lightened Doug Martin’s load

You knew Doug Martin’s run of superstardom couldn’t last forever.

Today, the Muscle Hampster returned to earth a bit after two monster road games that put his name on the national stage. Martin churned out 68 yards on 19 carries, and had three receptions for 51 yards, including one simple dumpoff he busted for 42.

On the season, Martin is sitting at 862 rushing yards from an even five yards per carry average. It’s impressive stuff from the rookie, and he’s still on pace to break Cadillac Williams’ rookie record total of 1,178 yards.

There was so much talk about limiting Martin’s workload before this game, and Philip Rivers and the Chargers did just that as they dominated possession. That was a beneficial by-product of this win.

Every wanted to go on a cruise? Why not do it with former Buccaneers, NFL greats and other sports celebrities?

ESPN AT SEA has great “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013. Yeah, Super Bowl time.

All kinds of former NFL greats are accessible on the cruises, as well as stars from the soccer world, cruise cheerleaders and much more. Click below to learn all about the parties, and the discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers on these fantastic Royal Caribbean ships.

Bucs cornerback La’Quan Lewis, picked up off the street earlier this year, had a key pick in the fourth quarter, one of many backup players that came up big for the Bucs today.

Yeah, often if a team is relying on free agents off the street and late-round draft picks to make plays, the team is in dire straights.

Not so with the Bucs today. Rather than dire straights, one could suggest the Bucs actually have a deep roster.

Let’s look at what some players call camp meat did for the Bucs this afternoon.

First, of course one cannot overlook how the Bucs scored the winning touchdown. Undrafted free agent rookie Leonard Johnson got a gift from Trent Dilfer Philip Rivers and raced 83 yards for the game-winning score.

Then there was Dekoda Watson, a seventh-round draft pick out of Florida State. In the first half, Watson raced in and blew up Chargers punter Mike Scifres after blocking his punt attempt that Adam Hayward scooped up for a score.

Oh yeah, Hayward. a sixth-round pick by the Bucs. He got the job done when he corralled Watson’s blocked punt and, while biting the football, returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

Not to be forgotten, undrafted cornerback LeQuan Lewis, a free agent pick up this season, activated from the practice squad this week, had a key fourth quarter interception of Rivers that helped keep the Chargers off the board.

Not a shabby performance by a quartet of guys who aren’t expected to make big plays.

Nice job by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.

Not much for Joe to say here. Quincy Black made a hard-hitting tackle in the second half and paid a steep price. The Bucs medical staff cared for him on the field for several minutes before Black was carted off waving the fingers on his right hand and giving a thumbs up.

After the game, Greg Schiano said he was encouraged and expected Black to be OK. Schiano said Black was under supervision at a local hospital.

Last season, the season after winning 10 games, Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman was particularly unfranchise-quarterback-like.

Accuracy was not his forte. Forcing balls was his signature, especially to a double- or triple-covered, mouthy tight end.

Freeman quit forcing passes early this season, but the accuracy wasn’t there. Now, after a thrilling 34-24 win over the Chargers, Freeman still isn’t pinpoint accurate, but man he sure knows where his open receivers are.

It sure seems Freeman is quite comfortable with this Mike Sullivan offense. There were times when Freeman had defenders in his face. Instead of panicking, he calmly tossed the ball to an open receiver or Doug Martin.

Freeman seemed to do this effortlessly. As if he already knew a receiver was open, and just where the receiver was supposed to be on a checkdown. In other words, Freeman was very smooth and a cool cucumber today, which in Joe’s eyes shows how he has grown and melded into this new Bucs offense.

Instinctive.

“He was cool today,” Bucs left guard Jeremy Zuttah said. “Under pressure, he went through his progressions and that is all you can ask for from your quarterback. He did his job.”

And so too did the Bucs.

Joe’s ecstatic for Dekoda Watson, who had earned a Sabby for his choke and personal foul on a missed punt block in Dallas earlier this season. That was an absolute killer in that game, and Greg Schiano was not happy about it, calling the play a 10-point swing in the six-point loss.

Today, Watson was a hero, getting a late first-half punt block that led to a scoop and score by Adam Hayward.

Watson made additional plays on special teams today and also made rockstar general manager Mark Dominik look a little wiser. It was Dominik who called Watson a “Pro Bowl-caliber special teams player” in September.

Nothing is slowing down Lavonte David

Last year, Bucs safeties led the team in tackles. Joe has nightmares of serial loafer chasing rabid running backs in the second and third levels of the defense as fans cried their eyes out.

This year is a different story. Again, Bucs rookie Lavonte David had a monster afternoon, racking up 13 tackles today, one for a loss. He now has 80 through nine games. Remember how Barrett Ruud was routinely lauded for busting 100 in a season? David, if he stays healthy, is on pace for 142.

After the game, Joe chatted with the humble rookie, who also calls the Bucs defensive signals.

JoeBucsFan.com: You’ve racked up a hell of a lot of tackles so far this season? Do you feel it? Is your body talking to you?

Lavonte David: No, I don’t feel it at all, man. I do a good job trying taking care of my body through the week. I’ve got a whole bunch of vets around me who have been through the same thing I’ve been through. They give me all kinds of [advice], as much as they can so I can keep up through the year.

Joe: You’re essentially doing at the NFL level what you did at Nebraska, making plays all over the field and being a tackling machine. Are you ever surprised at all?

David: No. I just love the game of football, you know, man? I just try to do what I can. I’m just thanking God for putting me in this place here. So I just go out and do what I do. My teammates, I can’t thank those guys enough, they really keep me motivated and keep me humble.

Joe: Derrick Brooks is in touch with lots of Buccaneers. Have you had a chance to meet with him and talk about linebacker play and life?

David: I haven’t had the chance to really sit down and talk to him. But we talk a little by text, but nothing man-to-man yet. I need to take time out of my day one day sit down and talk with him. That would be a great boost for me and a great thing for me.

Joe: What’s been the biggest surprise of your NFL experience?

David: I mean week in and week out (laughs) I know now it’s going to be a ballgame no matter what. I mean, you know, week in and week out your against the best of the best.

Bucs cornerback Leonard Johnson holds the ball aloft after scoring his pick-six which gave the Bucs the lead for good Sunday.

Bucs defensive back Leonard Johnson went from the depths of depression to the heights of exaltation in a span of not quite 60 minutes of football today.

Early in the game, Johnson went to tackle Chargers receiver Danario Alexander near midfield on a Philip Rivers pass (one of many to come). Johnson came up and wrapped up Alexander and threw him to the ground.

Problem was, Johnson didn’t actually tackle Alexander ,who sort of did a tumble without hitting the ground, jumped up and raced for the end zone.

Fast forward to late in the game with the Chargers seemingly on another scoring drive when Rivers was flushed out of the pocket and looked to be going out of bounds.

“I was running up to cover him,” Johnson said.

Instead of throwing the ball away or running out of bounds, Rivers, inexplicably, threw the ball and hit Johnson right in the numbers.

“I think I hesitated at first because I was shocked,” Johnson said of his pick.

But he wasn’t done. With only one Chargers player to beat, Johnson raced unabated to the end zone, styling Deion Sanders-style the last 20 yards, capping an 83-yard pick-six for what proved to be the winning score in a 34-24 Bucs win.

Johnson had “re-routed” his receiver when Rivers was flushed then defended Rivers in case he tried to gain yardage when Rivers decided, for reasons unknown, to channel his inner Trent Dilfer and throw a terrible, terrible, terrible pass.

“I grabbed ahold of it and I think I hesitated for a second because I was so shocked,” Johnson said. “This is big,” he said to himself as he styled across the goal line. “It was always a play I wanted to make in college. It was my first pick-six, ever. I was excited, really excited.

“It was everything you think of, it was big, even bigger because it put the team in a position to win. It wasn’t just me that made that play. If the quarterback doesn’t get out of the pocket due to pressure, who knows how that game would have turned out?”

The last time Johnson scored a touchdown was when he was quarterback at Largo High School. An offensive touchdown.

Johnson’s head was still swirling about the play after the game. He said he couldn’t remember who he was guarding initially on the play because “I’m still high right now.”

Joe just couldn’t believe his eyes watching the Bucs play in the first half. Joe knew Philip Rivers would at some point slice apart the Bucs defense, given the Bucs have the worst pass defense in the league.

But Joe never envisioned Rivers simply ravaging the Bucs the way he did in the game’s first 30 minutes.

Yeah, some will say the Bucs couldn’t get heat on Rivers. They could, but it didn’t matter. When you let a running back run free in the flat, when you let Antonio Gates get off the line of scrimmage without breathing on him, of course receivers will be free as wild turkeys in Tennessee.

Rivers didn’t need any time for his receivers to get open. They already were. So the moment a Bucs defender started charging at Rivers, he simply flipped a ball to a running back or Gates and there was a first down if not a touchdown.

Joe wanted to vomit at halftime. In the name of Monte Kiffin, what the hell was going on here?

Well, the Bucs, more importantly Bucs defensive coaches, learned from their mistakes in the first half. They started to contain running backs in the flat. They began to have Lavonte David nail Gates at the line, not just disrupting his pass route, but blowing up the play.

“We kept playing, kept grinding,” Bucs defensive end Michael Bennett said. “Of course we made mistakes in the first half. If they score, that’s a mistake.

“They kept a lot of people in in the first half and were hitting check-down routes, which is what they are known for. That’s a great team. Rivers is a great quarterback. They have a lot of good receivers, good running backs.

“We didn’t make the same mistakes that we made in the first half. That was the difference. Unless [Rivers] was going to sit back seven yards we weren’t going to get to him and he didn’t do that.”

Look, Joe knows it was a team victory today against the Chargers, but it’s darn interesting that the Bucs beat the San Diego primarily without cornerback Eric Wright, who left the game early with what was announced as an ankle injury, and without helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, Adderrall-popping, coach-cussing, referee-charging, pistol-friendly, granny-hassling Aqib Talib.

The Bucs are now 4-1 without Talib.

The patchwork unit of E.J. Biggers, LeQuan Lewis, Leonard Johnson, and Myron Lewis, did enough, with some very savvy anticipation by Ronde Barber and a decent day from Mark Barron.

Joe still has no illusions that the Bucs have a good secondary, but only small improvement is needed among this group when they continue to force turnovers and they have a punishing offense to rely on. 

Joe’s confident the Bucs can light up the scoreboard with anyone. If the defensive backs can progress, that might just be enough to get this team to the playoffs.

How bout those 5-4 Buccaneers!

The depth and versatility of the New Schiano Order was on full display against the Chargers.

Newcomer cornerback LeQuan Lewis scored a big interception. Undrafted rookie CB Leonard Johnson had a pick-6, redeeming his opening drive gaffe. Daniel Te’o-Nesheim registered a monster sack late. Dekoda Watson and Adam Hayward teamed for a punt block and score.

Those are not the names you penciled in as your likely heroes before this game.

For Joe, this win was all about maturity. As Greg Schiano likes to say, the porous Bucs defense “bowed their necks” and didn’t crack in the second half, allowing the Chargers only three points.

Doug Martin returned to earth (19 carries for 68 yards, and a few dumpoff passes, one of which he took for 42 yards), but Josh Freeman was precise and error-free.

This was an all-phases win for the Bucs, not spectacular, but damn good. It’s good to have real winning football back in Tampa!

Welcome to Week 10 of the NFL. The Bucs host the Chargers, blacked out in this neck of the woods.

Feel free to holler, scream and vent about the game here. As always, you are encouraged to share URLs of illegal, pirated feeds amongst yourselves via e-mail but posting those URLs on this site is grounds for banishment.

This should be an interesting game, much like recent Bucs games, hold on tight. Decent quarterbacks give Joe a stroke the way they light up the Bucs secondary each and every week.

So for the Bucs to win, you know, it has to be a shootout. At least those are entertaining.

If anyone believes in a higher authority, perhaps a silent word to the Supreme Being that a certain No. 23 never touches the field of the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway other than warming up and delivering water during break in the game’s play.

And so it goes for Bucs forgotten running back Michael Smith. The Bucs released their inactives a short time ago and for the ninth-straight game, Smith is inactive.

Here is the list of Bucs inactives for today’s game with San Diego:

WR Arrelious Benn

RB Michael Smith

S Cody Grimm

CB Danny Gorrer

LB Jacob Cutrera

LB Najee Goode

G Roger Allen

Joe doesn’t know what bowl of cereal Smith must have spit in. The Bucs return game stinks. Even Bucs coach Greg Schiano has said as much.

Why not try Smith, who returned kicks in preseason and on opening day?

Joe just doesn’t get it.

Week 10

Chargers at Bucs

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: Blacked out in the Tampa and Orlando TV markets; DirecTV 711.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 113.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, you are not going to get a much better weather day to go to a Bucs game. This Chamber of Commerce weather is why we live in west-central Florida. Temperature at kickoff is expected to be 79 degrees which will bump to 80 in the second quarter and shouldn’t budge much after that, all under sun-splashed skies. Bring your sunscreen!

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs -3.

Outlook: If you like offense, this game should be for you. If you have a pacemaker or are weak of heart, maybe you should leave or turn off the radio in the fourth quarter. On one one side you have the explosive Bucs (Joe never dreamed he would type such a thing) with great wideouts like Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson, and the cannon arm of Josh Freeman and the legs of Doug Martin. Easily the most potent offense Tampa Bay has ever seen. On the other side you have Philip Rivers, who Joe still believes is one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. As Joe hinted at earlier, good quarterbacks have roasted the Bucs secondary in the fourth quarter. Joe doesn’t expect that to change, especially if the Bucs are wont to use a three-man front. Unless there is serious heat on Rivers, he will put up pinball machine numbers on the Bucs defense. Joe fully expects a high-scoring game. This should be fun to watch. Unless the Bucs somehow find a way to shore up that pass defense, or unless the Bucs are able to get a bunch of turnovers, Joe doesn’t expect to have many fingernails left late in the game.

Fun quotes: Here are some neat quotes from Chargers coach Norv Turner and quarterback Philip Rivers on the Bucs:

Turner: “I appreciate Vincent more than most having the opportunity to have him here. Big plays turn into points. It opens up the field for other guys (too). Other Bucs players have benefited from having Vincent there. Mike Williams is a big play receiver like Vincent. Makes things challenging. … Bug players but very athletic. I am very impressed with their front seven the way they move. They are doing a great job of stopping the run and when you do that, you have a chance in every game. If you are able to stop the run, you can live with that [porous pass defense]. … We have to protect the ball. If we don’t turn the ball over we have a chance to win and we cannot give up big plays. The rules are structured for teams to make big plays. If you give up long drives you have an opportunity [for a turnover]. If we give up big plays, we will be in trouble. … [Ronde Barber] is phenomenal. When he has his helmet on he looks like he is about 24 years-old and he is playing about like he is 24 years-old. You can see he is helping everyone on that defense.”

Rivers: “You certainly miss a player like Vincent Jackson. He was a great player and a good friend of mine for, shoot, six or eight years. You pull for him every week — except for this week. Because he is big and fast and physical, easy to label him a deep target and a jump ball guy but he is much more than that. He was really good on underneath stuff and quick slants. He was not limited. He obviously is a stretch-the-field guy but he was so diverse. He practiced and he was great in the meeting rooms as far as how he prepared. Just a real committed player. Can’t say enough positive [things] about his time here. … This is a big game for both teams. Each of us are trying to keep things going. … There are some big plays that have been made on them in the past few weeks but it is a defense that is attacking and fast. They have given up some big plays but at the same time they create turnovers and create negative plays. You look at how they have been No. 1 in run defense is because they create a lot of negative plays. They have a real active front and linebacker group. They are a diverse group and it is certainly a challenge. … [Ronde Barber], unless you are playing against him, is a fun guy to watch. A guy who has played that long, he is an awesome football player and it is fun to watch him make plays, strip the football, make plays in the hole on Adrian Peterson, he is a heck of a player and an unbelievable career. … The backers are active, they are all active. So active.”

It was a feel-good morning earlier this week when eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune dropped by to speak with Chris Dingman and Kirk McEwen, co-hosts of the WHFS-FM 98.7 morning show. Kaufman sounded like a Bucs cheerleader.

All thumbs were pointed upwards in Kaufman’s eyes as the Pewter Pirates head into their game with San Diego tomorrow.

Kaufman noted how the Bucs have changed. Just 10 years ago, the Bucs had one of the most savage defenses in NFL history and rode that defense to a Super Bowl win.

Now, as Kaufman pointed out, the Bucs have the most dangerous offense in the NFL.

“They are in line to shatter all of the offensive team records, all of them. This is easily the best offense this town has seen in 35 years. Everything has changed around now. They are averaging  28 points a game — for the season — and that is after a sluggish start. Everybody deserves credit.

“This team in this NFC playoff picture, let’s be honest. It’s all good for Bucs fans right now with this prolific offense.”

Kaufman then went on to cite the deft drafting of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, new Bucs coach Greg Schiano for his New Schiano Order, offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan for crafting this offense yet never calling a play in the NFL prior to this season, and to offensive line coach Bob Bostad wizardry in keeping a unit together despite it having just one starter left in place from the start of preseason (remember, Jeremy Zuttah has moved to left guard).

Joe happens to believe Kaufman is on the mark. It’s hard to believe this is virtually the same organization that stunk worse than an uncleaned Porta-Potty baking in a Florida summer.

Even if the Bucs don’t make the playoffs — those losses to the Giants and Saints are killers — it’s remarkable the headway this franchise has made in half a season.

If Keyshawn Johnson was throwin’ the damn ball for the Bucs, he’d be eyeballing Mike Williams before Vincent Jackson.

Speaking on the Booger and Rich show on 98.7 FM this week, the man who caught 106 balls for the Bucs in 2001 says his prefers the film on Williams. 

“They’re making plays. They’re going and getting the football. I like Williams better than I like Jackson,” Johnson said of the Bucs’ receivers. “I think Williams has the ability to just make plays all the time. When it looks like he’s not going to catch the football, he goes up and he gets it, he catches the ball in traffic. He’s just a solid playmaker to me. But Jackson, it helps him because of his height advantage. I think his size and his height advantage, you know, especially in the red zone, gives him that size advantage that you’re looking for in a receiver.”

Joe, too, is impressed by the versatility and the wow factor of Williams. Hell, the guy’s first career touchdown grab was spectacular and unique. Of course, the body control all starts on the basketball court for Williams, who’s been known to fly around the court.

The woes of the Bucs secondary this season have been the Achilles heel of the physical Bucs defense.

The secondary has had it its quality moments, full halves of football even, but inevitably a roasting comes. This is painful to Ronde Barber, who shared that the fix is obvious and simple in theory, during a Tuesday interview on the Buccaneers Radio Network.

“It’s really nothing to address. I mean, you get in 1-on-1 situations sometimes; we just gotta win. You know, they’re winning,” Barber said of failures in the defensive backfield. “There’s no secret. Balls can not go over your head in the secondary. That’s the bottom line.”

Barber referenced simple yet profound advice he got many years ago from ageless Hall of Fame Redskins cornerback Darrell Greene (1983-2002) on how to stay in the league so long, “Don’t get beat deep.”

“It’s a really simple concept that we have to get better at. We can’t let the ball go over our head,” Barber said.  

Joe fully expects the Bucs secondary to struggle the rest of the season. There’s no miracle cure in the bushes. The Bucs are probably hoping that’s speedy CB LeQuan Lewis, but that’s an experiment, nothing more.

Joe simply hopes the Bucs improve in coverage this season until they can invest in cornerback this offeseason. Basic improvement could be enough to ensure the Bucs win shootout after shootout the rest of the way.