It’s the lowly Chiefs, an AFC opponent in Week 6, but this is the proverbial must-win for the Bucs.

No, Joe’s not thinking about playoff implications or the grand scheme of the Bucs organization, Joe’s thinking about the ugly potential reality if the Bucs were to lose to the quarterback-challenged, turnover-happy Chiefs in Tampa.

It’s unthinkable.

Look, Joe loves the Bucs, perhaps more than any mortal, and Joe can’t fathom bellying up to his keyboard if the Bucs walk off as losers to Brady Quinn on Sunday. Frankly, Joe will want to crawl into a hole, or head to Belize with Rachel Watson.

It’s not the fault of the New Schiano Order that the Bucs ended 2011 with 10-straight losses. But that weight is still there, sitting on the backs of legions of fans. The Bucs need this win to help ditch that and restore order.

Joe had an interesting chat yesterday with Bucs stud left guard Carl Nicks. It seems that the musical chairs on the right side of the Bucs offensive line has had a ripple effect on the entire Bucs offensive line.

It’s fair to call the shell game of players going in and out of the starting lineup on the right side of the line a mess.

First Ted Larsen replaced Davin Joseph and then starting right tackle Jeremy Trueblood was replaced by Demar Dotson. Now, it seems Trueblood very well could replace Larsen. Yes, that Jeremy Trueblood who hasn’t played one snap at guard since he graduated high school. In a handful of days he’s supposed to be able to play guard in the NFL?

But all of this inconsistency on the right side is messing with the left side, Nicks explained to Joe. Now let Joe be clear, Nicks was not searching for any excuses. He was just being real with Joe, which Joe appreciates.

“To be honest, I try not to let it affect me, but it is in the back of my head,” Nicks said of the rotating starters on the right side. “It can’t really be a priority [for Nicks] when you have to go out and block. We all have to be on the same page. I trust the coaches.”

Nicks went on to say that an offensive line has to play as one, almost like a dance troup or an orchestra. If one guy — Nicks was quick to point out it could even be him — wasn’t in line with the rest of the line, bad things happen.

“It’s about continuity,” Nicks said. “You need to be on the same page. If one guy isn’t that could mess up the whole line. Not saying one guy will be, but you need to play games together to build up that trust and belief, to know how guys block in certain techniques.”

While Nicks admitted the rotating starters is a concern, he does his best to block it out because his No. 1 job is to block the guy on the other side of the ball from him.

“It sounds real basic, you just have to do your job,” Nicks said. “You can’t worry about the the next position or who is playing what or flip-flopping.”

Nicks even had a radical idea when it comes to the offensive line. Nicks thinks that offensive lineman should be interchangeable not unlike other positions.

“I really am a firm believer in, why can’t we [offensive linemen] rotate like receivers and running backs?” Nick said. “I’m with that.”

So too seems to be Greg Schiano, who all but admitted Wednesday he’s trying to find the most talented five guys to put on the line. If that means a tackle should be playing guard, so be it.

Last year, one reason for the ailing play of the Bucs defensive front was the ailing play of tackle Roy Miller. But after the season, it was learned that Miller was less than 100 percent, trying to play tackle in the NFL with a messed up back.

It seems, if one is to believe the Bucs, by way of Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, that back is again barking at Miller. So much so he missed practice today and it seems that Miller’s status is in doubt for Sunday.

@RCummingsTrib: DT Roy Miller missed practice Thursday with a sore back. That could be a big loss for the Bucs if he can’t go this week

Yes, this would be a big loss because just about everyone at One Buc Palace gives Miller the credit for helping Gerald McCoy have a beastly season thus far in 2012, by drawing double-teams allowing GMC to disrupt and harass.

Funny thing is, yesterday Miller took the time to speak with Joe for a story on how to battle the Chiefs, and he was his normal, soft-spoken self (Miller whispers more than he talks). Joe also noticed Miller walking around the locker room and Joe can’t recall anything that looked out of the ordinary with his gait.

Back problems are weird things.

Today the leader of the New Schiano Order said he was very encouraged by the progression of Da’Quan Bowers, but cautioned that the Bucs “we’re going to be very, very conservative” when it comes to making a decision to put Bowers back on the field.

Bowers tore his Achilles in the spring and said recently he’d be ready to go before the Bucs take on the Vikings in Week 8.

Schiano’s upbeat take was based on seeing Bowers “on the field in rehab.” The coach called it “good stuff.”

With the Bucs having only three DEs on the roster, Joe has to think the Bucs are planning to bring Bowers back sooner rather than later. But Joe really would rather see Bowers sit out the season. Joe’s no doctor, but what’s the hurry?

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Now Joe has already made the point that the Bucs may have been better off facing embattled Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel than backup, pretty boy, journeyman Brady Quinn Sunday at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

Cassel today was ruled out for Sunday due to a concussion he suffered against the Baltimore Crows. As a result, Quinn will start for the Chiefs (though Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel did float the crazy, hard-to-believe premise that third-stringer Ricky Stanzi may start. Yeah, and Rachel Watson will be hanging on Joe’s arm all weekend, too).

The reason why Joe is of the mind that the Bucs were better off facing Cassel is because he is an immobile statue, and a turnover machine like no other.

The Chiefs have coughed up 19 turnovers in five games — 19! Nearly two-thirds of those turnovers (13) came thanks to Cassel. He’s thrown nine picks and put the ball on the ground four times.

In case you are counting at home, that’s nearly three turnovers a game by the Chiefs quarterback.

Cassel has played Santa Claus so often this season, the Salvation Army wants to hire Cassel to stand in front of stores after Thanksgiving and annoy people by ringing a bell.

Even though Quinn hasn’t exactly established himself as a legitimate NFL quarterback, he can’t possibly be expected to give away the football more than Cassel.

But Quincy Black doesn’t see it that way. The Bucs strongside linebacker believes there isn’t much of a difference between Cassel and Quinn. He talked to Joe yesterday about which quarterback the Bucs would prefer to face.

JoeBucsFan: Matt Cassel has been a turnover machine this season. He gives up three a game. It looks like he won’t play this Sunday. Is this one of the rare times that you’d rather face the starter than a backup?

Quincy Black: We are preparing for the Kansas City Chiefs, whoever is behind center. They are an explosive offense and we have to be prepared for that. As for whoever is under center, they are both NFL quarterbacks and it is an NFL team you are facing. And you are trying to get a win every week.

Joe: Preparing for two quarterbacks, or three, how does that mess you up as a defense, or does that mess you up?

Black: We prepare for the looks they like to do and you try to work off of that. You base everything off of that, not so much who is behind center. Each [quarterback] has his own strengths and weaknesses and we will work towards that but at the same time, it is the NFL and these are NFL quarterbacks.

Joe: Brady Quinn hasn’t played much in the past couple of years, so is it a guessing game to prepare for his strengths and weaknesses?

Black: The thing is, he is an NFL quarterback. It’s not like they brought him off the street. It’s his second year with them I think, right? He knows the system. He will get the respect from us he deserves.

As Joe stated with Black, Sunday may be one of those weird times when a backup could be more dangerous than the starter. As Black inferred, the Chiefs have dangerous offensive weapons with Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe, among others. If Quinn can be a little more accurate than Cassel, this could be a helluva problem for the Bucs.

It’s pretty clear to Joe that Mike Williams is back to his stellar 2010 form.

This season, the guy has displayed the great combination of hands, elite body control and speed that everyone saw in his rookie season, when his peers voted the fourth-round pick as the 80th best player in the NFL for the NFL Network Top-100 feature.

Joe still remembers watching the 2010 scouting combine. The standout overall receiving talents clearly were Dez Bryant and Mike Williams. Everyone else was a notch or more below.

Mike Sullivan raved about Williams yesterday, and how he’s eating up coaching from one of the best wide receivers coaches in the NFL.

“He was open-minded. I think he started seeing some of the results. And I’ve just seen a young man that has a lot of potential, is getting better, has just a great attitude, a great spirit. I’m really excited that he’s on our team,” Sullivan said of Williams.

“P.J. Fleck does an outstanding job. He’s one of the most technical, fundamentally sound teachers out there. He has given those guys some good tools, and they’re buying what he’s selling. A credit to great pros like Vincent [Jackson] and a young aspiring, soon, hoping-to-be-at that-top-tier — and he certainly has the tools and his head in the right direction — a guy like Mike Williams. He’s been receptive to that. And they want to get better. They’re not in this, ‘I got all the answers.’ They’ve been so willing to learn. That’s made the job that much easier.”

Joe was intrigued by the high praise of Fleck from Sullivan, who was the New York Giants wide receivers coach for six seasons.

Fleck, 31, a former 49ers wideout, also has taken major kudos from Greg Schiano for not just his work with receivers, but also his coaching of special teams.

Joe wonders whether the Bucs might be wise to make sure Fleck is locked up for a while. If the Bucs receivers continue to excel — where are you, Mr. Benn? — Fleck will not be a guy they want to let get away.

Joe really isn’t sure the following is good news:

Per Chiefs beat writer Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star, embattled Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Bucs at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway and instead, as expected, backup Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn will start.

@adamteicher: Chiefs have finally ruled Cassel out of Sundays game.

Again, Joe isn’t sure this is a good thing at all. Cassel has been no less than horrid this season. He was averaging three turnovers a game all by himself. He has 13 turnovers through five games, including four fumbles.

Quinn can’t possibly turn the ball over any worse than Cassel has. One could argue — from a Chiefs’ standpoint — that Cassel missing a game is addition by subtraction.

Later, Joe will have an item from Bucs linebacker Quincy Black saying he really doesn’t care who the Chiefs quarterback is, and why that is.

Stay tuned.

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It’s no surprise that former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) is shaking his head at the thought of 6-8, disappointing tackle Jeremy Trueblood getting low and snarly and being a successful right guard for the Buccaneers against the Chiefs on Sunday.

“It means the guy in there right now can’t play and they’re reaching,” Beckles said of the potential Trueblood move on WDAE-AM 620 today.

Beckles had a lot of other commentary, but the gist of it is he has no faith in Trueblood, if Trueblood indeed grabs the right-guard reigns Sunday.

While talk of Trueblood’s move could be an elaborate Byron Leftwich–style smokescreen, it’s highly unlikely since it wouldn’t change the Chiefs’ approach to the game in the slightest.

Joe wishes Trueblood the best. Prove a lot of people wrong, big fella.

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Joe’s put in more homework on the Bucs blackout situation and the numbers are worse than Joe thought.

First, there are closer to 53,000 “non-premium” seats in Raymond James Stadium (about 3,000 more than what Joe originally learned from the Tampa Sports Authority), which means the Bucs have to sell about 45,000 of those to hit the “85-percent rule” and avoid a TV blackout of local home games.

And even though the Bucs hit an official attendance mark of 58,000+ against Washington with a late rush of ticket sales after the league-imposed Thursday blackout deadline, the Bucs still didn’t make that 85 percent mark as Joe originally reported. (Sorry about that.)

There are boring accounting details that explain why, but the bottom line is fans really didn’t come close to buying that 85 percent. And surely the Bucs were miles from that 85-percent mark at the league-imposed blackout deadline, 72 hours before kickoff.

Right now, there are scores of $30 tickets available for Sunday’s Chiefs-Bucs game at Ticketmaster.com, and loads of tickets at other price points.

The game officially will be blacked out at 1 p.m. today.

The Bucs aren’t alone in the NFL with their ticket-sales woes. It’s a much bigger problem — from New York to Oakland and beyond — than all the excuses/reasons that swirl around the Tampa Bay market.

What more can Team Glazer do when it comes to selling tickets? Joe suspects nothing much.

If the cheaper seats were all moved to $20, Joe wouldn’t be confident they’d be sold. Too many fans are just enjoying staying home.

“King, I’m your fourth offensive coordinator and your worst nightmare. You’re lucky I love you, man.”

Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, one of only three men to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game, says the Bucs should start transitioning to a throw-first offense immediately.

But it’s not because that philosophy is dominant in the NFL, King says, it’s because throwing is the strength of the current Bucs offense. Injuries and film through the first four games reveal it.

“With [Davin] Joseph down and Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams excelling … that’s the strength of your team,” King said this morning on the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620.

Sometimes the simplest takes are the best, and Joe likes this one.

The essence of coaching is to get the most out of your talent, and right now there’s clearly trouble in the Bucs running game, as evidenced by the roulette wheel at right guard and a poor yards-per-carry average.

Joe’s still all in favor of pounding LeGarrette Blount and Doug Martin, but the Bucs have to play more to their strengths on the outside.

If you haven’t read Joe on the record about this subject yet, Joe isn’t expecting much of anything at all from Jeremy Trueblood playing right guard.

Trueblood, a right tackle, hasn’t played one snap at guard since he graduated high school. Being thrown in to play guard on football’s highest level in the middle of a season isn’t the ideal time to learn a position one hasn’t played in a decade or so.

Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune isn’t as pessimistic as Joe. He took to the WHFS-FM airwaves Wednesday to chat with Booger McFarland and Rich Herrera to discuss all things Bucs, including the Jeremy Trueblood Experiment.

Woody Cummings: The Bucs haven’t committed to it yet, at least they haven’t publicly committed to it yet, but Booger, you know as well as I know that when a guy takes the first snaps at practice on a Wednesday, he is probably going to start on Sunday…

Booger McFarland: …right…

Cummings: … but the Bucs are still saying it could be Ted Larsen over there at right guard, that is what [Greg] Schiano told us today, it could be Jamon Meredith for all we know. It sure looks like they are going to give Jeremy Trueblood a shot. And you know, I’ve got to think if he can make that transition, you say it’s just moving over a step and a half and it should’t be that difficult. But when you have played right tackle your entire life, certainly in the NFL certainly at right tackle, there can be a trick to it, it can be difficult. The thing with Jeremy Trueblood at right tackle, there is no question he is their best run-blocking right tackle. If you put him in at right guard, it just may improve that run game just a little bit. That’s what you want to do with that team, they have made that commitment. I would think this is a good move. I think he is an upgrade on Ted Larsen. He doesn’t have the athleticism that Jeremy Truebood has, he doesn’t have that power. The question is can Trueblood get low enough with his pads, get that pad level low to make an effective jump from right tackle to right guard? I think he can. It will certainly be interesting to watch and with the Buccaneers, try something and this makes sense. You have a pretty decent player there in Jeremy Trueblood and he can run block so why not put him in there if that is what you are trying to do, that is run block?

A reasonable person might ask if the Bucs are desperate — and in Joe’s eyes, to try to pull off an experiment like this in the middle of the season smacks of desperation — why not pull a guard off the street?

 Well, this very subject came to light prior to the start of the 2012 season on “Movin’ the Chains,” with co-hosts Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Just hours after the final cuts were made by all NFL teams to get down to a 53-man roster, Kirwan and Ryan discussed who was unemployed that could contribute in a pinch.

Both Kirwan and Ryan felt there were a few defensive linemen who didn’t make the final cut that could make an impact on a team if signed, but as far as offensive linemen, they said there was nobody walking the streets who could start on a moment’s notice and do a credible job. Offensive lines across the NFL were thin as a result.

The fact the Bucs would kick start the Jeremy Trueblood Experiment five games into the season just reinforces Kirwan and Ryan’s belief that a decent offensive lineman cannot be found walking the streets of America in mid-October.

Joe would think any defensive player would salivate like he had a Bern’s steak sitting in front of him at the prospect of playing a team that damn near averages four turnovers a game.

Don’t count Roy Miller among said defensive players.

Miller told Joe that Kansas City’s penchant for playing St. Nick does not, nor will not, change how the Bucs play defense Sunday at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

“In the NFL, every team every week can show you something on film and do a completely [different] thing in the game,” Miller said. “What you do is to stick to what you know how to do and try to play your technique and if you practice your techniques, practice to disrupt the ball and cause turnovers, that’s what we do every week and that’s what we plan to do this week.

“The past couple of weeks we have been pretty good with turnovers. So, we want to get back to that this week. That is always part of our scheme is to get turnovers. It’s no different this week.”

The way the NFL is paranoid about concussions these days, and the new procedures in place to treat head injuries, Joe would be surprised if Chiefs incumbent starter Matt Cassel starts and former first round draft pick from Notre Dame, pretty boy quarterback Brady Quinn, is on the Chiefs sidelines Sunday against the Bucs.

The embattled Cassel went down with a concussion Sunday against the Baltimore Crows. Cassel has become such a lightning rod for the Chiefs woes of late, when Cassel sat on the turf of Arrowhead Stadium in a daze, the normally docile Kansas City faithful actually cheered Cassel’s demise, very much a Philadelphia-like reaction.

(Joe frankly wasn’t buying what Romeo Crennel was selling when he floated the idea he may just start third-stringer Matt Stanzi against the Bucs.)

Quinn, who has a relationship with Crennel dating back to their Browns days, has a chequered past in the NFL, largely a flop with the Browns and then humiliated to backup one-trick pony, fullback quarterback Tim Tebow in Denver.

Crennel came to Quinn’s defense when pressed by the Tampa Bay pen and mic club via teleconference this morning, which Joe attended.

“He hasn’t stated in a while but he has played in the league and he understands what it takes to run an offense and play in this league,” Crennel said. “He has always been one play away [from playing]. He went in on Sunday [after Cassel went down] and had a touchdown called back.

“I think he will run the offense efficiently.”

The way Joe sees it, if Quinn is able to slice up the Bucs secondary after sitting on the pine, seemingly for years, then the Bucs really need to look at how they are coaching up the defensive backs if not the pass defense as a whole.

More head-coach love today for Jeremy Trueblood, who might make his first career start at guard.

Recently we learned that Greg Schiano loves Jeremy Trueblood.

Today we found out that the leader of the New Schiano Order is still considering Trueblood to start at guard Sunday against the Chiefs, despite Trueblood not having a chance to practice at the position in pads on Monday because of a stomach bug.

“Jeremy’s a very intelligent football player who’s very experienced. So I think he has a much better chance of grasping things in a short amount of time,” Schiano said of Trueblood this afternoon. “You know, his best buddy Davin [Joseph] has played guard next to him for a long time. Different scheme? Yes. But they work together on so many different things that I think he has a good understanding.”

Schiano went on to say all his potential starting right guards have a good understanding, but coaches will have to figure out who’s the best fit for the Chiefs on Sunday.

Joe’s not optimistic about what Trueblood might look like at guard, but it would be interesting to watch.

Also, Joe wonders whether Trueblood will get the nod if there’s no clear cut winner of the job. The newly moved back NFL trade deadline is looming at the end of October, and Trueblood could be a prime trade target for a contending team looking for a quick fix at right tackle. If he can prove versatile, as well, there’s a better chance the Bucs could move him and score a draft pick for him.

Trueblood is a free agent after this season.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has been horrible this season, the main culprit in the team’s league-leading 19 turnovers.

Joe is fully confident Greg Schiano and his New Schiano Order would melt down in Kansas City the way the Chiefs play Santa Claus each and every week.

There is no easy way to put it: The Chiefs are horrible taking care of the football. After five games, Kansas City has given the ball away 19 times. Yes, that is correct, 19 times! That’s damned near four turnovers a game.

As one could imagine, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel is beyond frustrated with the turnovers, but what has kept him somewhat sane is the fact the Chiefs are giving out gifts in all sorts of ways.

“They are coming from a lot of different areas for a lot of different reasons,” Crennel told the Tampa Bay pen and mic club via conference call this morning. “There’s not one thing you can put a finger on. It has been several different things. Two weeks ago, we get the ball ripped out. Last week, we had a dropped ball, a fumble of a quarterback exchange. We throw tipped balls, we threw balls into bad places, it’s several different things.”

How bad have the Chiefs played charity football? they are on pace to challenge the NFL record for turnovers, 65.

Chiefs fans blame embattled starting quarterback Matt Cassel, who has been no less than miserable this season, accounting for 13 of the Chiefs turnovers (nine picks, four fumbles). But the main turnover machine for the Chiefs may not be on the field against the Bucs Sunday as Cassel has yet to be cleared to play after suffering a concussion against the Baltimore Crows last week.

The gift of Chiefs giving should be catnip for the Bucs and their struggling offense. Turnovers often lead to short fields. That’s just what the Bucs need.

Speaking to the Tampa Bay pen and mic club this morning, including Joe, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel stated the Chiefs will go with backup quarterback, former Browns first round pick and pretty boy Brady Quinn as Kansas City’s starting quarterback against the Bucs Sunday at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

That is, unless doctors let embattled Chiefs quarterback Matt Crassel play.

Cassel suffered a concussion last week for the Chiefs, which led to controversy because some Chiefs fans cheered as he hobbled off the field.

“We are going to see how this is going to turn out, but right now this is the situation,” Crennel explained. “Matt has been going through all the tests you have to do when you get a concussion. He has seen the doctors and they are evaluating. He has not been cleared yet. We will proceed today by getting Quinn ready to go.”

Crennel added if Cassel is given the green light by team doctors, he will start. If Cassel cannot go, the former Notre Dame star will battle the Bucs.

Joe never bought into the line of thinking that the Bucs were woefully short on talent in 2011, and Joe surely believes the Bucs have a wealth of talent in 2012.

Jimminy Christmas! The Bucs are BIG cash spenders on salary in the NFL this season, sitting near the top of the charts. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik would be doing a terrible job if the Bucs were lacking talent yet spending big bucks. 

But it seems Bucs icon John Lynch thinks the Bucs need more quality in their lineup. He ranked the Bucs as the 24th-best team in the NFL for the Associated Press, and Lynch claims Tampa Bay is falling short in the talent department.

John Lynch (Fox Sports, 24) – We have learned that the Greg Schiano-led Bucs will fight until the end. They are just a little short on talent and depth right now.

Joe agrees that the Bucs’ depth is suspect in multiple areas, though that’s an issue for most NFL teams.

But the talent is there, enough to win a bunch more games this season. The leader of the New Schiano Order needs to maximize it and find ways to close out games.

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