The infamous Benn’d around play, exhibit A why Greg Olson was horrendous in 2011, returned Sunday against the Redskins.

While Arrelious Benn worked hard to gain five yards, let Joe be very clear that Joe loathes the playcall and considers it cruel and unusual punishment to Bucs fans. After its brutal results last season, Joe believes the Benn’d around should be banished for at least 10 years.

But that brings Joe to Benn and his role on the 2012 Bucs. Benn was a high second-round pick in the deepest draft in modern times back in 2010. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik even traded away a fifth-round pick to move up and snatch him, but Benn has nowhere near fulfilled his promise.

Bucs offensive coordinators have not found a way incorporate him consistently. Or, there’s the possibility that Benn isn’t that good.

The move to Benn as a kick returner this season has him ranked as the 17th best returner in the NFL among players with five or more returns this season.

Benn is a strong cover guy on special teams, but that’s not why he was drafted.

Joe’s not sure what the new regime is going to do with Benn going forward. Somehow, though, they should give him shots to see if he can live up to his draft position.

One of the worst things Joe did as a young child was watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers when it arrived on broadcast television.

It scared the snot out of Joe. All those chilling pod people and Leonard Nimoy out of his Spock role.

It seems that this classic movie also left an impression on the leader of the New Schiano Order.

Speaking on his radio show Monday on WDAE-AM 620, Greg Schiano referred to the Bucs jumping offsides twice on the Redskins’ second scoring drive as a mystery only explained by extraterrestrial activities.

“The second score, you know, it’s 4th-and-1 we jump and then it’s 3rd-and-1 and we jump on the same drive. I mean that’s just not us,” Schiano said. “I don’t know if we had the invasion of the body snatchers because I don’t know who that was out there.”

Unfortunately, Joe suspects body snatchers were not involved because body-snatcher clones were very stoic and unemotional and not the type to jump offsides on key plays. Also, the Bucs have been racking up stupid penalties all season.

One would think the 2012 version of LeGarrette Blount would be loved by the New Schiano Order.

Blount is physical. He’s worked hard in practice. Joe doesn’t even recall Blount fumbling in practice or anywhere this year. And ball security is everything to Greg Schiano.

Blount seems like one of Schiano’s “Buccaneer Men”, though he’s seemingly been in a doghouse, only released for an occasional romp around the yard.

But perhaps things changed Sunday.

With 9:41 left in the fourth quarter, the Bucs turned to Blount on 2nd-and-goal from the 2 yard line to pound the ball in for a score. And Blount absorbed hits and delivered a punishing touchdown run. (Here’s the video)

This was not lost on Schiano, who spoke on his WDAE-AM 620 radio show Monday about Blount’s effort with what sounded like a twinkle in his eye.

“A good job by the line, but I think that was a man who was not going to be denied,” Schiano said of Blount.

If nothing else, Joe suspects Blount is now the Bucs’ short-yardage running back.

But Joe hopes Schiano’s comment leads to more carries. Blount remains a proven weapon that is not being maximized. That’s unacceptable.

Joe’s never heard of a player in any sport blowing out his knee without the injured leg on the ground, but that’s how rockstar general manager Mark Dominik described Adrian Clayborn’s season-ending knee injury.

Chatting on the Buccaneers Radio Network before Sunday’s game, Dominik said Clayborn’s legs weren’t on the ground when he was hurt and it was caused by freakish leg whipping action amid other players.

Ouch!

NFL.com reports had Clayborn tearing both his ACL and MCL.

Dominik says Clayborn will be ready for surgery soon and should be on the field for June 2013 minicamp.

Beat out for a starting job by Demar Dotson (who was beaten badly Sunday by Ryan Kerrigan), Bucs veteran right tackle Jeremy Trueblood has an admirer. That would be Greg Schiano.

Speaking to media types today, Schiano dismissed any talk that there are hidden meanings to Trueblood being an inactive player for yesterday’s game.

“I love Trueblood,” Schiano said, calling Trueblood “hard-working, attention to detail, tough.”

“Blood is a team guy,” Schiano continued, explaining Trueblood was an eager and active participant on gameday.

So why was Trueblood a cheerleader Sunday? Schiano said it was a simply a matter of other offensive lineman being more versatile as reserves.

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The leader of the New Schiano Order would not make any excuses for the Bucs’ poor tackling against the Redskins.

Greg Schiano told media today he had some theories why the Buccaneers took a step backwards in tackling Sunday but, he said,  they don’t matter. The Bucs have to tackle, Schiano said emphatically.

“In the first half, we missed 11 tackles, Schiano said. “We dug a hole, 21 points.”

Joe agrees. The Bucs have to tackle. There are no excuses. Too many stiff-arms. Too many easy shake-offs and bad angles.

That written, Joe sure would like to hear Schiano’s theories as to what went wrong.

Yes, one could go all Skip Holtz and try to make an argument that, but for one play in each of the Bucs’ three losses, the Bucs would be undefeated.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and if Rachel Watson wasn’t married, Joe would be coming home to her each and every evening.

Results. That’s what counts in the NFL. This isn’t horseshoes or hand grenades. There is no such thing as “almost,” just wins and losses, no gray areas here.

One reason the Bucs are not winning is a pathetic third down conversion rate. Why is Joe calling this “pathetic?” Because it is dead last in the NFL (tied for worst, ironically, with Washington).

This is not lost on Alan Dell. The Bradenton Herald columnist wagged a finger at Bucs coach Greg Schiano, and indirectly at quarterback Josh Freeman, for not producing better results on third down, despite a bevy of weapons. This is sinking the Bucs, Dell believes.

The comeback started when the restraints were taken off Freeman either by himself or Schiano.

Despite the heroics at the end, the Bucs are far from a finished product and can’t be excused for creating their own problems. They had 10 penalties for 107 yards, some of them significant and showed why they are last in third down efficiency converting only three of 12 third down opportunities.

“Because you lose at the end you fail to finish, but we really didn’t do a bunch of stuff before that to put us in a position to win,” Schiano said. “We had penalties, we didn’t play smart, we didn’t create takeaways. Like most teams in the NFL, it’s going to be tight ball games and we need to find a way to win.”

Joe thinks people should temper any excitement over the comeback by the Bucs. Sure, it showed some character, but if skittish Redskins place kicker Billy Cundiff doesn’t leave nine points on the field with three missed field goals, there is no comeback to discuss.

If Cundiff made just two of those three makeable field goals, there is no comeback.

The Bucs played terribly in the first half. Solving that hole the Bucs dug themselves into is what the coaching staff should strive to resolve during this bye week.

While Joe watched the game yesterday in the final moments when the Bucs were about to take the lead (briefly), Joe wondered if perhaps the Bucs should eat up more clock.

When Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III took over with 1:42 left in the game (strange, a rookie quarterback without the use of a headset knows what plays to call), Joe thought to himself, “That’s a lot of clock.”

Indeed. RGIII marched the Redskins right down the field way too easily to set up a game-winning field goal.

Well, it seems Joe was not the only one who thought the Bucs didn’t eat up enough clock. So too did Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times, who explained the Bucs seemed to be setting up RGIII for a game-winning drive.

On their final offensive drive Sunday, the Bucs were down by two and had second and 9 from the Redskins 33. They tried a pass that resulted in an incompletion, stopping the clock with 1:52 left. A wide receiver screen on the third down produced only 5 yards, and the Redskins called their second timeout with 1:47 left. The Bucs kicked a 47-yard field goal, but the Redskins got the ball back with 1:42 left and one timeout.

So if the Bucs’ plan all along was to kick a field goal (Schiano suggested as much in the postgame), then why not run the ball on second down and force the Redskins to use up all of their timeouts?

Either the second-down call was too risky or the third-down call was too conservative. But leaving the Redskins with 1:42 and a timeout wasn’t the best idea anyone ever had.

While Joe agrees with Jones, in the big picture the Bucs were fortunate to even be in the game. The Bucs played terribly in the first half and Billy Cundiff, shaky place kicker he is, left nine points on the field with three missed field goals.

Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III discusses his game-winning drive to beat the Bucs in this CSNWashington.com video. Interesting couple of nuggets in here, folks.

“The problem you have with a guy like Josh Freeman, we’ve seen him make all the throws. … This is a guy we’ve seen throw it to the open area, let the receiver get it. We’ve seen him drive it in the seam with authority and accurately. And he can throw that ball up over the top. So the tangibles are there. He’s big. He can run. We’ve seen him do it in the past. So this where, if they somehow sneak out a win yesterday, it’s obviously not as magnified. But the problem is he hasn’t really defined himself yet. ‘Am I going to be a pocket guy? And if I am, when I go through my progression before I leave the huddle, I have to know where my checkdown is. If I don’t like what I see or I’m confused, I have to know where Doug Martin is checking down. I have to know where that release route is to get it out of my hands.’ Because sometimes it’s like, in your fourth year you have to know when that clock goes off when those rushers are going to get there. Sometimes he looks tremendous, and sometimes you’re wondering why he’s hanging on to it for so long.”– Former Bucs tight end and current network radio analyst Dave Moore on Josh Freeman.

Moore’s interview below on the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620 is well worth the listen. Click below.

Among many other topics, Moore breaks down why he believes the Bucs offense, as well as opposing defenses, are confusing Freeman, plus other discussion of No. 5 and the Bucs defense.

“You run a blitz and it was just wide open,” defensive end Michael Bennett said of RG3’s run. “I knew myself. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I should run this play or not, but I did my job.’ I knew he was going to get outside. That’s what he does. The edge was too short. The whole defensive line slanted.” — Michael Bennett commenting on the defensive call when RGIII scrambled for 15 yards on the final drive yesterday, via the Tampa Bay Times.

The Bucs defense did not stand tall on the Redskins game-winning drive Sunday. Washington marched 56 yards in just six plays en route to the clinching field goal.

In the quote above, Michael Bennett appears to question the wisdom of the defensive playcall when Robert Griffin, III, put the Skins in field goal range with a 15-yard run with :38 seconds left.

Of course, players question coaching decisions all the time, but they rarely appear in the newspaper.

Given Gerald McCoy requesting defensive scheme changes before the Cowboys game, Joe wonders what the overal confidence level is on that side of the ball.

If you noticed a hearty crowd at the Redskins-Bucs game yesterday, and a few too many Redskins fans, you weren’t hallucinating.

Official attendance was 58,191, up from 51K and change for the Bucs’ home-opener against Carolina.

Per the Tampa Sports Authority, the government outfit that runs Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs’ home seats 65,000, and about 15,000 of those seats are labeled “premium,” aka club seats, luxury suites, etc.

Of the remaining 50,000 non-premium seats, the Bucs need to sell 42,500 of those seats 72 hours before kickoff to avoid a local television blackout under the NFL’s “85 percent” rule the Bucs signed up for before the season.

That didn’t happen, but clearly the Bucs sold/distributed 85 percent of those non-premium tickets.

Joe was told walk-up sales were brisk yesterday.

While the Bucs lost, it just saddens Joe that so many fans who would have enjoyed the game were denied access to the game on TV. In this specific case, it just feels like the blackout rule makes no sense, when ticket sales appear to have met the sales goal but not the deadline.

Joe’s not sure what the following means, but it is interesting and is surely Bucs fans will agree.

After the Bucs took a 22-21 lead late in the game, the Redskins took over in what turned out to be a do-or-die drive.

Robert Griffin III, the Redskins quarterback, marched the Redskins down the field to set up a game-winning field goal without the use of his helmet communication with the Redskins coaching staff, documents Mark Maske of the Washington Post.

The Redskins’ faith in their rookie quarterback is complete, only four games into his NFL career. He nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback late in a loss at home to the Cincinnati Bengals a week earlier.

This time, he and the rest of the Redskins’ offense got it done in crunch time, even with the receiver in Griffin’s helmet not operating on the final drive.

“He’s a winner,” said Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who had an interception to set up a first-half touchdown, of Griffin. “It’s starting to rub off.”

Why is this interesting to Bucs fans? Last week in a critical late-game drive for the Bucs in a one-score game, the headset went out in Josh Freeman’s helmet and, not knowing what play to call from the Bucs coaching staff, Freeman called a run on third-and-nine.

The run failed.

Joe finds it interesting that a rookie in his fourth NFL game has the wherewithal, savvy and/or confidence to run a successful two-minute, game-winning offense without a headset, yet the Bucs crumbled on just one play under similar circumstances.

For those who enjoy hearing the ol’ ball coach, Raheem Morris, chat with the media, click here to see a postgame video from the Redskins official website.

Raheem refers to seeing “my guys,” aka Buccaneers, on the other side of the field yesterday.

Some fans used to say Chucky won with Tony Dungy’s players. Joe wonders whether this season, fans will soon say Greg Schiano is losing with Raheem’s players.

Here are quotes from some of the major players and coaches in Sunday’s Redskins-Bucs game. The quotes are courtesy of both the Bucs and Redskins media relations staffs.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
HEAD COACH GREG SCHIANO

(On plan at the end of the game)
“We were going to kick the field goal to go ahead, that’s what we were doing. If you want to interpret it further than that, I don’t know, but we were going to take the lead. We feel we have a good kicker and that was the play.”

(On the game)
“Because you lose at the end, you fail to finish, but we really didn’t do a bunch of stuff before that to put us in position (to win). We didn’t play what I envision as Buccaneer Football—smart football—we had penalties. There are certain penalties that I can live with, but there are others that are inexcusable, and we had a couple of those today. If you get penalties in the kicking game and you start backed up in your own 10 or 15-yard line, that’s a tough road to hoe. Those things that we did not do: we didn’t play smart, we didn’t create takeaways. We have to do a better job of coaching, because for whatever reason it hasn’t gotten done in the last couple of weeks. We’re a team in the fourth quarter. Like most teams in the NFL, it’s going to be tight ball games and we need to find a way to win. We have to stop playing (with errors), but my hat’s off to Washington. They made the plays when they had to make them and again, we came up short.”

(On QB Josh Freeman’s big plays)
“He had some big shots to our receivers, made some big plays in the passing game. That’s what he’s capable of doing. As a team, we just need to play more consistently, we need to coach more consistently and that starts with me. I need to do a better job of getting an organization to play the game and coach it consistently and we will.”

(On defensive effort in the first half)
“We didn’t tackle like we had the first three games (of the season) in the first half, but, again, credit to (the defense), they regrouped and came out and tackled better and played Buccaneer Defense (in the second half). Up until that last drive, they pitched a shutout in the second half.”

(On how he feels about the season)
“It’s the National Football League. We could be 4-0 or we could be 0-4. Every game has been (decided by) seven (points) or less. None of that matters. It really doesn’t matter. We need to get better. I need to coach better. It starts with me, and it goes down through the organization. We just need to get better. You want to win and you’re close, get better and you’ll win.”

QB JOSH FREEMAN

(On building off of the fourth-quarter performance)
“Losing is not acceptable. There are no moral victories. We’re going to go back and evaluate the film and try and get better on the things we need to get better at. We didn’t play well enough to win, but that’s the goal, that’s why we’re all here.”

(On his rhythm throughout the game)
“I felt the exact same the whole game. When you talk about getting in a rhythm and things of that nature, I look at it from one play at a time. Don’t let anything get you too high. Don’t let anything get you too low. Just go out and continue to fight, execute the offense to the best of your ability. We were able to make some plays.”

(On settling for field goals instead of touchdowns)
“I’m unhappy we lost the game. You can look back and you can point at any number of things. Ultimately it’s a team effort, team game, and we needed a touchdown on either of those two drives. Call it what you want, but we just didn’t get it done.”

(On his relationship with Head Coach Greg Schiano)
“I definitely feel like I have a great relationship with Coach Schiano. I spend a lot of time talking with him, matters of football, and matters of life. His door is always open. I think we definitely have a great relationship. We’ll continue to build on that and make it stronger as we go on.”

(On his emotions as the Redskins were lining up for the game-winning field goal)
“In this league you can never be content, never relax. You hope for the best. When they lined up, you just hope for the best. Hope somebody gets through a block or that he shanks it. It didn’t happen for us tonight, but I definitely think that as a team we’ve just got to stick together, keep working, and when we get to the next game, find a way to end with a ‘W’.”

(On being able to finish games)
“When you look at the margin of how many games are close, more often than not, overwhelmingly, games are decided within seven points. So it’s going to be a matter of playing four quarters. You never know how the game’s going to go. It’s a matter of taking every opportunity and trying to maximize its potential.”

S MARK BARRON

(On Washington QB Robert Griffin III)
“He’s a playmaker. He made some things happen for his team tonight. He played a big part in his team winning the game.”

(On Tampa Bay’s upcoming bye week)
“We just have some work to do. We need to go in and take advantage of this time that we have and work on some things.”

(On the loss)
“I hate to lose. I don’t like the feeling, and it’s simple as that. I hate losing.”

K CONNOR BARTH

(On his personal game)
“It’s nice to have coach’s confidence like that. Put (me) out there, 57 yards—I mean, it was a windy day—that’s awesome. But it’s not about me, it’s about the team. We just have to keep working and put this one behind us and enjoy this bye week, get away from football a little bit, relax, and them come back and ready to go.”

(On K Billy Cundiff’s game)
“That’s what an NFL kicker is supposed to do: make (field goals) in the clutch. I’m happy for him, as a fellow kicker. You have to give Washington credit, and they put it in when it counts.”

WR MIKE WILLIAMS

(On the game)
“That field goal at the end, we thought we had it won. They put on a good drive and kicked a field goal for the win; I give all the credit to them. It goes back to the beginning that we have to start faster. If we start faster, we win that game. Credit to them, they stopped us from starting fast. We had to try to finish strong, which we did, (but) they just kicked a field goal for the win.”

(On his 65-yard connection with QB Josh Freeman)
“Anytime you get a big play—it doesn’t matter who it is—the whole team gets excited. I’m glad we had that big play to get our offense going, but I would have rather gotten the win.”

(On K Connor Barth)
“Pro Bowl. Easily. If he doesn’t make the Pro Bowl, they must have had the judges from the (Manny) Pacquiao fight. He is a great kicker, he always gives us a chance.”

DT GERALD MCCOY

(On Washington QB Robert Griffin III)
“He did good, man. He handled his business, stayed comfortable and had great composure at the end and didn’t get flustered. He made the plays he’s suppose to and is going to be good for a long time.”

(On halftime adjustments)
“We got to stop making silly mistakes. We just tackled better in the second half.”

(On the close games this season)
“The fact of the matter is we have to finish. It doesn’t matter whether we lose by a hundred (points) or we lose by two (points), we got to finish. It’s as simple as that.”

WR VINCENT JACKSON

(On being in the position to win the game)
“Yeah we talk about that every week. It’s about finishing and playing a complete game: all three phases. Obviously, we got a great kicker; he did a great job today getting some points up there early in the game for us. We get down in that red zone we want to start coming away with more touchdowns.”

(On the team’s slow start)
“I’m just keeping these guys positive and letting them know it’s a long season. This is a journey. We got to stick to it one week at a time like Coach always says. Take it like one-week seasons; there’s a lot of football left to be played. This division I think is still wide open, and if we continue to take care of business at home and get a few on the road, I think things will take care of themselves.”

(On his relationship with QB Josh Freeman)
“It’s been great. This relationship started back in March and I love the kid. I think of him as my little brother and (we) will continue to grow in this offense together. It’s fun. We really have a lot of fun out there in practice, both on and off the field. I love the way he works. He’s a competitive guy, he’s hungry, he wants to be great and we’re going to continue to help him be the best quarterback he can be.”

WR TIQUAN UNDERWOOD

(On the upcoming bye week)
“We are going to build on the good things we did and clean up the mishaps that we had. Get better this bye week and get ready for the next game.”

(On his key third-down play)
“Just a great call by Coach Sullivan. Josh gave me an opportunity and I came down with it. (The offensive) line gave him time and we just executed.”

(On what can be learned from the game)
“It’s one game, whether you win or lose. You are happy about the good things that you did and you learn from the bad. Obviously, you would rather do that after a win. It’s just one game. Clear your head and move on to the next one.”

(On Coach Schiano having faith in him)
“Obviously he knows me (from Rutgers) and there is some comfort there. I was just grateful to have this opportunity today. In this league when your number is called, you have to be ready. It’s just what I am going to try to do each and every time and each and every week.”

LB MASON FOSTER

(On the game)
“It’s rough. We have to go watch film and have to go play better, all around. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. You know you can play better but it’s just football. You know you have to come out there each and every week. It’s the NFL and it comes down to one or two plays. We just have to keep pushing and everything will be all right.”

(On the defense in the second half)
“Guys just kind of locked in. We made some little adjustments and we got in a flow. We came out ready to play. We (had) missed a couple of tackles in the beginning (and had) little mistakes here and there that we tightened up. But a loss is a loss.”

WASHINGTON REDSKINS
HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

(On K Billy Cundiff’s game-winning field goal)
“Well, I was just hoping he could keep focus after he missed the last one. I told him it was going to come down to the game-winner and it did. He did a great job of concentrating and obviously he made it.”

(On QB Robert Griffin III)
“He did a great job. He kept his poise in there and I thought he played a heck of a football game throughout. He had a lot of focus and a lot of concentration; that’s what you’ve got to have as a quarterback. He had a lot of poise there in the fourth quarter, especially during that last drive and (he) made some big time plays.”

(On the difference between being 1-3 and 2-2)
“Every game is big. The last two games we found a way to not win them, and this game we found a way to win it. We had a chance to put it away early in the second half. Offensively, we stopped ourselves on every drive. The first one we had a 15-yard penalty, the next two drives we stopped ourselves, and you can’t stop yourself and hurt yourself and expect to win, and that’s what we did. We stopped ourselves a number of times with those 15-yard penalties and we were moving the football, but we gave them a chance. Billy (Cundiff) missed the field goal, too, and that took away some points. We’ve got to play better. It was nice for (Cundiff) to come back and we found a way to win.”

(On RB Alfred Morris)
“He’s been playing great every game. In the first half, I thought he played unbelievably. I thought (Tampa Bay’s) defense stepped up in the second half and played like they have played throughout the year. That’s a heck of a defensive front seven; they play the run extremely well, and for us to have that type of success is a credit to our guys.”

(On Cundiff’s missed field goals)
“That happens in the National Football League. […] But for him to miss those three field goals and still keep his focus and come back and make that game-winner says a lot about him.”

(On Washington’s offensive line)
“We have a good group of guys that are working extremely hard together. Like I said before, there is a cohesiveness in this offensive line that dictates their success both in the running game and the pass protection. You’ve got to be on the same page and they have been.”

QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III

(On the game-winning drive)
“It felt great. The whole drive was a bit complicated. In practice every week we always practice me calling the plays in two-minute acting as if the headset goes out. The funny thing was that the headset did go out on that drive and that’s why I was having to run back and forth to the sideline. I had to call a couple of my own plays and we moved the plays and got in field go range. It was very neat how that practice scenario played out in the game. You don’t want that to happen, but I was pleased.”

(On why TE Fred Davis was so open on the final drive)
“Teams will drop a lot of guys into coverage in those situations, just wanting you to be patient. They know that you have to get a certain amount of yards, so they are just going to play everybody deep. For some reason they left Fred all alone – I guess they ran a Mike (linebacker) right down the field, and (Davis) was wide open and I hit the wide-open guy like I’m supposed to.”

(On whether he watched the final field goal)
“I did. I was walking back and was going to stand on the bench and our tight ends coach Sean (McVay) pulled me to the front line and he said, ‘No, you sit here and you watch this,’ because we all had a feeling he was going to make it even though the day wasn’t so great for him. He came up big when it mattered. It was a great play for him. He redeemed himself with that kick to help us win the game. We all have things that we need to get better at, and, for him, that was a good confidence kick.”

(On having confidence in the two-minute drill)
“You try to rise to the occasion. Thinking of a move called The Replacements, they said, ‘Great players want the ball in their hands when it’s crunch time.’ It’s funny that I just quoted that movie, but it’s also how really is. You want the ball in your hands when something has to happen, and you make it happen.”

CB DeANGELO HALL

(On the difference between the first half and the second half)
“They made plays. They caught the ball, they made plays. I gave up a couple, but they made plays. Good throws, good catches. They made plays.”

(On the performance of the defense)
“Average. We can’t win letting leads like that go. We’ve got to buckle down and finish games off. That has to be our identity. We have to go out there for sixty minutes and keep hitting offenses in the mouth. We let up a little bit and we’ll keep working at it and try to get better.”

DE RYAN KERRIGAN

(On his pass rushing success so far this season)
“I didn’t feel like I was that consistent today with my pass rushing. Now that guy, (Tampa Bay tackle Demar) Dotson, was a pretty good player with long arms. He was a tough match-up. I was glad to get great coverage in the back and make (Josh) Freeman hold the ball longer then he wanted to.”

(On his thoughts as the offense made their game-winning drive)
“I was thinking, ‘Just give us a chance. Just let us a least have that time for the game-winning field goal.’ They made a bunch of plays going down the field, and congrats to Billy (Cundiff) with the huge kick.”

(On the importance of winning this game)
”There is a huge difference between 2-2 and 1-3. Hopefully this can be the start of good things coming for us.”

OL CHRIS CHESTER

(On the win)
”It definitely feels good to get the win. Sloppy at times. The first half we were rolling, obviously. Second half we were driving the ball but it seems like we just had penalties that kept holding us back. But as they say, it doesn’t matter if you win by 20 points or by one point, a win is a win.”

C WILL MONTGOMERY

(On the second half)
“Obviously, in the second half, we were driving the ball, but it seems like we just had penalties that kept holding us back. But, as they say, it doesn’t matter what we do wrong, one point or 20 points…we’re happy with a win.”

(On QB Robert Griffin III)
“He’s just confident. It was like it was the first play of the game. He’s like, ‘Alright guys, let’s go do this.’ He’s a cool, calm operator and he was able to get the job done.”

(On K Billy Cundiff)
“Every time we go out there we think he’s going to make it. It’s our job to stay low and make sure that none of those defensive guys get through there and block it. We have all the confidence in the world in Billy.”

RB ALFRED MORRIS

(On playing in Florida as an FAU graduate)
“It was like a welcome home, so I definitely felt good when I came back. I knew it was going to be tough because I got used to playing in Virginia. The humidity down here is definitely something else. If you’re not used to it, it could cause lots of problems. I definitely was hydrating before I came down. I was prepared.”

(On getting his first 100-yard game)
“I really wasn’t worried about it. I tell people all the time, ‘I just run,’ which is what I do. I’ll do all I can to help my team win and that’s what is important. We got a win today. It was tough. It was a nail-biter but it was a win nonetheless.”

(On being 2-2 versus 1-3)
“It is definitely huge. It’s just getting us the opportunity to stay positive going through the rest of our season. It’s kind of hard to know you gave it your all, to go out there and brush it off each and every day when you continue to lose. I mean, of course, you want to do good, but when you’re losing it definitely makes it tougher.”

(On the play of his offensive lineman)
“They did a great job. Without the O-linemen blocking out in front of me, I wouldn’t be able to gain any yards, so I [have] got to be thankful for them.”

WR SANTANA MOSS

(On the game)
“We let those guys come back, and, not to say they (Tampa Bay) didn’t go out there and didn’t deserve it, because they did go out there and make a lot of great plays, but when you have that kind of lead, you have to go ahead and put that foot on the gas and finish the game. So by us not being able to accumulate some points throughout the first part of the second half, it got critical in momentum situations. For us to be in that situation, I went into the two-minute period and was like, ‘Hey, this is what we practice every Thursday and this is something that we should be pretty good at.’ Coach said, ‘We [are] running two minutes,’ so we went out there and made something happen.”

(On Robert Griffin III’s play in the last drive)
“He just called the play. He was just like himself. Nothing different. You all have been asking these questions about this guy for too many weeks now. He’s not changing. He went out there and did what he’s supposed to do and that’s just to lead us.”

WR PIERRE GARÇON
(On playing through pain)
“I wasn’t one-hundred percent, but I was out there doing the best I can to help the team and did everything I could.”

(On the win and what it does for the team moving forward)
“It was a much-needed win. We really needed it to especially grow from this, especially in this short season right now, so it’s a motivational booster, confidence booster, and it’s a great feeling.”

(On the last drive)
“It was a great drive. It was great clock management, great plays. We made plays when we really needed it. Freddy [Davis] did a great job, Santana [Moss] did a great job, RG [Robert Griffin III] did a great job. Everybody came together when we really needed it and Billy [Cundiff] finished it off for us.”

The Bucs almost had a win. They almost had a comeback. They almost erased a miserable 2011-like first half. Veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton explains in this Tampa Bay Times video.

These past three close games have been brutal on Joe’s stomach.

Each game has turned on a matter of inches on key plays. The leader of the New Schiano Order warned us this would happen when he explained that a “shoe” was the difference between greatness and failure.

If Dekoda Watson was a shoe or two smarter in Dallas, then he surely blocks a punt and the Bucs score, a six- or 10-point swing.( If the replacement refs weren’t distracted by shoes up their collective asses in Dallas, they wouldn’t have whistled Tony Romo’s fumble dead and cost the Bucs a scoop and score by Eric Wright.)

The photo above illustrates the “shoe” that cost the Bucs a game-turning safety today. George Johnson hammered Robert Griffin III on the six-inch line and just missed on that safety. Sadly, on the next play Mason Foster was a shoe late and committed a senseless roughing the passer penalty on RGIII in the back of the end zone.

Literally, the Bucs are inches away from being 4-0 right now. Yeah, that’s meaningless, but it sure feels miserable.

When Joe attended just about every training camp practice scheduled, one receiver jumped out as being one of the most productive on the field.

It was not difficult to spot the guy in his hairdo, Tiquan Underwood, who also played college ball for Greg Schiano at Rutgers.

He was cut after preseason, largely because he was not a special teams guy. Now that Sammie Stroughter is out of action and Preston Parker is no more, Schiano called Underwood back and he rewarded Schiano and the Bucs in a big way today when he made a key, diving catch for 18 yards on the Bucs’ final drive, which ended in a field goal that briefly gave the Bucs a lead.

Underwood spoke about his return to the Bucs and being able to make a contribution to the club.

“You always have to take the positives whether it is a win or a loss,” Underwood said. “I am sure that’s what we are going to do. We are going to build on the good things that we did and clean up on the mishaps that we had and get better through the bye week.”

On his big catch over the middle.

“Great call by [offensive coordinator] Coach [Mike] Sullivan. Josh [Freeman] gave me an opportunity and I came down with it. The line gave him time and we just executed it.”

On how to counsel the younger players after a tough loss:

“Just tell the players this is one game, win or lose, you are happy about the good things that you did and you learn from the bad. Obviously, we would rather do that after a win. it’s just one game. you clear your head and move on to the next one.”

On his return to the Bucs and the faith Schiano showed in him:

“Obviously [Schiano] knows me and there is comfort in one another. I am just grateful to have this opportunity today. in this league, when your number is called you have to be ready. That is what I am going to try to do each and every day, each and every week.

“It is very comfortable [with the Bucs] because I was here through training camp and OTAs so it is not that much different, I got to come back here and pick up where I left off. Coaches have been very helpful with me the past couple of weeks.”

A depressed yet motivated Bucs guard Carl Nicks decided to speak to Joe and a handful of others from the Tampa Bay pen and mic club after a heart-sinking loss to the Redskins Sunday.

“We just turned it up man [in the second half]. I mean at the end of the day we got to do what we are supposed to do and we weren’t doing it in the first half,” Nicks said. “I loved the way we came out in the second half, and we got a lot of fight in this team. And we just didn’t get it done today.

“We weren’t executing, we weren’t giving Freeman enough time, a culmination of just mess-ups.”

Did Freeman’s lack of time mess up his timing, leading to his errant throws?

“Probably, because he is pretty accurate when he’s got time.”

Is it unavoidable that young teams will have ups and downs?

“Yeah, because it is going to happen. It is football. All it’s going to do is give us stripes. So we can’t be a young team anymore; we have to be proven and that is through hard work.”

The manbeast of the Bucs’ offensive line, Carl Nicks, shouldered quite a bit of blame for the Bucs’ first-half woes while chatting in the Bucs locker room following this evening’s heinous loss to the Redskins.

Yeah, Josh Freeman wasn’t playing well, but Nicks wouldn’t put it on the quarterback. 

“We weren’t executing. We weren’t giving Freeman enough time. Just a culmination of just mess-ups,” Nicks said of what went wrong in the first half.

Nicks went on to express more responsibility for the sad first half. “[Freeman’s] pretty accurate when he’s got time,” Nicks said.

Clearly, Freeman had more time to throw in the second half, though Joe can’t assign much blame to the offensive line. Demar Dotson was a bit overmatched by Ryan Kerrigan, but Freeman wasn’t making wise decisions, stepping up, or playing confidently during the first 30 minutes.

Watching the second half, even a novice fan could see there were two different Josh Freemans in this game.

Somebody please tell Joe why the Bucs can’t run the ball?

Maybe it’s the choice of running back? Maybe it’s the run calls? Maybe it’s the predictability? Maybe the offensive line is way overrated?

Today was another game in which the Bucs couldn’t do what they wanted to do on the ground. Sure, the Bucs avoided the “negative runs” coaches talk about. But there was no rhythm to the rushing attack, and very little threat from it as a result.

Buccanneers Radio Network analyst Dave Moore, the former Bucs tight end, noted that Doug Martin is getting tackled repeatedly by the first guy that hits him.

Doug Martin had eight carries for 33 yards. LeGarrette Blount had six carries for 17 yards and a touchdown.

And Mike Sullivan treated fans to the infamous Benn’d around again. Arrelious Benn needed a heck of a juke move and effort for five yards.

When the Bucs needed to move the chains with two minutes left in the fourth quarter and march for a clock-eating, game-icing touchdown drive, the running game wasn’t there for them.

Unless Josh Freeman is going to start to put together complete football games, the Bucs desperately need to find an above average rushing attack.