Joe remembers just a couple of months ago how a number of loud Bucs fans were so fed up with the struggles of Josh Freeman, they begged for Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to draft West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith next April.

While Joe thought those wishes were outrageous, since, Freeman’s recent freefall has sort of opened Joe’s eyes to why that group of fans wanted so badly to turn the page.

Given Freeman’s struggles, Joe already wrote this will just give Dominik more leverage when/if he extends Freeman’s contract, which is set to expire after the 2013 season. Joe fully expects that to happen.

It seems eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune is of the same mind. Appearing on the “Booger and Rich Show” on WHFS-FM 98.7 Tuesday, co-hosted by former Bucs defensive tackle Booger McFarland and Rich Herrera, Kaufman confessed that Freeman was so terrible Sunday, it was the first time Kaufman wondered if Freeman will ever be the franchise quarterback the Bucs boast about.

But Kaufman said Freeman isn’t going anywhere and the Bucs are just going to have to learn to deal with Freeman’s moderate peaks and deep valleys.

“Freeman was so inaccurate — I have been a big, big Freeman supporter. I said if he doesn’t come out big by 2010, I don’t know anything about football. So I am not going to be a hypocrite. That is the first time, even with all his problems last year, that he was so bad in Sunday’s first half, that I looked around and said, ‘What is going on with Josh Freeman?’ And don’t think for a second that Mike Sullivan and Greg Schiano weren’t thinking the same thing.

“You can’t go back to the drawing board. Half the teams in this league wish they had Josh Freeman, and that is a fact. You look at teams like the Cardinals — I mean that is a disaster. The Jets, they have absolutely nothing. Look, Freeman had a bad game. Won’t be the first one, won’t be the last one. This kid is going to play. He is not going to be a 68 percent passer. This is not Drew Brees we are talking about. But the kid throws a very good deep ball. He is much respected in the room. He wants to be a leader. He’s bright and I think we have found a new maturity in him. He wants to be outstanding. Unless I am mistaken, you are not going to go out and get someone with the 20th pick in the draft, I am sorry and if there is someone out there in free agency, someone is going to beat you to it. There is not going to be anybody better than Freeman. I’m not breaking the bank on Freeman but I’m not willing to say [the Bucs] made a mistake in 2009. The repercussion of that sets you back another five years.”

As Joe asked Sunday, is Freeman the long-term answer for the Bucs? After the past three weeks, surrounded by all his flashing toys but failing, Joe must answer that he doesn’t know.

But as Kaufman pointed out, just look around at other teams’ quarterbacks. Arizona, San Diego, Jacksonville, Kansas City and the Jets likely would kill to have Freeman. Perhaps even Carolina, Minnesota, Dallas, Oakland and even Houston (yes, Houston) — to name just a handful–might prefer Freeman as their starting signal-caller.

Freeman has every tangible one could ever want in a quarterback. That is not the issue.

Unless Freeman walks after next year — highly unlikely — Freeman will be your starting Bucs quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Dicey accuracy and skittish throws under pressure included.

One of the most bizarre roster moves made by the Bucs this season was the release of Brandon McDonald six weeks ago. McDonald was a veteran cornerback, the opening day nickel cornerback, and he at least had good flashes and an interception during his eight games with the Bucs.

Two weeks weeks before McDonald was cut, even the leader of the New Schiano Order raved about him.

“I’m impressed,” Greg Schiano said of McDonald. “His work ethic, his attention to detail. This guy’s a pro.”

Well, for some reason Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik thought Myron Lewis was a better player and sent McDonald packing. But now McDonald has replaced Lewis, who is on injured reserve. The Bucs announced the re-signing of McDonald tonight.

As atrocious as the Bucs secondary has been, Joe’s almost excited by this move.

Joe always gets a laugh out of seeing the various nutrition and post-workout replenishment directives on display in the Bucs’ locker room, courtesy of the team nutritionist. 

Joe’s all-time favorite was a post-practice option of immediately consuming about 24 ounces of chocolate milk along with more healthy feasting.

These guys consume a hell of a lot of chow.

But it surprised Joe to hear skinny Mike Williams last night on his radio show talk about downing 7,000 calories daily during the season — 7,000! Williams said he gets heat from the team nutritionist about eating vegetables — “he sounds like my mom” — and primarily loads up on steak and pasta, and then he’ll often grab another steak on his own after eating “what they give me.”

Damn, Joe should have played in the NFL. What a dream job.

If Williams is inhaling 7,000 calories, what is, say, Roy Miller gobbling up? And what was Miller eating when the heinous Jim Bates Experience ordered him to gain serious weight after being drafted? These thoughts almost made Joe forget about Rachel Watson for a moment.

Almost.

Last week, when Joe noted Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman folded under pressure and vanished for a quarter, which the Broncos took advantage of and rallied for a key win, Joe was largely raked over the coals for pointing out what some fans considered heresy.

But more proof was on video Sunday for all to see — all who cared to see. Freeman was simply off, terribly so, in an embarrassing, playoff-killing loss to the Beagles, a game in which a rookie, third-round pick playing in his fifth NFL game stood tall under constant pressure from the Bucs and delivered a win.

Well, the folks at ProFootballFocus.com have studied the video and are of the mind that Freeman’s performance was far more ghastly Sunday then Joe initially believed.

In short, when Freeman faced pressure from the Beagles, he completed a grand total of zero attempts.

Off Day for Freeman

Buccaneers quarterback, Josh Freeman (-1.8) was a little off for most of the game. He never seemed to settle into a rhythm, finishing the game 14 of 32 on his graded passes. All year Freeman’s struggles have come when he is under pressure, and this game was no different. When under pressure Freeman didn’t complete a pass, going 0 of 9, and many of those nine were way off target. As soon as he feels pressure he rushes his throws and becomes extremely inaccurate. His QB rating with no pressure was a very impressive 106.9, but against pressure just 39.6.

As Joe has pointed out, priority No. 1 for Greg Schiano come January is to brainstorm a way to repair that sieve of a secondary. Whether that means changes to personnel and staff, time will tell.

The No. 2 objective for Schiano and offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan will be to find out why Freeman gets so rattled under pressure. Hell, Joe even kept his composure when he met Rachel Watson this past summer; no small feat.

Given Sullivan’s track record with Eli Manning, Joe’s confident Sullivan can help Freeman. It will be an important task as the near future of the Bucs franchise may very well depend on that outcome.

“Good move, Glazer. Now get the beer to pour at 36.9 degrees.”

Determined to obliterate local blackouts, in part by rewarding serious Bucs fans, Team Glazer has slashed prices for 35 percent of all season tickets, so the Buccaneers announced today.

All kinds of price points and virtual field views can be seen on Buccaneers.com. The lowest price season tickets remains at $30 for adults. The cheapest lower level season ticket has dropped from $75 to $65 next year.

Joe’s not sure this will generate a stampede of new season ticket holders. But it’s a wise and appropriate move.

Greg Schiano said yesterday that Josh Freeman missed a key detail against the Eagles

First, let Joe say that it’s darn cool and admirable that Greg Schiano, a man who much prefers obsessing in the film room versus interacting with media, takes live calls from fans on his weekly radio show on WDAE-AM 620.

Chucky wanted no part of that. His professed over-the-top “luvv” for all things football didn’t extend to Bucs fans. Raheem Morris, well, he was happy to let it all hang out.

Last night on the air was an in-your-face event for Schiano. Fans were respectful but pointed and critical.

One such caller fingered Josh Freeman for costly clock management  late in the Eagles-Bucs game Sunday. Playing with a precious fourth-quarter lead, the caller said, Freeman barked the call for the snap with too much time remaining on the playclock, as much as 10 seconds.

The leader of the New Schiano Order didn’t specifically agree with the caller regarding the amount of times Freeman made that mistake, but Schiano did agree Freeman screwed up by snapping the ball with as many as eight seconds left while the Bucs were trying to eat as much clock as possible.

The Bucs lost on the Eagles’ final snap — with two seconds left.

Details. Details. Details. That’s the New Schiano Order mantra. Yet the Bucs continue to botch details; 12 men on the field comes to mind. Joe can only imagine the teaching that went on at One Buc Palace yesterday.

As just about every sane Bucs fan knows, Sunday was the reunion celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Bucs winning their (thus far) lone Super Bowl, a treasured, historic moment in not just franchise history, but in the annals of Tampa Bay history.

Just before the 2002 Bucs were to take the field at halftime to be honored by fans, Joe was humbled to have a brief moment with Chucky, the man who brought the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Tampa Bay.

Joe thought it was cool that the current Bucs are very much in the forefront of Chucky’s mind and that Chucky even asked/told the fans, when he spoke at halftime, if locals support the Bucs now like they did 10 years ago, equally good fortunes will follow.

“We are very appreciative of the Glazers for making this happen. This is a great day in Tampa. For all former Buccaneers, all the current Buccaneers and the future Buccaneers, it is really exciting to be together again and give some incentive to this team and teams that follow.

“I am aware of what they are doing and Coach Schiano has a great program. I’m a big fan and supporter of him.

“I see a lot of these guys here from time to time; I stay in touch with a lot of them. To get them all back together and reunite is a great thing. Hopefully we take advantage of modern technology, e-mails and text messages and keep an eye on one another like we did 10 years ago.”

One last thing for Joe to get off his chest: When Chucky was introduced at halftime carrying the same Lombardi Trophy he hoisted aloft in San Diego nearly 10 years ago, Joe heard boos. That was shameful and for those who did boo Chucky, you would have been better off staying at home.

Sure, Chucky’s final days with the Bucs weren’t idyllic, and he had rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. That, to Joe, is now water under the bridge. The man brought home long-awaited hardware for this franchise and this community, for goodness sakes!

For that feat, Joe still believes there should be a street in the Tampa Bay area named for him.

Coughing up leads because of lousy pass defense each week like the Bucs have this year is simply unacceptable for an NFL team.

Bucs fans are still seething — rightly so — over how the Bucs played awful football, unacceptable football, in losing to the hapless Beagles Sunday, all but kissing away any playoff hopes.

The quarterback was bad. Some say his receivers didn’t help him out. Some suggest Schiano gave the game away. Virtually everyone agrees whatever the Bucs are doing in their fourth quarter pass defense needs to stop now and be completely overhauled for next year.

But it seems players and Schiano are on different levels on how to right the wrong(s) in very fundamental differences.

Some of the players say someone needs to “make a play.”

Schiano says, just do your job, writes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

“It’s all fixable. It’s nothing major. We just have to make more plays at the end,” Da’Quan Bowers said.

Schiano doesn’t subscribe to that theory. He thinks the player who simply does “his job” best usually wins those battles – and he cannot emphasize that enough.

“I think when you focus on making plays, that’s exactly when you don’t make plays,” he said. “Focus on doing your job and plays come to you, the game comes to you. That’s what we believe around here.”

Here’s the thing: If one is to believe, as Bowers suggests, someone needs to make a play, it’s pretty damned clear nobody is week after week, time and again in the fourth quarter when the game is on the line.

Talk is over with. Action is required.

But if one is to side with Schiano, then that tells Joe either his mindset hasn’t sunk in on the Bucs secondary quite yet, or wholesale changes are needed on the defensive backs roster for next year up to and including defensive backs coach Ron Cooper if not defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, themselves.

Now Joe isn’t the “fire him” kind of a guy, but simply put, the inability for the Bucs to stop a cool breeze in passing situations in the fourth quarter is absolutely and totally unacceptable for any NFL team. The Bucs pass defense currently is no better than the Bucs rush defense was last year and heads rolled as a result, understandably so. Watching teams knife through the Bucs secondary — worst in the NFL — with ease each week is appalling and it never seems to be righted.

Sure Schiano and the Bucs have done a wonderful, masterful job of shutting down the run (how much of that is Bryan Cox’s coaching?) but what the hell good is it if a third round draft pick of a rookie can hang 381 yards on the secondary and march down the field like Joe Montana in his prime for the winning score?

How many times has this secondary lost the game by getting lit up like a roman candle despite the Bucs stopping the run, both with and without Aqib Talib, both with and without Eric Wright?

Barring a miracle, this pass defense of the Bucs cost this team a playoff berth. There’s no need to sugarcoat it.

These are serious, legitimate questions both players and assistant coaches need to answer to Schiano in the immediate hours after the final gun ends the season.

Look, if the Baltimore Crows, leading their division with three games left, are willing to unload their longtime offensive coordinator two weeks before Christmas for rotten production, why exactly should Sheridan and Cooper be resting peacefully at night?

Former Bucs tight end and current radio analyst Dave Moore believes not all Bucs receivers helped out Josh Freeman Sunday.

Yes, Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman is feeling heat after a third consecutive week in which he missed open receivers and played a lackluster game.

Sure, he played OK against Atlanta, but missed critical throws that eventually doomed the Bucs. Against the Broncos, as Joe pointed out before, Freeman vanished when faced with adversity for at least a quarter, which allowed the Broncos to rally for a win.

Sunday, Freeman may have had one of his worst games of his career, and at the worst time no less, since it all but knocked the Bucs out of playoff contention.

But hold up, said Bucs radio analyst Dave Moore on on “The Ron and Ian Show” yesterday on WDAE-AM 620. The former Bucs tight end, while admitting Freeman wasn’t his best self with accuracy Sunday, believed at least a few times errant throws were on Bucs receivers for not running proper routes, not so much because of Freeman’s wild streak. Moore specifically fingered Tiquan Underwood for missing “sight-adjusts” based on coverage.

This is why, Moore said, Freeman often reacted angrily after an incompletion.

“The receivers weren’t adjusting and [Freeman’s bitter response] looks bad,” Moore said.

Moore also talked about how the Bucs lost more because of a lack of execution than anything the Eagles were doing.

“The Bucs were averaging four yards a carry right off the bat that was good. [Failure to move the ball early was] more about the fact the Bucs were not executing rather than Philadelphia was presenting anything they couldn’t handle. Josh wasn’t accurate with high percentage passes which he normally hits. He was throwing high and hard. It happens. If you watch a pitcher in baseball and basketball players, some days you are on and some days you are not.”

To hear the entire interview with Moore, click on the little arrow below. Audio courtesy of WDAE-AM 620.

Greg Schiano was grilled by a Bucs-fan caller to his radio show tonight about the now infamous 3rd-and-8 run up the middle for no gain yesterday — on the Bucs’ 33 yard line with 2:55 remaining and the Bucs leading the Eagles 21-16.

The fan hated the playcall and wanted to know what Schiano was thinking.

The leader of the New Schiano Order explained that he ran up the middle to lessen the chance of a turnover and he was looking for a subsequent punt from Michael Koenen that would pin the Eagles inside their 20 yard line. Schiano said he had confidence his defense could stop a timeout-free Nick Foles to close out the game and that confidence was the driving force of his decision.

Well, the punt part of the equation didn’t sit well with Joe.

Essentially, Schiano was looking for a net punt from Koenen of 47 yards or better — from the Bucs’ 33 to the Eagles’ 20 or less. But the problem is the Bucs’ net average on punts is only 37 yards this season and, statistically, the Bucs have one of the worst punt-cover units in the NFL.

So given those numbers, Joe finds Schiano’s goal of a booming punt to be unrealistic. (Koenen’s eventual punt was 31 yards with no return.)

And if Schiano expected such a booming punt, then surely he expected it to be returned, which is what happens to long punts. That would have been a far more dangerous scenario than calling a safe pass for Josh Freeman to throw on third down. The Bucs have such safe playcalls in their playbook — Schiano admitted that on the air — perhaps something like sprinting Freeman right and giving him a run or throw-to-the-right-sideline option.

Joe understands Schiano believed more in his league-worst pass defense than in Freeman to win the game for him, but the big-punt fantasy never should have been part of the thought process.

Joe finds it a bit amusing that Bucs fans always, always have to have a player to hate. Each year, this player (or coach) changes.

Two years ago it was, understandably, Sabby the Goat. Last year it was Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (when people grew hoarse from screaming for Raheem Morris’ head on a platter). This year, despite maybe playing a half-dozen (if that) plays on defense, without question the most loathed Bucs player by fans was Myron Lewis.

Joe uses the past tense “was” because the beleagured Bucs cornerback has been placed on the injured reserve list and his season is over, per the Bucs official Twitter feed.

@TBBuccaneers: Bucs CB Myron Lewis has been placed on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury suffered in Sunday’s game against Philly.

Rarely a day goes by where Bucs fans — in a thread about a completely different subject — cry out loud, “Why is Myron Lewis on the roster?”

It’s a good question, but Joe wasn’t concerned because Lewis rarely (thankfully) played defense. The third-round pick in 2010 never adjusted to the NFL. When he’s healthy — a rare feat for the Vanderbilt product — Lewis always looked completely lost on defense, often spinning around like the Tasmanian Devil in some weird effort to get into position, looking like a youngster in a frantic Easter egg hunt.

It never worked.

Joe has nothing against Lewis, who seems like a good guy. But to date, Lewis has been completely overwhelmed trying to perform at the NFL level.

Lewis has one more year left on his four-year contract.

Nosetackle and soon-to-be free agent Roy Miller sat out yesterday’s game with a head injury, and the Bucs proceeded to be no less than dominant against the run and notched a stunning six sacks of Eagles quarterback Nick Foley.

Hats off to Miller’s main understudy, Gary Gibson, and Michael Bennett, who spent several snaps rushing inside.

So what does this say about Miller’s value? 

Joe’s not taking a shot at Miller, just wondering how rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Greg Schiano will assess him. Miller surely will have suitors in free agency. He’s a team-first, four-year veteran who is still just 25 years old.

Joe wouldn’t pursue Miller hard, but like Jeremy Zuttah last offseason, Miller could be a guy the Bucs try to lock up quickly after the season.

Ray Didinger of CSNPhilly.com talks about how the Eagles found a quarterback in third-round pick, rookie Nick Foles, who Didinger lauded for finding a way to win under pressure yesterday. Unfortunately, the Bucs’ franchise quarterback couldn’t do the same with a far lesser obstacle.

Joe would love $5 million. But Joe’s going to have to settle for cracking 5 million visits to this here website in 2012.

It’s not quite as big a deal as the fall of the Berlin Wall, but in a matter of moments JoeBucsFan.com will bust the 5 million mark for visits in this calendar year. This is new ground for Joe, and hopefully such an accomplishment will stimulate Rachel Watson to reconsider who is most important in her life.

Joe wants to issue a thank you to his readers, and the loyal companies you see promoted around here that put gas in Joe’s tank, beer in Joe’s belly, meat on Joe’s grill, and afford Joe the time to bring his best self every day.

Joe’s pleased to continue to grind away tirelessly, 24/7, in his role as the premier source of news and commentary for Bucs fans. If you ever encounter an off day here, rest assured Joe is either dead or Rachel finally knocked on his door.

In what was a gross exaggeration about the numbers of Philly fans present and soiling the 2002 Buccaneers Super Bowl reunion yesterday, Eagles head coach Andy Reid raved about the cheers he was hearing after the game.

“The fans were unbelievable. I mean, you gotta giv’em credit. They were out here. At times I wasn’t sure who had more fans, us or them,” Reid said.

Reid went on to say he wasn’t sure whether the final Eagles touchdown to the end the game was reversed by officials because of the loud crowd reaction when the final score was in the books.

Screw, Andy Reid. There was a recognizable, audible Eagles-fan presence yesterday, but there had to be about 90 percent Bucs fans there in the full-house crowd of 64,941.

Joe suspects Reid is simply so used to being booed on his home turf that some cheers surprised him.

Joe hears the sharks circling — the loud voices of sports radio callers today wanting Josh Freeman out of town after this season, the subtle salivating of radio hosts warming to the idea of a future dump-Freeman bandwagon, the wild emails filling Joe’s inbox, the anti-Freeman passion in the comments on these here pages.

Sure, Joe has serious questions about Freeman’s ability to take the Bucs where every fan wants them to go. But Joe’s hardly advocating giving up on Freeman like some are.

The Bucs would be nuts to not have Freeman as this team’s QB in 2013, unless some bizarre QB gift from the heavens falls into One Buc Palace, which is about as likely as Rachel Watson asking Joe to meet her under the mistletoe.

But Joe knows Freeman desperately needs one win in these final three games of 2012, all of them difficult.

It would be nothing but ugly for Freeman in the local media this offseason if he closes 2012 with a six-game losing streak, on the heels of a 10-game losing streak to wrap up 2011. That’s tough to defend.

Today, Tampa Bay Times columnist Gary Shelton, who also co-hosts Gary and The Commish on 98.7 FM, said Freeman is perhaps the most polarizing quarterback he’s ever seen. The Good Josh/Bad Josh in-game act is wearing on Shelton, who says Freeman has reached the point in his career where “it’s time to start getting some of those bad moments erased.”

Count Shelton among the heavyweight circling sharks.

Of course, Joe wants to see Freeman win three games out of the final three, not just one. But he absolutely has to lead the Bucs to at least one more victory. Joe’s not sure Freeman will deal with the immense pressure that would come with losing out.

The slide of Josh Freeman, who’s a combined 32-of-74 in his past two games, is worse than it appears, says former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996). 

Co-host of the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620, Beckles made the point this morning that Freeman is benefitting from elite talent at the skill positions but is still struggling.

“The weapons are making him look good,” Beckles said. “There are guys going up and beasting for the ball. There wasn’t a whole lot in our passing game yesterday.”

It’s hard to argue the point. Freeman has the luxury of a strong running game and a dangerous back out of the backfield. He’s also got a surehanded tight end and a definite Pro Bowl wide receiver in Vincent Jackson, as well as another go-get-it receiver in Mike Williams, and both are extremely versatile. And Freeman has an offensive line that pass blocks effectively.

Very few quarterbacks have so much to work with. In addition, it’s worth noting that the bulk of the Bucs’ payroll is on the offensive side of the ball. Relatively speaking, there’s not a lot of improvement the Bucs need to make on offense, outside of Freeman finding discovering consistency.

Perhaps the primary reason Greg Schiano gave as to why he set up a punt with a 3rd-and-8 run late in the fourth quarter was that he was confident the Bucs would get pressure on Eagles QB Nick Foles, with the rookie in a scenario with no timeouts and feeling the heat to score a touchdown or lose the game.

Well, the pressure came, but Foles still feasted on the Bucs secondary, the one Ronde Barber said isn’t good enough.

Via Philly.com, an Eagles offensive lineman acknowledged that his linemates couldn’t slow down the Bucs’ rush.

 “The offensive line didn’t help him out early in the game, and throughout the game, with the pressure, but he never got upset, never changed his composure. He stayed focused,” rookie right tackle Dennis Kelly said. “It was kind of one of those things like, if he can do it, we can do it.”

The Bucs finished with six sacks, including two for Gerald McCoy and Michael Bennett. That’s SIX! And they completely stopped the run. But the Bucs still lost the game, even without committing a turnover and despite a punishing performance by Doug Martin. That’s an extremely rare feat in the NFL. Apparently, it only happens when your quarterback is having an ugly day.

Partially because of Eric Wright’s selfish actions, the Bucs’ pass defense, and playoff dreams, have been turned upside down.

Kvetch about Josh Freeman doing a Mark Sanchez imitation if you will, pound your office desk over the Bucs defense collapsing (yet again) in the fourth quarter, curse out loud if you must over Greg Schiano not passing on third down (“this Joe” sides with the coach on that call), but before Bucs fans get so wound up this morning, fueled by outrage and caffeine over the memory of a killer, disgusting loss, let’s place blame where it belongs:

On Aqib Talib and Eric Wright.

If not for those two birds’ selfish, illegal acts (in Talib’s case, one of many), not only would the Bucs not be on the outside looking in on a playoff bid, but very likely could be in the wild card lead.

It was those two, both the Bucs starting cornerbacks to open the season, who decided to obtain medicine illegally without a prescription and got busted.

At least Talib was man enough to fess up right away and serve his sentence. If Wright was of the same mind, his suspension would have been over by now and he would have played yesterday. Wright selfishly was defiant to the very end.

But no. Those two decided they were bigger than the team, bigger than their teammates, bigger than the NFL.

So they got popped and were suspended/traded because of their actions. Think those two were crying in their beers last night?

If is because of the irresponsible, selfish, wrongheaded actions of Talib and Wright why the Bucs’ cornerbacks, in such a critical stage of games late in the season, has been manned by rookie free agents and warm bodies off the street.

This is what happens when you have selfish characters who are only concerned about themselves on the roster. It drags the team down.

In the Bucs ‘case, it all but killed any playoff chances for the team.

So before Bucs fans start lobbing arrows this morning in disgust and anger, let’s point those arrows at the real culprits. The two who put the Bucs defense in a no-win situation.

Veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton offers his thoughts on the gut-punching Bucs loss to the Eagles in this Tampa Bay Times video.

Here are quotes from key parties after the Bucs devastating loss to the Eagles, compiled by the media relations staffs of both the Eagles and the Bucs.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

GREG SCHIANO

(On being third-and-7 on Tampa Bay’s final drive)
“You know, there are two ways to play it. You can try to throw the ball, (but) we decided to run the ball and make them use their timeout, let it tick. My thinking was, we can punt the ball away and, if we get a stop, the game is over, they have no timeouts. If we don’t get the stop, we put it on the defense and we didn’t come up with the stop. When you are on the positive side, our side of the playing field, the risk-reward; tipped pass, anything that could go wrong, where they could get the ball on the plus side. As it turns out, we didn’t have a great punt, which could have helped. You hit a boomer there, you get them back to the 18, 16, 20, whatever, but that’s not what happened. At the end of the day, we just had too many mistakes to win an NFL football game. It’s what it boils down to.”

(On mistakes during the game)
“Just throughout the game, there were too many penalties at inopportune times. We had our hands on some balls that we didn’t catch. We were fortunate, too; there were some balls that they could have intercepted and they didn’t. At the end of the day, we didn’t play well enough, we didn’t coach well enough to win and that responsibility falls on me. I’m in charge. We needed to play better to win and it didn’t happen.”

(On QB Josh Freeman)
“I’ll have to watch the tape to see exactly what the problems were. It just seemed like he wasn’t himself, wasn’t in sync. Then he made some throws that make you say, ‘Oh, there he is.’ We as an offensive football team didn’t play the way we are capable of playing. We made some critical mistakes. At the end of the day you can’t do that in the National Football League. It doesn’t work.”

(On losing three games in a row)
“I’d be disappointed if there was a harder way to prepare and get ready then what we have been doing. We try to do everything that we can. Turn over every stone. That is the way that we operate. We are going to continue to do that, we have to do something. I have to do something to get our team to play better because we didn’t play well enough to win and that’s my job.”

(On the loss)
“We made too many mistakes. It’s not mistakes because guys aren’t working, guys aren’t preparing; it’s more guys making mistakes (from) trying to do too much. You have to do your job, that’s our whole mantra: Do Your Job. And we all – coaches, players – you try to call too perfect of a play, or you try to do something as a player to make something happen… (Football is) the ultimate team game for a reason. You have to do your job, and when you do that it gives you a chance to win. Today, we didn’t do that consistently enough and that’s why we lost.”

QB JOSH FREEMAN

(On losing a close game)
“Any time we lose, it’s frustrating, no matter what the reason is. Today, Philly just found a way to make more plays than us. Whether it (was) at the beginning of the game or down the stretch, it doesn’t matter when it happened, but it happened. We have to find a way to make more plays and score more points. That’s what the game is all about: winning and losing. Any time you lose, and lose close, it’s going to be rough.”

(On watching the final drive)
“That’s part of the game, part of the game. You have to find a way to get it so it’s not that close at the end. The Eagles, like I said, made more plays and down the stretch found a way to make the plays to win the game.”

(On teammates RB Doug Martin and WR Vincent Jackson)
“No question, both of those guys (are important). Vincent had a number of huge catches, including his touchdown. Doug as well, got him running, got him rolling, and busted some tackles, busted some big runs. Mike Williams and I thought the offensive line really cranked it up the second half and answered the call. The fact remains that it wasn’t enough.”

(On the first half of the game)
“We were just a little off. We were taking shots and trying to throw it down field and then one to Vincent (Jackson) was out front of him. The one to Mike (Williams), the guy jumped up and made a play on it. If you hit a couple of those, you really have something going. But, first half, I thought our defense did a great job holding them to 10 points, but you definitely have to come out and play better in the first half and score more points.”

(On what issues the team faced)
“It’s hard to say, because practice, preparation – we’ve been continuing to push the envelope and to work extremely hard. We had a great week of practice, but we just weren’t finding the plays (in the game). We weren’t finding the plays downfield that we normally do. It’s frustrating, but, at the same time, it something that you know that your guys can do that you’re capable of doing. It was there first half today. We didn’t do enough today but all we can do is go out and continue to prepare and continue to play.”

(On the rest of the season)
“We have three games. The one that we’re focusing on is the next one, the New Orleans Saints. After the season is the time for reflection, right now we’re going to try to go in and prepare as well as we can and find a way to win our next game.”

RB DOUG MARTIN

(On the second half)
“Coach Schiano always talks about doing your job and I think that’s what we did coming out in the second half and (Vincent Jackson) had a great game as well as Mike Williams. Josh (Freeman) also did a good job of getting the ball to them.”

(On the loss)
“A loss is a loss. Any loss feels bad, but we just need to bounce back and get ready for the next game.”

(On his play)
“It’s a loss, so I can’t really feel good about anything. Individual stats only matter if you get the W. That’s the main point, right there.”

DB RONDE BARBER

(On the game)
“(Philadelphia) made more plays than we did. I’ll give them credit, the QB went out and executed his two-minute and drove it better than we did on defense.”

(On whether the game was especially dangerous with Philadelphia’s record)
“There isn’t any danger – this is the NFL. I don’t care if they are 3-9 or 6-6. (The Eagles) have been playing good for their coach and they showed up on the field every week.”

(On whether the Super Bowl XXXVII anniversary affected today’s game)
“It was an honor to be a part of the 2002 Buccaneers team. It was nice to see all of those guys, but it had nothing to do with the product on the field (today) – so it doesn’t hurt more or less. It’s 2012 and that was 10 years ago. They celebrated rightfully, but it has nothing to do with this 2012 team.”

CB DANNY GORRER

(On the game)
“It was a real good game. I want to tip my hat to the Eagles; they made more plays than we did today. We have to get back to the drawing board.”

(On his near-interception at the end of the game)
“When I saw the ball, I kind of got excited and what not, but the great corners in this game make those balls. If I want to be a leader and take my game to another level, I have to make that play through the seam.”

(On the last play)
“We knew they had a shot to win the game and we called the defense. We thought the defense was good and we went with it. Like I said, they made one more play than we did and we’ll go back to work Monday.”

DE MICHAEL BENNETT

(On the final play)
“It was a sprint-out pass and you know that that was their play. That’s most teams play in the NFL. In order to get one guy open, they have him running and everyone else is just blocking. For a defensive line, everything is rushing one way and you think it is a rush play. It’s one of those things, they called that play, we knew that play, and as veterans on this team we should have stood up and made those plays.”

DT GERALD McCOY

(On playing in front of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl XXXVII Championship team)
“Yeah, you recognize they’re here; you’d like to win the game for them. If you know the history of Tampa Bay, you know that Philly was an issue for them. A game like this, you definitely want to get the win.”

(On his personal performance)
“It had nothing to do with them (the Super Bowl-winning team); that’s me playing for God. We got a message last night in chapel and they said, ‘What are you playing for?’ They told us what we should play for and that’s my motivation. Just playing as hard as I can for God.

(On the play of QB Nick Foles)
“It’s not easy to keep your poise when you’re getting hit all day as a rookie, but he did. All the credit goes to him. Mike (Bennett) got to him early on that last drive, (and Foles) could have gotten nervous, but he didn’t. (He) sat in the pocket, made the plays and they got a good win. Came on the road and got a good win.”

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
ANDY REID

(Opening statement)
“Listen, the fans were unbelievable. You got to give them credit there. They were out here [and at] times I wasn’t sure who had more fans. I was proud of that part. I was proud of our players for just fighting their tails off. I can go through and give individual accolades, but, as a team, they fought like crazy. Greg Schiano’s put together one heck of a football team and he’s building this thing the right way. That’s a tough football team right there and they’re going to win a lot of football games. To be able to sneak it out like that, that was quite a feat. Again, I’m proud of our guys. It’s been a while since we’ve won one so we’re going to enjoy this one and then get ready for Thursday night.”

(On the play of QB Nick Foles on the final drive)
“He made some great, big throws. It looked like he rallied the crew in there and everybody stepped their game up. The O-line had had a couple breakdowns in the middle of the game there and he was able to rally those guys or they rallied around him, whichever way it went. It looked like Nick really did well, made good decisions, and made big plays.”

(On Tampa bay’s run defense)
“Well, they’re the number one team in the National Football League in stopping the run, so we knew that coming in [and] we knew we were going to have to throw the football a little bit, hoping we could balance it off, but they shut down the run game pretty good. It gave us an opportunity to throw the ball a little bit and picked it up towards the end there.”

(On how important this type of win is for a young quarterback)
“How important is it for a young guy? I’d tell you, it’s a step forward. He’s coming off, I thought, a positive game against Dallas. He put together a good game here against a defense that’s tough and he had to battle. It just wasn’t a smooth event. We had our ups and downs, the ebbs and flows of the game, and he hung with it. It looked like he made people around him better and in himself, he got better.”

(On the conversation with QB Foles before the game-winning touchdown)
“Well, listen, he wanted that last play. That’s the play that he wanted so, I’m talking about the last play of the game. He called it, he wanted it, and he executed it. He did a great job of it, so hats off to him. He came off and he wanted that play. It was a play that we had put in the game plan, in that situation, but that’s the one he liked the best. He was feeling it. It’s a great thing when your quarterback is in tune like that. When he came off, he goes, ‘Hey, I’m feeling this right here.’ You saw (Philadelphia Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator) Marty (Mornhinweg) give him a high-five. That’s what that was all about. (Mornhinweg) just goes, ‘Hey, that’s an awesome deal. That was a great feeling right there.’ So, I’m proud of the kid.”

(On the play of the Eagles’ defensive line)
“I thought they did well against the run. They got a good running team: good run offense, good running back and a good offensive line. I thought (for) our D-line, I’ve always said this, it starts there. I thought they did a nice job. They played a good combo game where you’re able to get some pressure on Freeman. Again, he’s tough to get to as we’ve seen over the last bit. We were able to get a little pressure on him and make a difference there. I thought they played well.”

(On building the team’s confidence)
“They’re excited. You go two months without winning a game in Philadelphia, that’s a tough thing, man. I’m proud of these guys, just staying true to themselves and battling like crazy and coming up with a win down here. The fans, down here, were awesome.”

QB NICK FOLES

(On why he likes to run the particular play that won the game)
“I just like a movement play in that situation because it changes throwing lanes. If you’re in the pocket, a guy can undercut it, whereas if you’re on the run, there’s no undercut. I just like movement plays. It felt good. It was the first play that came to my head.”

(On what was going through his mind during the final drive)
“The big thing is to be smart with the football. Be aggressive. (You) can’t take sacks. The line did a great job up front, really giving me time to throw, and our receivers ran great routes. When that happens it’s a lot easier to execute. The guys really did a great job. It was a great team win. We all stuck together and fought throughout the game.”

(On his rushing touchdown)
“It was just one of those plays where it turns into backyard football. I felt a little pressure, stepped up and got out of the pocket. Sometimes you’ve got to move around and make a play.”

(On getting his first win as a starting quarterback)
“I’m so excited for my teammates, me, coach Reid, our organization, our owners. It’s just very special, very humbling. It’s a great win too because we came back. We were winning. We lost it. The team stuck together. There was never a doubt in our minds. It was exciting to go out there and execute.”

(On the game providing validation)
“This is a special game. It’s a big win for us. We haven’t won in like two months. The emotions are going crazy right now. I really just want to enjoy it with my teammates because we were out there fighting together. Our coaches were with us every step of the way. It’s a big win for us.”

(On having the final playcall in his hands)
“We (Head Coach Andy Reid and Foles) were on the same page. He trusts me. That’s big when you have your coach that trusts you in that situation. I told him I was comfortable with the play and he said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

WR JEREMY MACLIN

(On the win)
“All around as a team, we just never quit. You guys are seeing Nick Foles grow into a phenomenal quarterback right in front of your eyes. I think the sky is the limit for him. One thing we have to do, we understand that this season hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to go, (but) we just have to stay positive and stay fighting until the end.”

(On the final drive)
“I’m never, ever, ever going to have any thought in my head other than we can do it. That’s how I am, that’s my mindset always. This team never quits, everybody in here wanted this game so bad. From the coaches, to the players, to everybody in this organization, (we) just wanted to win so badly. I don’t care how we did it, it just happened to fall like that. Not winning in two months, that’s crazy, but this one feels good.”

(On the final catch)
“When I came out and saw the coverage, I knew that I had a good opportunity of getting this ball. Nick (Foles) put the ball down and away like he was supposed to, I went down and got the ball, made sure I was in bounds, and the rest is history.”

LB JAMAR CHANEY

(On getting an opportunity to play)
“Wednesday I found out. I was very excited. I waited a long time and it was kind of hard just sitting there waiting. Just got to be patient and wait on the Lord; (He) helped me through it. Got a win today, that’s the best thing right there.”

(On staying patient)
“It was real tough, starting every game last year. This year, you don’t get on the field that much; it’s real hard. You just have to continue working, and that’s one thing that I try and do. You can ask the coaches, when we go against the offense in practice, I try and go real hard, not only to help them but to help myself, just in case something happens.

DE BRANDON GRAHAM

(On the defensive line)
“It always feels good to know that we played good. I know that when we get to the film, we are going to have more stuff to correct. But overall, I think we played good.”

(On Tampa Bay’s last drive)
“Get off the field. Three-and-out. Forget about that first run that we made. We still had a shot. They had the holding call, and (on) that third down I can remember DeMeco (Ryans) saying ‘Get off the field, this is that play that we talk about in meetings, get off the field.’ Sure enough, (Fletcher) Cox made a play. It felt good to get off the field, because we gave our offense a chance to win the game.”

RB BRYCE BROWN

(On the win)
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence in ourselves. (It’s) a great win for our coaches. Everybody was in position and glad we made a play. Feels good that we got the win. It was a close game so nerves were there, but I’m excited we got the win. It was a long, hard-fought game.”

(On the booth review of the final play)
“I mean we could all see he was clearly in, so we just decided to hear the call. Then once we got it, it was a sigh of relief.”

(On not giving up the season)
“We’ve got a really strong team. I think a lot of credit goes to our veterans. The veterans are really pushing us to continue to fight. In football, things are going to happen. You’re not going to always have a great season all the time, but it’s important that you continue to fight because it shows the character you have as a person.”

LB DeMECO RYANS

(On QB Nick Foles)
“You see his progression every week, and he just continues to get better and better. For his fourth start, to be able to go out and make a game-winning drive the way he did, even though he was getting hit a little bit the way he did, but he stuck in there and made the tough plays, made the tough throws to help us win this game. It’s special to see a rookie come in and play the way he’s been playing. Nick has a great upside. You see Nick with the decision-making that he has, he’s going to continue to get better as he has over the past four weeks. With him continuing to get the reps and continuing to get the looks, understanding how defenses are trying to attack him, he’ll continue to do well and he’ll be a tough quarterback in this league as he continues to grow and study more.”

(On the defense in today’s game)
“We stop the run. We got them in third-and-long situations and we were able to come out there and get pressure on the quarterback, something we haven’t done in a long time […]. That was the difference (from) prior weeks when guys would make plays on us on a third down. We eliminated the big plays. We didn’t have any big plays. We made them drive the ball down when they had to score.”

CB DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE

(On the success against Tampa Bay’s passing attack)
“The pressure was better, even if he (Tampa Bay QB Josh Freeman) had an open route. He wasn’t able to just stand there and make the throws he could normally make, so I think the pressure is what really got him.”

(On Philadelphia QB Nick Foles)
“One thing I know about Nick, and that’s a fact, is that he always stays calm and cool and we never lost faith in him.”

(On the win)
“I give credit to the offense, they go down there and drive like that and Nick stands in the pocket, taking hits. I’m proud of him, just to get a win, it feels good. I think it’s going to bring back the morale of the team and we can just go out and keep the team going. The defense made the stop (on third down) and the offense did what it’s supposed to do.”

WR JASON AVANT

(On what the game proves)
“You really can’t take to heart what people say, especially when you are down. In hard times, people say things they don’t really mean, whether it be fans or players or what have you. So we never took it to heart. We know that we played hard; it’s just that we were turning the ball over. And today we did a good job offensively of not turning the ball over. We had one (giveaway) and we overcame that one as a team and Nick (Foles) did a great job. It’s never been an effort issue; it’s been more of an executing-the-game-plan issue. We always played hard, we just made inopportune mistakes and we did better today.”

(On his conversion on fourth-and-5 during the final drive)
“I didn’t know how close I was. The first thing I was thinking was to squeeze the ball, because when the safety is around I know those defenders are around. I tried to get as much as I could and keep my feet going and tried to get in the end zone, and, once I couldn’t, it was time for me to get the ball to the closest referee and not let (Tampa Bay) touch it, and I was thinking that if I put the ball on the ground they would kick it and the game would be over, so I was just thinking about getting the ball to the nearest referee.”