The Texans embarrassed the Bucs defense and put up two touchdowns and a field goal in their first four possessions en route to a 16-0 lead. So that would mean the Bucs would take to the air and the wide receivers would rack up numbers even in a loss. Right? Wrong.

The Bucs’ wide receivers combined for only six catches for 107 yards, two each for Preston Parker, Mike Williams and Arrellious Benn.  Per the stat geeks at ESPN.com, Bucs wideouts were targeted 18 times.

Why can’t these guys get open? And why can’t the Bucs take deep shots or find seams underneath. Benn beat his man for a 33 yard strike downfield early in the second quarter, but the Bucs didn’t keep swinging for the fences.

There’s plenty of blame to go around given the thorough breakdown of the offense. But something has to change in a hurry. Joe’s heard from players that the playbook is gigantic. There’s got to be something in there that can jumpstart the offense.

Yugly!

Why are the Bucs are so much worse than they were last year? Even the most positive-thinking Bucs fan must be wondering. And make no mistake, there’s been a significant dropoff, underscored by the complete beating at the hands of the Texans at home today.

The Bucs started slowly again. Their tackling was horrid. They continue to get gashed in the running game repeatedly. They don’t catch sure interceptions. Albert Haynesworth wasn’t a liability, at least not as much as the linebackers that just aren’t shedding blocks.  Quincy Black and Mason Foster combined for six tackles, most of Black’s in garbage time.

And the offense? Well, it’s simply impotent at this point, even with the high-priced offensive line healthy and on the field.

CBS analyst Rich Gannon skewered the Bucs through the broadcast, saying the Bucs’ offense didn’t look good in practice Friday, Josh Freeman isn’t sharp (practice and game), and he called out Mike Williams and Arrellious Benn for losing battles downfield repeatedly.

What’s particularly heinous for Joe is the Bucs’ lame efforts this week and last after a bye week, plus the fact that there really isn’t a glimmer of hope anywhere. The coaching isn’t getting through, or the coaching is getting outcoached repeatedly.

Next up? The undefeated Green Bay Packers on the frozen tundra. … Joe suggests stockpiling painkillers.

OK boys and girls, have at it. Let your feelings be known about how the Bucs are playing against the Texans today. As always, any and all commenters who post addresses of pirated streams of the game, even spelling the addresses out, will be banned. You are welcome to post your e-mail address and share the pirated feeds amongst yourselves.

Now behave! 🙂

Q.: But Joe, why don’t you have live chats?

A.: They were more pain in the ass than worth it for Joe. The software for the live chats only allowed 15 unmoderated users. Any more than 15, each and every comment had to be approved. Joe’s trying to do work (read: watch the game) and too may people were b!tching about how their comments were not posted quick enough, so Joe decided to deep-six the live chats for Bucs games.

Inactives for the Bucs game with the Texans today:

Anthony Gaitor, Dekoda Watson, Derek Hardman, James Lee, Micheal Spurlock, Tim Crowder and Frank Okam.

Texans inactives are: Andre Johnson, T.J. Yates, Sherrick McManis, Danieal Manning, Thomas Austin, Andrew Gardner and Garrett Graham.

Notable: Albert Haynesworth will start and Sammie Stroughter is active.

Week 10
Texans at Bucs
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: Blacked out locally. Outside the Tampa/Orlando TV market the game can be enjoyed on DirecTV Channel 706. Game is also available for free after midnight on NFL.com’s Game Rewind and on NFL Sunday Ticket’s Shortcuts.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 136.
Weather: Per Accuweather.com, just about perfect conditions. Sunny skies and for tailgaters the weather will be in the high 70s. Look for the temperature to rise to 78 at kickoff with not a whole lot of change. It should reach 80 by halftime and drop to 77 towards the end of the game. This is why we live in Florida.
Odds: Per SportsBook.com, Bucs +3.5.
Outlook: On paper, Joe is pretty certain the Bucs don’t have a shot. Good thing games aren’t played on paper. So far at home the Bucs have beaten the Saints and the Dixie Chicks, two solid teams. Houston has lost to the Saints in New Orleans and lost at home to the Raiders, hardly a Super Bowl-bound team. Yes, even though the Texans have the best defense in the league and the best rushing attack, they are still mortal. Now normally in this very spot Joe would do his weekly begging on his knees for LeGarrette Blount to get the ball early and often. But those pleas have been ignored so Joe’s giving up. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman to return to his 2010 form and slice up the Texans secondary. With Gerald McCoy out and the Bucs defense not exactly near the Texans statistically, Joe looks for Raheem Morris to call up some gimmicky defense (much like a “junk defense” in basketball) to slow down Houston and keep the Bucs in the game. It certainly helps that Andre Johnson is not available for Houston. Whew.

Bringing injured veterans in contact with the Bucs has been a hallmark of Mark Dominik's tenure as general manager.

Joe’s a bit late on this but it’s still timely given that yesterday was Veterans Day.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik since he has taken the football reigns of the team has fostered a strong bond with the military and veterans.

So to honor Veterans Day, Dominik and several Bucs players went to a local veterans hospital to try to brighten up a day for men who sacrificed so much to help protect us from animals who fly planes into buildings.

In honor of Friday’s Veterans Day, Freeman and fellow Bucs Quincy Black, Gerald McCoy and Kellen Winslow spent time with servicemen and women recovering from injury and illness at the veterans’ hospital. Behind the lead of General Manager Mark Dominik, and with Buccaneers cheerleaders also on hand, the group hosted an ice cream social for patients in the facility’s Spinal Cord Injury Center.

“This was a great opportunity,” Freeman said. “I was thrilled with the chance to come here because these guys are out risking their lives and serving our country. There’s nothing better than coming out and honoring these guys and spending some time with them.”

Dominik joined the visiting players in presenting the hospital with a financial donation to help fund special outings and experiences for local veterans as part of their recreation therapy.

“Spinal Cord injury Center.” Joe doesn’t think he has to spell out what that means.

This was a generous move by the Bucs and Joe salutes the players that showed up, and of course, the vets themselves.

Well done.

Veteran WTSP-TV, Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth lays out his keys to the Bucs-Texans game in his usual smooth style.

Among the gobs of statistical gibberish out there for fantasy football players and degenerate gamblers to wolf down, Joe found this somewhat interesting nugget from Paul Kuharsky on BSPN’s AFC South blog.

It seems play-action doesn’t phase the Texans’ defense, and Josh Freeman’s has tossed more picks on play-action than any other QB.

Tampa Bay’s play-action: The Texans have intercepted the most passes (five) and allowed the fewest yards per attempt (5.0) on play-action passes this season. That tells me guys have been disciplined about not biting on fakes. Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman has thrown the most interceptions (five) on play fakes this season. So this could be a nice match for Houston in that department. The pass rush could be limited, though, because the Buccaneers have protected Freeman rather well.

Now Joe’s not about to say this data means much, but Joe will say Freeman isn’t exactly known for selling the play-action fake very well. Joe thinks he could really improve in that area. Watching hours of film on Peyton Manning or Boomer Esiason might go a long way toward helping Freeman. 

Joe once had a college English professor who bragged he had only given out three “A’s” in his career in education.

Joe can’t remember what grade he got from this guy, but Joe does remember he passed — that’s what counts, after all. The biggest thing Joe remembers from this class was a drop-dead gorgeous, leggy blonde who used to sit next to Joe (poor girl).

Joe was reminded of this old professor when he was reading the grades dished out by Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune for a mid-season report.

Cummings gave the Bucs offensive line a “C.”

Offensive line: This group has been solid, but the Bucs need more from its most veteran unit. Grade: C.

Whew. If anything, Joe believes this has been the strongest unit on the team. Davin Joseph should be in the Pro Bowl this year, provided he stays healthy. Donald Penn has simply locked up opposing right defensive ends, Jeff Faine has been solid when he has played, and Jeremy Zuttah has been strong.

Joe would likely give these guys an “A-” if he had to grade. Considering these guys had to deal with injuries and there hasn’t been much of a drop off, that’s big.

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company, America’s Best Quarterback. Plus, he’s a really cool dude.

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

As the Bucs added a new “character” to their roster this week, I wanted to let you know that I had the distinct pleasure of spending Thursday evening with three players of great character (Corey Lynch, Adam Hayward and Mike Koenen) while emceeing a charity event promoting character development and mentoring of both professional athletes and at-risk youth (www.idolsaside.com).

Much attention is given to the negative headlines generated by athletes and celebrities and much less to those striving to improve our community!

Now that the Bucs are 4-4 and really didn’t look good last week or particularly good in many of their games this year, Sunday’s game against a very dangerous Houston Texans team is the most important of the season, not because it is their next game, but because they have been able to fall back on their overall winning record while not playing disciplined football.

I was watching my 9 year old son play Madden 12 when he was in a mode where computer was picking the plays while he controlled the running back. On 3rd-and-1, the computer put him in “shotgun” and he whispered under his breath, “What?  Why I am in shotgun on third and one–it’s so stupid!”

I had the same outrage last Sunday when after Josh Freeman missed a wide open fullback for a touchdown on 3rd-and-1, Greg Olson called for a shotgun play on FOURTH-and-one with a 250+ pound QB and matching running back. Thank goodness the Bucs went offsides and made it 4th and 6, so they could throw a slant to Williams for the first down (heavy sarcasm there). 

Then later the Bucs had 1st-and-goal from the seven yard line and went shotgun on three plays in a row and kicked a field goal. The shotgun formation is a great weapon in certain situations, but short-yardage and goal line plays are not on that list. 

These types of plays take away the downhill run threat and take too long to develop because the QB cannot get the ball out of his hands fast enough for the slants and fades to be effective. I feel for Olson when his players don’t execute his great calls, like the “wheel” to the fullback, but can’t believe other calls that have little chance for success even before the team lines up.

The defensive side of the ball has its own issues and maybe, just maybe, Albert Haynesworth will help fix them, but this is his fourth team (in a very short time) for what recently was one of the most highly paid players in the entire league. Let’s all hope that those character guys that I mentioned at the beginning of this article can influence the new character in the locker room to improved performance of for himself and the team!

The giant BSPN computers were asked to simulate 10,000 looks at the Bucs-Texans game (seriously) and came up with the interesting statistical gibberish presented in this BSPN.com video.

No, Joe didn’t forget to post his annual Veterans Day words to honor the great men and women who have served this country. Thanks to them we get to enjoy football this weekend.

Joe was actually busy honoring veterans this morning and enjoying an extra special Veterans Day. Just days ago, Joe’s mom shipped him a bunch of old stuff from her Hurricane Irene damaged basement, and in the box was Joe’s late dad’s Army discharge papers and other military paperwork and letters.

What a cool bunch of stuff. Who knew the old man had all kinds of sharpshooter commendations. No wonder young Joe spent all that time at the firing range freezing at the local Turkey Shoot contest. And what a great look at how Joe’s dad was one the legions of heroes that laid it all on the line in Hawaii for the United States.

A gigantic Thank You is in order to all the vets that can read this post.

Jason Horowitz and Pat Kirwan discuss how the Bucs match up against the Texans in this CBSSports.com video. Kirwan says the Bucs’ offensive gameplan “will get neutralized right away.”

 The Texans are beneficiaries of a pattycake schedule and a soft division, so Joe is hardly sold on 6-3 Houston as a Super Bowl contender.

Joe’s heard Bill Cowher, Pat Kirwan and more gush over these Texans this week. Take a deep breath, fellas.

Sure, Houston had a great week 4 win against the Steelers. But their five other Ws come against Miami, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Tennessee, none with a winning record. Their losses were at the hands of the Saints, Ravens and Raiders.

One interesting take on the Texans came from esteemed NFL writer eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune. Speaking on WHBO-AM 1040 on Wednesday evening, eye-RAH said the Bucs aspire to be like Houston but haven’t gotten it done.

“Here come the Texans. In a pass happy league, they’re a run first team. In fact, I might argue they are what the Bucs hope to be but are not,” Kaufman said. “Josh {Freeman] throws too many balls, and they have a very balanced offense in Houston.

“They’re 6-3. They smell the playoffs. There’s no way that team’s not going to win that division. Wade Phillips is doing a heck of a job with that defense. But they are a running team, and you are going to get a little smashmouth football. And [the Bucs] are hoping and praying Albert Haynesworth has something left in the tank.”

Despite the Texans’ No. 1 ranking on defense, (fewest yards allowed in the NFL) Joe’s still not sold. Houston’s allowed 94 points in their three losses.

This is a very winnable game for the Bucs. They’ve established what seems to be a legitimate home field edge this season, and Joe still remains convinced the Bucs have the tools on offense to outgun the Texans.

Back for his weekly trip to the end zone of the NFL universe, this week at his ADD-best, popular sports radio personality Adam Schein travels through football space and time outs. Check out what Schein says about the Bucs this week. Consider yourself sucked in to the latest episode of Cosmic Schein!

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=25e93ba5-7b02-4761-8f4a-332cd6cef2e8" target="_new" title="">Cosmic Schein: Week 10</a>

Josh Freeman says doubting Greg Olson is ridiculous

One of the great NFL fan pastimes is questioning playcalling — during a game, after a game, and for days beyond.

Run or throw on first down? Take a shot deep on 2nd-and-short? Draw or throw on 3rd-and-long? The list is endless and complex.

Inevitably, when teams lose three out of four games like the Bucs have, playcalling comes under fire. Joe’s picked his spots to question Greg Olson, and Joe hears the cries of fans.

Josh Freeman, however, emphatically says fans shouldn’t go there.

“To question the playcalling is absolutely ridiculous,” Freeman said Wednesday night on The Josh Freeman Show on WDAE-AM 620.

Freeman went on to give an example of Kellen Winslow and others initially from outside the Bucs organization raving about the Bucs’ level of preparation for blitzes, route combinations, their manipulation of defenses, and more.

“It’s just really execution. It really is,” Freeman said. “That’s the thing about football. It’s the ultimate team sport. If one guy is a little bit off, it can be a negative play for everbody else.”

Joe appreciates Freeman’s confidence in his coaching staff. Without that, he and the Bucs are in trouble. They need that. But Joe still thinks it’s fair to question some playcalling over 50 or 60 offensive snaps. The continuous sluggish starts on their own justify that.

The chatter about execution flashed Joe back to the Father Dungy days when “execution” was his buzz word to the media when questioned about his sputtering offense. Execution is vital, but surely not everything.

For fans griping that Team Glazer is cheap — nonsense! — here’s further proof of the error of people’s perceptions:

This morning, for any of the remaining home games (Houston and Carolina) Team Glazer is picking up the Ticketmaster fees. The Dallas game is sold out.

The deadline, however, to take advantage of this deal is noon today.

In some cases, this could knock off the price of a ticket by $25.

Fans need to simply click on this link and enter the fan code “GOBUCS.”

The Dec. 4 game against Carolina is the throwback game honoring Jimmie Giles.

For Joe, one of the greatest things about JoeBucsFan.com is being the boss.

Joe calls the shots and can run this place via his own ethics and values, not by those of corporate journalism suits worried about all kinds of exterior impressions above all else. So unlike newspapers that bury mistakes, ignore mistakes, or run corrections in obscure locations, Joe can correct himself and make amends in bright lights.

Joe needs to do that today.

Yesterday, Joe posted a story for about five hours that mis-quoted Bucs GM Mark Dominik during a radio interview. Joe incorrectly wrote about how Dominik signed Albert Haynesworth and hadn’t yet talked to Haynesworth to get a feel for his attitude and mindset. Frankly, Joe heard it wrong and apologizes.

Joe screwed up. It happens. Joe cranks out about 3,000 posts a year and strives for perfection. Nobody’s perfect.

Unfortunately, this screwup didn’t cast Dominik in the best light, and Joe takes no pleasure giving a man’s reputation a needless shot, no matter how small, as it was in this case. At least that post in question only was seen by about 5,000 readers, but this one will be eyeballed by about 15,000.

Last week when the Bucs lost to the Saints, it seemed when the Bucs needed a stop, the defense couldn’t get off the field.

That’s never a good thing, especially when the team lining up on the other side of the ball is the New Orleans Saints led by Drew Brees.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune believes he knows why. In a TBO Bucs podcast, Cummings explains why the loss of Gerald McCoy has crippled the Bucs defense.

Cummings goes on to suggest GMC is the second-most valuable player on the Bucs defense, second only to Ronde Barber.

It’s a good listen and Joe strongly encourages you to click the link.

Joe apologizes to those who will read this post and end up with a visual of Albert Haynesworth sporting a Speedo and sipping wine on a giant yacht somewhere off Madeira Beach after practice one day.

It was Haynesworth himself who feared such luxury would keep his mind off football back in 2009, when the Bucs hastily courted Haynesworth with bags full of cash when the free agency whistle blew. NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas, of ESPN.com, shares Haynesworth’s story of why he didn’t become a Buccaneer back then. 

“You want to know the truth on that one?’’ Haynesworth said. “It was too pretty, it was too much water, too much sun here. I had just bought a nice, big boat, a good fast boat, and I really thought like if I came here I’d mix my time in with football and boating. When I was at Tennessee, during the offseason then I’d do the boating and do all my toys and playing around and all that. I figured with the water and the sun being here all year round, I was a little afraid of myself on a Tuesday going for a boat ride or something like that. I should have trusted myself and known, but I was kind of scared of that.’’

Now call Joe crazy, but what’s so bad about a boat ride on a day off?

Perhaps it’s what happens on those big ol’ boats when one has tens of millions of dollars. Joe wishes he knew.

The Bucs’ newest big fella was on the practice field today learning and growing, Raheem Morris said, along with acting like a man who “loves football” in position meetings and mingling in a positive fashion with Adrian Clayborn and Brian Price.

Raheem relayed the positive report on Albert Haynesworth at his afternoon news conference, and Raheem laughed when asked about Haynesworth’s fitness.

Reporter: Did you put [Haynesworth] through a conditioning test?”

Raheem Morris: We’re in week 8 of the season. A conditioning test in Tampa would be going out and making it through practice. (Raheem said chuckling in apparent disbelief at the question)

I don’t know if you guys came to work today but it is steaming hot out there. He had a sweatbag on. He worked through it. He took all his reps that we asked him to take. And he came off the field when he had to come off the field and drank water with the rest of his football team.

During the barrage of questions about Haynesworth, Raheem also explained that the defense experienced a “significant dropoff” without Gerald McCoy. And Raheem clarified that he saw Haynesworth as rougly a 30 snap player if he’s is in a full-time role.

Joe’s really looking forward to Sunday. What better test for Haynesworth than arguably the NFL’s best running game.

Raheem Morris said he was trying to light a fire under Geno Hayes with the fourth-year linebacker getting benched against New Orleans. However, Hayes won’t get to come out against Houston on Sunday like a yungry man possessed.

He’ll be a “part-time” linebacker on Sunday, per Morris’ words at his news conference yesterday. The starting lineup at LB won’t change, says Raheem, meaning Adam Hayward, Mason Foster and Quincy Black will get the call.

Joe’s not getting it. If the Bucs have hopes of reviving Hayes and the splash plays he can bring, then why not put the kid in the starting lineup and see if the wake-up call worked?

As Joe wrote Monday, it’s becoming glaringly clear these are Hayes’ last days in Tampa. Raheem has admitted he needs better play from his linebackers, and Foster (rookie) and Black (wealthy) aren’t going anywhere.