Joe’s life isn’t so rough. Like recently, for example, when Joe was lucky enough to have Miss January from the 2012 Hooters Calendar deliver a special video thank you to JoeBucsFan.com readers. (Safe for work, though you might not get any more work done today.) Remember to use code JoeBucsFan for 25 percent off your entire order at HootersCalendar.com.

Joe referenced earlier that Raheem Morris was pleased with the play of his safeties against Minnesota.

Looking at game film, Raheem was fired up that Cody Grimm and Sean Jones didn’t let Adrian Peterson run wild — or at least more wild. Now it seems Raheem is so filled with pride he’s given the duo a nickname, “The Wolfs,” so he proclaimed at his news conference today. (No. Not Wolves. That’s Wolfs.)

“We call those guys back there the Wolfs. It’s kinda like Pulp Fiction. You gotta clean up a mess, you call The Wolf. They sent the Wolf and I was excited. [Grimm] and Sean J last week called in the Wolf,” Raheem said. “We missed some run gaps on Adrian Peterson, missed some tackles. And the Wolfs just didn’t let him break out to 60 yard touchdown runs. They sawed him down in the middle of the field, got him down on the grass and gave us another opportunity to get the ball back for [Freeman]. So I’m excited about my young Wolf [Grimm] back there lurking.”

For those unfamiliar with the 1994 classic Pulp Fiction. Here’s the scene with The Wolf below:

The fate of Tanard Jackson as a Bucs safety and an NFL player currently rests in the hands of NFL strongman Roger Goodell.

Joe knew the moment he posted something about Tanard Jackson early this week it would bring a flurry of responses.

Often, Joe would receive an e-mail or read a comment along the lines of “What’s the update on Tanard Jackson?” Even though there could be no update until the Bucs talented but smoky (allegedly) safety served his one-year sentence for getting popped with the bong (again/allegedly).

Jackson’s detention ends this week. Maybe.

Given the fact Jackson is a repeat offender, whether his suspension is ever lifted depends upon the soul of NFL chieftain Roger Goodell, so writes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

The biggest hurdle, of course, is the approval of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has sole authority to determine if and when a three-time violator of the policy will be reinstated.

Before Jackson can meet with Goodell, though, he must “meet certain clinical requirements” detailed in the substance abuse policy, including earning a recommendation for reinstatement from the NFL’s medical director.

Whether Jackson has earned such a recommendation or even applied for reinstatement is hard to know, because no one associated with the matter has commented on it.

For Bucs fans who were of the mind that Jackson would start for the Bucs against the Dixie Chicks, whoa, Nellie! Better slam on the brakes. Not only does it seem that Jackson being eligible in four days seems like a Hail Mary. Further, who knows if Jackson is remotely in football shape?

Jackson has proved multiple times he cannot be trusted by the Bucs or his teammates. To bank on Jackson being ready to play against the Dixie Chicks seems, at this moment, far-fetched.

Former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) posed an interesting question to Father Dungy during The Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620 today.

Beckles asked Father Dungy whether as the co-godfather of the Bucs defense he cringes watching the current Bucs try to stop the run. 

Dungy said it will the Bucs’ run defense will come in time while the Bucs recover from the Jim Bates Experience. 

“What it is is just experience with the system,” Dungy said.

“…I think they’re re-learning some of those lessons. I really do believe they have the right pieces in place. It’s just going to be a matter of getting down the reads and the reaction. I think the defensive line they’re putting together, they’re going to be a team that stops the run eventually.”

The Bucs have been better against the run in both games this season, though not enough to call them average on rush defense. Raheem Morris himself this week praised Sean Jones and Cody Grimm for containing Adrian Peterson and preventing him from breaking off huge gains.

Joe can only pray that streak continues against the Falcons.

The stats geeks over at BSPN.com have poured over game film and have outed Arrellious Benn as leading the league in dropped passes.

The Bucs haven’t fared well as a team, either.

Tampa Bay’s Arrelious Benn leads the league with three drops. The second-year pro has been targeted nine times and has five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Two other big-name NFC South receivers are among a bunch of receivers who are tied for second with two drops each. They are Atlanta’s Roddy White and Carolina’s Steve Smith. But White and Smith have been targeted a lot more than Benn. White’s been targeted 17 times while Smith is tied for the league lead with 17 targets.

Of course, after two games, clobbering Benn for a few drops is silliness. But Bucs fans surely won’t react kindly to another highly-drafted receiver with a ton of potential that drops balls.

You want to keep ripping Gerald McCoy for his flimsy statistics? Well, McCoy says he hears the cries and doesn’t take them seriously.

Speaking on The Gerald McCoy Show last night on WDAE-AM 620, McCoy said his game is heralded inside One Buc Palace.

“It’s not frustrating because I know internally, as far as the organization goes and my teammates go, and my coaches, owners, GM, you know, when they start complaining, then I’ll have an issue,” McCoy said. “Seriously. Fans, fans want to see what fans want to see. Fans are about numbers. You know, fans, they’re not going to, the outside world, internally, you know, everybody says, ‘Keep disrupting. The numbers will come. You’re doing exactly what we need you to do. Take on those double teams. Penetrate. Make the ball bounce. Disrupt. Do all those things.’

“You know, but the outside world will say, well, you know, they look at numbers. ‘Well he did this. They look at numbers. He had this many. Had that many. Why doesn’t he have this? Why doesn’t he have that?’ Well, you know, I think perhaps our head coach said it best, ‘Stats are for losers.’

“Some stats are for losers. But, you know, until I start hearing stuff from the guys upstairs and my teammates, then that’s when I’ll start getting worried. But until then, I’m just going to keep doing exactly what my team asks me to do and playing hard.”

The show then went to a commercial, but before the break McCoy asked host Dave Moore to remind him to add to his comments when they returned.

“Even at OU, the most sack I ever had in a season was 6 1/2. But I always had the quarterback running. I always had the running backs bouncing. I was always in the backfield. That’s what I did, and that’s what the Bucs drafted me on,” McCoy said. “You know, the Bucs didn’t draft me because in college I had 15 sacks a season. You know, I’m working to get to double digits. Don’t get me wrong. That’s exactly what I’m working to get. But I’m playing my game. That’s how I play. That’s what they brought me here to do.”

This past weekend, Joe shared various takes from ex-players and media on McCoy’s public comments.

Again, Joe’s got no problem with how McCoy expresses himself — and McCoy has played decent football this season. But Joe would advise McCoy not to talk about how fans think. That’s unlikely to have a happy ending.

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also brings you THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t.

Every once in a while, everyone feels the urge to jump ship. Yes, even The Optimist.

Ask yourself honestly, did you on Sunday?

You watched a slow backup running back take a handoff and run around the left side of the field, as Ronde Barber missed, as Quincy Black took the worst possible angle, Tim Crowder jogged, and as Cody Grimm appeared to run hopelessly nowhere near him, all the while Toby Gerhart gained 31 yards.

Did you feel like going overboard then?

How about when Donovan McNabb made you think you were watching Randall Cunningham as he ran around the end and tiptoed along the sideline getting a first down when it was 3rd- and-long. All the while Brian Price was hobbling along.

Did the thought cross your mind to look for the nearest life preserver?

Maybe when you saw any of the many Quincy Black whiffs, or whoops attempted tackles?

Because it’s ok…The Optimist did. I had enough. I thought back to a few other times I had to consider the benefits of being a Bucs fan. Halftime 1983, the Bucs were 0-4, but they lost their games by  11, 7, 3 and 6 points, respectively. So of course I’m going to watch the Bucs play at Green Bay. It was Packers 49, Bucs 7 — at halftime!

In 1985, the Bucs just won their first game of the year, they were 1-9,  but being a mini Optimist back then, I always watched the Bucs. They went up on the favored Jets 14-0 in the first quarter. OH! Lookout, the Bucs are back! The Jets led at the half 41-21.

Orange Man Overboard!

Listen, it happens. After everything I went through in the 80s and early 90’s, the Bucs were even THINKING about moving out of town?  That was going to be Hugh Culverhouses legacy? Cheapness? Followed by abandonment?!?

Sometimes, especially when hopes are inflated a little higher than they should be, the let-down is just too much to handle. But is it really jumping ship when you know someone is going to come swimming after you? Is it really all that bad to curse out Buccaneers when you know the players are going to come to life in the second half? 

Trust me, even the Bucs know they let down themselves, their fans, and relatives, and everyone who has anything vested when they under perform.

It’s the same thing as the team did last year, so you have to look for the common denominator; youth. Raheem Morris coined the phrase  ‘Youngry’…but this is a team that gets hungry only once it’s able to get over its own poor play. They need to learn how to move on  past a bad play. Arrelious Benn dropped a ball and was down all over  himself. One has to wonder how many other Bucs players are doing the  same thing,
wallowing in their despair over a poor play. Maybe  instead of Youngry, the word should be You-gretful! Or You-covery!

If that’s the case, then we are going to have to get used to this brand of football, because until the Bucs get more experienced, they’ll give
us all the first half springboard material we need to get ourselves in trouble.

Until then, we must watch Mason Foster grow before our eyes, Adrian Clayborn, too.  And maybe after a year to think about it, Tanard Jackson has matured enough.

Lets hope so, jumping ship can be quite painful! But it’s not permanent.

Joe’s a bit surprised to be getting emails asking whether Sunday’s huge Bucs-Falcons game will be blacked out from television in the Orlando and Tampa Bay markets.

Yes, the game won’t be on TV. It’s just not happening. Stop praying. It’s not in Team Glazer’s gameplan to eat 10,000+ unsold tickets every week.

As for the Bucs’ return to Monday Night Football in 12 days against the Colts. That game is not sold out and hopes for that game were dealt a blow when it became obvious that Peyton Manning will not play.

Regardless, the Monday night game will sell a load of tickets and Joe hopes Team Glazer sees the value in forking over cash to buy up unsold seats and get that game on TV.

Joe’s racked his brain to find a reason why it wouldn’t benefit the Bucs — longterm and short-term — to have the team seen on Monday Night Football by the local television audience. Joe can’t think of one.

Joe’s proud media partners at WTSP-TV, Channel 10 are investigating fundraising practices by a local charity affiliated with former Bucs defensive end Stylez White.

"Maybe being your best self is just sticking to our core beliefs, Olie."

The persistent question/concern swirling around the Bucs is, of course, the team reaching new depths when it comes to horrendous starts to games.

There’s no debate that it’s a huge problem, and not some sick string of bad luck brought on by black magic and other sinister forces.

Former Bucs DE Steve White believes there could be a very simple fix. Speaking on Two-Hand Touch on WQYK-AM 1010 last night, White said that would be sticking to what works on offense over the prevalent trickery-of-the-week playcalling seen in the first half against Minnesota.

“In the first half we tried to trick them for whatever reason,” White said. We “tailor our gameplan off their tendencies instead of doing what we do best.”

“The only thing we did in the second half was run the basic plays that we’re good at, isos, counters, power-O, mix it in with some play-action and some bootlegs and that’s it. That play sheet was short. … It’s like they’re saying let’s grab 75 percent of the stuff we have on this play sheet and run the stuff that we do well, and whaddya know.”

“Starting fast will take care of itself because we’re doing what we are used to doing; we’re doing what we do best. Instead of tailoring our gameplan for what the other team is doing, let’s make them adjust to us. And that would be my philosophy. I  know it’s unheard of to stick to your own guns and not try to be a guru and come up with these plays specifically for other teams. But I really think that’s the best formula for winning for us.”

In addition to the Bucs’ core plays, White said he’d like to see the Bucs take more homerun shots for Arrelious Benn who “seems to be able to get by corners whenever he wants to.”

Joe’s all for a more simplistic approach to open games. Raheem Morris’ stated goal is for the team to play “fast, hard, smart, and consistent.” And it’s way easier to do that when you run your core offense.

If not for the late-game heroics of the Bucs, there is no telling how many losses the team would have racked up.

But Josh Freeman has ice in his veins and a contagious virus amid his body. It’s a good virus as the Bucs freely admit his vibes spread through the team in the fourth quarter.

“He looked me right in the face, ‘We got this; we’re okay,’ ” Morris said. “I’m looking at my quarterback’s mouth bleeding; it’s kind of a situation you don’t want to look at too often. He got things rolling for us and able to come back in the fourth quarter. It’s becoming a signature move for him.”

Freeman has eight comeback wins in three seasons, which has the Bucs (1-1) feeling good heading to Sunday’s showdown with NFC South rival Atlanta (1-1) at Raymond James Stadium. Considering Morris felt his team “blinked” in a Week 1 loss to Detroit, saying even Freeman was “rattled,” the Bucs were the complete opposite in Minneapolis, with the third-year quarterback setting the tone.

“He’s very poised at any moment — he doesn’t really fear any situation,” defensive end Michael Bennett said. “A quarterback like that, a leader like that, you’ve got to feel that vibe off him where you can’t really be scared of any situation, just like him. … It’s what great leadership does. He’s such a great leader, when he’s in a moment where everybody else is frightful, he’s just like, ‘This is my time to shine.’ That’s what makes him so good.”

It’s great to know that Freeman just isn’t rattled when the heat is turned up and plays need to be made. Did Trent Dilfer every have a fourth-quarterback comeback for the Bucs? Joe cannot remember one. Yet Freeman barely into this second full season as the Bucs starter already has eight.

As Joe suggested earlier, of course, the Bucs must do something to render their first half invisibility a thing of the past. It simply isn’t fair to Freeman — or the team as a whole — to expect Freeman to bail the Bucs out time and again.

"Man, all of these stinking comebacks I have to drum up are making me feel as old as you McNabb."

There’s no way to sugarcoat this: The Bucs thus far in the 2011 season have played awful in the first half.

Sadly, this is not a revelation. It’s a disturbing pattern the Bucs have displayed during the Raheem Morris era. Hence, Josh Freeman’s celebrated eight comebacks.

It seems eye-RAH Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune is willing to finger the defense for these first-half ills.

The Lions and Vikings each had their way offensively with the Bucs in the opening half the past two weeks, and as much as Morris appreciates Sunday’s stunning 24-20 comeback win at Minnesota, he wouldn’t mind a laugher once in a while.

“We don’t have to win every game like that,” Morris said with a laugh Monday. “Let’s go win some games in more convincing fashion, just for the head coach’s health.”

While Tampa Bay’s offense hasn’t scored more than seven points in 56 consecutive opening quarters, it is the porous first-half defense that looms as a major issue with the high-powered Falcons coming to town.

While Kaufman’s facts are accurate, Joe is of the mind to put the heat on the offense. Think about it: If the offense is moving the ball, the defense can’t be on the field. So if the offense is doing it’s job, it’s hard to blame the defense.

In short, Joe firmly believes the entire organization must do a thorough evaluation of how the team prepares each week for game day. If need be, have a few ex-coaches come in and watch practice and unit film study sessions and solicit their feedback. Guys like Dan Reeves or even Brian Billick. A fresh perspective should always be welcome and a different set of eyes may catch something the organization is not noticing.

The fact opponents have their way with the Bucs each first half, only to see the Bucs spring from a cocoon and look like a playoff team in the second half tells Joe preparation in the days leading to a game is simply awry.

Have to give Morris credit for righting the ship week after week in the second half. He’s has had a knack for doing this since he first took over as the Bucs head coach.

It is the first half, however, where the entire coaching staff is failing.

Looking at the 2011 schedule, Donald Penn couldn’t afford to start slow. His assignments the first four weeks? Kyle Vanden Bosch, Jared Allen, John Abraham and Dwight Freeney.

That’s a lot of Pro Bowls.

Speaking last night on Total Access on WDAE-AM 620, Penn said he’s been working hard in the classroom to prepare and this week’s challenge against Atlanta is nothing like what he faced in Minnesota.

“I had good luck with [Abraham] last year. … He’s a totally different player than Jared Allen,” Penn said. “Jared Allen is nowhere near as fast or gets off the ball as quick as John Abraham.

“Jared Allen doesn’t have the explosiveness of John Abraham. Jared Allen is a great defensive end with using his hands and outsmarting an offensive tackle and using his inside moves and stuff like that. It’s a totally different guy. I’ve got to worry more about the power move and more about the spin and his speed. It’s totally different, but I’ll be ready for it.”

Joe thinks Penn, as usual, has fared pretty darn well through his first two tests of the 2011 season. He wasn’t going to pitch a shutout against those four guys, and Allen’s sack on the opening play Sunday was because Josh Freeman held the ball too long.

The last thing Joe’s worried about for Sunday against Atlanta is the Bucs’ offensive line. It’s the defensive line that gives Joe night sweats. Those guys are going to have win a greater share of 1-0n-1 battles. The first sack of the season from one of those guys would be nice, too.

It seems the Bucs coaching staff felt compelled to light a blowtorch under the ass of LeGarrette Blount during the Bucs’ heinous first half against Minnesota.

Word of blasting Blount for his early performance was delivered by Raheem Morris during The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday. A caller named Zito asked Raheem whether a halftime adjustment was made to get Blount to not be “skittish in the backfield,” as the caller perceived him to be in the first half.

Here’s Raheem’s verbatim response:

“That’s funny, Zito. We actually talked about it before we got to halftime. [Blount] was in the backfield and he was dancing around a little bit, didn’t hit the hole. You’re absolutely correct,” Raheem said.

“My running back coach Steve Logan grabbed a picture and grabbed LeGarrette Blount and he went through a nice dissertation using all proper language on how he should hit the hole. And I think Blount got the message as he called over his coordinator Greg Olson. And you seen the response yesterday in that game, and how he was supposed to do it and how we want him to do it every single time. And if we got to do that every three snaps, we will.

“Blount’s a guy that can absolutely change games. He’s definitely one of the guys we got to lean on in order to able to do what we want to do on offense. And once he got going, the offense got going. And once he got going, the defense got going because we were on the sidelines drinking Gatorade watching him run.”

Joe loves how candid Raheem can be. He might be the most candid coach in the league.

Sometimes it gets lost that Blount is still a young player who was hardly a polished superstar coming out of college. The player Blount is now, and his enormous growth potential, should have every Bucs fan excited.

It’s safe to say Raheem Morris and Shaun King are on different pages when it comes to Earnest Graham.

This afternoon, King said he doesn’t want to see Graham on third down, but hours later on The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620, Raheem called Graham a big-time stud.

“Earnest Graham, just to touch on him again, he is situational football at its finest,” Graham said. “You know, he knows situations. He knows what he wants to do. He’s got the trust factor to go out there and execute anything in the gameplan. He’s a phenomenal football player and I’m glad we have him.”

For a while during the preseason, Joe thought Raheem was falling deep into Chucky mode, meaning he loved everyone on his roster and everything about said players. But Raheem snapped out of that and back into his trademark real-talk mode after opening day. (Thank goodness.) So it’s clear he’s high on Graham and isn’t just blowing smoke.

Joe knows the Bucs aren’t going to faze out Graham anytime soon. And they shouldn’t, especially if they’re going to rightfully pound LeGarrette Blount early and often.

Anwar Richardson and Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune discuss the Bucs’ inability to play well in the first half in this TBO.com video.

Joe loves to read papers from opponents’ towns to get a vibe on how the other side views games.

By reading between the lines from a column typed by Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Bucs beat the Vikings because the Bucs punched the Vikings in the mouth and the Vikings responded by curling up in a fetal position.

Here’s the other shocker: The Vikings didn’t commit a turnover Sunday. They did have a couple of bad penalties, but overall they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot. Their collapse came totally as a result of their deteriorating play. They didn’t give Tampa Bay anything. The Bucs just took it.

“They were getting pressure up front. We basically just made a couple of adjustments,” Freeman said. Where were the Vikings’ counter-adjustments? The Bucs went into a no-huddle offense and the Vikings’ defense acted as if a spaceship had just landed at midfield. I thought they all were going to run to the sideline to ask for special suits to protect them against radioactivity.

The best analysis I heard came from Allen: “They kicked the crap out of us in the second half.”

The Bucs did it with a no-huddle. They did it by pounding LeGarrette Blount. They did it by Davin Joseph, Jeremy Trueblood and Erik Lorig bruising the Vikings defense so much they didn’t want to attempt a tackle.

Veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton discusses the Bucs win over the Vikings with colleague Tom Jones in this St. Petersburg Times video.

Joe’s quite confident the Ted Larsen era officially has ended, at least until Jeff Faine gets hurt.

Back to his 2009 home at left guard, Jeremy Zuttah started against Minnesota and was a huge factor in the revived running game. Joe’s watched the game again, and Zuttah surely was no liability out there was a big part of several key plays, including a block on LeGarrette Blount’s game-winning score.

Raheem Morris jumped head first on the Zuttah love train at his Monday news conference.

“Zuttah really stood out. You know, he was a game-changer. You know, he went up there in the run game and played really physical and played tough, played nasty,” Raheem said. “He had the one penalty, the holding. You just can’t throw a guy to the ground. But you got to like the physicality of Zuttah going up there and throwing a guy to the ground. It’s illegal, but you’ve got to like his effort, everything he gave us in the run game, everything he gave us in pass pro. I don’t think he gave up a quarterback hit or quarterback pressure or anything of that nature. He went out and played well, played nasty, played physical. Those guys up front played like a core. I like that when they do that.”

Now the Bucs truly have a veteran offensive line that showed it can be dominant, as it was in the second half yesterday.

It’s time the Bucs do what they were built to do in 2010. Pound LeGarrette Blount and let Josh Freeman work off all the glory that should bring.

Joe never thought he’d hear someone call for Kregg Lumpkin to hit the field, but former Bucs quarterback Shaun King says he wouldn’t mind that happening if it means fewer reps for Earnest Graham.

Speaking today on The King David Show on WQYK-AM 1010, King said “please don’t put Earnest Graham on the field anymore” on third down.

King says Graham is a prime example of the Bucs’ shortage of explosive playmakers.

“When you run that check-down, you need someone that can make you miss,” King said.

King went on to say he’d be more than happy to give Lumpkin his looks if the Bucs aren’t going to use LeGarrette Blount on third down.

Joe’s not that far down on Graham, but Joe is concerned about his fumbling, as Joe referenced yesterday. And, of course, Graham will not be confused with Saints playmaker Darren Sproles anytime soon. 

Many fans, including Joe, hoped the Bucs would go after a scatback/change-of-pace type in the offseason — draft or free agency — and re-sign Cadillac Williams. Time will tell if those are important missing pieces.

Chip Scoggins, Mark Craig and Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune have some interesting takes on why the Bucs roared back to beat the Vikings in this Star-Tribune video.

So two games into the season the Bucs defense isn’t exactly reminding anyone of the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers much less the 2002 Bucs.

Two weeks ago Matthew Stafford sliced up the Bucs defense like a butcher at Publix and yesterday Adrian Peterson, for one half, looked as though he was playing against a college team.

Granted, the Bucs were able to right the ship in the second half of both games, which has been a trademark of the squad under Raheem Morris. But stopping a team in the first half would sure be nice once in a while.

Enter Tanard Jackson, perhaps. The gifted Bucs safety, who can’t seem to put the bong down (allegedly) despite sacrificing tens of millions of dollars, is serving a one-year suspension for getting busted a fourth time for a banned substance (under the old CBA the NFL did nothing to punish a player for a first offense, other than to warn the player). Jackson’s sentence ends this week.

This does not mean Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik won’t cut Jackson. Let’s be blunt: It’s hard to count on a guy who thinks so much of his teammates that he risked being suspended three times (that we know of). “Dependable” and “Tanard Jackson” do not belong in the same sentence.

But former Pewter Report Bucs beat writer Charlie Campbell, who continues to work in football and monitors the Bucs closely, Twittered that he believes not only will Dominik keep Jackson, Campbell is of the mind that Morris should start Jackson in place of Cody Grimm in due time.

@DraftCampbell: Bucs safety Cody Grimm has been struggling all year. If Tanard Jackson gets reinstated, its a matter of time before the Bucs start him.

It’s an interesting thought. Now the first question Joe would ask is whether Jackson is physically fit enough to start? He hasn’t practiced with the team in a year, not counting Josh Freeman’s minicamp in Bradenton this summer.

Joe would be shocked if Jackson started against the Falcons, the Bucs next opponent. Jackson first must be reinstated by the NFL. But Joe could perhaps see Jackson getting some reps.

Whatever it takes to get the Bucs to play some defense in a first half of games, Joe will accept right now.