The Bucs, not satisfied standing pat, decided to try to beef up their interior defensive line as they signed Matthew Masifilo to the 53-man roster today.

Previously, Masifilo was on San Francisco’s practice squad. He was signed by the Niners as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford this spring. He has been on the Niners practice squad all season.

In the preseason, Masifilo had seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

The way Bucs running back Doug Martin has burst onto the scene in recent weeks has Bucs fans giddy with excitement, not just the present but what the future holds for the Bucs’ running game.

Bucs fans are so happy with Martin, they are launching a futile effort, trying to label Martin with gloss other than the outstanding moniker Martin carried with him from college, “The Muscle Hamster.”

(Doug, embrace it, man. It has caught the nation. You can make loads of cash off this. Imagine the gear you could sell. Hamster T-shirts, hamster headgear, hamster coolies, hamster figurines. The list is endless.)

Joe isn’t quite ready to label Martin the best in the NFL, but he’s damned close. Of course, Adrian Peterson lead the NFL in rushing and Martin is fifth.

This does not matter to former Bucs stud, all-around good guy and fan favorite Earnest Graham. The former Bucs all-purpose running back took to Twitter and proclaimed Martin to be the NFL’s best.

@EarnestGraham: There is one RB in the league that is in better shape than Adrian Peterson…..That is Doug Martin. His conditioning is second to none.

This is interesting to Joe, the conditioning. Now, Peterson is famous for his conditioning but if the Bucs are going to make a run at the postseason, they will need Martin at full speed.

Sooner or later, Martin (and Lavonte David and Mark Barron) are going to hit that rookie wall. Even Bucs coach Greg Schiano has mentioned he is monitoring Martin for this as this is the time of the year the wall hits.

Schiano said part of being able to deal with that wall is conditioning. If, what Graham writes, is true about Martin, it will go a long way to help Martin manage both the mental and physical fatigue that comes along with that nasty wall.

Does any Bucs fan feel like a loss is coming in Carolina on Sunday?

Joe doesn’t know one, other than Josh Freeman-basher Boomer Esiason calling a Panthers upset on CBS Radio this week. And that fact alone is evidence just how far the Bucs have come.

A year removed from a total collapse fans expect a third consecutive road win against a division rival. Even Ronde Barber says he’s a total believer.

“Here we are three weeks in a row feeling pretty good about ourselves. It’s one of those things where a team starts getting some confidence and, you know, you feel like you’re going to win every week,” Barber said on the Buccaneers Radio Network. “I don’t know if you ask everyone else that they believe that, but for me these past couple of weeks have really felt like this is the week where we’re going to just keep rolling regardless of what happens in the game. And that was the really the case [against the Chargers.]”

Joe has to imagine Barber has plenty of equally confident company in the locker room.

The Bucs don’t yet have a championship swagger about them on the field like the glory-years teams did. Maybe a great team doesn’t need one. But Joe suspects the Bucs just might start showing some of that swagger in Carolina.

Joe’s not big on most postseason awards, but Joe knows Lavonte David has to be in contention for something as the tackling machine on the Bucs’ top-ranked run defense.

David is fifth in the NFL in tackles (81), pretty amazing for a rookie. But then it feels a little less special because rookie Luke Kuechly of Carolina is third in the league with 87 tackles. Kuechly was the can’t-miss 21-year-old middle linebacker in the NFL draft out of Boston College. He started the season as an outside linebacker but has gone wild since moving to the middle of the Panthers defense.

Speaking on 98.7 FM yesterday, Charlotte Observer Panthers beat writer Joe Person was gushing about Kuechly but said he does have a weakness.

“He’s averaging 15 tackles a game since taking over the middle for Jon Beason. He doesn’t miss tackles,” Person said.

Kuechly has proven “vulnerable to play-action,” Person said, and has yet to show the same prowess in coverage has he has in other phases of the game.

Joe found this to be an interesting nugget, and one that leads Joe to believe the Bucs will try to exploit Kuechly over the middle early and keep him playing a little less downhill.

Definitely something to watch for on Sunday.

Little used Arrelious Benn (4 catches/3 Benn’d arounds) practiced without limitation all week and should be raring to go on Sunday in Charlotte after missing last week’s game with a bum shoulder.

But will Benn be used?

Benn was the primary kickoff returner before the Bucs-Chargers game, and he had been in the role since Michael Smith was buried on the bench after debuting as kick returner on opening day. Benn has one or two strong returns out of 13, and it seems Greg Schiano might have moved on from Benn in that role.

After practice today, the leader of the New Schiano Order appeared inclined to keep new cornerback LeQuan Lewis in that role. Lewis wasn’t good against the Chargers — he fumbled a return, recovered, and then took it to the 8 yard line.

“I’m not sure change is the answer. Sometimes as a coach you want him to have a second chance,” Schiano said while not commiting to Lewis in the role.

Schiano mentioned Lewis, Benn, Tiquan Underwood and WR Chris Owusu as guys that could return kicks. Previously, Schiano talked about Roscoe Parrish possibly expanding his punt returner role.

At this point, Joe just hopes nobody fumbles so the high-powered Bucs offense can get on the field.

Maybe next year one of the cornerbacks the Bucs’ draft will be able to return kicks.

Party and relax on ESPN AT SEA with their great “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013. Super Bowl time is always a great time for a cruise.

All kinds of former NFL greats are accessible on the cruises, as well as stars from the soccer world, cruise cheerleaders and much more. There are so many options to choose, plus parties, and a discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers. Click below to sniff all the deals and check out the Royal Caribbean ships.

Lavonte David and his tackles for a loss greatly help the Bucs’ struggling pass defense.

When Bucs coach Greg Schiano was hired as to take over the Pewter Pirates, he went on SiriusXM NFL Radio and was appalled at the Bucs rush defense and said giving up on running plays was simply “unacceptable.”

So Schiano jumped in the defensive pool with both feet to turn around the Bucs rush defense, and he has. The Bucs have gone virtually not from worst to first, but from grotesque to envious.

Now some have suggested that the attention to detail on the run has come at the expense of the pass defense, which has been woeful for the Bucs. However, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune dug up a stat that begs to differ.

@IKaufmanTBO: When Buc opponents face 3rd-and-11 or longer, they have converted only 3-of-34 opportunities. That’s why all those tackles for loss are key

It’s an interesting point. Now, sure, if you get a tackle for a loss it stunts a drive by the offense. That goes without saying. It’s almost like a penalty.

But the figure Kaufman offers is striking, and considering it deals with one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, it’s more striking to Joe.

Let’s not pretend otherwise: the pass defense has cost the Bucs at least two wins, likely three wins and may just be the difference in a playoff appearance or the Bucs watching the playoffs on TV.

If an offense struggles that badly against a pass-awful defense, then Joe can see why Schiano is so adamant that the Bucs focus on choking opponents’ run games.

Watch Herm Edwards and an ESPN roundtable crew take themselves far too seriously in discussing who they prefer, Josh Freeman or Cam Newton.

Whoa! It’s the “Car Of The Weekend” from Joe’s friends at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa.

Drop in for a free digital alignment check and/or top flight service and take a look at this beauty.

CAR OF THE WEEKEND – SK#145810K 
2004 Mercedes-Benz $20,990, Convertible, Leather, Low Miles 

“Jaws,” Ron Jaworski of ESPN, goes X’s and O’s and details why Josh Freeman is lighting up NFL defenses this season in this ESPN video.

The Bucs’ secondary has been roasted and basted like a Thanksgiving turkey this season. There is no denying the numbers and the painful viewing.

The Bucs pass rush isn’t as ugly as in past years. However, it’s surely average at best by NFL standards. The defensive line is sack-challenged again, and Bucs blitzes only have had modest success.

But despite the woes in pass defense, defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan insists the Bucs have strong pass rushers and that the inconsistent secondary has the ability.

“I think our front, for the most part, does a great job of pushing the pocket. It’s not like we’re getting stonewalled and we’re not advancing the quarterback. That’s happening,” Sheridan said yesterday. “You know, we may not have sack numbers to prove that, but we have quality pass rushers, even if we just rush four guys. And those guys are getting to the quarterback.”

As for the defensive backs, Sheridan said successes in the secondary leave him confident moving forward. 

“I’ve seen our back end guys play good coverage enough I know they can do it,” Sheridan said.

Joe appreciates the optimism, but Joe is no believer in the pass defense.

Joe isn’t seeing how the Bucs are going to get much more out of two first-time safeties, banged up Eric Wright, E.J. Biggers and the rest of the group. These guys already are coming up with big plays game after game, and it’s still not enough to avoid getting grilled for huge yardage.

Joe could see the pass rush improve, as DaQuan Bowers gets in top form, and Gerald McCoy’s young motor stands out as the march for the playoffs presses on.

Here are the regions of the nation where local FOX affiliates will broadcast the Bucs-Panthers game. Looks like Fort Myers and Gainesville gets the Bucs this week but Tallahassee is out of luck. Map courtesy of the506.com.

You really don’t want to miss this. Joe had so much fun with the Kilt girls during the Bucs’ Thursday Night Football appearance, it was remarkable. This time will be even more fun.

Joe’s got plenty of jerseys and hats to give away, and the Kilt’s food is awesome. Click through above or below to learn more.

Joe really got a kick out of Panthers head coach Ron Rivera moaning in this Charlotte Observer video about his “decimated” offensive line and how hard it is to use a backup center.

Boo, hoo, hoo. What a softy. The Bucs are racking up huge numbers with a troop of reserves on their offensive line.

Joe found one stat revealed in the video rather interesting; the Panthers lead the NFL in yards-per-play on first down. For Joe, that illustrates how inconsistent Cam Newton has played along with the entire Panthers offense, which is among the worst in the NFL (18.1 points per game).

On paper, there’s really no reason the Bucs should lose in Carolina on Sunday.

While the (physical) hits keep on coming, the Bucs somehow, someway find ways to plug the holes.

Much has been written about the offensive line, with only Donald Penn remaining in his original spot due to the line being decimated by injuries. And it may get worse with Jamon Meredith’s bum left ankle.

But not a whole lot has been written about the defensive line. Adrian Clayborn was lost earlier in the season with a blown knee and Da’Quan Bowers has had to rally from his Achilles tear as a result. Fellow defensive end Michael Bennett has had to battle through injuries himself.

This created an opportunity for Daniel Te’o-Nesheim to step in, and of late, he has handled himself quite well on the field. So much so that the football thinktank of ProFootballFocus.com awarded Te’o-Nesheim as an unsung hero.

Against the run he had a Run Stop Percentage of 9.5%, with two of his three solo tackles resulting in defensive stops. That paled in comparison to the damage he did as a pass rusher, however. With all 34 of his pass rushes coming from the right, Te’o-Nesheim registered a sack and seven hurries on Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. That gave him a Pass Rushing Productivity Rating of 18.4, the second-highest among 4-3 defensive ends in Week 10. His lone sack of the game came on 1st-and-10 with 3:53 left in the game, with the Buccaneers leading by 7. Beating left tackle Michael Harris to the inside, he was able to get to Rivers quickly and record the sack for a loss of 10 yards.

Now Joe has never played in the NFL much less coached in it. The closest Joe has sniffed the NFL was being coached in high school by a guy who just retired from the NFL, and Joe to this day is blown away by how much his old coach knew about football (his football bloodlines traced through John Madden, Tom Landry, Gene Stallings and indirectly, Bear Bryant).

Given that so many Bucs have come out of obscurity to fill holes caused be injuries and played well tells Joe that these guys are simply coached up. Albeit from a very different level of football, Joe has experienced this first-hand.

How many teams have had this many guys fill in for injured starters, and yet there has been little to no dropoff of play? That tells Joe the reserves (as well as the starters) are getting coached up big time.

How refreshing is that?

This Boston Herald story claims it was Bill Belicheat who initiated the call to trade for Aqib Talib at the 11th hour.

For those who want to see Talib run around at his first Patriots practice, the video below is for you. In it a Herald reporter refers to Talib as the Patriots “big gun” … not the best word choices.

Earlier this week, Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman appeared on the Mike and Brady Hoke Show broadcast nationally each morning by the four-letter network.

When asked, in so many words, why the Bucs are succeeding of late rather than tanking it last year, Freeman all but said the team is playing p!ssed off.

If the Bucs make it to the playoffs, Freeman said the turning point of the season was the very first practice after the bye week.

“Any time guys get a new coach and he preaches his philosophy, there are going to be guys in camp going, ‘Is this really going to work? Is this what we have to do?’ Looking back, going into that bye, it came just at the right time. New regime, new coach, a lot new faces and you drop three straight. Going into that bye, I remember, ‘We better come back loaded and ready to go.’ and guys were all on deck and when we got back to work, we snapped right into it. We threw pads on the first day after a four-day break. Guys were flying around getting after it. It was a very enthusiastic practice. Where in the past, ‘Man, we are in pads?’ Guys would be hesitant to go back at practice like that.

“I think that day set the tone. Guys stepped up and said, ‘This is going to be who we are. We are going to be a team where we do our job and we are going to prepare as well as we can.’”

Later, Mike and Brady Hoke asked Freeman what it is like to play for such a drill sergeant like Bucs coach Greg Schino and Freeman laughed, suggesting Schiano is not like the image many portray him to be.

“Honestly, it is great [playing for Schiano]. It really is. When that poll came out [where NFL players voted Schiano the coach players least wanted to play for], we had a captains meeting the next day and we all thought it was hilarious. He has that reputation but if you look back, you look at his teams at Rutgers, he got his players to play to their ability. They battled.

“He is an awesome coach. He lays out the plan to succeed, the steps, the goals and what to expect, it’s simple. He lays it all out and the coaches say, point blank, ‘We expect you to give your very best on each and every snap and every rep.’ Guys have taken that personally. And you develop a culture that, rather than guys worried about being tired and ‘Man, coach is too hard on us,’ we are all trying to one up each other in each snap and each practice and keep pushing and you see the improvement. Then, you see the growth and the development of the team from a skill standpoint, from a mental standpoint, from a physical standpoint. Yeah, we lost some close ones, but that is in the past. It’s all about the next game.“

Is there any wonder why such me-first clowns like [currently unemployed] Kellen Winslow, Jr. and Sir SmokeALot Tanard Jackson and reality TV star wannabe Dezmon Briscoe were run out of town by Schiano? Joe smelled that transaction coming months ago, and no, it was not the smoke coming from Jackson’s bong (allegedly). These guys were cancers!

It’s the New Schiano Order. And we are currently seeing the results of a culture change at One Buc Palace. That change is the win-loss column and a postseason run.

To listen to the full interview Freeman had with Mike and Brady Hoke, click here.

A renowned scrambling quarterback from Buccaneers days gone by, Shaun King, one of three QBs to lead Tampa Bay to the NFC Championship game, likes what he’s seeing from Josh Freeman’s feet.

Speaking on the Ron and Ian show today on WDAE-AM 620, King said a deeper look at Freeman’s recent scrambling reveals a quarterback that his comfortable and confident.

“What the tells me is he’s becoming better acclimated with that offensive system. For a guy to get back and go first read, second read, third read and then automatically run, that means he’s really in tune with what they’re doing offensively,” King said. “Josh is improving at that.”

King said Freeman and his feet should be able to evolve into a third-down weapon in situations such as 3rd-and-4 and 3rd-and-5 when safeties might be glued in coverage to Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson. A couple of first downs a game in those situations, King says, could become another deadly weapon in the Bucs arsenal, though King  wants to see Freeman slide faster to stay safe.

Of all the weapons at Freeman’s disposal, it’s refreshing and exciting to hear about his running ability discussed as a potential emerging force as the Bucs attempt a run at the playoffs. Freeman was the second leading QB rusher in the NFL in 2010. So Joe’s confident he can make good decisions on the move.

You can catch the whole King interview below.

Party and relax on ESPN AT SEA with their great “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013. Super Bowl time is always a great time for a football cruise.

All kinds of former NFL greats are accessible on the cruises, as well as stars from the soccer world, cruise cheerleaders and much more. There are so many options to choose, plus parties, and a discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers. Click below to sniff all the deals and check out the Royal Caribbean ships.

In this SI.com video, host Maggie Gray asks coffee-slurping, popcorn-munching, scone-loathing, Marriott-sleeping, cricket-watching, craft beer-guzzling, oatmeal-loving, coffee-slurping Peter King what teams have been rebuilt the best this season.  King gushes unabashedly about the job Bucs coach Greg Schiano has done in turning around the Bucs and his ability to lean on Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik for sage advice.