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.

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.

Is former Rams guard Roger Allen the next man up?

The leader of the New Schiano Order gave Bucs fans little hope today that Tampa Bay won’t resort to a third-string right guard for Sunday’s game against Carolina.

Jamon Meredith, Davin Joseph’s capable replacement, had his ankle injured late in practice yesterday, Schiano revealed today.

Schiano said team staff is “aggressively treating” Meredith and gave no hint as to who could replace him. Guard Roger Allen, who signed with Tampa Bay two weeks ago and last saw regular-season action for the 2009 Rams, is the official depth-chart backup to Meredith.

Gulp!

Raheem Morris once set out to sell the world that his team was the best in the NFC. “Yeah, I said it,” continued the worst defensive coordinator in Bucs history.

Well, it seems Greg Schiano will make no such comments unless he reaches the Super Bowl. Per Donald Penn, the leader of the New Schiano Order went out of his way to tell his team before the Chargers game, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”

Penn’s said Schiano’s words were especially directed at the offensive line after its record-setting and eye-opening performance in Oakland. “It don’t mean nothing if we came out [against San Diego] and lay an egg,” Penn told Joe of Schiano’s message.

The head coach has said many times that he doesn’t really evaluate his team’s performance as a whole during a season. Joe suspects Schiano won’t waver unless the Bucs capture the NFC crown.

“That’s one thing coach is on us about, not ever looking ahead,’ Penn said. “When you start looking ahead, you can get the slightest bit complacent. We’re not going to do that.”

Yes, Bucs linebacker Quincy Black is gone for the season. The maligned outside linebacker’s improved play is one reason why the Bucs’ rush defense has gone from the absolute worst to the best in the league in less than a year.

Black won’t see the field again for the Bucs in 2012, as he perhaps has major nerve damage. The extent will not be known until a battery of additional tests are completed in a few weeks.

Bucs coach Greg Schiano discussed Black’s condition and future at length yesterday at One Buc Palace.

“He’s down as you can imagine, he is a professional. I have visited with him every day and he knows what is in front of him now, he knows he has to get better and get well and get him back there.

“The wait-and-see was to get more information. As it turns out, we will wait two or three more weeks to do another test because they say with the swelling, you can’t see what you need to see. What Quincy has is not a normal thing; you have to see a specialist for what he has. Our doctors have been awesome, on the phone all over the world talking to people, finding out what is the best course of action and that’s when we learned about the two or three weeks [to wait] after talking with all those doctors, they told us, it is not even a consideration [to play] for this year.

“I know [Bucs cornerback E.J.] Biggers had something similar, I’m not a doctor but it sounds similar. They are not even sure what is going to happen yet. Probably in a few weeks we will know better what the timeline is. We are all confident he will be back. The shame of it is, he played his best game all year Sunday. [Linebackers coach Bob] Fraser, had to pick him up a little because [Black] finally played the way we knew he could play. But we will get him back and get him working.

That’s a shame. Black had played pretty well in Joe’s eyes this year, and if he played his best game last week against the Chargers, man, that linebacking corps could have been something the rest of the season.

Joe clearly hopes Black has a speedy and uneventful recovery.

Bucs fans seem content to be entertained by Mike Williams and the high-flying Bucs from the comfort of their homes.

Last night, Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune dropped a phone call to the “Mark Cook Experience,” starring (you guessed it) Mark Cook, heard locally on WHFS-FM 98.7, to talk Bucs football.

And as is the habit of local sports radio far too often, the boring subject of what strangers do with their cash (attendance) rose it’s ugly head, though the subject was not initiated by Cook.

Thankfully, it was not Rays attendance.

Cummings suggested Bucs fans are missing out on a quality product with all the blacked out home games, and Cummings was scratching his head in trying to figure out why the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway is not packed.

“They are an entertaining football team right now, an extremely entertaining football team. I’m a little surprised the fanbase hasn’t picked up on this a little more and bought into the team,” Cummings said. “They are missing a good show, is what they are missing, on both sides of the ball. Obviously the offense is dynamic and plenty of things to see there. But on defense, there is Mark Barron who is arguably already one of the better safety prospects this team has ever had, and Gerald McCoy is worth the price of admission and Lavonte David — if you think Doug Martin is the “Rookie of the Year,” this guy [David] has a better chance of at least wining the “Rookie of the Year” as a Buccaneer. In all likelihood Andrew luck has a better chance of winning; they always choose quarterbacks anyway. But Lavonte David is having just as good if not better season than Doug Martin and is probably more consistent. He’s been making big plays since the beginning of the year. They are entertaining on both sides of the ball.”

While Joe understands where Cummings is coming from, “this Joe” will once again repeat that we are in the midst of a cultural change as how fans consume sports. No longer is going to the games the preferred method. Hell, even NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged this. Yeah, HDTV and the convenience of home (cheaper/better food/beer, quick access to a bathroom sans a line) is a big reason, as is the plague of fantasy football.

Here’s another reason: Red Zone Channel.

Joe has only watched this once or twice and it was too ADD-ish for him. Joe enjoys watching how a game unfolds, not just glorified highlights.

For those unaware what the Red Zone Channel is, it is a channel run by the NFL Network broadcast only on Sunday afternoons. Whenever a team enters a red zone, the channel picks up that game’s broadcast feed. The broadcast bounces from stadium to stadium for the next six hours or so. Joe understands that fantasy football types are drawn to this channel like a hungry Doberman Pinscher is to a steak.

And, oh by the way, now that Red Zone Channel is carried by Bright House Networks, nearly every home in the Tampa Bay area has access to the Red Zone Channel, whereas prior to this season, that was not the case.

Throw in the fact that NFC South foes do not draw fans anywhere close to the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway like the old NFC North teams, and there’s little wonder to “this Joe” why the Bucs, even with one of the most exciting teams in the NFL, struggle to reach the 85 percent capacity of non-premium seats.

It’s hard to convince consumers to pay more for less. Fans preferring to stay at home is a trend, a cultural trend, that is not likely to be reversed any time soon.

Once one wraps their arms around this, the attendance debate becomes little more than white noise for lesser sports radio hosts.

The ol’ ball coach once challenged local media and said, “I dare you” to write something bad about blocking icon Michael Clayton.

The comment was funny and sad at the time (very un-Schiano-like) and, of course, the blocking icon went on to dig his own grave, aided by hands of stone and deposit slips. 

Recently, the blocking icon provided an intriguing peek into Bucs history during an interview with Joe’s friends over at OffTheRecordSports.com.  Clayton essentially wrote something bad about himself, admitting to having a shoddy work ethic during some of his time with the Bucs.

After that, people said I fell into coach Gruden’s dog house. You know, I’ve never had any issues or problems. I’ve always played hard and had a great relationship with my coaches and been respectful. But, you go through that ordeal and I didn’t know what that was all about. And then it was just the NFL was looking for somebody to blame. I got a lot of praise behind closed doors, but I got a lot of blame in the media. But, overall we just weren’t that good, weren’t winning many games. Had a lot of injuries. Had a lot of different quarterbacks I played with. I played with almost nine quarterback’s in my six-year tenure with the Bucs. There was a different quarterback…sometimes I had two or three quarterbacks in a year. As a receiver, that’s never a situation that’s going to give you those big numbers that you want. A lot of great receivers have suffered personal goals because of that. So that’s really what happened.

But for me mentally, after going through that for a few years being young, not fully devoting myself was another part of it. I felt that they weren’t committed to me and I lost that mental battle of not being totally committed to my job. It was a situation that I had to go through and had to mature from. Learn how to be the better man. Played special teams to redeem myself from the hole that I had for myself. I eventually got my job back by humbling myself and working my way back to the top by playing special teams. A lot of things happened and I learned a lot. It put me in position to play for the New York Giants for two years and win a Super Bowl. Because I was mentally prepared to be a true professional and lead older and younger guys. I was thankful for my tenure with the Bucs.

Now it’s unclear when Clayton wasn’t “totally committed” during his Bucs tenure. But regardless, that comment makes one of rockstar general manager Mark Dominik’s biggest signing blunders look even worse. Though it’s interesting to note that Clayton went on to earn the respect of Tom Coughlin and earn a Super Bowl ring.

You can click through above to read more.

Joe’s so glad Dominik finally relieved Bucs fans from the dark days of having to watch the blocking icon disappoint repeatedly.

Helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, Adderrall-popping, coach-cussing, referee-charging, pistol-friendly, granny-hassling Aqib Talib appeared at his first Patriots practice today, and Bill Belicheat praised Talib for three days of hard work since his suspension ended Monday.

Joe’s intrigued by the marriage of Talib and his new head coach, a couple of cheaters united. Also, it’s been amazing seeing the reaction out of Boston, where Talib is being viewed as a savior of the Pats defense in many circles.

Belicheat was asked today about why he’s sure Talib won’t have off-the-field trouble. Belicheat responded saying the Pats only sign players they’re confident in. Good luck with that, Bill.

Bucs starting left guard Jeremy Zuttah was held out of practice today as the wear and tear of playing guard was catching up with him, said Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

Yes it looked very bad this afternoon when Joe saw right guard Jamon Meredith hobble noticeably when he was quickly whisked out of the Bucs locker room before any of the Tampa Bay pen and mic club could have a few words with him.

Meredith apparently suffered a nasty left foot injury of some sort and has his foot wrapped and was on crutches. His locker is right next to the entrance to the locker room and Meredith was helped out of the locker room, limping considerably, just as the open locker room session began.

Meredith’s injury — its severity is not yet public but Joe can say there is no way he could have stepped on a football field today and played — isn’t the lone bump or bruise the Bucs are concerned about on an offensive line already wracked by injuries.

Bucs left guard Jeremy Zuttah was held out of practice today with a sore shoulder. Bucs coach Greg Schiano tried to downplay it saying that Zuttah had just gone through two “physical” games at left guard since replacing Carl Nicks and Schiano wanted to make sure Zuttah was healthy enough to start Sunday at Carolina.

“What kept him out was the game [last Sunday], he got bumped a lot,” Schiano said. “His shoulder, we just want to make sure he is OK to go. he had a great game Sunday. He’s had two physical games at that position we just want to make sure he is ready to go Sunday. hopefully he is ready to go tomorrow.”

Schiano went on to laud Zuttah for being such a team player in a league full of me-first players.

“First thing is, the thing we really talk about here is to be an unselfish teammate and I think that is what Jeremy has done,” Schiano said. “He finally had a chance to be the center and was moving along and all of a sudden , the best thing for the team was to move back to guard. Trust me, I’ve know the kid a long time. He did not want to do that but he did it for the team and has really played well.

“I know flying back [from Oakland], that was a physical game. and this week he plays another physical game. I have to make sure we have him for Sundays. We don’t have many more moves left.”

Mind you Schiano stated this knowing about Meredith’s injury.

It didn’t sound dire about Zuttah, based on what Schiano said. But, in the worst-case scenario, if both Zuttah and Meredith can’t go, that means the Bucs have lost four of five starting offensive linemen, with Donald Penn being the lone starter still standing (though Jeremy Trueblood is still a backup).

If Bucs offensive line coach Bob Bostad can pull through that mess, then the man truly deserves a raise.

Though there’s no word about how severe this is, it sure looked ugly to Joe.

Just as the Tampa Bay pen and mic club was let into the Bucs locker room today, Jamon Meredith was hustled out of the Bucs locker room by Bucs staff. He had his left foot taped up and was on crutches, hobbling noticeably.

In simple terms, there’s no way he could have stepped on a football field this afternoon in the shape he was in.

Per a trusted Bucs source, it is not known how severe Meredith’s injury is or his availability for the Panthers game.

Of course, Meredith was part of the chorus of backups the Bucs have started at offensive line due to the injuries to Carl Nicks, Davin Joseph and the benching of Jeremy Trueblood.

“Coach gives a pretty strong message. I think more than anything that resonates with guys. I mean there’s, you know, there’s obviously a bunch of different ways you can do this deal, but his way is very clear. He’s very concise about what he wants done. It’s not that he’s immovable on things, because he’s actually been pretty good to us as a team. But his word is really kind of his trademark. You know, he tells you something and he’s going to do it. And he’s always done that. He’s fair. He’s obviously difficult. I said earlier in the year during camp, it was probably one of the hardest camps I’ve been through in my 16 years. And that’s not only because I’m old, it just was a tough camp. It was a big committment, a lot of things we were trying to get done. He’s very honest. And I think guys really like that feeling of honesty. He tells you exactly what he expects. He tells you exactly what to expect during the week and those results will show up on Sunday and they do. That’s probably about the biggest amount of proof you can get. … He’s got the trust of the entire team. His way is a good way. There’s a lot of consistency in the way he’s doing things.” — Ronde Barber on Greg Schiano. Barber spoke Tuesday on the Buccaneers Radio Network.

What could Joe possibly add to Barber’s take on the New Schiano Order?

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.

The Bucs ain’t runnin’ no copycat offense, says Mark Dominik. Joe will hereby call it the Gulf Coast offense.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik is back on tour and landed on the popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging Peter King podcast this week on SI.com.

Using passionate tones, Dominik put his foot down on the bandwith to let it be known that the Bucs and Mike Sullivan are not running the Giants offense. No, the Bucs run their own new brand of high-flyin’ and punch-you-in-the-mouth football. It’s what Joe likes to call the “Gulf Coast Offense.”

King said he’s surprised how explosive the Bucs have become “sort of overnight” and asked Dominik why and how that’s happened.

“I would say it’s been a buy-in mentality of our players, really tying into Coach Sullivan and what he wanted to bring and his view, along with Coach [Ron] Turner, quarterback coach for us. Their view of what they wanted this offense to be in terms of our offense. We’re not playing the Giants offense right now. We are a Tampa Bay offense. It’s different than what the Giants do, but there are some things that are mimicked in it, but it’s not the same. And I think the buy-in from the players, and that starts with the quarterback and his work that he put in this offseason, and the buy-in of our players of our coaching staff.”

This chatter intrigued Joe on several levels. First, it was the passion Dominik used to say this Bucs offense is its own brand. Second was Dominik’s crediting Ron Turner and Sullivan and not mentioning other coaches in that take.

Dominik did go on to talk about how adamant Greg Schiano was in the interview process about how he wanted to be a coach that took a lot of shots downfield even though he had a ball-control philosophy. Dominik said it was clear Schiano had studied a lot of offense despite being a defensive-minded coach.

Bucs fans have watched undrafted rookie cornerback Leonard Johnson make everyone collectively say, ‘Aqib who?’

Johnson’s three interceptions and a touchdown in the past three games have turned heads, but Joe was most excited by the Johnson scouting report delivered by Bucs icon Ronde Barber last night on the Buccaneers Radio Network.

Barber explained why he believes Johnson is special. And he interestingly said he believes team’s are salivating over facing the Bucs young secondary.

“I know a lot of teams see these young guys [in the Bucs secondary] and they just want to keep taking shots at them. You know, ‘Go at 29,’ or whoever’s the youngest most inexperienced guy you want to take shots at him,” Barber said. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily true, but it sure feels that way.

“But every time they’ve done it this year Leonard’s kind of stood up to the challenge. You know, not only getting these couple of interceptions, a bunch of pass breakups, some key tackles, and that’s what I like about him; he’s shown the willingness to do it all. Put his face on somebody, running backs, tight ends, whoever it is coming around the corners. That’s the little stuff that I’m seeing out of him that can only make him a good player. I mean, I wish I was that confident when I was a rookie in the league. I obviously didn’t get the opportunity to play when I was a rookie, but I definitely don’t think I’d be playing with as much confidence as he is right now. And that’s awesome.”

That’s very high praise from Barber. Yeah, Joe knows Johnson screwed up in the opening seconds of the Chargers game, but if Barber believes he’s got all the elements of a strong cornerback, then that’s good enough for Joe.

In football, like in baseball, stats can be deceiving. One such stat in football is tackle assists. Shoot, even Joe could get an assist just by piling on top of a mound of players on the ground.

Now getting a solo tackle, which often means getting a tackle in the open field, is another ball of wax. Those tackles are very much legitimate and take a great deal of skill and effort to rack up.

That’s why Joe is of the mind Lavonte David should be a Pro Bowl linebacker this year. If one is to monitor just solo tackles, not total tackles, David, the Bucs rookie outside linebacker, has the second-most solo tackles in the NFL. He is one behind James Laurinaitis of the Rams; Laurinaitis has 68, David 67.

(Cool trivia: Of the eight linebackers listed with the five-most solo tackles, four are from the Big Ten, none from the SEC. GASP!)

David is just one of many examples of how this Bucs franchise has turned around under Greg Schiano and how Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik actually knows how to draft players. Dominik only needed a coach to develop talent.

OK Bucs fans, Joe’s hoping you are somewhat awake and have had your requisite morning caffeine. Please put down all liquid containers before you read the next sentence.

Adam Schein gave Bucs coach Greg Schiano a virtual wet kiss on NFL.com yesterday.

In a laudatory piece by the popular sports radio personality, Schiano stops just short of calling the Bucs a model franchise in the NFL and suggests that because of the success of Schiano, NFL front offices are already scouring the college ranks, hunting for the next Schiano to turn around their program.

The Bucs are back. Tampa Bay has scored 28 points or more in five consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. The Buccaneers punished the San Diego Chargers last Sunday on offense, defense and special teams en route to their fifth win of the season. The 5-4 Bucs are dangerous and very much in the mix for an NFC wild-card berth.

Schiano’s fingerprints are all over the turnaround.

Last year, the Bucs quit on Raheem Morris in embarrassing fashion, and the overwhelmed former “coach” couldn’t stop the bleeding. The 2012 version of the Bucs, meanwhile, is the NFL’s most improved squad on offense (the team’s points-per-game average jumped from 17.9 in 2011 to a whopping 28.9) and defense (opponents averaged an unacceptable 30.9 per game in 2011; that number is now down to 23.2, or about a touchdown’s worth).

While all of this is great, it still rankles Joe to remember how the Bucs gave away games to the Giants and Saints, and they had a win against the Redskins in their grasps.

The Bucs could have very easily been 8-1 and tied for first place in the NFC South. Damnit.

But still, Joe is counting his blessings. Look, the Bucs should beat Carolina this weekend and that means the Bucs will be 6-4 entering Thanksgiving Weekend. No one, not even the most drunken of fans in a bar, would have predicted that before the season.

Does all the credit go to Schiano for the turnaround? No, but you are damned straight most of it should.

It was no surprise this afternoon when the Bucs released word that starting strong side linebacker Quincy Black was placed on injured reserve, meaning his season is finished.

A nasty head-nick collision Sunday left Black hospitalized with nerve issues in his left arm, “complications,” as Greg Schiano called them.

Is this a big loss for the Bucs? Joe doesn’t suspect the team will miss a beat, though Black surely was playing better than he did last season.

Black signed a five-year, $29 million contract before the 2011 campaign, and his future years are no longer guaranteed. Though likely they would be guaranteed if Black’s latest injury ends his career. It’ll be worth keeping any eye on that potential financial situation, as it relates to the Bucs’ ability and desire to spend next season.