So how are the Bucs winning four of five games after an 0-8 start?

The answer isn’t rocket science, explained former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht on WDAE-AM 620 this morning. [read more]

Bucs kicker Rian Lindell nailed a 53-yard field goal yesterday. Hooray!

But Lindell is still having a below average season among his fellow NFL kickers.

Joe put on Twitter yesterday that Lindell is kicking now for his next job. Joe wasn’t just being a wise ass. [read more]

Just don’t yell “toes on the line.” That my thing.

An interesting nugget Joe plucked from the locker room yesterday offers a peek at some of what Greg Schiano is talking about when he refers to the “works-his-tail-off” intensity of Mike Glennon.

Glennon is so focused in practice he’s unafraid to demand a change in plans for the New Schiano Order. [read more]

There were lots of things to like about the Bucs defense yeterday.

The offense, well, Joe won’t go there, other than to say it seemed the offense could have used some 10w-40.

Guys were making plays all over the field on defense, veterans, young players, and rookies. Yes, rookies. [read more]

A long look at the Bucs yesterday, today, and what to expect tomorrow and beyond.

Joe thinks it is neat that the Ironman of the Bucs, Donald Penn, has Bucs commander Greg Schiano’s back. Of course, this is bad news for the Schiano haters.

Penn’s thoughts just reinforce what Joe had heard from other players in the locker room, and, in fact, proves what many thought: That the Bucs, despite going 0-8, never gave up on the season. They never tanked a game. That right there shows how much respect the players have for Schiano. Otherwise, the Bucs would be pulling a Washington Redskins, who already have the U-Hauls backed up and the January vacations booked. [read more]

Enjoy this happy-locker-room interview with Buccaneers running back star Bobby Rainey, who has emerged from his couch to delight Bucs fans and become a household name among fantasy football types. Jenna Laine of Sports Talk Florida peppered Rainey with a handful of questions.

The Bucs ironman speaks out

Until Team Glazer gives a public blessing of 2014 to Greg Schiano, the issue of Schiano’s job security will be a hot topic among Bucs fans.

How could it not be? The Bucs’ wacky, disappointing season launched a furious assault on all things Schiano — from Tampa to Trenton to Cuba to whatever planet Josh Freeman now lives on. [read more]

Joe never dreamed he would see a Bucs linebacker as good as Derrick Brooks. The former outside linebacker someday will wear a yellow jacket and have his bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame; he could be elected as soon as February.

Now Joe loves Lavonte David, also an outside linebacker who, like Brooks, is insanely fast and racks up tackles like Joe does dead soldiers on a sultry college football Saturday afternoon. [read more]

Bucs defensive lineman Will Gholston drags down Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel.

Last spring the one player that intrigued Joe more than any other draft pick was defensive lineman Will Gholston out of Michigan State (Sparty has had a good weekend, huh?). Gholston was raw, had loads of talent, but needed that talent honed and manicured and sanded.

Joe thinks he can say few rookies have risen as far as Gholston. He was so invisible during preseason games and mired with the third team in training camp practices, Joe was afraid for Gholston that he wasn’t going to make it to the final cut of 53 men. [read more]

Greg Schiano is all pumped up because the Bucs reached their goal of being the more physical team today against Buffalo. It was the best they were in that area all season defensively, Schiano said, and the head coach is filled with pride for the pass blocking of his offensive line against the NFL’s top sacking unit. (Audio via the Buccaneers Radio Network. Enjoy.)

Winning is wonderful, but it does have its price.

Based on the results of today’s NFL slate and Joe’s tiebreaker calculations, the Bucs’ victory moved their current 2014 draft position down to the ninth overall pick.

The Bucs’ (4-9) tough strength of schedule, including upcoming games, costs them tiebreakers against other 4-9 teams: Cleveland, Buffalo, Jacksonville and Oakland. That group is ahead of Houston (two wins), and Atlanta, Minnesota and Washington (three wins.)

With another win, the Bucs surely lose any shot at a top-5 pick.

Mike Glennon racked up his fourth win against six losses in a laugher today at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, surpassing leaky Rip Van Freeman’s mark of 3-6 in his rookie season.

But how should Bucs fans evaluate Glennon’s performance against Buffalo as the future face of the franchise? It’s a question that the New Schiano Order and Team Glazer surely will be scrutinizing at the end of the season. [read more]

Gerald McCoy thinks Lavonte David is so good, that he is a superhero.

Joe thinks it is safe to suggest Bucs linebacker Lavonte David is one of the best players in the NFL and his name can be said in the same breath with Patrick Willis.

At least Bucs star cornerback Darrelle Revis thinks so. [read more]

Oh, these Bucs had demons and monsters living under their beds.

Winning was light years away six weeks ago. Hell, the Bucs seemed to be professional losers, but it all changed fast. [read more]

Why is the defense talking about Bobby Rainey?

It was one of the better defensive performances in recent memory for the Bucs defense. Players were flying all over the place and not just the well-paid stars like Darrelle Revis or Gerald McCoy, but a budding superstar like Lavonte David, unheralded Mason Foster and rookies like cornerback Johnthan Banks and defensive lineman Will Gholston.

The Bucs defense held a strong Bills rushing attack to a mere 67 yards, picked off quarterback EJ Manuel four times and limited the Bills to just a pair of field goals in a 27-6 win. [read more]

This summer, the Bucs’ marketing department started pimping the “No Fly Zone” slogan for the Bucs secondary in response to the big-money acquisitions of Dashon Goldson and Darrelle Revis.

It sounded good, but now it’s actually reality. [read more]

What’s stirring inside the collective brains of Team Glazer? Joe sure would love to know.

The New Schiano Order has now revived itself from the depths of 0-8, MRSA, sleepy-leaky Josh Freeman, brutally painful losses, and repeated media beatings to emerge as winners of four of five games. [read more]

Seven sacks today for the Bucs!

Crappy teams tank on the road in December. Solid teams dominate on their home turf in December.

The Bucs dominated today. It was a near masterpiece on the defensive end, but not so much offensively. But that’s ok. You win __-__ and it doesn’t matter one damn bit.

How does 4-9 feel, Bucs fans? How does it feel to win four out of five?

The Greg Schiano revival tour presses on.

Hat tip out of the gate to the Bucs’ offensive line. The vaunted NFL-leading Bills pass rush didn’t do squat, except when Mike Glennon held the ball too long.

A few times when Mike Glennon was hurried in the first half, Joe felt like it was just Glennon feeling nervous footsteps that weren’t there. As Joe wrote last night, Joe was not about to bet against Donald Penn, and he delivered.

The Bucs delivered four more picks and seven sacks of overmatched EJ Manuel. Rockstar general manager’s fourth-round pick, rookie defensive end William Gholston, delivered 1.5 sacks. That’s three rookies now contributing in a big way for the Bucs defense.

Offensively, Mike Glennon had a good share of rookie moments, but also made a few top-shelf throws. He finished with ugly numbers, 9-for-25 for 90yards. The “W” and two touchdowns throws are the key stats against two interceptions.

Bobby Rainey popped a tone-setter, 80-yard TD on the Bucs’ second play from scrimmage, and while the running game didn’t take off after that. It was enough.

Now what? San Francisco, St. Louis and New Orleans await.

Game 13

Bungling Bills (4-8) at Bucs (3-9)

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: WTSP-TV, Channel 10, locally. Outside the Tampa Bay area, DirecTV Channel 704.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM 103.5, and WDAE-AM 620); SiriusXM Channel 113.

[read more]