As Joe expected, the leader of the New Schiano Order was tight-lipped and non-committal when asked this evening about the ESPN report that has Mike Sullivan expressing interest in the Boston College head coaching job.

Here’s what Greg Schiano had to say when asked about the validity of the report:

“You know that kind of stuff I keep private with my assistant coaches and with our organization, and if there’s anything to that it will come out the appropriate way,” Schiano said. “I don’t think this is the place to talk about that.”

Joe sure would have preferred a denial from Schiano.

It would be potentially devastating for Josh Freeman and the Bucs offense to lose Sullivan. Not that Sullivan is living legend, but Freeman doesn’t need the upset of learning another offense and adjusting to another coordinator.

By next season, the Bucs should be humming as an elite offense, not starting fresh.

Greg Schiano give a congratulatory head slap and kind words to Peyton Manning on the field today after Manning completed a pass to a receiver on the ground. Frankly, Joe didn’t like the head coach’s smiley reaction.

Not that it was so awful, but Joe doesn’t see Schiano as a guy who’s wired like that. Joe prefers to believe Schiano is a guy that would rather invest those precious two seconds on his own team, especially since Schiano preaches maximizing every second of practice time.

Joe just didn’t like it, just as Joe didn’t like it when Raheem Morris was on the field during a break in play in Green Bay last year whooping it up with Aaron Rodgers.

Joe can’t recall such friendly, in-game gestures sent the Bucs way.

Just a few weeks ago when Bucs rookie undrafted free agent cornerback was pressed into duty, Johnson seemed to shine. His pick-six, game-winning touchdown against Philip Rivers being Exhibit-A, and he should have officially had three picks in two games.

But with injuries and Adderall infractions rising among the ranks of the Bucs cornerbacks, Johnson has been asked to play more, and to start, and it appears opponents have decided to target him.

It all began with a bomb he gave up against San Diego. Then, in the words of former Bucs defensive lineman Steve White, Julio Jones “baptized” Johnson last week for Johnson’s second 80-yard touchdown given up in as many games.

Today it was clear that Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas were targeting the pride of Largo High School. And it worked. Two egregious plays were a pass interference Johnson gave up against Thomas (Joe would prefer a pass interference as opposed to six points) and then, when Joe thought surely Johnson was in position for an interception, Manning threaded the needle to Thomas for a key touchdown.

Now don’t get Joe wrong. Joe likes Johnson and thinks he has promise and will be around these parts for a while. But he’s a rookie. He’s learning… in some cases the hard way.

And the NFL is a copycat league. Until Johnson begins stopping some of these passes and doesn’t get whistled for interference or holding, teams are going to continue to target him.

Joe sees the burst in Doug Martin, the leg drive, the explosion, the improved vision since early in the season, but his production has fallen off.

Maybe it’s the patchwork offensive line? Joe routinely sees Martin turning rushes that look like sure losses into positive — and almost positive — plays. But more likely it’s the reality of being a running back in the NFL. There are plenty of rough days unless you’re a Hall of Fame back.

Martin has an ugly 39 carries for 106 yards over his past two games. He’s got 82 rushes for 312 yards over his last four games, following his historic effort in Oakland.

The Bucs are mixing up Martin’s runs, but the yardage isn’t coming.

Perhaps using multiple running backs would help. Joe’s not getting on a LeGarrette Blount soapbox tonight, but it shouldn’t be such a foreign concept to use two backs for an NFL offense.

And no, running D.J. Ware on 3rd-and-20 today doesn’t count. Joe hated that call.

Let’s be honest: The Bucs traveled to hostile territory and played one of the best teams in the NFL, didn’t play well offensively, and still were within one score.

Not being able to overcome adversity by Josh Freeman (in the third quarter, specifically) may be the difference between a good team and an average team. The Bucs now hold a 6-6 record. In the immortal words of Tuna Parcells, you are what your record says you are.”

After the game speaking on the Bucs radio network, Bucs coach Greg Schiano pointed to Freeman’s pick-six to Von Miller as the turning point in the game.

“I think we gave up a touchdown, a pick-six, which kind of changes the complexion of the game,” Schiano said. “You have to be realistic and understand Peyton Manning is going to [make plays]. He doesn’t need any help. We almost had to go to a two-minute offense because we were down three scores. That took us out of the tempo of what we were wanting to do which was a run-pass mix.

“But this team, these players, they keep fighting, which is what I love about this team. I make it clear how the vision changes [in a game]. We didn’t envision being down 18 points. It was no different than Carolina, just didn’t get it done this week.

“You never want to put [a loss] behind you. You need to learn from it and let the hurt hurt. You need to use the hurt as fuel and don’t waste away time. Go to work this week and the Eagles game will be here.”

It’s time for Josh Freeman to adapt and overcome obstacles like a pass rush and win a “big game” for a change, like an elite NFL quarterback will do when faced with adversity.

For a minute there today, Joe thought he was watching the 2011 Bucs.

No, it wasn’t the defense which gave Joe a flashback, it was the play of Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. The Bucs’ signal-caller was off target way too many times in the third quarter, and then there was an incompletion he threw where Freeman tried to force a pass into triple coverage.

If Joe didn’t know any better, Joe would have sworn the intended receiver was Kellen Winslow, Jr.

Oh, and then there’s Von Miller’s pick-six.

Freeman had a bad day. And no matter how many toys Freeman has, if he has a bad day, the Bucs offense has a bad day.

Was Freeman pressured? Sure, but he was only sacked once. Elite NFL quarterbacks find a way to adapt and overcome obstacles. Aaron Rodgers and bratty Jay Cutler would give their firstborn to have an offensive line like the Bucs have, depleted though it may be.

Those two quarterbacks not only find a way to win with inferior (or no) blocking, both quarterbacks’ teams have better records than the Bucs.

Now the Bucs need to run the table and hope Seattle drops a game somewhere. Can the Bucs win the next four? Sure. They have a downtrodden Iggles squad next followed by a mortal Saints team, a very beatable Rams group and finish the season with the Dixie Chicks, who will likely be resting key players.

But Freeman must be more consistent. He cannot have any more games where he goes all milk carton on the team for a long stretch of time.

The next time this season Freeman goes into a witness protection program like he did in the third quarter, you can kiss playoffs goodbye.

It’s high time for Freeman to step up and win a truly big game for a change.

The Bucs got a huge gift of a momentum swing late in the first half and proceeded to implode and the offense took another two quarters to recover.

The mysterious nosedive came at the worst time.

Joe’s going back here to the Bucs leading 10-7 with about 5:13 left in the first half. The zebras missed a clear pass-interference yank of Dallas Clark’s jersey, and on the next play Josh Freeman made an ugly throw that was intercepted, but a roughing the passer call saved the drive and put the Bucs on the Denver 49 yard line.

The Bucs had momentum and the ball with 5:00 left in the half. But then the playcalling and execution fell apart and didn’t return until late in the game. Erik Lorig dropped an easy pass. Freeman was hit and threw an incompletion. And then Freeman threw incomplete to D.J. Ware, who wasn’t going to do much with that pass anyway. That whole sequence came at a terrible time, when the Broncos were vulnerable.

One more first down there and the Bucs are in field goal range and chewing up precious clock. Success there doesn’t win the game, but the Bucs never recovered.

Mike Sullivan, if he’s not busy emailing resumes, should start right there when examining what went wrong with his unit.

The Bucs offense stalled mysteriously in the second half. And combined with the predictable roasting and toasting of Leonard Johnson and the Bucs secondary, the Bucs lost decisively but still haven’t lost by more than one score under the New Schiano Order.

Peyton Manning stayed upright and completed 71 percent of his passes. At least that was better than the 80+ percent clip of Matt Ryan last week.

Joe was numb after the painful yet tolerable one-point loss to Atlanta last week, and this week Joe’s again numb after this thumping by one of the NFL’s best in their house. What the hell happened to the offense and Freeman? It was a near complete shutdown for far too long of a stretch.

Joe figured the Bucs would start the game strong, and play damn hard as they’ve done all season. And they did. But it was a confidence freefall after a 10-7 halftime lead, as the Bucs dug an inescapable hole.

Now the Bucs are in a tight corner. Seattle upset Chicago and sits at 7-5, one game ahead of Tampa Bay (6-6)  for the final NFC Wild Card spot, and Seattle has a better record in the conference, the critical tiebreaker between the two teams.

The Bucs absolutely have to win out to make the postseason — home for Philly, then at New Orleans, and home for St. Louis before the season finale in Atlanta.

Yeah, the Bucs are good enough to win four straight. But the the odds are darn long.

Perhaps fresh news from ESPN that Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan is interested in the Boston College head coaching job is merely a negotiating ploy by Sullivan and his agent to squeeze more money out of the Bucs.

That’s about the best the Bucs could hope for.

More likely, Sullivan genuinely is interested in parlaying his success with the Bucs this season, and his solid resume, into a head coaching job — in college or the pros.

Joe wrote weeks ago that this was coming down the line, in regards to Sullivan becoming a head coach candidate. However, Joe never would have imagined Sullivan would have thrown his hat in the ring, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier today.

Joe expects Greg Schiano will be asked about this development after the game today, but Joe doesn’t expect Schiano to say much. Sullivan is not made available to media on game days.

OK Bucs fans, this was weird wasn’t it? Watching football at noon only to have a late afternoon Bucs kickoff?

Today the Bucs travel to Denver to face perhaps their toughest test of the season, the Broncos. Yes, Joe has made much of the fact the Bucs have the worst pass defense in the NFL, and Peyton Manning is on fire for the Broncos.

Joe’s a borderline mathematical illiterate but Joe can sure add two-plus-two and he doesn’t like the sum of this addition.

Feel free to discuss the game in this thread. As always, thanks for visiting Joe today and you know he will plenty of commentary about the game moments after the final gun.

Week 13

Bucs at Broncos

Kickoff: 4:05 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13. DirecTV Channel 713.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 136.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, the Bucs absolutely lucked out. Normally in the weeks leading up to Christmas, Colorado can easily be the site of a blizzard and bone-chilling weather. Not today. How about a game played under mostly sunny skies with a kickoff temperature of 66? The skies should remain clear throughout the game with the temperature only dipping slightly by game’s end to 63. That’s just about perfect football weather.

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs +7.5

Outlook: On paper, this simply looks nightmarish. The Bucs have the worst pass defense in the NFL. Every time the Bucs play a decent quarterback, said signal-caller goes through the Bucs secondary like Bill Sherman did Georgia. Peyton Manning’s little brother Eli deep fried the Bucs secondary — which included the immortal Aqib Talib at the time — for over 500 yards! With Peyton Manning playing nearly as well as he has ever played, Joe just cannot fathom how the Bucs don’t get torched today. well, the more Joe thinks about it, there’s a way to handle this and it is simply fundamental football: Run the ball. Sure, Denver has a strong defense, but if the Bucs can get Muscle Hamster Doug Martin running on his wheel, it will keep Manning on the sidelines listening to Outlaw Country on SiriusXM. Time of possession will simply be critical for the Bucs today.

Know the enemy: Here are some quotes from Denver coach John Fox and Manning on the Bucs. Fox (on Bucs now using backups as starters in the secondary): It’s next man up. We all go through it. We have nine guys on IR as well, six were starters to start the season. The next guy has to step up and learn with the opportunity. That’s what you do. (On the Bucs poor pass defense): Sometimes people on the outside make too much of statistics. I think the only important statistic is in the “W” and “L” column. I know Greg’s team is 6-5 and whooped up on everybody in our division. I think they are a good football team. (On Doug Martin): He’s a guy we definitely liked as far as our evaluation. He has had a tremendous season thus far. That is attributed to a lot of people. The Bucs lost two good linemen and the fact they have been able to replace them is impressive. Each game as its own personality and a lot of that is matchups and [the Bucs] running game is definitely on our radar. (On Josh Freeman:) I thought he was as bright of a young talent as there was in the league. I didn’t get a chance to see [the Bucs] a year ago but across the board there were struggles. What I see on tape this year I remember very well from two years ago. I know I have great respect for him and I think everyone in our building watching him on tape feels the same way. (On Freeman’s weapons:) It starts at quarterback and I have great respect for him. You then plug in a rookie running back like Doug Martin and a physical guy like Vincent Jackson who we know very well and Mike Williams on the other side, those are pretty good ingredients to cook up a nice meal. They are doing a good job in mixing the run and the pass and are plus-one in the turnover margin. So those turnovers, usually results in points one way or the other and you combine that… we are third in the league in points scored and they are fourth in the league in ports scored so it should be a good matchup. And we are pretty familiar with Dallas [Clark] as well.

Peyton Manning (on Ronde Barber): Ronde, talk about a true — he’s a battler, he’s a grinder he’s playing well and pretty impressive to see a guy playing that well in his 16th year out there — I like seeing guys out there older than me. It’s good to see. What Ronde is doing is pretty impressive as well. (On the Bucs defense:) I think it is important to look at tape. Statistics can be misleading. I tell you what I see: I see a defense that has been dominant in the run and a lot of turnovers. You can also see how their offense takes those turnovers into touchdowns. Giving up yards is one thing but [forcing] turnovers and holding teams to field goals in the red zone, I don’t give a whole lot of credit to statistics. I go by what I see on film. They are playing fast and playing hard and forcing turnovers. (On the Bucs defensive line:) The Bucs do a good job of getting up the field, penetrate, it will be a good challenge for our offensive line.

Broncos manbeast Von Miller.

The Bucs have their collective hands full today and it isn’t just a porous secondary trying to find a way to defend perhaps the game’s greatest quarterback playing at an elite level.

Easy to overlook in the hand-wringing over trying to stop Payton Manning is the Broncos defense, led by freak outside linebacker Von Miller.

The second-year stud out of Texas A&M is an absolute terror for opposing offenses as he can line up at outside linebacker in a three-man front or as a defensive end in a four-man front.

Trust Joe, Miller was a big topic in the Bucs locker room earlier this week as was Manning.

“He can do everything, man,” said offensive tackle Donald Penn. “He can play linebacker, he can [play] d-end, he could probably play safety and maybe score a touchdown at running back if he wanted to. He is a good athlete, he’s a specimen man, he’s a special player.”

“He’s just a great pass rusher,” fellow offensive tackle Demar Dotson concurred. “He’s one of the best in the league if not the best. He’s a very good speed guy. We have to get up on them and come up with a game plan to stop these guys and we’ve got to get the job done.”

So how do the Bucs stop this one-man gang? Run the ball, so says fullback D.J. Ware?

[The run game is] “very important. We try to win in all aspects of the game but time of possession is important,” Ware said. “If we get the ground game going, it will help us establish third-and-shorts and we can convert those much easier than third-and-longs and the longer we control the ball, the longer we keep Peyton Manning on the sidelines with his hat on.

“That’s a big thing for us right now. Peyton is no doubt one of the greatest to ever play this game. He can shred the defense. Keep him off the field.”

Dotson also is looking forward to getting Doug Martin into gear, because he believes it will help keep Von Miller and Company off of Josh Freeman.

“It’s going to be big time getting the run game going,” Dotson said. “They have some dynamic pass rushers so we have to slow them down. if we get the running game going, that will be big time.”

Penn, too, would love to see Martin go nuts on the Broncos just like he did against the Vikings and Raiders.

“The running game is very important when you look at it from the aspect of we took a step back last week and we want to take two steps forward this week,” Penn said. “But it is going to be tough, They have a great run a great run defense there. This is going to be a tough match-up, something we have to focus on and get back on track.”

But, like any game, breaking Martin loose means taking care of business up front.

“They are an extremely talented group,” Ware said. “They can get after you whether it is a three-down lineman or a two-down lineman. Those guys fly to the ball, including the corners and the safeties. we have to make sure we are on top of our gameplan and if show us a certain look, make sure we go to another play and make sure it is the right play and I think josh will do a good job in doing that. Coach Sullivan has a nice gameplan for these guys and we need to stay focused.”

The timid pass rush of late by the Bucs demonstrates just how much the team misses injured right defensive end Adrian Clayborn.

Earlier this week, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune dropped a phone call to talk all things Bucs with “The Fabulous Sports Babe,” heard on WHFS-FM 98.7. During part of the interview, “The Fabulous Sports Babe” acted like any Bucs fan, fearing the worst for Sunday, with one of the greatest quarterbacks to every take a snap lining up opposite one of the worst Bucs cornerbacks crew in memory, maybe in franchise history.

It doesn’t take a wizard to figure out Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will try to light up the scoreboard by roasting the Bucs through the air.

“The Fabulous Sports Babe:” What about the defense, [Peyton Manning] is used to throwing and throwing and [the Bucs] have defensive backs that sound like me. They are not very good. So what does that say? He will be throwing it and they will be trying to defend it.

Woody Cummings: Yeah, you are right. It’s a horrible situation for the Bucs. You are going against a Hall of Fame quarterback who is clearly on top of his game and he is going up against a bunch of kids and I think it will be an issue for them. But here’s what they have to do: They have to rush the passer better they have to find a way to make Peyton Manning uncomfortable which is not easy to do became he gets rid of the ball so early. But if you are going to help that secondary, you have to get some pass rush and we haven’t seen enough of that really. I think we are starting to recognize how important Adrian Clayborn was to this team. I think Gerald McCoy is doing his part and he is facing two blockers every time. It’s hard to beat those guys. Michael Bennett has done is part but on the other side, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim has had some splash plays here and there but not enough, certainly not what Adrian Clayborn would have done. They are waiting for Da’Quan Bowers to get the feel back, get healthy. He is getting there, he is getting healthier every week but it will probably be the end of the season before he is fully in football shape. It is a tough deal for them, no doubt about it. They have to rush the passer better and cover better and maybe hope that Peyton Manning has an off day and if that all comes together, they have a chance. If not, they will be in some trouble.

Joe thinks Cummings hit on several points. Joe remembers asking GMC two weeks after Clayborn went down if he had noticed different blocking schemes by opponents to double- if not triple-team him in Clayborn’s absence. GMC didn’t want to answer the question, as admitting to this all but makes him look like he is searching for an excuse, but after beating around the bush for a while, GMC nodded “yes” to Joe that teams were going after him more, sans Clayborn to worry about.

If the Bucs are going to put heat on Manning, Bennett has to show up like he has most of the season. He was virtually invisible last week against the Dixie Chicks.

Going after Manning is virtually impossible unless the Bucs bring blitzes on just about every play because Manning will be in a three-step drop. Combined with his quick release, that’s nearly an impossible task to get Manning on the ground, regardless of how slow he is.

Joe’s of the mind that Manning can’t hurt you if he is standing on the sidelines wearing a cap and sipping Gatorade. So this should be a big day tomorrow for Doug Martin.

More Martin = less Manning, which means better chance to win.

The Bucs are in a pinch. They can realistically afford to lose one more game if they plan on playing after New Year’s Day. An upset would be a glorious step.

Trey Wingo, Marcellus Wiley and Jerry Rice give their best predictions on how the Bucs will fare against the Broncos in this ESPN video.

Line up with three wide receivers, force Denver into nickel coverage, and then run at the nickel.

That’s what former superstar receiver Sterling Sharpe says the Bucs need to do against Denver’s sometimes porous run defense in order to let Doug Martin put a resounding December “stamp on his rookie of the year performance,” and set up explosive plays off play-action.

In this NFL Network “playbook” segment, Sharpe lays out on film why he believes the Bucs will be beat the Broncos.

On the flip side, cohorts Brian Baldinger and Ronde Barber hater Donovan McNabb explain why Peyton Manning will carve up the Bucs and why the Broncos’ defensive line is so deep.

First and foremost, Joe wants to see the Bucs start fast, as they’ve done literally all season and preseason. That’ll give them confidence in the tough conditions at Mile High, and allow the running game Sharpe talks about to develop. 

There is a reason this guy has been unemployed for about a month and that the worst team in the NFL washed their hands of him.

In the past three weeks, Joe’s not sure a day has gone by that someone on this here corner of the interwebs or on Twitter has asked Joe about the Bucs signing unemployed cornerback Stanford Routt.

Nevermind that he has been on the streets for weeks; nevermind the worst team in the NFL jettisoned Routt.

Routt’s popularity (?) with Bucs fans is akin to the notorious Toe Nash and the Rays.

Apparently, Woody Cummings is being pestered by the Routt crowd as well. He touched upon why Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is not picking up near-household names and instead is going after neverbeens.

Q: There are two players that are free agents that could come into Tampa and help our team make a playoff push. Why not go out and sign former Chiefs’ CB Stanford Routt? I would have rather had him covering Falcons’ receiver Roddy White than Danny Gorrer. What about former Falcons’ defensive end Ray Edwards to come in and help our horrible pass rush? Those are two quality players the Bucs should at least work out.

— Andrew Athans, Arnold, Md.

A: Routt has been out there for a couple of weeks now and no one has touched him. There must be something we don’t know about him that is causing everyone to lay off. As for Edwards, he’s a player the Bucs had some interest in during free agency last year. He put a rather high price tag on himself, but other than that I don’t see why he can’t help.

— Woody Cummings

In short, Bucs fans, in desperate throws of darts at the wall, are looking for someone, anyone who can help out a beleaguered secondary. Those darts usually are of players whose names fans recognize, and for no other good reason.

There are no magic bullets to help out this secondary. As Bucs legend Derrick Brooks would say, “It is what it is” for the remainder of the season, with the exception of Anthony Gaitor being activated soon.

If the worst team in the NFL — with a general manager and a coach fighting for their careers — didn’t think Routt can help save themselves from working at Costco, and Dominik doesn’t think he can help, the fact that 30 other NFL general managers also believe Routt isn’t worth their time, then Joe will rest comfortably with the fact that Routt is off the Bucs roster.

Tomorrow the Bucs will fly to Denver’s Mile High Stadium — or whatever name is slapped on it these days — and will play Sunday in the famed suffocating altitude that’s been known to consume those that aren’t physically or mentally prepared.

But Greg Schiano isn’t concerned about such things.

In fact, the leader of the New Schiano Order said today that the level of oxygen in the Colorado air will not fatigue any Buccaneers quicker than usual as long as they’ve loaded up on water.

Huh?

“I’ll bring it up [to players] because the facts [about altitude adjustment] are actually favorable. We get in and we get out and, you know, you’re fine. As long as you hydrate, you’re fine,” Schiano said. “Now if you’re going to spend an extended period of time there, and your body then gets acclimated, there’s a whole medical thing that occurs then, that’s a different story. Hydration is the key, though.”

Joe never heard of such a thing, and Joe heard Gerald McCoy talk earlier this week on the Buccaneers Radio Network about how Colorado altitude affected him in college.

“My first time being up there and playing a game, you know, when I got off the bus I was struggling,” McCoy said of a college game in Colorado. “So [against the Broncos], definitley out of all the games we’ve played up to this point, our rotation has to be key. You can’t try to be Superman in this game. … If you’re tired, come out.”

Joe also heard Brian Billick on radio this week talking about how he counseled players not to freak out when they got tired in Denver pregame warmups. Joe also talked to former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson, who played all his college home games at altitude, and Carlson said he’d seen guys affected by it and also heard all kinds of altitude guidance from coaches, none of which seemed to be worthwhile.

So what’s the reality in all this?

Joe turned to renowned altitude guru Dr. Robert Roach, director of the Altitude Research Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He’s a big shot in the field of high altitude medicine and physiology, and exercise performance.  

Roach said Schiano is on the money when it comes to hydration. The dry air in Denver, especially versus Tampa, is the issue. The human body is designed to fully humidify the air we breathe by the time it reaches our lungs, Roach explained, so to do that at Mile High players need to suck that water out of their circulation. If it’s not replaced with enough oral fluids, dehydration will happen.

But Roach referenced one issue that Schiano likely can’t prepare for — bad sleep.

Roach said the No. 1 complaint of people coming to Denver altitude is disturbed sleep caused by a chemical shift in the brain that is struggling to adjust to the low oxygen level.

Of course, a lousy night sleep can lead to fatigue.

Roach also referenced that the mere “idea” of visitors concerned about altitude can play to the Broncos’ benefit. And Bucs icon John Lynch, a former Broncos Pro Bowler, said on WDAE-AM 620 this week that signs all over Mile High stadium referencing the altitude are there to get in the heads of visitors.

McCoy said the Bucs’ mentality is critical.

“I mean if you go in there expecting not to be able to breathe, you might not be able to breathe,” McCoy said. “But if you go in there with the right mindset, and have the mindset of ‘I don’t care what the altitude is like,’ then it’s not going to play a factor in whether I execute an assignment to the best of my abilities, or whether I read my keys.”

Regardless of whether the effects of altitude are real or imagined, or somewhere in between, Joe’s confident at least some of the Bucs will be affected. That’s an advantage for the Broncos.

Here is where Bucs fans can watch the Bucs-Broncos game on their local FOX affiliates. The yellow-shaded areas will televise the Bucs-Broncos broadcast. It appears all of Florida sans Panama City will get the Bucs-Broncos game. Map courtesy of the506.com.

Some interesting stuff in this CBS Sports Bucs-Broncos breakdown by former NFL coach and front office executve Pat Kirwan.

Kirwan talks about how the Broncos will go no-huddle to start the game in order to avoid slow starts that have plagued them.

Also, Kirwan thinks the Bucs’ ground game won’t be dominant, thanks to the successful return of linebacker D.J. Williams, and the Bucs will struggle against the Broncos’ pass rush.

Kirwan’s prediction, however, might surprise you.