All right Bucs fans, time to get your Gene Deckerhoff on. It’s the Bucs at the Stinkin’ Panthers and the Bucs are do to deliver a beatdown on an inferior opponent.

If the Bucs are truly a good team and are trying to make a run at the playoffs, this is the kind of game you win. Show the Stinkin’ Panthers who their daddy is. Make Cam Newton bury his head in a towel and bawl.

If the Bucs can pull off a win today, they will be 6-4 for Thanksgiving. Who here would have guessed that in August?

Week 11
Bucs at Panthers
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: Locally, WTVT-TV Channel 13. DirecTV Channel 705.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 136.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, it will be chilly but not too awful. Kickoff temperature is expected to be 54 with winds around 10 mph under mostly cloudy skies. It won’t warm up much after that as the temperature near the end of the game will climb to 56.
Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs -1.5
Outlook: OK, so the Bucs are in a playoff run. Logically speaking, that means the Bucs are a good football team, no?? If one believes in this premise, then the Bucs should knock off the Stinkin’ Panthers. Good teams beat the teams they are supposed to beat. The Stinkin’ Panthers are lousy. Superman has ingested quite a bit of kryptonite. Cam Newton, though dangerous, has proved to be mortal. Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger he is not. Oh, the Panthers have some talent on the field. Steve Smith is as dangerous as any receiver in the NFL and we all know just how stout the Bucs pass defense is (cough, cough). Then there are the Panthers linebackers who who are as good as any linebacker unit in the NFL. This, Joe believes, will be the key to the game. The Bucs’ offensive line has been ripped to shreds by injuries and now backup Jamon Meredith is a monster question mark. The Panthers linebackers have to be licking their chops at the chance to face such a depleted offensive line. Panthers stud rookie linebacker Luke Kuechly all but said as much, stating this week the Panthers’ objective was to try to stop Doug Martin and make the Bucs a one-dimensional team. They know the Bucs, to be polite, are thin up front.
The enemy speaks: Below are some quotes from Panthers coach Ron Rivera and Kuechly about the Bucs-Panthers matchup today.
Kuechly: “We have to finish games, that’s been a trend. We play well at first but haven’t been able to finish a team at the end. We need to play well all four quarters. … [The Bucs] are clicking right now. They are running the ball extremely well right now and when you run the ball, your offense jumps. … [Moving from Will linebacker to the middle] I have become more comfortable as the season has progressed and the more reps I get, the more comfortable I get. I’m still not 100 percent comfortable. … We have to make a team one-dimensional and stop the run. So we have to take care our gaps.”
Rivera: “[The Bucs] offense is on track. Their quarterback is playing extremely well right now. He is limiting his mistakes and making great decisions. Doug Martin is becoming the running back that I think Coach Schiano envisioned him to be. I think [the Bucs] receivers are in sync. Their offensive line, despite injuries, have solidified themselves and look good. … Doug Martin is playing the way a lot of people thought he would be. He doesn’t play like a rookie. He makes a lot of good decisions. He is the complete running back.”

It was interesting to Joe to hear various Bucs defenders talk about Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. The feedback to Joe spanned from indifference to awe.

The awe factor came from Bucs defensive end Michael Bennett, who dismissed Newton’s struggles through his sophomore season in the NFL.

“Nothing against the cam newton, we just want to beat the Panthers.

“I don’t know that if he is struggling,” Bennett said. “His yards are still good. You don’t win the Player of the Year if you are not a great player. He has just made a few mistakes. He is an explosive player and at any time, he can be explosive.

“But I’m not worried about what he is doing wrong. No offense to Cam, but I want to beat the Panthers.”

Adam Hayward didn’t really want to talk about Newton and he admitted he wasn’t laying awake at night worrying about what Newton is doing wrong.

“I know we just have to stop the whole team,” Hayward said. Newton “is turning the ball over, that is a big part of why they are not playing well. We just have to do our job and not worry about that.

“The way we look at it is, Cam Newton is just another quarterback and if we keep him from getting on a roll, we will be taking care of business.”

What could be more fun that watching the Bucs-Panthers game tomorrow with fello Bucs fans and the Kilt girls!

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. There’s indoor and outdoor seating, plus WiFi access, easy parking and great game viewing. Tilted Kilt also has the Sunday Ticket so you can keep track of all your fantasies that aren’t wearing skirts.

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.