Every wanted to go on a cruise? Why not do it with former Buccaneers, NFL greats and other sports celebrities?

ESPN AT SEA has great “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013. Yeah, Super Bowl time.

All kinds of former NFL greats are accessible on the cruises, as well as stars from the soccer world, cruise cheerleaders and much more. Click below to learn all about the parties, and the discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers on these fantastic Royal Caribbean ships.

Bucs cornerback La’Quan Lewis, picked up off the street earlier this year, had a key pick in the fourth quarter, one of many backup players that came up big for the Bucs today.

Yeah, often if a team is relying on free agents off the street and late-round draft picks to make plays, the team is in dire straights.

Not so with the Bucs today. Rather than dire straights, one could suggest the Bucs actually have a deep roster.

Let’s look at what some players call camp meat did for the Bucs this afternoon.

First, of course one cannot overlook how the Bucs scored the winning touchdown. Undrafted free agent rookie Leonard Johnson got a gift from Trent Dilfer Philip Rivers and raced 83 yards for the game-winning score.

Then there was Dekoda Watson, a seventh-round draft pick out of Florida State. In the first half, Watson raced in and blew up Chargers punter Mike Scifres after blocking his punt attempt that Adam Hayward scooped up for a score.

Oh yeah, Hayward. a sixth-round pick by the Bucs. He got the job done when he corralled Watson’s blocked punt and, while biting the football, returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

Not to be forgotten, undrafted cornerback LeQuan Lewis, a free agent pick up this season, activated from the practice squad this week, had a key fourth quarter interception of Rivers that helped keep the Chargers off the board.

Not a shabby performance by a quartet of guys who aren’t expected to make big plays.

Nice job by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.

Not much for Joe to say here. Quincy Black made a hard-hitting tackle in the second half and paid a steep price. The Bucs medical staff cared for him on the field for several minutes before Black was carted off waving the fingers on his right hand and giving a thumbs up.

After the game, Greg Schiano said he was encouraged and expected Black to be OK. Schiano said Black was under supervision at a local hospital.

Last season, the season after winning 10 games, Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman was particularly unfranchise-quarterback-like.

Accuracy was not his forte. Forcing balls was his signature, especially to a double- or triple-covered, mouthy tight end.

Freeman quit forcing passes early this season, but the accuracy wasn’t there. Now, after a thrilling 34-24 win over the Chargers, Freeman still isn’t pinpoint accurate, but man he sure knows where his open receivers are.

It sure seems Freeman is quite comfortable with this Mike Sullivan offense. There were times when Freeman had defenders in his face. Instead of panicking, he calmly tossed the ball to an open receiver or Doug Martin.

Freeman seemed to do this effortlessly. As if he already knew a receiver was open, and just where the receiver was supposed to be on a checkdown. In other words, Freeman was very smooth and a cool cucumber today, which in Joe’s eyes shows how he has grown and melded into this new Bucs offense.

Instinctive.

“He was cool today,” Bucs left guard Jeremy Zuttah said. “Under pressure, he went through his progressions and that is all you can ask for from your quarterback. He did his job.”

And so too did the Bucs.

Joe’s ecstatic for Dekoda Watson, who had earned a Sabby for his choke and personal foul on a missed punt block in Dallas earlier this season. That was an absolute killer in that game, and Greg Schiano was not happy about it, calling the play a 10-point swing in the six-point loss.

Today, Watson was a hero, getting a late first-half punt block that led to a scoop and score by Adam Hayward.

Watson made additional plays on special teams today and also made rockstar general manager Mark Dominik look a little wiser. It was Dominik who called Watson a “Pro Bowl-caliber special teams player” in September.

Nothing is slowing down Lavonte David

Last year, Bucs safeties led the team in tackles. Joe has nightmares of serial loafer chasing rabid running backs in the second and third levels of the defense as fans cried their eyes out.

This year is a different story. Again, Bucs rookie Lavonte David had a monster afternoon, racking up 13 tackles today, one for a loss. He now has 80 through nine games. Remember how Barrett Ruud was routinely lauded for busting 100 in a season? David, if he stays healthy, is on pace for 142.

After the game, Joe chatted with the humble rookie, who also calls the Bucs defensive signals.

JoeBucsFan.com: You’ve racked up a hell of a lot of tackles so far this season? Do you feel it? Is your body talking to you?

Lavonte David: No, I don’t feel it at all, man. I do a good job trying taking care of my body through the week. I’ve got a whole bunch of vets around me who have been through the same thing I’ve been through. They give me all kinds of [advice], as much as they can so I can keep up through the year.

Joe: You’re essentially doing at the NFL level what you did at Nebraska, making plays all over the field and being a tackling machine. Are you ever surprised at all?

David: No. I just love the game of football, you know, man? I just try to do what I can. I’m just thanking God for putting me in this place here. So I just go out and do what I do. My teammates, I can’t thank those guys enough, they really keep me motivated and keep me humble.

Joe: Derrick Brooks is in touch with lots of Buccaneers. Have you had a chance to meet with him and talk about linebacker play and life?

David: I haven’t had the chance to really sit down and talk to him. But we talk a little by text, but nothing man-to-man yet. I need to take time out of my day one day sit down and talk with him. That would be a great boost for me and a great thing for me.

Joe: What’s been the biggest surprise of your NFL experience?

David: I mean week in and week out (laughs) I know now it’s going to be a ballgame no matter what. I mean, you know, week in and week out your against the best of the best.

Bucs cornerback Leonard Johnson holds the ball aloft after scoring his pick-six which gave the Bucs the lead for good Sunday.

Bucs defensive back Leonard Johnson went from the depths of depression to the heights of exaltation in a span of not quite 60 minutes of football today.

Early in the game, Johnson went to tackle Chargers receiver Danario Alexander near midfield on a Philip Rivers pass (one of many to come). Johnson came up and wrapped up Alexander and threw him to the ground.

Problem was, Johnson didn’t actually tackle Alexander ,who sort of did a tumble without hitting the ground, jumped up and raced for the end zone.

Fast forward to late in the game with the Chargers seemingly on another scoring drive when Rivers was flushed out of the pocket and looked to be going out of bounds.

“I was running up to cover him,” Johnson said.

Instead of throwing the ball away or running out of bounds, Rivers, inexplicably, threw the ball and hit Johnson right in the numbers.

“I think I hesitated at first because I was shocked,” Johnson said of his pick.

But he wasn’t done. With only one Chargers player to beat, Johnson raced unabated to the end zone, styling Deion Sanders-style the last 20 yards, capping an 83-yard pick-six for what proved to be the winning score in a 34-24 Bucs win.

Johnson had “re-routed” his receiver when Rivers was flushed then defended Rivers in case he tried to gain yardage when Rivers decided, for reasons unknown, to channel his inner Trent Dilfer and throw a terrible, terrible, terrible pass.

“I grabbed ahold of it and I think I hesitated for a second because I was so shocked,” Johnson said. “This is big,” he said to himself as he styled across the goal line. “It was always a play I wanted to make in college. It was my first pick-six, ever. I was excited, really excited.

“It was everything you think of, it was big, even bigger because it put the team in a position to win. It wasn’t just me that made that play. If the quarterback doesn’t get out of the pocket due to pressure, who knows how that game would have turned out?”

The last time Johnson scored a touchdown was when he was quarterback at Largo High School. An offensive touchdown.

Johnson’s head was still swirling about the play after the game. He said he couldn’t remember who he was guarding initially on the play because “I’m still high right now.”

Joe just couldn’t believe his eyes watching the Bucs play in the first half. Joe knew Philip Rivers would at some point slice apart the Bucs defense, given the Bucs have the worst pass defense in the league.

But Joe never envisioned Rivers simply ravaging the Bucs the way he did in the game’s first 30 minutes.

Yeah, some will say the Bucs couldn’t get heat on Rivers. They could, but it didn’t matter. When you let a running back run free in the flat, when you let Antonio Gates get off the line of scrimmage without breathing on him, of course receivers will be free as wild turkeys in Tennessee.

Rivers didn’t need any time for his receivers to get open. They already were. So the moment a Bucs defender started charging at Rivers, he simply flipped a ball to a running back or Gates and there was a first down if not a touchdown.

Joe wanted to vomit at halftime. In the name of Monte Kiffin, what the hell was going on here?

Well, the Bucs, more importantly Bucs defensive coaches, learned from their mistakes in the first half. They started to contain running backs in the flat. They began to have Lavonte David nail Gates at the line, not just disrupting his pass route, but blowing up the play.

“We kept playing, kept grinding,” Bucs defensive end Michael Bennett said. “Of course we made mistakes in the first half. If they score, that’s a mistake.

“They kept a lot of people in in the first half and were hitting check-down routes, which is what they are known for. That’s a great team. Rivers is a great quarterback. They have a lot of good receivers, good running backs.

“We didn’t make the same mistakes that we made in the first half. That was the difference. Unless [Rivers] was going to sit back seven yards we weren’t going to get to him and he didn’t do that.”

Look, Joe knows it was a team victory today against the Chargers, but it’s darn interesting that the Bucs beat the San Diego primarily without cornerback Eric Wright, who left the game early with what was announced as an ankle injury, and without helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, Adderrall-popping, coach-cussing, referee-charging, pistol-friendly, granny-hassling Aqib Talib.

The Bucs are now 4-1 without Talib.

The patchwork unit of E.J. Biggers, LeQuan Lewis, Leonard Johnson, and Myron Lewis, did enough, with some very savvy anticipation by Ronde Barber and a decent day from Mark Barron.

Joe still has no illusions that the Bucs have a good secondary, but only small improvement is needed among this group when they continue to force turnovers and they have a punishing offense to rely on. 

Joe’s confident the Bucs can light up the scoreboard with anyone. If the defensive backs can progress, that might just be enough to get this team to the playoffs.

How bout those 5-4 Buccaneers!

The depth and versatility of the New Schiano Order was on full display against the Chargers.

Newcomer cornerback LeQuan Lewis scored a big interception. Undrafted rookie CB Leonard Johnson had a pick-6, redeeming his opening drive gaffe. Daniel Te’o-Nesheim registered a monster sack late. Dekoda Watson and Adam Hayward teamed for a punt block and score.

Those are not the names you penciled in as your likely heroes before this game.

For Joe, this win was all about maturity. As Greg Schiano likes to say, the porous Bucs defense “bowed their necks” and didn’t crack in the second half, allowing the Chargers only three points.

Doug Martin returned to earth (19 carries for 68 yards, and a few dumpoff passes, one of which he took for 42 yards), but Josh Freeman was precise and error-free.

This was an all-phases win for the Bucs, not spectacular, but damn good. It’s good to have real winning football back in Tampa!

Welcome to Week 10 of the NFL. The Bucs host the Chargers, blacked out in this neck of the woods.

Feel free to holler, scream and vent about the game here. As always, you are encouraged to share URLs of illegal, pirated feeds amongst yourselves via e-mail but posting those URLs on this site is grounds for banishment.

This should be an interesting game, much like recent Bucs games, hold on tight. Decent quarterbacks give Joe a stroke the way they light up the Bucs secondary each and every week.

So for the Bucs to win, you know, it has to be a shootout. At least those are entertaining.

If anyone believes in a higher authority, perhaps a silent word to the Supreme Being that a certain No. 23 never touches the field of the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway other than warming up and delivering water during break in the game’s play.

And so it goes for Bucs forgotten running back Michael Smith. The Bucs released their inactives a short time ago and for the ninth-straight game, Smith is inactive.

Here is the list of Bucs inactives for today’s game with San Diego:

WR Arrelious Benn

RB Michael Smith

S Cody Grimm

CB Danny Gorrer

LB Jacob Cutrera

LB Najee Goode

G Roger Allen

Joe doesn’t know what bowl of cereal Smith must have spit in. The Bucs return game stinks. Even Bucs coach Greg Schiano has said as much.

Why not try Smith, who returned kicks in preseason and on opening day?

Joe just doesn’t get it.

Week 10

Chargers at Bucs

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: Blacked out in the Tampa and Orlando TV markets; DirecTV 711.

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

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, you are not going to get a much better weather day to go to a Bucs game. This Chamber of Commerce weather is why we live in west-central Florida. Temperature at kickoff is expected to be 79 degrees which will bump to 80 in the second quarter and shouldn’t budge much after that, all under sun-splashed skies. Bring your sunscreen!

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs -3.

Outlook: If you like offense, this game should be for you. If you have a pacemaker or are weak of heart, maybe you should leave or turn off the radio in the fourth quarter. On one one side you have the explosive Bucs (Joe never dreamed he would type such a thing) with great wideouts like Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson, and the cannon arm of Josh Freeman and the legs of Doug Martin. Easily the most potent offense Tampa Bay has ever seen. On the other side you have Philip Rivers, who Joe still believes is one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. As Joe hinted at earlier, good quarterbacks have roasted the Bucs secondary in the fourth quarter. Joe doesn’t expect that to change, especially if the Bucs are wont to use a three-man front. Unless there is serious heat on Rivers, he will put up pinball machine numbers on the Bucs defense. Joe fully expects a high-scoring game. This should be fun to watch. Unless the Bucs somehow find a way to shore up that pass defense, or unless the Bucs are able to get a bunch of turnovers, Joe doesn’t expect to have many fingernails left late in the game.

Fun quotes: Here are some neat quotes from Chargers coach Norv Turner and quarterback Philip Rivers on the Bucs:

Turner: “I appreciate Vincent more than most having the opportunity to have him here. Big plays turn into points. It opens up the field for other guys (too). Other Bucs players have benefited from having Vincent there. Mike Williams is a big play receiver like Vincent. Makes things challenging. … Bug players but very athletic. I am very impressed with their front seven the way they move. They are doing a great job of stopping the run and when you do that, you have a chance in every game. If you are able to stop the run, you can live with that [porous pass defense]. … We have to protect the ball. If we don’t turn the ball over we have a chance to win and we cannot give up big plays. The rules are structured for teams to make big plays. If you give up long drives you have an opportunity [for a turnover]. If we give up big plays, we will be in trouble. … [Ronde Barber] is phenomenal. When he has his helmet on he looks like he is about 24 years-old and he is playing about like he is 24 years-old. You can see he is helping everyone on that defense.”

Rivers: “You certainly miss a player like Vincent Jackson. He was a great player and a good friend of mine for, shoot, six or eight years. You pull for him every week — except for this week. Because he is big and fast and physical, easy to label him a deep target and a jump ball guy but he is much more than that. He was really good on underneath stuff and quick slants. He was not limited. He obviously is a stretch-the-field guy but he was so diverse. He practiced and he was great in the meeting rooms as far as how he prepared. Just a real committed player. Can’t say enough positive [things] about his time here. … This is a big game for both teams. Each of us are trying to keep things going. … There are some big plays that have been made on them in the past few weeks but it is a defense that is attacking and fast. They have given up some big plays but at the same time they create turnovers and create negative plays. You look at how they have been No. 1 in run defense is because they create a lot of negative plays. They have a real active front and linebacker group. They are a diverse group and it is certainly a challenge. … [Ronde Barber], unless you are playing against him, is a fun guy to watch. A guy who has played that long, he is an awesome football player and it is fun to watch him make plays, strip the football, make plays in the hole on Adrian Peterson, he is a heck of a player and an unbelievable career. … The backers are active, they are all active. So active.”

It was a feel-good morning earlier this week when eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune dropped by to speak with Chris Dingman and Kirk McEwen, co-hosts of the WHFS-FM 98.7 morning show. Kaufman sounded like a Bucs cheerleader.

All thumbs were pointed upwards in Kaufman’s eyes as the Pewter Pirates head into their game with San Diego tomorrow.

Kaufman noted how the Bucs have changed. Just 10 years ago, the Bucs had one of the most savage defenses in NFL history and rode that defense to a Super Bowl win.

Now, as Kaufman pointed out, the Bucs have the most dangerous offense in the NFL.

“They are in line to shatter all of the offensive team records, all of them. This is easily the best offense this town has seen in 35 years. Everything has changed around now. They are averaging  28 points a game — for the season — and that is after a sluggish start. Everybody deserves credit.

“This team in this NFC playoff picture, let’s be honest. It’s all good for Bucs fans right now with this prolific offense.”

Kaufman then went on to cite the deft drafting of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, new Bucs coach Greg Schiano for his New Schiano Order, offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan for crafting this offense yet never calling a play in the NFL prior to this season, and to offensive line coach Bob Bostad wizardry in keeping a unit together despite it having just one starter left in place from the start of preseason (remember, Jeremy Zuttah has moved to left guard).

Joe happens to believe Kaufman is on the mark. It’s hard to believe this is virtually the same organization that stunk worse than an uncleaned Porta-Potty baking in a Florida summer.

Even if the Bucs don’t make the playoffs — those losses to the Giants and Saints are killers — it’s remarkable the headway this franchise has made in half a season.

If Keyshawn Johnson was throwin’ the damn ball for the Bucs, he’d be eyeballing Mike Williams before Vincent Jackson.

Speaking on the Booger and Rich show on 98.7 FM this week, the man who caught 106 balls for the Bucs in 2001 says his prefers the film on Williams. 

“They’re making plays. They’re going and getting the football. I like Williams better than I like Jackson,” Johnson said of the Bucs’ receivers. “I think Williams has the ability to just make plays all the time. When it looks like he’s not going to catch the football, he goes up and he gets it, he catches the ball in traffic. He’s just a solid playmaker to me. But Jackson, it helps him because of his height advantage. I think his size and his height advantage, you know, especially in the red zone, gives him that size advantage that you’re looking for in a receiver.”

Joe, too, is impressed by the versatility and the wow factor of Williams. Hell, the guy’s first career touchdown grab was spectacular and unique. Of course, the body control all starts on the basketball court for Williams, who’s been known to fly around the court.

The woes of the Bucs secondary this season have been the Achilles heel of the physical Bucs defense.

The secondary has had it its quality moments, full halves of football even, but inevitably a roasting comes. This is painful to Ronde Barber, who shared that the fix is obvious and simple in theory, during a Tuesday interview on the Buccaneers Radio Network.

“It’s really nothing to address. I mean, you get in 1-on-1 situations sometimes; we just gotta win. You know, they’re winning,” Barber said of failures in the defensive backfield. “There’s no secret. Balls can not go over your head in the secondary. That’s the bottom line.”

Barber referenced simple yet profound advice he got many years ago from ageless Hall of Fame Redskins cornerback Darrell Greene (1983-2002) on how to stay in the league so long, “Don’t get beat deep.”

“It’s a really simple concept that we have to get better at. We can’t let the ball go over our head,” Barber said.  

Joe fully expects the Bucs secondary to struggle the rest of the season. There’s no miracle cure in the bushes. The Bucs are probably hoping that’s speedy CB LeQuan Lewis, but that’s an experiment, nothing more.

Joe simply hopes the Bucs improve in coverage this season until they can invest in cornerback this offeseason. Basic improvement could be enough to ensure the Bucs win shootout after shootout the rest of the way.

How would you like to cruise the tropics in style? And why not do it with former Buccaneers, NFL greats and other sports celebrities?

ESPN AT SEA has awesome “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013. That’s right you can watch soak up your Super Bowl experience on in style.

Mingle with NFL greats and renowned soccer stars, cruise cheerleaders and more. Click below to learn all about the parties, and the discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers on these fantastic Royal Caribbean ships.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe loves when Carlson fires away. Carlson is often seen as a football color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company,America’s Best Quarterback. Plus, he’s a really cool dude.

Greg Schiano certainly marches to the beat of his own drum and it is clear that Buccaneers’ players are marching right along with him and the results are quite impressive.

Although I was against the kneelgate fiasco against the New York Giants, maybe, just maybe, it was a significant piece in helping to establish the personality of Schiano’s football team, a hard-scrabble group that will play hard each and every down, even when the game is all but over.

Schiano came into a team early this year much like Tony Dungy did in the 1990’s, with much the same gameplan for turning the team around. A tough defense and a conservative, run-first offense were the keys to success. 

Dungy was successful building his stellar defense, but fought against improving his low-scoring offense with coordinators Mike Shula, Les Steckel and Clyde Christiansen. They all ultimately failed to beat the Eagles in the playoffs in successive years and it led to Dungy’s dismissal.

What seems to separate Schiano from Dungy, not only in their significant differences in personal demeanor, but is his willingness to embrace a more wide-open offense that has produced record-breaking numbers recently.

Dungy was able to win a Super Bowl when he took his defensive philosophy to the big-strike offense run by Peyton Manning. Schiano is ahead of Dungy’s curve by allowing Mike Sullivan to evolve quickly from the ultra-conservative concepts of the first month of the season to one of the more exciting big-play offenses in the entire league.

Tomorrow, the San Diego Chargers come to town with the multiple Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator (Dallas Cowboys) Norv Turner as head coach. I gained a lot of respect for Turner as a rookie QB with the Los Angeles Rams, when he was their wide receivers coach. He was learning his offensive strategies well from Ernie Zampese at the time, but now the Bucs have one of his best weapons in Vincent Jackson, who I am sure would like to impress his former coach and team with another stand-out game of big plays!

Veteran Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth says if the Bucs can survive the smoke from Ahmad Black, and not have their secondary smoked, then they should be in good shape Sunday. Check out Dave’s weekly somewhat wiseguy take below, exclusive for JoeBucsFan.com readers.

What a fantastic event on Saturday from the Ed Morse Truck Team at Ed Morse Auto Plaza in Port Richey!

And they’re not just about trucks. This is where Joe bought his pre-owned Ford 21 months ago. Not a problem since!