The way the NFL is paranoid about concussions these days, and the new procedures in place to treat head injuries, Joe would be surprised if Chiefs incumbent starter Matt Cassel starts and former first round draft pick from Notre Dame, pretty boy quarterback Brady Quinn, is on the Chiefs sidelines Sunday against the Bucs.

The embattled Cassel went down with a concussion Sunday against the Baltimore Crows. Cassel has become such a lightning rod for the Chiefs woes of late, when Cassel sat on the turf of Arrowhead Stadium in a daze, the normally docile Kansas City faithful actually cheered Cassel’s demise, very much a Philadelphia-like reaction.

(Joe frankly wasn’t buying what Romeo Crennel was selling when he floated the idea he may just start third-stringer Matt Stanzi against the Bucs.)

Quinn, who has a relationship with Crennel dating back to their Browns days, has a chequered past in the NFL, largely a flop with the Browns and then humiliated to backup one-trick pony, fullback quarterback Tim Tebow in Denver.

Crennel came to Quinn’s defense when pressed by the Tampa Bay pen and mic club via teleconference this morning, which Joe attended.

“He hasn’t stated in a while but he has played in the league and he understands what it takes to run an offense and play in this league,” Crennel said. “He has always been one play away [from playing]. He went in on Sunday [after Cassel went down] and had a touchdown called back.

“I think he will run the offense efficiently.”

The way Joe sees it, if Quinn is able to slice up the Bucs secondary after sitting on the pine, seemingly for years, then the Bucs really need to look at how they are coaching up the defensive backs if not the pass defense as a whole.

More head-coach love today for Jeremy Trueblood, who might make his first career start at guard.

Recently we learned that Greg Schiano loves Jeremy Trueblood.

Today we found out that the leader of the New Schiano Order is still considering Trueblood to start at guard Sunday against the Chiefs, despite Trueblood not having a chance to practice at the position in pads on Monday because of a stomach bug.

“Jeremy’s a very intelligent football player who’s very experienced. So I think he has a much better chance of grasping things in a short amount of time,” Schiano said of Trueblood this afternoon. “You know, his best buddy Davin [Joseph] has played guard next to him for a long time. Different scheme? Yes. But they work together on so many different things that I think he has a good understanding.”

Schiano went on to say all his potential starting right guards have a good understanding, but coaches will have to figure out who’s the best fit for the Chiefs on Sunday.

Joe’s not optimistic about what Trueblood might look like at guard, but it would be interesting to watch.

Also, Joe wonders whether Trueblood will get the nod if there’s no clear cut winner of the job. The newly moved back NFL trade deadline is looming at the end of October, and Trueblood could be a prime trade target for a contending team looking for a quick fix at right tackle. If he can prove versatile, as well, there’s a better chance the Bucs could move him and score a draft pick for him.

Trueblood is a free agent after this season.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has been horrible this season, the main culprit in the team’s league-leading 19 turnovers.

Joe is fully confident Greg Schiano and his New Schiano Order would melt down in Kansas City the way the Chiefs play Santa Claus each and every week.

There is no easy way to put it: The Chiefs are horrible taking care of the football. After five games, Kansas City has given the ball away 19 times. Yes, that is correct, 19 times! That’s damned near four turnovers a game.

As one could imagine, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel is beyond frustrated with the turnovers, but what has kept him somewhat sane is the fact the Chiefs are giving out gifts in all sorts of ways.

“They are coming from a lot of different areas for a lot of different reasons,” Crennel told the Tampa Bay pen and mic club via conference call this morning. “There’s not one thing you can put a finger on. It has been several different things. Two weeks ago, we get the ball ripped out. Last week, we had a dropped ball, a fumble of a quarterback exchange. We throw tipped balls, we threw balls into bad places, it’s several different things.”

How bad have the Chiefs played charity football? they are on pace to challenge the NFL record for turnovers, 65.

Chiefs fans blame embattled starting quarterback Matt Cassel, who has been no less than miserable this season, accounting for 13 of the Chiefs turnovers (nine picks, four fumbles). But the main turnover machine for the Chiefs may not be on the field against the Bucs Sunday as Cassel has yet to be cleared to play after suffering a concussion against the Baltimore Crows last week.

The gift of Chiefs giving should be catnip for the Bucs and their struggling offense. Turnovers often lead to short fields. That’s just what the Bucs need.

Speaking to the Tampa Bay pen and mic club this morning, including Joe, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel stated the Chiefs will go with backup quarterback, former Browns first round pick and pretty boy Brady Quinn as Kansas City’s starting quarterback against the Bucs Sunday at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

That is, unless doctors let embattled Chiefs quarterback Matt Crassel play.

Cassel suffered a concussion last week for the Chiefs, which led to controversy because some Chiefs fans cheered as he hobbled off the field.

“We are going to see how this is going to turn out, but right now this is the situation,” Crennel explained. “Matt has been going through all the tests you have to do when you get a concussion. He has seen the doctors and they are evaluating. He has not been cleared yet. We will proceed today by getting Quinn ready to go.”

Crennel added if Cassel is given the green light by team doctors, he will start. If Cassel cannot go, the former Notre Dame star will battle the Bucs.

Joe never bought into the line of thinking that the Bucs were woefully short on talent in 2011, and Joe surely believes the Bucs have a wealth of talent in 2012.

Jimminy Christmas! The Bucs are BIG cash spenders on salary in the NFL this season, sitting near the top of the charts. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik would be doing a terrible job if the Bucs were lacking talent yet spending big bucks. 

But it seems Bucs icon John Lynch thinks the Bucs need more quality in their lineup. He ranked the Bucs as the 24th-best team in the NFL for the Associated Press, and Lynch claims Tampa Bay is falling short in the talent department.

John Lynch (Fox Sports, 24) – We have learned that the Greg Schiano-led Bucs will fight until the end. They are just a little short on talent and depth right now.

Joe agrees that the Bucs’ depth is suspect in multiple areas, though that’s an issue for most NFL teams.

But the talent is there, enough to win a bunch more games this season. The leader of the New Schiano Order needs to maximize it and find ways to close out games.

Joe’s friends at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa have the best service deals around. So why go get your car fixed at some chain tire shop dump when you can have top-shelf trained Cadillac service and relax in absolute luxury? It makes no sense.

The great folks at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa have a new digital alignment tester all set up and ready to give you a FREE alignment check and diagnostic printout. Joe highly recommends it. In less than 10 minutes you’ll know where you stand. And if you need tires, their prices will NOT be beaten. Click on through below.

Determined to take over the NFL and all sports and create jobs for themselves catering to the spreadsheet minions who only care about fantasy teams, stat geeks are distracting fans by the millions.

Joe is reminded of this Satanic cult today by the writings of Scott Smith on the cutting edge Captain’s Blog on Buccaneers.com. Smith tries to get Bucs fans excited by the NFL statistic that tells us Vincent Jackson has yet to drop a pass this season.

The minute Joe read that, Joe instantly thought of Jackson dropping at least a couple of catchable balls on opening day. In Joe’s mind, and in the minds of legions of fans and media watching that game, Jackson made those first-game drops.

But here come the stat geeks to keep the world in order. What would we do without out them?

The guys taking a drop away from Jackson are probably from the same geek squad that doesn’t believe RGIII was sacked at the Redskins 12-inch line.

A top pick-up for the Bucs after tight end Kellen Winslow decided he wouldn’t toe the line was the signing of stud pass receiver/tight end Dallas Clark.

With the addition of Clark, along with receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, the Bucs looked to have a strong passing game. That hasn’t happened.

Clark has been virtually invisible. Sure, the guy has made a play now and again, but seemingly too few and too far in-between.

Veteran NFL reporter eye-RAH! Kaufman of the newly sold Tampa Tribune weighs in on the subject in a (also newly sold) TBO.com Bucs Q&A.

Q: Why don’t the Bucs throw more to Dallas Clark?

– Elden Landolt, Livermore, Iowa

A: The Bucs expected more production out of Clark through four weeks. He has nine catches for 81 yards, but he hasn’t scored and he hasn’t been targeted very often by Josh Freeman in the first month. He isn’t the Dallas Clark of 2006, but he still has reliable hands and he knows how to get open. After a bye week to reflect on their first four games, the Bucs hope to get Clark more involved in the offense as he builds a trust with Freeman.

– eye-RAH! Kaufman

Well, that’s part of the problem: Freeman not looking his way. It also doesn’t help that the Bucs have been a two-yards-and-a-cloud-of-field-turf-pellets kind of an offense through much of the first four games. Even Woody Hayes would have broken out in a cold sweat.

It’s fair to suggest that if a team is loathe to pass the ball, one can’t expect a passing offense to click, much less target a talented tight end more than twice a game.

Before last weekend’s slate of games, BSPN reported that the undefeated Atlanta Falcons were dropping back to pass on two-thirds of their offensive plays despite playing with a lead nearly 80 percent of the time.

Then the Falcons went out Sunday and attempted 52 passes en route to beating the Redskins in Washington.

Yes, Michael Turner was healthy and grinded out 67 yards on 18 carries.

The Falcons appear to have completely embraced the throw-first mentality of many winning NFL teams. And it stands out, considering how much success they’ve had pounding Michael Turner in the running game on first and second down over the past four seasons.

Joe’s a big fan of running the football, and believes the Bucs definitely need to establish a diverse and effective rushing attack, but it is amazing to see how much the game is changing on offense.

Mike Sullivan and his 2011 Super Bowl Giants had the lowest yards-per-carry average in the NFL last season. And the Giants were in the bottom third of the league in total rushing attempts.

Joe doesn’t suspect the Bucs will come out tossing the ball around the field Sunday, but don’t think that Sullivan isn’t one who knows what a passing offense looks like.

An interesting non-move of this bye week involved the Bucs not adding another defensive end to their 53-man roster.

Things could change tomorrow, of course, but right now the Bucs have four tight ends and three defensive ends. That’s a pretty rare combination in the NFL.

Adrian Clayborn was lost for the season against Dallas, and the Bucs seem content to stick with Michael Bennett, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and George Johnson.

Good for those guys, but that’s awfully flimsy depth.

Joe will be watching to see if Dekoda Watson and Quincy Black get more opportunities to put their hand on the ground Sunday.

Joe also will keep an eye on how Andre Carter does for the Raiders against Atlanta. It will be Carter’s first game of the season. He made the Pro Bowl last season for the Patriots and was signed recently by Oakland — after Clayborn went down. Joe would have been pleased to welcome him to the Bucs.

At times the Bucs have looked positively blitz-happy this season. Joe’s still trying to get the Giants-Bucs game out of his head.

But blitzes have their value, and former Bucs tight end Dave Moore sees Sunday’s game against the Chiefs as a sensible time for the Bucs to dial up all kinds of pressure.

“The question is, ‘Are the Bucs going to get in that man-to-man [defense] or are they going to play a little softer?” Moore said, speaking on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday. “I would imagine the Bucs to come after them like crazy, to blitz a ton, be in that man-to-man on the outside and force whatever quarterback’s going to be in there to beat them. That would make the most logical sense. You know, if it’s Cassel, he’s not playing very well. Let’s blitz the heck out of him. Try to get some turnovers. And with Brady Quinn, same kind of thing. He hasn’t been in there that much. Put a lot of pressure on him.”

Moore went on to say the Bucs must stop the run for these blitzes to have maximum effect. Blitzing on 3rd-and-2 will not be as effective.

Frankly, Joe’s not greatly concerned about the Bucs defense Sunday. It’s the offense that needs to find consistency in all phases. The Bucs need to get a lead against the Chiefs to drive them out of their mauling running game in the fourth quarter.

Hopefully, Aqib Talib will round soon into Pro Bowl form and become a playmaking cornerback snatching passes and locking down receivers all game long.

But to hear Talib talk, it seems he thinks there won’t be many of those potential big plays to be had Sunday against Kansas City. In an interesting bit of audio from the Bucs’ Monday locker room session played on 98.7 FM this morning, Talib sounded confident the Chiefs won’t pose much of an aerial threat.

“The quarterback don’t do nothing but handoff the ball, in that situation, so we feel like if we knock that run out we’ll be alright,” Talib said of the Chiefs.

Joe can’t quibble with Talib’s scouting report but it’s a dangerous line of thinking. Talib’s been on the field when backup quarterbacks have beaten the Bucs.

Also, hopefully the Bucs will be forced defend the pass leading the Chiefs late in the game — preferably a two-score lead.

That Tampa-2 defense is ancient history. The modern NFL has caught up. You can’t win with that anymore.

Bucs fans know Greg Schiano’s defense is nothing like the ol’ Tampa-2. But the historic Bucs defense does live in Chicago with Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli.

Joe found it interesting listening to Derrick Brooks on WDAE-AM 620 last week saying “not so fast” to those talking about the death of the Tampa 2 and explaining why it’s not obsolete. The Bears, through five games, have allowed just 14 points a game and are sixth-ranked overall (total yards).

It’s still a mind-blower to Joe that the Bucs and Raheem Morris turned to the Jim Bates Experience, and it’s two-gap defense, when they were nowhere close to having the personnel for it.

Those who hate TV blackouts of Bucs games worse than wart breakouts in gential areas might find this post especially interesting.

Mike Lombardi, of NFL Network, reported Friday that the New York Jets still had 12,000 tickets to sell for tonight’s Monday night clash at the Meadowlands against Houston.

The Jets denied the report without specifics, but regardless, the team is clearly not moving tickets. Before opening day, there were reports of the Jets struggling to sellout that game, even in a nearly new stadium and Tim Tebow in tow.

Joe finds this to be a good thing for Bucs fans, as it could get the NFL to make further adjustments to the blackout rule.

It still steams Joe that the Bucs broke the “85-percent rule” against the Redskins, but the game couldn’t be televised because the tickets were sold after the Thursday deadline for the Sunday game. What? The deadline can’t run until, say 60 minutes before kickoff? Surely the technology is in place to make that possible.

The Jets are an interesting story compared to the Bucs. Their MetLife stadium capacity has 17,000 more seats than Raymond James Stadium, and Jets cheap seats are more than double the price of Bucs cheap seats. 

Per BSPN, the Jets have the highest average non-premium ticket price in the league at $117.94. The Bucs checked in at 19th out of the 32-team league with an average price of $69.72.

Joe understands the blackout rule but believes it needs further tweaking and flexibility.

Oh, and by the way, reams of $30 tickets for the Bucs-Chiefs game Sunday are available now on TicketMaster.com.

The Bucs returned to the practice field today in pads, knocking the cobwebs off each other after parting ways Wednesday for their bye weekend.

Following practice, the leader of the New Schaino Order acknowledged that Jeremy Trueblood didn’t get to fight for the up-for-grabs right guard job because he had some sort of stomach sickness today.

Schiano said Eric Wright was back to form after being knocked out of the Redskins-Bucs game (likely the “dreaded C-Word”). And Schiano repeated something he said last week: “LeGarrette’s practiced better.”

What “practiced better” really means is a mystery, but one can only assume that will lead to more looks for LeGarrette Blount. He surely can’t get many less.

The Bucs’ next opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, appear to be a team on the brink.

The team has dealt with a drug suspension (stud defensive end Tamba Hali), injuries (wide receiver Dexter McCluster, a former Largo High School teammate of Bucs cornerback Leonard Johnson) and losing.

Ugly losing.

It’s so bad in Kansas City that fans have taken to the air, flying banners over Arrowhead Stadium demanding the ousting of general manager Scott Pioli.

If Chiefs offensive lineman and the Kansas City Star can be believed, yesterday in a struggle with the Baltimore Crows, fans turned on starting quarterback Matt Cassel, actually cheering when he was injured.

This has led Cassel’s teammates to express outrage at their paying customers, lashing out at Chiefs fans, details Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star.

“But when somebody gets hurt … there are long-lasting ramifications to the game we play … I’ve already come to the understanding I probably won’t live as long because I play this game. And that’s OK. That’s the choice I’ve made. That’s the choice all of us made. But when you cheer somebody getting knocked out, I don’t care who it is, and it just so happened to be Matt Cassel, it’s sickening. It’s 100 percent sickening. I’ve been in some rough times on some rough teams. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life to play football than at that moment right there.

“I get emotional about it, because these guys work their butts off. Matt Cassel hasn’t done anything to you people … hasn’t done anything to the media writers who kill him, hasn’t done anything wrong to the people that come out here and cheer him. If he’s not the best quarterback, he’s not the best quarterback, and that’s OK.

“But he’s a person. And he got knocked out in a game, and we got 70,000 people cheering … Boo him all you want. Boo me all you want. Throw me under the bus. Tell me I’m doing a bad job, say I’ve got to protect him more … but if you’re one of those people who were out there cheering, or even smiled, when he got knocked out, I just want everyone to know it’s sickening and disgusting.”

Now there’s two ways to look at this, at least in Joe’s eyes and perhaps, in Bucs’ fans eyes as well.

Either the Chiefs come into the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway a team in total disarray and ripe for a wood-shedding by the Bucs, or the Chiefs come in like a wounded tiger.

Joe’s guessing Bucs coach Greg Schiano is siding with the wounded tiger analogy.

Regulars on this here corner of the interwebs know Joe is a footballholic. On Saturdays, Joe can be found vegging on his couch virtually all day, inhaling copious amounts of beers while soaking in college football from noon to midnight (and sometimes, beyond).

Joe has become enmamoured with West Virginia and its video game-like offense, engineered by wonderful senior quarterback Geno Smith.

This past Saturday, Joe started a bonfire of sorts on Twitter when Bucs fans, who apparently were watching West Virginia and Smith slice up the Texas defense, began Twittering Joe about the possibility of the Bucs drafting Smith next April in the NFL draft.

Simply put, if Josh Freeman is still on the Bucs roster next spring, there is zero chance the Bucs draft Smith, which from the responses Joe received on Twitter, did not sit well with Bucs fans.

Look, there just is no way the Bucs will Pearl Harbor Freeman by drafting Smith. It simply isn’t going to happen. Plus, the Bucs are not going to be paying major cash to Freeman, a high first round draft pick, and have another high first round draft pick, Smith, sit on the bench behind him.

Besides, put yourself in the shoes of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik. Does anyone with a sober mind actually expect Dominik to walk into the posh office of Team Glazer and try to explain to Team Glazer, “You know, all that cash you spent on Freeman, I guess it might be a waste. However, if you pull out your checkbook again, with maybe more cash, you could land Geno Smith.”

Short of Dominik totally selling out Raheem Morris, there is zero chance Dominik is going to lobby for Smith. It just isn’t going to happen.

Another element to think of: Does anyone — rationally thinking — really believe Greg Schiano will tank the rest of the Bucs games so the team has a shot of drafting Smith? Please.

For some reason, Bucs fans have to have a player to hate. First it was Barrett Ruud, then it was Gerald McCoy, now it seems to be Freeman.

Freeman’s current contract ends after the 2013 season. And no, the Bucs have not given up on Freeman.

So please put the thoughts of Smith coming to the Bucs out of your mind. It isn’t happening.

If there’s a guy among the media that knows Mike Sullivan and his offense, it would be former Giants receiver Amani Toomer.

Sullivan was Toomer’s position coach for five seasons (2004-2008) with New York. So Joe’s all ears when Toomer weighs in on the Bucs offense like he did last week with Whitney Johnson of WHBO-AM.

Toomer believes Josh Freeman looks very uncomfortable and Toomer doesn’t like the sideline interaction between Sullvan and No. 5.

“I just feel like [Freeman] doesn’t seem like he’s mastered it yet. You know, you can just look at his face, look at the body language and he just looks a little unsure of himself,” Toomer said. “Things happen and he’s going over to trying to talk to Sully. I know Sully is a guy who is very hands-on and he tries to explain to him. But there’s some point in time where you gotta just play the game and coach it off of the tape in terms of ‘Ok, Sully, I did that wrong and let’s move on and seek something else.’ Because there’s too much going on to be learning during the game.”

Toomer went on to say the bye week should be good for Freeman’s development.

Joe, too, has noticed Freeman and Sullivan poring over still shots together during games and seemingly in deep coach-player instruction.

Joe can’t call that a negative, like Toomer seems to be. But there is such a thing as overcoaching.

It’s the universal question swirling among Bucs fans: What’s wrong with Josh Freeman?

In recent days, Joe’s brought you various takes, including those from former Bucs Shaun King and Booger McFarland, who disagree with how Freeman has been handled by coaches.

Joe checked in with former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990-1991) on the subject after the Redskins game, and Carlson weighed in saying Freeman is having mechanics issues and Bucs coaches are waiting too long in games to have Freeman go to his strength, pumping balls downfield.

“It’s those short [throws], the square-ins and the curls, and the other types of routes that the backs do that he’s going to throw in front of them a little too far and behind them a little too far. He’ll put them on the money sometimes but he’s going to be inconsistent. And that’s his issue. That does come down to mechanics. But the reason he’s bad is because he’s unsure of what he’s doing, ” Carlson said.

“You can see the way he pulls his arm back. The quarterback should extend his arm out to the receiver. He kind of flicks it and pulls his arm back to himself. That just means he’s not confident in what he’s doing.”

Joe wonders along with everyone else about what is really driving Freeman’s inconsistency and apparent lack of on-field confidence.

One thing Joe does know is that Freeman would benefit greatly from a sound running game. The Bucs are averaging a terrible 3.6 yards a carry, 24th best in the NFL entering last weekend.

Joe wonders whether Greg Schiano was a bit jealous today watching the Chiefs lose 9-6 to the Ravens this afternoon.

The Chiefs pounded the ball relentlessly and successfully — something Schiano yearns to do — and simply needed Matt Cassell to protect the football and make some basic plays. Cassell couldn’t get it done, but the Chiefs did pick up confidence grinding out time of possession and moving the sticks on a top defense like the Ravens’.

Kansas City offensive lineman Eric Winston was excited after the game, telling the Kansas City Starhow the Chiefs need to maul defenses on the ground like that and rack up 50 carries every week. 

“I’ve never seen a team come out there and do what we did to them,’’ Winston said. “I’ve never seen somebody come out and run the ball like we did on them today, and that had better roll over. This has to be us every game. This has got to be us, a street fight every game. I told everybody in this locker room it’s got to be a street fight every game. This is who we are, this is who we need to be, this is Kansas City and we need to be a bunch of brawlers.

“If we have to run it 50 times and the fans boo because we ran it on third and 7, oh well. We’re going to be a bunch of brawlers . . . we’re not going to turn the ball over anymore and we’re going to get some wins.’’

Charles rushed 30 times for 140 yards and caught three passes for 21 yards. He got the ball a total of 39 times in the overtime win against the Saints.

While the Chiefs are a bad team with no legitimate quarterback in sight, they will make for an interesting opponent Sunday in Tampa.

There’s little doubt that Jamaal Charles and his offensive line can be dominant at times.

The Bucs will know what’s coming Sunday. The question is whether they can stop it like they did in Weeks 1-3 this season, or will they get gutted and gashed like they did against the Redskins.