Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Manning the 98.7 FM airwaves last night, Joe checked in with his friend and former Bucs fan favorite Earnest Graham.

Graham weighed in on all things Josh Freeman, Erik Lorig, LeGarrette Blount and more.

Any Bucs fan should enjoy this interview.

Among the highlights, Graham talks about Freeman needing to loosen up, and remember what Warrick Dunn used to advise his teammates, “You’re just playing a kids game,” meaning Freeman must relax, be himself, make plays and enjoy gameday again.

Also, Graham explains how he used to coach Blount entering and exiting the huddle, and how Blount was respected by opponents and struck fear in defenses, “I’ve looked in the eyes of those defensive backs when LeGarrette Blount is coming downhill,” Graham said. Click below for the entire audio.

The leader of the New Schiano Order doesn’t like to detail injuries more than NFL rules mandate. Joe gets that.

However, Joe thinks the head coach is taking things a little far when it comes to what he calls the “the dreaded C Word.”

No, Joe doubts Greg Schiano is referring to the gutter slang further popularized in Porky’s 30 years ago. Schiano is talking about “concussion.” Previously, Schiano has shied away from talking about concussions and saying the word. He did it again Monday. 

Why? Joe has no idea.

The NFL has gone wild in recent months to openly talk about concussions, aka traumatic brain injuries. The league has tried to limit head injuries via rule changes, established concussion diagnosis protocols, and protected players from returning to play too fast, and the NFL has worked with the military and other groups to study concussions and promoted their efforts.

Even Ray Rice, Schiano’s ol’ Rutgers bell cow, is doing every national interview he can talking about concussions and touting some fancy, allegedly more protective helmet he uses.

But Schiano doesn’t like to say the “C Word.” Eric Wright was drilled in the head Sunday and was very slow coming off the field and apparently suffered a concussion, but on Monday the head coach updated Wright’s status like this.

“It’s a head. We’ll find out if it’s the dreaded C-Word or not, I’m not sure,” Schiano said of Wright.

Again, Joe doesn’t get why the coach is uncomfortable talking about concussions when league honchos all around him are working hard to make the injury transparent to fans and players.

Today, Schiano said he’s very confident Eric Wright will return against the Chiefs. As for Wright’s injury, it remains unclear.

LaVar Arrington, Dan Steinberg, Barry Svrluga and Jonathan Forsythe discuss the Bucs loss to the Redskins. Arrington sums up how the Redskins won with two players. Steinberg is puzzled by the Bucs offense and quarterback Josh Freeman. Catch the details in this Washington Post video.

Joe’s doesn’t think there’s an expiration date on information provided to a reporter off the record, but Tampa Bay Times columnist Gary Shelton had different ideas when he shared an intriguing story yesterday that he said was off-the-record information he’d been sitting on for years.

Speaking on his 98.7 FM show, Shelton said he was told in confidence that there were loud voices in the Bucs’ 2008 draft war room screaming for Tampa Bay to take running back Jamaal Charles with their second-round pick, No. 58 overall.

Of course, in one of the worst draft-day moves in Bucs history, the Bucs instead chose wide receiver scaredy cat Dexter Jackson, the guy who never caught a regular-season pass and looked terrified returning punts and kicks.

Charles was taken 73rd overall that season by the Chiefs and has racked up superstar numbers. He leads the AFC in rushing this season and the Bucs will see him in Tampa after the bye week. Bucs personnel man Shelton Quarles called Charles the fastest running back he’s scouted this season during a radio interview yesterday.

Imagine if the Bucs had drafted Charles?

Assuming he stayed healthy, that would have changed the course of the franchise. Derrick Ward never would have been signed and that money could have gone elsewhere, plus LeGarrette Blount likely would be on another team along with Doug Martin.

Hell, Chucky might still be coaching for Team Glazer if Charles could have helped the Bucs win one more game in 2008.

There are few better sources to tap into than former Bucs defensive lineman Steve White. The dude really knows how to explain Xs and Os so Joe Six Pack can absorb the information. And he’s been doing it this season with the new “All-22” coaches film available to fans on NFL.com.

White also brings to light what is good — and bad — about about the All-22 film. The bad thing? The film doesn’t tell the whole story.

For those who do not know about “All-22” is, it is game film with angles — end zone and overhead — that include all 22 players on the screen (hence, All-22, get it?) and you can see how plays develop and/or fall apart. It’s a great feature that gets fans about as close to a coach’s room this side of One Buc Palace.

Now there were two massive breakdowns with the Bucs defense on Washington’s final drive, and White, using many screencaps from the All-22, tries to explain what went wrong for the Bucs.

Here’s the thing, no matter who is at fault on either of these plays this just can’t happen during the two minute drill. It CAN’T!

I don’t know how much the Bucs practice two minute drill during the week but the only blitzes you run during such a critical time of the game are the ones the players have shown you they know in their sleep. There is no excuse for this happening not once, but twice, at the end of the game.

What White essentially outlines with images and commentary is that unless a viewer knows exactly what play was called — and no one outside of One Buc Palace likely will ever know — a finger can’t be pointed at a specific player for blowing coverage or blowing an assignment.

While All-22 is great, it often will mislead an untrained eye and not answer many assignment questions. One can see a failed play for the defense but many times no one off the field will ever know the full story.

Who knew the leader of the New Schiano Order, a man of details and discipline, was a guy who would pin poor tackling on the emotional state of his players?

It surprised Joe went defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan went there yesterday while explaining the Bucs’ poor first-half tackling.  

“It was really unlike we had played in previous games. And I think Greg did a great job. He pointed out to the players afterwards that sometimes that can be like a reflection of where they’re at emotionally going into the game,” Sheridan said. “Because I thought we had tackled well going in the previous games and it was kind of uncanny, especially in the first half.”

So why were the Bucs in such a funk “emotionally” that they couldn’t tackle? 

Were they subconsciously avoiding feeling guilty about actually tackling with Raheem Morris watching on the sidelines? Something that didn’t happen last season?

Joe can’t think of another reason. This is all very bizarre.

It’s freakin’ professional football. Have some pride. Eleven missed first-half tackles like the Bucs had Sunday is shameful, especially on the home turf before fans that have been abused enough by losses in 13 of 14 games.

A defense’s emotional state should be all about ripping the offensive players’ guts out,  especially in the first half before fatigue is an issue. That’s what fans are paying hard-earned cash to see.

Joe’s not sure how Schiano prevents the Bucs from having another pregame emotional breakdown, but Joe suspects the head coach will find a way.

There’s not a lot to be warm and fuzzy over with the Bucs these days, now dropping their 13th game in their last 14 outings.

The Redskins loss was a gut-puncher but Daniel Jeremiah believes Bucs fans have something to look forward to on football Sundays.

Jeremiah, a must-follow on Twitter who goes by the handle of “@MoveTheSticks,” is a former scout for the Ravens, Browns and Eagles and currently works for NFL.com and the NFL Network. His Twitter feed offers some of the most intelligent football analysis you will find.

Browsing through NFL rookies, Jeremiah likes no defensive rookie better than the Bucs Mark Barron.

@MoveTheSticks: TB safety Mark Barron has been the most impressive rookie defender that I’ve watched so far this season. Love how physical he plays!!

Jeremiah is right, Barron is already a beast. Joe still thinks it was appalling he got flagged for unnecessary roughness for a perfect form-fitting tackle Sunday, and let us not forget how he popped Robert Griffin III so hard once he sprung the ball loose.

The way Barron is playing, he may very well be Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik’s best draft pick in four years.

When Jeremy Trueblood got hurt, and then was benched in favor of Demar Dotson, Joe pretty much sensed Trueblood’s countdown clock to end his Bucs days was ticking.

Now, the ticks are louder.

Last week against the Redskins, Trueblood was inactive. Bucs coach Greg Schiano said, in so many words, that Trueblood not being flexible in playing multiple positions on the front line was why he didn’t dress for the game.

Trueblood, Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times reports, can see the handwriting on the wall.

But after being replaced at right tackle two weeks ago by upstart Demar Dotson, Trueblood is starting to come to terms with the fact his predicament might be permanent. Asked whether he felt he could regain the starting role through strong practices, Trueblood wasn’t so sure there’s a chance.

“I feel like their decision’s made,” Trueblood said of the coaching staff. “So I’m just going to continue to do what I have to do. It’s the NFL and people get hurt all the time. I don’t wish anything upon anyone, but you just have to be ready. Someone could get sick. Anything can happen. Preparation is important.”

The seventh-year player and former second-round draft pick has been in Tampa Bay for the duration of his career but could spend the rest of his current contract year on the bench. That would strongly suggest he could be looking elsewhere for work next season, another fact Trueblood said he is beginning to digest.

Trueblood’s fate was pretty much sealed when Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik all but gave Trueblood an ultimatum in preseason: restructure your contract or you will be walking the streets looking for work.

And while Trueblood is under a guaranteed contract through the end of this season, if he is inactive, that means Schiano believes he is on the bottom rung of the roster, therefore, it would not surprise Joe the way Dominik and Schiano play musical chairs with the roster each week, that Trueblood may be jettisoned to make room for some other free agent to be signed later.

Joe’s not saying it will happen, just that it wouldn’t surprise Joe.

The Bucs cranked out rather interesting roster moves this afternoon. Joe’s usually not into the ongoing bottom-of-the-roster shuffle, but this one is intriguing.

The Bucs cut veteran defensive end Jeff Charleston, who spent several seasons with the Saints and was signed last week. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik said Sunday on the Bucs’ radio broadcast that Charleston was a high-effort guy, strong against the run and good on special teams, and a man of good character.

But now Charleston is walking the streets, despite Greg Schaino just today referencing questionable along the Bucs’ D-line.

Replacing Charleston is tight end Nate Byham, known for his blocking. He was drafted by San Francisco and spent the last two seasons with the Niners.

Now the Bucs are not using their tight ends much in the passing game (11 catches over four games), and they’re not getting great blocking from the position. Former Bucs tight end even talked about that blocking performance during a recent interview on WDAE-AM 620.

The other tight end, Danny Noble, was not much of a blocker in college, while Byham was.

Joe knows that the New Schiano Order wants to pound the rock relentlessly and effectively. And Joe sees this move as the Bucs looking for an edge in that area.

If they’re not going to rarely use the tight ends as weapons, then the Bucs might as well get some better blocking out of the position and look more to their versatile receivers.

The head coach revealed a bit of his frustration about the running game today. Considering Doug Martin has 5 1/2 times the carries of LeGarrette Blount, Joe thinks it’s easy to determine where the coach’s feelings were directed.

Greg Schiano is often seen with his bullhorn during practice. Today before media at One Buc Palace, Schiano might have just has well been using that bullhorn considering the loud message he sent regarding the state of the Bucs’ running game.

The leader of the New Schiano Order was very clear that he wants to see more from his running backs. And considering Doug Martin has 71 carries to 13 for LeGarrette Blount, Joe’s taking Schiano’s words as a bonfire under the buttocks of Martin.

“I can run through a hole,” Schiano said. “You know, what do you do after the initial play? Can I make someone miss? Can I run someone over? If it’s all blocked up, an average back can make yardage. What are you making on your own? What are you creating as a running back? And that’s where I’d like to see us continue to grow. The front part, let’s make sure we do have the guys we have people for, let’s cover’em up. Let’s mov’em, create some daylight. People we don’t have [blockers] for, that’s where the back’s got to do his job.”

As Joe wrote earlier today, Schiano had strong praise last night for LeGarrette Blount’s manly touchdown run Sunday.

Putting this all together, Joe suspects Blount will get a lot more carries when the Bucs next take the field against Kansas City.

Many Bucs fans are still numb at how the Bucs came back from the dead Sunday, even took a lead late in the game only to see Robert Griffin III march the Redskins down the field as if the Bucs employed 11 lawn chairs for a defense.

It was way too easy, especially for a rookie in his fourth game who claimed his headset wasn’t working therefore he had to call his own plays (they weren’t runs on third-and-long down either).

Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times decided to go back to the tape and break down what went wrong.

Essenstially, Holder concluded Greg Schiano decided to bring the house on blitzes, which never got any heat on RGIII.

Now, there’s no guarantee either of these plays would have produced different results with less aggressive defensive approaches. And what we can’t comment on is whether there was perfect execution. But it’s hard to imagine either play could have been as effortless for the Redskins, either.

We’ve known since Greg Schiano took over that the Bucs were going to be aggressive on defense. But we’ve also seen instances where doing so worked in the other team’s favor (the Giants loss, for example).

There’s a strong case to be made that Sunday’s game provided another one of those instances.

Look, Joe is like every other sane football fan who is unnerved at the thought of a prevent defense, and Schiano wasn’t playing prevent, which Joe applauds.

Perhaps, as Holder suggests, if Schiano plays it straight, meaning no blitzes, it may have been smarter.

Already we have terrible evidence that late in a game when the opponent needs to throw the ball (Giants, Redskins), whatever Schiano is dialing up has proved disastrous.

The infamous Benn’d around play, exhibit A why Greg Olson was horrendous in 2011, returned Sunday against the Redskins.

While Arrelious Benn worked hard to gain five yards, let Joe be very clear that Joe loathes the playcall and considers it cruel and unusual punishment to Bucs fans. After its brutal results last season, Joe believes the Benn’d around should be banished for at least 10 years.

But that brings Joe to Benn and his role on the 2012 Bucs. Benn was a high second-round pick in the deepest draft in modern times back in 2010. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik even traded away a fifth-round pick to move up and snatch him, but Benn has nowhere near fulfilled his promise.

Bucs offensive coordinators have not found a way incorporate him consistently. Or, there’s the possibility that Benn isn’t that good.

The move to Benn as a kick returner this season has him ranked as the 17th best returner in the NFL among players with five or more returns this season.

Benn is a strong cover guy on special teams, but that’s not why he was drafted.

Joe’s not sure what the new regime is going to do with Benn going forward. Somehow, though, they should give him shots to see if he can live up to his draft position.

One of the worst things Joe did as a young child was watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers when it arrived on broadcast television.

It scared the snot out of Joe. All those chilling pod people and Leonard Nimoy out of his Spock role.

It seems that this classic movie also left an impression on the leader of the New Schiano Order.

Speaking on his radio show Monday on WDAE-AM 620, Greg Schiano referred to the Bucs jumping offsides twice on the Redskins’ second scoring drive as a mystery only explained by extraterrestrial activities.

“The second score, you know, it’s 4th-and-1 we jump and then it’s 3rd-and-1 and we jump on the same drive. I mean that’s just not us,” Schiano said. “I don’t know if we had the invasion of the body snatchers because I don’t know who that was out there.”

Unfortunately, Joe suspects body snatchers were not involved because body-snatcher clones were very stoic and unemotional and not the type to jump offsides on key plays. Also, the Bucs have been racking up stupid penalties all season.

One would think the 2012 version of LeGarrette Blount would be loved by the New Schiano Order.

Blount is physical. He’s worked hard in practice. Joe doesn’t even recall Blount fumbling in practice or anywhere this year. And ball security is everything to Greg Schiano.

Blount seems like one of Schiano’s “Buccaneer Men”, though he’s seemingly been in a doghouse, only released for an occasional romp around the yard.

But perhaps things changed Sunday.

With 9:41 left in the fourth quarter, the Bucs turned to Blount on 2nd-and-goal from the 2 yard line to pound the ball in for a score. And Blount absorbed hits and delivered a punishing touchdown run. (Here’s the video)

This was not lost on Schiano, who spoke on his WDAE-AM 620 radio show Monday about Blount’s effort with what sounded like a twinkle in his eye.

“A good job by the line, but I think that was a man who was not going to be denied,” Schiano said of Blount.

If nothing else, Joe suspects Blount is now the Bucs’ short-yardage running back.

But Joe hopes Schiano’s comment leads to more carries. Blount remains a proven weapon that is not being maximized. That’s unacceptable.

Joe’s never heard of a player in any sport blowing out his knee without the injured leg on the ground, but that’s how rockstar general manager Mark Dominik described Adrian Clayborn’s season-ending knee injury.

Chatting on the Buccaneers Radio Network before Sunday’s game, Dominik said Clayborn’s legs weren’t on the ground when he was hurt and it was caused by freakish leg whipping action amid other players.

Ouch!

NFL.com reports had Clayborn tearing both his ACL and MCL.

Dominik says Clayborn will be ready for surgery soon and should be on the field for June 2013 minicamp.

Beat out for a starting job by Demar Dotson (who was beaten badly Sunday by Ryan Kerrigan), Bucs veteran right tackle Jeremy Trueblood has an admirer. That would be Greg Schiano.

Speaking to media types today, Schiano dismissed any talk that there are hidden meanings to Trueblood being an inactive player for yesterday’s game.

“I love Trueblood,” Schiano said, calling Trueblood “hard-working, attention to detail, tough.”

“Blood is a team guy,” Schiano continued, explaining Trueblood was an eager and active participant on gameday.

So why was Trueblood a cheerleader Sunday? Schiano said it was a simply a matter of other offensive lineman being more versatile as reserves.

Relatives flying in to hound you this fall? Heading out of town for a Buccaneers road game? Why battle airport traffic and headaches when Paradise Worldwide Transportation can do it for you? Remember that Paradise’s guest services team is ready 24/7 to accommodate all your travel needs.

Joe highly recommends Paradise. They’re a local company offering specializing in top-shelf reliability and service at competitive rates.

Paradise Worldwide Transportation also offers service worldwide, so you can book airport transfers or corporate transportation easily — anywhere. One phone call gets the job done.

And, of course, Paradise also has superior Tampa party buses, fancy stretch SUVs, luxury buses, executive SUVs, wedding party packages and so much more in their fleet.

Need a limo Tampa? Make it easy and call Paradise Worldwide Transportation today at (800) 729-4713.

The leader of the New Schiano Order would not make any excuses for the Bucs’ poor tackling against the Redskins.

Greg Schiano told media today he had some theories why the Buccaneers took a step backwards in tackling Sunday but, he said,  they don’t matter. The Bucs have to tackle, Schiano said emphatically.

“In the first half, we missed 11 tackles, Schiano said. “We dug a hole, 21 points.”

Joe agrees. The Bucs have to tackle. There are no excuses. Too many stiff-arms. Too many easy shake-offs and bad angles.

That written, Joe sure would like to hear Schiano’s theories as to what went wrong.

Yes, one could go all Skip Holtz and try to make an argument that, but for one play in each of the Bucs’ three losses, the Bucs would be undefeated.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and if Rachel Watson wasn’t married, Joe would be coming home to her each and every evening.

Results. That’s what counts in the NFL. This isn’t horseshoes or hand grenades. There is no such thing as “almost,” just wins and losses, no gray areas here.

One reason the Bucs are not winning is a pathetic third down conversion rate. Why is Joe calling this “pathetic?” Because it is dead last in the NFL (tied for worst, ironically, with Washington).

This is not lost on Alan Dell. The Bradenton Herald columnist wagged a finger at Bucs coach Greg Schiano, and indirectly at quarterback Josh Freeman, for not producing better results on third down, despite a bevy of weapons. This is sinking the Bucs, Dell believes.

The comeback started when the restraints were taken off Freeman either by himself or Schiano.

Despite the heroics at the end, the Bucs are far from a finished product and can’t be excused for creating their own problems. They had 10 penalties for 107 yards, some of them significant and showed why they are last in third down efficiency converting only three of 12 third down opportunities.

“Because you lose at the end you fail to finish, but we really didn’t do a bunch of stuff before that to put us in a position to win,” Schiano said. “We had penalties, we didn’t play smart, we didn’t create takeaways. Like most teams in the NFL, it’s going to be tight ball games and we need to find a way to win.”

Joe thinks people should temper any excitement over the comeback by the Bucs. Sure, it showed some character, but if skittish Redskins place kicker Billy Cundiff doesn’t leave nine points on the field with three missed field goals, there is no comeback to discuss.

If Cundiff made just two of those three makeable field goals, there is no comeback.

The Bucs played terribly in the first half. Solving that hole the Bucs dug themselves into is what the coaching staff should strive to resolve during this bye week.

While Joe watched the game yesterday in the final moments when the Bucs were about to take the lead (briefly), Joe wondered if perhaps the Bucs should eat up more clock.

When Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III took over with 1:42 left in the game (strange, a rookie quarterback without the use of a headset knows what plays to call), Joe thought to himself, “That’s a lot of clock.”

Indeed. RGIII marched the Redskins right down the field way too easily to set up a game-winning field goal.

Well, it seems Joe was not the only one who thought the Bucs didn’t eat up enough clock. So too did Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times, who explained the Bucs seemed to be setting up RGIII for a game-winning drive.

On their final offensive drive Sunday, the Bucs were down by two and had second and 9 from the Redskins 33. They tried a pass that resulted in an incompletion, stopping the clock with 1:52 left. A wide receiver screen on the third down produced only 5 yards, and the Redskins called their second timeout with 1:47 left. The Bucs kicked a 47-yard field goal, but the Redskins got the ball back with 1:42 left and one timeout.

So if the Bucs’ plan all along was to kick a field goal (Schiano suggested as much in the postgame), then why not run the ball on second down and force the Redskins to use up all of their timeouts?

Either the second-down call was too risky or the third-down call was too conservative. But leaving the Redskins with 1:42 and a timeout wasn’t the best idea anyone ever had.

While Joe agrees with Jones, in the big picture the Bucs were fortunate to even be in the game. The Bucs played terribly in the first half and Billy Cundiff, shaky place kicker he is, left nine points on the field with three missed field goals.