Now Joe has no problem with the Bucs trying something novel once in a while to mix things up and catch defenses snoozing.

No, reaching into the Jeff Bowden playbook and calling for an end-around by Arrelious Benn every game is not being creative. It. Does. Not. Work.

Earlier this year against the Dolts, the Bucs brought in backup quarterback Josh Johnson to run an option, which Joe thought was cool. It was very different; had not been seen before and got a first down.

With the Bucs offense trying to swim upstream and down 14-3, the Bucs were deep in Saints territory and had a very makeable third-and-four on the Saints-23 just inside the two-minute warning.

With LeGarrette Blount starting to warm up, with receivers finally getting open, the Bucs brought in Johnson on third down.

WHAT??? Look, even people walking with white canes could see this would be a running play, a run to his right. It’s not like the Saints never saw this play before.

Of course the Saints held him to a one-yard gain, forcing a field goal.

FOX analyst John Lynch immediately said, “I hate to be critical but I don’t know about that play. You take your best player off the field to run a gimmick on a makeable third down.”

Lynch was right. Using Johnson on an option on second down, Joe’s OK with that. But not on a critical third down when you are trailing on the road to the Saints when field goals won’t get the job done.

Wrong place, wrong time for trying to outsmart the Saints.

In what was billed as the deepest draft in the history the modern NFL, the Bucs selected Arrellious Benn early in the second round last year.

Benn has proven he’s dangerous. Mark Dominik said two weeks ago the Bucs need to use Benn more. Last week Raheem Morris said he wants Benn more involved. Is anyone getting these messages to Greg Olson? Somebody send Olson two scantily clad cheerleaders each holding a sign — one that reads “Use,” the other “Benn.”

Benn was thrown to twice today and caught both balls. He runs strong after the catch. What the hell’s going on? If he’s not open, then dial up plays that get him the ball. And the not the stupid end-around that never works.

Crosstrain the guy to be a third down back if you have to. Benn’s been a beast on special teams, and Joe suspects he can block and do more with the checkdown than Kregg Lumpkin. (Of course, Joe’s reaching for effect with that one.)

The Bucs offense isn’t good enough to let a talent like Benn go unused repeatedly.

“We were out there playing fast [when the offense was clicking],” Benn said. “We weren’t executing and that is all on us. The saints did everything we have seen. We knew what we were doing, just simply didn’t execute. 

 

The ugly loss to the Saints just got worse.

Far, far worse.

Per Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times, he has Twittered that the Bucs’ disruptive defensive tackle is lost for the year.

@NFLSTROUD: Bucs DT Gerald McCoy is out for the year with a right arm injury, players say.

This is the second year in a row that GMC has been lost for the season. This being GMC’s second season, it appeared he was going to be a force for the Bucs and did make an impact on the opponents’ rushing attack when he was in the game.

This is just terrible news, and the way the Saints gutted the Bucs on the ground, in particular freight-training Quincy Black more than once, imagine what Adrian Foster will do?

UPDATE: Per Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times, GMC has torn biceps in his right arm.

McCoy, the NFL’s No. 3 overall draft pick in 2010, suffered a torn biceps in his left arm last season, but now is said to have torn the right biceps.

“Hey, stuff like that happens, man,” DT Brian Price said. “I feel bad for him because he had the same injury last year, just on the other arm. My heart goes out to him because I know how hard it is being on I.R. I just hope he gets better.

Joe doesn’t want to hear the argument that the Bucs don’t have enough talent. Joe’s far more concerned with what the coaches are doing with the talent they have.

That’s coaching — getting the most out of your roster.

Joe can’t imagine there are any Bucs fans that think the Bucs are playing their best football, or anywhere close to it. This team is not better than last year’s bunch.

Joe sees Greg Olson unable to get any kind of identity on offense and dial up what’s necessary to get his offense in a rhythm to start a game. Joe would love to get a look at that pregame “script.” (If Joe sees that sinful Arrellious Benn end-around one more time, he’s going to punch a wall.) Olson’s offense was ranked 10th in the NFL for the second half of the 2010 season. Where did it go?

Looking at Raheem Morris, the defensive coordinator, Joe sees a guy that simply hasn’t figured out how to consistently craft a pass rush, stop big plays and get the most out of his emerging stars on defense. The stats are so bad they’re not lying. The Bucs are on pace for fewer sacks than they had last year (24 total), and the team is near the cellar in many defensive categories.

Raheem the head coach has a team committing all kinds penalties. And the guy hasn’t found a way to get his team to play with a sense of urgency from the opening whistle, which, to be perfectly honest, is the head coach’s primary job — to get guys to play for him.

Joe’s seeing a team that has regressed on both sides of the ball, and given the youth on the team and the relative continuity on the roster, Joe’s having a hard time not laying blame on the coaching staff.

Just about the entire ugly loss to the Saints could be summed up in one decision.

For much of the game, the Bucs could generate little offense. It was early in the fourth quarter and the Bucs trailed by three scores, 24-6.

The Bucs took over at their own 25 and drove down the field before a drive stalled at the New Orleans-7. Fourth-and-goal.

Rather that being bold and going for a touchdown, someone on the Bucs sideline — offensive coordinator Greg Olson or head coach Raheem Morris — decided the game was over. Time to mail it in.

So Connor Barth was sent out to kick a field goal.

If was the football version of waving the white flag and giving up.

“You can’t kick field goals,” Morris said on the Bucs radio network after the game. “That’s what prevents you from winning ballgames.”

If that is the case, why did Morris — or Olson — decide to kick a field goal when the Bucs were knocking on the door? The drive was the best of the game for the Bucs and the coaching staff decided to hoist the white flag. At least it smelled that way to Joe.

The heinous stench of mediocrity (or worse) now hangs over the 4-4 Bucs, which sit in third place in the NFC South.

Not since 2009 has a Raheem Morris team turned out consecutive clunkers. And that’s what happened today.

It would have been one thing go up to New Orleans and play well and lose, but the Bucs looked inept and lost at times on offense. The painfully dumb penalties continued (nine penalties for 80 yards) and the defensive line was dominated — no pass rush and repeatedly carved up the gut (seven yards per carry). All around the tackling was hardly that of the “yungry” team Raheem talks about.

Adam Hayward apparently starting for Geno Hayes didn’t make a darn difference.

Gerald McCoy got hurt very early in the game. And while some might pile on calling him a bust, Joe thinks that tag, if it’s to be used, is better suited to Roy Miller. The Bucs sure missed Frank Okam, who started the last two times the Bucs beat the Saints.

At least Josh Freeman looked better. Is there so little open downfield? Joe sure can’t figure out the Bucs’ playcalling. So much for LeGarrette Blount on third down.

Stick with Joe through the night for more on this head-shaker of a game.

OK, boys and girls, have at it. Saints hosting the Bucs in the Superdome.

Ready… set… go!

Week 9
Bucs at Saints
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13 locally. The game is also available on DirecTV Channel 708.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 136.
Weather: Per Accuweather.com, despite the Bucs and Saints playing in a soulless dome, Bucs fans who traveled to the Big Easy will have a pleasant day. There is simply no better place to tailgate in the NFL than Bourbon Street, none. Those who are cruising the French Quarter this morning are doing so with temperatures in the low 70s. When heading back to the French Quarter after the game, the temperature will be in the mid-70s, all under sunny skies.
Odds: Per SportsBook.com, Bucs +9.
Outlook: Joe can’t quite figure this game out. Last week the Saints got an alley-beating with an ax handle worse than what Sonny Corleone did to Carlo Rizzi. This came at the hands of the lowly Lambs believe it or not. Simply put, the Saints offensive line was an absolute sieve. They couldn’t stop the run on defense and the Saints offensive linemen did their best to impersonate turnstiles while pass blocking. This makes Joe salivate. With LeGarrette Blount returning today, he could feast on the Saints pathetic rush defense, which is giving up an NFL-worst 5.5 yards a carry. Joe, however, isn’t expecting that Saints team to show up today. This is a division game. It should be and likely will be much tougher than a walk-through. Joe’s pretty sure the Saints took the Lambs for granted and were looking past the Lambs to today’s game with the Bucs. Joe expects the Saints to use a lot of two-step drops by Brees to keep the heat off of him. … How important is today’s game? If the Bucs win they not only have a one-game lead in the NFC South, they hold a tiebreaker against the Saints. Given how Detroit is playing and Chicago is playing, and with the Bucs losing to both teams, Joe’s pretty convinced the Bucs will have to win the NFC South to make the playoffs. Today would be a helluva big step towards that goal.

LeGarrette Blount’s going to get plenty of high-pressure work on third down today in New Orleans, and No. 27 says a big part of what got him ready to be a full-time back in the Bucs’ too-complex-for-an-outsider system was his lockout regimen.

“I kind of followed Josh [Freeman] around like a little kid,” Blount said of how he spent his time during the asinine lockout. “Every time he went out to throw passes I was there.”

Kudos to Blount for taking his craft seriously. He opened up Friday night on Total Access on WDAE-AM 620.

Blount said he could have played against Chicago but ultimately believes it was wise for him to sit out because he’s now “100 percent.”

As for learning the Bucs system early in his Tampa Bay career, Blount said a big part of challenge was clearing his head of what he had learned in Tennessee Titans camp.

On a lighter note, Blount said that during the bye week he went “all-in” on a massive family soul food feast including his mother’s sweet potato pie and red velvet cake. He also challenged Mike Williams to put up his mother’s “Buffalo soul food” versus Florida soul food.

Blount admitted he was a huge Dolphins fans growing up and claimed bobody on the Bucs will dare to play him on Madden. While playing Madden, Blount said he runs the ball 80 percent of the time, largely handing the ball off to himself and throwing himself screens.

Ex-Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a 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.

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

It’s been two weeks since their last game, with a bye week to get healthy and assess their proficiencies and deficiencies. And perhaps most important, time for the Bucs to make the kind of mid-season adjustments that they have been making at halftime of most of their games because of the awfully slow starts on both sides of the ball.

I fully supported the decision to go to London early, but now understand that at least some of the “youngry” Bucs treated it more like a Las Vegas vacation (what happens in London stays in London) than the successful business trip that the older and wiser Bears went on. 

A micro look so far says there are issues for both coordinators and the head coach to address. A macro look says they are 4-3 and playing for the division lead at the halfway point, and I don’t think anyone can be unhappy about that. Any disappointment means the overall expectations for this team have grown and that’s a tribute to those same coaches. There’s also been loads of inconsistent football throughout the league.

I don’t believe that overconfidence is Josh Freeman’s problem for his early season passing woes, but rather simply slow, poor decision-making and some simply poor throws.

His receiving corps has lacked explosive play-making all season, with Mike Williams reminding me of Michael Clayton’s sophomore campaign following their rookie breakout seasons. I just hope he doesn’t continue to follow Clayton’s career trend, and I don’t think he will, but he needs help from a slot receiver that can occupy the safety, so that he can get one-on-one and let Josh Freeman have the confidence to let it rip to the No. 1 guy.

I don’t believe the argument that the rest of the receiving corps is capable enough to compete at the highest level of the NFL is correct. They do need to be faster, tougher and better across the board.

Freeman needs to be able to just drop back and throw the deep ball (man-to-man coverage on the outside) with confidence that his guy will either catch it or make sure the other guy doesn’t. I haven’t seen him try it all year. They need more YAC from everyone! 

I won’t make a big deal about it, but I would like to see them have another wideout with speed and get Winslow off the field on 3rd and 7+. He has made a few noteworthy plays, but I think they would create more big play opportunities matching speed with the “nickel” corner that defenses substitute in these situations and maybe “5” won’t get stuck on “82”.

Generally, the Bucs are not catching the ball on the move enough, which is partly the play design and partly the execution. 

I have been disappointed that LeGarrette Blount wasn’t ready to help on third downs to start the season, but took half of his second year to get the protections down (attribute that to the lockout, but I thought he should have taken it upon himself to get that worked out before the end of training camp). The NFL has become a shotgun league on 3rd and 2+, but now with Blount available the Bucs can stay in “regular” people and have more options to pick up first downs, keep drives alive and out of the hands of Drew Brees and company.

Maybe it is just his flowing mane that catches my eye, but as the Bucs finish up their mid-season bye week, I think the most impactful player on the team is Adrian Clayborn. His constant effort and pressure on the backside make him the MVP at the halfway point.

 If the rest of the team took his example into their play, this team would be off-the-charts and all those slow starts wouldn’t be a topic of conversation.

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also brings you THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t.

Ask your average Bucs fan what he thinks about Gerald McCoy, and you’ll get every grade in the book.

You’ll hear what a future star he is, and you’ll get the “bust” word, too. He get’s compared to Booger McFarland and, of course  Warren Sapp. The truth is, he is all of those, and none of them.

McCoy only has 18 games to his credit. He started from Day 1 in 2010, but was injured and his season was over after week 13. Some would say McCoy was just starting to come on around week 9 playing Carolina at home. He had his first five-tackle
day, with two passes defended and a fumble. The next week he got his first sack against the 49ers, then two more sacks the next week against Baltimore. After that McCoy went down.

This year McCoy got a sack in week 4 vs. the Colts, part of a six-tackle night. He got hurt the next week at San Francisco and should be back for the Saints game this tomorrow. What is not measured, however, is the penetration that McCoy gets and the 
disruption that makes QBs feel uneasy. It’s exactly what he did in college, and it’s exactly why the Bucs drafted him. It’s also the same reason Bucs fans are calling him a bust.

To understand we have to do a little history lesson; Gerald McCoy’s best year at Oklahoma got him 6.5 sacks, his junior season. He went down to six in his senior year, with a grand total of 14 sacks in all three of his years with the Sooners. The Bucs did
not draft a sack machine; they drafted a defensive tackle that brings an explosive first step, quick penetration, major disruption; everything the Bucs covet from the position.

The problem in all of this is a fella we see on the NFL Network who is headed to Canton one day. Warren Sapp played the 3-technique on the Bucs D-Line just as McCoy does, but as I said, Sapp is headed to the Hall of Fame one day. Sapp is one of a kind,
once in a  lifetime. To expect GMC to be another Sapp would be the same as the 49ers to expect Alex Smith to be another Joe Montana, or Bills running back Fred Jackson to be another Thurman Thomas.

Will Gerald McCoy play better? Truthfully he’s not playing that bad right now.

He is causing disruption, and that’s what the Bucs want. In the future, you’ll hear his name more and more, but it may not be sacks, it may just be pressures, which do a lot of the same thing — create turnovers.

This info. is not lost on the Bucs; they know quite well what kind of player GMC is. And yes, spending a top pick on a DT who can
control the line of scrimmage and do what you want him to do IS worth the pick.

What the Bucs are doing is drafting defensive ends around McCoy who can bull rush to the QB. The sacks won’t come from the defensive tackle positions, but from the ends instead. You can only double team one or two players; someone else is going to get to the QB.

It was sort of funny this week when after Josh Freeman appeared on the NFL Network with a bandage, a brace, something around the thumb on his throwing hand, Saints coach Sean Payton threw a hissy fit while balancing himself on his crutches and screamed to the NFL that the Bucs were playing games with the team’s mandatory injury report.

Freeman wasn’t on the report until Payton began whining.

Well…

Seems as if Payton got his hand caught in the cookie jar a few times doing the very same thing(s).

As Pat Yasinskas of ESPN points out:

In fact, you could make a case that the Bucs might want to put in a call to the league office because New Orleans right tackle Zach Strief and linebacker Will Herring are not on this week’s injury report. Both were inactive Sunday, although Herring might have been a healthy scratch. But both players had been out with injuries for multiple games.

In fact, the Saints have a notorious past, specifically outrageous was the last time the Bucs visited the Big Easy, as documented by Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

During the New Orleans Saints’ regular-season finale against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers, three key New Orleans players — safety Malcolm Jenkins, tight end Jimmy Graham and running back Chris Ivory — were sidelined with injuries.

Reporters’ inboxes and Twitter accounts were bombarded by fans seeking status updates, yet no official updates were given, even though the league requires teams to do so in a timely manner.

When a Buccaneers player went down later in the half, a reporter requested an update from Tampa Bay’s media relations staff. He was told they would issue a report when the Saints issued theirs.

Later in Duncan’s article, he explains how Payton all but admits he’s one of the worst violators of reporting injuries in the NFL.

If only Joe was confident he wouldn’t be sued, Joe would love to tell the story about, in college, when Joe caught Payton …

Sorry, Joe can’t go there. Not yet anyway.

If there’s anyone wondering whether Tanard Jackson has remained humble in the face of recently jumping off his couch after a year-long suspension, getting two interceptions in two games, and a new multimillion dollar contract, then his latest interview on the Buccaneers Radio Network should answer that question.

Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski interviewed Jackson for a segment that will air Sunday on the Bucs pregame show on WDAE-AM 620 and other network affiliates. But Joe heard a snippet on the radio yesterday.

Jackson was asked to share his feelings on his comeback and said he didn’t want to credit “luck” but he can’t rule it out.

“I’m still wondering how this is all happening,” Jackson said. “It’s a blessing.”

Count Joe among those still amazed by what T-Jax has accomplished. Sadly, though good for Jackson, he leads the Bucs with two interceptions. Five other Buccaneers have one.

However he got to this point, Joe’s damn glad the Bucs’ ball-hawk-in-chief is the secondary.

Joe loves food, and Joe is proud to say that Mugs Grill & Bar in Clearwater serves up some of the finest quality and value in the Tampa Bay area.

The wings at Mugs Grill & Bar wings have won more awards than Derrick Brooks, and everything on the menu is extraordinarily fresh and homemade. And if you find a colder draft beer, you’re lying. Mugs has great domestic pitchers for only $6.25 during all football games.

Joe loves the wings but often grabs Mugs’ phenomenal filet mignon tips, real grouper sandwich, or chili cheese fries with bacon.

Don’t forget to join the Mugs E-Club for free nachos for 2 (click above), plus great discounts and deals all year long. You’ll be glad you did.

Mugs also is a dynamite spot to watch all college football, MLB and NFL games.

Veteran WTSP-TV, Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth offers some advice for Josh Freeman and examines the keys to Sunday’s Bucs-Saints game. This is exclusive video for JoeBucsFan readers.

Now Joe has heard Raheem Morris say his young receivers need to step up and help their quarterback.

But Joe must say that line sounded a little odd coming from center Jeff Faine.

Asked yesterday by a  sports radio caller to The Jeff Faine Show why Josh Freeman isn’t running the ball much this year, WQYK-AM 1010 host J.P. Peterson interjected an answer for Faine saying teams are spying Freeman and he doesn’t have clear running lanes. But Faine jumped in saying that’s more of a secondary reason.

“Josh is trying to make plays as a quarterback and relying on his arm and his receivers to make plays,” Faine said. “It’s up to his receivers to take the stress and pressure off him.”

Joe gets that Freeman doesn’t want to run, but as long as he can physically run successfully, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t tuck the ball in and go versus forcing the ball into unopen receivers.

Joe’s not big on blaming receivers, but if they’re not performing like they did last season, per a veteran captain and the head coach, then Joe has to wonder why this young and hungry unit has regressed?

The Bucs’ dreadlocked rookie defensive end, Adrian Clayborn, sat down Friday with the curator, creator and guru of ProFootballTalk.com, Mike Florio.

The two spoke roughly 10 minutes about all things Clayborn, England, sacks, rookies and more.

Clayborn also talked about leadership along the defensive line. He fingered Gerald McCoy as its leader but then sort of said D-line leadership is evolving.

The good folks at NBCSports.com didn’t provide those fancy embed codes to watch it here. So you’ll have to click here to view the interview.

Last week the Saints got literally seal-clubbed by the lowly Lambs in St. Louis, with A.J. Feeley leading the way — A.J. Feeley! Also, Saints quarterback Drew Brees was put on the ground six times. But Pat Kirwan, along with Jason Horowitz, explain how the Bucs don’t have the personnel to duplicate what the Lambs did defensively in this CBSSports.com video.

Injuries are piling up for the Saints and that’s nothing but good news for the Bucs.

This afternoon, the Saints announced that stud rookie fullback Mark Ingram will be watching the game from the sidelines and Pro Bowl linebacker Jonathan Vilma may very well join him, so reports Mike Triplett of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

New Orleans Saints tailback Mark Ingram has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with his lingering heel injury. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma is listed as questionable after missing practice again Friday. Coach Sean Payton said Vilma will be worked out on game day before the team makes a decision. He said there hasn’t been a setback with Vilma, but the team is continuing to monitor the lingering knee injury.

Defensive tackle Shaun Rogers did not practice Friday because of an illiness, but he is listed as probable. Everybody else has fully participated in practice for the Saints this week and should play.

Of course Joe never wants to see a player hurt. But if said players, key cogs for the Saints, have to sit out a game to mend their bruises, better it be when the Bucs travel to the Big Easy.