Mark Barron makes a tackle on Dixie Chicks Jason Snelling, but it was his break up of a pass targeted for Anthony Gonzalez late that may have been the play of the day.

How about that Bucs defense today? Lavonte David was a monster. Joe thinks he was on his TV screen on just about every play. Talk about a highway robbery of a second round pick by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.

Then there was Da’Quan Bowers and Gerald McCoy. Bowers punished Matty Ice repeatedly, and GMC was bullrushing Dixie Chicks offensive linemen play after play like the Pro Bowler he is.

Even Leonard Johnson and E.J. Biggers looked sharp.

More surprising, in a sense, was the reawakening of rookie safety Mark Barron. The first round draft pick from Alabama was a stud early on this season and was a monster against the run. There are still cold mornings in our nation’s capital where RGIII wakes up thinking about Barron.

But Barron’s pass defense hasn’t been as good. Part of that is he is a rookie still learning. But on a critical fourth down play late in the game where Matty Ice tried to go for future Hall of Fame tight end Anthony Gonzalez, Barron, playing centerfield, raced in and broke up the pass that Gonzalez had his mitts on.

That was easily Barron’s play of the year on pass defense.

Overall, maybe the Bucs best defensive play all year. Too bad it came a month too late.

Joe’s ecstatic that the Bucs beat the real, first-team Falcons, rather than some shell of the now 13-3 NFC leaders.

This was a massive win for the New Schiano Order, which restored hope and confidence to players and fans for the long offseason. There just would have been no way to positively spin a six-game losing streak to end the 2012 season.

Doug Martin jumped into all kinds of elite company among rookie running backs with 142 yards on the ground, and the pass defense actually showed up! They “bowed their necks,” as Greg Schiano likes to say, and stymied a strong offense on the road.

Josh Freeman, well, he’ll be back in 2013, and the way he played today is about what fans can expect. It was “OK” Josh, and enough to win a lot of games with a real Bucs defense on the field.

It is the last game of the season. There will be no playoff games, no January games. The Bucs took care of that by tanking the past month.

But there are questions that the Bucs need to have answered today, if not Bucs fans.

* How many interceptions will Josh Freeman throw today?

* How many yards will the pass defense give up?

* Will the Bucs own the disgusting title of the worst pass defense in the 93-year history of the NFL? They only need to cough up 252 yards for such a distinguished title.

* How many sacks will Michael Bennett get? For every sack he racks up, for every tackle he makes, the cash register at One Buc Palace rings.

* What will Ronde Barber do? If this is Barber’s last game, Joe would love to see him get a pick-six.

OK Bucs fans, have fun and behave.

The Bucs released the Michael Smith list just now and, for the 15th consecutive game, the namesake of the list, heralded rookie running back Michael Smith, is inactive. Below is the full list of Bucs inactives.

CB Eric Wright

RB Michael Smith

LB Jacob Cutrera

G Roger Allen

WR Chris Owusu

DT Corvey Irvin

DT Matthew Masifilo

Curious that the Bucs activated troubled Bucs cornerback Wright yesterday but have no plans on having him suit up. Then why activate him?

The Dixie Chicks inactives are:

QB Dom. Davis, CB Christopher Owens, S William Moore, C Joe Hawley, G Phillipkeith Manley, G Harland Gunn & DT Travian Robertson.

Week 17

Bucs at Dixie Chicks

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13 locally, DirecTV Channel 713.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 125.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, though the game will be played in a soulless dome, it will be cold for those wanting to tailgate. Morning temperatures of the low 30s under sunny skies will push to the lower 40s by kickoff. Should be in the mid-40s by game’s end and temperatures will drop rapidly afterwards.

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs +3.

Outlook: And another end to a playoffless Bucs season comes to an end today. Yeah, Joe knows the Bucs should lose in order to help out their draft position for next April. This is a meaningless game… in fans’ eyes. But there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Who is a Buccaneer Man? Players giving lame effort today very well could find themselves unemployed in the coming days. Second, will Bad Josh Freeman show up or Good Josh Freeman? For Freeman’s sake, Joe hopes the good Josh Freeman shows up. If Freeman throws, say, three picks against the Dixie Chicks scrubs, he will be the talk of sports talk radio until the Rays begin play in April. If the Bad Josh Freeman plays, he will be pretty much the lone Bucs subject (sans the draft) heard on sports radio until training camp. That will make for a very, very, very long offseason for the Bucs quarterback. Outside of a perverse interest if the Bucs set a NFL-worst record for pass defense (the Dixie Chicks only need 252 yards in the air) in the 93-year history of the league, it’s hard getting worked up for this game after the team gagged their playoff chances the past month.

Michael Bennett does not believe the Dixie Chicks game is meaningless. Of course, he’s about to score big in free agency.

It’s the last game for the Bucs tomorrow. There will be no January games. No postseason. Freefalling the past month took care of that.

But don’t dare tell any of the Bucs, much less Greg Schiano, the game Sunday against the Dixie Chicks is not important.

Take Michael Bennett for example. He’s looking to continue his solid season. A free agent in a matter of days, Bennett is looking to cash in big time and a solid game Sunday will only add to his suitors.

“It is important because it is the next game and an opportunity to show the coaching staff what kind of players we have for next year,” Bennett told Joe. “It is definitely a building block game so everybody should play hard no matter what.”

Bennett dismissed any notion that he is looking ahead to hitting the NFL lottery in the coming months.

“I mean, it is just the next game for me,” Bennett said. “I’m trying to do the best I can to try to win. [A new] contract comes when it comes. I’m not worried about that.”

Now Joe has written about how the Bucs are on the cusp of a truly horrific 93-year NFL-worst record for pass defense, which is simply unacceptable and demands full explanation from Greg Schiano to Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and Team Glazer next week, This should not be tolerated under any circumstances and specifically how Schiano intends to repair this abomination must be explained.

(And stop with the comparisons to the Packers. Worst means worst! Trying to spin this 93-year mark or wave off how rank the pass defense has sunk is crazy talk, an exercise in idiocy.)

The Bucs, however, are also on the verge of setting another defensive mark, but this time it is very good. Aaron Schatz, the mastermind behind FootballOutsiders.com, has crunched the numbers and documented that the Bucs’ rush defense is one of the best in NFL history.

The Bucs also lead the league stuffing runners for no gain or a loss 34 percent of the time. That’s only tenth historically, but it’s by far the best figure this year. Detroit — maybe Suh can stop the run too? — is second at 27 percent.

Anyway, let’s congratulate these mostly unknown players on doing at least part of their job really, really well. Unfortunately, in the modern NFL, the other part of the job — “getting to the quarterback” — is the more important part.

Now Joe is on record stating he cannot fathom what kind of sales job Schiano must do with Dominik and Team Glazer to somehow justify bringing defensive backs coach Ron Cooper back next year — frankly, there is no justification. Some of Joe’s readers point to defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan as culpable as well, and Joe believes that is a fair point.

But if we are to mock Sheridan for the pass defense, then he must be lauded for the outstanding rush defense.

Joe wants to believe this is the handiwork of Bucs front seven assistant Bryan Cox, who deserves a handsome bonus or raise for the job he has done.

Also in Schatz’s article, he writes extensively how great rookie linebacker Lavonte David has played and referred to the Bucs defense as “The House of David.”

Joe believes that’s what the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway should be called, “The House of David.” Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Mazel tov!

John Lynch says the Bucs are worn out

Joe wrote extensively yesterday about how Greg Schiano openly discussed his team’s energy level and implied that the team is “emotionally tired” from losing, while Schiano also suggested he has not worked the Bucs hard enough in practice.

Now, beat writer Rick Stroud, of the Tampa Bay Times, quotes Bucs icon John Lynch saying the Bucs have been overworked and are “out of gas both mentally and physically.”

If Lynch’s take is accurate, then the Bucs are in far worse shape than Joe imagned.

Out of gas? Is that why Josh Freeman is in freefall?

What exactly could the Bucs coaching staff have done to Freeman to wipe him out physically? Joe’s quite confident nobody’s hitting Freeman in practice and he’s not running sprints. Also, Freeman is a tremendous physical specimen and has been hit less than most QBs this season. And, as all Freeman apologists love to remind everyone, Freeman is 24 years old. If Freeman is physically spent, then there’s a huge problem. And if Freeman is mentally gassed, then he’s got even bigger issues.

The new NFL labor agreement has scaled back the total number of practices in pads, total practices, and length of practice time during the offseason, preseason and regular season. Players have the best trainers and facilities around. There’s no reason why a team collectively should be physically gassed. Some banged up guys, sure, but the team? No way.

The mental side of this is intriguing. If the Bucs are beaten-down mentally, then Schiano’s “one-game-seasons” approach to the game has failed miserably.

Joe’s getting increasingly frustrated, especially since Joe suspects Lynch is echoing weakass comments he’s heard directly from Bucs players.

Hopefully, the Bucs rise above tomorrow in Atlanta. As Joe’s written previously, there’s no way to sugarcoat a complete collapse to close a season.

With cornerbacks like E.J. Biggers and Leonard Johnson starting, the Bucs must change their approach, says Pat Kirwan.

The Bucs’ pass defense is so porous Tampa Bay might need to start treating first down like third down.

That take is floated, via this video link, by noted former NFL personnel executive and former coach Pat Kirwan, now seen on CBS and heard on NFL Radio.

Kirwan says to look for “more pressure calls” from the Bucs, especially as E.J. Biggers and Leonard Johnson try to match up against Roddy White and Julio Jones. Though Kirwan expects the Bucs corners to “once again be beaten up.”

Kirwan calls for a 17-10 Falcons victory, with Atlanta staters resting in the second half.

Joe hopes this prediction is way off. Joe absolutely will hit the ceiling if the Bucs can’t rally to beat Luke McCown and the rest of the Falcons backups, if they do indeed take over in the final 30 minutes.

Might the Baron of Berlin, Florida State stud defensive end and sack specialist Bjoern Werner, give the Bucs needed help pressuring the quarterback?

Thinking about how the Bucs are a mere 250 passing yards away from setting a 93-year all-time record for NFL passing defense futility, Joe just wants pick up a chair and wing it at his TV. If Joe needed a new HD flatscreen, a leg of the chair likely would have been impaled the TV already.

Joe is surprised players weren’t pelted by beer cups and debris at home games the pass defense was so porous. Imagine what Eagles fans in Philadelphia would have done if the Eagles were in the Bucs’ current position, and the team pass defense had such a gutless performance against a garbage team with a lame duck coach and a rookie third round pick of a quarterback who threw for 381 yards that killed the Eagles’ playoff hopes at The Linc?

Riot police would have been called out in force. And deservedly so.

It isn’t just the guys off the street masquerading as NFL cornerbacks for the Bucs that is the problem, says eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. While appearing with Tom Krasniqi, otherwise known as “TKras,” this afternoon on WDAE-AM 620, Kaufman said the Bucs’ defensive line is not blameless as the Bucs are on the cusp of a galling 93-year record.

In short, Kaufman believes Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik must be searching for yet another pass rushing specialist in the offseason.

“I am telling you Champ Bailey can’t cover these guys [opposing wide receivers] for four seconds,” Kaufman said. “The whole don’t equal the parts. They have to get more out of [DaQuan] Bowers.

“I am afraid the thinking of the braintrust here might be, ‘Hey, we are getting [Adrian] Clayborn back. Bowers will be fully recovered and you know what? We are OK on the pass rush.’ That is a very dangerous attitude. They haven’t had a double-digit sack guy since Simeon Rice was running around plastering quarterbacks. That’s a long time ago. I like [Michael] Bennett but he is a free agent. There is no guarantee the Bucs bring him back.”

Kaufman is absolutely correct. If and when Bennett hits free agency, there is no telling what could happen. Some crazy owner (Jerry Jones, Danny Snyder, Stephen Ross) could just throw a Brinks truck at Bennett to sign. It’s a gamble for sure.

Now Joe likes Bowers and when he is healthy, the guy can be productive. But he is not healthy; has never been this season, and oh yeah, there’s the nasty degenerative bum knee he is playing on. Perhaps, at best, Bowers is nothing more than a pass rushing specialist playing maybe 25 snaps a game?

Since the day Dominik took over he has been trying to build a pass rush only with moderate success. Bennett was a steal and finally Gerald McCoy has proven to be among the NFL elite.

Clayborn is coming off a knee injury. Who knows how effective he will be?

It may just behoove Dominik to run out and get Giants free agent Osi Umenyiora and perhaps pray a defensive end like the Baron of Berlin, Florida State’s Bjoern Werner, can slip down to the Bucs.

Peter Schrager, Alex Marvez and Jill Arrington (remember her?) debate who was the steal of the 2012 draft. A certain player that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik picked made the discussion. Find out who in this FoxSports.com video.

There was a candid moment for Greg Schiano today at his afternoon news conference. The leader of the New Schiano Order was asked whether he thought his team was tired, and the head coach opened up,

“I don’t think they’re a tired football team,” Schiano said. “I think the number of reps we do are very, very selective. You know, I don’t know if there’s an NFL team that’s doing less. Maybe I got to examine that?

“I do think we utilize walk-through and jog-through as a substitute for live repetitions to try to save their legs. Some of the things we do, you know, on Fridays, where we’re running with hats on, not even helmets so that no one will get physical. You know I think we’ve made every attempt to keep our guys fresh because I do know that is the key when you have talented guys over a long period of time that are, you know, some of them are older. So I don’t feel that. But, you know, when you lose, and you don’t have that emotion because you’ve lost and you’ve lost, that makes people emotionally tired. And when you’re winning, as we were for five weeks straight, it emotionally energizes you. So I don’t think it’s a physical thing. I think that’s been really scrutinized.”

Schiano went on to praise his captains for valuable feedback on the team’s physical/emotional condition, and Schiano said he’s typically “erred” on the side of not pushing players hard as the season has pressed on.

Clearly, like any obsessed, detail guy, Schiano is struggling to figure out what he could have done better to avoid the Bucs’ freefall. Remember, it was Schiano who said, “I know what to do” immediately after the New Orleans blowout, yet the Bucs didn’t respond against the Rams on Sunday.

The Bucs must look like winners this final Sunday in Atlanta. Joe really wants to see Schiano overcome the demons that have infected the Bucs. There’s just no way to put a positive spin on a six-game losing streak on top of a five-game winning streak.

Below is the broadcast map of where the Bucs-Dixie Chicks game Sunday can be seen on a local, over-the-air FOX affiliate. Map courtesy of the506.com.

Team Glazer appears to be positioning for a shopping spree

Per a fancy, fresh accounting report on ESPN.com, Team Glazer has shelled out eight-figure checks to Carl Nicks and Vincent Jackson now, in order to free up a load of salary cap space for the 2013 season.

The details are a bit boring, but the bottom line is exciting for those who love when the NFL free agency bell rings in March.

That leaves the Bucs in good cap shape for next season. They now have $98 million committed toward a cap that’s expected to be slightly more than $120 million. But the Bucs can still increase their space. They can carry over remaining 2012 cap space to 2013. Even with the accelerations on Jackson and Nicks, the Bucs still are about $8.5 million under the 2012 cap.

Keep in mind, the ESPN figures include Eric Wright’s massive contract, which the Bucs reportedly can void after this season because Wright violated the NFL substance abuse policy.

And the cap figure includes Quincy Black’s big contract. Black could be cut or reach an injury settlement if he can’t get healthy.

It would not surprise Joe if the Bucs are the back-to-back big spenders in NFL free agency. The New Glazer Order means business.

Today is the Bucs last full practice of the season. Tomorrow the Bucs may have a walk-through and then it’s time to play the Dixie Chicks.

But just because it is the final real practice of 2012 doesn’t mean Bucs coach Greg Schiano is going soft on the Pewter Pirates. In fact, per many Twitter reports, Schiano unloaded on his defense for lacking attention to detail this morning.

@RCummingsTBO: Bucs HC Greg Schiano was hot today: “Do your job,” he screamed. “I know it’s a novel concept. We’re last in the (expletive) league – last!”

Joe’s guessing that a pass defense drill was what set off Schiano.

Joe likes this for several reasons. One is that Schiano is clearly ashamed and embarrassed that his pass defense in his first season in the NFL is dead last and perhaps NFL-worst as in 93 years worst. Joe’s glad to see this irritates Schiano as much as it does Joe.

Schiano, from start to finish, has not tolerated half-@ss performance from his players. Joe vividly remembers Schiano’s first practice in the first rookie minicamp where, in the first couple of minutes of practice, lashed out at the rookies for “half-@ssing it.”

Joe senses there’s going to be a second purge of players in the coming months.

It seems Greg Schiano is distressed by the looming national headlines on Sunday night, “BUCS BREAK BREAK NFL SINGLE-SEASON RECORD FOR MOST PASSING YARDS ALLOWED.”

That will ring true, if Tampa Bay allows 252 yards to the Falcons on Sunday.

Per today’s late-morning Twittering of Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud from Bucs practice, Schiano has had enough of the Bucs’ dreadful pass defense and wants his players to know how ugly it is.  

@NFLStroud – Bucs coach Greg Schiano at practice to his defense “Do your job! I know it’s a novel concept. We’re last in the (expletive) league! Last!”

Joe can only imagine how angry Schiano would be if he had to buy a ticket to watch the Bucs secondary, versus earning a couple hundred grand a game to call it his own.

“No, Dallas, if you want out, just go that way and jump on I-75 North.”

Why isn’t Dallas Clark in love with returning to the Bucs?

By all accounts, Clark is a model teammate, and he’s been getting a lot more balls thrown his way over the past two months. But good guy Joe Smith, of the Tampa Bay Times, asked Clark about returning to the Bucs next season and got the answer Joe gets when he asks cheerleaders to a New Year’s Eve hot tub.

“We’ll see what the options are,” Clark said. “But that’s the offseason. Right now, we’re focused on finishing the season on a positive note.”

Smith described Clark as wanting to keep playing but “noncommittal” on his desire to be a Buccaneer Man after Sunday’s season finale.

This surprises Joe. Clark seemingly has a pretty sweet gig here and coaches like him. What’s making him hesitant?

Put Matt Ryan among the game’s elite quarterbacks, says the leader of the New Schiano Order. It’s all about Ryan’s “commandership.”

Speaking to Atlanta reporters Wednesday, Greg Schiano described what makes a star QB.

“I think he’s in the elite status,” Schiano said of Matt Ryan. “I think he’s at that level. The kind of field command he has and the way he directs the operation. A lot of guys have big arms and there are a lot of guys that are mobile and all that, but it’s the way they lead, the commandership they have over their offense makes them elite.”

Does Schiano believe Josh Freeman can develop that kind of “commandership?”

If Joe could strap down Schiano and inject him with truth syrum, Joe surely would ask the head coach the following, “Have you lost confidence in Freeman?”

The answer would be very telling, regardless of Schiano’s take.

Gerald McCoy surely is the Bucs’ comeback player of the year, but sidekick defensive tackle Roy Miller can’t be far behind. Miller wasn’t on injured reserve last season, thoiugh he often seemed to on a different team.

This season, however, Miller is one of the anchors in the NFL’s best run defense. And Miller plays primarily on first and second downs.

“He is a heck of a run stopper and plays the position, you know we call the tilt nose in our defense, he plays it very well. And he’s really custom-built to play it,” Schiano said yesterday. “I mean his traits really fit the position.”

Miller, 25, is an unrestricted free agent after the season, and these takes from Schiano must have brought smiles to Miller and his agent.

Schiano couldn’t have offered a stronger endorsement to re-sign Miller. But a head coach’s desires don’t always matter.

Raheem Morris openly and similarly cheered the importance of Barrett Ruud and Cadillac Williams at the end of 2010, and Raheem wanted them back in 2011. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik did not grant his wishes.