The development of Will Gholston is a bigger accomplishment than it seems

Gerald McCoy told a stunning story last night on the Buccaneers Radio Network, one that reflects terribly on Michigan State football and shines a stunning light on Bucs rookie defensive end William Gholston.

McCoy was asked on WDAE-AM 620 to talk about the recent rise of Gholston, whose playing time and performance has increased dramatically the past few games. [read more]

Tim Wright is in rare NFL company

A constant irritant of Bucs fans is the lack of a quality tight end. Fans have kvetched about this so much and so often since DJ Toes on the Line was thrown off the team, many fans have been banned from neighborhood watering holes because the innkeepers are sick of the whining.

In fact, when some Bucs fans begin cursing out loud over the Bucs not having a tight end, their dog runs for cover, conditioned to know an angry boot is about to follow. [read more]

It’s part of the holiday season, just like candies and nuts and eggnog and Christmas lights and drunken parties and rotten TV specials and bowl games and bad sweaters. It’s the NFL coaching carousel, when we try to guess which coaches have been naughty and will get bounced.

In his weekly segment with the one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on the show that bears his name, “Mad Dog Unleashed,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM Radio, fight-instigating, barista-training, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King of SI.com and theMMQB.com fame discussed NFL coaches on the hot seat. [read more]

Dashon Goldson says the 2013 Bucs shouldn’t be plagued by something Raheem Morris said helped sink his team — and his job.

Diehard Bucs fans will remember how Raheem used to moan about how the new NFL labor agreement cut back on physical practices so much that it hurt his young club, especially during a post-lockout season. [read more]

Bucs commander Greg Schiano explained all of those short third down passes that don’t reach the first down marker.

It drive fans up a tree and Joe is no different than those fans in this case. It was never more evident for the Bucs than last Sunday, when time and again Bucs quarterback Mike Glennon would throw to receivers well short of the first down markers.

Almost always, that’s a dead play waiting to happen. With smallish receivers like Tiquan Underwood and Chris Owusu, expecting them to break two or three tackles just to get to the first down marker is a virtual pipedream and, frankly, hangs receivers out to dry. [read more]

In case you missed it, Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, a West Point grad, was the subject of a FOX Sports report Monday that claimed he’s in the mix to interview for the Army head coaching job.

Today, Sullivan was asked about it at One Buc Palace, and he politely told reporters it would be inappropriate for him to comment and that he had no plans to do that today.

So it’s pretty clear to Joe that the FOX report had merit.

Sullivan also interviewed for the Chicago Bears head coaching vacancy last January. Regardless, Joe thinks the odds are good that Sullivan will be free to interview for any job he wants in a matter of days.  Captaining the NFL’s worst offense is usually a coaching death sentence.

Schiano referenced disturbing numbers

Greg Schiano shook his head like a dejected man today just seconds into his afternoon noon conference.

That told quite a story, even before Schiano spoke on the topic that appeared to remind him of sad times. [read more]

No. 89 will be missed

Rookie wide receiver Russell Shepard joins the double-digit tally of Buccaneers lost for the season because of injury, the team announced today.

Not a big deal. Right? Well, not really.

Shepard was a special teams ace in all phases, so Dave Wannstedt explained to Joe.

Sadly, Shepard will be best remembered as the guy on the wrong end of Eric Page’s ill-advised handoff Sunday.

Mighty Rams DE Robert Quinn is up next

A veteran left tackle gets beat a couple of times and fans are ready to run him out of town. Such is the case with Donald Penn.

Sunday against the 49ers wasn’t his best. But the week before, with Mario Williams and the NFL’s top sack unit of the Bills across the line of scrimmage, Penn stood strong. (By the way Buffalo rebounded Sunday with five sacks.)

Penn is set to earn $6.4 million next season at a critical position. [read more]

Schiano responds

There’s no greater off-the-field NFL theater than a head coach taking unfiltered calls from fans on live radio.

Unfortunately, Chucky had no interest in talking to the masses, but Tony Dungy, Raheem Morris and Greg Schiano embraced the madness. Schiano’s taken real darts over the past couple of years (along with plenty of love), and a sharp one was fired at him Monday on WDAE-AM 620. [read more]

David’s status highlights the urgency at One Buc

Joe was intrigued by what former Jets linebackers coach and front office man Pat Kirwan, of CBS Sports and SiriusXM NFL Radio, had to see about Lavonte David.

Yes, David’s a great player. But Kirwan explained that David is “what everybody’s looking for in the modern game.” [read more]

The Bucs had a tough time tackling people Sunday, apparently a season-long plague.

Joe watched in amazement Sunday how the Bucs struggled to bring 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Frank Gore to the ground. Those were two reasons the 49ers dominated the Bucs.

But Joe wrote that off, initially, as a fluke. Kaepernick is one of the hardest guys to tackle in the NFL. The dude is big, strong and elusive. It’s not like trying to tackle an immobile object like Matty Ice. [read more]

Josh Freeman never led an offense as bad as the Bucs offense is now.

Ears still ring from all the hollering on local sports radio the past couple of days about how awful (except for two possessions) the Bucs offense was, how poorly (except for two possessions) quarterback Mike Glennon was, and how the Bucs offense seems to be getting worse by the week instead of improving.

Then, in a bizarre explanation during what seemed like a record-long press conference Monday, Bucs commander Greg Schiano, said he didn’t go back to a hurry-up offense in the loss to the 49ers, the only time the Bucs appeared to have a pulse offensively — and scored two touchdowns — because, in part, the team hadn’t practiced it in the days leading up to the game. [read more]

Click through below to find your nearest Original Hooters location. And get out to Hooters today!

Bucs commander Greg Schiano explains why he didn’t run the hurry-up offense more Sunday, despite its success.

The Bucs offense Sunday, for all but two possessions, was about as miserable as you will ever see. Word is Will Muschamp watched the game from Gainesville and grew nauseated. The offense was so bad Father Dungy wanted to kill off a bottle of Crown.

The offense was so bad, Trent Dilfer was laughing.

Again, that was the Bucs offense for all but two possessions. Of the 13 possessions the Bucs had against the 49ers, there were two scoring drives and the remaining 10 possessions the Bucs gained a grand total of 11 yards. [read more]

A former Buc weighs in

There’s still two games to play this season, which means the Bucs could rack up another 400 yards of offense, but who’s your Bucs’ offensive MVP right now?

Bobby Rainey? He’s been the running back leading the team to four wins, coming off his couch to average 4.3 yards per carry (106 attempts) and not fumbling.

Vincent Jackson? A former Buccaneer has a different pick. [read more]

It blows Joe away that there are actually people out there who still hate Bucs stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. These are simply little people, who clearly don’t watch games and must have agendas or unresolved childhood issues because they don’t like nice people. [read more]

Greg Schiano opens up

Joe recognizes that Bucs fans with lofty expectations and negative attitudes are crying over the fact that rookie Will Gholston and Daniel Te’-O Nesheim are battling neck and neck for playing time at left defensive end. It’s not exactly a confidence-inspiring duel. 

But Joe’s not going negative. Gholston’s a true bright spot, and the leader of the New Schiano Order talked about Gholston’s rise on his radio show last night. [read more]