Anthony Becht talks about learning from the Michael Bennett “mistake.”

You groom and develop talent, and then you re-sign that talent. It’s a simple formula that works in football where there’s a level spending playing field among teams, unlike in baseball.

Former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht, who works for ESPN and the Buccaneers Radio Network, remains flummoxed by the Bucs’ deviation from that plan. [read more]

“I can’t even watch this offense at times.”

Yes, Joe has read all of your hate-Twitter the past two days. Sorry if Joe won’t lie to you to make you feel comfy at night. No, Joe does not know Bucs commander Greg Schiano is toast in two weeks. Joe does not know if offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan already has his house listed. Don’t try to trick Joe into writing such things.

Indications seem to suggest Schiano may return, but the two Joes who run this here corner of the Interwebs differ as to how sharp the wind vane is pointing. [read more]

Joe knows Bucs fans are not in the Christmas spirit. They want to dump coal in the stockings of Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan and, to a lesser degree, Bucs commander Greg Schiano.

(The lunatic fringe wants to dump more than just sedimentary rock in the stocking of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik. These types are firmly entrenched on Santa’s naughty list and will be banished to spend Christmas Day at an OTB, where the only other patrons will be wandering around drinking scotch and water at 10 a.m. dressed like Al Davis.)

Joe has firmly believed, and has written and spoke about the subject with Joe’s good friend, the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, that if the Bucs really, truly believe Mike Glennon is the quarterback of the future, then current Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan must be retained. [read more]

Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud is appalled by the Bucs offense.

“There’s no other way around it, whether you’re playing with a rookie or not, this has been a wretched offense for the Bucs,” Stroud says in the WDAE-AM 620 audio below. And Stroud also exclaims what appears to be disbelief that the Bucs had 10 drives Sunday for 11 total yards.

Joe knows someone’s head will roll for the NFL’s worst offense. That’s a given. Joe’s just not sure how many heads that will be.

Don’t start looking for the Bucs to turn into a no-huddle offense anytime soon, Greg Schiano explained.

Count Joe among those stunned when Mike Glennon jumped into a no-huddle/hurry-up offense at the end of the first half yesterday and marched the football into the end zone — a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive in 78 seconds — to pull the Bucs to within 17-7 at halftime.

It was a shocker. [read more]

Mike Sullivan is rumored to be a candidate to take over Army.

Joe was just typing a post about how Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan may be a Bucs scapegoat when Joe learned of this rumor floated from a national NFL scribe.

Mike Garafolo of FoxSports.com Twittered that Sullivan is expected to interview for the newly opened head coach position at Army, as Rich Ellison, after getting sunk (again) by Navy over the weekend, is not expected to return as the leader of the Black Knights of the Hudson. [read more]

theMMQB’s Peter King seems to have a pulse on the immediate future of Bucs commander Greg Schiano.

Joe is trying not to get too worked up over the punch-out the 49ers delivered to the Bucs yesterday. Joe expected a chain-whipping because, on paper, the match-ups were dismal-looking for the Bucs. So Joe is tying to be reasoned here.

As Tuna Parcells famously said, “You are what your record says you are.” The Bucs are among the NFL’s bottom-feeders. The 49ers, the defending NFC champs, are swimming in the cream. Joe won’t lose much sleep over one of the best beating one of the worst. [read more]

The infamous “Black Monday,” when multiple NFL head coaches and their staffs are fired, is just 14 days away.

With no public blessing for 2014 from Team Glazer, Greg Schiano remains on a seat that could be yanked from under hiim. That’s just a reality for any second-year coach of a 4-10 team in that situation. [read more]

Xs and Os guru Dave Moore, the former Bucs tight end and current Buccaneers Radio Network game analyst, weighed in on all things Bucs-Niners this morning on WDAE-AM 620.

Moore talked a lot about the Bucs bad tackling and about how he could see Mike Glennon going through his progressions and not seeing “a whole lot open.”

Well, that’s what happens when your No. 3 receiver got cut for ineptitude, and your No. 2 receiver had hamstring surgery. There’s plenty more in the interview below. Moore also explains how the legitimate-threat status of Tim Wright should help the passing game in various ways for years to come.

The Bucs’ increase in sacks doesn’t mean much

The Bucs have 33 sacks with two games to play! Hip, hip hooray!

That’s a big number around these parts, one that hasn’t been seen in years, but dig into the numbers and you can see it’s not so impressive in a league that throws the football like never before.

Consider the Bucs had the NFL’s No. 2 ranked defense in 2007. [read more]

The Niners, Lions and Panthers all allow four yards per carry. The Bucs averaged 2.2 against those teams this past month.

Last year at this time, offensive line coach Bob Bostad was a miracle worker, leading a group that was blowing open holes with four of five linemen in positions where they didn’t start the 2012 season.

Now, it seems, Bostad is captain of the Bucs’ fastest sinking ship. [read more]

Mike Glennon and the Bucs offense had a woeful fourth quarter.

Joe knows many Bucs fans are aghast this morning about how their offense has slid the past month or so, making Mike Glennon now look like a stop-gap plan for another quarterback under maybe a different regime in the not-too-distant future.

What seemed like the only times the Bucs tried to push the ball up the field with any degree of urgency and purpose yesterday, Glennon looked sharp, engineering two touchdown drives, the first coming late in the first half. Glennon was nearly perfect throwing the ball. [read more]

The question brings Greg Schiano’s development skills into the spotlight

Fans by nature, yearn for the positive. It’s what feeds their hope. And sports are all about hope. It’s what makes August such an exciting time of year.

Joe actually even had a Bucs fan last week, a smart guy Joe knows for years, passionately explain to Joe why Greg Schiano is a “great” NFL coach. Not a good coach, not a promising a coach, a great coach. [read more]

Mike Glennon and the Bucs were battered and bruised yesterday.

A long look at the Bucs yesterday, today, and what to expect tomorrow and beyond.

If there was one redeeming value in the Bucs getting curb-stomped by the 49ers yesterday, it was the Bucs currently still have a great 2014 draft slot — seventh overall factoring in Joe’s calculation of strength of schedule tiebreakers for the entire season.

Frankly, there are any number of ways the Bucs could go. Joe is awfully sure secondary, linebacker and running back will not be on Bucs rock star general manger Mark Dominik’s notes for the first round.

Joe would be fine with a first round pick of any of the following positions, but of course would love a certain quarterback from College Station who Nick Saban couldn’t slow down: Offensive line, wide receiver, quarterback, defensive end.

Joe has a hunch Dominik will go offense first, a combination of Dominik being gun-shy of drafting another defensive lineman high and the offense having a lot of leaks. Just a hunch, nothing more. [read more]

The draft-position jockeying for Week 15 is over for the Bucs. If the season ended today, the Bucs would have the seventh overall pick.

Thanks for winning, Vikings and Bills!

The Bucs are tied with Altanta, Cleveland, Oakland and Jacksonville at 4-10, but the Bucs have the toughest strength of schedule, so the Bucs would lose all tiebreakers. Houston and Washington are battling for the dubious No. 1 pick, though Washington traded their pick away to help land Robert Griffin, III.

If the Bucs pick 7th, Joe’s darn confident a quality quarterback prospect will be sitting their for the taking.

DaQuan who?

Bucs fans can at least crack a little grin tonight at the play of rookie defensive end Will Gholston against the 49ers. He continues to emerge as a real-deal NFL talent over the past month or so. [read more]

Unless Bucs coaches expect Chris Owusu and others to break three or four tackles on third down, it is setting the offense up to fail by running pass routes short of the first down marker.

Look, Joe knows the fundamental strategy of football is to take what the defense gives you. While that sounds great, in practice, it’s not so great.

If a team does that, then that means the defense is dictating what the offense calls. Only teams with defenses like the old Bucs, the 1985 Bears or the 2000 Ravens can overcome such limp offenses, which bow to whatever the defense gives.

This came to mind while Joe was watching the Bucs struggle so much and so often on third downs. How many times on third down have you seen the Bucs call pass plays where the receiver is a good four yards shy of the first down marker? [read more]

Joe was mighty disappointed in the Bucs defense today.

They’re loaded with talent at all three levels. They were healthy. (Yes, Joe knows Lavonte David and Mark Barron got banged up.) Niners stud left guard Mike Iupati didn’t play. The Bucs were back home, coming off a huge performance. But the Bucs dropped a dud. [read more]