It’s safe to say Greg Schiano doesn’t read National Enquirer or fantasize about Brett Favre or Johnny Football in his backfield.

A rare improvisational moment from Mike Glennon on Sunday led Schiano to explain one of his core beliefs. [read more]

The Bucs’ second half offense this season is as constipated as a dog on a Saltines and water diet. The Bucs try and try and try and rarely does anything good come out. The numbers are historically dreadful.

A caller to Greg Schiano on WDAE-AM 620 last night expressed his frustration and said the offense looks too conservative. [read more]

The Bucs have turned NFL logic on its ear by leading the league in takeaways despite having a rotten record.

The adage is as old as football itself: teams that win the turnover battle come out ahead. In fact, listed first in Gen. Robert Neyland’s famed Seven Maxims of Football is the following:

The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.

Joe reminds Bucs fans after reading a Twitter from the Custodian of Canton yesterday, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune:

@IKaufmanTBO: The Bucs lead the NFL with 29 takeaways and top the NFC with a plus-13 TO ratio. With the right moves, this could be a scary defense in 2014 [read more]

“Flash” now holds an NFL record

Joe is starting to run out of superlatives when discussing “Flash” Lavonte David. What cannot the man do? The second-year Bucs linebacker tackles, sacks quarterbacks, buries running backs in the end zone, picks passes off and drills people.

The guy damned near is the second coming of Derrick Brooks. He is virtually everywhere on the field.

It is getting to the point where Joe thinks he can catch passes out of a red zone offense. Why would that surprise anyone? [read more]

The ball pops free of Buffalo wide receiver Robert Woods after getting blasted by Darrelle Revis late in the third quarter Sunday.

There were all sorts of plays that could jump out as the best during the Bucs’ beat down of the bungling Bills yesterday.

There was, of course, Bobby Rainey’s pace-setting, 80-yard touchdown run seconds into the game.

Joe’s favorite, however, was good, old-fashioned football by the defense, specifically Darrelle Revis. In this vanilla, watered down, offensive-stats-loving, fake- (fantasy) football-focused, lawsuit-paranoid, flag-football-trending state of the NFL, it warmed Joe’s heart to see a receiver get blown up and no defender flagged for trying too hard. [read more]

“Get outta here, kid.”

Joe shared a story earlier about Mike Glennon’s perfectionist ways.

But Greg Schiano has put a stop, albeit for 24 hours, to Glennon’s savage intensity. [read more]

Per Greg Schiano this afternoon, Jeremy Zuttah “has a shoulder” and is “day-to-day.” Davin Joseph has a shoulder. And emerging rookie defensive lineman William Gholston is being treated for a head injury and is going through the NFL’s head injury protocol.

Superhero (though not the Flash) Vincent Jackson came out of the game well with his troubled hamstring.

After defying the fantasy crowd’s core beliefs and delivering a victory with heinous numbers yesterday, Mike Glennon is no doubt trying to forget his 9-for-25 performance that netted just 90 yards.

For this week, Glennon is dusting off the “Stats Are For Losers” line in Raheem Morris’ old locker at One Buc Palace.

But Glennon did have his share of superior throws, and two were lost touchdowns, one caught by Vincent Jackson but thieved by a stupid NFL rule. And the other hit Tiquan Underwood in the chest. [read more]

Joe actually had to do a hyper double-take last night (you know, like in the Bugs Bunny cartoons) when he was reading quotes from Bucs commander Greg Schiano about the difference in this team.

Schiano was asked if this was the same team, that has now won four of its last five games, as the dreadful winless one during the first half of the season. To Joe’s absolute amazement, Schiano doesn’t think there is much of a change. [read more]

So how are the Bucs winning four of five games after an 0-8 start?

The answer isn’t rocket science, explained former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht on WDAE-AM 620 this morning. [read more]

Bucs kicker Rian Lindell nailed a 53-yard field goal yesterday. Hooray!

But Lindell is still having a below average season among his fellow NFL kickers.

Joe put on Twitter yesterday that Lindell is kicking now for his next job. Joe wasn’t just being a wise ass. [read more]

Just don’t yell “toes on the line.” That my thing.

An interesting nugget Joe plucked from the locker room yesterday offers a peek at some of what Greg Schiano is talking about when he refers to the “works-his-tail-off” intensity of Mike Glennon.

Glennon is so focused in practice he’s unafraid to demand a change in plans for the New Schiano Order. [read more]

There were lots of things to like about the Bucs defense yeterday.

The offense, well, Joe won’t go there, other than to say it seemed the offense could have used some 10w-40.

Guys were making plays all over the field on defense, veterans, young players, and rookies. Yes, rookies. [read more]

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

Joe thinks it is neat that the Ironman of the Bucs, Donald Penn, has Bucs commander Greg Schiano’s back. Of course, this is bad news for the Schiano haters.

Penn’s thoughts just reinforce what Joe had heard from other players in the locker room, and, in fact, proves what many thought: That the Bucs, despite going 0-8, never gave up on the season. They never tanked a game. That right there shows how much respect the players have for Schiano. Otherwise, the Bucs would be pulling a Washington Redskins, who already have the U-Hauls backed up and the January vacations booked. [read more]

Enjoy this happy-locker-room interview with Buccaneers running back star Bobby Rainey, who has emerged from his couch to delight Bucs fans and become a household name among fantasy football types. Jenna Laine of Sports Talk Florida peppered Rainey with a handful of questions.

The Bucs ironman speaks out

Until Team Glazer gives a public blessing of 2014 to Greg Schiano, the issue of Schiano’s job security will be a hot topic among Bucs fans.

How could it not be? The Bucs’ wacky, disappointing season launched a furious assault on all things Schiano — from Tampa to Trenton to Cuba to whatever planet Josh Freeman now lives on. [read more]

Joe never dreamed he would see a Bucs linebacker as good as Derrick Brooks. The former outside linebacker someday will wear a yellow jacket and have his bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame; he could be elected as soon as February.

Now Joe loves Lavonte David, also an outside linebacker who, like Brooks, is insanely fast and racks up tackles like Joe does dead soldiers on a sultry college football Saturday afternoon. [read more]

Bucs defensive lineman Will Gholston drags down Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel.

Last spring the one player that intrigued Joe more than any other draft pick was defensive lineman Will Gholston out of Michigan State (Sparty has had a good weekend, huh?). Gholston was raw, had loads of talent, but needed that talent honed and manicured and sanded.

Joe thinks he can say few rookies have risen as far as Gholston. He was so invisible during preseason games and mired with the third team in training camp practices, Joe was afraid for Gholston that he wasn’t going to make it to the final cut of 53 men. [read more]