Joe’s put in more homework on the Bucs blackout situation and the numbers are worse than Joe thought.

First, there are closer to 53,000 “non-premium” seats in Raymond James Stadium (about 3,000 more than what Joe originally learned from the Tampa Sports Authority), which means the Bucs have to sell about 45,000 of those to hit the “85-percent rule” and avoid a TV blackout of local home games.

And even though the Bucs hit an official attendance mark of 58,000+ against Washington with a late rush of ticket sales after the league-imposed Thursday blackout deadline, the Bucs still didn’t make that 85 percent mark as Joe originally reported. (Sorry about that.)

There are boring accounting details that explain why, but the bottom line is fans really didn’t come close to buying that 85 percent. And surely the Bucs were miles from that 85-percent mark at the league-imposed blackout deadline, 72 hours before kickoff.

Right now, there are scores of $30 tickets available for Sunday’s Chiefs-Bucs game at Ticketmaster.com, and loads of tickets at other price points.

The game officially will be blacked out at 1 p.m. today.

The Bucs aren’t alone in the NFL with their ticket-sales woes. It’s a much bigger problem — from New York to Oakland and beyond — than all the excuses/reasons that swirl around the Tampa Bay market.

What more can Team Glazer do when it comes to selling tickets? Joe suspects nothing much.

If the cheaper seats were all moved to $20, Joe wouldn’t be confident they’d be sold. Too many fans are just enjoying staying home.

“King, I’m your fourth offensive coordinator and your worst nightmare. You’re lucky I love you, man.”

Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, one of only three men to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game, says the Bucs should start transitioning to a throw-first offense immediately.

But it’s not because that philosophy is dominant in the NFL, King says, it’s because throwing is the strength of the current Bucs offense. Injuries and film through the first four games reveal it.

“With [Davin] Joseph down and Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams excelling … that’s the strength of your team,” King said this morning on the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620.

Sometimes the simplest takes are the best, and Joe likes this one.

The essence of coaching is to get the most out of your talent, and right now there’s clearly trouble in the Bucs running game, as evidenced by the roulette wheel at right guard and a poor yards-per-carry average.

Joe’s still all in favor of pounding LeGarrette Blount and Doug Martin, but the Bucs have to play more to their strengths on the outside.

If you haven’t read Joe on the record about this subject yet, Joe isn’t expecting much of anything at all from Jeremy Trueblood playing right guard.

Trueblood, a right tackle, hasn’t played one snap at guard since he graduated high school. Being thrown in to play guard on football’s highest level in the middle of a season isn’t the ideal time to learn a position one hasn’t played in a decade or so.

Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune isn’t as pessimistic as Joe. He took to the WHFS-FM airwaves Wednesday to chat with Booger McFarland and Rich Herrera to discuss all things Bucs, including the Jeremy Trueblood Experiment.

Woody Cummings: The Bucs haven’t committed to it yet, at least they haven’t publicly committed to it yet, but Booger, you know as well as I know that when a guy takes the first snaps at practice on a Wednesday, he is probably going to start on Sunday…

Booger McFarland: …right…

Cummings: … but the Bucs are still saying it could be Ted Larsen over there at right guard, that is what [Greg] Schiano told us today, it could be Jamon Meredith for all we know. It sure looks like they are going to give Jeremy Trueblood a shot. And you know, I’ve got to think if he can make that transition, you say it’s just moving over a step and a half and it should’t be that difficult. But when you have played right tackle your entire life, certainly in the NFL certainly at right tackle, there can be a trick to it, it can be difficult. The thing with Jeremy Trueblood at right tackle, there is no question he is their best run-blocking right tackle. If you put him in at right guard, it just may improve that run game just a little bit. That’s what you want to do with that team, they have made that commitment. I would think this is a good move. I think he is an upgrade on Ted Larsen. He doesn’t have the athleticism that Jeremy Truebood has, he doesn’t have that power. The question is can Trueblood get low enough with his pads, get that pad level low to make an effective jump from right tackle to right guard? I think he can. It will certainly be interesting to watch and with the Buccaneers, try something and this makes sense. You have a pretty decent player there in Jeremy Trueblood and he can run block so why not put him in there if that is what you are trying to do, that is run block?

A reasonable person might ask if the Bucs are desperate — and in Joe’s eyes, to try to pull off an experiment like this in the middle of the season smacks of desperation — why not pull a guard off the street?

 Well, this very subject came to light prior to the start of the 2012 season on “Movin’ the Chains,” with co-hosts Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Just hours after the final cuts were made by all NFL teams to get down to a 53-man roster, Kirwan and Ryan discussed who was unemployed that could contribute in a pinch.

Both Kirwan and Ryan felt there were a few defensive linemen who didn’t make the final cut that could make an impact on a team if signed, but as far as offensive linemen, they said there was nobody walking the streets who could start on a moment’s notice and do a credible job. Offensive lines across the NFL were thin as a result.

The fact the Bucs would kick start the Jeremy Trueblood Experiment five games into the season just reinforces Kirwan and Ryan’s belief that a decent offensive lineman cannot be found walking the streets of America in mid-October.

Joe would think any defensive player would salivate like he had a Bern’s steak sitting in front of him at the prospect of playing a team that damn near averages four turnovers a game.

Don’t count Roy Miller among said defensive players.

Miller told Joe that Kansas City’s penchant for playing St. Nick does not, nor will not, change how the Bucs play defense Sunday at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

“In the NFL, every team every week can show you something on film and do a completely [different] thing in the game,” Miller said. “What you do is to stick to what you know how to do and try to play your technique and if you practice your techniques, practice to disrupt the ball and cause turnovers, that’s what we do every week and that’s what we plan to do this week.

“The past couple of weeks we have been pretty good with turnovers. So, we want to get back to that this week. That is always part of our scheme is to get turnovers. It’s no different this week.”

The way the NFL is paranoid about concussions these days, and the new procedures in place to treat head injuries, Joe would be surprised if Chiefs incumbent starter Matt Cassel starts and former first round draft pick from Notre Dame, pretty boy quarterback Brady Quinn, is on the Chiefs sidelines Sunday against the Bucs.

The embattled Cassel went down with a concussion Sunday against the Baltimore Crows. Cassel has become such a lightning rod for the Chiefs woes of late, when Cassel sat on the turf of Arrowhead Stadium in a daze, the normally docile Kansas City faithful actually cheered Cassel’s demise, very much a Philadelphia-like reaction.

(Joe frankly wasn’t buying what Romeo Crennel was selling when he floated the idea he may just start third-stringer Matt Stanzi against the Bucs.)

Quinn, who has a relationship with Crennel dating back to their Browns days, has a chequered past in the NFL, largely a flop with the Browns and then humiliated to backup one-trick pony, fullback quarterback Tim Tebow in Denver.

Crennel came to Quinn’s defense when pressed by the Tampa Bay pen and mic club via teleconference this morning, which Joe attended.

“He hasn’t stated in a while but he has played in the league and he understands what it takes to run an offense and play in this league,” Crennel said. “He has always been one play away [from playing]. He went in on Sunday [after Cassel went down] and had a touchdown called back.

“I think he will run the offense efficiently.”

The way Joe sees it, if Quinn is able to slice up the Bucs secondary after sitting on the pine, seemingly for years, then the Bucs really need to look at how they are coaching up the defensive backs if not the pass defense as a whole.

More head-coach love today for Jeremy Trueblood, who might make his first career start at guard.

Recently we learned that Greg Schiano loves Jeremy Trueblood.

Today we found out that the leader of the New Schiano Order is still considering Trueblood to start at guard Sunday against the Chiefs, despite Trueblood not having a chance to practice at the position in pads on Monday because of a stomach bug.

“Jeremy’s a very intelligent football player who’s very experienced. So I think he has a much better chance of grasping things in a short amount of time,” Schiano said of Trueblood this afternoon. “You know, his best buddy Davin [Joseph] has played guard next to him for a long time. Different scheme? Yes. But they work together on so many different things that I think he has a good understanding.”

Schiano went on to say all his potential starting right guards have a good understanding, but coaches will have to figure out who’s the best fit for the Chiefs on Sunday.

Joe’s not optimistic about what Trueblood might look like at guard, but it would be interesting to watch.

Also, Joe wonders whether Trueblood will get the nod if there’s no clear cut winner of the job. The newly moved back NFL trade deadline is looming at the end of October, and Trueblood could be a prime trade target for a contending team looking for a quick fix at right tackle. If he can prove versatile, as well, there’s a better chance the Bucs could move him and score a draft pick for him.

Trueblood is a free agent after this season.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has been horrible this season, the main culprit in the team’s league-leading 19 turnovers.

Joe is fully confident Greg Schiano and his New Schiano Order would melt down in Kansas City the way the Chiefs play Santa Claus each and every week.

There is no easy way to put it: The Chiefs are horrible taking care of the football. After five games, Kansas City has given the ball away 19 times. Yes, that is correct, 19 times! That’s damned near four turnovers a game.

As one could imagine, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel is beyond frustrated with the turnovers, but what has kept him somewhat sane is the fact the Chiefs are giving out gifts in all sorts of ways.

“They are coming from a lot of different areas for a lot of different reasons,” Crennel told the Tampa Bay pen and mic club via conference call this morning. “There’s not one thing you can put a finger on. It has been several different things. Two weeks ago, we get the ball ripped out. Last week, we had a dropped ball, a fumble of a quarterback exchange. We throw tipped balls, we threw balls into bad places, it’s several different things.”

How bad have the Chiefs played charity football? they are on pace to challenge the NFL record for turnovers, 65.

Chiefs fans blame embattled starting quarterback Matt Cassel, who has been no less than miserable this season, accounting for 13 of the Chiefs turnovers (nine picks, four fumbles). But the main turnover machine for the Chiefs may not be on the field against the Bucs Sunday as Cassel has yet to be cleared to play after suffering a concussion against the Baltimore Crows last week.

The gift of Chiefs giving should be catnip for the Bucs and their struggling offense. Turnovers often lead to short fields. That’s just what the Bucs need.

Speaking to the Tampa Bay pen and mic club this morning, including Joe, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel stated the Chiefs will go with backup quarterback, former Browns first round pick and pretty boy Brady Quinn as Kansas City’s starting quarterback against the Bucs Sunday at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

That is, unless doctors let embattled Chiefs quarterback Matt Crassel play.

Cassel suffered a concussion last week for the Chiefs, which led to controversy because some Chiefs fans cheered as he hobbled off the field.

“We are going to see how this is going to turn out, but right now this is the situation,” Crennel explained. “Matt has been going through all the tests you have to do when you get a concussion. He has seen the doctors and they are evaluating. He has not been cleared yet. We will proceed today by getting Quinn ready to go.”

Crennel added if Cassel is given the green light by team doctors, he will start. If Cassel cannot go, the former Notre Dame star will battle the Bucs.

Joe never bought into the line of thinking that the Bucs were woefully short on talent in 2011, and Joe surely believes the Bucs have a wealth of talent in 2012.

Jimminy Christmas! The Bucs are BIG cash spenders on salary in the NFL this season, sitting near the top of the charts. Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik would be doing a terrible job if the Bucs were lacking talent yet spending big bucks. 

But it seems Bucs icon John Lynch thinks the Bucs need more quality in their lineup. He ranked the Bucs as the 24th-best team in the NFL for the Associated Press, and Lynch claims Tampa Bay is falling short in the talent department.

John Lynch (Fox Sports, 24) – We have learned that the Greg Schiano-led Bucs will fight until the end. They are just a little short on talent and depth right now.

Joe agrees that the Bucs’ depth is suspect in multiple areas, though that’s an issue for most NFL teams.

But the talent is there, enough to win a bunch more games this season. The leader of the New Schiano Order needs to maximize it and find ways to close out games.

Joe’s friends at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa have the best service deals around. So why go get your car fixed at some chain tire shop dump when you can have top-shelf trained Cadillac service and relax in absolute luxury? It makes no sense.

The great folks at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa have a new digital alignment tester all set up and ready to give you a FREE alignment check and diagnostic printout. Joe highly recommends it. In less than 10 minutes you’ll know where you stand. And if you need tires, their prices will NOT be beaten. Click on through below.

Determined to take over the NFL and all sports and create jobs for themselves catering to the spreadsheet minions who only care about fantasy teams, stat geeks are distracting fans by the millions.

Joe is reminded of this Satanic cult today by the writings of Scott Smith on the cutting edge Captain’s Blog on Buccaneers.com. Smith tries to get Bucs fans excited by the NFL statistic that tells us Vincent Jackson has yet to drop a pass this season.

The minute Joe read that, Joe instantly thought of Jackson dropping at least a couple of catchable balls on opening day. In Joe’s mind, and in the minds of legions of fans and media watching that game, Jackson made those first-game drops.

But here come the stat geeks to keep the world in order. What would we do without out them?

The guys taking a drop away from Jackson are probably from the same geek squad that doesn’t believe RGIII was sacked at the Redskins 12-inch line.

A top pick-up for the Bucs after tight end Kellen Winslow decided he wouldn’t toe the line was the signing of stud pass receiver/tight end Dallas Clark.

With the addition of Clark, along with receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, the Bucs looked to have a strong passing game. That hasn’t happened.

Clark has been virtually invisible. Sure, the guy has made a play now and again, but seemingly too few and too far in-between.

Veteran NFL reporter eye-RAH! Kaufman of the newly sold Tampa Tribune weighs in on the subject in a (also newly sold) TBO.com Bucs Q&A.

Q: Why don’t the Bucs throw more to Dallas Clark?

– Elden Landolt, Livermore, Iowa

A: The Bucs expected more production out of Clark through four weeks. He has nine catches for 81 yards, but he hasn’t scored and he hasn’t been targeted very often by Josh Freeman in the first month. He isn’t the Dallas Clark of 2006, but he still has reliable hands and he knows how to get open. After a bye week to reflect on their first four games, the Bucs hope to get Clark more involved in the offense as he builds a trust with Freeman.

– eye-RAH! Kaufman

Well, that’s part of the problem: Freeman not looking his way. It also doesn’t help that the Bucs have been a two-yards-and-a-cloud-of-field-turf-pellets kind of an offense through much of the first four games. Even Woody Hayes would have broken out in a cold sweat.

It’s fair to suggest that if a team is loathe to pass the ball, one can’t expect a passing offense to click, much less target a talented tight end more than twice a game.

Before last weekend’s slate of games, BSPN reported that the undefeated Atlanta Falcons were dropping back to pass on two-thirds of their offensive plays despite playing with a lead nearly 80 percent of the time.

Then the Falcons went out Sunday and attempted 52 passes en route to beating the Redskins in Washington.

Yes, Michael Turner was healthy and grinded out 67 yards on 18 carries.

The Falcons appear to have completely embraced the throw-first mentality of many winning NFL teams. And it stands out, considering how much success they’ve had pounding Michael Turner in the running game on first and second down over the past four seasons.

Joe’s a big fan of running the football, and believes the Bucs definitely need to establish a diverse and effective rushing attack, but it is amazing to see how much the game is changing on offense.

Mike Sullivan and his 2011 Super Bowl Giants had the lowest yards-per-carry average in the NFL last season. And the Giants were in the bottom third of the league in total rushing attempts.

Joe doesn’t suspect the Bucs will come out tossing the ball around the field Sunday, but don’t think that Sullivan isn’t one who knows what a passing offense looks like.

An interesting non-move of this bye week involved the Bucs not adding another defensive end to their 53-man roster.

Things could change tomorrow, of course, but right now the Bucs have four tight ends and three defensive ends. That’s a pretty rare combination in the NFL.

Adrian Clayborn was lost for the season against Dallas, and the Bucs seem content to stick with Michael Bennett, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and George Johnson.

Good for those guys, but that’s awfully flimsy depth.

Joe will be watching to see if Dekoda Watson and Quincy Black get more opportunities to put their hand on the ground Sunday.

Joe also will keep an eye on how Andre Carter does for the Raiders against Atlanta. It will be Carter’s first game of the season. He made the Pro Bowl last season for the Patriots and was signed recently by Oakland — after Clayborn went down. Joe would have been pleased to welcome him to the Bucs.

At times the Bucs have looked positively blitz-happy this season. Joe’s still trying to get the Giants-Bucs game out of his head.

But blitzes have their value, and former Bucs tight end Dave Moore sees Sunday’s game against the Chiefs as a sensible time for the Bucs to dial up all kinds of pressure.

“The question is, ‘Are the Bucs going to get in that man-to-man [defense] or are they going to play a little softer?” Moore said, speaking on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday. “I would imagine the Bucs to come after them like crazy, to blitz a ton, be in that man-to-man on the outside and force whatever quarterback’s going to be in there to beat them. That would make the most logical sense. You know, if it’s Cassel, he’s not playing very well. Let’s blitz the heck out of him. Try to get some turnovers. And with Brady Quinn, same kind of thing. He hasn’t been in there that much. Put a lot of pressure on him.”

Moore went on to say the Bucs must stop the run for these blitzes to have maximum effect. Blitzing on 3rd-and-2 will not be as effective.

Frankly, Joe’s not greatly concerned about the Bucs defense Sunday. It’s the offense that needs to find consistency in all phases. The Bucs need to get a lead against the Chiefs to drive them out of their mauling running game in the fourth quarter.

Hopefully, Aqib Talib will round soon into Pro Bowl form and become a playmaking cornerback snatching passes and locking down receivers all game long.

But to hear Talib talk, it seems he thinks there won’t be many of those potential big plays to be had Sunday against Kansas City. In an interesting bit of audio from the Bucs’ Monday locker room session played on 98.7 FM this morning, Talib sounded confident the Chiefs won’t pose much of an aerial threat.

“The quarterback don’t do nothing but handoff the ball, in that situation, so we feel like if we knock that run out we’ll be alright,” Talib said of the Chiefs.

Joe can’t quibble with Talib’s scouting report but it’s a dangerous line of thinking. Talib’s been on the field when backup quarterbacks have beaten the Bucs.

Also, hopefully the Bucs will be forced defend the pass leading the Chiefs late in the game — preferably a two-score lead.

That Tampa-2 defense is ancient history. The modern NFL has caught up. You can’t win with that anymore.

Bucs fans know Greg Schiano’s defense is nothing like the ol’ Tampa-2. But the historic Bucs defense does live in Chicago with Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli.

Joe found it interesting listening to Derrick Brooks on WDAE-AM 620 last week saying “not so fast” to those talking about the death of the Tampa 2 and explaining why it’s not obsolete. The Bears, through five games, have allowed just 14 points a game and are sixth-ranked overall (total yards).

It’s still a mind-blower to Joe that the Bucs and Raheem Morris turned to the Jim Bates Experience, and it’s two-gap defense, when they were nowhere close to having the personnel for it.

Those who hate TV blackouts of Bucs games worse than wart breakouts in gential areas might find this post especially interesting.

Mike Lombardi, of NFL Network, reported Friday that the New York Jets still had 12,000 tickets to sell for tonight’s Monday night clash at the Meadowlands against Houston.

The Jets denied the report without specifics, but regardless, the team is clearly not moving tickets. Before opening day, there were reports of the Jets struggling to sellout that game, even in a nearly new stadium and Tim Tebow in tow.

Joe finds this to be a good thing for Bucs fans, as it could get the NFL to make further adjustments to the blackout rule.

It still steams Joe that the Bucs broke the “85-percent rule” against the Redskins, but the game couldn’t be televised because the tickets were sold after the Thursday deadline for the Sunday game. What? The deadline can’t run until, say 60 minutes before kickoff? Surely the technology is in place to make that possible.

The Jets are an interesting story compared to the Bucs. Their MetLife stadium capacity has 17,000 more seats than Raymond James Stadium, and Jets cheap seats are more than double the price of Bucs cheap seats. 

Per BSPN, the Jets have the highest average non-premium ticket price in the league at $117.94. The Bucs checked in at 19th out of the 32-team league with an average price of $69.72.

Joe understands the blackout rule but believes it needs further tweaking and flexibility.

Oh, and by the way, reams of $30 tickets for the Bucs-Chiefs game Sunday are available now on TicketMaster.com.

The Bucs returned to the practice field today in pads, knocking the cobwebs off each other after parting ways Wednesday for their bye weekend.

Following practice, the leader of the New Schaino Order acknowledged that Jeremy Trueblood didn’t get to fight for the up-for-grabs right guard job because he had some sort of stomach sickness today.

Schiano said Eric Wright was back to form after being knocked out of the Redskins-Bucs game (likely the “dreaded C-Word”). And Schiano repeated something he said last week: “LeGarrette’s practiced better.”

What “practiced better” really means is a mystery, but one can only assume that will lead to more looks for LeGarrette Blount. He surely can’t get many less.