Darrelle Revis and the Bucs have messed with the minds of the Lions so much, they have called for the always fun and often dreaded players-only meeting.

If you can’t get enough of the Bucs’ thrilling 24-21 win over the Lions today, if you want icing on that delicious chocolate cake, Joe has it for you.

Per Kyle Meinke of MLive.com, the Bucs have gotten into the heads of the Lions so bad, have rattled them so much, that the Lions called the dreaded and always fun “players-only” meeting.

“We definitely need to have a team-meeting,” tailback Reggie Bush said. “Really dig deep inside and find out what we’re made of. And it’s going to take everyone on this team — the coaching staff, the players — to overcome this.”

Can he call the meeting?

“I can,” he said, “but it’ll happen.”

And he did, as Meinke later wrote that Nate Burleson was 100 percent behind Bush in wanting a team meeting.

Joe’s just going to guess we won’t be reading about Matthew Stafford oversleeping for meetings and team photos, nor will we be reading about Stafford being stripped of any team honor or title.

The Atlanta Falcons are now in the Bucs’ rearview mirror in the NFC South. Tampa Bay is 3-8 and rising; Atlanta is 2-9 and sinking.

The Redskins also have three wins but play this week on Monday night at home against San Francisco (6-4.)

Regardless of what happens in that game, the Bucs will be sitting with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft, if the season ended this week. The Jags, Texans, Vikings and Falcons all have two wins.

Of course, the Bucs’ season has five games to go. Is Tampa Bay officially eliminated from the 2013 playoffs yet? Perhaps that’s a better question.

Joe was scratching his head at halftime, wondering about some of the pass plays that Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan was calling.

Often on third downs, Sullivan — who Joe likes a lot — called plays where Bucs receivers were running routes on the short side of the first down marker. Why?

Isn’t the purpose of passing on third down to move the chains? Having receivers running routes short of the first down marker sort of defeats the purpose and puts receivers between a rock and a hard place, having to break two or three tackles to get a first down after catching a pass.

Sullivan, who now sits upstairs calling plays, surely could see from that vantage point that his routes were not going past the first down marker.

To make this even more of a riddle, it’s not like the Lions’ secondary is anything to write home about, unless it is a profanity-laced missive.

After the game, Underwood spoke about how the Bucs had that bomb (he caught from quarterback Mike Glennon) in their back pocket ready to use if needed. Had Sullivan not called so many dinks-and-dunks in the first half on third downs, maybe that bomb wouldn’t have been needed.

Joe can’t believe the Bucs would waste three or four (or more) drives just to set up one play in the second half. That’s a bit far-fetched.

So many Bucs fans, annoyed that Team Glazer rarely discusses the Bucs publicly, demand the rarity — that Team Glazer issue some sort statement of their feelings about the State of the Bucs.

Well fans got their wish, sort of. Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune corralled Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer in the bowels of Ford Field after the Bucs’ improbable 24-21 win at Detroit and got a few words from Glazer.

In short, Glazer likes what he sees (the last three weeks, that is) and apparently likes and respects Bucs commander Greg Schiano.

‏@RCummingsTBO: Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer on Bucs coach Greg Schiano: “The team never doubted him in the Locker room.” … On last three wins: “speaks volumes about Greg”

Joe doesn’t know if that is what one would call a vote of confidence, but it does suggest Team Glazer is impressed by the turnaround.

December is a big month for Schiano. Team Glazer puts a lot of stock into how a team finishes a season. Joe wouldn’t be shocked if Schiano can squirrel away a couple of more wins, then he will return for 2014.

Tiquan Underwood stood taller than his hair today with two touchdowns and a career high in receiving yards

Mike Glennon completed eight passes to undrafted rookie tight end Tim Wright today, plus three balls (two touchdowns!) to Tiquan Underwood, who had a career high 108 yards. That’s 11 of Glennon’s 14 completions!

Where did Underwood and Wright play in college? All together now, “Rutgers!”

Greg Schiano must be pouring the good champagne on the airplane home.

Underwood flashed the breakaway speed Bucs fans had heard rumors about, and Wright continued to make extremely difficult catches over the middle. That kid’s got special talent.

It’s downright nuts that Underwood was pulled off his couch during the bye week because he wasn’t, umm, good enough to make the roster. He’s now got 13 catches at more than 20 yards a pop and three touchdowns in seven games.

Underwood heaped praise on his quarterback and the Bucs’ gameplan for his 85-yard touchdown bomb, via the Buccaneers Radio Network.

“They gave us the coverage we were looking for and Mike Glennon put it on the money. Mike sullivan, hats of to our offensive coordinator. He put that play in specifically for the look we were waiting for. Detroit has a great front seven so for us to have the time to get that off is tremendous,” Underwood said.

Wright benefited from three tight ends dropping injured ahead of him on the depth chart before he got a chance to catch 34 balls.

Perhaps the Bucs need more Buccaneer Men from Rutgers?

In the middle of this feel good evening (without the benefit of alcohol for Joe, if you can imagine), Joe must interrupt with ugly news.

Rian Lindell, do not board the Bucs’ team bus leaving Ford Field for the airport. Just hop a cab and go to the Southwest counter and get your one-way ticket home. Back to Portland.

No, a win didn’t mean much today outside of temporary glee. Still, Mr. Lindell, you did your best (again) to see that the Bucs lose. You missed critical field goals in the second half that could have iced this win for the Bucs. Instead, you gave the Lions every opportunity to win.

Yes, you. If the Lions could have somehow gotten out of their own way, they would have won. Thanks to your missed field goals.

Yeah, Mike Glennon didn’t help you out much by taking an idiotic sack pushing the line of scrimmage back. But that was still a makeble field goal. You had the distance.

This isn’t the first time you let this team down. Does Joe need to remind you of the Saints loss at home?

Lindell should not be allowed back at One Buc Palace and should not be allowed back in the city limits of Tampa unless he is dropping cash to go to Busch Gardens.

“Who’s with me?”

Imagine if Team Glazer was moved by billboards, paper bags and sports radio screams, Bucs fans wouldn’t be enjoying front row seats for one of the more mind-blowing resurrections in Bucs history.

The Bucs were lifeless and dead a month ago after a home beating by Carolina on Thursday Night Football, which followed a thorough media beating by NFL Network leading up to the game, as well as a good few weeks of clobbering from all angles — ex-Bucs, fans, pundits and more.

The New Schiano Order is 3-1 since then and on the rise. They’ve made adjustments. They’ve thrived through injuries and with a rookie quarterback. They’ve developed players, and registered solid wins. 

Is Greg Schiano’s once broiling hot seat even warm?

It is. Schiano still has to keep his team playing good football and keep his quarterback progressing to earn a return voyage in 2014. But it’s very hard to imagine that not happening on this winning afternoon.

The Bucs are on the rise, and Josh Freeman is in Minnesota.

Mike Glennon already owned the Buccaneers rookie record for touchdown passes. And now, following a fantastic seven-yard throw to Tiquan Underwood today in Detroit, Glennon became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw a TD in his first eight games.

Glennon’s progress has been so steady and stunning. Joe can still remember Glennon looking shaky making bad decisions against second- and third-team defenses in training camp. Now the kid is a hot name in the NFL.

He finished today 14-for-21 with 247 yards and two touchdowns.

It’s the holiday season in case you haven’t figured that out yet and boy, the Lions were sure in the giving mood.

It was as if the Lions were Santa Claus the way they handed out presents. Five turnovers by the Lions — five! — and none bigger than the one sparked by the immortal Kelcie McCray — who? — when he drilled Calvin Johnson on the three-yard line, forcing Johnson to cough up the ball late in the game which sent the Bucs into the glorious victory formation.

Still, it was a nailbiter. Ryan Lindell should not be allowed on the Bucs charter flight returning from Detroit tonight. If you kicked in high school or played college soccer, please e-mail your highlights video to the Bucs pronto.

The Bucs blocked a punt late and, thanks in part to Lindell, came up empty-handed.

The Bucs picked up a mysterious fumble by Kris Durham (what was the point spread?), and thanks to a stupid sack gifted by Glennon and another Lindell miss, again, the Bucs came up empty-handed.

It was as if the Bucs tried to return all the gifts the Lions offered and were rebuffed and told to go home because they didn’t have a receipt.

All those injuries to the Bucs defense, and all the turnovers by the Lions, yet the Bucs still had to sweat out a win. Well, Joe will take being lucky over being good any day.

Nice job Bucs. Except for you, Mr. Lindell. Joe never wants to see you wearing pewter and red again. Coal in your sock for you!

The Revis-free second half today truly illustrated just how valuable Darrelle Revis is to the Bucs’ defense.

Calvin Johnson did little in the first half when Revis followed him around Ford Field on nearly every snap. It even seemed like Revis might have gotten inside Matthew Stafford’s head a bit. Stafford was tentative and inaccurate at times with Revis on the field.

But Revis blew a groin late the first half, and the Bucs’ chances seemed to blow away along with it.

Stafford went right for Johnson — successfully — to start the second half. And the whole Bucs defense appeared to open up with for Detroit without Revis shrinking the field of opportunity.

Thankfully, the Lions gave the Bucs Thanksgiving gift after Thanksgiving gift, which led to the Bucs win.

Joe’s not discounting the big plays made in the backfield by linebackers and defensive line, the adjustments on Johnson in the secondary, and the big hit by reserve safety Kelcie McCray that led to the game-ending interception, but let’s be real; Revis delivers an irreplaceable impact. 

Joe’s hoping Revis can return healthy for the final five games of the season. Yeah, every team has injuries, but Joe’s dying to see what a revived Bucs team, with Revis, can do against a very tough schedule down the stretch.

Amazing rookie Mike Glennon continues to stun the NFL. Glennon’s now played half a season (eight games) with 13 touchdown passes against just four interceptions.

That projects out to a full season of 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions! That’s in the ballpark of Josh Freeman’s famous 25-and-6 of 2010, a season that catapulted Freeman to budding superstar status and landed him getting voted by his peers as the 83rd best player in the NFL.

What more could the Bucs ask of Glennon? Sure, he’s making some rookie mistakes, like needlessly taking a fourth-quarter sack today. But Glennon’s not screwing up much.

And now he’s winning — three in a row!

But a bigger question is what more could Bucs fans ask of Greg Schiano and Mike Sullivan when it comes to developing a quarterback?

If this Glennon progression continues, it makes Joe wonder what Schiano-Sullivan could do with an elite first-round quarterback out of the 2014 draft? Of course, that won’t happen. It’s all about No. 8 for the New Schiano Order, assuming the regime survives this season, unless Schiano wants competition at the position.

How does three in a row feel?

The Bucs’ second-half offensive impotence didn’t matter today. The defense and specials rose up big — without Darrelle Revis, Dashon Goldson and Mason Foster. Unknown safety Kelcie McCray drilled Calvin Johnson near the goal line to dislodge the ball and lead to a Johnthan Banks game-icing interception.

Your New Schiano Order Buccaneers just beat a good football team. On the road!

The Bucs’ offensive line lost the battle in the trenches, but it didn’t matter with Mike Glennon converting his deep shots and staying pretty damn cool for a rookie.

The Bucs are back to their punt-blocking ways, with the second in as many weeks.

There’s a swagger about the Bucs right now. They believe, and it feels damn good.

OK boys and girls. It is a Sunday in late November. Just about everywhere in the NFL it is freezing. But not in the balmy dome known as Ford Field, where the Bucs and Lions grapple today.

Joe has scant hopes for a win today. The Lions have a good passing attack and the Bucs are decimated by injuries and suspensions in the secondary. The Lions likely will not need Calvin Johnson today so the anticipated duel between Darrelle Revis and Johnson may not even be a factor.

As always, please do not post URLs of illegal, pirated video streams of the game but Joe encourages you to e-mail them among yourselves.

Have fun and go Bucs!

Bucs Wide receiver Chris Owusu — remember him? — avoided the inactive list today.

Dashon Goldson is suspended, and here are the other official inactives in Detroit: recently-signed fullback Lonnie Pryor, LB Mason Foster (concussion), G Patrick Omameh, G Carl Nicks (MRSA), DT Gary Gibson & DE Steven Means.

Game 11

Bucs (2-8) at Lions (6-4)

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV, Channel 13, locally. Outside the Tampa Bay area, DirecTV Channel 708.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM 103.5, and WDAE-AM 620); SiriusXM Channel 136.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, good thing the Bucs are playing in a soulless dome today because the weather in Detroit is ugly. For Bucs fans who may brave the elements to tailgate, it is in the low 20s this morning and by kickoff should be a toasty 25 degrees and that should hold through late afternoon.

Odds: Per FootballLocks.com, Lions -8.

Outlook: Matthew Stafford, amazingly, has taken the fewest sacks among NFL starting quarterbacks while attempting the most passes. You think the Bucs’ pass rush can get to him? Highly doubtful. And that should be a giant problem for the Bucs’ depleted secondary, which will be relying heavily on injured Johnthan Banks (shoulder) and Leonard Johnson, who has been disappointing in his second year.

Reports out of Detroit have been raving about how tight end Brandon Pettigrew has had a complete season and is getting more involved, and the Lions get back their No. 2 receiver Nate Burleson, which means Bucs fans likely won’t benefit from the Lions trotting out Michaeal Clayton Kevin Ogletree. And then there’s Reggie Bush out of the backfield, in addition to all things Calvin Johnson.

This should be a nightmare game for the Bucs if they can’t generate a pass rush.

*Fun note: “Run Micheal Run” Spurlock returns punts for Detroit.

So with the the Bucs’ secondary decimated by suspension and injury, and the Lions likely getting back Burleson, this is ripe for a blowout. Joe thinks the only way the Bucs can win is if they play keepaway. Let the newfound rush blocking for the Bucs lead the way. Feed the ball to Bobby Rainey.

The old adage of “Offenses can’t score if they don’t have the ball” certainly applies today.

Apparently in honor of today’s true head-to-head matchup of elite NFL superstars Darrelle Revis and Calvin Johnson (Joe can’t freakin’ wait!), The Tampa Tribune cobbled together a long series of quotes from various NFL and Bucs sources that detail what Revis brings to the game.

Joe found one from Darren Woodson noteworthy. Woodson references that Revis’ interception total (21) is extraordinary for a player who is primarily in press coverage, which doesn’t lead to many clean interception opportunities.

And here’s a good one from Chucky: (You can click here to read them all.)

“He’s got ideal size and strength. He’s not fast on the watch, and maybe that’s why he wasn’t a Top 10 draft pick, but Revis is a tremendous technician. He takes a lot of pride in playing press coverage and he can lock you out. He reads splits and he’s a detail freak. He knows when he has help, where he has help and when he doesn’t have help. And he can change his leverage unlike any guy I’ve ever seen. He can be physical or rely on finesse. I’ve seen him literally throw Terrell Owens off the video screen with his strength.’’ — Jon Gruden, ESPN analyst

Dekoda Watson, stripped of his starting linebacker job this month, was seen as an edge rusher on the left and right sides of the defensive line last week against Atlanta. Watch for a lot more of that today.

Watson wasn’t blitzing on those downs. He had his hand on the turf and was a replacement for the Bucs’ rather anemic pass-rushing ends.

Greg Schiano and Bill Sheridan both spoke last week about the speed element Watson brings off the edge, and fans saw the results when Watson impeded Matt Ryan’s arm, which led to Mason Fosters pick-6 while the Bucs-Falcons game was still close.

Of course, this all ties into the Bucs’ new listen-to-McCoy strategy of taking a more direct route to the quarterback. Speed rushers are negated if they’re asked to dance and run inside rush games that look like a synchronized swimming.

Joe’s made the case that the Bucs are losing confidence in Adrian Clayborn for his poor production for a first-round pick. In this game today especially, the Bucs will need a pass rush to stop the pass-happy Lions. Matthew Stafford throws more per game than any QB in the NFL and takes the fewest sacks, a stunning stats combination.

Joe will be looking for plenty of Watson today. Perhaps he can be the one (finally) to capitalize on having a Pro Bowl defensive tackle creating havoc for offensive lines.

Gerald McCoy explains that he had enough

One of the coolest, nicest guys you can ever meet in the national NFL press corps is Peter Schrager of FOX Sports, who is simply a workaholic. You may be familiar with Scharger’s work for FoxSports.com or his Sunday hits on Fox News Network. Schrager really is a cool cat.

How so? Last week, Joe found an e-mail from Schrager in his in-box. Schrager recently started a weekly NFL podcast and he wanted to tip Joe off to a podcast he did with Bucs stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (the podcast also recounts a visit Schrager made to One Buc Palace and some behind-the-scenes stuff that is really cool).

Anyway, GMC stated that before the Seattle game, he finally had his fill of all the crazy stunts Bucs defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan had the Bucs dancing around in, which rendered the Bucs pass rush listless.

Joe will let GMC explain the Schiano meeting in his own words to Schrager.

“Great thing about Coach Schiano, his door is always open. He’s always open to suggestions from his players. He knows what makes us comfortable with the gameplan. I made the decision, ‘You know, I am going to Coach. He will hear me out.’ [Schiano] made some changes and [starting with] Seattle, we have done a lot less stunting and he has let us go more often.”

So let’s starting connecting dots, shall we? In recent weeks, Schiano has made it clear that his coordinators are the ones calling the shots in-game. Schiano may offer a suggestion here or there but when the bullets are flying, Schiano leans on his coordinators to do their jobs. Schiano, in so many words, has said when the game is live, he’s got too much on his plate to be calling defensive or offensive plays.

Now two weeks ago, Bucs defensive tackle Akeem Spence told Joe that the defensive linemen have been begging defensive coaches (Spence was not specific who these coaches were but he did not mention Schiano’s name, either) to knock off the stunts and, in the words of Bucs icon Warren Sapp, let the defensive linemen hunt the quarterback.

So it sure smells like Sheridan is the culprit for all the stunts and that he was turning a deaf ear to the pleas of his linemen to let them go after the quarterback.

And Sheridan didn’t stop this nonsense until GMC went over his head and straight to Schiano about it.

The podcast with GMC and Schrager is roughly 35 minutes. McCoy also says NFL Films told him he was going to be mic’ed up almost a week before the Dixie Chicks game and never talked to him again because they wanted the real GMC to come out, not an acting job.

Lastly, about the Bucs’ recent turnaround, GMC said the following:

“It’s nothing to throw a parade about. But we know the talent on our team, the players we signed and the players we drafted and it just wasn’t showing.”

Until GMC went to Schiano to have him put a stop to the crazy defensive line stunts.