The signing of vaunted wide receiver Yamon Figurs figures to be a sign that the debut of Josh Freeman is just around the corner.

Yesterday when Joe learned that the Bucs signed castoff wide receiver Yamon Figurs, the first thing Joe thought of was, “Here comes Josh Freeman.”

You see, Figurs played with Freeman at Kansas State.

Vacation Man of BSPN.com was thinking the same thing, then must have been distracted by gawking at Bucs cheerleader pictures online because he went off the deep end.

Give the Bucs credit for not getting caught up in the name game with Jones and Tyree. Yes, they’re better known than Figurs, but there are reasons why they were available.

Wait a minute, so Vacation Man is suggesting there was no good reason why Figurs was walking the streets? Please.

Joe’s not saying the Bucs should have signed Jones (no!) or Tyree. Personally, Joe was hoping the pride of St. Petersburg Catholic, Chris Davis, was signed.

But if the Bucs had to drag some guy out of the unemployment line just because he played with Freeman once upon a time and may help Freeman, that tells Joe that the Bucs are reaching for ways to speed up Freeman’s development almost as bad as they reached to trade up in the first round to acquire Freeman in the first place.

Joe finds it difficult to believe Sean Mayhem will return next season.

The Bucs are lousy. No one with a sane mind will debate that (though Rachel Watson may).

No less an authority than eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, writing in a Bucs question-and-answer column on TBO.com, suggests the Bucs front office is all too aware of this and that at season’s end, there will be major changes to the Bucs roster.

Q: With the trade deadline looming, is there anyone available that can help the team? And are they even looking? They can obviously use help at receiver and along the defensive line. Byron Leftwich is decent trade bait, I’m sure someone will give up a third corner or a third receiver for a decent back up quarterback.
D.J Smith, Tampa

A: First things first — Byron Leftwich has no trade value at this point. You might get a late draft pick for him, but you won’t get a decent player in return. The Bucs are looking for upgrades, but there isn’t much out there. They don’t want anyone older than 30, so that’s another factor to consider. At this point, they’re kind of stuck with what they’ve got. I know that isn’t what Buc fans want to hear. This roster will be turned over again at the end of the season.
— Ira Kaufman

Joe wonders which player will get the ax come the new year? Joe prays Sean Mayhem is gone. Joe can also think of two underperforming first round picks, neither of which are fans favorites, who also may be packing their bags.

The Eagles were like ravenous sharks Sunday. They smelled blood and attacked.

The blood came from the wound on the Bucs offensive line also known as Sean Mayhem, the walking turnstile. Paul Domowitch of the Philly Daily News documents one such example of how Mayhem was so overmatched, he rendered the offense useless Sunday.

Defensive tackle Antonio Dixon got his most playing time of the season and played well, often lining up right over center Sean Mahan, who was no match for Dixon’s strength. On a second-and-10 run by Williams on the Bucs’ second possession, Dixon had pushed Mahan 2 yards into the backfield before Williams got the handoff. He had to bounce it outside, where Omar Gaither tackled him for a 4-yard loss.

If guys were blowing past and through Mayhem before a play could ever begin, no wonder the Bucs offense had trouble getting into gear.

Earlier today, Joe brought you an item of how Bucs employee and Fox Sports Radio host Chris Myers claimed the Bucs were in talks to bring Father Dungy back to the Bucs in the form of a consultant.

Father Dungy released a statement through his current employer, NBC Sports, where he claims he has no interest in working for the Bucs, reports fellow NBC Sports employee, Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com.

“I have had no contact with the Bucs and have no interest in doing anything other than what I am doing” on NBC’s Football Night In America.

“I love working for NBC Sports and my goal right now is to get better at my new job,” Dungy said.

In some ways this is sad and in some ways this is cause for Joe to open a bottle of Caybrew.

Just prior to the start of the season, Raheem the Dream boasted that Josh Johnson was a “career backup.”

Three weeks into the season, Raheem the Dream named Johnson the Bucs starting quarterback.

Vacation Man of BSPN.com has come to the conclusion that he agrees with Raheem the Dream. That Johnson is a career backup.

I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Johnson in his first two NFL starts.

He’s shown a live arm, some running ability and some intangibles. He’s also shown signs of being a late-round draft pick who is still very early in his career development. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say the Bucs have found their backup quarterback of the future.

Yes, backup.

There have been no miracles since Johnson took over. The Bucs are still a bad team. They have no running game, receivers drop passes and the defense isn’t very good. Johnson’s been far from Tampa Bay’s biggest problem, but he’s not going to stay in the lineup much longer.

What, Vacation Man is expecting miracles from Josh Freeman? Based on what exactly?

It would help if Sean Mayhem could slow someone down. It would also help if Greg Olson had an idea how to adjust on the fly.

Joe has obviously heard of the Washington Post. Joe has also heard of the Washington Times.

Joe has not heard of the Washington Examiner. Someone there by the name of Rick Snider claims that Washington Redskins tyrant/owner Danny Snyder has already decided who will take the place of deadman walking (current for now) Redskins head coach Jim Zorn.

Chucky.

Sources close to Gruden say he’s interested in the Redskins because of Snyder’s free spending. Gruden felt undermined by Tampa Bay owners because they were $45 million under the salary cap in his final season. The NFL won’t have a salary cap next year, leaving Snyder to spend freely for the free agents that Gruden prefers.

The article also offers a serious caveat however, noting “Snyder has not contacted Gruden, say sources.”

That can be a major hangup.

The article also doesn’t use one named source, which is another major red flag.

Joe has noted before the Redskins would be a perfect fit for Chucky if not Dallass. Chucky needs a strong owner to put his foot down (just like Snyder and Dallass owner Jerry Jones). That written, both owners have a virtual open checkbook which would give Chucky a wet dream.

By the way, does anyone else find Chucky nauseating on BSPN? He’s perfect for the ADD crowd BSPN so covets. Everyone is “great.” Every play is “excellent.”

And the verbal fellatio Chucky gives movers and shakers in the NFL is beyond the pale. A couple of weeks ago Chucky did his best to coerce Jones into an interview the way he went on about Tony Romo.

Last night the way Chucky talked about Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, one would have thought he’s the greatest front office man the NFL has ever seen.

Joe nearly fell off his leather couch when he heard Chucky talk about how well Bill Callahan relates to and coaches up players. Joe seems to recall Callahan had a near-mutiny on his hands at both Oakland and later Nebraska.

Joe also thought it was interesting the way Chucky talked up Jets running back Thomas Jones when it was Chucky who cut Jones from the Bucs years ago.

With Chucky in the booth for Monday Night Football, the BS meter is off the charts.

Much has been made of Michael Clayton’s drops. Deservedly so. Much has also been made of Clayton’s idiotic comment about his hefty bank accounts when asked about his critics. Stupid, stupid move there Michael.

But Joe has to be fair. Lost in Clayton’s arrogant, ignorant blast about his wealth was that he also took blame for letting his team down by letting the football through his fingertips too many times.

“It’s our job to come up and make plays,” Clayton told Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The rest is on us. I didn’t show up today.”

Again, Joe has been critical of Clayton for his drops, his excuses (Chucky is long gone so that no longer flies with Joe) and his moronic dismissal of his critics bragging about his paychecks.

Joe has to commend Clayton for actually taking the blame. While the loss to the Eagles cannot solely be pinned on Clayton, his drops didn’t help. Joe is impressed that he manned up and admitted he didn’t help his teammates.

Now make some catches Michael!

Is the Bucs offense really better off with Greg Olson as offensive coordinator as opposed to Jeff Jagodzinki?

The Bucs offense is sad. Oh, sure, once in a while the offense shows a glimpse of being average. But the numbers don’t lie. The Bucs offense is mostly miserable.

Raheem the Dream can thank himself for that. That’s the premise that Pat Kirwan of NFL.com floats.

Three teams, including the Bucs, fired their offensive coordinators just before the season began. All three teams, Kirwan points out, are sucking wind terrible on offense. Kirwan notes this is not a coincidence.

Three teams — Bills, Bucs and Chiefs — fired their offensive coordinators days before the start of the season. One team said it needed more in the offense, another said it needed less in the offense and the third just thought it was time for a change.

Sunday was another brutal reminder that the terminations did not do one thing to solve their offensive woes. The Bills, Bucs and Chiefs all lost this week and scored a combined 37 points! Four teams scored more than 37 by themselves. The three teams that made coordinator changes are now 1-14 combined. After Sunday, Buffalo ranks 25th in total offense, Tampa Bay 26th and Kansas City 30th.

It wasn’t the coaches’ fault and it’s a shame they were released before the real games started. Could these three offenses be any worse with the men who installed the schemes?

Not only did the Bucs change offensive coordinators, they are changing their offense in midstream. Even with Jeff Faine returning, Joe believes Raheem the Dream painted his offense in a corner by firing Jeff Jagodzinski.

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson writes the weekly QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson has TV gigs in the Bay area and trains quarterbacks of all ages via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

“Eight men in the box” has become a household phrase, but “eight men on the LOS” (line of scrimmage) hasn’t. That’s because nearly every NFL team wouldn’t risk the consequences of the “quick six” that most teams would put up against an all-out blitz look.

The Bucs, however, weren’t able to exploit that blatant challenge by the Eagles defense.

Don’t look for the “Eight men on the LOS” to become a mainstay in the NFL. Buddy Ryan, the former head coach and designer of the Bears’ famed “46” defense, tried to recreate his success of QB pressure with six on the LOS, but teams learned to defeat it with the Redskins’ “counter-trey” running game and quick passing to the receivers in one-on-one coverage.

Unfortunately, the Bucs couldn’t or wouldn’t move their pocket to buy time for the receivers to shake their defenders (even though they have one of the most mobile QB’s in football history) and they couldn’t catch the ball in key situations to move the chains.

If any Buccaneers coaches happen to read this, using motion of a receiver behind or near another receiver also gives you an advantage in man coverage and gives your young QB a little bit bigger window in which to throw.

After Michael Clayton had his best game in years against Dallass, showing heart and toughness and best of all — hands! — Raheem the Dream declared boldly to all who would listen, “I dare somebody to write an article about why Clayton is on the team again.”

Since, Clayton has reverted to his old self, dropping virtually everything thrown to him.

Frustrated and angry, one fan (?) decided to take Raheem the Dream up on his challenge. And so was born the site “80sucks.com.”

The site is virtually dedicated to the goal of the Bucs cutting ties with Michael Clayton no matter if it’s a trade or outright release. Joe notes “virtually” as the site also offers (a few) non-Clayton takes. One compelling article is titled “Rick Stroud is a hack!”

The authors of the site absolutely destroy Clayton at every turn. Naturally, the fathers of the site had a field day with Clayton when he boasted about his bank account after dropping four balls Sunday at Philadelphia.

Joe loves to read and see such passion among Bucs fans.

Chris Myers is a legitimate, reputable national broadcaster known to countless Bucs fans as the team’s play-by-play man on its preseason telecasts.

So it’s fair to say that Bucs fans should take great notice when Myers drops an absolute bombshell of a ramble like he did Monday on his daily FOX Sports Radio show.

Myers said Tony Dungy is a name under consideration for a job at One Buc Place that could be a consultant position, an assistant coaching job, or a Bill Parcells-type advisory role.

Myers said, “I did want to mention Tony Dungy’s name, and I don’t even know if Tony has been approached, has surfaced in Tampa as a possibility. …The team is winless. There is some concern about direction. Dungy might be a guy whether he is brought in as a consultant or an executive or to coach with Raheem Morris. It is something that is out there that is being talked about.”

Myers went on to say this is “a developing story,” and “these are things that are being discussed that you’re not going to hear a lot of places except here.”

Typically, Joe would dismiss this comment as typical baseless gossip in search of ratings and something to be expected from a California-based talking head like Myers.

However, these Dungy comments must be taken seriously because of Myers’ close ties with the Bucs.

No doubt Myers has superior sources inside the bowels of One Buc Palace. To be fair, it’s also reasonable to believe Myers has bad information.

But perhaps the Glazers have reached out to heal the wounds surrounding Dungy’s exit.

Perhaps the Glazers want help repairing their suspect college scouting department.

Perhaps the Glazers want a trustworthy advisor to help them craft the post-Mark Dominik-Raheem The Dream era.

Considering the state of the franchise, Dungy would be a welcome addition.

Former Bucs DE Steve White

By STEVE WHITE
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Steve White spent every season of the Tony Dungy era playing defensive end for the Bucs. He’s spent countless hours in the film room with the likes of Warren Sapp, Rod Marinelli and more. Joe is humbled to now have White, also a published author and blogger, as part of the JoeBucsFan.com team. Below is the first of White’s weekly Bull Rush columns that will breakdown all things defensive line. It’s simply a can’t-miss read for the hardcore Bucs fan.

If we could judge the Buccaneers defensive line play against the Philadephia Eagles by one player, the grade would very likely be an A+. Jimmy Wilkerson had a whale of a game with three sacks, a caused fumble, a pass knocked down, and scores of tackles against the run.

But unfortunately the defensive line is a unit, and as a group they were very average against the Eagles.

A few problems were apparent in the D-line play yesterday:

1) The defensive line as a group is terrible at running pass rush games.

A pass rush game is where two and sometimes three defensive linemen work together to switch off their pass rush lanes so as to confuse the offensive line and give themselves a greater likelihood of getting to the quarterback, and also maintaining gap integrity just in case there is a draw or the quarterback tries to scramble.

Two of the more common pass rush games are EX games, where the defensive end comes inside as the penetrator first to rush the guard and then the defensive tackle loops behind him for contain, and a TEX game, where the defensive tackle tries to get to the offensive tackle’s back and rush him and the defensive end loops behind him underneath to rush the guard and or center. In general a pass rush game is only as good as the guy who is setting it up, meaning the looper, and in the Bucs defensive line just isn’t very good at it.

You have to have patience if you are a defensive tackle setting up an EX game because if the guard can tell that the defensive end is coming inside then all he has to do is step back and take him on and the whole game is thrown out of whack. The same thing goes for a defensive end on a TEX game when he is waiting for the defensive tackle to penetrate. Too many times the loopers were in such a hurry to take off that they ended up giving away the game, which both gave Donovan McNabb plenty of time to throw and also gave him lanes to run.

2) Having the defensive tackles two-gap in a 4-3 defense puts a strain on our run defense.

I have never and will never be a fan of having two-gapping defensive tackles in a 4-3 scheme. It makes it too hard for your linebackers to know which gap they are supposed to have, and by not having a nose tackle shaded on the center you give the center a free path to get up on your middle backer. This was evidenced yesterday on Brian Westbrook’s run up the middle for a touchdown.

On that play, the front side guard pushed Ryan Sims to the outside and the back side guard did just enough to get in the way of Chris Hovan while the center took one lateral step and then got up on Barrett Ruud. Westbrook could have practically walked into the endzone. It seems like the Bucs are wedded to this kind of technique for our defensive tackles for whatever reason and to me that means we will be soft up the middle for most of the year.

3) The defensive line personnel for third down just isn’t getting it done.

Since the Bucs drafted Gaines Adams they have continually had him rush from the left hand side on third downs. I never have understood this move and at this point I think it is time to go back to the drawing board.

Just think about this for a moment, Jimmy Wilkerson had three sacks yesterday, two of them were from his left end spot on early downs. The other sack was when he rushed from the defensive tackle spot but not because he made a great move. Instead, he didn’t beat his guy initially but hustled back to tackle McNabb from behind as he scrambled. Yet by my count there were nine snaps with third-down personnel and two more third downs where the Bucs used a three-man rush. On those plays Wilkerson was either rushing inside or wasn’t even in the game.

Does that make sense to anybody?

And its not just that Wilkerson is obviously our best pass rusher from left end, its also that Gaines Adams is not very good rushing from that side. Although Adams is at least getting better at rushing from the right side. He wasn’t very consistent but he did get at least some pressure from the right yesterday and he did knock down one pass. But again, that is 11 third-down rushes that he isn’t rushing from his best position.

Now I am a fan of Greg White and think he is a very good, and possibly the best, pass rusher on the team, but it is time to rethink the personnel and how we are using them on third down. In my mind the Bucs have two options: Sit Gaines on third down and let Wilkerson rush from the left and White from the right because White is a better pass rusher than Gaines at this point.

That, of course, would leave an opening for someone else to come in and rush inside. Or what is a better option, if you ask me, is that you kick White inside and let him rush at defensive tackle like he did in his first year with the team. As good as Wilkerson is at rushing from left end, he hasn’t shown that same ability at defensive tackle and White has a history of making plays at that position.

In Philadelphia, the defensive line as a group didn’t play all that bad, but in the NFL average play will often times get you beat. Wilkerson had a hell of a game with his many big plays but he was basically carrying the unit yesterday on a day when we needed even more heat on McNabb to take the pressure off of our secondary.

The end result is that as a team the Bucs got their teeth kicked in.

The encouraging thing with the defensive line is that it is all fixable. We can get better at running pass rush games. We can get our guys out of two-gapping. We can change around our third down personnel.

The real question is will we?

I guess we will all have to stay tuned to find out.

The favorite turnstile of NFL defensive lineman, Bucs center Sean Mayhem, has been kicked to the bench (thankfully) as Jeff Faine tears off his shirt, escapes the phone booth (do those things still exist?) and comes back from healing his injured arm in an effort to rescue the Bucs offensive line.

With Mayhem at center, opposing defenses poured through the middle of the Bucs offensive line so quick most defenders didn’t even notice Mayhem standing there. eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune notes that the Bucs offensive line, which looked OK to begin the season, hasn’t looked the same since Mayhem started in place of the injured Faine.

As a result, Faine has been chomping at the bit to get back.

“It’s been pretty frustrating,” Faine acknowledged today after the Bucs fell to 0-5 with a 33-14 loss at Philadelphia. “You feel handcuffed not being able to help the way you want to. I think the guys up front have done pretty well, but it’s tough when you take out a piece that makes all the line calls. It’s tough to be cohesive.”

The Bucs did some good things in the running game against Dallass until they had to start throwing to catch up. With the almost-as putrid Panthers coming into the CITS this weekend, Faine may very well be the difference the Bucs need to lock up Raheem the Dream’s first win.

"That right, Kellen. You're one of my 53 soldiers."

Raheem The Dream’s most animated moment at his Monday news conference came when he channeled his inner Kellen Winslow, Jr.

Yes, months ago Joe promised Winslow personally that he would stop calling him a military nickname that referenced his famous soldier comments during his college days. 

It became a national story. And Joe has kept his word.

But it seems Raheem The Dream took Winslow’s soldier references to heart and has now adopted the soldier lingo.

“The only way you get a win is you know you’re not alone. I know I got 53 soldiers. There better be 53 soldiers ready for me to come in and meet with them guys right now. Be ready to deal with getting that next win,” Raheem The Dream said today.

Joe’s not a big fan of calling anyone outside the military “soldiers.” It’s just not respectful, especially during a time when the U.S. is considering sending another 40,000 troops to risk their lives in Afghanistan.

Joe suspects the Bucs communications staff will see to it that Raheem The Dream never uses the term “soldier” again in this context.

Stick to “violent,” Rah. Joe misses that.

The good people of FoxSports.com apparently have seen the light and are offering embed codes! About time! In this video, Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan take an inside look at the Bucs loss to the Eagles.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&#038;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:7abf47b0-d0ea-4d6d-8976-337de23c6aff&#038;showPlaylist=true&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videosearch&#038;fg=everyzing" target="_new" title="NFL on FOX: McNabb sharp in return">Video: NFL on FOX: McNabb sharp in return</a>

Joe thought he’d offer the few highlights from the Bucs loss to help ease your otherwise slow Tuesday afternoon.

"The coaches meeting starts in 10 minutes. So who wants to tell Raheem that if we end up with a top-3 pick, his stuff is getting packed up in a U-haul?"

Hmmm. A very interesting quote emerged from Raheem The Dream’s Monday news conference.

Did Mark Dominik address the coaching staff and tell Raheem The Dream he’s stinking up the joint? Did a Glazer walk down the hallowed halls of One Buc Place?

“We had our coaches meeting this morning. We got our faces ripped off as a coaching staff, me included,” Raheem The Dream said.

Maybe Raheem The Dream was referring to himself blasting his own results. But it sure seemed like he was referring to a mysterious third party entering the coaches meeting to drop a few F-bombs.

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bucs coaches offered no help to Josh Johnson in dealing with the pressure the Eagles defense threw at the Bucs quarterback.

Josh Johnson got blitzed. Philadelphia threw the kitchen sink at Johnson and, compounded by dropped passes (four by Michael Clayton), Johnson had a rough day throwing three picks.

When Johnson came to the sidelines looking for advice, his coaches offered no help, claims Matt Gelb of Philadelphia Inquirer.

After another unsuccessful drive, Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Johnson walked over to the sideline and asked his coaches for some advice. Johnson, making his second career start, had anticipated a heavy Eagles pass rush. But nothing like this. Not nearly every play.

The Buccaneers’ coaches didn’t have much of an answer.

“They said they’ve never seen it happen before, where a team just constantly brings everyone,” Johnson said.

Joe thinks that quote speaks for itself and won’t even bother commenting other than to ask, was Jeff Jagodzinski really the problem?

While Michael Clayton lives in denial about his inability to consistently catch the ball and arrogantly points to his bank account, Antonio Bryant is a man and confesses he’s screwing up, and hurting his teammates.

In talking with Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune, Bryant didn’t blame Chucky for his drops or try to big league Henderson at all. Bryant took the criticism of his dropped passes like a man.

“I personally had two big drops,” Bryant said. “If I get them, we probably win the game.”

Joe admires Bryant for speaking the truth, though Joe’s not sure the Bucs would have won had Bryant caught both passes he missed. Still, thank you Antonio for being upfront.

Joe only wishes No. 80 would be a man. Joe wonders if one lives in denial and blames others who are not even on the field for their mistakes, if said player is even motivated? If one doesn’t think one is in error, then there’s nothing to correct, right?

Doesn’t one have to come to grips with being in the wrong before they confront and repair their issues?

Fans in the past two weeks have been clamoring for Raheem The Dream’s head almost as much as they are for the Bucs to cut Michael Clayton.

Vacation Man of BSPN.com was the first Joe has read to suggest Raheem the Dream may be on thin ice.

Today, Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times is the first local MSMer Joe has read to lob the first grenade, asking if Raheem the Dream is up to the task of being an NFL head coach.

For Morris, the man in charge of the answers, Sundays always seem to end like this. Five times he has coached an NFL game, and five times his team has lost. His defense is not getting better, and his offense is getting worse, and by now, double-digit beatings seem to be the norm. He is a winless coach, and for him and his team, Sundays are wasted afternoons.

All of this is on Morris, of course. Say what you will about the talent, and say what you want about his newness to the job, and say all you care to about how cheap the owners have become. It doesn’t matter. In the NFL, coaches are judged by the scoreboard, and when a team is 0-5 and has lost by an average of more than two touchdowns per game, a coach’s fingerprints are all over the disappointment.

Everything that Shelton writes is accurate but Joe has to be fair:

Was it Raheem the Dream’s decision to sign the walking turnstile Sean Mayhem to replace Jeff Faine? Was it Raheem the Dream’s decision to re-sign to a hideous contract a wide receiver who catches a cold more often than he catches a football? Was it Raheem the Dream’s decision to draft a defensive end who has had one decent half  in nearly 2 1/2 years?

Granted, Raheem the Dream deserves his share of blame in this mess. He’s the one who decided to fire his offensive coordinator 10 days before the season — a guy he hired in the first place. It was his decision to hire Jim Bates to oversee a defense with players that do not fit his style of defense.

And maybe more importantly, it was Raheem the Dream who lobbied hard and heavy for the Bucs to trade up to draft the object of his lust, quarterback Josh Freeman.

Joe just doesn’t see the need to call for Raheem the Dream’s head (yet). It’s premature. Is he blameless? Of course not. Who exactly expected the Bucs to compete for the playoffs this year? In Joe’s eyes, if you are not going to compete for a Super Bowl then compete for the worst record in the NFL so you can get a good draft slot.

Joe has listened multiple times to Raheem The Dream’s Sunday postgame news conference and has made a startling discovery.

The head coach couldn’t get the words “Michael Clayton” out of his mouth.

Joe is stunned. This is the same head coach who has made a reputation in his young tenure for passionately calling out players publicly  for positives and negatives.

Why yesterday he named Ronde Barber, Elbert Mack and Will Allen for getting beat. He also went out of his way to praise Kellen Winslow and Donald Penn, who the head coach said “played his heart out.”

But that Michael Clayton guy, the head coach lumped him together with Antonio Bryant when asked about critical dropped passes and then refused to say the words, “Michael Clayton.

From Raheem The Dream’s 8 minutes and 25 seconds news conference posted on Buccaneers.com:

“Both guys dropped a bunch of balls today.” 1:15

“It’s hard to grade Josh on some of those plays with some of those dropped balls he had today. He could have had a 80 yard bomb on the first throw of the game …if we catch the ball. ” 2:40

“Somebody’s got to step up and make a play for him. When you’ve got zero coverage on the back end and [Josh Johnson] puts the ball in, you’ve got to catch it, make somebody miss and go score.” 5:45

“I don’t think dropping a ball is mental. I think that’s physical. I think you’ve just got to catch the ball. You’re paid to catch the ball. You got to catch it. Everybody.”  7:58

“No. We’ve got to be a tougher team on ourselves. You’ve got to catch those balls. You can’t have that happen. We have to go to practice first. We have to go to practice and see who can step up and perform. Who can catch the balls? Throw it to those people. And that’s what we’ll do.” 8:05

Don’t worry, Rah. Joe has a hard time even thinking about Michael Clayton playing for the Bucs and reminding us his fat check is in the bank. It’s surely understandable that the head coach can’t even say his name.