Look out! Free agent tight end Tom Crabtree is coming from Green Bay and he’s going to help stretch the field and be a punishing blocker and the Bucs have studied his film and found a hidden gem. … That’s what Bucs fans heard often this spring and summer from Greg Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik.

Will it ever happen?

Crabtree went down with a bad ankle sprain late in preseason while lined up as a fullback. It was the “worst possible timing,” Crabtree told Joe yesterday. “That’s right at the point where you’re hoping to peak physically to start of the season, and I was there, as well as achieving a complete understanding of the offense,” he said.

Crabtree was lost for more than a month and only got his health back fully a few weeks ago. He’s been part of the Bucs’ revived running game, but he’s been invisible in the passing game despite playing a load of snaps.

Coach Schiano, is Crabtree healthy enough to be unleashed? Joe asked yesterday.

“That’s a good point. I was just thinking that on the practice field the other day. Because it’s been like a couple of weeks where I haven’t heard in the injury report and anything that the [ankle’s] bothering him. And you can see an increased level of play,” Schiano said. “I don’t know if he’s all the way back, but I think you’re right on in that observation. He’s getting real close to being where he was.

“I can think back to how excited we were about Tom at a point in the spring and in training camp. And then when he got injured, it’s a long road back. That’s been a nagging injury. So I’m optimistic there.”

Crabtree says he’s healthy and ready to show his worth in the passing game. Playing 50 or so snaps per game the last few weeks, he said, should be enough evidence of his health.

Joe’s interested to watch Crabtree in the final six games. If he can prove to be valuable, then he’ll become another plus on the offseason report card of Dominik and Schiano. Right now, Crabtree gets an incomplete.

If Bucs commander is remembered for anything in his days as Bucs coach — no, not his one-way, get-out-of-town feud with DJ Toes on the Line, not his staying above the fray in the leaky Rip Van Freeman soap opera, not the MRSA mess — it will be punt blocking.

In Schiano’s short times with the Bucs, the team has been the best in the NFL at punt blocks. The Bucs lead the NFL with four punt blocks since the start of the 2012 season.

Of those four punt blocks, Dekoda Watson has three. Naturally, Watson leads the NFL in blocked punts during that same time span.

In fact, Watson is one of just two players in the NFL with multiple blocked punts since the start of last season. The other is Houston’s Bryan Braman, who, incidentally, is also a linebacker like Watson.

Now Joe finds all of this punt-block focus cool, but Joe just wishes the coaching staff would have the same passion and mindset about drilling quarterbacks . Then maybe the Bucs might have a few more wins this year.

Mason Foster had his coconut rattled against Atlanta on Sunday and was pulled with a concussion, or an “incussion,” as Foster described it.

Foster hasn’t returned to practice yet, apparently surrendering to NFL brain injury protocols, but Foster remains hopeful of a return in Detroit, so he told Joe today.

Foster also doesn’t want to break a personal streak he’s got going. Foster hasn’t missed a game of any kind since a busted thumb playing baseball as a little kid. Foster was a catcher and was forced to move to the outfield when he returned. But since then, Foster said, he never missed a high school, college or pro game of any kind.

Joe’s pulling big time for Foster’s return. He’s a playmaker on the Bucs defense, and with Dashon Goldson out, it could be brutal for the Bucs to be without two starters up the gut of their defense against the explosive and balanced Lions.

Joe slugged it out this afternoon for 90 minutes with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620. It was a special edition of the normally-on-Wednesday “JoeBucsFan hour.” Joe dove into a wide variety of topics, from the arrogance of the Lions media to the Darrelle Revis-Calvin Johnson matchup, the buzz of the Bucs locker room, and much more. Enjoy!

Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn wasn’t always able to drill Matty Ice last week.

Joe is sure most Bucs fans have seen the great NFL Films clip of Gerald McCoy mic’ed up against Atlanta. In the video, GMC along with Adrian Clayborn both pulled up on Matty Ice when each mistakenly thought Matty Ice had thrown a pass.

Matty Ice pulled away from GMC’s grasp and escaped. Both GMC and Clayborn didn’t realize this until it was too late.

GMC was upset because that would-be sack would have given him a franchise record four for a game. You can hear GMC say, “Not even 99 had four,” clearly referring to Hall of Famer Warren Sapp.

Joe knows why the duo didn’t bring Ryan down. With the NFL players protecting NFL quarterbacks like a bottle of nitroglycerin, defenders have become conditioned to, when in doubt, not even breathe on a quarterback.

That was exactly the case with Clayborn and GMC.

“Me, just getting a penalty I guess like two series before that, I was kind of hesitant about hitting him too hard so I kind of pulled up a little bit,” Clayborn said of the non-Matty Ice sack. “It is a lesson to itself. Whatever you do, keep it legal but still try to make the play. It is hard, but we have to play within NFL rules that are [in effect] these days.

“It is a split second decision how to gauge if he is going to move and whether to hit him high or him low. We are still working on it, obviously.

“I promise next time I will not hold up. I’m not missing a sack like that again.”

Fortunately for the Bucs, the game was already in hand by that time and Matty Ice escaping meant little to the outcome of the game. But what if the game was close or even tied? And by escaping Matty Ice was able to make a play to keep a drive alive for a winning score?

This nonsense of babying quarterbacks beyond reason could — if it hasn’t happened yet — decide outcomes of games.

In this ESPN video, Pat Yasinksas discusses what he will keeping an eye out for when the Bucs travel to Detroit to play the Lions.

Please, prove Joe wrong in Detroit, Keith Tandy. Please!

Joe’s no fan of Tandy’s skills, but Bucs coaches are. Greg Schiano offered big praise for the second-year safety’s intelligence and reliability today, and defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan took the Tandy love several steps further.

“Really a versatile guy as far as playing different positions. He’s a guy I would describe as really good at everything,” Sheridan said. “Maybe not a wow spectacular dynamic player at any one particular part of his game. But he’s good in run support, he can tackle, he’s athletic, he can play man-to-man coverage, he understands zone coverage, he can play different components of zone coverage, he can make checks off of formations. He’s done an outstanding job. I told him that a couple of weeks ago. He has really come around. We put him in there. I don’t think we miss a beat.”

Yes, Sheridan said the Bucs would miss suspended Dashon Goldson.

Joe asked Sheridan if the loss of Goldson meant he’d change the way Mark Barron is used, but the answer was a definitive, “No. We’re going to try to use Mark as we have.”

The Bucs are quite confident in Tandy. Joe’s going to break out the rabbit’s foot and cross fingers.

Joe’s been searching for answers as to what transformed the Bucs’ offensive line over the past three games.

Could it simply be the addition of left guard Jamon Meredith into the starting lineup? Possibly. But now Joe’s going throw in the X-factor of the Bucs getting back their blocking tight end, Tom Crabtree.

Crabtree (coincidentally?) really emerged healthy in Seattle three weeks ago and has played about 50 snaps a game since.

Joe talked to Crabtree at length today and he dismisses his return as a major factor. Crabtree said consistency “as far as technique and communication as a line and tight ends” has been the difference, along with the magical, hard-to-pin-down reason of “clicking.”

Crabtree also offered another point well taken. Mike Glennon coming out firing against Seattle and becoming a respected diverse threat since is a difference-maker. “That doesn’t do anything but help your running game right there,” Crabtree said.

(Joe will have more on Crabtree later tonight.)

In this way cool video from NFL Network of Gerald McCoy mic’ed up for NFL Films, there is clear evidence of how babying quarterbacks has changed the NFL game, and Joe does not believe it’s for the better, unless you are into fantasy football or video games or just hate defense.

Obviously, GMC had three sacks last week against the Dixie Chicks. He should have had a fourth. GMC was in a scrum to get Dixie Chicks quarterback Matty Ice. Both GMC and Adrian Clayborn thought Ryan had gotten rid of the ball. GMC even had his hands on Matty Ice and let him go, only to realize too late that Matty Ice had the ball, and then threw a pass.

GMC, on the sidelines, was beside himself, telling all who would listen, “I thought he threw the ball otherwise I would have body-slammed him! Not even 99 [Warren Sapp] had four sacks,” GMC said.

Imagine if this was a close game and Clayborn and GMC let Matty Ice go, for fear of getting flagged, fined or suspended, and Matty Ice tosses a touchdown pass for a win?

The head honcho of theMMQB.com, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King has a video chat with Bucs stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. The two discuss how a nice guy like GMC can be ferocious on the field, and GMC explains how Bucs commander Greg Schiano is a players’ coach in this theMMQB.com video.

Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King knows a few things about his position. And quite a bit about the college game, serving as an NFL Draft guru for NBC Sports.

King was very direct when talking today on WDAE-AM 620 about the Bucs drafting a quarterback in 2014. King said he likes Mike Glennon but the Bucs absolutely should not pass on a chance to draft one of two QBs King deems worthy of a first-round pick: Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Football.

Marcus Mariota of Oregon? King doesn’t see him as a “plug-and-play” guy.

One of three QBs to lead the Bucs to the NFC title game, King echoed a point Joe has made many times: It’s almost impossible to compete for a Super Bowl with the fourth best quarterback in your division.

The Bucs sit in that boat. Mike Glennon, clearly, is not better than Matt Ryan, Cam Newton or Drew Brees. And King doesn’t believe Glennon has a “ceiling” anywhere near the level of those guys.

So where might that leave the Bucs come May? (yes the NFL Draft is in May next year.) As Joe’s written previously, Joe’s all in favor of the Bucs drafting a QB in the first round, Glennon thriving or not.

Donald Penn has made 102 consecutive starts for the Bucs, so it’s no wonder that he’s got excellent perspective on the Bucs’ recent revival of the offensive line and the team.

“Two games ain’t really nothin’,” Penn said. “You know, we’ve got a long season. Shoot, we gave away the first eight.”

Penn, of course, is right. It’s easy to get caught up in the euphoria of the Bucs’ past three games, two of them wins. Fans are eager to seize hope and the promise of good things to come. But the Bucs have loads more work to do and much to prove. If they can’t perform on the road in these next two games, Joe’s confident the locals will be back to billboards, pitchforks and daily dreams of Johnny Football.

You can hear Penn’s brief chat with media yesterday below, via WDAE-AM 620 audio.

Every Bucs fans should watch this NFL Films video. It’s Gerald McCoy mic’d up during the Bucs-Falcons game. Great stuff!

A few moments of intrigue:

1) A pregame defensive line spirit session includes Dekoda Watson
2) Lavonte David to McCoy, “They can’t block you, G.”
3) Greg Schiano instructing McCoy how he wants him to deliver a message to the defense, “I want you to get’em together …”
4) A great look at the dirty hit Vincent Jackson takes in the back on Bobby Rainey’s breakaway TD run.
5) Steven Jackson praising McCoy after the game.

The 2013 Bucs brought you what turned out to be a game-losing, non-aggressive, three-man rush to close the Jets game in New York after an endless stream of blitzes.

And the same Bucs passed on a chance to win the Week 2 Saints game with a 3rd-and-6 throw (after Josh Freeman had just completed consecutive throws of 20 yards and 18 yards!!) only to fail on a long field goal on fourth down — and lose the game.

But now the Bucs have adjusted. They need to be aggressive from coaches to players, says Greg Schiano.

“We need to stay aggressive. We need to go out there and, if we can clean up some of the things that we didn’t do well, and continue to play aggressive and call the game aggressive and do all those things, you know, we have a chance to keep this roll going,” Schiano said this week on WDAE-AM 620.

“That’s exactly what we were talking about [leading at halftime against the Falcons]. The game hasn’t changed. It doesn’t matter what the score is right now. We’re going to come and continue to do the things, we saved a few things for the second half that we didn’t show in the first half, and we try to do that.”

Schiano has been clobbered by fans and media for ineffective second-half adjustments. But it seems perhaps Schiano is adjusting in the second half of the season. It’s clear there’s a fresh aggressive mindset among the coaching staff. The only reason Joe can figure is there’s now a quarterback in place that has earned their trust.

Don’t get Joe wrong. Joe still thinks Schiano should have played more aggressively with Freeman. You just can’t play conservative and/or scared, no matter who is on the field. That’s not winning NFL football.

Coaches, players and fans are waiting with baited breath for the Darrelle Revis-Calvin Johnson match-up Sunday.

Some are trying to narrow Sunday’s Lions-Bucs game to a match between two enemy combatants: Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson and Bucs cornerback Darrelle Revis (Joe has heard so many people call Johnson this “Megatron” thing and others call Revis something like “Prime Optimis,” none of which Joe has any clue what those monikers mean. But Joe does enjoy a good prime rib from time to time, well-done, of course).

[Is “Prime Optimis” Latin for “praying mantis?”]

In their only battle facing each other, Revis with the Jets, Johnson had but one catch for 13 yards.

Naturally, a lot of chatter at One Buc Palace had to do with the impending Revis-Johnson clash, and Bucs commander Greg Schiano admitted he may have to force himself to not enjoy the duel.

“You’re talking about two of the best that ever played their position in all of football,” Schiano said. “The fan in me has to step away and say ‘we have to make sure we do everything we can to put our 11 guys in the best position to defend their whole offense.’ And certainly Calvin is a huge part of their offense, huge, but they have other weapons. If it was just Calvin, that wouldn’t be easy, but it would be easier; but you’re talking about [running back] Reggie Bush, you’re talking about their tight ends, their quarterback is outstanding. If you just look at the stats, they’re top ten in every major category, almost. You can be top ten in a few, but when you’re in every major category you’re pretty darn good.”

Even Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy wishes he could grab his popcorn for this bout. Instead, he will be trying to put Lions quarterback Matt Stafford on the ground to help out Revis.

“It’s kind of the unstoppable force meets the immovable object kind of thing,” GMC said. “Twenty-four [Revis] can stop anybody and 81 [Johnson] can’t be stopped by anybody, so it’s kind of like, when they meet up, it’s going to be fun to see. I hate that I won’t get to see it, because I’ll be pass-rushing, but I will watch it on tape.”

It is difficult to believe the success of the Bucs’ offensive line in November can be pinned solely on the shoulders of Jamon Meredith.

Ever since the Bucs decided to insert backup Jamon Meredith into the void left by Carl Nicks and his perpetually hurt/MRSA-afflicted foot, the Bucs’ offensive line has transformed like a caterpillar into a butterfly.

In fact, crunching the numbers provided by the Bucs, the O-line isn’t just good this month, it has been one of the best in the NFL. In the past three games, all in November, the Bucs are averaging 177 yards rushing a game, second-most in the NFL for the month. Additionally, the Bucs have racked up 28 first downs on running plays in November, ranking No. 3 in the NFL.

On face value, Joe just wants to slam his glass of beer down on the bar and unload on the waitress why Bucs commander Greg Schiano, or one of his 48 assistants, couldn’t have figured out by now that if Meredith was this good, he should have been starting long, long ago before the season was lost.

“I think it’s no mistake when we talk about the great job that the line has done,” Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan said. “There’s no question that they have really taken and accepted the challenge and in some very difficult circumstances and certainly, what’s coming up this Sunday will be as difficult as it gets, in terms of a commitment to run football. One of the things that has helped is the continuity that we’ve had in having those same five people in those same five spots and being able to go through in a practice week and work the calls, work the communications, check, meet and talk about it afterwards. [Guard/tackle] Jamon [Meredith] is a tough, tough guy, hungry, like you’ve said. He got rolled up pretty good there in our game on Sunday and fought through it and came right back. Fortunately he did because he’s made some good plays for us and we’re really counting on him, particularly this Sunday with the great tackles that Detroit has.”

The more Joe thinks about it, however, it cannot be just because Meredith is starting. There are several factors, including Meredith, of course.

One would be that Davin Joseph is getting healthier. Joseph, aside from being perhaps the coolest cat in the Bucs locker room, is a prideful man. It likely pained him more that he wasn’t playing to his level of expected performance than the pain in his surgically repaired knee. Not all knees are created equal, and Joseph wasn’t going to use his knee as a crutch, even though he may have needed one at some point. Joseph is pretty close if not back to his old form. That is a key.

And let’s not overlook the two pair of fresh legs, Mike James and Bobby Rainey. Sure, the offensive line is getting holes open for them, but when James was still playing, and now Rainey, they have done more than run to the line of scrimmage before being stopped by the second level.

Each had a nose to find a crease to get past the second level to really open up the offense.

Yes, Meredith is playing well. But several factors have came together to transform the Bucs’ offensive line from liability to strength.

OK, so Bucs commander Greg Schiano has a reputation for being a big, bad bully. Is he demanding? Sure. Is he exacting? Yes. Now Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes Schiano needs classes in phone etiquette.

After Schiano spent roughly six minutes with the Detroit pen and mic club, what seems to be (for those not familiar with Schiano) an abrupt ending to a phone call led Meinke to type in outrage that Schiano hung up on him and the rest of the Lions press corps today.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano hung up on Detroit reporters during a teleconference Wednesday after a question about the MRSA outbreak that infected at least three players.

He answered the question, then hung up fewer than 6 minutes into the call. That’s roughly half the length of the average weekly call.

No coach has hung up during the session in years.

However, listening to the audio of the teleconference (click the orange button below), the voice of Bucs director of communications Nelson Luis can be clearly heard saying, “Time for a couple of more, guys.”

Schiano is a literal person. In his vernacular, “couple” means “two.”

Schiano answered two more questions, the final one about MRSA. Schiano spent nearly a minute on it, giving a thoughtful answer about how much he has personally learned about MRSA since the outbreak in the Bucs locker room earlier this season.

After finishing his final answer, Schiano quickly said, “Alright guys, I appreciate it, I will see you Sunday” and, yes, hung up the phone.

Now maybe this is nothing for locals because the people who cover the Bucs are used to Schiano’s ways. How he ended his teleconference today is exactly how he ends most of his press conferences (go ahead and pick one, any one, from Buccaneers.com for evidence). Luis will say, “Two more questions” and after Schiano finishes answering the final question, he’ll say, “Thanks guys” and bolt off the dais. Sometimes, Schiano will toy with the Custodian of Canton, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, and say, “Thought you could get one under the wire, huh Ira?” then flash a big grin and walk off.

Did Schiano interrupt a potential final question as he was saying “See you Sunday?” Yes, but that assumes Schiano even heard the question as the two talked over one another. Schiano’s quick endings to press conferences happen virtually daily here in Tampa. Again, Joe suggests you watch his press conference videos on Buccaneers.com for evidence.

What Joe considers a hang-up is if he would call Rachel Watson in the small hours of the morning looking for a heavy-breathing tryst between the sheets and hears a click, yes, that’s a hang-up.

This was not a hang-up. An abrupt ending? Yes. Nothing new, not even for an NFL coach. Shoot, earlier this year in a short teleconference with Saints coach Sean Payton, the Saints leader was clearly bored and at one point, Bill Parcells-like, blurted, “I’ve only got time for one more, I’ve got to get going.”

And that was that. To hear the audio of Schiano’s teleconference (courtesy of the Buccaneers), click the orange button below .

Thanks to a one-game suspension handed down by the NFL against Bucs safety Dashon Goldson, which will be applied to this week’s game with Detroit, the Bucs will be short-handed in pass defense against one of the better passing offenses in the NFL.

Goldson was sentenced as a result of what the league deemed an illegal hit against Dixie Chicks wideout Roddy White, which also took out Goldson’s teammate linebacker Mason Foster, who has yet to be cleared to play Sunday due to a concussion.

While Bucs commander Greg Schiano understands headhunting is illegal and has dire consequences for the guilty party, Schiano couldn’t but think Goldson’s reputation as a headhunter hurt him just as bad in the court of NFL warden commissioner Roget Goodell as did the actual hit on White (and Foster).

“I think Dashon understands that. I know he does. It is what it is. It happened,” Schiano said. “The reality is he got called for it. He got suspended for it. And a lot of it has to do I think with his history. We have to adjust better than we have. I thought he did make huge adjustments to his game since the last fine and suspension (which was appealed).

“A couple of things have occurred. The rules of the game are forever adjusting and they’ve adjusted this year, in 2013, more than they have in the past. And that’s fine. I get the big picture. We all want this game to keep moving forward. It’s the best game in the world. We don’t want to let it get jeopardized by something that is going on. The adjustment by the league, I understand it. We have to play within those rules.

“It is getting more and more difficult to play defense in the National Football League. That is the way it is going to be. We need to protect the game and protect the players. We need to modify how we do things. Those who adjust the quickest are going to have the most success. We are losing a valuable player because we did not adapt quick enough. Dashon is a great guy to have on your football team. History is the biggest culprit in this instance.”

That’s just it. Goldson claims no one will take the hit out of him. But the NFL can take Goldson out of the NFL with suspensions.

If Goldson is OK losing $250,000+ per illegal hit, Joe’s OK with that too. That’s his choice. But when Goldson’s headhunting leads to him being banished to the sidelines, that not just hurts Goldson but the team as a whole.

At that point, a player (no matter the position) begins to become an albatross. Either Goldson is going to have to learn how to play by the rules, or rock star general manager Mark Dominik is going to have to find another capable safety in the offseason not named “Ahmad Black,” who can replace Goldson the next time he is paddled by Goodell’s henchmen.