Bucs captain Davin Joseph lets loose on what Greg Schiano means to him and the locker room

“I don’t think it could have got any worse for [Coach Schiano.] But the guy stuck with it, stayed with what he believed in. And now it’s finally paying off. It was tough for a while, new quarterback, you know what I mean, the whole Josh Freeman thing. Doug [Martin] gets hurt. All these things. And people are ready to can us. And Coach Schiano was like, ‘Sh*t. Fu*k that. Keep your pads on and we’ll keep on working.’ And you finally get the sense to where it’s like guys believe in him. You know what I mean; we’re becoming closer. It’s the first time I can actually really say that we’re a family now. I mean, it’s some tough times. All that stuff could have like broken us up and we could have been just getting blown out and not fighting and all that sh*t. But Coach Schiano, that’s a tough son of a bitch.

“Because it’s such a business, it’s so hard to say “family” in the NFL. Dude’s been preaching it since he walked through the door. And sometimes you don’t really know where they’re coming from when they say that, and you blow it off the first time or the second time and you don’t really know where they’re coming from. ‘Family, family, family, family.’ But it makes sense now. I can really say now that we’re like a family. Guys trust him. Guys believe in him. All he’s been saying has been coming true about just keeping your head down and working. Because it couldn’t have gotten any more negative at One Buc. It’s the worst it’s ever been, and I’ve been here for eight seasons. It was the worst it’s ever been. The dude is tough, man.” Davin Joseph, following the Bucs win against Atlanta yesterday.

This was heartfelt stuff from Joseph. It’s not possible for Joe to convey the seriousness with which Joseph delivered these words.

None of this makes Schiano a good gameday NFL coach. He’s got much prove there, but there is no question the Bucs are a united and motivated team. Joe’s very eager to see how these final six games, against tough competition, play out.

Adrian Clayborn takes down Dixie Chicks running back Jacquizz Rodgers.

One element Team Glazer almost surely will factor in when weighing whether to award Bucs coach Greg Schiano a mulligan and bring him back for the 2014 season is player performance. 

Akeem Spence demonstrated a positive example yesterday. On a screen pass from Matty Ice to Steven Jackson over the middle, Jackson gained 12 yards and a first down. What stood out was that Spence, a defensive tackle, was engaged with a blocker when Jackson got the ball. Spence shook his block and ran down Jackson from behind.

Is that the sign of a quitting team? Quitting players would have just turned around and watched someone else try to make a play. Spence, instead, got off a block and busted his tail to catch Jackson.

Plays like that will get the attention of Team Glazer. And plays like that cannot help but bolster Schiano’s standing with Team Glazer.

Getting to the Quarterback

It sort of started a week ago when the Bucs pass rush manhandled Ryan Tannehill in the final defensive stand of a win against the Dolphins. It continued to a lesser degree yesterday when Bucs coaches decided to take a break from playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie and stop the stunts long enough to get to the passer.

Gerald McCoy had three sacks of Matty Ice, tying a franchise record for defensive tackles (with Warren Sapp and Brad Culpepper). In previous weeks, GMC was double- if not triple-teamed and when he did get penetration, quarterbacks, with no pressure from the edge, only stepped to the side to buy time and avoid GMC.

That didn’t happen yesterday. On two of GMC’s sacks, defensive ends William Gholston and Adrian Clayborn totally collapsed the pocket, trapping Matty Ice like a rat and GMC was only happy to pounce on his prey.

Without pressure from the edge, there is only so much GMC can do. Where are the GMC haters this fine morning? What do you have to say for yourselves now? Speak!

Whither a Franchise Quarterback?

Joe isn’t quite sold on Mike Glennon as the franchise quarterback. Yet. Yes, he had a good game yesterday and he did put up Jameis Winston-like numbers. Difference is, Winston (yes, Joe understands he’s a college freshman) has gaudy completion numbers while throwing the ball downfield. Glennon is largely throwing safe, short or intermediate passes, which is no problem.

That written, when Glennon faces good defenses, those passes will be taken away from him (hello, Alex Smith) and he will have to improve his downfield proficiency. Can Teddy Bridgewater or Johnny Football do just as well on the NFL level? Time will tell.

The thing is, the Bucs could still draft a quarterback in the first round next year and if the guy flames out, there is always Glennon as insurance. Even better: let the rookie sit and learn the game at his own pace and force him to beat out Glennon, while also possibly forcing Glennon to raise his game. Schiano is a competition kind of guy, isn’t he?

All Smiles

When Bucs commander Greg Schiano left the field after the win over the Dixie Chicks, he wore the biggest smile on his face Joe may have ever seen. Few fans were heckling him, either. Ah, the joys of victory.

Match-up of Greatsen

Who is geeked for Sundaoy (already) when Darrelle Revis will try to lock down Calvin Johnson? If Revis is healthy enough to do this, and the Bucs bring their defense like they did yesterday and hassle Matthew Stafford, it should be an interesting game.

Around the NFL

Colts: Andrew Luck is running out of weapons. His wide receivers are getting hurt and that lummox the Colts threw a first round draft pick away on isn’t any better than the Great Lumpkin. This is going to catch up to them.

Bills: Talk about two Jekyll and Hyde teams. One week the Jets look like a playoff team, the next they are horrible. And the Bills aren’t that much better. And people wonder why Bill Belicheat has owned that AFC East division for so long.

Bears: Because of inclement weather, the game was delayed and fans were ordered to the concourses, packed like sardines. Then Bears officials ordered the halt to beer sales because they were selling too much beer. Too much beer?! Yes, stopping beer sales when you have everyone jammed into a concourse is a really nice way to ignite a riot.

Bengals: Yep. Keep mocking Andy Dalton. He just wins games and gets his team to the playoffs. What is wrong with that?

Raiders: Remember how horrible Matt McGloin was with Penn State? He threw for three touchdowns to beat Houston. Wow.

Cardinals: This team just may hang around for a wild card berth. Talk about a team who will be in the hunt for a quarterback next spring. Carson Palmer is playing on life support, but playing well in his last three games.

Eagles: Right now, if you were the Redskins, you’d trade RGIII for Nick Foles straight up, be honest!

Steelers: The woebegone Steelers spanking the Lions in the second half. See what a quarterback like Big Ben Roethlisberger can do for you?

Dolphins: Wow, talk about putting a dagger in the heart of the Chargers’ playoff hopes. That is a killer. The Dolphins messy defense (remember last Monday night?) held the Chargers without a touchdown in the final three quarters. Damn.

Saints: Fun game Joe missed much of as he was banging away on his keyboard. The Niners may have gotten jobbed when Ahmad Brooks got flagged for a weird we-have-to-coddle-quarterbacks call that would have forced a fumble with the 49ers recovered, until the ref got involved and gave the Saints a first down and the Saints scored. Of note, both Colin Kaepernick and Drew Brees made huge mental errors late in that game. It’s a tough game, even for veteran QBs.

Giants: Yeah, they beat the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers. Whoop-tee-do. No injury has buried a team worse than what Rodgers’ has done to the Pack.

Seattle: The Seahawks manhandled the Vikings. Joe still says they are the best team in the NFC.

Broncos: This was a lot closer than the score indicated. Joe can’t count how many Chiefs first downs and drives were killed by holding penalties. Geez.

Top 10 Non-NFL Thoughts

1) So Jameis Winston is now embroiled in a sexual assault case? We think? Hard to tell from the 11-month old police report with names heavily redacted. Joe smells shakedown here. A charge of such a felony is no laughing matter and not to be trivialized; it just seems really odd. The report is 11 months old and only when it seems TMZ and the Tampa Bay Times started sniffing around did the Tallahassee police send the report to the State’s Attorney?

For some reason this reminds Joe of LeGarrette Blount. Remember when Blount was in a fender-bender with an old lady and nothing happened… until she realized months later that Blount was an NFL player and only until then did she get the long arm of the law involved? That’s what this reminds Joe of.

Winston, last December, was a nobody redshirt. Now, if he stays healthy, he is surely the first pick in the 2015 draft, with tens of millions of dollars floating his way, he’s a marked man of sorts. Something smells here and no, Joe can’t put the pieces of the puzzle together where Urban Meyer is somehow behinds this, as some Noles fans would have you believe.

No matter the outcome, this turns Joe’s stomach.

2) Memo to Tray Matthews: Stand the f’ down when your teammate is about to make an interception! Thanks to Matthews trying to ballhog an Auburn pass for his own glory, he runs into his teammate, Josh Harvey-Clemons, who had his mitts on the ball to begin with. The collision forced the ball to pop in the air and Auburn, like manna from heaven, catches a Hail Mary pass to beat Georgia. Great game, wild finish, and because a guy got greedy, he cost his team a major win.

3) If Joe was selecting the top three BCS teams, Baylor is clearly ahead of Ohio State. The Buckeyes had two years under Meyer to beef up their non-conference schedule and instead, true to Meyer’s history, he found a patsy like Cal to try to pad his record instead of playing someone halfway decent. Baylor is playing fantastic ball and seems to be better than Ohio State. And the Big Ten is so far down this year, it is sickening. The MAC may very well be a better conference this year.

4) Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times is having a conniption on Twitter about how bad the ACC is. While he has a point, the dude is drunk if he thinks the ACC is worse than the Big Ten.

5) How bad is the Big Ten? If you are heading anywhere around the Midwest triangle of Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis and want to catch a college football game this coming weekend, you can get tickets to the Illinois at Purdue tug-of-war for 39 cents.

6) Memo to Pat Haden at USC: Just give the job to Ed Orgeron and be done with it. If you are stupid enough to hire Jack Del Rio, then you should be dragged through the streets of Los Angeles; East L.A. in fact.

7) How soon before Jimbo Fisher’s agent Jimmy Sexton starts working for a handsome raise for his client by planting rumors of USC and Texas going after Fisher?

8) For a minute there, it appeared Oregon would face Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Damnit you eggheads, Stanford!

9) You want to see a Chinese fire drill? Watch this game-ending, tying field goal by Michigan. No timeouts and the clock was near zero. The field goal team was in such a hurry, the holder slid onto the field as if he was sliding into second base.

10) Does Auburn have a prayer of beating Alabama? Joe isn’t so sure.

11) How long (and fun) was that Texas Tech-Baylor game? It started an hour before Stanford and USC kickoff and ended after the Stanford-USC game. I guy can get awfully hammered in that span of time (ahem).

Darrelle Revis will let his stats vs. Calvin Johnson do the talking

Joe was going to write about this tomorrow, but Joe’s too jacked up to wait. Joe’s had next Sunday’s Bucs-Lions game circled on his calendar for a long time. The matchup between All-World receiver Calvin Johnson and All-World cornerback Darrelle Revis should be epic.

Bucs fans suffered through Raheem Morris trying to figure out how E.J. Biggers and Aqib Talib would handle “Megatron” in 2010 and 2011. It was like a cruel, cruel joke.

But now the Bucs can go toe-to-toe with the best receiver in the game.

Joe asked Revis this afternoon about how and when he’ll start preparing for Johnson. Revis declined to talk about Johnson, saying he only wanted to enjoy the Bucs win against the Falcons right now. But Revis did advise Joe and other reporters to “go look at the stats” when Revis last covered Johnson in 2010, Johnson’s first Pro Bowl season.

Revis held Megatron to one catch for 13 yards.

The streaking Buccaneers are now tied at two wins with the Falcons, Texans and Vikings. Those teams are sandwiched by the one-win Jags and the three-win Redskins. Eight teams have four victories, including December Bucs opponents, the Rams and Bills.

It’s the race for position in the 2014 draft!

Joe’s rooting for the Bucs to win out, go 8-8 and shock the world … but a top draft pick wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize.

The good news is the Texans and Jags still have two games against each other. The bad news is the Bucs’ brutal strength of schedule will work against them. That’s the top tiebreaker among teams that finish with the same record.

It’s a quarterback-heavy draft class. So even if the Bucs pass on Johnny Football roll in 2014 with Mike Glennon, there could be some extraordinary trade-down options with a premium draft pick.

Mike Glennon might be the man in Tampa for the next 15 years, so Joe figured you’d want to hear what he has to say.

Here’s Glennon’s full postgame news conference below. Finally, 1-on-1 coverage at times for Vincent Jackson made a big difference today, Glennon explained. There’s much more, as well. Audio via 620wdae.com.

Bucs commander Greg Schiano suggested his squad is using the same offense current-USF coach Willie Taggart used at Western Kentucky, where Bucs running back Bobby Rainey played.

Now here’s something you don’t often see: an NFL team running an offense from a Division I program. But that’s what Bucs commander Greg Schiano insinuated when he described why running back Bobby Rainey, who was walking the streets just four weeks ago, was able to rack up 163 yards rushing, with two touchdowns, as he did today when the Bucs beat the Dixie Chicks.

Rainey, who played for current USF coach Willie Taggart at Western Kentucky, performed so well today because, Schiano said, the Bucs have the same type of offense.

“The thing that Bobby has the benefit of is when he played at Western Kentucky, this is the stuff that he ran,” explained Schiano. “Power, inside zone, those [are] lays that we run. So he was very comfortable seeing them, feeling them. But to answer your question, I don’t think anybody thinks that a guy is going to come out and rush for, whatever he did, 163 yards. But [we are] very proud of him.”

Rainey, who set a franchise record with two rushing touchdowns and one touchdown reception in the same game, claims the Bucs have not dumbed down the playbook for him.

“I was pretty familiar with it and as the season goes on, I’ll get even better,” Rainey said. “Right now, I’ve got a good grasp of it, but I;ve got to continue to keep studying and get even better. You can never just know the offense. You always can go back and find something new.

Dekoda Watson’s blocked punt relieved a lot of long-standing frustration

Greg Schiano is a lunatic about punt blocks. He considers himself a guru. Ronde Barber can attest.

The Bucs led the NFL in punt blocks by a good margin last season but had zero before Dekoda Watson got one with 5:52 remaining in the third quarter to set up the Bucs’ fifth and final touchdown against Atlanta today.

Schiano admitted it was a troubling drought.

“We’ve been frustrated because we led the league in punt blocks last year and all of a sudden we’re shut out nine games. So that’s a good one. Hopefully that will open the floodgates because we’re a punt block team,” Schiano said.

Watson, who had two blocked punts last season, said it was about time and it was driving him “crazy” because he had two last season.

He credited rookie defensive end Steven Means for rushing the punt off the edge in a precision manner to get the offensive tackle to bite and free up Watson for a 1-one-1 rush to the punter.

The Bucs were in a blocking mood today and should have had a blocked field goal, too. Joe bring some interesting inside scoop on that in the coming hours.

Sometimes, the result of one play is insignificant but the play itself speaks volumes.

It was early in the second quarter and the Dixie Chicks had 2nd-and-1 from their 29 yard line. Matty Ice, out of a no-huddle, tosses a screen pass to Steven Jackson who rumbles up the middle for a first down with a gain of 12.

Not cool for Bucs fans. But peeling back the onion skin a little showed a whole lot of cool. Defensive tackle Akeem Spence, after Jackson caught the pass, peeled off his blocker and gave chase, corralling Jackson from behind for the tackle.

Now if fans want evidence of a team, despite a sorry 2-8 record, that has not given up, there you have it. A defensive tackle who was locked up with a blocker shed said blocker and then ran down one of the better running backs to have played in the NFL in the past decade.

That is hustle. That is heart. That sure as hell isn’t quit.

That didn’t happen in the final couple of months of the Raheem Morris administration.

“On screen plays, we are taught to retrace,” Spence said of his hustling play. “Steven Jackson is a big guy and I happened to have wrapped his legs up and bring him down. It’s just about playing relentless.

“It shows we are building every week. We haven’t gotten the results we wanted earlier in the season but we are turning things around. We are playing electric right now.”

Gerald McCoy takes down Matty Ice in the Bucs’ win over the Dixie Chicks today. McCoy leads the Bucs with six sacks.

One name sticks out among the three Bucs defensive tackles who have racked up three quarterback sacks in the same game: Warren Sapp. 

Just days after Sapp’s number was retired by the Bucs, his current protege, Gerald McCoy, matched Sapp’s feat. McCoy dropped Dixie chicks quarterback Matt Ryan three times today, including two sacks on consecutive plays. The last time GMC pulled off that stunt was when he was in high school.

(Brad Culpepper is the third Bucs defensive tackle to have three sacks in the same game).

Of course, GMC had help. On passing downs, the Bucs employed Adrian Clayborn and WIll Gholston on the right side of the line, and on at least two of GMC’s sacks, pressure from the edge by both Clayborn and Gholston trapped Ryan like a rat and GMC pounced on his prey.

“Coach issued a challenge to us,” GMC said of Bucs commander Greg Schiano. “‘Are we going to have a Monday night hangover or build the momentum from Monday night?’ Perfect set up to be tired and happy coming off our first win. We came out on fire.”

Yes, the Bucs did come out on fire and for once, put an opponent under the heel of their boots, and never let up. Never.

“We moved some guys around on the offensive line wanting to get our best five,” Dixie Chicks coach Mike Smith said. “It did not work as well as we would have liked.”

Joe wonders after today’s performance from GMC just what length the GMC haters will reach for in order to concoct some lame excuse as to why GMC — in their perverted eyes — is a such a slug?

Darrelle Revis says he sees the intense work, sometimes after practice, that Mike Glennon and Vincent Jackson put in together and how that’s clicking, and it reminds him of what he saw in New York. 

Speaking to Joe after the Bucs win today, Revis said those two remind him of how his old Jets teammates, Chad Pennington and Laveranues Coles, logged endless hours building chemistry during Revis’ rookie season.

“The chemistry is key,” Revis said, speaking like a man who understands the unspoken edge a QB-receiver combination can gain.

Jackson also spoke about the extra time and work with Glennon to improve timing on deep balls and capitalize on the 1-on-1 coverage when it comes anywhere on the field.

That chemistry was evident today as Jackson flashed his Pro Bowl form with 10 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown. The Bucs targeted Jackson 12 times, leading a much improved success ratio versus previous weeks.

For Joe, it was eerie how much the Glennon-to-Jackson combination today looked like Josh Freeman-to-Jackson through much of last season. But it was a new look for the 2013 Bucs.

Bobby Rainey scores his second rushing touchdown of the game sliding past Dixie Chicks linebacker Paul Worrilow.

It was a day to celebrate Bobby Rainey. And Bucs fans wanted to celebrate with him.

Rainey had just gone all Doug Martin on the Dixie Chicks, grinding and slicing and weaving his way through the Dixie Chicks’ defense to lead the Bucs to a previously unthinkable 41-28`win Sunday.

As Rainey came off the field, looking veery bit the part of a running back who racked up 163 yards on 30 carries, he ran behind the Bucs’ bench and high-fived every fan in the front row as he slowly made his way to the tunnel, trying his best to slap skin with as many Bucs fans as he could.

Just a four weeks ago, Rainey was walking the streets looking for work when, as a result of a rash of injuries to Bucs running backs, Rainey received a call from Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to join the team.

Now, the Bucs have gone from a thin running back corps to as deep as a team can get at running back. Think of the possibilities next season with Martin, Mike James and Rainey all healthy.

Wonder who picked Rainey, Bucs commander Greg Schiano or Dominik? (Hint: Rainey did not play at Rutgers; he played for Western Kentucky.).

Bucs quarterback Mike Glennon was Jameis Winston-like today, completing a heady 20 of 23 passes against the Dixie Chicks.

Now Joe understands Mike Glennon starting this year. After sleepy, leaky Josh Freeman was thrown off the team, Glennon began a near-season long rehearsal to help the Bucs decide if he is the franchise quarterback (that Freeman turned out not to be) or if the Bucs should select a quarterback with a top-five pick in next spring’s draft.

Well, after the Bucs handily beat the Dixie Chicks today, it is becoming less and less likely the Bucs will have a top-five pick, and more and more likely Glennon will be barking signals in Tampa next year.

Glennon did his best impersonation of Florida State phenom Jameis Winston. The Seminoles (redshirt) quarterback has wowed the nation with his uncanny accuracy and Glennon seemed to channel his inner-Winston by coming close to pitching a perfect game.

Glennon completed a gaudy 20 passes in 23 attempts for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

If the Bucs keep on winning, Joe is pretty sure of two things: 1) Bucs commander Greg Schiano will be granted a mulligan and be retained for 2014; and, 2) Drafting Johnny Football or hoping to tank in 2014 for Winston will be out of the question as Glennon will be your Bucs’ starting quarterback.

As long as Schiano is with the Bucs, Glennon is his guy. It’s just that simple.

After the Bucs’ clobbering of the Falcons today, Joe talked to Dashon Goldson, Darrelle Revis and other Bucs who are veterans of great teams to ask what lets them know the Bucs are a good team right now.

The prevailing answer was “confidence.”

Goldson, an All-Pro on last year’s NFC champs was adamant that confidence is the difference. 

“Guys are starting to understand why we’re doing certain things, and were getting better at it,” Goldson said. “We’re playing good as a football team in all phases right now. The belief in each other and in what we have to do is there and it’s showing up now.”

Jeremy Zuttah said savior left guard Jamon Meredith, seemingly the difference in the Bucs’ dominating offensive line play over the past three weeks, is a great example of a guy playing with extreme confidence, who came in a time when the line demanded of itself that “we’re not going to underachieve anymore.”

A little known special teams lover, Darrelle Revis says it’s key to note that the Bucs’ confidence extends to all three phases. Revis cited Michael Koenen’s recent punting, onside kick and repeated touchbacks are the little things that win games.

“Guys are playing for each other,” Revis said. “You can’t [go back]. It is what it is during this time. The only thing we can do moving forward is make the best of it and hopefully go 8-8. Revis went on to say the Bucs’ “attitude” — never “pointing any fingers” — is what lets him know things are right and seeing how they “click and gel” on Sunday.

With a 2-8 record, Greg Schiano has much to prove to Bucs fans and Team Glazer. But his hot seat just got significantly less scalding after two consecutive wins at home.

Like it or not, that’s the reality.

Joe’s maintained since before the Seattle game, that Schiano’s magic number is five — as in five wins — as long as his Bucs show no quit.

If the Bucs can, in fact, win five games, that would mean they’re a team on the rise with a rookie quarterback playing well. Joe just can’t see Team Glazer ditching that for the world of the unknown, where they’ll have to outbid and out-recruit many teams for the best coaching candidates.

Clearly, Schiano has his talented team buying in, and lots of fans have put their pitchforks back in the garage. But the real question is whether Schiano can prove he’s matured and developed as a coach over the final six games. That was a massive X-factor entering this season.

The Bucs face four winning teams and have four road games in their final six. Schiano will have nowhere to hide. He’ll have to step up with significant victories in order to save his job.

The Falcons were no match for the revived Buccaneers and The Bobby Rainey Show today. Joe joked last week that perhaps Greg Schiano’s idea of second-half adjustments only applies to the second half of the season. Maybe that’s the case in 2013?

Gerald McCoy’s three sacks of Matt Ryan early set the tone — THREE! The Bucs got back to their largely ineffective defensive line stunts after that, but it didn’t matter. The Bucs’ offense was clinical.

Behind Rainey, the rushing attack was unstoppable for the third consecutive week. Rainey, on his couch a month ago, finished with 30 carries for 163yards and three touchdowns (two on the ground, one through the air). 

Mike Glennon looked like Josh Freeman, the October 2012 version, pumping deep jump balls to Vincent Jackson and being efficient. Glennon broke the Bucs’ rookie single-season touchdown record and had his best day as a pro — 20-for-23 for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

Yes, the once mighty Falcons have been pounded in four consecutive weeks. They’re not a good team. But are the Bucs good right now? A victory at Detroit or at Carolina in their next two games surely could lead Joe to say, ‘Yes.’

OK boys and girls. Was the win over the reeling, drama-filled Dolphins a fluke or was it a harbinger to come? Can Mike Glennon match Matty Ice? Can Bobby Rainey continue the good luck of Bucs running backs even though Mike Smith and his lads have had a week to gameplan against him?

These daunting questions will be answered shortly as the Dixie Chicks-Bucs game is about to kick off

Let your feelings me known. Bang your keyboard here. As always, do not post URL’s of illegal pirated video feeds but your are welcome to e-mail them among yourselves.

Have fun and go Bucs!

Game 10

Dixie Chicks (2-7) at Bucs (1-8) 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV, Channel 13, locally. Outside the Tampa Bay area, DirecTV Channel 711.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM 103.5, and WDAE-AM 620); SiriusXM Channel 134.

Weather: Per the WTSP-TV Channel 10 weather desk, if the clouds hold off, should be a fantastic day. Expect the temperature to be in the low 80s under partly-cloudy skies at kickoff. The temperature shouldn’t deviate much and may, at its peak, push 85.

Odds: Per FootballLocks.com, Bucs -1.

Outlook: We should know exactly how much headway the Bucs have made recently by the end of the day. The Bucs, even in a loss, looked strong against Seattle and at times looked dominant last week in their first win of the year over Miami. But are we overvaluing those games? Joe is starting to think Seattle stepped on the field thinking the game was won. After being punched in the mouth, they woke up.

Last week, the Bucs caught Miami at the perfect time, in the middle of a swirling tempest. Notice the Dolphins lost the entire left side of their offensive line, and still the Bucs couldn’t take advantage until the final seconds of the game.

Now the Dixie Chicks are almost as bad off as the Dolphins. If you think the Bucs have under-performed this year, how about the Dixie Chicks? They were “this close” to a Super Bowl last year. Now? They are in the running for the first pick in next spring’s draft. Talk about a freefall.

The Bucs have seen their offensive line reborn since Jamon Meredith was inserted into the starting lineup at left guard. The key here for Joe is how this newborn offensive line stops Jonathan Babineaux. If the Bucs can take out Babineaux, they have a very good shot at doing well offensively.

Of course, a win would be fantastic but a double-edged sword. There’s the draft slot to keep in mind.

Darrelle Revis has played more of his traditional lockdown/press man coverage the past two games and he’s a sure bet for the Pro Bowl, but Revis insists Bucs fans don’t know him yet.

Revis was sore after the Bucs win on Monday Night Football last week, and like a rookie wall, he’s fighting through a post-surgery, comeback wall.

Joe: We’ve all heard you say you’re not yet 100 percent but close. For the average fan, can you say they’ve seen the real Darrelle Revis the past two games?

Darrelle Revis: No. It’s getting there. You know, I still gotta ice it. I’m waiting for the point to where I just don’t feel anything. Sometimes it’s sore one day from cutting from practice or in a game. And then some days it’s not. I’m waiting to be pain-free, per se, and continue to just keep on playing.

A short week of recovery before today’s game against Atlanta is a something watch for with Revis. Hopefully, he’ll respond well. It’s not a given. Joe’s just happy the Falcons have their own injury issues at wide receiver.