Bucs defensive tackle Akeem Spence was happy Bucs coaches turned the defensive line loose late in the game to seal the Bucs’ first win of the year.

Much has been made, going on two seasons, about how Bucs coaches seem to believe defensive linemen dancing around in choreographed if not silly stunts will somehow bring a quarterback to his knees.

But it seems as though the defensive line of the Bucs, as a whole, has gone to its knees enough times this season that perhaps Bucs defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan has seen the light?

A lot has been written of how Bucs coaches told the defensive line on Monday night, “Go get” the quarterback in the final defensive stand, a stand that resulted in two sacks of Ryan Tannehill and an interception by Darrelle Revis.

That move to let the defensive line pin their ears back for a change was not so much a revelation as it was finally coaches bowing to the wishes of the defensive line, so Bucs defensive tackle Akeem Spence told Joe today at One Buc Palace.

“That was fun. That was what we have been asking for all year and coach let us have it,” Spence said of getting to rush the quarterback. “We showed we could go out and do it. So, that’s what people expect. Come to the fourth quarter and get the job done.”

Even rookie defensive lineman William Gholston remarked about keying on the signal-caller.

“Man, that is so good when you don’t have to worry about any other adjustments,” Gholston said with a smile as wide as Tampa Bay. “Just go get him. It was fun. The way we closed out the game, I don’t see why we can’t play like that.”

Veteran Bucs running back Brian Leonard has been with the team all through training camp and the offseason, and he’s been a reliable third-down back and solid in diverse action.

Consider that on the Bucs’ game-winning scoring drive Monday night, it opened with five consecutive runs by Leonard (8, 11, 3, 6, and 2 yards) for 30 yards — six yards a carry. That came before new backup RB Bobby Rainey finished off the drive with a breakout run and a TD.

Leonard had 20 carries against the Dolphins, an all-time high in his seven year career.

So Leonard is surely the No. 1 back against the Falcons, right? Maybe.

Joe asked offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan today if Leonard would be the main man on Sunday and to talk about what he offers. Sullivan told Joe he was asking the wrong guy.

“I think any of the [discussions] as far as who’s the starter and who plays, you know, that’s above my pay grade, you know, in terms of who the starter is. That’s something you have to go check with Coach Schiano about,” Sullivan said. “I do know that there is a great confidence that we have in [Leonard] and I think the fact that he’s done so much on third down for us throughout the year, and that versatility is going to be a important to us to keep him on the field.”

Frankly, Joe found this answer slightly somewhat odd. Really, Coach Sullivan, you’re a second-year offensive coordinator and its above your pay grade to talk about who plays?

Sullivan often speaks openly about guys who are starting or moving into starting roles, or getting specific guys more involved, or potential matchups. Rainey has only been with the Bucs three weeks and has very little NFL experience. The other running back is an undrafted rookie signed today. Isn’t it a no-brainer that Leonard will carry the load as the next man up?

When Bucs rookie Mike Glennon connected with known pass-catching weapon and JumboTron star Donald Penn for a touchdown on the first drive Monday night, Glennon tied the immortal Bruce Gradkowski for the second-most franchise touchdowns thrown in a season with nine.

Sleepy, leaky Josh Freeman holds the team mark at 10. Glennon has seven more games to play, so barring an injury or a complete and total meltdown, Glennon will become the Bucs’ rookie leader in touchdowns thrown by season’s end.

Now Joe has already touched on something today, if there is a new Bucs coach (no, Joe isn’t yet ready to bet his house that Bucs commander Greg Schiano will be fired), and that coach is an offensive dude, he more than likely will be allowed to pick his own quarterback. And Joe somewhat doubts said choice would be Glennon. Nothing against Glennon, but he is Schiano’s guy through and through.

Now Glennon, aside from sporadic throws, hasn’t yet shown an ability to throw downfield consistently, to stretch the field. His average per completion is less than 10 yards a reception, which smells more like a West Coast quarterback then a downfield thrower.

There’s lots of love for Mike Glennon from NFL Network analyst and longtime general manager Charley Casserly. Speaking on WDAE-AM 620 today on his view of Glennon, and how the Bucs evaluate their quarterback, Casserly said, “I think we got one” and Glennon looks worthy of building around.

However, if the Bucs land in the very top tier of the NFL Draft, Casserly said, then it would be wise to draft a QB because of the critical nature of the position and the restrictions of the rookie salary cap. Twelve Glennon starts in 2013, Casserly said, just won’t be enough to thoroughly make a call on whether he’s a franchise QB.

Joe is encouraged by what Glennon has been able to accomplish as a third-round pick thrust into a mess, but Joe’s got to see a whole heck of a lot more to not draft a QB come May. There’s just two much QB talent in this draft. (Enjoy the full Casserly interview below.)

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik has gone practice squad shopping and purchased rookie running back Michael Hill, the Bucs announced today.

Hill was an undrafted free agent who was on the Chargers practice squad, was signed away to the Packers active roster, and then landed back on the Packers practice squad.

Hill (5-10, 210) entered the league as a college free agent with San Diego this past offseason. He opened the season on the Chargers’ practice squad before being signed to the Packers’ active roster and playing in two games. He was placed on Green Bay’s practice squad on October 22.

A native of St. Joseph, Mo., Hill played collegiately at Missouri Western State and is the school’s all-time leading rusher, finishing his career with 828 carries for 4,969 yards and 35 touchdowns. He earned first-team Associated Press Little All-America and Daktronics All-America honors. As a senior Hill led the entire NCAA with 2,168 rushing yards.

It’s presumed that Hill immediately will become the Bucs’ No. 3 running back behind Brian Leonard and Bobby Rainey.

Joe hopes Hill proves better than the last Packers running back in Tampa, The Great Lumpkin.

The Bucs have an organization-changing decision coming in May (Yes, it’s May) when the NFL Draft bell rings. Do they draft a quarterback in the first round?

As of right now, the answer is easy. Yes, the Bucs will have a new head coach and Mike Glennon won’t be able to do enough this fall to convince a new regime he’s a franchise QB worthy of passing on a high pick in what’s considered a great quarterbacks class of 20’14.

But the looming X-factor is Greg Schiano winning enough to get Team Glazer to grant him a third season. And that generates a second X-factor: the only way the Bucs win, say, four or their final seven games to save Schiano’s job is if Glennon plays great football. Then what?

Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud and columnist Tom Jones do a great job diving into the debate in the WDAE-AM 620 audio cut below. Stroud believes Schiano might survive with a 5-11 record and a lot of “asterisks,” seemingly referring to MRSA, Josh Freeman, brutally tight games, and the usual excuses/reasons.

Two weeks ago, Joe wrote about Schiano’s magic number, and Joe still stands firm on that. But loads of other media have been jumping into the debate in a big way. It’s a discussion that likely will rage on for weeks. (Enjoy the audio below.)

Lost in the jubilation that embattled defensive end Da’Quan Bowers not only got his foot on the field Monday night but also recorded his first half-sack of the season was the fact that rookie defensive lineman Will Gholston got the other half of Bowers’ sack, which set the tone on the Bucs’ final defensive stop to win the game.

Gholston was another one of those third-day draft picks last spring by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, two of which have played major roles this season in starting defensive tackle Akeem Spence and running back Mike James.

Gholston had a chequered career at Michigan State, at times showing brilliance, at times being invisible. Often this season Gholston has found himself on the inactive list for games but that could be changing listening to Bucs commander Greg Schiano yesterday.

“Well, in the week we made a decision that there was certain things we felt – you know, [defensive lineman William] Gholston’s growing up, and he’s getting more and more prepared, and we said, ‘OK, this is going to be your package,’” Schiano said. “So I thought he handled what we asked him to do well. And some of it was a sacrificial role, too. Some of it he was just taking [Miami center Mike] Pouncey out of the mix, but he did what we asked him to do well.”

The Bucs need all the help they can get putting quarterbacks on the ground. If Gholston is finally becoming the man some thought him to be, then that’s even better for the Bucs.

It just gets Joe chuckling and shaking his head at times. Joe doesn’t know of many teams that for years have spent so much time and effort in drafting, coaching (?) and acquiring talent for the defensive line and are still so starved for any defensive lineman to just breathe on an opposing quarterback.

It was 3rd-and-16 on the Dolphins’ opening drive at Miami’s 14 yard line, a big set-the-tone play for the Bucs defense, and off ran Adrian Clayborn to the sidelines.

Yes, Joe realizes the Bucs added an extra defender in pass coverage, but Joe finds it very telling that Clayborn was not among the D-lineman chosen to rush the passer on the opening set of downs. Surely, he wasn’t tired. Clayborn’s allegedly Tampa Bay’s best defensive end and he was a first-round pick in 2011.

Just how far has Clayborn fallen?

He’s got five sacks in his last 16 starts, dating back to 2011. Keep in mind the guy he was drafted to replace, Stylez White, had 4 1/2 sacks in his last 16 games.

Joe’s got a close eye on Clayborn. These aren’t meaningless games coming up for No. 94. If Clayborn can’t produce, alongside a superstar defensive tackle in Gerald McCoy, then Joe can’t see how the Bucs avoid chasing a top pass rusher in free agency come March. When you fail in the draft, you have to make up for it when the free agency bell rings.

Donald Penn scoring on a touchdown pass from Mike Glennon was cool because you don’t often see an offensive tackle catch a pass.

The touchdown against the Dolphins on Monday night almost didn’t happen. Penn, who already caught a TDpass in his career, nearly didn’t get the chance thanks to the JumboTron at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

The pass play was in the Bucs’ game plan and they were ready to call it, but Bucs commander Greg Schiano noticed something that spooked him, reports eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune.

“We’d already called the play when Mike goes down,’’ Schiano said Tuesday. “During that stoppage, I knew we were going to recognize Donald because his 100th (consecutive) start came on the road. I was great with that, but then (quarterbacks coach) John McNulty says, ‘They’re playing it on the board.’ ”

As a video of of Penn’s previous scoring catch against the 49ers was displayed for all to see in front of a sold-out crowd at Raymond James Stadium — and any attentive Dolphins — Bucs coaches couldn’t believe their eyes.

“The conversation on the headset, you wouldn’t believe it,’’ Schiano said. “You can’t make this stuff up. But cooler minds prevailed. One of our coaches said we can’t let the JumboTron make our decisions.’’

Good thing Schiano was caught up in a moment of common sense. With coaches spending hours and hours and hours and days and days and days pouring over film, and with the Dolphins having 10 days of prep work since they last played on a Thursday night, Joe just cannot imagine a coaching staff seeing a three-year-old highlight on a JumboTron, and then canceling the play.

That would just be being paranoid, no other easy way of looking at it.

Want to experience the rare happy Bucs postgame locker room? Joe has that for you, along with his friends at WDAE-AM 620 and the Buccaneers Radio Network.

Here the voices of victorious rejoicing from defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, safety Dashon Goldson, running back Bobby Rainey, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, linebacker Lavonte David, center Jeremy Zuttah, running back Brian Leonard, linebacker Adam Heyward, cornerback Darrelle Revis, quarterback Mike Glennon and offensive tackle Donald Penn.

Additionally, there is a chat with Bucs commander Greg Schiano.

As always, audio is courtesy of Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620 and the Buccaneers Radio Network.

Multiple dumb penalties (surprise!) were part of the Bucs’ performance last night — nine total penalties for 70 yards. (Thankfully, the Dolphins served up their share of gifts, too)

Bucs captain Dashon Goldson (head butt) battled Eric Page (completely needless shove) for the Bucs’ bonehead honors. Goldson gets the nod because his gaffe helped the Dolphins to a touchdown with just seconds left in the first half. (You can re-live Goldson’s stupidity here.) 

Speaking tonight on the Buccaneers Radio Network on WDAE-AM 620, Goldson seemed frustrated by the call and acknowledged the NFL is extra “sensitive” to him. But Goldson won’t be fighting his DNA.

“I’m not going to let nobody take The Hawk out of me,” Goldson said, referring to his nickname. 

Joe doesn’t expect Goldson to change. But if you’re going to take a penalty, then Jimminy Christmas, at least make it count with a big hit that can legitimately intimidate an opponent or knock someone out of a game. Real hawks savagely tear apart their prey with their claws. Half-assed schoolyard head butts are more associated with the domestic pussycat.

Goldson went on to explain that he apologized to his teammates for the penalty.

Joe’s just glad Goldson’s getting healthy. He was the Bucs’ leading tackler last night and he injured his knee against Atlanta last month and didn’t get much action in that game. Goldson said he feels good and is full-go for Sunday’s rematch against the Dixie Chicks.

What happens when you put Tampa Bay sports radio icon Steve Duemig and Joe in the same studio to talk all things Bucs for an hour?

Find out tomorrow at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620. The Wednesday “JoeBucsFan Hour” rolls on. You don’t want to miss this. And now Joe follows an hour of Duemig and Bucs icon Derrick Brooks talking all things football at 4 p.m. It’s must-listen radio for football fans!

Lavonte David recorded a safety last night, in part because the Bucs knew the snap count, so claim the Dolphins.

It almost looked like a new team out there last night, on the turf of the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, the way the Bucs played defense in the first half. The defense was absolutely curb-stomping the Dolphins’ offense.

Well, the Dolphins think they know why, and they indirectly credit Bucs commander Greg Schiano for being a savvy football man, types Jenny Wrentas of theMMQB.com.

The playbook is still new to McKinnie, who has played just three games with the Dolphins, but as the veteran on the line’s left side he felt a responsibility to take care of Garner. After Tannehill gave every play call in the huddle, McKinnie would state aloud his and Garner’s responsibilities, and any possible adjustments they might have to make, as they walked up to the line of scrimmage.

More than any other unit in football, the offensive line must work in total unison for a play to succeed. It’s also the unit that only lands in the spotlight when something goes wrong. In that sense, the Dolphins are losing on two fronts right now.

On the safety, David charged through the ‘A’ gap between the center and the left guard, unnoticed and untouched by Garner. If it looked like the Buccaneers had a jump off the ball early in the game, well, the Dolphins players felt that, too. “I’m pretty sure they game-planned the snap count,” left guard Nate Garner said.

Joe has to admit, that is pretty good research by Schiano and terrible if not sloppy work by Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and coach Joe Philbin.

A basic, fundamental element of the snap count is to get a jump on an opponent. That is totally blown up if your opponent knows the snap count. Geez, even grade school quarterbacks know to mix up snap counts so the defense can’t gain a critical advantage.

If the Bucs are able to figure out the snap counts, yes, that is very good work by Schiano and his crew, but pathetic on the part of the Dolphins.

Da’Quan Bowers can’t record much-needed sacks if he is chained to the bench.

Though Joe isn’t expecting it, Joe hopes, pleads that the Bucs coaches who have their hands in the mix with the defense learned from last night.

For perhaps the first time all season, what fans and ex-players have been clamorning for more than a quiet, intimate evening with Rachel Watson, the Bucs stopped monkeying around with the defensive front line and actually attack the quarterback!

Simple physics: Shortest distance between two points is a straight line, not dancing around in the flat when no one is there and the quarterback is comfortably in the pocket, waiting for his pizza delivery.

Bucs coaches kept saying how they wanted to get struggling defensive end Da’Quan Bowers more playing time, yet Bowers languished on the bench like a man waiting for the Obamacare site to be fixed.

Finally Bucs coaches — perhaps trying to outtrick Joe Philbin? — put Bowers on the field when the team needed a defensive stand to win the game and told the lineman to “go get” Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, and look what happened? The Bucs got back to back sacks on consecutive plays (Joe’s thinking the last time that happened Jeb! Bush was govenor), one coming from Bowers himself!

Even eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune took notice.

@IKaufmanTBO: You know it’s a new day in Tampa Bay when DE Da’Quan Bowers gets in on the action with QB pressure during crunch time. He needs more snaps

But will coaches learn from last night, the first win this season? Time will tell.

Joe assumes Team Glazer is watching. They, too, saw what happened when the defensive line is turned loose, and not going through motions as if they are auditioning for a dancing show (like NFL AM).

It was a move by Bucs coacb Bill Sheridan that likely brought a smile to Warren Sapp’s eye. And giddiness and victory for Bucs fans.

It’s extra tough sledding when you lose a player at a key position during Monday Night Football. There’s less time to find a replacement for the weekend.

Emerging running back star Mike James broke his ankle last night, and now the Bucs need a third running back fast. Don’t think that’s an important position? Consider the Bucs’ No. 3 back last night, Bobby Rainey, an average Joe a couple of weeks ago, scored the game-winning touchdown against the Dolphins and set up the score with a breakaway run.

Throw in the fact that Brian Leonard is a little banged up and is coming off the most carries of his career in one game (20), and the Bucs never hand off to their fullbacks, the Bucs are scrambling. They’ve put three running backs on injured reserve in the past week.

Look for a signing no later than tomorrow. If the Bucs are looking for a veteran, former Buccaneer Man D.J. Ware and Ryan Torian recently had tryouts for the Giants.

As for Rainey, Joe has learned the Bucs like him in all phases: running, catching and returning. But given his new role, Joe doesn’t look for him to be doin much return work.

Interesting nugget here from the happy postgame interview exclusive to the Buccaneers Radio Network. Greg Schiano lauded rockstar general manager Mark Dominik for signing running back Bobby Rainey, who scored the winning touchdown last night.

Rainey was waived by the Browns and the Bucs plucked him off the streets on Oct. 21.

“You know, we didn’t really have a need at that point [when Rainey was signed.] But there’s a good player, and if we can get a good player on our roster we need to do it. Boy, we were grateful to have him tonight,” Schiano said.

Obviously, that’s Dominik’s responsibility; monitor all NFL movements and be ready to pounce wisely. Schiano’s job is to assess the talent and work with it or cast it away. In this case, unlike with some lost D-linemen, Schiano made the right move.

Hear the full Buccaneers Radio Network interview below. Schiano tells a neat story about Donald Penn’s touchdown catch.

Michael Smith? Injured reserve.

Peyton Hillis? Cut and thriving with the Giants.

Jeff Demps? Blown groin.

Doug Martin? Blown shoulder.

Mike James? Broken ankle.

The Bucs have burned through running backs this season, so much so that their star back from last night, Bobby Rainey, was a massive unknown who walked the streets a few weeks ago. Above his locker, his customized Bucs placard read, “Rainy.” That’s no nickname; it was mis-spelled.

“He played well. He had a couple of carries. He had a couple of great carries,” backfield mate Brian Leonard said of Rainey. “I mean, that last run he had basically sealed the win for us. That was a huge run, a huge play, and the next play he scored a touchdown. You can’t ask for more than that from a guy that’s only been here a couple of weeks.

“Hard worker. You know he’s been working with the scout team most of the time, and he’s been giving great looks and doing a great job with that. And when he got his opportunity, he made the best of it. That’s all you can ask for.”

Joe suspects Rainey’s name will no longer be botched around One Buc Palace.

It’s a pretty cool time for Rainey, 26, the pride of Western Kentucky University, to finally get his big shot on Monday Night Football. Enjoy Rainey on the Buccaneers Radio Newtork below, via 620wdae.com.

Vincent Jackson giving up on a route is in Joe’s notebook from last night’s game. It was a deep ball that came his way and Jackson seemingly lost interest.

This morning, former Buccaneer Ian Beckles (1990-1996) was all over the Bucs captain for the effort. “He completely quit,” Beckles said on his WDAE-AM 620 show.11

This was noteworthy to Joe because Beckles is always very delicate when it comes to the “Q” word. Joe remembers Beckles being very hesitant to label the 2011 Buccaneers “quitters.” And there have been other instances of Beckles shunning the “Q” word, as well. Today, however, Beckles had no problem slapping the worst insult in sports on Jackson.

Joe can’t say definitively what happened on the field. But it has been a season of drops and other challenges for Jackson, a definite drop off in play from 2012. Beckles speculated Jackson was reacting to frustration early in last night’s game, born from times he was open deep but Mike Glennon didn’t take the shot.