Never has Joe seen so much drama circling around the Bucs like it has this season, like a buzzard hovering over the carcass of a deer.

It’s one thing after another from the start of training camp, although the drama and leaks have subsided substantially since leaky Josh Freeman was tossed off the team and run from One Buc Palace. Feel free to do the math.

But fans’ ire, loathing and (not Mike Glennon) mob mentality, bordering on a lynch mob mentality all in the name of firing Bucs commander Greg Schiano, has eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune worried.

Kaufman has said on several radio shows, both local and national, he has never seen such “vitriol” from Bucs fans. So he posed a question this afternoon to Bucs defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, who recently invited fans to join in game-planning against opponents for free Cokes but shunned them at the gates of One Buc Palace, if he has felt the wrath Bucs fans have for Schiano.

“I appreciate you asking me that because it gives me a chance to speak on that,” Sheridan told Kaufman. “It definitely is not warranted. It may be very hard for people on the outside who don’t know Greg, because for some of the criticism he has received — I don’t have first-hand knowledge; I don’t follow but indirectly, we all get it, right? — It definitely is not warranted.

“I have worked for a lot of quality people in this profession long before I ever came to the NFL. And I certainly worked for quality people in the National Football League. I would put Greg up against anybody I have worked for in regard to a guy of single-mindedness of purpose towards doing the job he has been asked to do and doing it with complete and total integrity. And in our profession, if we get criticized for that, well he should be criticized.

But all he has ever done since I have been here and worked for him is be the first guy in the building and the last guy to leave. Focus his entire energy and concentration on what he can do on a daily basis to help the Bucs win. And he has done this with complete and unadulterated integrity. So, in our profession, if we get criticized for that, then that’s the way it is.

“Nobody cares how hard you are trying right? We are in a production business and a performance-based business. It is frustrating, but everybody else works hard too.”

Joe has noticed in the past few days, for reasons unknown, the lit torches crowd has somewhat calmed down about driving Schiano to the nearest bus stop. Perhaps it is because Bucs fans have finally worn themselves out from the hollering and typing and kvetching?

But Joe has noticed a great uptick in fans wanting to nail Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to a tree, which saddens Joe and disturbs him.

Here’s some DUI law need-to-know from criminal defense lawyer Brett Metcalf. Visit MetcalfLawFirm.com now and schedule a free consultation.

If I refuse to blow, won’t I lose my license longer?

When you blow over a .08, DMV will suspend your license for 6 months. When you refuse to blow, your DMV suspension will be for a full year. But if you are a first time offender the laws just changed in your favor.

Whether you blow or refuse, if you take the appropriate steps within 10 days of your arrest, you can receive a hardship license immediately. That means, from Day 1, you can drive to work, school, church, grocery store or any other reason to maintain your livelihood. So, yes, the suspension will be longer, but you can still drive throughout the duration of that suspension.

Keep in mind, the overriding goal of your case is to avoid a DUI conviction. In my experience, refusing the breath test gives you better odds of beating the DUI – either through negotiating a plea to a reduced charge or winning at trial. Juries will view a breath test over the legal limit as compelling evidence of your guilt. A refusal gives us a better shot with the jury and, consequently, more leverage in negotiations.

*The advice above is limited to first time offenders; If you have previously refused to provide a breath/blood/urine sample, you have a legal obligation to submit to chemical testing; A subsequent refusal will result in a longer suspension without the possibility of a hardship.

Yesterday, “change” was the bad word of the day among Greg Schiano and Mike Sullivan when they talked about the woes of their offensive line. The lack of continuity is hurting big time, so says the New Schiano Order.

And the changes continue.

Speaking today at One Buc Palace, Schiano confirmed that Jamon Meredith has practiced well at left guard and should be the new starter there come Sunday in Seattle. Gabe Carimi, Carl Nicks, Ted Larsen and Jeremy Zuttah have all logged time at left guard through the first seven games. Meredith was the Bucs right guard last season when Davin Joseph was lost for the season.

Schiano said Meredith (6-5, 312) has the added size that should help.

Joe hopes so. Something has to help.

Former Bucs defensive end Steve White (1996-2001) has penned a massive Xs and Os analysis of what’s wrong with your beloved Bucs.

Writing for SBNation.com, White weaves from offense to defense, where he spends a lot of time on defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. Here’s one nugget on the man White repeatedly calls an “idiot:”

Fire Bill

I’m going to give you two great examples from the Panthers game that show you why Sheridan has to go.

First play of the second half, the Panthers have two tight ends in the game and one running back: DeAngelo Williams. The personnel tells the Bucs to keep all of their linebackers in the game. The formation of tight end trips (tight end and two other wide receivers to that side of the center) forces the Bucs to walk their linebackers away from the box (inside the offensive tackles) leaving their run gap responsibilities open. This is the perfect time to check to one of those line stunts Sheridan loves so much so that the defensive line exchanges those gap responsibilities and makes the ball bounce somewhere that the linebackers can be a factor if the Panthers decide to run the ball. Hell, the Bucs used to do it all the time back when I played.

However, the Bucs do not check to a line stunt and thus when Williams runs a draw and cuts back to the A gap inside Gerald McCoy, who is doing his job well in the B gap, there is nobody there to tackle him because the linebacker who should be there is still out covering the tight end.

This is football 101 folks, and Sheridan has made the defense remedial.

The second play I’m going to point out speaks to players finally getting fed up with the BS.

The very next drive the Panthers have on offense, they work the ball down the field from their own 47-yard line all the way to the Bucs’ six-yard line. I have a feeling McCoy had had enough of going sideways and being Clayborn’s crash test dummy on all of the Quick Tex-es. So although Quick Tex is what appears to have been called, instead of running through his B gap then working outside of the left tackle for contain, McCoy shows what he could do if his defensive coordinator just let him rush and beats the guard inside with a rip move (yellow circle). Unfortunately, because Clayborn is at that same point all the way in the B gap (red circle) on the other side of the center, there is nobody to keep Newton in the pocket so McCoy can sack him.

Newton calmly escapes to his left (red arrow) and then easily runs in from six yards out, untouched, for the touchdown. If I were his coach I would grade McCoy down for that play, but then again if I was his coach I would probably also either be a dumbass or a hostage being held against my will.

All I’m saying is Bill Sheridan is, you know, an idiot.

I also have a feeling they are ruining Clayborn because he used to be a guy who could beat offensive tackles one-on-one with good pass rushes, but now he just looks to go somewhere where nobody is blocking rather than beat a guy to get pressure. Over the rest of the season that isn’t going to work out well either.

It is for this reason and many others I believe the Glazers, who own the Buccaneers, should have fired Schiano immediately after the loss and instructed the interim coaches to make changes. I understand why they want to show “stability” and not appear to be making knee-jerk reactions, but this coaching staff may well ruin some of the team’s young players if they are allowed to coach the next nine games. I say that without a hint of hyperbole. The film doesn’t lie.

If you love Xs and Os, click on the above link to read much more. White details why Mike Glennon is regressing and many more unhappy thoughts. As always, reading White’s work is an education.

Longtime NFL scout and personnel executive Greg Gabriel now writes for NationalFootballPost.com, where he has penned a piece that calls for his former boss with the Bears — Jerry Angelo — to replace rockstar general manager Mark Dominik in Tampa.

Hmm, Joe can’t help but wonder whether Gabriel checked in with Angelo to confirm his interest in the Bucs job before lobbying for his guy on a national stage. 

Tampa Bay
 
Greg Schiano’s struggles in Tampa Bay won’t get much sympathy from members of the NFL scouting community. When Schiano was Head Coach at Rutgers, he would often make scouts watch practice from a small area at least 30 yards from the practice field. To make matters worse, a scout was lucky if he got to watch practice for more than about 10 minutes. It made evaluating players very difficult.
 
Tampa Bay is obviously going to make changes in the coaching staff and front office. Whether or not it’s in the near future or after the season remains to be seen. In my opinion, the best person to get Tampa Bay on track is living just a few miles from the Buccaneers offices. Former Bears’ General Manager Jerry Angelo lives in the Tampa area. Having worked for the Bucs before he went to Chicago, Angelo knows the Tampa Bay ownership and fan base, which gives him an advantage over any other candidate. Angelo has experience in a similar type situation. When he came to Chicago, the Bears were horrible. He’s had experience dealing with a group of overpaid, underachieving players. Most importantly, he has experience running a team and winning without a franchise type quarterback. The Bears won two division titles and got to a Super Bowl with Rex Grossman as the quarterback. There will be other candidates, and we will cover them in a later post, but Angelo is absolutely the right person to turn that situation around.

Angelo surely had huge ups and downs as Chicago’s general manager, but his teams collectively had a winning record. He hired a head coach, Lovie Smith, and he got to a Super Bowl. Angelo was the Bucs’ pro personnel director from the later 1980s before taking the GM gig in Chicago in 2001.

Joe’s not calling for Dominik’s head or endorsing Angelo. But this story is an eyebrow-raiser for Joe, given that it comes from a guy who worked for Angelo for many years.

Gerald McCoy talks about not being “evil” and how his style irked Bucs coaches

Yesterday evening on WDAE-AM 620, Gerald McCoy was his usual entertaining and insightful self during his Buccaneers Radio Network show (following the JoeBucsFan hour) — until McCoy got on a rant about how he will not tolerate his sportsmanship style being questioned.

It seems McCoy had firm in-your-face time with Bucs’ assistants Bryan Cox and Randy Melvin about the subject.

“I had my D-line coaches get on to me the other day,” McCoy explained. “Well, not get on to me, try to get on to me. There’s no way they’re going to get on to me for this. They got upset with me because I helped somebody up [in the game.] So what! I don’t care. Kiss my butt. Listen, if I want to help somebody, I’m going help somebody up. Because right on the next play I’m going to knock him down again. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.

“That doesn’t change how hard I play. As long as in between the whistles I’m not helping anybody up, it doesn’t matter. So what if I help them off the ground? ‘Good job; we’re out here competing. But as soon as they snap the ball, I’m going to kill you again.’

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Everybody’s not like that. If you don’t want to be like that, keep it to yourself. I don’t care. I don’t go tell them, ‘Hey, you’re not doing this. You’re not doing that.’ I don’t care. Everybody does what they do. If I help somebody up, get over it. Get over it.”

McCoy shared these feelings shortly after he was criticized by a fan caller who told McCoy several times that he doesn’t have enough “dawg” in him.

Last year’s Pro Bowl honor and strong play this season from Gerald McCoy are not enough for many McCoy observers. They want a defensive tackle who eats nails and spits fire.

“People think I play relentless and I’m really talented; they just think I’m not evil. That’s ok,” McCoy said.

“I don’t take that personally at all. That’s been said by more than just him. N0.99 tells me that on a regular basis. Sapp tells me that all the time. My wife has told me that. So I don’t take it personal. I don’t know.”

“I don’t have to be angry to play. When I get angry, that’s when I make mistakes. And that’s when I can’t be at my best. But I don’t think [the fan caller] is talking about playing. It’s hard to explain.”

Joe finds all this talk about McCoy not being nasty enough to be just plain silly. All kinds of personalities have been great football players. The late Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp likely couldn’t have been more different.

But it is interesting that New Schiano Order coaches were on him for helping guys up recently. Surely, this isn’t the first time they’ve seen McCoy offer a helping hand over the past 25 games. It sounds like tensions are running high. Perhaps that will help the Bucs win a game.

Hard-hitting Dashon Goldson is looking forward to visiting Seattle’s chamber of horrors, a site he is very familiar with.

Seattle’s chamber of horrors may just be the worst place for visiting teams. Hopped up on massive amounts of caffeine and, well, other tailgating products, Seahawks fans are raucous, rabid, nuts, loud.

Bucs safety Dashon Goldson played at the chamber of horrors (tip o’ the cap to eye-RAH! Kaufman for coining that phrase) many times in his years with the 49ers. He’s used to it. So, as Goldson stated yesterday with the Bucs’ pen and mic club, bring it on.

It isn’t just the famed Seattle 12th man the Bucs are facing. The Seahawks are arguably the best team in the NFC. And the winless Bucs are, naturally, major underdogs. Goldson embraces the challenge.

“That’s always the beauty,” Goldson said. “When people don’t give you hope and pick you to lose and you go out there and surprise everybody, there’s no better feeling. It’s up to the guys in this locker room to get that done.”

Now Joe cannot sit here and predict a win. Joe isn’t the type to hit the bottle this early in the morning, after all. Stranger things have happened though. Joe isn’t sure there was one Bucs fan in 2009, who predicted Josh Freeman would make his first start and beat the playoff-bound Packers.

That was a true shocker. Joe isn’t sure this year’s Bucs have that in them.

Joe’s celebration of Donald Penn’s upcoming 100th consecutive start on Sunday continues.

How big of an accomplishment is Penn’s mark? The streak ranks Penn 10th on the list of active players, and nobody else in the NFL can achieve the milestone this season. It’s an impressive group.

So how many Hall of Famers are in that bunch? At least five. Fletcher, Manning, Gonzalez, Witten and Allen are sure to get in the Hall eventually.

Penn is the lone man to not play during his rookie season. So the story goes, Penn was a target of then Bucs pro personnel director Mark Dominik. Penn was signed to the Bucs roster off the Vikings practice squad on Oct. 4, 2006.

Winless and hoping this is not the last two months of your current gig would be drudgery for Joe. It would be hard to get out of bed much less sleep at night. But that isn’t the case for Bucs commander Greg Schiano.

Despite being mired in such a predicament, Schiano can’t wait to get to his office at One Buc Palace early in the morning. For reasons unclear, Schiano seems to have a revived energy about him. That jumped out at the pen and mic club yesterday in Schiano’s daily press briefing, when local cable TV sports king Rock Riley asked Schiano if he was still having fun.

Schiano couldn’t hold back and gushed over how much he covets coaching football.

“Every day. Every day. I love what I do,” Schiano said. “Twenty-six years, get up every day. Excited to do it. Some days aren’t real fun. You walk into the postgame press conference — nothing personal — and you just got your ears kicked in. I know you are going to get asked the questions — I’d ask the questions if I was a reporter. That isn’t always fun. It isn’t always fun for what your family has to go through but as far as my job? It’s the best! What I do for a living, I wouldn’t trade it. I love it. I know I speak for our coaches and players, that’s what makes it exciting. We are going out to what I think is one of the greatest venues in sport. I can’t wait for them to raise that flag. … Here we go. It’s going to be nuts. We get the loud crowd.

“I’m having a lot of fun.”

Joe isn’t sure many other NFL teams consider the chamber of horrors stadium the Seahawks play in a fun place. But Schiano looks upon it as a fun challenge, just like each week is a challenge, a chess match, trying to outwit his coaching colleagues on the other side of the field.

Yes, strange things have happened in the NFL. Who would have guessed that now-leaky and former Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman, in his first NFL start, would come-from-behind and beat the Packers? Beating the Seawhawks on their home turf, given both teams’ respective records, would be akin to what Freeman did to the Packers.

In the span of one month, Ron Rivera went from Dead Coach Walking to a brilliant leader. Could Greg Schiano pull off the same feat?

The Buccaneers” head coach is Greg Schiano, and with nine games to go, that means Schiano has an opportunity to right his ship and return to Tampa next season as the leader of the New Schiano Order.

This should be obvious. However, Joe realizes many fans have given up on the virtues of toes-on-the-line and can’t handle that reality. These fans have either checked out, engage in daily prayer for a top draft pick and a new head coach, joined the Lovie Smith Mob, or are doped up on Valium for severe Bucs anxiety.

But again, Schiano could return. A lot can happen in nine games.

So what’s Team Glazer’s magic number for Schiano? That surely is the billion dollar question around One Buc Palace.

One could easily make a logical case to retain Schiano if he were able to somehow emerge with five wins from the Bucs’ brutal schedule. If Schiano can win going forward with a rookie QB and a decimated offense, that could be considered a standout coaching job.

Joe looks to the north and sees how Ron Rivera was the consensus village idiot in Charlotte one month ago. Now he’s a genius being celebrated nationally. That kind of turnaround could happen here. Now that doesn’t mean Joe thinks that would happen here. Hardly. But it remains a possibility.

So back to that “magic number.” Joe’s confident Team Glazer needs to see proof its coach can win games.

Joe’s going to go out on a limb and say Schiano’s magic number is five. If somehow that can be accomplished with Mike Glennon, after all the drama, nonsense and agony of September and October, Joe’s sure Team Glazer would not be so quick to oust its head coach.

Joe will enjoy celebrating Donald Penn this week, as No. 70 will start his 100th consecutive game for the Buccaneers on Sunday in Seattle.

It’s been quite a rise for Penn, from undrafted free agent to big contracts, the Pro Bowl and being named by his peers to the NFL Network’s Top-100 list.

Joe’s going to share a lot about Penn in the coming days. This evening, Joe spent time with Derrick Brooks to talk about Penn, his former teammate, and Brooks had plenty to say. Here’s one fun nugget from Penn’s early days.

“He was one of those young players that at a point in my career challenged me every day to make sure I stayed sharp,” Brooks said of Penn. “I didn’t want him to build his reputation on me every day in practice. But I can most humbly admit, in terms of practice, that he is the only guy that ever pancaked me. And he never lets me forget it.

“It was a screen play that I had beat him thousands of times on. This one particular day [in 2007], they decided in their offensive meeting room, Jon Gruden had designed this particular play against me, and I took my eye off him for maybe half a second and he got in on my pads and he put me flat on my back. He was the only guy that every pancaked me in practice. It comes up every three or four conversations we have. He brings it up. He’ll definitely tell you the time, date, play count, if you ask him.

“That’s important for me to mention because that helps show how proud of him I am. That’s the one word that I use, especially these past few years, of how he’s come to work every single day despite the team’s troubles, him stepping up, being a leader, playing through it, never complain, punch that clock every day. He’s one of the guys that, you know, I really live through playing this game. He leans on me and I want to always keep encouraging him.”

Joe hit on all kinds of topics tonight with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620. It’s the Wednesday JoeBucsFan hour. Enjoy!

The saga of Bucs captain Davin Joseph’s alleged infection has taken another turn.

To review, the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio Steve Duemig, of WDAE-AM 620, reported yesterday that Joseph was the unknown Buccaneer the NFL players association reported to be infected by MRSA. Joe, confident in Duemig’s unnamed source, shared Duemig’s report with readers this morning. The Buccaneers responded to Joe with a firm denial of Duemig’s report.

At 5:33 p.m. today, Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud, of the Tampa Bay Times, shared the following on Twitter.

@NFLStroud – Bucs have been consistent saying they had three known cases of MRSA in the past year. G Davin Joseph is believed to have had staph, not MRSA

Stroud did not offer a source. MRSA is a staph infection, but not all staph infections are MRSA. Both are considered serious.

Regular readers here know Joe is not big on anonymous sources (Jimminy Christmas! Joe could write a book of rumors and stories never shared.), but given Joseph’s struggles on the field and the Bucs’ MRSA woes, this was not a report Joe would ignore. Again, Joe spoke to Duemig before sharing the report here.

Davin Joseph was not in the Bucs’ locker room during todays’ scheduled media session. Typically, he is there and always eager to chat.

Joseph’s rough season on the field is a big part of the interest here. Joseph has gone from Pro Bowl caliber to often below average.

Joe just hopes Joseph is healthy and can bounce back into form.

With Mike Williams on injured reserve, Vincent Jackson will get every last bit of attention from opposing defenses. It’s a huge challenge for Mike Sullivan.

Now that Mike Williams is out for the season, life is about to get tougher for Bucs’ No. 1 wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

Joe asked 0ffensive coordinator Mike Sullivan today about how difficult he expects things to get for the Bucs’ offensive star. Sullivan said the challenge will be great and it includes a challenge for Sullivan to be as diverse and unpredictable as he can with Jackson.

It won’t be like the “good ol’ days,” Sullivan said, referring to the heyday of the Bucs’ ninth ranked offense last season.

“That’s a great question. Because often times, especially when Mike was healthy and some of the things that were particularly taking place last year, where that was a nice luxury. Because if teams wanted to, you know, go ahead and roll coverage to Vincent, then they had 1-on-1 coverage with Mike and that opened him up. And then all of a sudden you got the run game working so now they wanted to bring down an extra defender and now we got single coverage, you know, the good ol’ days.

“But the bottom line is that we will need to do things with him. Fortunately, Vincent is very, very smart. He”s an extremely hard worker, has the versatility to be able to move around into some different spots. And that’s the challenge; we got to make sure we’re moving him around, so we can give him the best opportunities to get some of the 1-on-1’s.”

This will be something watch on Sunday. It’s a great chess game for Sullivan to find ways to outscheme the Seahawks and set up Jackson for success. There’s no question Jackson will get all kinds of attention. Even if Jackson has a big day, there’s little doubt the Bucs will need someone else to step up on the offense.

Hottie Allie LaForce, popular sports radio and TV personality Adam Schein and the rest of the CBS Sports Network gang discuss the impending doom of Bucs commander Greg Schiano in this CBS Sports video.

Joe brought word earlier today of a report that all-around good guy and Bucs offensive guard Davin Joseph also was inflicted with the MRSA staph infection, which has permeated the Bucs locker room.

Well, this brought a swift, quick and adamant response from the Bucs.

In no uncertain terms, Joe was told by a highly trusted source at One Buc Palace that Joseph is not battling MRSA. The Bucs “strongly” deny this report and are “emphatic” there have been but three players who contracted MRSA. We all know who the three players were.

You may resume your colorful but misguided theories about how Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is responsible for world hunger.

Longtime NFL general manager Charley Casserly, now an NFL Network analyst, went deep into how an organization proceeds when it has no shot at the playoffs at midseason, during an interview this morning on WDAE-AM 620.

Casserly explained that it’s a tough balancing act when an organization doesn’t mind losing but wants players playing hard, so sound evaluation can happen and there’s no quitters stench carrying into the following season.

On judging Greg Schiano, Casserly said Team Glazer should evaluate the effort on the field, the development of young players, and the effectiveness of Schiano’s gameday strategies. “If you’re hitting all those marks, then you can say the coach is doing a good job,” Casserly said. “If you’re not, then the coach isn’t doing a good job.”

 Enjoy the entire interview via the WDAE-AM 620 audio below.

The dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, told his listeners yesterday that one unnamed Buccaneer an October 6 CBS Sports report referenced was afflicted with MRSA is Davin Joseph.

Duemig was clear that Joseph has been battling the effects of MRSA during the 2013 season. He did not reveal his source.

Duemig has many close ties to the Bucs organization and co-hosted a weekly show with Joseph on the Buccaneers Radio Network during past seasons.

Of course, Bucs fans have seen Joseph’s performance decline this season. Most speculated it was either because Joseph wasn’t right after his August 2012 knee surgery or he simply was declining. Joseph turns 30 in November. But perhaps MRSA has been a factor.

In a post titled “Traveling Without The Leader,” on Aug. 12, Joe was very skeptical about Joseph, a team captain, missing the Bucs’ preseason trip to New England for three practices and a preseason game. Other players rehabilitating injuries, including Carl Nicks, Darrelle Revis and Adrian Clayborn, attended. Top members of the Bucs’ training staff also accompanied the team. The official word from the Bucs was that Joseph stayed in Tampa for “strengthening.”