It has come down to this. For the first time, Joe will root for the Buccaneers to lose Sunday when the whistle blows.

Lovie Smith can try to spin the benefits of victory against the Saints all he wants. He can’t fool Joe. He can’t fool the fans. And surely he can’t fool Team Glazer.

Losing Sunday is the right thing for the franchise – to secure the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2015.

Joe considers this a major announcement because cheering for a Bucs loss will go against Joe’s DNA, but it is critical.

The Bucs have a shot to get a guy who, if all works out, can lead the team out of the depths of a miserable offense, out of the basement of irrelevance, out of the dungeon of losing. A player who can lead this team to relevance, to sell tickets, to deliver hope, to ignite a fan base.

As much as Joe loves big-time, bone-crunching offensive linemen, he has never seen a left tackle in his life lead a team 80 yards for a go-ahead touchdown in crunch time.

After ignoring quarterbacks last year with the rare chance to draft one early, the Bucs are on the cusp of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (again) to draft a quarterback of their dreams, a position the Bucs need in the worst way.

And to secure this ticket to a bright future, the Bucs must do one thing in six days.

Lose.

No. 1 Is Much Better Than No. 2 [read more]

Joe’s got a major announcement coming tomorrow at 5 a.m., one that really is a little painful.

Yes, Joe always gets his day rolling at 5 a.m., but this one will be a little different.

Joe would like to thank Josh McCown for making a postgame point today that Joe’s made for months:

The Bucs could use another offensive coach. [read more]

Mike Evans is the Bucs’ wide receiver of the future. Tampa Bay fans are jacked up to have the talented rookie be their No. 1 target for years to come.

But Evans is now on a five-game streak of less than 50 yards receiving. [read more]

Doug Martin and the Bucs rushing attack was invisible today.

It has been over two years since the Bucs had consecutive 150-yard games from their running attacks. The drought continues.

A week after the Bucs ran for over 150 yards, the Bucs not only went into reverse today, they fell off a cliff. [read more]

Michael Johnson blasts Packers QB Aaron Rodgers in the first quarter. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)

Joe only spoke to one offensive player after the beating by the Packers. Doug Martin, stand-up guy he is, faced the music.

As Joe wrote yesterday, unless Martin runs the ball effectively, the Bucs have little running attack.

But Joe spoke with many members of the Bucs defense. They were in virtual shock after the game. [read more]

The Bucs’ season finale is a meaningless game for both teams

Let’s talk about what’s really important: the Bucs securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. [read more]

(Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

A huge focus of the Buccaneers’ offseason was finding guys to pressure quarterbacks.

The woeful four-man pass rush under the New Schiano Order had to end immediately. [read more]

Enough is enough.

Joe’s had it with Marcus Arroyo, the Bucs’ acting offensive coordinator. His act is over.

Joe isn’t so sure Arroyo is qualified to be a college quarterback coach, let alone NFL offensive coordinator. Today’s lame effort did it for Joe.

Yes, yes, yes, Joe knows Arroyo was hung out to dry by Jeff Tedford. [read more]

“Damnit defense, you gotta score! That offense is so pathetic, my dog craps on the living room rug when the Bucs are on TV. Jiminy Christmas!”

You know what the Bucs need? The Bucs need to bring in Chucky for a pep talk. Just like Chucky used to bring in motivational speakers, the Bucs sorely need him now.

When Chucky was hired by Team Glazer, he knew the Bucs offense was a work in progress as he took them from the dark ages of Father Dungy to a 21st-century offense. Even Chucky knew it would take time before the offense clicked. [read more]

Did Jeff Tedford step aside to let his close friend Marcus Arroyo continue in his dream job?

This summer, Lovie Smith shared that Aaron Rodgers strongly referred former Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford to him with a powerful endorsement.

Of course, Joe asked Rodgers about Tedford, following the Packers’ beating of the Bucs today. [read more]

(Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)

The defense of the Bucs played their hearts out today. They gave the Bucs a prayer. The offense? Well, the FCC may go after FOX Broadcasting for showing indecent and lewd content — that is the Bucs offense. [read more]

“Except for three games this year, we’ve been in every one. So I think true football fans can see that we are on the verge. We have built a foundation. We’re not there yet. But in time we will win football games around here, and win a lot of football games. Going through tough times like this, going through adversity like we’re doing. It’s making us stronger.” —Lovie Smith, Monday, Dec. 15, on the Buccaneers Radio Network. [read more]

Joe’s finally figured out the identity of the Bucs offense: it’s a tired, impotent man that occasionally revives with Viagra, but not nearly enough to satisfy anyone.

Tampa Bay had 76 first-half yards today on 27 plays. That wasn’t bad considering their first 15 plays amounted to zero net yards. [read more]

So here we are, the Sunday before Christmas and it’s a Packers convention at the Den of Depression —  Green Bay South.

Hey, what do you expect? The Bucs haven’t given fans any reason to come to games this year and Packers fans are escaping the long and brutal winter of Wisconsin.

Bang it here for your thoughts during the game, no matter how many picks Aaron Rodgers may throw, no matter how many sacks Da’Quan Bowers may have.

As always, Joe encourages you to e-mail URLs of illegal video streams of the game among yourselves, but posting said illegal links here can and will get your run.

Go Bucs!

Packers (10-4) at Bucs (2-12)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. [read more]