Joe went on record just a scant few minutes (not hours) after the Bucs win over Arizona to suggest the Bucs offense is on the cusp of blowing up.

It humbles Joe to read veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton pretty much agree with Joe.

Shelton, like Joe, is not hoodwinked over the win to believe the Bucs do not have flaws. They most certainly do.

But the way Josh Freeman spread the ball downfield to Arrelous Benn, Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow, and the bulldozing running of LeGarrette Blount, well, it took Joe’s breath way, sort of like Joe finding Rachel Watson waiting for him on Joe’s leather couch flaunting some naughty getup.

Shelton wrote in the St. Petersburg Times that locals haven’t seen an offense with this kind of firepower since Bobby Bowden, Dennis Erickson and Steve Spurrier ruled the Sunshine State.

Man, what kind of offense might the Bucs have once the kids grow up

Never has there been this kind of explosion, this kind of weaponry, on a Tampa Bay football team. This is a franchise of Lars Tate and Michael Clayton, of Alvin Harper and Randy Hedberg, of second and 9 and third and 11. Throughout the history of the franchise, there have been great defenses, and from time to time, there have been great players scattered across the offense.

But not this many.

And not this good.

And not this young.

Joe, again, wrote this yesterday: Blount was the missing link. With Cadillac Williams at tailback, defenses had zero reason to be concerned with the Bucs’ running game. With Blount, he will not only keep defenses honest, but teams will have to bring someone extra in the box to stop him which means if teams continue to double Williams and shade Winslow, Benn and/or Sammie Stroughter should be free.

There are only so many players a defense has to spread around.

Folks, the Bucs have an offense that’s just about ready to blow up like we’ve never witnessed before.

No, Joe’s not joking with that headline. It’s true, crazy and delirious as it seems.

The Bucs are 5-2. Three more wins and they could sneak in as a wild card in this weak NFC. Raheem Morris’ goal of 10 wins doesn’t sound nearly as psychotic as it did a few weeks ago.

Are the Bucs a good team? Record says yes and Joe won’t quibble despite glaring, stunning flaws. But let’s think playoffs for a moment.

Let’s see if Raheem’s goal of the “Race to 10” is a reachable goal:

After yesterday’s win, going 5-4 the rest of the way isn’t that outrageous of a concept. The Bucs have four games left in the division, two games against Atlanta, one home game against Carolina and one trip to the Big Easy. The Bucs should split those four games. If that happens, that means the Bucs only need to win three remaining non-division games against the following teams:

Frisco is a winnable game.

Washington is a winnable game as the Redskins are a complete trainwreck right now (Really Mike Shanahan, eight weeks into the season and you claim that your starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb, doesn’t know your two-minute offense, but Rex Grossman does, really? That says a helluva lot more about you than it does about McNabb. When’s the last time you did anything without Joe Montana or John Elway? Maybe Al Davis isn’t so senile?).

Detroit is a winnable game.

Seattle is a winnable game.

Getting to 10 wins actually seems reasonable.

The Bucs are in a playoff hunt. For 2010. No joke.

Two months ago if you would have said Joe would type those very words, Joe would have had you committed.

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Joe’s a sick if not boring dude in many ways.

Joe’s never been out of the country; never been to “de eye-lends,” not that Joe doesn’t want to go some time.

Joe’s never been much farther west than the Mississippi River (Hutchinson, Kan., being his farthest excursion west).

Joe prefers the four-corners offense to the tripe played in the NBA any day of the week. Joe has nothing to do with fantasy sports of any sort. Joe would rather watch the most boring of NFL games than the Red Zone Channel.

Joe would rather drink a Natty Light (not his preference, of course) than any flavor of wine. Joe would rather eat bratwurst or a Cuban sandwich or chicken wings than lobster. Joe prefers Jay Mohr over Woody Allen.

Joe thinks the movie Gettysburg — which doesn’t even have a chick in it — is one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever produced and would never, ever, watch some snotty French subtitled schlock (though Joe might watch SportsCenter if they ever gave Stuart Scott subtitles so Joe could decipher what the hell he is babbling and hollering about).

Joe would much rather stay home and vedge on his leather couch watching an out-of-town hockey game or baseball game than go to a play or movie or even a backyard barbecue. Joe would even watch NASCAR over something like Sex in the City.

A tailgate party is light years better than a dinner party.

And while some people get fired up over things like Broadway or paintings or manatees (pains in the arse that they are), Joe gets completely worked up over downfield blocking.

There were all sorts of things to chug beer over in the Bucs win over the Cardinals. Perhaps the best, and Joe assumes completely lost on just about anyone, was the downfield blocking of James Lee.

Playing right tackle in place of the injured Jeremy Trueblood, Lee made one of the greatest moves he’s seen in some time yesterday, in what may have been the game’s best play, largely thanks to Lee.

Just about everyone remembers LeGarrette Blount’s rumbling, hurdling 48-yard run that sealed the win yesterday. But if you look at the play closely, you will see two people trailing Blount to block: Mike Williams and Lee.

Yes, Lee!

The pride of South Carolina State had a fantastic play on Blount’s big run. First, it was Lee who got the seal block on Arizona defensive lineman Alan Branch, which sprung Blount and enabled him to get to the second level.

But as you can see in this video (Joe can’t embed, otherwise, certain suits at One Buc Palace get very upset), Lee wasn’t just satisfied with his initial block.

It was so cool to watch Lee, all 305-pounds, running right with Williams to block for Lee.

Damn, that’s hustle! Damn, that gets Joe freaking fired up!

So, yeah, you soft people who watch indie flicks with your brie and wine, bragging about European vacations and your friggin’ stock options and your new BMW, Joe would prefer to drink bad, cheap domestic beer with brats and watch standard-def DVR recordings of big, sweaty men rumbling downfield to block for their teammates.

Wine… mech!

"You see them, Ken. That's the best team in the NFC."

Nostradamus. Samuel. Muhammad Ali. Raheem Morris?

Clearly seeing the future, last week Morris called the Bucs the “best team in the NFC” when they weren’t. And now, one week later, they actually have the best record in the NFC at 5-2.

Magic.

Using the Bill Cowher method, Raheem has now joined some of the great prophets of all time. And there’s no stopping the head coach. The Bucs haven’t beaten a team with a winning record, their stats are for losers are among the top half of the league in only a few categories, but none of that means a pile of crap.

Scoreboard! That was the message Raheem gave the media again after Sunday’s win in Arizona, per the news conference video on NFL.com.

“I’m going to remain unwavered. You know, there’s no doubt about it, man. As long as my record says that we’re the best team in the NFC, I’m not going to let anybody tell me what we’re not,” Raheem said. “I’m certainly going to tell my team that we are. And that’s what we are, man. And like I said the whole week, ‘Somebody has to be No. 1. Why not us?'”

Well, why not? It’s fun to believe.

Now Joe will be on the edge of his couch Sunday but expects the Bucs’ balloon to be deflated in Atlanta and Raheem to kill the “we’re the best” rhetoric for a while.

But ultimately that’s OK, as long as the Bucs are in the game. The Bucs can absorb a loss, bounce back at home against Carolina and head to San Francisco at 6-3.

No matter what, the Bucs will be playing meaningful games in December, a great learning experience for the young players and a flat out miracle already performed by the head coach.

Joe’s bringing all his loyal readers — and haters — highlights of the Bucs’ crazy win over the Cardinals, courtesy of the good people of the NFL Network.

Geno Hayes with the first of two pick-sixes.

Another look at Geno’s pick-six.

Aqib Talib matches Geno’s play.

Talib’s pick-six again.

Josh Freeman and Mike Williams hook up for a 47-yard score.

Another look at the Freeman-to-Williams score.

LeGarratte Blount’s slices through the Cardinals defense for a touchdown.

Another look at Blount’s first score.

Freeman and Arrilious Benn go deep.

Another clip of Benn’s big play.

Blount slams his way into the end zone for his second touchdown.

Barrett Ruud gets an interception.

A second look at Ruud’s pick.

Freeman and Williams hook up for a 31-yard gain.

Bucs stop the Cardinals on fourth down.

Michael Spurlock makes a big gain with help from Freeman.

Talib collects his second interception of the game.

A second look at Talib’s second pick.

A package of Blount’s best runs of the game.

Josh Freeman runs for a 21-yard gain.

All of the Bucs highlights on one clip.

Blount pretends he’s an Olympic hurdler and rumbles for 48 yards and seals the win.

Upset with subpar Arizona clothing-optional establishments, Stylez White takes out his frustrations with Derek Anderson.

Bucs postgame press conference.

The star of the Bucs win is new fan favorite, bruising LeGarrette Blount.

After running through and running over the Cardinals, Blount had to time talk about the win on the Bucs radio network.

“Winning a football game is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter if I had 22 carries for zero yards, as long as we have a win, I am fine with any performance I have.

“On my first touchdown run, I had big cutback land and I won the battle. The offensive line opened up huge gaps for me. They’ve been doing that the last few weeks for me.”

On his fumble which Arizona returned for a touchdown.

“I took a big hit and got a stinger. That’s all that happened. It was nothing like me getting hit and them stripping the ball. I got a stinger.

“Coach Raheem told me to take a few minutes and make sure I was OK and to do whatever the trainers told me to do, to make sure I didn’t have a concussion. I got back in two or three plays later.”

On his one-yard plunge for a touchdown:

“We got our defensive lineman in at fullback and we all manned up. It was best man wins. I won that battle.”

On his electric, Renaldo Nehemiah-like leaping 48-yard run which basically sealed the win:

“I just had to run to the left and I saw them so I cut back to the right and a defender came at me. I waited to see whether he was going to tackle me low and my first instinct was to jump over him. Me being 250, I can’t juke anyone and I am not going to try to run over someone who is about to take my legs out.

“Definitely, my instincts took over. I was never a hurdler. I never did hurdling in track. It was just football instincts.”

On the win:

“Like coach Raheem says, we all play 60 minutes. This is not a 30-minute game and you can’t take a half off. You have to play fast and you have to play hard and you have to play smart.”

Today, old man Ronde Barber played his 200th game in the NFL, all with the Bucs. And the dude is still getting the job done.

Last week it was his fearless play at the line of scrimmage that helped contain Steven Jackson and help give the Bucs a win.

He was getting the job done today again when the Bucs secondary picked off four interceptions. Amazing.

Barber was giddy but seemed almost uncomfortable on the Bucs radio network talking about his career and the Bucs win.

“I relish being part of this team even more,” Barber said of the winning. It’s nice to be on a team like this. The guys appreciate what I have done. They give me grief but they respect what I’ve done and it’s mutual.

“We knew we would have an opportunity [to get interceptions] because [Arizona] struggles at quarterback. We didn’t think we would have four interceptions though, but we would have opportunities.

“[Aqib] Talib thought we would get three and that he would have two.”

The Bucs ran the ball exceptionally well and the pass blocking was top notch in today’s victory in Arizona. And they did thats all behind three inexperienced second-teamers along the offensive line: backup center Jeremy Zuttah (only his third start at the position) and rookie Ted Larsen and first time starter James Lee.

Amazing what a difference a real running back can make. The Cardinals had five sacks last week, and this crew kept Freeman clean — nearly spotless. Joe has to tip his cap to O-line coach Pete Mangurian.

Of Freeman’s two sacks, one was tight end John Gilmore’s fault and the other was because Freeman held on to the ball for an eternity.

Now what?

Word is Jeff Faine might be healthy for Sunday’s game in Atlanta. Jeremy Trueblood could be ready, too. And those guys are old timers on a super young roster that wants to play and develop young players.

As Joe wrote this morning, contract-year Trueblood might not get another start if Lee played well today. And despite two rather expected false start calls — it was his first start in a loud dome — Lee played got the job done nicely.

Darnell Dockett who?

Joe would love to see Raheem give this line another shot in Atlanta.

A lot of Bucs fans, rightly, are giddy over the play of LeGarrette Blount. The Bucs bruising running back will be the talk of the town around the break room tomorrow.

So should rookie wide receiver Arrelious Benn.

Some fans were kvetching that Benn is a wasted pick if you can imagine. Benn hasn’t made much of an impact his rookie year but that ended today.

His 53-yard catch, a bomb from Josh Freeman, was a near touchdown and set up Blount for a short score.

After the game speaking on the Bucs radio network, Freeman gave all the credit to Benn.

“I went to him because the safety got deep,” Freeman said. “The safety was flat-footing it and I cut it loose. [The safety] had no idea what hit him. Benn blew past him.”

With defenses more and more concerned with fellow rookie Mike Williams — and for good reason — and defensive coordinators always concerned with Kellen Winslow, and now defenses having to worry about getting run over by Blount, this should really open up things for Benn.

Joe has a hunch that the Bucs offense is on the cusp of blowing up like we’ve never seen a Bucs offense explode before.

Forget about Barrett Ruud’s incredible awareness to grab a fourth-quarter interception after Geno Hayes played Ray Lewis with a fierce hit over the middle today. Joe is remembering Ruud shedding a block on third down to drop a solo tackle on Beanie Wells at the Bucs 2 yard line.

Trailing 21-14, the Cardinals then failed on fourth down. (Arizona going for it there was perhaps one of the worst coaching decisions since Marvin Lewis stopped running in Cincinnati.)

Those were two huge plays in the Bucs 38-35 win.

Ruud finished with six tackles to lead the Bucs. It wasn’t an All-Pro day for Ruud, he’s still not a real physical presence, but he made impact plays, which is what he hasn’t been doing.

Ruud must become a difference maker for the Bucs to beat good teams.

Joe doesn’t think it’s a stretch to say LeGarrette Blount won the game for the Bucs.

Despite the Bucs getting four interceptions — four! — and two pick-sixes, the defense still gave up 27 points — to a couple of hacks like Max Hall and Derek Anderson of all people — which is absolutely mindblowing to Joe!

There is no way around it: Game ball to LeGarrette Blount.

The Bucs’ running game has been stagnant if not invisible with Cadillac Williams. But the more the Bucs have been given Blount the ball, the better the Bucs running game has become.

When’s the last time a Bucs running back has had such an impact in a win? It has been a while.

Damn, what a game Blount had. He had 22 carries on 120 yards and two touchdowns. Is there any doubt the Bucs would have won this game without him?

Joe doesn’t think so.

First there was that nifty move for a 15-yard touchdown. Dude looked really quick for a massively big guy. Then there was his game-clinching play.

Blount was running right, cut left, back right and decided to go all Renaldo Nehemiah on the Cardinals, hurdling a would-be tackler and racing 48 yards downfield.

Ballgame.

Damn, that was beautiful.

Joe has written this before and will write it again: Blount is your starting running back. Cadillac is nothing more than a third-down back to be used in passing situations only.

Blount put to rest tonight any doubt who your starting running back is.

Stylez White made his share of big plays today, including a late sack and a forced fumble that all but ended the Cardinals’ chance of overcoming the Bucs’ 38-35 lead.

And that was a sack, of course, his third of the season and the only one of the day for the Bucs.

Stylez also delivered strong pressure on at least a few occasions and made two good tackles, including one in the open field to get the Bucs off on third down.

Considering how Stylez was ballin’ a full 60 minutes, Joe has to wonder whether some intense inner motivational forces were in play. About midnight Friday, Stylez Twittered his disgust at the recreational options in Arizona.

@stylezwhite U can’t smoke in AZ and I mean cigars! WTF! This trip blows! Strip clubs too!

Joe knows one of the great frustrations in life is heading to a strip club or two with a pile of cash and not finding a decent woman to spend it on, especially on a business trip.

Joe suspects that the shameful talent Stylez was exposed to played a small part in that huge last-minute sack and forced fumble.

Joe’s not going to suggest every Bucs fan should track down Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris and kiss their feet for drafting Josh Freeman, but perhaps they should?

To think that Freeman would be 8-8 over his first 16 starts playing with plenty of inexperienced receivers and behind his share of second-string linemen is astounding.

The guy is money. The Bucs are 5-2 and he’s thrown only three interceptions. Yes, Joe already has a Freeman jersey.

Sure, Freeman took a foolish fourth-quarter sack for a 12-yard loss that could have cost the Bucs today’s thrilling 38-35 win in Arizona, but Joe is quite certain Freeman won’t pull such a bonehead move again. And that’s the thing with Freeman, the kid has learned and grown at such a fast pace that the maturation is evident nearly every week.

What’s he going to look like if LeGarrette Blount proves to be the real deal?

Teams, except in rare situations, don’t win without a good quarterback. And teams don’t lose much when they have a QB like Freeman.

Geno Hayes, Aqib Talib and Barrett Rudd kept the Bucs in the game with each making multiple huge plays. Josh Freeman proved yet again he’s on the verge of greatness with another fourth quarter comeback (minus taking an ugly sack). LeGarrette Blount keeps running people over — and leaping over them. And the rookie receivers had huge days.

The Bucs are 5-2!

Pour the freakin’ bubbly!

The “best team in the NFC” has won five in a row on the road and is going to Atlanta next Sunday for a division battle of 5-2 teams.

Miracles happen.

Joe tips his cap to Raheem Morris, Mark Dominik and the team. To win convincingly with this makeshift offensive line blocking spectacularly is a serious accomplishment.

Joe will have so much more through the night. Come back often.

Week 8
Bucs at Cardinals
Kickoff: 4:15 p.m.
TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13 locally. DirecTV Channel 714.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 158.
Weather: The game will be played in a soulless dome, otherwise known as the Birdcage. For those going tailgaiting in Glendale, per Accuweather.com, hey, it’s the desert. Tailgating will start out in the high 60s and rapidly to the mid-70s by kickoff. No clouds. Low humidty.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Cardinals -3.
Outlook: This game scares Joe. Yeah, on paper the Bucs should win. As Joe likes to write, games aren’t played on paper. Joe just cannot get past the fact teams run through the Bucs defense quicker than Joe can open his front door for Rachel Watson. The Bucs know it’s coming and they still can’t stop the run. Now Beanie Wells isn’t Earl Campbell but Chris Ivory isn’t exactly Barry Sanders either. How’d Ivory do against the Bucs? Throw in the fact the Bucs offensive line is currently a shambles, with Keydrick Vincent being cut, Jeff Faine and Jeremy Trueblood being hurt… this frightens Joe. Of course, if the Bucs could run the ball and control the clock and keep the ball out of the hands of Wells, that would go a great distance to calm Joe’s nerves. That, too, hasn’t happened for the Bucs much this year, has it? Joe is praying LeGarrette Blount gets more carries and gains some yards, but can much be expected from him behind a band-aid offensive line? Again, on paper, this should be the Bucs’ fifth win. Halfway to the race to 10. This game is played on grass, however.
Video: NFL Films has a preview of today’s game. … a video weather report from AccuWeather.com. … and Raheem Morris’ contract status from the gang at TBO.com.
Links: Gerald McCoy’s growth. … Ronde Barber’s milestone with the Bucs. … Arrelious Benn and his brother. … Trueblood’s streak is over. … Bucs need a faster start. … Josh Freeman’s rapid growth.
Fun facts: Mike Williams leads all NFL rookie wide receivers with 365 receiving yards. … Cardinals running back Tim Hightower averages 5.7 yards a carry.

The band-aid offensive line the Bucs will trot out today is quite a crew, sure to make any defensive coordinator drool.

From left to right: Donald Penn, Ted Larsen, Jeremy Zuttah, Davin Joseph and James Lee. …Ouch.

It’s third-year man Lee’s first start, one more than the rookie Larsen. Lee was on the field for the winning drive last week after Jeremy Trueblood left with a knee injury, and Lee got the job done pass blocking.

Starting, though, is another story. Lee’s got everything to prove. But Lee has been with the Bucs since September 2008, so at least he’s had veterans to learn from and a couple of O-line coaches.

Last week Donald Penn, in a chat with Joe, summed up his opportunity that emerged in 2007, after Luke Petitgout got hurt. “I got in the game. I never got out since,” said Penn, who makes his 51st consecutive start today.

Former Bucs defensive end Steve White has been a fan of Lee for a while, and White takes a look at Lee’s opportunity on his blog, including this take from Lee’s play in a preseason game.

I couldn’t give James Lee a good this week because he was beaten a couple of times on pass rush. But the more I see of the guy the more I like. He actually reminds me of Penn in that he has a nasty streak. You see him blocking guys all the way across the formation. Pass blocking that is. Other times you see him finishing guys off with pancake blocks. I have a feeling that we will see more of him in the years to come.

In Joe’s mind, Trueblood is undoubtedly a player the Bucs are considering replacing in 2011. He had a second-round tender placed on him in restricted free agency this year, and there were no takers outside the Bucs. Combine that with his penchant for stupid penalties and the Bucs’ sad running game, and he’s surely on the hot seat.

Joe would love to see Lee emerge as a viable replacement at right tackle. Heck, Ted Larsen apparently played so well last week the Bucs felt comfortable cutting their starting left guard, Keydrick Vincent.

Possibly, Bucs fans may have seen the last of Trueblood.

In advance, Joe wants to thank those who will comprise the roughly 20,000 actual visits to JoeBucsFan.com today and tomorrow.

That’s right about 20,000 visits to these here pages in 48 hours. Joe is so grateful for the hundreds of thousands who flock here every month.

If you’re a business owner, look around. You’ll see very reputable, successful companies advertising on JoeBucsFan.com. And you’ll see some new faces in November.

Joe can guarantee the advertising here is the most cost-effective on the Internet. Period. 

JoeBucsFan.com is a local small business interested in delivering results and building relationships, not ripping off businesses and moving on to the next victim.

If you want to jumpstart your phones and Internet traffic this week, e-mail Joe today for more information. joe@JoeBucsFan.com.

Joe just knew this was coming.

When Raheem Morris took the pulpit after the Bucs rallied with two second half touchdowns to beat the Rams, boasting loudly and proudly how the Bucs were the masters of the NFC, it was a calculated gamble.

Sure, the confidence Morris displayed before all to see and hear might give his young players more confidence to continue winning.

It also might be the verbal equivalent of kicking a sleeping dog.

It appears, the latter might be happening.

Cardinals defensive lineman Darnell Dockett, a man not shy about turning to Twitter, sounded off this evening about the Bucs and Morris’ self-proclaimed title he gave his team.

@ddockett I’m so excited to play against the “BEST TEAM IN THE NFC” tommorow! ITS ON!! *raise glass TOAST*

Gulp.

This is just what Joe feared, and fears for tomorrow. To say the Bucs have patchwork offensive line Sunday is being kind, with Keydrick Vincent cut, Jeff Faine and Jeremy Trueblood both on the mend. There are few better defensive linemen in the league than Dockett.

Just what the Bucs need, Dockett to be on a mission against guys who were practice squad players a few weeks ago.

Pat Kirwan is aghast that Raheem Morris would suggest the Bucs are the best team in the NFC. But Kirwan is very much driving the bus on the Josh Freeman bandwagon in this CBSSports.com video, co-hosted by Jason Horowitz.