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.

Though NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell is enjoying bad food and bad NFL teams in London this weekend, again making noise about an NFL franchise in Europe, Goodell’s deputies assistants continue to bring the hammer down on players back in the colonies.

Case in point, Randy Moss.

The all-world yet oft-gametime vacationing wide receiver with more baggage than Santa Claus got slapped by Goodell for $25,000 for blowing off the fourth estate, an issue that apparently traveled with Moss from New England to Minnesota.

Could Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib be far behind?

Now before anyone freaks, Joe has absolutely nothing against Talib. Nothing. Joe’s had one encounter with the guy and it was professional if not pleasant. But hear Joe out:

Talib was (correctly) outed by Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times for being in a luxury box at the CITS — a luxury box Talib himself paid for out of his own pocket — during the Bucs season-opening win over Cleveland, as Talib was serving his one-game suspension for his cabbie-slugging incident last year.

Talib, innocently, wasn’t aware he couldn’t watch the game from a luxury box that he coughed up hard-earned cash for. Nope. NFL suits don’t allow that.

Stroud came across the information and, as a journalist should do with accurate information, reported Talib’s sighting. Don’t blame the messenger. But of course, reporting a truthful story often comes with repercussions, particularly if a story exposes someone, no matter how accurate said story may be.

Since, per Joe’s sources, Talib has frozen out the local fourth estate.

He has consistently refused any and all media requests to speak on the record, save one with BSPN. After games, Joe is told, Talib races out of the locker room as if an Ebola virus has broken out, thereby avoiding the fourth estate.

Joe has learned that, per NFL media guidelines, if requested by reporters, a player must be made available at least once a week. This could be after a practice or after a game.

Talib has not been available.

Now if Goodell is starting to go after player’s checkbooks for not talking to the press, as in the case of Moss, is Talib walking on thin ice shutting out local reporters?

Again, Joe has absolutely nothing against Talib. He was cooperative with Joe the lone time Joe spoke with him. Joe never asked about his off-field cabbie incident because Joe didn’t think it was relevant as Joe was writing a football story.

Joe can understand why Talib wouldn’t want to give Stroud the time of day. Stroud was hardly wrong in fingering Talib, but Joe can understand why Talib would be upset with Stroud.

But why punish reporters from other organizations, and in the abstract, Bucs fans?

Joe’s not alluding to the Bucs’ four-game road winning streak in the headline above.

No, Joe’s talking about an ugly Arizona Cardinals stat that Joe just can’t get out of his head.

Here it is detailed by Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic in a Bucs-Cards preview:

Cardinals key stat

25 – That’s how many possessions the Cardinals have had with Max Hall at quarterback. They have one touchdown in that time, a 2-yard fumble return by tackle Levi Brown. The Cardinals are ranked last in the NFL in four offensive categories and are tied for 30th in turnover ratio (minus 7). There are many other ways to tell how bad the offense has been but you get the idea. 

Amazing.

Joe is flabbergasted how pathetic the Cardinals’ offense has been with undrafted rookie Hall under center. That’s 25 possessions and they only punched in one score by a tackle picking up a fumble. Yet he’s still the Arizona starting quarterback.

The Bucs’ defense might expect a gift QB like this on Christmas, not Halloween.

Joe has to believe Raheem Morris is smart enough to find a way to stop the run Sunday, especially with a lame threat at quarterback and Beanie Wells, not Stephen Jackson, starting against him.

If the Cardinals run the ball down Bucs’ throat in the first half, Joe’s literally going to launch into a profanity-laced tirade rivaled only by those of the Jim Bates era.

The Bucs should be able to hold Arizona to 14 points or less and generate some turnovers.

Prior to last week’s Bucs win over the Rams, Joe had a chance to chat with Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Miklasz has long been one of the most respected football writers in America, having covered the Baltimore Colts when the Mayflower trucks left the city. He is a former president of the Professional Football Writers of America, once was a beat writer for the Dallas Morning News covering the Cowboys and counts Michael Irvin, Jerry Jones and Gil Brandt among his many confidants.

Joe and Bernie go way back. Joe’s first experience covering the NFL was when he covered the training camp of the old St. Louis Cardinals under Gene Stallings. There, Miklasz was a beat writer covering the Cardinals. Joe was a punk kid. Observing Miklasz work and absorbing his advice was priceless for someone on their first beat. To this day, Joe still heeds Bernie’s advice, learned decades ago. Such as Joe is with Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune, Joe is eternally indebted to Bernie for the things he did for Joe, including his orientation to the joys of tequila. 

Currently, Miklasz is a busy guy. He’s the primary sports columnist for the Post-Dispatch, hosts a wildly popular midday sports radio show on WXOS-FM, Twitters proficiently, and is a regular analyst on the St. Louis Cardinals pregame and postgame shows on Fox Sports Midwest. Even Tony La Russa knows better than to tangle with Bernie.

JoeBucsFan: What is your perspective on Bucs general manager Mark Dominik. In a short time with the Bucs, he seems to be building a reputation as a draft sage.

Bernie Miklasz: I see the Bucs and the Rams as very similar. They both really had to rebuild their roster. The Bucs had a headstart. It wasn’t that long ago that the Bucs were in the playoffs. So, the cupboard wasn’t as bare as it was in St. Louis. The Bucs are clearly going about it the right way. They have a franchise quarterback. Josh Freeman’s going to be terrific. They have to go piece by piece. In the state they are in now, throwing a lot of humongous money at free agents is not the answer. You have to build your base first and I think the Bucs have done a nice job of that.

Joe: A couple of weeks ago, Joe spoke with Ed Bouchette and asked him if the Bucs wins this year were a fluke and he replied there are no such things as flukes in the NFL. You agree?

Bernie: We were just taking note of the fact earlier that the Chiefs and the Rams have been so awful. All of a sudden you look at the state of Missouri and there are two pretty good football teams. It happened quickly. In this league, the difference between the very best and the 32nd team — especially this year — seems to be a very relatively, minor difference. You don’t see a super team and even the bad teams are dangerous. I’m not surprised by any results — well, maybe a little. I would agree with what Ed said. I watch every NFL game — yeah, I do, I watch the Bucs — I think their wins were totally legit.

Joe: Now Peter King in the offseason told Joe he thought that Raheem Morris’ future with the Bucs was — his word — “dubious.” Again, this was before the season. With the Rams, Steve Spagnuolo had a track record as a solid defensive coordinator with the Giants when they won the Super Bowl. The guy has a track record. Morris was never a coordinator on the NFL level. Let’s say the Bucs’ season goes south for some reason. Do you think Morris could survive?

Bernie: I don’t have a good handle on him. I’m not sure whether he’s a good coach or not. I think the reasons [the Bucs] hired him were a little dubious. You know, promoting a young guy like that because you think he will be a great motivator. But he has a chance to grow into something. Granted, when you are hiring people who haven’t been head coaches before as a lot of NFL teams are doing, you are banking on their upside. [The Bucs] may have been taking a little bit too big of a leap at his upside. This isn’t to say I am writing the guy off. I don’t know enough yet. I haven’t seen enough yet to know one way or the other. Spags has shown, even last year, they were 1-15 and the team never stopped playing. He’s gotten the players to buy in and that is a huge step.

Joe: You said you’ve seen the Bucs games. What impresses you, what doesn’t?

Bernie: I love Freeman. Great competitor. Not always pretty but an absolute great competitor. He’ll make plays in the fourth quarter. The games that they’ve won, they’ve never stopped fighting. Great draft pick with [Michael] Williams in the fourth round. They were taking a chance on his upside and it was a minor gamble considering his upside and that one has paid off. Don’t like their offensive line. It seems like they do a good job picking up stunts, picking up gains up front. But as far as straight ahead run blocking, they don’t seem to be very physical. On the defensive side, I wonder who the pass rusher is? I don’t see one. It’s going to take a while for those young defensive tackles to develop. That’s a really tough position to learn. Linebackers are OK. Corners, they are gambling men. Gambling men are going to make plays and they are also going to get beat. If you look at the statistics, the Bucs’ safeties are terrible in pass coverage. If you play a Cover-2 and your safeties can’t get to the ball, you are vulnerable. That’s a general snapshot. I think that [Cadillac] Williams is tremendous cutback runner and a good receiver. Winslow, his pedigree is well-established.

Joe: Joe is of the mind that the offensive line is struggling because it’s a square peg/round hole debacle. These guys under Bill Muir were straight-ahead blocking and were on the cusp of something special. Then, with the change in coaches last year, the Bucs tried to force feed them zone blocking which is not what they were drafted for and the offensive line has never been the same since.

Bernie: That’s a good point. They were asked to do something that’s not their strength. I’d agree with that. I mean, I’m impressed with, against New Orleans, the Saints threw a lot of stunts and blitzes at them. They’re smart. They pick everything up. Just physically, they are not overwhelming anyone.

Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net has had it! He’s had it with Cadillac Williams slamming into offensive linemen’s backs. He’s had it with Williams not recognizing holes. He’s had it with the Bucs offense relying on Josh Freeman to bail out the invisible running game in the fourth quarter each and every week.

Pete Mangurian, Greg Olson, Derek is looking at you! If you two do not get a running game — now! — Derek is holding both of you responsible for Pearl Harboring a promising Bucs season. Derek explains in detail in this video.

(OK, Joe’s got other things to get fired up about now. There’s too much college football to watch and too much beer to drink. Can Sparty hold off Iowa? Can the Bulldogs bloody Urban Cryer’s arse? Can JoePa somehow slam the Malaise and Blue in Happy Valley? These issues Joe must monitor while awash in adult beverages.)

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also wants you to know THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the team goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t.

Raheem Morris has told us the Bucs are “the best team in the NFC,” and who are we to argue? Well, we are football fans, and it’s in our very nature to argue.

Though I might one day win the ‘Greatest Homer on the Net’ award, even I do not think they are the Best in the NFC. I think New Orleans would have something to say about that wouldn’t they? They did win beat the Bucs by about 10 touchdowns, and even though the Saints lost to the Browns, which we beat in Week 1, the NFL doesn’t work that way.

No, Raheem was more than likely playing cheerleader, and in doing so he caught some national attention for his team, too, making the Jim Rome show, even getting top billing on the afternoon Rome Report. He was probably referring to his teams two losses that match an NFC low, and is trying to pump the kids up even higher than they may already be after a 4-2 start and a comeback win over the Rams.

So are the Bucs the best at anything they do? They have the 18th passing attack. Heck in Bucdom, that is almost as good as best isn’t it? Well no, because they are 23rd in total offense. What about defense, that’s the claim to fame for Tampa Bay right? Not when you’re 31st in the league in rush defense!

So where are the Bucs great?

The Bucs have given up only three rushing TDs; that’s good for 7th in the NFL. We’ve recovered four fumbles, that’s good for sixth.  A No. 8 spot holds the Bucs time of possession stat, with the Bucs’ defense on the field 28:55 minutes per game.

Clearly Tampa Bay is not best in any statistical category, but they do tend to fare well against the pass. The Bucs sit as the No. 6 defense, seventh in QB Completion percentage allowed at 55.6 %.

So its the good old wins and losses where the Bucs are ‘best’, and that will have to do.

With two losses, the Bucs are even with Atlanta, the Giants, and Seattle. Of course, the Falcons have a beef because they have five wins to the Bucs’ four, but the Bucs have a game to play, and after all, they are the best team in the NFC, so they will win that game!

The Bucs do sit strong with a 2-1 conference record and a 1-1 division mark. Atlanta has better marks in both, however. Still, should it come down to a (gulp) Wild Card, the Bucs could find themselves is a sweet position.

Wild Card, hmm, that’s not the best team either.

Shortly after the Bucs’ thrilling win against the Rams, Joe had a chance to hit up cornerback E.J. Biggers with some questions. Here’s what the Bucs’ second-year man had to say on the record.

JoeBucsFan.com: How do you feel your game has progressed? You’re a second-year guy, but you’re almost like a rookie after being hurt last year? How do you think you’re playing?

E.J. Biggers: I’m doing some good things, but I still have a ways to go to get up to the level of Ronde Barber. You know, that’s just a guy I look up to every day. He and Aqib Talib. I look up to those guys, for me two of the best corners in the NFL right now. Great guys to learn from. …Ronde’s just a premier guy, just a standup guy. I watch the things he does every day and try to grow from them.

Joe: Since the start of the season, how specifically have you improved?

Biggers: Just finishing plays. Definitely finishing plays all the time. Not just sometimes. All the time.

JoeBucsFan.com:  The Bucs have shutout three teams in the second half this season. What’s different in the second half?

Biggers: I don’t know, but you gotta play the full game all the time. Play 60 minutes. That’s what Coach Rah preaches before every game. We just finish it all the way through.

Joe: Did you see the Rams getting worn down?

Biggers: I can’t say. I can’t say that. We just stood up. We came into the locker room and Coach Rah told us we weren’t playing pretty and playing up to our expectations and we needed to live up to the things we do every day: core beliefs.

Joe: You guys are now 4-2. How does the team feel now? Are guys thinking playoffs at all and what this season could become?

Biggers: Looking at the next game. That’s what we’re looking at.

Now Joe is sure all his readers fly to Vegas to wager legally, versus placing bets with the guy whose cell number changes every week. 

Regardless of how or why you wager, Joe knows there are many aspiring handicappers reading. So to please the gambling crowd, Joe has turned to superpicker Bob Fox. A writer for various sports publications over the years, Fox flashed his stellar picking skills back in 2008 on JoeBucsFan.com, when Joe had a contest here among sports media members.

Fox will be here to give you a few games every week. He’s 18-10 for the season. 

By BOB FOX
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Iowa Hawkeyes 24, Michigan State Spartans 20
 
The No. 5 Spartans come into this game undefeated at 8-0. Sparty got quite a scare last week on the road at Northwestern, trailing 17-0 before coming back to win 35-27. The No. 18 Hawkeyes, meanwhile, suffered a painful loss to Wisconsin at home 31-30, after the Badgers came back with the game-winning TD with just over a minute to go. That loss was the Hawks first in the Big Ten (2-1)  and second overall (5-2).  If the Spartans thought Evanston was a tough place to play, wait until they check out Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. The Spartans are balanced, as they have rushed for almost 200 yards a game, while throwing for over 255 yards. Sparty is ranked 21st overall in offense and led by QB Kirk Cousins, who has thrown 14 TD passes to just four picks. MSU also has a great tandem at RB with Edwin Baker and Le’Veon Bell, who have combined for over 1,300 yards and 15 TDs. The big threats at WR for the Spartans are B.J. Cunningham and Mark Dell. The Hawkeyes have weapons offensively as well, with QB Ricky Stanzi, who has thrown 16 TD passes to just two INTs, along with RB Adam Robinson, who has 737 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. The receiving threat for Iowa is Derrell Johnson-Koulianis, who has eight TD receptions. The Hawks have the edge defensively, as they are ranked 13th in the country overall, and are led by DL Adrian Clayborn. The Spartans’ D is ranked 32nd, led by MLB Greg Jones. I see the Hawkeyes making more big plays when it counts as they will upset Sparty in Iowa City.

New York Jets 20, Green Bay Packers 17
 
The 5-1 Jets are coming off a bye week, while the 4-3 Packers are coming off an emotionally charged game as they beat Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings 28-24 at Lambeau Field Sunday night. In addition, LOLB Brad Jones was added to the list of Packers starters put on injured reserve, as he now joins RB Ryan Grant, TE Jermichael Finley, S Morgan Burnett and ILB Nick Barnett. I look for the Jets to try and run the ball against the diminished defense of the Packers, much like RB Adrian Peterson did last week. The Jets are second in the NFL running the rock. It starts with LaDainian Tomlinson (490 yards rushing, 5.3 yards a carry and 5 TDs), who is running the ball like he drank from the fountain of youth. Shonne Greene is the inside rusher in this tandem as he has also put up nice stats as well, with 323 yards rushing, 4.5 yards a carry and 1 TD.  QB Mark Sanchez has been very effective in the passing game as well, throwing 9 TD passes to just two picks for a 86.4 QB rating. If the Packers are to win, it will be behind the arm of QB Aaron Rogers, who has thrown 12 TD passes, but has also thrown nine picks for 89.0 QB rating. Rodgers can not afford to turn the ball over against the Jets, but he will get some mismatches at times, as the Jets play a very aggressive 3-4 defense that sometimes sends extra pass rushers via blitz packages. The Packers need to pressure Sanchez into mistakes as well, as he has only completed 55.4 % of his passes, plus can be flustered with pressure early and often, as the Baltimore Ravens showed in the opening week of the season.  Still, I see the Jets winning this game because of fewer mistakes, although the Pack will play them tough.

New England Patriots 27, Minnesota Vikings 20
 
The big question going into this game is whether or not Brett Favre of the Vikings will be able to go at QB, after having two bones broken in his foot (allegedly) in the game vs. the Packers, or will it instead be Tavaris Jackson behind center. At stake is Favre’s NFL-record streak of 291 consecutive starts, but more importantly the biggest game of the season for the Vikes, who are 2-4 after six games. We will also have the Randy Moss situation playing out, as the talented WR will be returning to New England to face his former team. Reports on Friday said that head coach Brad Childress was leaning towards starting Jackson at QB. Favre and Childress never had a great relationship, but after Childress’ pointed comments about Favre after the Packer game Sunday night, one could call the relationship frosty. The Pats meanwhile are 5-1 and are tied for the AFC East division lead with the Jets. The Patriots are middle-of-the-road statistically on offense, both running (14th) and passing (17th). Defensively, the Pats are ranked 30th. Still, head coach Bill Belichick has the Pats at 5-1. QB Tom Brady is a big reason why as he has thrown 11 TD passes to just four interceptions for a 96.0 QB rating. The Vikings are ranked 24th in the league on offense. Defensively, Minnesota is ranked 13th. Bottom line, one can see why Childress is leaning towards Jackson, as Favre has thrown 7 TD passes to 10 picks for a paltry QB rating of 68.0. With or without Favre, it won’t matter as I see Brady and the Pats sending the Vikes another loss.
 
Arizona Cardinals 16, Tampa Bay Bucs 13
 
Head coach Raheem Morris of the Bucs says Tampa Bay is the best team in the NFC. Only two losses says that they are certainly amongst the best in the watered down NFC. Meanwhile, if the four games the Bucs have won were a beauty contest, the Bucs would not be winning any crowns or getting any flowers. Still, the Bucs are 4-dash-2 in the NFC, and only a half-game off the pace of the Atlanta Falcons (5-2) in the NFC South. The 3-3 Arizona Cardinals have been up and down, with their high water mark the 30-20 victory over the world champion Saints, a Saints team that also buried the Bucs at the Ray Jay a couple weeks back 31-6.  Both teams are on the back end statistically, as the Bucs are ranked 23rd in total offense and 22nd in total defense, while the Cardinals are ranked 32nd in total offense and 27th in total defense. The Bucs appear to have a clear advantage at QB, as Josh Freeman has thrown 7 TD passes to just 3 interceptions for a 82.8 QB rating, while the Cardinals expect to start rookie QB Max Hall again this week, who is coming off a concussion. Hall has yet to throw a TD pass, while he has thrown three picks for a 43.7 QB rating.  If Hall can’t go, the Cards will be lead by veteran Derek Anderson, who has thrown three TD passes to five picks for a 60.2 QB rating. So, why would I pick the Cardinals over the Bucs?  The Cardinals are very tough at home, as they are 2-0 in 2010, plus the Cards still have the best player on the field in WR Larry Fitzgerald, if the Cardinal QBs can ever get him the ball. This game could come down to a field goal margin, and although Connor Barth has only missed two kicks all year (10-12), Jay Feely of the Cardinals has been even better, missing only one (7-8).  Either way, it will be a Grimm game one way or the other, with Hall of Famer Russ Grimm, assistant head coach of the Arizona Cardinals on one side and with his son S Cody Grimm on the other.

Alright you fantasy football types. You cannot intelligently select your starting lineup before you consult with “The Commissioner,” Justin Pawlowski, and his spider, in this WDAE-AM video. His award-winning show, “The Blitz,” airs today from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Yeah, that headline got your attention, didn’t it? (Joe’s waiting for the headline whiners to cry again how it’s misleading. Wha!) After having a few beers on this Friday night, Joe thought he’d bring you this pleasant time-waster from Maxim.com: NFL cheerleaders on a trampoline, featuring lovely Bucs cheerleader Nina Stauffer. Enjoy.

Ron Wolfley, John Gambadoro, Mark Asher and Doug Franz of KTAR-AM 620 in Phoenix discuss the Bucs-Cardinals game Sunday. The constant theme in this video seems to be that Beanie Wells is going to run the ball right up the Bucs’…

You may be surprised at the predicted score at the end of the video.

The reason why coffee-slurping, popcorn-shoveling, oatmeal-loving Peter King writes for Sports Illustrated is because he is such a talented writer.

He’s also a good storyteller.

Earlier this week while co-hosting “The Opening Drive” with Ross Tucker, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, Joe heard King tell a story he learned from his NBC broadcast partner, Father Dungy, about Josh Freeman.

Though Joe’s not sure, it seems Father Dungy got to meet Freeman’s father just after Bucs drafted the quarterback from Kansas State.

Joe will let King take it from here.

“I love Josh Freeman. Love him. Like him a lot. Funny story: Tony Dungy lives in Tampa and is a friend to a lot of people with the Buccaneers and still knows a lot of people who work there. When Freeman was drafted, Tony had a chance to speak with Freeman’s dad. The dad said, half-kiddingly, to ‘keep an eye out for my son.’

“Tony said he could call him.

“So after the two met, Tony calls the father and says, ‘[Freeman] doesn’t need me, he is so mature.”

It seems the lovely Tifany Simons is enamoured with Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman in this NBCSports.com video. Joe is slightly enamoured with Simons.

Joe had a chance to touch base with Bucs offensive lineman Ted Larsen. He graduated from Palm Harbor University High School, a school known for its dominant soccer teams and strong academics but not football. Larsen became the first Hurricanes player to play Division-I football — at North Carolina State.  

Larsen played for the late Mike June, who had to leave Larsen and his teammates midseason in Larsen’s junior year when June was diagnosed with leukemia. Three years later, June succumbed to the disease.

Joe discussed Larsen’s local ties and how he now plays for the team he grew up watching.

JoeBucsFan: Surely, you must be pretty excited to be playing for the team that was your favorite growing up?

Ted Larsen: Yeah, that’s all great, but now that I’m starting, I have to help the team get better. That’s how I am looking at it.

Joe: Since the Rams game was your first start, did St. Louis run any kind of stunt or gimmick defense at you that you didn’t expect or were surprised with?

Larsen: No, this is the National Football League. You have to play your best. I made some stupid mistakes and I’m just trying to get better.

Joe: You made the mistakes?

Larsen: Yeah, I had a couple of penalties, stuff like that. I’ll try to get better next week. It’s not only an adjustment to the NFL, but an adjustment to a new position [left guard]. It’s just something I’ll have to work with. To be able to come back was exciting [and win in the fourth quarter], but it should not have to be like that and that’s something we will have to work on.

Joe: You played for Mike June in high school. Obviously this is an exciting, emotional time for you to start your first game with the Bucs. At any time recently or the morning before the game did June ever cross your mind? You would have been his only player to make it to the NFL.

Larsen: No, I didn’t. He was a great coach. It’s unfortunate what happened to him. He didn’t cross my mind only because I was so worried about what I was supposed to do.

Joe: How cool is it that you grew up watching this team, coming to games when you were a kid and now, people are paying to watch you play for the same team?

Larsen: Oh, yeah. It’s a great opportunity but I’m just worried about doing my best and helping the team. I keep working hard. However I can help the team. I have nowhere to go but up. That’s the way I’m looking at it.

So who does Bucs super rookie Mike Williams look like on the field?

Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, so says everywhere NFL analyst Pat Kirwan, the former player personnel executive and current senior analyst on NFL.com, NFL Radio and what seems like a million other outlets.

Kirwan is smitten with Williams, per his comments this week on the Miller and Moulton show on 770AM in Fort Myers.

“Mike Williams is a star in the making. And he’s a big hand-grabber. If you watch the way he catches, he grabs footballs like Michael Irvin did,” Kirwan said. “You know that’s what happens to guys [like me] who have been in this thing forever, every time you see a young player you think of him in terms of guys who played the game like him. And Mike [Williams] is a guy that doesn’t know he’s supposed to be covered, thinks he can score every time he catches it, and now the quarterback believes in him.”

Oh, and Kirwan also thinks meaningful January games might be in the Bucs’ future.

“Do I think they can make it to the playoffs as a Wild Card? …After Atlanta and the Giants, I don’t see the NFC. I think it’s just all up for grabs. Could they sneak into a Wild Card spot? I think they could,” Kirwan said.

Joe can’t imagine how big the Bucs’ bandwagon will get if they win in Arizona on Sunday.

The Keydrick Vincent experiment is over. The big veteran left guard championed by so many Bucs fans as the savior to replace allegedly overmatched Jeremy Zuttah is now back on his couch.

Surely, this will stun many fans who were so quick to throw Zuttah under the bus before his third season because they believed foolish rumormongering and anonymous inside sources that were trashing young Zuttah.

Yes, Joe has always been in Zuttah’s corner.

Joe is surprised though that Vincent was flat out cut. Is he not a better backup guard than rookie Ted Larsen, who made his first start last week in place of Vincent who had back spasms? Apparently not.

The Bucs just got a lot younger. And Mark Dominik’s veteran free agent scorecard just took another hit.

Per Twittering expert Rick Stroud, of the St. Pete Times, center Jeff Faine is on track to return against Atlanta in nine days and Zuttah will reclaim his starting left guard spot after filling in for Faine on Sunday. Larsen would then go back to the bench, so Tweeted Stroud.

 Bucs sign T Will Barker from their practice squad. Team has hope C Jeff Faine might return next week vs. Atlanta. J Zuttah would start LG

Again, Joe is stunned that the Bucs have gone so thin and young on the O-line. Vincent must have looked pretty bad on film.

Trey Wingo, Kordell Stewart and Mark Schlereth break down the Cardinals-Bucs game in this BSPN video. Joe believes the last time he saw Stewart, Derrick Brooks made him cry.

Now Joe knows Rich Gannon isn’t exactly Rachel Watson. He’s not a Bucs cheerleader for a variety of reasons. The Bucs crushed him in the Super Bowl, Derrick Brooks ended his career shortly thereafter and then the Bucs jettisoned Chucky. Gannon is an avowed Chucky acolyte and close confidant of the former Bucs Super Bowl-winning leader.

So when Joe heard Gannon, with his co-host of “The Blitz,” Adam Schein, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, sing the praises of the Bucs and specifically Josh Freeman, it took Joe aback.

Adam Schein: The Bucs travel to the desert and if they win in Arizona, that’s a huge win for our Buccaneers, Rich.

Rich Gannon: They are learning how to win. They are learning how to win. Josh Freeman, this kid gets it. I really like what I see from him. He takes care of the football and he makes good decisions. There’s not a guy I’d rather have in the league in the last two minutes of the game than my guy Josh Freeman.

Wow. Pretty strong compliment from a guy not necessarily known for tossing out praise to the Bucs in any form.

It seems Bill Cowher, the man some Bucs fans yearn to be Tampa Bay’s next head coach, is liking the we’re-the-best messaging Raheem Morris is serving his players.

Per NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan, a former player personnel executive and a frequent Sirius NFL Radio co-host with Cowher, the former Steelers head coach is all in favor of overhyping players if it’s working.

Kirwan talked about this on the Miller and Moulton show on 770AM in Fort Myers on Wednesday.

“Bill Cowher says this all the time. At some point, and the Bucs are his example, those players in Tampa believe in themselves now and have the confidence to go out [and win]. Bill said, ‘We had a couple of teams in Pittsburgh that weren’t very good but they were really confident, and we weren’t about to tell them they weren’t that good. And they went out and won games they shouldn’t.’ I think Tampa fits the mold there, as does Kansas City,” Kirwan said.

Look out.

With a win in Arizona, and losses by the Steelers, Jets and Patriots, the Bucs might be the “best team in the NFL.”

Joe enjoyed this interview of Hall of Famer Russ Grimm, assistant head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and Cody Grimm’s dad. Interestingly, an Arizona reporter asks him if Cody has his “stubborness.” And the video ends with Larry Fitzgerald explaining that Grimm gave him the green light to hit his son. …Joe supposes that’s what happens when your dad is a four-time All-Pro hog.

Raheem Morris made waves this week when he boasted the Bucs were the best team in the NFC. Good guy Stephen Holder and Rick Stroud discuss this in this St. Petersburg Times video.