Once upon a time the Bucs had a balanced rushing attack and ran for 174 yards on just 31 carries and not one handoff went for a loss.

That was opening day against Dallas.

Since then the Bucs running game has been one of the true bottom-feeders of the NFL. Tampa Bay is now ranked 25th in rushing. And they’d probably be last if not for the run-for-your life yardarge gained by Josh Johnson and Josh Freeman. 

Call Joe old-school. But Joe firmly believes a good running game is a young quarterback’s best friend.

Never mind that Raheem The Dream has repeated over and over how the Bucs want to be that downhill running, play-action team. So far, the only guys running downhill consistently are linebackers chasing opposing running backs.

Is the offensive line totally overrated? Nobody can blame the struggles on Jeff Faine’s absence anymore.

Remember the most dangerous running back threeseome in football? While every Bucs fan loves Cadillac Williams (3.9 yards per carry), he and Derrick Ward (3.7 ypg.) and Earnest Graham are not getting it done. The Bucs found a way to get Mike Allstott carries at fullback. Why not Graham?

Evaluating the running game — and hopefully establishing a legitimate one — is a top priority for Joe for the rest of the season outside of developing Freeman.

If the O-line stays healthy and the Bucs can’t run the ball, there’s something terribly wrong that a bunch of talk will never fix.

Joe so looks forward to Thursdays. Not so much because it means the weekend is a day away but it means the gorgeous Jenny Dell of BSPN graces Joe’s site. Naturally, Jenny talks about the Bucs game with New Orleans Sunday. Joe’s watched the video now twice and the only thing he really heard Jenny say was “Drew Brees.”

If Jenny doesn’t brighten your morning, Joe doesn’t know what to think.

Last week Joe brought you, via Vacation Man of BSPN.com, about how much better Bucs rookie quarterback Josh Freeman threw out of a shotgun formation than he did taking snaps from center.

Despite Freeman playing in only two games, the numbers he puts up out of a shotgun formation compared to taking a direct snap are significant. Vacation Man notes how only Philip Rivers of the Chargers throws for a better passer rating out of a shotgun than Freeman.

He’s at his best when operating out of the shotgun formation. Of the league’s 44 quarterbacks who have taken at least 20 snaps out of the shotgun, Freeman has the second-best passer rating. His 105.0 rating is second only to San Diego’s Philip Rivers (105.2).

Freeman’s completed 27 of 45 passes for 352 yards with four touchdowns and one interception out of the shotgun.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees (98.9) ranks sixth in the NFL. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is No. 22 with an 81.3 rating and Carolina’s Jake Delhomme is 25th with a 79.3 rating.

Maybe this explains why the Bucs were able to rally late the past two games? The Bucs had to start passing, i.e. shotgun formation.

Former Bucs defensive lineman Dave Pear is among a growing list of ex-NFL players who physically suffer from the beatings they took as players.

Not a whole lot of Bucs fans — except the diehards — will know who Dave Pear is.

Pear, a defensive lineman, was the Bucs first Pro Bowl player. He was one of the original Bucs.

Today, Pear is a shell of himself, a physical wreck wracked with chronic pain from the beating and abuse he took as an NFL lineman.

As documented by Doug Fernandes of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Pear is a walking example of how the NFL, filthy rich beyond any average person’s imagination, turns its backs on ex-players, as if they are human chattel. The same players who enabled NFL owners to become the billionaires they are today.

Pear said he’s spent more than $500,000 of his own money — more than he made during his career — on medical bills and prescription drugs.

The NFL, he said, ignores its own by failing to pay ex-players the disability payments they so desperately need, deserve and are owed.

“The NFL is delay, deny and hope we die,” Pear said. “We don’t want them to give us anything other than what they owe us.”

In Pear’s case, he wants the 25 years of benefits, plus penalty and interest, he believes were illegally withheld.

Joe cannot believe the NFL and the NFLPA cannot set aside, say, one percent of players’ gross salaries, matched by NFL owners, to be set aside to assist ex-players who are suffering from the physical beatings they took in their playing days.

Joe does know that if the NFL doesn’t start doing something, the feds will get involved.

Bucs fans who would like to connect with Pear can do so via his blog at DavePear.com.

Joe still can’t figure out how in the hell the NFL officials dreamed up that “interception” by Jason Taylor on Michael Clayton’s catch last Sunday.

In short, Clayton is to blame because he never got both feet down. Seriously.

Joe learned this by watching NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira go through the replay in great detail in this special NFL.com video, explaining how the officials determined it was an interception.

Pereira called the play “fascinating.” Joe’s not so sure he’d use the same word.

It seems Bucs special teams coach/associate head coach Rich Bisaccia is being talked about among NFL heirarchy and executives as a potential head coach in 2010.

Joe has no intimate knowledge of this. However, in a live chat today on NFL.com, senior NFL writer Jason LaCanfora tossed in Bisaccia’s name as a prime candidate for teams looking to stay away from the available big name head coaches like Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren and Chucky.

Ryan, Rochester, NY 1:18 PM ET
Cowher the next bills head coach?

Jason La Canfora, NFL Network
Would be totally stunned. Don’t see that happening. Don’t see any of the big name guys ending up there. I would be going after a Leslie Frazier or Mike Zimmer or Rich Bisaccia.

Joe highly doubts LaCanfora, who is new to his leaguewide beat and hardly a Bucs insider, would drop Bisaccia’s name like that if he wasn’t hearing it from the unnamed NFL “executives” he’s always sourcing and quoting.

Perhaps Bisaccia is having his agent stir the pot. He did say last week in an interview on 620 WDAE-AM that he wants to be considered for a head coaching job.

Obviously, losing Bisaccia would be a blow to the Bucs, whose kick return and kick coverage teams are tops in the NFL.

Joe admits up front these are not Bucs items, but they are so funny Joe thought he’d share.

Joe came across these yesterday. First, in the photo above, how trashed in Jerry Jones? Wonder if that photo was shot at some Channelside hotspot after the Cowboys hammered the Bucs in Week One?

The video below floored Joe. Never did Joe expect Moammar Gaddafi to be such a frustrated Bears fan. Joe is very happy Mark Dominik failed to acquire bratty quarterback Jay Cutler.

It appears as if Bucs defensive coordinator Jim Bates has (finally) had it.

Seems as though eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune has learned that Bates has become so frustrated with the (lack of) production of his front seven, that he will be fazing out some of the stalwarts Bates thought initially to be starters.

Q: When are they going to clean house in the defense? The offense won the (Dolphins) game and the defense gave it away.
Dick Williams, Tampa

A: The process has already begun. You will see defensive coordinator Jim Bates giving more playing time to guys like Michael Bennett, Roy Miller, Dre Moore and Tim Crowder down the stretch. The Bucs may also reduce Quincy Black’s playing time a bit in an effort to see how other players fare at strong-side LB.

The Bucs harbor no illusions about their defensive deficiencies. Raheem Morris has already stated plainly they lack personnel on that side of the ball and you can bet Tampa Bay will lean heavily toward defense in the April draft.
— Ira Kaufman

It’s about friggin’ time!!! You mean to tell Joe it took Bates this long, nine games, to come to this conclusion? Really? Can you imagine?

And God forbid Bates try something different than that g-damned two-gap front.

Steve Wyche of NFL.com, a guy who presumably has some superior sources, is reporting Antonio Bryant will return to action on Sunday against the Saints.

Joe is excited for Josh Freeman. For the rookie to start the game with Maurice Stovall, Antonio Bryant and Kellen Winslow at his disposal is a great opportunity to push the ball downfield.

Oh, wait a minute. What about Michael Clayton? Joe hopes Raheem The Dream comes to his senses and goes with Stovall over Clayton, as Joe has made the case for that all week.

Joe’s also curious. Will Bryant practice this week? Joe suspects if Wyche’s source already knows Bryant will play, then he’ll probably spend some time on the practice field for a change.

“The Professor,” John Clayton of BSPN looks at the NFC South and discusses Aaron Sears and Josh Freeman. Hint: Don’t get too excited about Sears’ return.

It’s easy to look in the rear view mirror but it’s pretty obvious Chucky had some things pegged right.

Michael Clayton is a big tease. He looks great. Runs great routes. Blocks like a beast. Talks a good game. But when the ball is thrown his way, well…

When Clayton was a rookie, he looked like a stud. He is still looking to recapture that rookie season. This year against Dallass he made some of the toughest catches Joe has ever seen.

Since, well…

Prior to this season, Clayton pointed the figure (and likely flashed the finger) right at Chucky claiming Chucky was the reason he dropped so many passes.

In recent weeks, one could make an argument that Clayton has been given his last best shot to reclaim the No. 1 receiver slot for the Bucs with Antonio Bryant out with an injury. Despite this, Clayton hasn’t make much of an impact, notes Vacation Man of BSPN.com.

Even with top receiver Antonio Bryant out, Clayton was limited to one catch for 3 yards. There was lots of talk about how Clayton would thrive with a fresh start after the departure of Jon Gruden.

Truth is, Gruden had judged Clayton pretty well. Clayton has 13 catches for 186 yards on the season and hasn’t found the end zone.

Yeah, it’s kind of hard to lay blame on Chucky, isn’t it?

Joe gets no pleasure in writing this by the way. Joe always liked Clayton the person and aside from Hines Ward, there may not be a better blocker. Michael Irvin has noted that Clayton runs such crisp, precise routes.

Joe just wishes Clayton could learn to be more consistent in hanging on to the ball.

It seems Chucky really did have the quarterback laboratory he referenced to the Oakland media last year.

Chucky’s prized experiment in the lab, Josh Johnson, raved about how much he learned from his old head coach in an interview on 1010 AM on Tuesday.

“I had a lot of contact with Coach Gruden,” Johnson said. “He was in all the quarterback meetings. He was hands on with the QBs on and off the field.”

Johnson also detailed his long odds to get to the NFL. While explaining why he wasn’t an NCAA Division I quarterback, Johnson joked about puberty hitting him too late.

“I was 5-11, 145 lbs. as a [senior] quarterback in high school. I looked 12 years old, too,” said Johnson, who stated he only ran a 4.9 second 40-yard dash as high school senior. Johnson went on to explain he grew four inches as a college freshman and shaved nearly half a second off his 40 time.

During the radio broadcast, Clifton Smith called in and surprised Johnson. Smith joked around quite a bit but offered a serious message for fans. “Josh Johnson is one of the best athletes I’ve ever been around. We still have to find ways to get the ball in his hands and make some plays.”

Later talking about the morale and attitude of the Bucs, Johnson said something as simple as Smith’s call-in was evidence of how the Bucs are a strong-knit team. 

Joe can’t help but wonder about Johnson’s future in Tampa and how he lined up as a wide receiver early in the season against Buffalo. Greg Olson even told the St. Pete Times that Johnson had a future at wide receiver. Joe suspects the Bucs will experiment with using Johnson in different roles before the end of the season.

So Chucky claims he’s in for a few years at BSPN, not wanting to coach? Yeah, right.

When news “broke” Monday that Chucky was staying at BSPN, agreeing to an extention of his BSPN contract, Joe yawned. No where did BSPN say Chucky didn’t have a buyout clause if he wanted to coach.

Let’s be honest, if Redskins tyrant/owner Danny Snyder comes waving an eight-figure contact in his face, trust Joe, there’s a clause in that contract.

So Joe didn’t do anything with the story because, in Joe’s eyes, this wasn’t a story.

Yesterday, Peter King of SI.com got Chucky to talk on the record. Chucky claims he’s done with coaching for a while.

“Look,” he said, “I went into this with an open mind. They’ve told me they want me to stay around, and it’s nice to be wanted. I was in Oakland for four years, then got traded away from there. I was in Tampa for seven years and got fired. That’s a little bit of an open wound, to be honest. So it’s nice to be wanted. I’ve got a great crew. I love working with Ron Jaworski and Mike Tirico. They’re teaching me a lot about this business.

“I’m 46 years old. I probably will coach again. I miss the opportunity to coach players, to help them get better. I really miss the competition. But I don’t miss the agony.”

Again, no mention of a buyout clause. At least Chucky was upfront with King and didn’t close the door on coaching again.

One of the many reasons Joe is skeptical of this “story” is that Chucky less than a year ago agreed in principle to work this season for the NFL Network. Once BSPN came calling, Chucky bolted.

With Chucky, talk really is cheap, bro.

Once Chucky is off the Glazers’ books, Chucky’s gone.

For now, Raheem the Dream can rest easy at night.

Well, the Bucs dropped a bombshell on Joe and just about every Bucs fan when it was announced this evening that Arron Sears is no longer playing hide and seek and has been reinstated by the Bucs.

Yet the Bucs still are mum as to why Sears was in hiding. Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times once found Sears at his home in Alabama but Sears refused to get out of his car or roll down the window to talk.

Very solid, reliable sources told Joe a few weeks ago that Sears was spotted around Tampa, but he never showed his face at One Buc Palace.

To Joe, this screams that Sears was dealing with a chemical imbalance issue of some sort and the Bucs should at least address this publically for a couple of reasons.

1) Whether Sears likes it or not, he makes very good money working in a very public profession. There are tens of thousands of people spending thousands of dollars on the Bucs in part due to Sears playing. Those paying customers deserve a right to know where their cash is going.

2) If, as Joe guesses, Sears is dealing with a chemical imbalance issue or depression, this is not the 1950s. People with such illnesses are not pariahs or lepers or worse, felons. Think not? Look no further than one of the best guys on the Bucs roster, Sammie Stroughter, who himself dealt with a severe case of depression in college.

Often, depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. Not much different than diabetes or a heart condition. Something’s not wired right in the body. These types of ailments have various effects and an effect of a chemical imbalance can lead to strange things and feelings. There’s no shame in that.

If, as Joe guesses, Sears does have such an affliction, he can help all sorts of people by saying, in short, “Look, I have this issue, I dealt with it, but I’m back to playing in the NFL. If you think you have the same problem, go to the doctor. If I can be helped and still play in the NFL, there’s no telling what you can do if treated.”

This would be a public relations coup and people would embrace Sears.

Granted, the Bucs are likely handcuffed by federal laws dealing with information about medical conditions. But if Sears could be coaxed into taking the podium at One Buc Palace and explaining what is wrong and how he overcame whatever troubled him, it’s a win-win for everybody.

Listening to Total Access last night on 620 WDAE-AM (Joe’s sports radio partner), Joe learned Maurice Stovall is taking his season extraordinarily seriously.

Raheem The Dream was co-hosting his Monday night show when co-host TJ Rives asked the head coach about Stovall’s new season-long habit: carrying a football with him wherever he goes.

Raheem The Dream confirmed that Stovall takes the football “everywhere” as part of his renewed commitment to being a great receiver. “He’s probably home bouncing it on the floor right now.”

Stovall’s focus has paid off, Raheem The Dream said, though the head coach said Stovall not holding on to a touchdown throw from Josh Freeman prevented the wide reciever from having “a great game on Sunday,” rather than just “good game.” 

Joe was pleased to learn of Stovall’s dedication.

One thought that quickly came to mind: Perhaps Raheem The Dream should insist Michael Clayton perform the same ritual.

Former Bucs DE Steve White

By STEVE WHITE
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Steve White spent every season of the Tony Dungy era playing defensive end for the Bucs. He’s spent countless hours in the film room with the likes of Warren Sapp, Rod Marinelli and more. Joe is humbled to now have White, also a published author and blogger, as part of the JoeBucsFan.com team. Below is White’s weekly Bull Rush column that breaks down all things defensive line. It’s simply a can’t-miss read for the hardcore Bucs fan.

We were average up front Sunday. Not good, not bad, but average.

The problem is that as a team the Bucs can’t win when our defensive line is average.

Now I actually had to think long and hard about how to write this column because I know there will be some who look at the stats — pretty close to 200 yards rushing by the Dolphins — and conclude that we must have played horrible up front. And of course, if I don’t say that in this post, there will be some who think I am covering for the defensive line.

I can only tell you the truth. And the truth is nobody on the defensive line had a really bad day. But you see the real problem is nobody had a good day, either.

There are gonna be games when guys are called on to do more than just play their blocks correctly and stay in their gaps. Yesterday was one of those days. With Greg (Stylez) White out we needed somebody or somebodies to step up and do more than what was expected of them.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Our pass rush collectively was average. Our run defense collectively was average. Our effort, normally a constant, was even just average.

Now out of the big running day by the Dolphins, I would put one crucial run at the end of the game in particular on our guys. On that play at the end of the game, Jimmy Wilkerson basically got done in by what I was say was a perfect play call.

With the Dolphins driving down to score and win, they gave Wilkerson what looked to be a rollout pass look. In reaction he went up field to try to pressure the quarterback Chad Henne. In reality they were running what turned out to be a lead isolation play strong with Williams. Because Wilkerson was upfield, the hole opened up and made it much harder to fill. Really though there wasn’t much he could do. If he had played run and it was pass, then Henne would have had all day to throw.

On that same play Ryan Sims got double teamed initially and then one guy came off to block a linebacker. But he wasn’t able to recover and make the tackle on Ricky Williams running through his gap. Because the gap was so wide and he was coming off a double team, it wasn’t an easy play to be sure. But its a play we have to have if we want to win that game.

Other than that play, I would actually say we were ok up front against the run. But again ok just isn’t good enough. We needed guys to make plays in the backfield. We needed guys hanging all over Henne whenever he dropped back to pass.

That didn’t happen, and we didn’t win.

I do have some major questions about this game plan though.

Why in the world would you move Wilkerson, the starter at left end all year, to play right end for this game?

I know some people don’t think it’s a big deal but I certainly beg to differ. I don’t believe that Wilkerson has played right end much if at all this whole season, but Tim Crowder has and he has looked decent doing it. So why wouldn’t Crowder instead start at right end and let Wilkerson stay at left where he has shown the ability to really get after the passer?

Not only that, but then we bring in Michael Bennett on third downs yet kick him inside to rush the guard? This is a kid who has shown a good ability to pass rush against offensive tackles. But it’s a whole different world trying to pass rush inside and it showed yesterday over and over.

Another question is why would we finally allow our weakside tackle to play on the edge of the center but ONLY when the Dolphins were in Wildcat formation?

If putting him over the center against the Dolphins’ most potent rushing formation makes sense, then why wouldn’t it make sense to do it against their second or third or fourth most potent rushing formation? I am having a very hard time trying to figure out how keeping our weakside tackle lined up on the guard all game is beneficial to our defense.

Not only that but if the weakside tackle is lined up on the guard, there is no way for the tackles to ever slant across the face of the center. That’s not even to mention how letting the center up on our linebackers is still creating running lanes up the middle.

I also can’t understand why we are still using a 5-man defensive line on the goalline. How many times do teams have to score on us before somebody admits it’s a bad scheme for our defense? Don’t get me wrong, it’s always going to be tough to keep a team out from the 1 yard line. But jeebus man, can we at least get in a 6-man line and give ourselves a chance?

And somebody, for the life of me, explain why we aren’t running more pass rush games on 3rd and long. Especially Sunday, when we were missing our best pass rusher up front, you have to work together as a defensive line to put pressure on the quarterback.

Yet time and again I saw four guys making one-on-one moves. And the proof is in the pudding, no sacks and very few pressures against a Dolphins team that threw it 31 times.

Now you can say that on many of the third downs Henne threw incomplete passes, and that’s all fine and good. But when you get a sack on third down you can potentially change field position by making the other team punt from farther back. You also have the opportunity for a turnover whenever you get a hit on the quarterback. But you aren’t going to get any of that done when you are not working together as a unit.

This loss was disappointing for a lot of reasons but for me the biggest thing was that nobody up front stepped their game up.

When your bell cow is down then somebody else has to take the reigns. Now I don’t know how long White is going to be out, but regardless we are going to have to play much better to even have a shot at beating the Saints next week.

At 1-7 its time for our defensive line to adopt a “by any means necessary” mentality. If not, well get ready for another long day.

The Football Moron of BSPN claims the Bucs might be able to run the ball on the Saints. If this guy says it, Joe is scared the opposite will be fact.

If the spreadsheet warriors can be trusted, a dubious premise if there ever was one, than Bucs fans can take comfort that in the foreseeable future, there should be no reason to leave the CITS or the bar before the fourth quarter begins.

Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has been crunching the numbers and he has discovered there are only two quarterbacks the past two weeks who were more dangerous in the fourth quarter than Bucs rookie quarterback Josh Freeman.

1) Drew Brees

2) Brett Farve.

After just two starts, Freeman has elevated his name among the company of the game’s best passers.

He is the third-rated quarterback among fourth-quarter passing leaders in the NFC, fourth in the NFL this week.

Freeman’s sterling 117.9 fourth-quarter rating ranks the Buccaneers’ first-round draft choice from Kansas State right behind only Drew Brees (124.2) of the New Orleans Saints and Brett Favre (119.3) of the Minnesota Vikings, according to the latest NFL statitics released Monday.

Joe isn’t big on quarterback ratings but if nothing else, this gives Joe hope that the Bucs stumbled upon a franchise quarterback.

Joe was doing a bit of research last night and noticed that the Bucs are on the cusp of an alarming record:

At no time in the Bucs history has the team given up 25 or more points in six consecutive games.

With the gutless collapse of the Bucs defense in the final 70 seconds Sunday, allowing the Dolphins to reach 25 points, it marked the fifth straight game the Bucs have allowed 25 or more points.

Up next is the high-octane New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees.

Think about it: The Bucs have had some of the most godawful teams in NFL history, at one point losing 26 straight games. But at no point did the Bucs cough up 25 points in six consecutive games.

At what point does someone, anyone, not start pointing a finger at defensive coordinator Jim Bates? To not at least lay partial blame for this atrocious defense on Bates is to be dishonest.

Joe doesn’t buy this nonsense that Bates doesn’t have the players. Arguably, the Bucs have one of the best secondaries, talent-wise, in the NFL. Aqib Talib and Tanard Jackson are playing Pro Bowl-level. Ronde Barber still has gas in the tank.

So the problems lie in the front seven. And Jim Bates is still using that g-damned two-gap system.

Far wiser football minds than Joe, including Warren Sapp and Pat Kirwan, said from Day One that Bates’ two-gap system would not work with the players he has.

Yet stubbornly, Bates continues to try to force feed this system onto the Bucs.

Uh, Jim, news flash: It ain’t working.

Now Joe has noticed how Bates has incorporated the Tampa-2 pass coverage to better utilize his secondary. Smart move.

If Bates can do this with the defensive backs, why the hell cannot he adapt to his players with the front seven?

Joe also found this quote from Raheem the Dream a little disturbing yesterday.

“We’re just not made right now to knock people back. That’s not how we’re cut,” Raheem The Dream said. “We don’t have big intimidating linebackers or big intimidating linemen. We gotta hit you. We gotta be perfect. …We don’t have the big people, the big personnel that you need to knock out runs. The physical person up front who just absolutely dominates the block and gets a tackle for a loss for a 3rd and 13. Which we’ll get there. We’ll find them guys. We’ll go out there and get them.”

Uh, Rah, you had all offseason to find guys walking the streets who could play a two-gap system. They may not have been All Pros but could they have been worse in a two-gap system than the guys you have now?

Local scribes noted earlier this year it would have been hard for a number of reasons for the Glazer Family to retain Raheem the Dream had the Bucs had gone winless. The same writers suggest Raheem the Dream would still be on thin ice if the Bucs only win one game (Joe doesn’t neccesarily agree, but that’s another story).

If that premise is accurate, Joe simply asks how you can bring a defensive coordinator back whose defense sets a putrid franchise record yet, like Captain Edward John Smith of the Titanic, barrels full steam ahead with his defensive front scheme that fails game after game after game yet doesn’t try to mold another scheme that might get the best out of the players he currently has?

Joe thinks that’s a fair question.

Again, to ignore Bates’ responsibility at some level in what very likely will be a terrible franchise record, is being dishonest.

Head coach Raheem The Dream dished out a sobering assessment of his shoddy run defense

Joe had a moment of pride in his colleagues down at Raheem The Dream’s news conference at One Buc Place today.

Raheem The Dream was absolutely cornered by a couple motivated members of the MSM to explain why the Bucs’ run defense is allowing five yards per carry on the season and consistently getting pounded at key moments.

Raheem The Dream was quick to explain. He said the Bucs don’t have the talent.

“We’re just not made right now to knock people back. That’s not how we’re cut,” Raheem The Dream said. “We don’t have big intimidating linebackers or big intimidating linemen. We gotta hit you. We gotta be perfect. …We don’t have the big people, the big personnel that you need to knock out runs. The physical person up front who just absolutely dominates the block and gets a tackle for a loss for a 3rd and 13. Which we’ll get there. We’ll find them guys. We’ll go out there and get them.

“Right now, we have to play with the guys we have. They gotta to continue to play like they did yesterday as far as having five series three-and-out, having two series four-and-out, and having two big turnovers. …We gotta get the big guys in there and let them play a little bit. …We’ve got to make decisions at the end of the season once we get there. Right now. That’s who we have. That’s the guys. They’ve got to get better. We’ve got to get better with technique. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to see somebody make a play that we talk about like that. We’ve got to see somebody make a splash play. Hopefully we will this week.”

Joe is quite certain the Bucs will find the studs to overhaul the defensive line and upgrade the linebacker corps quickly.

But once they find them, will they pay them?

Peter King of SI.com claims bratty Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has played no better than Bucs career backup Josh Johnson.

Joe has already written about how happy he is that Bucs general manager Mark Dominik failed to land bratty quarterback Jay Cutler.

In the long history of the Bears often poisoned by some of the most horrid quarterbacks known to man (Rick Mirer, Bobby Douglass, Kordell Stewart and Mike Tomczak spring to mind), Cutler is on pace to set a Bears franchise record for interceptions.

Peter King of SI.com was so horrified watching Cutler throw five interceptions against the 49ers, King claimed Cutler, who the Bears traded their starting quarterback and two first round draft picks to acquire, was no better than a “career backup.”

Goat of the Week
Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago.
I hear the natives in the Loop are beyond restless, and they’re not naming sandwiches after Trader Jerry Angelo anymore. Cutler has been at his worst in prime time — 12 night quarters on national TV, 11 interceptions — including the five-interception game at San Francisco on Thursday night. There’s no question Cutler’s not alone in the Chicago blame game; his offensive line is helping kill the Bears offense. But a couple of Cutler’s Thursday night interceptions, such as the one on the 49ers goal line to nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin, were absolutely careless, the kind of throws you see from a Josh Johnson. Very bad sign. Oh, and the next game is in prime time. At home. Against Philly. Wear a fur coat, Jay. Reception will not be warm.

Joe will state again: The best move Dominik made in the offseason was “failing” to land Cutler.

Ron Pitts and John Lynch of Fox Sports discuss the Bucs loss to the Dolphins.