Longtime 49ers offensive lineman Randy Cross, a three-time All-Pro and three-time Super Bowl winner, now calls Falcons games and is part of the national media.

Cross dove into all things Bucs-Falcons on the Ron and Ian show this morning on WDAE-AM 620 and he doesn’t like what he sees in Bucs land.

There’s a “severe disconnect between [Greg Schiano] and professional athletes,” said Cross, who’s also described the New Schiano Order as “total dysfunction.”

The good news is Cross says the Falcons have been very vulnerable to edge rushes and have not generated much pass rush themselves, putting “an undue amount of stress and fatigue on a relatively young defensive backfield.” Enjoy the full Cross interview below, via 620wdae.com.

“Hey Mike, you hear the one about the priest, the rabbi and the Kansas State QB who walk into a bar?”

One could say Mike Glennon and Greg Schiano are married. Does anyone really think the Bucs’ hierarchy would grant Schiano a chance to develop a third top QB prospect in three years?

Joe doubts it. If Glennon doesn’t prove to be a strong starter, that surely will spell doom for the New Schiano Order. Joe can’t envision a scenario in which Glennon is subpar and Schiano gets another crack at the QB apple.

So Joe and other fans are left to pull for Glennon to be a stud.

Schiano has been vocally giddy about his young QB, and on the head coach’s radio show Monday on WDAE-AM 620, Schiano had a big smile in his voice talking about how he and Glennon were having fun on the sidelines against the Eagles.

“As a coach and the quarterback, you’re having a little fun with the thing, it’s good,” Schiano said of his gameday antics with Glennon. “And Mike’s just going to get better and better and better. And the people around him, you know. We didn’t have Mike Williams this past week. You know, it’s going to be good to get him back and get [Glennon] playing with him more. So I think as everybody becomes more comfortable with each other.  You know, with the emergence of Tim Wright in the passing game, that was also very important. You know, I think Mike Glennon’s going to keep getting better and better.”

Reading that has to get the Mike Glennon Mob all jacked up. And for the record, count Joe as a new, entry-level member of the Mob.

Glennon is the No. 1 QB on the roster and he seems like he could become a productive NFL QB, a solid third-round pick. Not a special guy that’s going to win a Super Bowl, but a solid football player and a likeable kid.

Longtime Redskins and Texans general manager Charley Casserly spoke today on WDAE-AM 620 about how rockstar general manager Mark Dominik needs to have a list ready of coaches who could replace head coach Greg Schiano — in midseason or after the season.

That’s in the job description, Casserly said, because ownership could start calling at any time to begin the exploration process.

Casserly, thought is no fan of a midseason coaching change, saying it’s fruitless in most cases.

Unless the Bucs have their next head coach locked up long term, Casserly said, or there’s “utter chaos in the locker room or the head coach clearly at that point in time is beaten down or he’s quit or one of those things there, really, you don’t accomplish anything in turning anything around by changing [midseason],”

Casserly’s full interview is below. It’s a very cerebral chat. Enjoy.

It still irks Joe the Bucs didn’t think they could use the services of 2012 team sack leader Michael Bennett, who has 3.5 sacks through six games with Seattle.

Through the first couple of games this season, the Bucs shockingly were among the NFL leaders in sacks.

Given how awful the Bucs were in sacks last year, and did nothing but offer lip service to improve the pass rush in the offseason, Joe was stunned at the Bucs’ early success.

(Yes, yes, yes. The Bucs drafted three third-day draftees on the defensive line, and all made the team which should tell fans just how thin the Bucs were up front defensively).

Well, those sack numbers have dropped off considerably. The most recent tally of NFL stats show the Bucs are now tied for 19th in quarterback sacks, though the Bucs have played one less game than many clubs. For those of you who struggle with math at this hour of the day before your daily caffeine inhalation, that means the Bucs are in the bottom half of the league in sacks inching closer to the bottom third of the league.

The Bucs only had one sack facing a guy nearly as immobile as Mike Glennon, and that is Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. Against Arizona and Carson Palmer, it was the same tally.

Joe’s pretty sure the dropoff against Foles came, in part, because the Bucs were simply gassed as the Eagles ran off plays quicker than Joe can down cold beers on a hot summer afternoon. But the Eagles have allowed 16 sacks, tied for 11th most in the NFL.

The simple fact the Bucs let their top 2012 sacker, Michael Bennett, walk away for basically the price of two upper deck season tickets and had chances to obtain established NFL pass rushers in the offseason, but instead just shook their collective heads and said, “Nah, we’re good,” just leaves Joe numb.

Is it water under the bridge? Yes, if your team is able to fill that huge hole.

Initially, it seemed the Bucs did indeed overcome that crater, but they haven’t. So someone over at One Buc Palace needs to man up and confess they blew it with multiple chances to upgrade the pass rush on the defensive line.

Joe’s going to guess that this question, among others, will have to be answered in Bryan Glazer’s office sometime in December.

The Custodian of Canton, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, has seen the Bucs up close and personal this season more often than Joe and apparently is appalled by the state of the franchise in 2013.

How much have the Bucs turned eye-RAH!’s stomach? In his recent NFL power rankings, Kaufman has the Bucs below every team in the NFL save for the moribund Jags.

31. Tampa Bay Can the Bucs stay focused amid all the carnage?

Carnage? The carnage has yet come to One Buc Palace. If the losing continues, then one has to think Team Glazer will get involved. At that point, folks, you will see carnage.

At that point, there won’t just be carnage, but upheaval.

To paraphrase Kaufman in a recent radio interview, Joe is here to tell you that the Bucs are nowhere near as miserable as the Jags. Ten days ago Joe saw the Jags with his own eyes in person, sober no less (Joe got roped into driving by his friends back in the Land of the Corn). The Jags are woeful beyond words. Each time Blaine Gabbert takes a snap from center, he wets himself.

In fact, John Madden last week, in his weekly appearance with the one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on SiriusXM, said he coached against the winless 1976 Bucs and the current Jags team, which he watched earlier this season in Oakland, is “on par” with the 1976 Bucs and he laughed in amazement how any front office type actually tried to put together the motley crew known as the Jags.

So if the Bucs have much better talent, and yet are believed to be as bad as the Jags, it is clear evidence Tampa Bay is not being properly coached up.

The Bucs had high hopes for undrafted rookie cornerback Rashaan Melvin, but his preseason hamstring injury never recovered. He didn’t take a regular-season snap and was placed on injured reserve today.

Cornerbacks Melvin, Danny Gorrer (groin surgery) and Michael Adams (knee surgery) were all hit with serious injuries this season. Throw in Johnthan Banks’ MRSA infection and Darrelle Revis recovering from ACL surgery, it’s been a rough year for the Bucs’ secondary.

Immediately after the Bucs-Eagles game, Joe floated the idea that emerging rookie tight end Tim Wright and his wide receiver frame might be best suited as the Bucs’ No. 3 wide receiver right now, especially with Tom Crabtree returning to the lineup.

On Monday morning, former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht suggested the same thing during an interview on WDAE-AM 620.

It’s been dreadful for the Bucs at No. 3 receiver. Kevin Ogletree couldn’t hold the ball, and Tiquan Underwood looked lost Sunday in his first game back off the couch.

Yesterday, Wright coming off seven catches for 91 yards against the Eagles, talked about how he’s learning the difference in how linebackers cover him versus defensive backs, and he explained how he’s been preparing as a starter since he was the fifth string tight end in training camp. You can hear more from Wright, including his Rutgers-man perspective on Greg Schiano, in the WDAE-AM 620 audio below.

The Bucs’ defense has had extreme highs and lows this season, which explains their No. 16 ranking (350.8 yards per game) through Week 6 of the 2013 NFL season.

Sunday against the Eagles surely was the low point, with the Bucs getting burned for huge plays in the passing game and letting Philly ice the win with 11 consecutive runs on a fourth-quarter drive.

For those who don’t think total yards allowed is a fair way to measure a defense, Joe always remembers Derrick Brooks discussing how the glory-years defense set out to fight for “every blade of grass.”

The Bucs are middle-of-the-pack in most defensive categories. But one bright spot remains the rush defense. The Bucs led the NFL last season in run defense, and this year they’re allowing 3.8 yards per carry, good for seventh best in the league. And 20.2 points allowed per game is 10th best.

As for the offense’s ranking, well, Joe doesn’t want to further depress anyone.

“I don’t care what the scoreboard says. We had you on the ropes there, Bill.”

Joe’s getting worried about Greg Schiano. The man is delusional.

After a Bucs’ 3-and-out and punt from the Tampa Bay 10 yard line Sunday, the Eagles had the ball with 8:03 remaining in the fourth quarter leading 28-20.

The Eagles proceeded to run the ball 11 consecutive times up the gut of the Bucs’ defense — 11 in a row! — to set up the game-icing field goal with 2:34 on the clock. The Bucs’ hurry-up offense then managed one first down before turning the ball over on downs and the Eagles lined up in victory formation.

Yet somehow, Schiano believes the Bucs “had an opportunity to win” that game.

Schiano made this claim on the Buccaneers Radio Network last night on WDAE-AM 620. What was even scarier to Joe was Schaino also claiming the Bucs were in the same boat in New England, where they were blown out 23-3.

“There’s no panic. We understand that, you know, there’s a lot of things that have gone on in these five games and, you know, with everything that’s happening, we believe that as a staff, we firmly believe that, you know, we had an opportunity to win all five of those football games,” Schiano said. “And you know what, we need to keep going, need to keep the players continuing to grow and get better. That’s why we practice. That’s why we meet and walk-through. And as we do that, we’re going to start winning. And when we do, we’re going to keep winning.”

Again, it’s stunning to Joe that Schiano believes the Bucs were close to beating the Eagles or Patriots. Keep in mind Bill Belicheat didn’t kick a field goal or try for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter against the Bucs, opting to hand the ball off to LeGarrette Blount on 4th-and-6 from the Bucs’ 11 yard line. That was a gift to Schiano.

As Jonathan Casillas detailed to Joe on Sunday, “It’s easy to put together a three quarter game, you know a lot of people can do that.”

Schiano believing the Bucs are competitive when they’re not is downright scary.

Last year it was fun to watch Doug martin pound through linebackers and around cornerbacks for large chunks of real estate.

This year? Well, for the most part, Bucs fans are still waiting for that same punishing yet elusive runner from last year. Through five games, Martin seems, well, mortal.

This has Tom Jones scared. The Tampa Bay Times columnist is nauseous at the thought that, perhaps, Martin has been burned out by overuse.

Anyone else get a queasy feeling that RB Doug Martin, who has touched the ball 127 times in five games (495 in 21 pro games), is going to last about another year or two in this league? It was tough sledding Sunday: nine of his 16 carries were for 1 yard or fewer.

Joe totally understands where Jones is coming from. Running backs have short shelf lives and if you want to accelerate their timeclocks, a good start would be to hand a guy the ball 25 times a game.

That could be what is happening to Martin. Joe, however, sees the issue in a more macro lens.

The Bucs are just not blocking that well this year, partly because David Joseph is still recovering from his ugly knee surgery, and partially because Carl Nicks has been plagued by foot and toe issues.

If both Nicks and Joseph were healthy and playing at 100 percent, then Joe is confident the Muscle Hamster would have a lot more yards, and perhaps the Bucs would have a win or two.

Tampa Bay Times columnist Tom Jones has harsh words for Team Glazer today, calling out the owners to emerge from their silence and address the mess that is the Buccaneers football operation.

Jones says it’s the Glazers’ duty, and even goes so far as to say the Glazers are irresponsible and bad business people for keeping quiet in the face of team disarray. The Times also had an artist lampoon Team Glazer and add a good 35 pounds to their depiction of Bryan Glazer. 

You’re due an explanation, and somebody who signs the checks owes you that explanation.

This is their creation. They hired Dominik. They hired Schiano. It’s their building that houses a bad football team as well as a serious staph infection.

And now they need to explain it. All of it.

The Bucs have become a soap opera. And it’s not even a fun soap opera. It’s a sad, pathetic, petty soap opera. And the Glazers are at the helm.

They need to publicly show that they care — about the state of the football team, about the future of the head coach and GM, about the medical conditions at One Buc Place.

Joe finds Jones’ take ridiculous and out of touch.

Joe doesn’t want to hear from Team Glazer. Why? Because there is nothing to say.

The Bucs are 0-5 and have lost 10 of 11 games. Nothing speaks louder or more clearly than that. The Bucs stink, and they’re led by a head coach who has yet to prove he’s a capable NFL head coach, though said coach repeatedly says he knows how to work his way out of a losing streak because he’s been there before (how comforting).  

Fans only want Team Glazer to talk in one way — with their wallets. And Team Glazer already has done that. They’ve chased and bagged elite players for two years. They’ve eliminated blackouts for 2013. They’ve dropped ticket prices. They’ve helped recent bids to bring more Super Bowls to town.

This isn’t a Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyder sideshow in Tampa. Fans don’t care what owners have to say unless it involves money. If Rays owner Stu Sternberg is talking about payroll, or free parking or a new stadium, fans are all ears. If he talks about anything else, nobody remembers or cares. Lightning owner Jeff Vinik? He’s celebrated for his local investments, arena, community, etc. Anybody care what Vinik has to say about his team circling the drain last season?

Don’t worry, Mr. Jones. Team Glazer will talk again when it matters — when it’s time for regime change.

Doug Martin getting locked up in the red zone in the second half is becoming an all too familiar sight.

Yes, Joe is still shocked by the second half impotence of the Bucs offense this season, unable to score a touchdown through five games in the final 30 minutes of play.

The more Joe thinks about that, the more Joe’s head is numb.

Well, it seems Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times picked up the ball from there and began digging and found startling stats that will make any Bucs fans shake his head.

Some of the damning numbers Auman also tossed out on his Twitter feed @GregAuman.

* Schiano cites turnovers across midfield as reason for second-half struggles, but that only accounts for 4 of Bucs’ 27 2nd-half possessions.

* Bucs’ first four offensive possessions after halftime in their five games: 14 punts, 4 turnovers, one turnover on downs, one field goal.

* Bucs have run 162 plays in second half this season, but just eight in red zone. None had come before two-minute warning until this week.

This is starting to turn out to be the anti-Raheem. Remember when Raheem Morris was coaching (?), his teams were almost without fail either unprepared or blindsided in the first half, but in the second half, the Bucs typically rallied after making necessary adjustments to correct problems.

Schiano is the opposite. His teams play pretty well in the first half only to wilt on the vine in the second half.

Would it be too much to ask for the Bucs to play a consistent four quarters?

Greg Schiano is on record saying halftime is more about urination, defecation and snack time than intense coaching and communicating Xs and Os.

The Bucs have been outscored 48-13 in the second half this season, so the success/failure of halftime adjustments has come under scrutiny. The head coach clarified his adjustments philosophy last night on his radio show on WDAE-AM 620.

“You only have 12 minutes in there, the guys get a chance to use the men’s room and the coaches get a chance to go over the stuff, and we’re back in the locker room with the guys going over adjustments and anything we’re going to do moving forward. And then, you know, two-minute warning and you gotta get goin’ and get out there. So it’s not a heck of a lot of time. That’s why I think in-game adjustments are so important throughout,” Schiano said. “You know you have the pictures on the sideline. And what more do you need? Headsets, the coaches, the players, and you’re just going through pictures constantly and going through the game plan constantly. So it’s a work in progress. Halftime gives you just a little more serene atmosphere to do it in.”

No matter how you slice it up, the Bucs are outcoached regularly. Getting outscored 48-13 in the second half all season is not a coincidence.

Joe would suggest hiring an experienced advisor to assess what’s happening with a bird’s-eye view, but the Bucs already have one on the payroll in Butch Davis.

Thanks, in part, to a well-timed, well-placed smearjob on Greg Schiano by the NFLPA, Joe cannot envision Schiano returning to the Bucs in 2014.

Joe didn’t have a drop of alcohol Sunday but woke up Monday morning as if he did. That is how loss after loss after loss after loss feels, and Joe is just a guy watching the games, not playing, not owning the team.

Saturday night, while Joe was trying to watch football and have a few beers, USA Today ran a piece that the NFLPA strongly believes, through its own investigations, that Bucs coach Greg Schiano was the source of the Josh Freeman medical information leaks.

Initially, Joe just shrugged and laughed. “Good luck proving that,” Joe snickered to himself. Joe really believed this news was trivial in nature and nothing more at the time.

Joe changed his mind overnight and woke Sunday believing this news is lethal to Schiano’s term with the Bucs. This is why:

NFL players, by nature, are paranoid. They believe Big Brother is out to get them at all turns. DUI cases in the NFL are, during the offseason, nearly epidemic proportions. What makes driving after a few drinks beyond the range of stupidity into the realm of moronic for NFL players is that they have a free car service at their disposal, 24/7, in which the players, per Forbes.com, get a $200 kickback to use the free service! The service is available any time – even via a smartphone app for Christsakes – NFL players can get a free ride home, no questions asked.

For the most part, they refuse to use it, instead choosing the chance to wrap their cars around a tree, or worse, kill someone. Why? NFL players are convinced the cars are rigged with surveillance devices and by using the car service, are being spied upon. They believe this information will be used against them by a coach, or worse, ammunition against them when contract time rolls around.

This is why Joe believes Schiano is done. If the agency that represents the players’ interests comes out with a statement that points a finger directly at Schiano for leaking Freeman’s information, then Schiano is toast. This allegation could be completely false but you don’t think Bucs players – and players throughout the NFL — now believe Schiano is the culprit given their paranoid nature towards management? You bet.

This was a smear job by the NFLPA, perfectly played, a ploy utilized better than anything people thought the Bucs were doing to Freeman. And it will work, if it hasn’t already.

Let’s say Schiano wins nine games this year. Yeah, that’s difficult to wrap your head around, but Schiano does enough for Team Glazer to say, “You have 2014 to get to the playoffs or back to college you go.” Just what free agent is going to want to play for the Bucs with the image (right or wrong) that if you get in the coach’s bad graces for whatever reason, he will drop your medical information in the lap or inbox of a reporter and that information very well could doom your career, or inhibit a chance of a big contract?

Fat chance of acquiring anyone short of a player desperate to continue collecting a paycheck.

To test Joe’s theory, Sunday Joe spoke with a former Bucs starter who told Joe he not only agreed with Joe’s take, but that Schiano “is toast” in the locker room. That whatever trust he still has with the team is evaporating quickly as the losses mount.

Notice there was a player’s meeting called, in part, to debate the authenticity of the captain’s vote and other players were griping at Schiano’s practice style. This was before the agency that is supposed to look out for the well-being of the players claimed Schiano is giving out people’s medical information.

This is why Joe believes Schiano will not return in 2014. That’s not saying Schiano won’t return (Joe always has to qualify things like this because readers try to read too much between the lines and put words in Joe’s mouth). Joe likes Schiano personally. Joe’s enjoyed working with him and talking to him from time to time off the field when paths have crossed. But Schiano is employed to win games. Period. That’s not happening.

Of course, the more Schiano loses, the more he is paving his own departure no matter what the Bucs locker room thinks about him. It’s the NFL and with a record like Schiano’s, that means “Not For Long” when your double-digit losses grow while your win total is stuck at seven.

No second half touchdown: This nugget is just staggering to Joe. Just how can an NFL team not have a touchdown in the second half through five games? How? That may be the most damning thing about Schiano’s tenure. Forget the Josh Freeman crap. Freeman wrecked Freeman, not Schiano. But to not have one touchdown through five games in the second half shows you are not adjusting anything offensively.

The NFL is like baseball in that players and coaches are constantly making adjustments. Not halftime adjustments, but changes and tweaks to gameplans in the middle of a series. Not being able to score a second half touchdown screams that defenses are adjusting to whatever the Bucs are doing offensively and the Bucs are not making necessary changes, accordingly.

And people raked Raheem Morris over the coals for not being prepared for games when the Bucs were often hammered in the first half before Raheem would adjust. This is the polar opposite with the same result: losses.

Little things: Joe learned long ago the little things that players do become big results. The little things are often tidbits taught by coaches. And no organization short of the United States Navy has more coaches than the Bucs. Yet yesterday, a guy who knows something about winning, Darrelle Revis, said the Bucs are not doing the little things to improve.

How can this be? Team Glazer has employed a platoon of coaches, a College of Coaches, and yet the little things are not being done? What the hell is the point then of employing 85 coaches?

Frustration is building: You could tell from Gerald McCoy’s voice that he has about had it. There may not be a better dude in the locker room than GMC. If he is reaching his frustration limit, then imagine what is going through the rest of the locker room?

Disputed call: Referees nailed the Bucs for a neutral zone infraction at a critical point in the game. Schiano, in his postgame press conference, all but claimed that was not accurate. Um-kay, then.

Joe is just going to throw this out there: How can a team with such a strict disciplinarian of a coach make so many undisciplined plays at the worst possible times? It doesn’t add up.

Missing Mike Williams: Clearly the Bucs missed Mike Williams terribly Sunday. Tiquan Underwood, unemployed from football after the Bucs cut him – and Bucs fans howled for weeks in protest – sure looked rusty yesterday. And after a rough return to the Bucs lineup for Underwood yesterday, Bucs fans screamed that Underwood is worthless.

Make up your minds! Either you wanted Underwood back or you don’t want him on the team? Can’t have both.

Pro Bowlers: Is there a team out there with eight Pro Bowl players that is winless? Joe’s not sure the Giants have eight Pro Bowlers. The Bucs have talent up and down the roster and yet their College of Coaches can’t squeeze an offensive touchdown out of them in the second half, and can’t get a win. And in the past two years, Team Glazer has dropped a quarter of a billion dollars on salaries. And what have they gotten in return for their massive investment? One win in the last 11 games. One win!

Coach Watch 2013: It is difficult to imagine even Schiano’s closest friends aren’t worried for his job. That is why Coach Watch 2013 is in full effect, though Joe really believes Schiano will finish the season, based on Team Glazer history.

Just a thought for those who want Schiano gone right now. Why? What exactly will that accomplish? Oh, it might lead to the Bucs winning an extra meaningless game or two and play themselves out of the Teddy Bridgewater/Jadeveon Clowney sweepstakes. Oh, that’s good!

Around the NFL:

Bears: If their defense improves just a little bit, that team could be an absolute force and push the Packers for the NFC North title. They may anyways.

Packers: This just in: The Packers have a defense this year, a good defense, and this is without stud Clay Matthews who is hurt. A good defense and a little bit of a running game to go along with Aaron Rodgers? Look out!

Bengals: People rag on Andy Dalton constantly. But unlike another top draft choice we all knew about locally, Dalton wins games. Period. It’s all about the “W.” Unless the Bengals tank, no need to make a quarterback change there.

Lions: Don’t close the door on the Lions. Matt Stafford has put up franchise record numbers and the team is tied with the Bears in first place. This could get interesting.

Rams: What in the world? Sam Bradford – who the Rams shamefully and stupidly have never surrounded with receiving talent despite investing a fortune in him – looked like a decent quarterback and beat the Texans. Hello, Gary Kubiak, Greg Schiano welcomes your company on the hot seat. Oh, remember how many Bucs fans screamed for days prior to the draft that the Bucs should select Tavon Austin? Well, the Rams, desperate for receivers, have benched him.

Chiefs: The fact the Chiefs are loaded with talent demonstrates that for all his faults (and there were many) Scott Pioli knew how to judge talent. Pioli’s biggest problem was he couldn’t judge coaching talent. Remember, this is largely the same team that made the playoffs with Matt Cassel as quarterback and Todd Haley as coach. That’s pretty damned impressive.

Stinking Panthers: They throttled Minnesota on the road. If they can do that to a team that made the playoffs last year, imagine what they can do to a team that has yet to score a second half touchdown this season?

Steelers: So the Men of Steel finally got a win this season. Talk about a team with too much talent not to win a game. Like Mike Tomlin said, there are no style points in the NFL. A win is a win.

Denver: Yes, the Broncos are winning. Peyton Manning is lighting up the sky. But it is the regular season. Manning’s kryptonite is largely January football. It is still October.

Seahawks: The juggernaut from the Pacific Northwest continues to roll. It sure seems like Richard Sherman gets a pick every game. Joe laughs when he reads Bucs apologists try to say numbskull Aqib Talib is the best cornerback in the NFL. Joe believes Sherman may have something to say about that.

Patriots: Joe was sick the moment he heard how Belicheat won yesterday.

49ers: Bucs fans, whenever Greg Schiano leaves, remember this name: Greg Roman. Look at the pedigree the 49ers offensive coordinator has. To that point, when was the last time a guy who was an assistant with the Crows sucked as a head coach? Joe can’t think of one offhand.

Cowboys: The Cowboys are winning with a Penn State stud and with Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli. Joe wants to throw up.

Non-NFL thoughts
1) That Michigan-Penn State game was fun as hell. Who said the Big Ten is boring? Now the overtime, that was a cluster. But man, what a game and what a finish by the Nittany Lions. An instant classic.

That game reminded Joe of the time Penn State played at Michigan and collapsed in the final minute to lose with four seconds left. It was the lone loss of the season for JoePa and the Lions would later beat Florida State in an overtime thriller in the Orange Bowl.

2) There is no player, short of Famous Jameis, that Joe sets an appointment to be in front of his TV to watch than Johnny Football. The dude is so much fun to watch. Man, if Texas A&M only had a defense, a halfway decent defense, Joe is confident the Aggies would win the national title the way Johnny Football wins games and slings the football around and runs over linebackers.

For some odd reason, whenever Johnny Football runs out of the pocket, Joe hears Hanna-Barbera sound effects in the background.

3) Same as always with the Lightning. Goalie problems now that Ben Bishop is banged up. Maybe, rather than relying/hoping to develop a goalie, as the trade deadline nears Steve Yzerman should just bite the bullet and trade for a reasonably established goalie on a team not bound for the playoffs.

4) Georgia fans have to be beside themselves right now. A promising season is in the toilet due to a major rash of injuries to skill position players, and losing to (cough) Missouri, at home no less. Missouri! Joe really feels for Mark Richt.

5) Maybe Joe hasn’t seen enough of Oregon (with many of the Ducks games hidden on the PAC-12 Network) but Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota seems to be more of a runner than a thrower. In the NFL, if you can’t throw, you are SOL (why, hello Tim Tebow!). Joe would take Johnny Football and/or Jameis Winston over Mariota, unless Joe is overwhelmed with Mariota’s arm, which he is not (yet).

6) Joe cannot take credit for this, but it came from former Bucs great running back Warrick Dunn, who Twittered Oklahoma might have lost on purpose to Texas Saturday in an effort to save Mack Brown’s job, that it was some major, well-thought out, well-planned, serious long-term trolling there.

7) If somehow Jameis Winston beats Clemson on the road, beats undefeated Miami (Canes are back?) and later Florida on the road, there is no question he should be in the conversation for Heisman Trophy just like Manziel and Mariota. That’s a helluva set of hurdles, though.

8) As of this writing, the Cardinals lead the Dodgers 2-0 in the NLCS. Joe is not resting easy, however. No team has choked away more big leads in a playoff series than the Cardinals. Joe has seen enough 3-1 series leads vanish.

9) People talk about how the Rays develop pitchers, but what about the Cardinals? That team is filthy with young pitchers. They have two rookies in their rotation, a second-year guy in the rotation, two rookies playing significant relief roles, and a second-year pitcher as closer. And that team is two wins from a World Series. That is insane.

10) How huge is the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry in the Midwest? Major. Florida-Florida State major. Joe was back in the land of cornfields recently and went to a Circuit Clerk’s office to get a copy of his birth certificate. The office was adorned with Cardinals regalia and a couple in front of Joe appeared to be obtaining a marriage license. Among the questions was birthplace. When the clerk asked the groom-to-be his birthplace, he replied, “Chicago.”

The clerk’s face dropped open; she quickly turned away from her computer, faced the gentleman and asked in a hushed tone, “You are not a Cubs fan, are you?”

Bucs icon Ronde Barber was part of the Bucs-Eagles FOX broadcast team, and in the wrap-up video below, Barber sings the praises of Mike Glennon, saying “he surprised everybody” with his strong play Sunday.

Yes, Glennon did good things, more good than bad. Absolutely. But Joe can’t sit around and rave about the guy yet. He’s got to get more bottom-line results and it’s awfully early.

Bruce Gradkowski (2006) and Josh Freeman (2009) were rookies who became starters in midseason on bad teams. They both opened up 1-1 and looked promising.

Joe’s not trying to be a downer, but Glennon’s got a ways to go in his development. Keep in mind, there’s also game film on him now. NFL defenses have a way of catching up to young quarterbacks.

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

What should I do if I get pulled over after having a few drinks? 

Rule #1: Never incriminate yourself. Every question the officer asks and every exercise you are asked to perform is designed to build a case against you. Each time you slur your speech, that’s evidence against you. Each time your balance isn’t perfect, that’s evidence against you. Each beer you admit to drinking is evidence against you. 

Rule #2: Show respect to the officer. Getting arrested is not a pleasant experience. But the officer can make it far worse if you act like a jerk. Remember that the prosecutor will always take the officer’s opinion into consideration, so make sure not to leave a bad impression. 

If you’ve never been arrested for DUI, we have a much better chance of beating your DUI charge if you refuse everything. Don’t do field sobriety tests. Don’t blow*. Don’t make any statements. And, for the love of god, please be nice to the officer.    

*If you have previously refused to provide a breath/blood/urine test, you have a legal obligation to submit to chemical testing; My advice not to blow is limited to people who have never previously refused chemical testing.  

“I can imagine how frustrated [Bucs fans] are, absolutely. You know, I can guarantee you they aren’t more frustrated than I am no matter how fervent a fan they are. But that doesn’t make it ok. I mean I understand we’re disappointing a lot of people. This is a community, an area that is very passionate about their team and had high expectations, as I did. So far it hasn’t come to fruition. The only thing I can say to the fans and I know this sounds, and if they can hang in there, we’re going to be good. If they can’t, we’re still going to be good and then they’re welcome back. And I’m not being smart. I meant it.  I think our fans are great. You know when I came out to start the game, warmups, our fans were awesome. And, you know, at the end of the game I’m disappointed just like they are. So I understand anything and everything. That’s disappointment. And the fact that our fans care as much as they do. I think that’s awesome. And when we get a turn, it’s going to be really special.” —Greg Schiano, Oct. 14, 2013

Joe hears the pain of the head coach. However, Schiano says no fan is more frustrated than he is, and Joe knows that’s inaccurate.

There are loads of Bucs fans who couldn’t sleep last night, riddled by pure angst and frustration. Schiano told media today that he sleeps well every night because he does the best he can every day at work.

Schiano doesn’t realize that fans aren’t paid millions a year to coach the team. There are legions of fans that have sacrificed vacations, good food on the table and more to buy season tickets. Coach, don’t say you’re more frustrated than the last of the face-painted, Bucs-tattoed fans out there. It’s just not accurate.

Joe hasn’t wanted to vomit at a Bucs game like he yearned to do yesterday since the Bucs last hosted a playoff game in January 2008. On that day, Giants fans and their blue gear blanketed the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

It was a heinous look on what was a showcase day for the Buccaneers. Even the parking lot had a blue Giants feel.

Yesterday had that vibe to it. The sea of green Eagles fans jerseys was ugly. Their loud chants of “Let’s Go Eagles!” made it worse.

Yes, Joe remembers going to Bucs games in the mid-1990s when Packers fans would take over Tampa Stadium. That’s part of life in these parts, but it’s a lot more annoying when it’s hated, rude Eagles fans.

Of course, the Bucs lost yesterday before a sold out crowd that may very well have included 20,000 Eagles fans.

To make matters worse, the Eagles official website penned a story about how Nick Foles and Chip Kelly were inspired by the home-game feel in Tampa.

“I felt like it was a home game with all of the (Eagles fans),” quarterback Nick Foles said after the game. “There were a couple of times where the crowd was yelling and I thought ‘Oh no, what happened?’ and then I looked and it was all of the green and white jerseys and it was our fans. We had a tremendous amount of support here and we did last year as well. It’s pretty fun when you’re in an opposing stadium and you have that many fans that come and support you. They helped us tremendously.”