Who could fault Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik for yearning, aching and hunting for me machine Albert Haynesworth 20 months ago, as Raheem reminded the Washington media yesterday?

It was the first candid acknowledgment by the Bucs about their longing for Haynesworth that Joe’s ever heard.

“Big physical presence that gets off the ball and is able to cause disruption,” Bucs Coach Raheem Morris said Wednesday in a conference call with Washington reporters. “When he plays, he certainly does that. I’m not sure what happened up there, but … it’s none of my business. But he’s an extremely talented player that we had coveted in the free agent market, and [the Redskins] were fortunate enough to get him.”

Back then Raheem and Dominik were on a free agent path to glory, a plan they ran from faster than Greg Olson gets away from the running game.

It was going to be Haynesworth causing disruption and anchoring the line with a new and improved Gaines Adams coming off the edge and Jim Bates squealing in ecstasy. Angelo Crowell and Jermaine Phillips were going to flank Barrett Ruud and form a violent threesome.

Derrick Ward, Michael Clayton and Antonio Bryant were the new contracts the offense needed, along with Byron Leftwich, to steal some wins while Josh Freeman got ready in the bullpen sans training camp reps. Chucky’s playbook was wheelbarrowed out for recycling in favor of Jeff Jagodzinski’s simpler downhill running and downfield attack.

It’s hard to believe that Raheem, the 2010 coach of the year (so far), and rock star Dominik were the architects of such a laugher.

But they made their bed and refused to lie in it. They pulled a 180 and a learn-on-the fly job of truly historical proportions, and here the Bucs sit on Dec. 9 effectively in control of their playoff destiny.

For Joe, the big picture lesson is that Raheem and Dominik are not patient men, despite all the incessant “lasting contender” jabbering. 

These guys demand greatness from themselves and the Bucs and will do anything to right their ship, even if they’re the ones who drove it full speed into a typhoon.

This is why, barring an epic collapse this season, Joe expects to see the Bucs adopt a revised win-now plan next year.

It was a rallying cry for the excitable Bucs coach since training camp. “Race to 10.”

It galvanized a locker room full of young players. It brought scorn from fourth estate types, both near and far. It even brought Raheem some national celebrity.

But enough, says Raheem. There is no more race to 10. Just steps from the finish line, the Bucs coach has thrown in the towel, sort of, writes dapper Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger.

“It’s never been about 10 wins,” Morris said. “The Atlanta Falcons won my race. The New England Patriots won my race. When you say race to 10, you talk about putting yourself in position to being the first one to 10. Those guys are the first one to 10, and guess what, they hold their fate in their own hands. They decide right now what they want to be, whether they host playoff games or host that championship game and all those things.

“For us right now, it’s about getting into that dangerous “P” word, putting ourselves in position to go out and play for that thing that no one thought we could,” he said. “So we’ll go and get as many wins as we need to get into that dangerous “P” word and give ourselves a chance to compete.”

Com’on coach, the “Race to 10” was and is fun. And it’s a legitimate goal. Don’t give up on it now.

And, oh by the way, lest anyone suggest this besides Joe, if you don’t finish the race to 10, you can forget about using that “P-word,” you know?

If you’ve got a truck, van or SUV, you’ve got to check out Topper Town in Clearwater. Check them out online and get out to the store.

Family owned Topper Town is top shelf. And they’re big time Bucs fans over there.

Last week Joe gave away a $100 gift certificate to Topper Town to a lucky reader. (Sorry if you didn’t win.)

Now Joe’s got an even better gift from Topper Town for you.

To win a $150 gift certificate to Topper Town, or a Standard UWS Toolbox, enter your full name and e-mail below. A winner will be chosen Friday, Dec. 10 at noon. (Winner will be notified by e-mail and will have to pick up the certificate at Topper Town. You must show ID.) Good luck.

Good guy Stephen Holder and Rick Stroud discuss the Bucs and the playoffs in this St. Petersburg Times video.

When the 2010 season goes in the books, Aqib Talib will have played in less than two-thirds of the Bucs’ action.

But Raheem Morris thinks Talib’s done enough this season to earn himself an uneventful cab ride to the airport and a trip to Hawaii. 

“I think Aqib’s an elite corner and played at a Pro Bowl level this year. And probably should still go to the Pro Bowl,” Raheem said at his press conference today. “He’s still got six picks and probably played some of the best football we’ve seen him play.”

Talib is a stud talent, but in Joe’s mind Talib doesn’t deserve a Pro Bowl nod. He’ll have missed too much time and dropped too many near picks.

Now every Bucs fan knows Raheem has Talib’s back all the time — maybe even too much in the case of Talib’s hotel tirade last year and his reported threat of violence against a referree after the Bucs-Ravens game.

With this Pro Bowl talk, Joe thinks Raheem is going overboard. Goodness, the coach even referenced a statistic (gasp) to make a case for Talib.

Talib has no shot of making it. Maybe next year, Talib.

The Bucs are all about No. 5, and No. 5 has had his share struggles the past two games.

But young Josh Freeman is as confident as ever. Speaking today at a news conference at One Buc Palace, Freeman says he’s still in a strong groove.

“I definitely don’t think it’s a slump, “said Freeman, crediting the Ravens and Falcons defenses.

“I feel like i haven’t missed a beat since Week 1. We’ve just been continuing to improve, continuing to prepare to gameplan. Feeling fresh right now.”

Freeman said the likely cold wet weather in Washington on Sunday is no big deal.

He said he takes pride in throwing a wet ball and he “grew up in Missouri so I’ve played a lot of cold weather games.”

Joe loves Freeman’s confidence. He acts like a leader, and he surely has been strong on the field. Joe expects him to bounce back Sunday in a big way. Life will get a lot easier against the Skins.

All kinds of action for the Rays this offseason. And you need to visit JoeRaysFan.com daily if you want to be plugged in. Lots of stuff popping at Baseball’s winter meetings.

There are few if any people in sports media Joe would love to take a cracked baseball bat to more than this Bill Simmons character. Joe has no idea who this guy knows (in the Biblical sense) among the Bristol Bolsheviks but Joe never got him, never understood him, never respected him. What exactly on this ADD-afflicted guy’s resume allows him to be raised to such a lofty position and be crammed down innocent American’s throats? Anyone can ramble screeds of thousands of words (for reasons unknown) always working in Karate Kid references in grotesque love letters to everything Boston and the most revolting and insulting of all sports, the non-basketball association. Joe cares more for the smelly deposit he dropped this morning while grooming himself than he does the aforementioned subjects. This schmuck represents everything — EVERYTHING! — Joe abhors about the Soviet Disney mice and is Exhibit-A why Joe has BSPN blocked on his DirecTV along with the NBA-TV, LOGO and every friggin’ shopping channel known to the free world, otherwise known as a colossal waste of electricity. Joe has learned this punk loves Josh Freeman, and apparently it is documented in this video. Joe refuses to watch/listen to it and is only posting it because Joe believes in providing Bucs fans Bucs content whether or not Joe likes it or agrees with it. Joe thinks more of Ted Simmons and would rather listen and watch Richard Simmons with his junk hanging out of his too-short shorts.

The playoffs are very much on the minds of Bucs fans and so too are the Bucs playoff chances on the minds of noted Bucs supporters Adam Schein and Rich Gannon.

While broadcasting their superior show “The Blitz,” heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, the duo discussed the Bucs and the playoffs today.

Adam Schein: I don’t think Tampa is by any stretch out of the playoff picture. They are on the outside looking in. The road will be difficult. Looking at all the games this weekend and all the scenarios, this is a big spot for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week Rich. The Giants have an interesting game with the Vikings. The Eagles have an interesting game with the Cowboys. Both games are on the road. Tampa is on the road with the Redskins. Rich, this is a must game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rich Gannon: It’s critical and you are right. Currently the Bucs are on the outside looking in. They cannot afford to wait until Jan. 2 and that game at New Orleans because that game will be critical for the Saints. They will have a lot to play for too. Tampa has to win this week.

Joe just cannot fathom the Bucs losing this week. Sure the Bucs are banged up physically. But the Redskins are an absolute trainwreck loaded with distractions. The Redskins wide receivers are nothing short of a joke so even with Aqib Talib, the Redskins receivers should not pose any thread to the Bucs.

If the Bucs drop this game, it’s time to start pestering Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski about the draft.

Ironically, a week after explaining that God is guiding his play along the defensive line, Gerald McCoy gave a Falcons player the business and drew a criticial personal foul that lead to Atlanta’s second touchdown Sunday.

During The Gerald McCoy Show last night on WDAE-AM 620, McCoy explained that he just lost control.

“Atlanta’s not my favorite team right now. You know, they kind of go under my skin a little bit,” McCoy said. “It’s a high-energy, high-emotion game, you know you take things the wrong way sometimes instead of keeping your cool.

“Rookie mistake. That’s what it was. The crazy thing about that is that I usually never lose my cool. I could get pushed around, chop blocked whatever, [and I keep my cool] it just happens. Rookie mistake.

“It was a little late [hit]. The ref even said he even saw it. But the second guy always gets called. I was the second guy.”

More growing pains for the Bucs. Youth is catching up, as Dave Moore commented Sunday.

Joe can only hope all the little things hurting the Bucs are true growth moments and not the start of ugly habits.

“The Professor,” John Clayton, hands out grades for each NFC South team in this BSPN video and gives the Bucs not only a C but has a dire prediction for the final four games.

THE PESSIMIST is a diehard Bucs fan whose negative writings appear occasionally on JoeBucsFan.com. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Joe. However, Joe sure gets a kick out of them.

The smiley dude from Jersey has done a fine job. The Bucs are 7-5 on the cheap. It’s his team of dreams and miracles.

But when you set a standard for the talent and tell the world you’re the best team in the NFC, then you can’t completely fall apart. That’s regression.

Raheem Morris needs one more win to deserve his job back next year. Don’t lose six in a row to finish the season and ask THE PESSIMIST to buy tickets and tell THE PESSIMIST you know what you’re doing, and sell THE PESSMIST a line of crap that the team is headed in the right direction.

If you’re going to finish 0-6 and throw that drivel in face of fans, then you’ll be staring at 30k in the stands next year.

It doesn’t matter what the projections were at the start of 2010.  You don’t reward your kid for failing a class in a final semester just because he got and A in the first half and got a C+ overall.

That crap might fly from a granola-munching soccer mom on a team of 8-year-olds, but not in the real world and especially not in the NFL.

Scores of Bucs fans rejected this team in the offseason and early this season. Raheem and the Bucs proved them wrong.

Losing out would mean they’ve stepped a giant step backwards and Team Glazer should get on the phone to Bill Cowher.

Good luck, Raheem. You only need one more win in THE PESSIMIST’s book.

Joe is trying to look forward by taking on last brief peek at the past.

Joe’s just about moved on from Sunday’s depressing loss to the Dixie Chicks. But eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune believes that loss will linger for weeks.

It was a physical game. Jeff Faine went down for the year. Aqib Talib went down for the year. Kaufman isn’t so sure the Bucs can rebound, as he posted on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed.

It stretches credulity to think the 7-5 Bucs will be resilient enough to overcome season-ending injuries to Aqib Talib and Jeff Faine.

As Joe stated before, the Bucs did OK when Faine was lost earlier in the year. The big loss will be Talib. Can E.J. Biggers and Myron Lewis be the next men up and replace arguably one of the better corners in the NFC South?

The Bucs are on the outside looking in for the playoffs, as crazy as that sounds thinking back just a few short months.

The Bucs are still in the hunt for a wild card without Jeff Faine, without Davin Joseph, without Aqib Talib, without Tanard Jackson. That’s because of the eagle-eye of Bucs general manager Mark Dominik.

Veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton shakes his head in amazement at the relative nobodies keeping the Bucs’ collective heads above water with all the injuries.

In a secondary that has been stripped bare, they are much of what is left. They started the season as afterthoughts and backups. These days, they are Ronde Barber’s playmates, and it is their job to protect the end zone.

The Bucs’ season has come to this, to an assortment of B-teamers and second-chancers trying to keep the improvement going as starters continue to limp away. They are former waiver-wire warriors and practice-squad graduates and late-round draft picks and other teams’ leftovers.

These days you have to wonder if even general manager Mark Dominik has to refer to his depth chart before he recognizes some of the Bucs on the field.

This is why Joe refers to Dominik as a “rock star.” The guy is well on his way to becoming the next Scott Pioli or a football version of Whitey Herzog, a guy who can find dudes walking the street nobody has heard of before outside of their immediate families, plug them into roles and get solid production out of them.

If Raheem Morris is to be the NFL coach of the year — and he should be to this point– so too should Dominik be awarded the executive of the year.

"Oh, Joe. Just the thought of NFL Network at your house makes me sweat."

For those men who join Joe in protest of the anti-football cable television outfit that prefers to drill local weather down your throat every 10 minutes rather than offer the NFL Network, tonight is a fun night.

The Bucs will be featured during the 6 p.m. Playbook show, which has Mike Mayock and friends break down a bunch of Xs and Os of key plays with the NFL Films camera angles. Great stuff.

Then at 8 p.m., there will be a replay of the Bucs-Falcons, also with some of those not-seen-on-TV camera angles. The replay goes off again at 1 a.m.

Great night if you don’t live in an Outhouse.

The Bucs had the game won. Had it! It was in the grasp of their sweaty palms.

But no. Matty Ice. He leads the Dixie Chicks on a late touchdown drive to beat the Bucs after the Bucs had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

A lot of fans are upset with Mo Stovall for not getting a tackle on a 102-yard touchdown return. But Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski doesn’t blame Stovall nor any of the Bucs players for the fourth quarter collapse.

Rather, Justin, the WDAE-AM 620 host of the critically-acclaimed “Blitz,” sometimes aired on Saturday afternoons, points the finger at the Bucs coaching staff in “What I Learned About The Bucs” on his blog at 620WDAE.com.

I learned that the Bucs coaching staff does not know how to close out games yet. So much has been made of the players not closing this game out, but I was unsure about the coaching in the 2nd half that led to the Falcons come back. Obviously, the play that sticks out is 3rd and 20. I understand that the Bucs were in cover 2 and that is made to prevent plays like 3rd and 20, but enough with the 3 man rush. When you have a chance to step on a team’s collective throat, you do it! 3rd and 20 was a prime spot for an all out blitz. You force Ryan to throw the ball before his WRs can even get 20 yards down the field. Instead, you give Ryan all day to throw and he finds Roddy White open for a 24 yard gain. Inexcusable! Offensively, I respect the creativeness by Greg Olsen, but I thought the Bucs offense was starting to really get an attitude a couple games ago and with all this recent tricky stuff, I think they’ve lost that attitude. Those are just a couple of examples of how the coaching staff would’ve assisted their young team into closing this game out.

EXACTLY! The absolute last thing you want to do is give Matty Ice all the time in the world to sit back in the pocket and allow his receivers to get open and that’s just what the Bucs did.

Put pressure on the quarterback! When you are dealing with a dropback thrower like Matty Ice, this is simply elementary football. Going to a three-man front is basically a prevent defense and we know that prevent defenses prevent you from winning.

Playing not to lose often means you lose. The Bucs lost Sunday.

Many fans agonized about the Falcons completing a 25-yard pass to Roddy White on 3rd-and-20 from their own territory on the game-winning drive Sunday.

3rd-and-20!!

Agonizing. Joe, and probably the rest of the stadium, wanted to see more pressure on the quarterback rather than the three-man front the Bucs trotted out there.

Raheem Morris was hit with a question from a caller about coming after Matt Ryan on that fateful play during The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620 last night. Raheem said he made the right call.

“On the 3rd-and-20, you know, to consider blitzing is somewhat foolish when you have that down and distance and you can execute a pretty much routine play that we were not able to yesterday,” Raheem said.

No question this was a routine play and a spectacular throw by Ryan. But because of all the time Ryan had it also became a routine play for the Falcons. You can watch it again here.

But Joe would still rather see the Bucs take their chances with more aggression.

Gerald McCoy was born the wrong year.

Or was it Ndamukong Suh?

The two monster defensive tackles, drafted Nos. 2 and 3 in this spring’s draft — Suh by the Lions and GMC by the Bucs — will forever be linked by both team’s fans despite the fact they are far different players.

Bitter beer-faced Bucs fans grumble throughout the night that GMC isn’t putting up near the numbers that Suh is, never mind that Suh is surrounded by a far better cast of teammates on the defensive line which, of course, he takes advantage of.

Dixie Chicks center Todd McClure won’t join the Bucs fans racked with irritable bowel syndrome over the fact GMC’s numbers are not like Suh’s, as chronicled by eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.

“That rookie defensive tackle (Gerald) McCoy, he’s going to be a great player for a long time. He’s got a lot of moves and he never stops. He’s got a great motor and you can’t try to block him the same way because he’ll give you a counter-move and get past you. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to be an outstanding player in this league.’‘

Color Joe a sap, but Joe would rather take the input from a guy who has had to tangle with GMC in hand-to-hand combat as opposed to a jumble of numbers on NFL.com.

Last month former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) spoke on his WDAE-AM 620 show about running into Raheem Morris and Rays skipper Joe Maddon bellied up to a South Tampa bar on Nov. 12.

The Bucs were 5-3 and preparing to trounce Carolina at home.

Beckles said he got a chance to have some one-on-one time with Raheem at the establishment. Back then, Beckles didn’t relay on the air any of his conversation with the head coach, other than that he walked away very impressed by Raheem and was rooting for him.

But yesterday, during The Ron and Ian Show, Beckles revealed a piece of their chat that offers Bucs fans a rare glimpse into the mindset of the head coach. Per Beckles, on Nov. 12 Raheem said to him, ‘If I knew we were going to be here [at 5-3], I would have fought for Julius Peppers.’

Beckles said yesterday that he was uplifted by the comment and taken back by it because Team Glazer has been low spenders among NFL teams for many years.

“The fact that he brought that up was good. It made me think it was a possibility [the Glazers would have signed Peppers],” Beckles said.

Peppers, 30, reportedly inked a guaranteed $42 million contract with the Bears in March. In November, he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month.

Now Joe has written recently that the resurgent Bucs should try to go for the Lombardi Trophy next year and dive into free agency to fill some holes, in addition to their masterful work bringing in rookie talent.

To Joe, it only makes sense. You get close. You go for it. Plus, the Bucs are sitting on a pile of money they’ll have to spend if the salary cap returns, since Tampa Bay is likely miles under what would be the new salary cap floor.

It’s good to know that Raheem is thinking the same way.

The Bucs should finish this season 10-6 or 9-7 with a stack of emerging players that should be better in 2011. If that’s not the time to get a few established names to push a team over the top, Joe’s not sure what is.

Charles Davis and Dick Stockton peel the skin off the onion that was the Dixie Chicks come-from-behind rally against the Bucs Sunday in this FoxSports.com video.

Video: NFL on FOX: Falcons sink Bucs