You’ve heard it. Joe’s heard it. It’s a pet peeve of Joe’s good friend “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620. Yet there’s no escaping this fact and no sense in denying it.

The Bucs have yet to beat a team with a winning record.

Sooner or later if the Bucs are going to have success, or for that matter a playoff berth, the Bucs are going to have to rinse themselves of this stench. There’s no better way than to start Sunday. Call it “Separation Sunday.”

How the Bucs will do against the Dixie Chicks was up for debate on “The Blitz” this afternoon, co-hosted by your friend and Joe’s, Adam Schein, along with Jim Miller, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio.

Adam Schein: I have always respected the Bucs. Raheem Morris has done a fantastic job. The Bucs overall have done a great job. But the way the Falcons are playing the past two games, they way their defense has played, Matty Ice, they don’t commit penalties. Atlanta has stepped up in class. I know they are playing in Tampa, but I can see them win by double-digits.

Jim Miller: I don’t think so. I think this is a dangerous game for Atlanta. I know this year Tampa has had some injuries to the safeties and to the offensive line. But the Bucs have racked up nine sacks in the past two games. I like their corners. I think the Bucs can matchup well. The key is the safeties and the linebackers and Matt Ryan’s ability to get the ball and attack the interior of that Tampa-2 defense. The last game came down to a field goal. This one could too. It should be a close game but I too like Atlanta.

Schein: Tampa, I love you. We are the official home of the Buccaneers. But let me call it: Matty Ice 27-17. My Falcons.

Joe can understand how people can see Matty Ice and the Dixie Chicks winning. The Dixie Chicks have beaten some of the NFL’s elite. They have beaten Green Bay. They have beaten the Saints. They have beaten the Crows.

The Bucs have lost to the Saints. The Bucs have lost to the Crows and the Bucs have lost to the Dixie Chicks.

The only way for the Bucs to rid themselves of this stain is to beat a winning team. It would help if the Bucs accomplished this Sunday.

Pat Kirwan, the former NFL personnel executive turned guru for CBS Sports, Sirius NFL Radio and NFL.com, doesn’t see the Bucs winning Sunday against Atlanta.

Nope. Kirwan doesn’t think they’ve evolved enough to beat elite teams.

Kirwan, a fan of Raheem Morris and the young Bucs, Kirwan delivered the following Bucs rant this week on Miller and Moulton on 770 AM in Fort Myers.

“Here’s the reality of Tampa: They haven’t beaten a team with a winning record. We know that. Everyone’s been talking about it. Now they’re up against their fifth team with a winning record.

“What happens to these guys, they’re young, they’re excitable, they’re going to be very good someday. But in the crunch of the last few minutes of a game when you’ve got to make that play, whether it’s “O” or “D,” they’re not really ready to do that as much as a team like Atlanta ,who learned and then suffered a little bit last year and built their resolve and cleared up what they are.

“If you look at last week’s game with Tampa, the coaches are still learning about these kids. They don’t have enough information. …You were in Baltimore. You were playing a very good football team poised for this playoff run, and your coach is trying to figure out how much you can handle. It’s a different place.”

Kirwan went on to say Atlanta is the best team in the league because it’s the most balanced.

Joe can’t argue with Kirwan’s slap of reality. The immature Bucs are a work in progress, nowhere near a finished product like New Orleans or Atlanta, for example. And that is why Raheem is coach of the year to this point — because simply beating every team at or below their level has been a near miraculous accomplishment with this roster.

However, all that written, Joe surely believes the Bucs have the playmakers in place to beat Atlanta at home.

Raheem Morris said he’d be studying practice film Thursday afternoon and getting into his typical deep analysis of the team to determine a starting lineup for Sunday.

It seems right tackle James Lee continues to look like a better option than Jeremy Trueblood.

Today, during his afternoon press briefing, Raheem said Lee will start, and the defensive mastermind/head coach praised his pass blocking.

“James Lee won it again. They’re both playing really well for us,” Raheem said.

Healthy Trueblood remains on the sidelines. Joe has to think that barring an injury to Lee, this is the last the Bucs will see of the man an unnamed Sarasota Herald-Tribune editor once labeled “Dunderhead,” seemingly because of his penchant for foolish penalties.

Raheem also named Corey Lynch the starter at free safety, replacing Sabby Piscitelli, who replaced Cody Grimm, who replaced Tanard Jackson.

“He plays the game above the neck. He’s not a big physical striker. You’re not talking about John Lynch,” Raheem said of Corey Lynch. “Our quarterback [Josh Freeman] hates him [on the scout team]. …He’s the only guy that seems to rattle Free.”

Joe is concerned that Lynch can’t come anywhere close to replacing what Grimm gave the Bucs’ revived run defense. Joe is having painful Jim Bates flashbacks.

In this St. Petersburg Times video, good guy Stephen Holder and Rick Stroud discuss how the Bucs will recover from the release of Sabby.

Bucs fans have heard about Josh Freeman’s work ethic through the offseason and preseason.

Now Barrett Ruud has chimed in on Freeman’s lunch-pail mentality during the season.

Ruud offered a take Wednesday night to the vivacious and loquacious Scot Ledger on the Buccaneers Radio Network.

Ruud described the friendly competition of I-got-there-first he and Freeman play at One Buc Palace.

“Physically, I don’t know if there is a more talented quarterback in the NFL. But as you’ll see, to be the very best quarterback, it’s all the mental things, the preparation,” Ruud said. “The good thing with Josh is he has the attitude and work ethic to get to that level.”

“By 6:15 I’m going to be here alone or he’ll be here …either his car or my car is going to be there first. I take a lot of pride in my preparation, and he does the same thing. He’s just not relying on, you know, the rocket he was touches with when he was a baby. He’s got a lot of natural talent, but he also puts a lot of work in.”

Now the Bucs cut Derrick Brooks after making the Pro Bowl, so nothing would surprise Joe.

But Ruud’s work ethic and being Raheem Morris’ “quarterback of the defense” are two reasons Joe would be somewhat surprised to see Ruud gone in 2011.

Horribly overrated Suzy Kolber, Darren Woodson and Mark Schlereth break down the Dixie Chicks-Bucs game Sunday. Anyone wanna guess who Schlereth picks in this BSPN video?

The Bucs are banged up, especially on the offensive line. In particular the right side of the line. Right guard Davin Joseph is out for the year and at right tackle James Lee is expected to be playing Sunday.

So far Lee has played up to the task. Admirably in fact. But this week will be a challenge. To try to flush out what the Falcons perceive as a weakness, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune believes Dixie Chicks coach Mike Smith will try some unique moves, so Kaufman Twittered on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed.

Look for the Falcons to line up DE John Abraham on the left side for much of Sunday’s game to test inexperienced Bucs RT James Lee.

This is actually a very smart move by Smith. Thus far Lee has done little to make Joe forget about Jeremy Trueblood. If Lee can handle himself against Abraham Sunday, Joe suspects Lee may just cement himself with a starting position.

Back for his weekly trip to the end zone of the NFL universe, popular radio personality Adam Schein travels through football space and time outs to deliver his latest episode of Cosmic Schein!

Video: Cosmic Schein: Week 13

Joe’s great partners at Ed Morse Cadillac Tampa, Brandon Auto Mall by Ed Morse, and Ed Morse Port Richey Auto Plaza are always giving away prizes.

All you have to do is “Like” them on Facebook. How easy is that? Just click the links above.

For November, these great dealerships gave away three Reebok Replica Buccaneers jerseys, the one’s that go for $80 in the store. And the winners are …

Brandon Auto Mall – Colin McCormick
 
Ed Morse Tampa Cadillac -Jo Rodriguez
 
Port Richey Auto Plaza – Christian Jackson

Winners have been notified. And there are more jerseys to be given away in December!!!

Just follow the links above to “Like” each Ed Morse location on Facebook now and you’ve got a chance.

Before the Bucs decided to use LeGarrette Blount on a regular basis, the Bucs rushing attack this season was nearly as impotent Connie Chung. Since, the Bucs have become something of an offensive force. It just goes to show what a productive rushing attack can do for an offense.

Sadly, if there is a play that Blount will be remembered for this year it’s is his near-first down carry on fourth-and-short near the goal line. A first down, another yard, and the Bucs would have had a first-and-goal inside the Dixie Chicks-2 and who knows what would have happened.

Despite the Dixie Chicks being able to stop Blount on that critical play, Blount sure got the attention of Atlanta coach Mike Smith who seems to be quite concerned with the big Bucs back, by way of cool cat Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.

“He has a special skill set, a 250-pound running back,” Smith said. “When I say he can run over you, I mean he can jump over you or run through you. He’s very powerful. … A big guy like that, you have to make sure that you get as many guys to the tackle as possible. So it’s going to be very important in our run defense to make sure we’re going to disengage and get off blocks.

“He will create some mismatch issues with … guys in our defense if he gets into the second level and on the perimeter of the defense.”

No one knows what the rest of the season entails for the Bucs. Joe still believes the Bucs should win 10 games, but who really knows? If the Bucs somehow go south this month, one only wonders what would have happened had Blount gotten that first down in Atlanta.

Regardless, Joe’s sure glad that Blount is running wild on defenses for the Bucs.

There are certain people in life, in general, that can be trusted. Doctors spring to mind to Joe. Clerics would be another.

In general, believing a player’s agent is akin to believing a telemarketer, or worse. They, as a group, are hardly pillars of accuracy. So color Joe suspicious when he read the line, reported by Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, coming from Sabby’s agent Ken Harris, that the Bucs had tried to trade Sabby earlier this year.

“Things just got off track a little there with the Bucs, but in response to that, I just can’t say enough about how accommodating the team was to Sabby’s wishes,” said his agent, Ken Harris, who would not say what caused Piscitelli to become disgruntled.

“When I say management was stellar in this situation, I mean they were amazing. It’s not often you find management groups that are as interested in what’s best for the young man as what’s best for the team, but they were.”

Well, first off, Harris isn’t dumb. He’s not going to go scorched earth on the Bucs. He has other clients of course and why burn bridges?

Now Joe is not trying to lump all agents into one pot. Super agent Ralph Cindrich is one of the class acts of the profession and in Joe’s eyes is above reproach. But let’s not get off track here, Harris is trying to salvage what can be salvaged out of Sabby’s career, given that his contract is up after this season.

Now the element that Joe does believe from Harris is the part that rock star Mark Dominik indeed tried to trade Sabby. If Dominik was able to find some sap willing to cough up even a seventh round pick (look what Dominik has been able to do with seventh round picks even), why not jump at the chance?

BSPN has a really cool video about where Bucs receiver Mike Williams got all his football smarts and skills from: his mom.

You know, BSPN, when it wants to, can really put out quality stuff. Then Joe turns on SportsCenter and that concept is blown all to hell.

“One game at a time.””

“They’re all important.”

Yeah, Joe’s heard all the politically correct mumbo jumbo.

The Bucs-Falcons game (if the Bucs win) could change the history of the franchise, let alone put the Bucs in the driver’s seat for the playoffs. So it was refreshing to hear Ronde Barber step a little out of the just-another-game cliches in a chat with the Atlanta media yesterday.

Ronde Barber: “… If we’re not geared up to play this game, we’re not geared up to play anybody. This is the one that has to count for us. You get into December and you have to start peaking. If you can’t peak against the best team in the NFL, then we have other issues to worry about other than getting to the playoffs. I don’t think that will be a problem with us. I think we’re all geared up. We had a tough loss last week against Baltimore and I think we’re going to come out on Sunday pretty hungry and that’s what we have to expect.”

Joe’s fired up. And Joe wasn’t kidding when he wrote a win Sunday could change the course of the franchise.

A “W” Sunday would change how the team and this regime is perceived by the masses locally and nationally, likely for a very long time.

Mike Florio is fired up! In in this NBCSports.com video, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com is fed up with the last two Bucs head coaches using the public for matters that should be kept behind closed doors.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Regardless of what happens Sunday against Atlanta, Joe fully expects the Bucs to win their next three games, at Washington and home against Detroit and Seattle — three team with losing records.

But in an exclusive interview for the Atlanta Falcons’ website, beat writer Rick Stroud of the St. Pete Times claims beating the second rate Redskins on Dec. 12 would be an upset.

Huh?

Rick Stroud: The Bucs have the youngest team in the NFL and a second-year quarterback who looks like the real deal in Josh Freeman. That said, they have not beaten a team with a winning record this season, losing to the Saints, Steelers, Falcons and Ravens. They have two more chances to get that signature win, the first one coming Sunday against Atlanta at Raymond James Stadium. Defensively, they are improving every week, with a shutout against San Francisco and having shut out five other teams in the second half this season. Remember, they were only a few inches away from beating the Falcons in the Georgia Dome. This is a team that could win 10 games if they beat Seattle and Detroit at home and either upset Atlanta or New Orleans or Washington, the last two on the road. But 10 wins may not be enough to reach the playoffs in the NFC. In fact, it could be third place in the division.

Joe’s not getting how Stroud can call winning in Washington an upset. The ‘Skins are 5-6. They’re 2-4 at home and they’ve lost three out of four. Plus they probably will lose at the Giants on Sunday.

Sure, they’ve got talent, but c’mon.

Raheem Morris has said to the media many times that it has higher expections for other teams than it does for the Bucs. This is a prime example.

If it’s Thursday, it means it’s time for the gorgeous Jenny Dell and her weekly nonsense of statistical gibberish that only the pocket protector set can enjoy.Today, Jenny takes a break from celebrating Hanukkah to tell us the Bucs game against the Dixie Chicks will be won by a field goal. But by who? Gotta watch the video to find out.

When discussing Hanukkah, always remember and never forget Ebenezer Scrooge isn’t Jewish “but guess who is? All THREE STOOGES!”

Well, the mystery of who will replace Cody Grimm at safety is still very much a state secret not even Wikileaks has been able to crack.

The Bucs had floated the possibility of Ronde Barber moving to safety but that has since been shot down. That could leave backup Corey Lynch.

A fantastic special teams player who was an absolute ballhawk in college, it could be that Lynch is on the field when the Bucs defense faces the Dixie Chicks Sunday.

And that is all right with Steve White. The former Bucs defensive end who writes the must-read blog “Passing on the Game,” White actually believes Lynch on the field will help the Bucs in pass coverage.

Lynch isn’t the hitter that Grimm was in my opinion but I think he has better ball skills. While the Bucs may give up something on defense when Atlanta is running the ball, I think they might gain something when they try to pass it.

Granted, the NFL is far from college, especially Division-IAA, where Lynch, a Fort Myers native, played at Appalachian State. There Lynch was a freaking force on defense.

While helping Appalachian State to a three-peat (three consecutive NCAA titles), Lynch holds the NCAA FCS record for passes defended at 52 (28 pass deflections, 24 interceptions) and finished his collegiate level play with 358 career tackles.

And we all remember what Lynch did against the Malaise and Blue.

Though Bucs coach Raheem Morris has hinted he may dabble with longtime cornerback fixture Ronde Barber at safety, don’t get caught up in the hype Woody Cummings says.

The Bucs beat writer for the Tampa Tribune suggests the hints dropped by Morris are nothing more than gamesmanship, that Barber will remain at his familiar cornerback position.

The Buccaneers thought about it. Then they thought better of it. Cornerback Ronde Barber will not be moving to safety to take over for injured rookie starter Cody Grimm. Not just yet anyway.

“I’ll only go back there in case there’s an emergency,” said Barber, who constituted an emergency as “Corey or Vince going down.”

Corey would be third-year safety Corey Lynch. Vince is first-year safety Vince Anderson. One of them will start this week ahead of Grimm, who was lost to a lower left leg fracture during the Bucs’ 17-10 loss at Baltimore on Sunday.

From what Joe can piece together, it appears Morris, whose specialty is the secondary, is going to try all sorts of different looks and personnel in the defensive backfield, given the various particulars of the game.

While Joe thinks it would be smart to put Barber at safety (it prolonged Ronnie Lott’s career by years), apparently the Bucs think moving Barber is too much of a risk for an already thin secondary.

"Damn, it's cold up here."

This afternoon the Cleveland Browns snatched Sabby Piscitelli off the waiver wire, reports the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Joe’s glad Mike Holmgren isn’t the Bucs general manager.

Joe has often wondered whether Pat Yasinskas watches all the NFC South football games in his role as NFC South beat writer for ESPN.com.

Hey, it’s a tough job. The guy might have to watch up to four football games a week and write about them and other stuff.

Talking Bucs today on The Fabulous Sports Babe Show on 1040 AM, Yasinskas didn’t sound impressed by Cody Grimm.

“I don’t know that he’s a long term starter, at the very least a nice role player. This team has to go out and draft two safeties in the offseason,” Yasinskas said.

Joe’s not sure how Grimm didn’t look like starter material in his nine starts. What is Yasinskas watching? Is he watching?

Or what is he hearing about Grimm at One Buc Palace?

Yasinskas said he was at One Buc Palace today sniffing around. Among the more depressing scents he picked up was one about the expected attendance Sunday for the huge Falcons-Bucs game.

“From what I’m hearing I wouldn’t expect to see more than 50,000 in that stadium,” he said. “50[K] is tops, more likely upper 40s.”