Keyshawn Johnson wouldn't take any shots at Chucky, who kicked him off the Bucs in 2003

It was sincere praise for Jon Gruden – almost a tender moment – when Keyshawn Johnson, of all people, heaped accolades on his former coach during the Monday Night Football pregame show.

Keyshawn is the anti-Sapp, showing class and maturity in his new career at ESPN.

On Monday, Johnson was baited by Chris Berman and Tom Jackson to talk about Chucky kicking him off the Bucs with pay in 2003.

Johnson wouldn’t take any shots at Gruden. He said Gruden is a “great football coach” and their troubles might have been a result of both he and Gruden being young at the time.

He went on to say that Gruden had tremendous receivers in Oakland (Jerry Rice and Tim Brown) but the Super Bowl winning team’s receiving corps in Tampa (Jurevicius, McCardell and Johnson) “was not great.” He credited Chucky’s play-calling for their success – 225 total catches in the regular season – and he praised Gruden for getting it done in 2008 with sub-par talent.

Keyshawn went on to express gratitude to Chucky for inviting him to return to the team last year.

Joe has always been a fan of Keyshawn. He may not have been a model teammate, but the guy worked his butt off on gameday. Also, Joe respects any rookie No. 1 pick who survived a 1-15 season with the Jets under intense New York scrutiny, like Keyshawn did.

Joe likes math, but not usually at 1 a.m. on a Tuesday. However, when playoff calculations need to be tabulated, what could be more important? 

Joe has busted out the NFL playoff tiebreakers manual to give you the latest on the Bucs playoff chances.

• The Bucs will clinch a Wild Card berth Sunday, if Tampa Bay wins in Atlanta, and Washington and Philadelphia lose. 

But Philly and the Skins play the Browns and Bengals, respectively, so don’t expect the Bucs to clinch with a win in Atlanta. But that Wild Card berth for the Bucs likely would come the following week when Philly and Washington play each other, again assuming the Bucs beat Atlanta.

• If the Bucs lose to Atlanta, Tampa Bay would still be in the driver’s seat for the final Wild Card in the NFC.

The Bucs would fall to 9-5 with home games remaining against lowly San Diego and Oakland. If the Bucs lost to Atlanta and won those final games to finish 11-5, the Cowboys would have to win out against the Giants, Baltimore and Philadelphia  – very unlikely – to tie the Bucs at 11-5 and win the Wild Card spot on a tiebreaker edge. Also, Atlanta would have to win out against Minnesota and St. Louis to tie the Bucs at 11-5. A three-way tie with the Bucs, Atlanta and Dallas is what the Bucs want to avoid.

• If the Bucs, Atlanta and Carolina tie at 11-5 atop the NFC South, the tiebreaker likely would come down to “strength of victory” as the teams likely would have the same conference records and same head-to-head records. In that scenario, the Bucs would probably need to really thump Oakland or Sand Diego to lock up the NFC South title.

Now that your head is ready to explode, you can forget all this information and cheer for the Bucs on Sunday. Right now, Joe estimates Tampa Bay will make the playoffs easily if they just beat San Diego and Oakland. An 11-5 record always gets it done, and this year should be no exception.

Antonio Bryant and Jeff Garcia made the Bucs offense look truly dangerous against a good defense for the first time this season

Joe wants you to realize this was the breakout game of the season for the Bucs offense.

Not that it will help you forget the pain of this loss against the Panthers and the epic collapse of the Bucs’ run defense. But the Bucs’ offense actually looked dangerous for the first time this season against a good defense.

This performance will go a long way toward helping Tampa Bay run the table with three good offensive efforts and maybe have a chance in the playoffs against a quality defense.

There aren’t enough adjectives for Antonio Bryant’s one-handed touchdown grab (Joe will have the highlight video later),  and props to Bryant and Garcia for connecting on three home run balls downfield. Bryant’s nine catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns has got to be among the great receiver performances in Buccaneers history.

Chucky’s loving the way his offensive moved the chains (21 first downs) and showed it can come back to tie a game twice on the road, plus execute some shots down the field.

Expect Chucky to heap heavy praise on Garcia and crucify Alex Smith for a dropped TD pass on 1st and goal from the Carolina 2 yard line, plus talk about the other dropped passes by Warrick Dunn, Clifton Smith and more.

Don’t worry. We all know the Bucs defense will shake this game off and return to its elite status. But now there’s real hope for the offense, which frankly wasn’t there before.

Smart coaching by Carolina. They kicked away from Clifton Smith all night, and the great field position the Bucs had grown accustomed to all but disappeared.

Two quick thoughts as the pain of the Carolina loss sets in.

Bucs left tackle Donald Penn continued his drive for a fat new contract with a manly performance against Panthers DE Julius Peppers, the November Defensive Player of the Month in the NFL.

Penn largely contained Peppers, who picked up a sack only after moving to the right side of the offensive line and bull rushing right tackle Jeremy Trueblood on his rear. JoeBucsFan.com analyst Steve Campbell will have more in his weekly offensive line breakdown later in the week. But expect Campbell to give more good grades to Penn.

It sure seemed like Carolina was consistently kicking away from Clifton Smith. That was a great testament to the rookie, who has been an electrifying return man since getting his shot five weeks ago. Smith may have kicked his fumbling habit. Now he has to work on catching passes. Chucky called a play for him in the fouth quarter, and Smith dropped a ball in his hands on a 2nd-and-4 throw.

Panthers 38, Bucs 23

This was one of the more pathetic performances by the Bucs defense that Joe can remember in recent history. For much of the game the Bucs displayed terrible tackling that looked more like an unpolished high school team than one of the alleged better defenses in the NFL. All too often Joe saw Bucs defenders hit Carolina ball carriers without even trying to wrap up.

The Bucs offense did a nice job to get back in the game but the Panthers just ran over the Bucs defense.

Now the Bucs are in a pinch. They have to travel to Atlanta on a short week and generally NFL teams that travel after a Monday night game do not fare well. Also, the Falcons are coming off a loss and are one of the hottest teams in the league, well, Joe isn’t all that confident in the Bucs chances.

The Bucs had a chance to grab a hold of a bye week for the playoffs. Now, the playoffs are still very much in doubt.

Just a terrible game by the Bucs defense, no other way to sugarcoat it.

Joe has some quick halftime thoughts:

* Terrible two minute to end the first half. Throwing short passes when you need to go nearly 80 yards is not how to get the job done.

* Cadillac Williams is lucky he doesn’t have two fumbles.

* More pathetic red zone offense displayed.

* The Bucs better come up with some more second half road magic if they are to pull this game out.

Bucs (9-3) at Panthers (9-3)
Week 14
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 127.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, it’s going to be chilly with a kickoff temperature of 36 degrees under partly cloudy skies. Expect the temperature to dip slightly through the game.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Panthers -3.
Outlook: Prior to Sunday, the New York Giants were the class of the NFL much less the NFC. Things change quickly in the NFL.

With running back Brandon Jacobs suffering a knee injury and Plaxico Burress out for the season for being a mental midget, the Giants now appear vulnerable after losing to the Eagles on Sunday. With a win the Bucs would be a game behind the Giants with three games to play with a shot at possibly having the home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which would be critically important.

Also, with a win, the Bucs would all but lock up the NFC South; They would have a two-game lead (including tiebreaker edge) over Carolina with three games to play. Also, they’d be up two games on Atlanta (8-5) and not need to beat the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday. Imagine that, a division game in mid-December that would not be a must-win.

But first thing is first: Beat the stinking Panthers.

In short, the Bucs’ defense has to be its usual suffocating self. Key will be shutting down DeAngelo Williams who has gone crazy lately. In his last five games he has nine rushing touchdowns and is tied with the league lead with 13. Williams ran wild last week against the Packers but you don’t have to be an analyst with FootballOutsiders.com to figure out the Packers’ defense smells worse than moldy cheese.

The Bucs usual struggles of playing when the temperature is below 40 will again be tested. In this matchup the Bucs running game will be challenged without Earnest Graham. However, Graham played fullback against Carolina when the Bucs crushed the Panthers 27-3 on Oct. 12. On that day, Graham had just five carries for 11 yards, and Warrick Dunn carried the load with 22 carries for 115 yards. But as JoeBucsFan.com analyst Steve Campbell mentioned, Warrick Dunn can not be relied on that heavily again, and Cadillac Williams needs to have 20+ touches and a productive game for the Bucs to be successful.

A loss could be damaging. So a win for a playoff home game (or two) is needed tonight.

A Charlotte newspaper invested in a trip to NFL Films to give readers a meaty look inside tonight's Bucs-Panthers game

Here’s a major pat on the back to the Charlotte Observer, which coughed up cash to send a reporter to the NFL Films studios in New Jersey to sit alongside ESPN’s Ron Jaworski and Greg Cosell of NFL Films, as they dissected tapes of the Bucs and Panthers.

The result was a game preview story with enough meat in it to satisfy any football fan, even the hardest of the hardcores. That’s not something you really see in a newspaper anymore. And that’s partially why the Internet is clobbering newspapers into a painful death.

One of the first things Jaworski noticed about the first Carolina-Tampa game was how frequently the Buccaneers’ offense lined up in formations with receivers only a few feet to the right or left of the linemen, instead of spreading wide to the outside in a more conventional alignment.

“I’ve been watching the Bucs almost every week and that’s a constant,” Cosell told Jaworski. “They are heavy on tight splits.”

Cosell explained that the tight alignment helps Tampa’s running attack and short-yardage passing game by putting the wide receivers in good position to block down on defensive ends and linebackers.

A case in point was a short pass in the second quarter from quarterback Jeff Garcia to running back Earnest Graham that turned into a 24-yard completion.

“This is as good of an example as you’ll find of the tight formations,” Jaworski said as he reviewed the play. “This is what the clusters do. Gruden is a master of it. He won a Super Bowl title with it.”

Jaworski called the play a “fire protection.”

Graham, who is now out for the season, was playing fullback and initially made it look like he was going to block Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson, but then slipped into a short pass route to the right.

That meant tailback Warrick Dunn had to pick up Johnson. Because Johnson is a much bigger player than Dunn, the play was designed for Garcia to throw the ball quickly to Graham.

“That’s why it’s called fire protection because it’s got to come out fast,” said Jaworski.

What really made the play work was the fact that wide receiver Michael Clayton, lined up just right of the offensive line, ran an inside route and softly bumped into, or “rubbed,” Panthers linebacker Jon Beason. That was just enough to prevent Beason from getting to Graham, who went on to his 24 yards.

“A pick (requiring a harder hit) is illegal, but a rub is legal,” said Jaworski.

The tape showed Tampa ran the same play out of a slightly different formation in the second half and gained 23 yards.

Clearly, that’s something the Panthers have to stop tonight.

One of the first things Jaworski noticed about the first Carolina-Tampa game was how frequently the Buccaneers’ offense lined up in formations with receivers only a few feet to the right or left of the linemen, instead of spreading wide to the outside in a more conventional alignment.

“I’ve been watching the Bucs almost every week and that’s a constant,” Cosell told Jaworski. “They are heavy on tight splits.”

Cosell explained that the tight alignment helps Tampa’s running attack and short-yardage passing game by putting the wide receivers in good position to block down on defensive ends and linebackers.

A case in point was a short pass in the second quarter from quarterback Jeff Garcia to running back Earnest Graham that turned into a 24-yard completion.

“This is as good of an example as you’ll find of the tight formations,” Jaworski said as he reviewed the play. “This is what the clusters do. Gruden is a master of it. He won a Super Bowl title with it.”

Jaworski called the play a “fire protection.”

Graham, who is now out for the season, was playing fullback and initially made it look like he was going to block Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson, but then slipped into a short pass route to the right.

That meant tailback Warrick Dunn had to pick up Johnson. Because Johnson is a much bigger player than Dunn, the play was designed for Garcia to throw the ball quickly to Graham.

“That’s why it’s called fire protection because it’s got to come out fast,” said Jaworski.

What really made the play work was the fact that wide receiver Michael Clayton, lined up just right of the offensive line, ran an inside route and softly bumped into, or “rubbed,” Panthers linebacker Jon Beason. That was just enough to prevent Beason from getting to Graham, who went on to his 24 yards.

“A pick (requiring a harder hit) is illegal, but a rub is legal,” said Jaworski.

The tape showed Tampa ran the same play out of a slightly different formation in the second half and gained 23 yards.

Clearly, that’s something the Panthers have to stop tonight.

Joe wishes newspapers spent more time turning it out great stuff like this. They would sell a lot more papers on Sundays and Mondays.

As the BSPN commercial for Monday Night Football asks, “Is it Monday yet?”

It is, and Joe knows you don’t have your mind on work today. You have your mind on the Bucs-Panthers game. To that end, Joe will help you get through another awful day at work with videos from NFL Network, despite the fact Roger Goodell doesn’t want you to watch them at work or at home without embed codes.

First, Joe has the video of a telephone call-in Derrick Brooks had to his former Bucs teammate Warren Sapp Sunday on the NFL Network’s Gameday Morning show.

Next is the preview of the game from the great NFL Films.

Joe also offers up an interview with linebacker Barrett Ruud.

And lastly, NFL Network has a video weather report from the good people of AccuWeather.com

Joe's got the free link for you to jump into Sports Illustrated's "Vault" to read a Peter King feature on Derrick Brooks. King delivers a rare Xs-and-Os look at Brooks and the Bucs' defense, plus an inside look at Brooks' preparation and performance.

Admit it. You were too cheap to run out to 7-Eleven and drop $5 on Sports Illustrated two weeks ago, when Peter King wrote a massive feature story about Derrick Brooks.

Joe understands. You only pay for Sports Illustrated when there’s a bikini on the cover.

Well, the story took a deep-inside look at how Brooks prepared for the Bucs’ November game against the Vikings and how Brooks performed through the contest.

If you love football, and Derrick Brooks, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the read, although you might need to freshen your cocktail. it’s a long one.

THE GAME is never over on Sunday.

This game, for Brooks, ended on Monday in a defensive meeting room, when he, Ruud and June got their report cards from Bradley. Every Bucs linebacker is graded in four categories: Plus/Minus (carrying out the right assignment on each play), Effort (running to the ball, even on the other side of the field), Make Play (making plays when in position to make them) and Tackles (taking down a ballcarrier when favorably positioned). Generally, Brooks is happy if the team wins and he gets a grade above 90%.

So he should have been elated when Bradley handed out the graded play sheet. Brooks, who was in for 40 of the 52 defensive snaps against Minnesota, scanned his grades:
Plus/Minus: 37 of 40
Effort: 40 of 40
Make Play: 8 of 9
Tackles: 7 of 8
Total: 92 of 97, or 95%

Joe continues to be amazed at the consistently high performance that Brooks is achieving at 35 years old in a defensive system that demands speed and great discipline from its linebackers.

Throw in Brooks’ leadership in the locker room (the guy is practically a player-coach) and every Bucs fan should be thanking his maker nearly every team in the NFL passed on Brooks back in the 1995 draft; The Bucs grabbed him with the 28th pick. And just in case you forgot, Brooks hasn’t missed a game since coming to Tampa Bay.

Adam Duerson of Sports Illustrated says Steve Smith and Jake DelHomme will be no match for the Bucs secondary

Sports Illustrated’s Adam Duerson cranked out a roughly 2,000 word preview of the Bucs-Carolina game, which kicks off on Monday Night.

He likes the Bucs to win 20-10. If you want to read a short novel, check out the breakdown.

Joe will leave you with this excerpt:

Steve Smith has single-handedly slain plenty of opponents, but it won’t happen to these Buccaneers.

It’s the same old story in Carolina: No one to complement Steve Smith. Muhsin Muhammad has been a model of inconsistency. The Panthers’ third- and fourth-leading pass catchers play tight end. Fifth on the list is DeAngelo Williams, who’s a running back. Somewhere down there, at a mere eight catches, is Dwayne Jarrett, who we can safely call a disaster at this point. So basically Carolina’s offense is The Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme Show. Nothing new.

FootballOutsiders.com is trying to ruin how fans enjoy the NFL. Regardless, a writer for that site has an interesting article on how Bucs drafts and free agent signings have been fantastic, including last year's No. 1 pick Gaines Adams.

Obviously, Joe loves the NFL. Joe also likes baseball and hockey, too (more on that in the coming months). But one of the things that has endeared Joe to football more over recent years is how football is devoid of the statheads.

Baseball has all but been taken over by the statheads, such as Bill James and his ilk. Joe actually knows people who claim to be hardcore baseball fans who will argue to they’re blue in the face that a player is good but they’ve never seen the guy play once!

These same “fans” base their arguments on only Excel spreadsheets filled with made-up statistical gibberish. These same “fans” look down their noses at the Neanderthals who actually judge how good a player is by watching him play. Can you imagine?

If Joe enjoyed mathematical gymnastics, he would have majored in trigonometry.

Sadly, there is something out there called FootballOutsiders.com, where people with a mindset like James, who has done more to pollute baseball than any player agent, are also trying to trash football with the same nonsense. James should have done the sporting public a favor and kept his job as a night watchman at a pork and beans factory. 

Where is Joe going with this? FootballOutsiders.com has an interesting article about how strong the Bucs drafts and free agents signings have been of late. Sadly, in the article, an acronym of DVOA is used. Joe had no idea what this means. He found out through the magic of Google that DVOA stands for Defense-adjusted Value Over Average.

Joe has no idea what the hell this means. But the article is otherwise interesting.

Current standout linebacker Barrett Ruud was taken in the second round from Nebraska, but the new philosophy really paid off in the 2007 draft. Clemson end Gaines Adams was taken in the first round to replace Rice, and Syracuse safety Tanard Jackson was a steal in the fourth round. The Bucs melded this new defensive draft focus with the ability to get fine performances out of veteran pickups like Kevin Carter, Chris Hovan and Jovan Haye. Greg White, who led the Bucs in sacks last season with eight, was recommended to Gruden by his brother, Jay, a former Arena League quarterback, who had seen White playing for the Orlando Predators. Tampa Bay rebounded to finish fourth in Defensive DVOA in 2007, and the Bucs are third after 13 weeks this season. The NFC South was theirs in 2007, and it could very well be again.

Please statheads, stick to baseball, or play with a calculator if you must, or try something daring like sampling human beings better known as girls. Don’t try to ruin football, as well.

Joe has compiled his weekly look at what various members of the national fourth estate think about the Bucs.

Jason McIntyre, publisher, editor in chief and custodian of TheBigLead.com isn’t overly impressed with the Bucs at No. 7.

Should crumble on the road against Carolina and Atlanta next.

SI.com’s Peter King is likeminded also choosing the Bucs at No. 7.

You can abuse the Jets defense. You definitely cannot abuse the Bucs defense. Opposing passer rating against the Bucs: 70.0.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com is very high on the Bucs at No. 3.

The way that defense plays they will be in every game. They control their own destiny in the division race, starting Monday against the Panthers.

NFL.com’s Vic Carucci has the Bucs at No. 4.

If they play the same opportunistic defense vs. the Panthers that they played vs. the Saints, the Bucs are poised for a season sweep.

Vacation Man of BSPN.com has the Bucs at No. 4 as well.

The defense was able to shut down Drew Brees. QB Jeff Garcia has played well of late, and that needs to continue in Monday night’s showdown at Carolina.

Former Bucs beat writer and current SI.com columnist Don Banks is somewhat high on the Bucs at No. 4.

I know I’m coming late to the party, but these Bucs are pretty good. Not dominating, mind you. Just good enough to beat you, and not themselves. So good in fact that I had to bump them up three spots into the top five, a vantage point that should well prepare them for their showcase game of the season, Monday night at Carolina. With Tampa Bay in position to claim the NFC’s No. 2 seed, its hopes of becoming the first team to play a Super Bowl on its home field are entering the realm of realistic. Would they still get to fire those cannons after Super Bowl touchdowns, or does the premise of a neutral site win out? It’s another pressing issue for Roger Goodell and his merry band of brothers to unravel.

Mike Tirico, Jaws (Ron Jaworski) and TK (Tony Kornheiser), BSPN’s trio of Monday Night Football yakkers discuss the Bucs-Panthers game from what looks to be TK’s own Madden Cruiser.

JoeBucsFan.com analyst Steve Campbell lauds Jeremy Trueblood for his play last week against the Saints and explains how quarterback Jeff Garcia sometimes makes his offensive line look bad.

By Steve Campbell
JoeBucsFan.com Analyst

Like the Bucs as a team, Tampa Bay’s offensive line played just well enough to get a win against New Orleans. Facing a mediocre defense in bad weather conditions wasn’t conducive to favorable offensive results.

This much is clear: Jeff Garcia is not a mudder.

Garcia played arguably his worst game of the season last Sunday in the rain. I’m not going to beat up too much on Garcia. How can you beat up on a guy who is married to this? But also, I can’t slam Garcia because he’s played very well the last few weeks, and maybe he was due for a performance like last Sunday. As much as Garcia helped the Bucs with his effective scrambles, his lack of composure in the pocket cost the Bucs with several sacks that weren’t the fault of any lineman.

As a lineman, there’s nothing worse than taking a perfect pass set and pass blocking effectively, only to have your quarterback run directly towards the lineman you were blocking. Garcia did this three times on Sunday where it resulted in sacks. If I had to guess, this is probably the main area of Garcia’s game that Chucky has a problem with. If you recall when Chucky coached the Oakland Raiders, quarterback Rich Gannon, as mobile as he was, was very good at staying in the pocket. This is the only area of Garcia’s game that is below average.

The running game was solid yet unspectacular against New Orleans. I’m really looking forward to Cadillac Williams getting more carries this week for two reasons: First, I think Warrick Dunn is much more effective as a 10-carry, 5-catch a game back. It seems the more he carries the ball the less effective he becomes.

Second, Cadillac showed a nice burst twice last Sunday. Once on a fourth-and-one play where he gained seven yards and also on his nine- yard touchdown run. Cadillac is a forgotten luxury. Most fans dismiss his solid rookie season as a fluke and say he’s nothing more than an average runner. Here’s something to remember, though: Cadillac made his living in 2005 running behind Anthony Davis, Dan Buenning, John Wade, Sean Mahan and Kenyatta Walker (just typing those names brings back horrid memories). It was mostly the same line in 2006, but Williams was also saddled with the awful quarterback play of Chris Simms and Bruce Gradkowski.

In 2007, in just over three games Williams had 208 yards and three touchdowns. My point is, Earnest Graham gets a lot of credit, most of it deserved, for his breakout 2007 season, but he had a much better line to run behind than Williams ever did. I think Cadillac, if his knee is truly healthy – and that’s a big if – will be a pleasant surprise to most Bucs fans.

On to the Saints game evaluations:

Donald Penn (LT): Penn had his hands full with defensive end Will Smith. Smith was in on eight tackles and was a bear on the pass rush. Penn held him out for the most part, though. On the 38-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Bryant, Smith threw a nice outside-inside double move, but Penn, who is great about taking good pass sets with his feet, recovered beautifully to give Garcia just enough time to hit Bryant for the touchdown. The bad news for Penn is that he gets to face Julius Peppers this week. It’s never easy for a left tackle in this league (sigh).

Arron Sears (LG): Sears pulled quite a bit in the run game. The Bucs ran to the right a majority of the time, with Sears pulling from the left side bringing a lot of thump. Sears looked pretty solid in the run game and had little trouble with Kendrick Clancy on the passing downs.

Jeff Faine (C): Faine seems to be playing better every week. I can’t stress enough how good Faine is getting to linebackers on running plays. He will need to keep that up Monday night against outstanding middle linebacker John Beason, who is a hard-hitting speedball that will have to be slowed down.

Davin Joseph (RG): Joseph mostly had his way with rookie first round pick Sedrick Ellis, who is a good-looking young defensive tackle (but not in that kind of way. Not that there’s anything wrong with that). Joseph manhandled Ellis in the run game. Ellis’ bullrush seemed to give Joseph some trouble on the passing downs, though.

Jeremy Trueblood (RT): The stats will show that Trueblood gave up two sacks to Saints defensive Bobby McCray. Sometimes stats lie, and this was the case with McCray’s sacks. One was a coverage sack where Trueblood gave Garcia adequate time, and the other was one of those plays where Garcia inexplicably scrambled into the line. What I really loved Sunday was Trueblood’s play in the run game. Jeremy is 6-8, but you would never know it watching him chip the end and get to the outside linebacker. He’s a very nimble big man, and his strength is evident when he gets his hands on defenders. Great job.

Game ball: Trueblood.

It's always sad when cheerleaders might lose their jobs. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com claims these Tampa Bay Storm cheerleaders may be soon unemployed.

Yes, Joe fully is aware that this is a Bucs blog. He only deals with general NFL football issues when they somehow relate to the Bucs (though Joe will deviate from time to time).

Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com claims he is hearing whispers that the Arena Football League is in trouble.

Which means the Tampa Bay Storm could also go bye-bye.

Joe was under the impression that league was financially sound, espcially after BSPN bought a chunk of the league. But Florio claims, through his sources, that chunk is blown out of proportion.

As one source with knowledge of the dynamics of the AFL explained it, the team owners are receiving little or no television revenue from the league’s partnership with ESPN. Likewise, the team owners don’t see much of the money that comes from sponsorships with the likes of ADT, Discover Card, and others.

Joe is not much into pinball football, but he knows quite a few Bucs fans are. And it would be sad for the Tampa Bay community if the Storm and the Arena League vanished.

Monday Night Football viewers will hear a voice who really knows the Bucs. Ron Jaworski called Bucs preseason games on Ch. 8 for several years.

Joe has a lot of respect for Monday Night Football color analyst Ron Jaworski. “Jaws” lasted 10 seasons at quarterback in Philadelphia, before the emergence of Randall Cunningham sent him packing in the mid 1980s. Plus it’s very refreshing to be rid of Joe Theismann’s massive ego in the booth.

Jaworski does his homework for his TV work. And he knows the Bucs well, as he was the color man on Bucs preseason broadcasts for at least four seasons following the Super Bowl win 2003.

The St. Pete Times caught up with Jaworski for a Q & A this week.

He talked about the great discipline of the Bucs defense, how Jeff Garcia drives him crazy, and how he loves Jon Gruden, among other topics.

What have been your impressions of the Bucs this season?

Defensively, I’ve been absolutely blown away. When I look at the Bucs defense, it’s hard to explain, but you see an energy about them. They are so plugged in. They play with incredible discipline. I’m going to break down the Tampa 2 defense for (ESPN’s) NFL Matchup show. Everyone has heard of (the Tampa 2), but not many know what exactly it is. And these guys play it the way it’s supposed to be played. Hey, Rod Marinelli (coach of the winless Lions) plays the Tampa 2, and it’s not helping (laughs). It’s about the players. (The Bucs) understand their roles, and they play with that energy I talk about. 

Joe can’t mention Randall Cunningham as he did at the top of this post without tossing out a little video. You kids who never saw him play have no idea what you missed. Enjoy.

FEATURE EXCERPT: “Galloway is finally healthy now.  The Bucs have to find a way to get him on the field together with Bryant.  Look at the Arizona Cardinals with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.  Look at the Indianapolis Colts with Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison.  Look at the Green Bay Packers with Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. Look how Jon Gruden found over 220 receptions for Keenan McCardell, Keyshawn Johnson and Joe Jurevicious in 2002.”

Click here for the full story in the JoeBucsFan.com Features section.

Gil Brandt of NFL.com suggests that if Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud has a solid game, the Bucs have a good chance of winning Monday night.

Gil Brandt of NFL.com writes a piece of what he thinks will be the key matchup in the Bucs game with the Panthers Monday night. In short, if linebacker Barrett Ruud can shut down the Panthers running game, the Bucs have a solid chance of winning.

In fact, Brandt seems smitten with Ruud.

Ruud is a fourth-year player, in his second year as a full-time starter. He plays every down, makes all the defensive calls, and is a very aggressive competitor with the ability to play in space. Ruud led the Bucs with 169 tackles in 2007 and has 95 tackles through 12 games this season — that’s almost double the team’s second-leading tackler, veteran LB Derrick Brooks. He also has two interceptions and three sacks. Ruud is a very underrated player.

The way the Bucs offense, specifically Chucky’s play-calling, loves to try to dink-and-dunk opponents to death, the Bucs defense better be strong. Joe doesn’t believe the Bucs can come from too far from behind against the Panthers. So Monte Kiffin’s defense better be up to the task, just like when the teams played earlier this year at the CITS.

Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com has a video report called “Playoff Watch.” He dissects how the NFC playoff picture shakes out with four games left in the season.

Smith suggest that, given NFL history, the Bucs will win this game and win the NFC South. Check out his explanation.

Joe apologizes for Roger Goodell not coughing up embed codes.