Joe bets Carmella Garcia would want to stay in town if Julius Peppers signs with the Bucs in the offseason

Pat “Vacation Man” Yasinskas, NFC South blogger for BSPN.com, has published a list of potential 2009 free agents and one name has Joe doing a double-take: Julius Peppers.

The 28-year-old Panthers defensive end is still a stud and would look great out of a Carolina uniform and wearing Pewter and Red. How awesome would it be to pillage the Panthers’ roster like that?

Bucs DE Kevin Carter is another name on the free-agent-to-be list. Carter’s played well, but having Peppers rather than him is a no-brainer. The Bucs are desperate for a pass rush.

Tampa Bay is way under the salary cap, even if they open the vault to keep Jeff Garcia, who is another guy on the list. 

Joe recommends they hurry up and sign Garcia. He’s the best available QB for the 2009 Gruden-led Bucs. …And, of course, we need to keep Carmella in town.

Jason Horowitz and Charley Casserly of CBSSports.com preview the Bucs-Lions game. Casserly details the Bucs running back situation now that Earnest Graham is out for the year.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Here's a snack for Joey Galloway. Michael Bennett left it in the luxury suite of Chucky's doghouse

So the truth comes out today. Joey Galloway broke his foot against Atlanta, and the Bucs were covering it up so opponents might waste time preparing to face him.

Galloway spilled the beans today, according to the St. Pete Times. Also, Chucky talked to the media and opened up about Galloway’s reduced role behind Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton.

This Chucky spin is contradictory and gives a glimpse into the coach’s mindset, which seems to reveal Galloway occupying Michael Bennett’s and Jeff Garcia’s old blanket in the Bucs’ doghouse.

“I’m sure it is tough on him,” Gruden said of Galloway’s new role. “It’s been tough on us. We’ve had to make a lot of adjustments, not only at running back but in our receiving corps. But he plays the same position that Antonio Bryant plays and he can’t deny the fact that Antonio is playing great. Not good, he’s playing really outstanding football. They’re kind of stacked at the same position. We’re trying our best to utilize them both and we’ll continue to do that.

“But Mike Clayton is having a solid year. His statistics may not say so, but put the tape on. He’s really playing well, as is Ike Hilliard. Joey missed a lot of time late last season, missed a lot of the preseason — all the preseason – he missed five or six games. We’re in the process of doing the best we can to use everybody.”

Joe’s going to help you read between the spin.

First, if Chucky is trying to confuse opponents, why not say today that Galloway may be part of several three-receiver sets and you consider him a starter? Why not go overboard to talk about how excited you are to use these three studs together?

Also, all season, Gruden has talked about Galloway and other players needing to practice and get in rhythm with the offense.

Well, coach, Galloway has been practicing for about a month. He’s healthy. And he’s played in three straight games. Why even mention that he missed time at the end of last year, or in preseason? That’s very old news.

These quotes, and Galloway’s limited snaps, are all the evidence Joe needs to know that Galloway occupies the penthouse of Gruden’s doghouse.

Let’s hope he gets out of there soon. He’s going to need to contribute if the Bucs want to challenge the Giants. And that’s what this season should be about.

This clip has two amazing things:

1) How the receiver is able to shake the cobwebs enough to make the catch after getting lit up like a Christmas tree.

2) How in the world was the receiver able to life his head after this hit?

As the Lions march toward 0-16, expect the media to start bugging Steve Spurrier about his time at QB for the winless 1976 Bucs.

Joe rooted for the Patriots to beat the Giants in the Super Bowl earlier this year for one big reason. He wanted to see the Pats go 17-0 and make the annoying undefeated ’72 Miami Dolphins disappear forever.

Go away already, guys. Pro Bowler turned cocaine trafficker Mercury Morris is too annoying, along with the other old Dolphins that gather every year to celebrate when all NFL teams finally lose a game. Although, Joe is partial to Larry Czonka, the retro A-Train.

For this season, Joe hopes the 0-10 Lions keep on losing.

Joe wants to see the reaction on Steve Spurrier’s face when the ESPN cameras follow him around asking if he’s excited about the possibility of being overshadowed in the NFL record books. You see, Spurrier was the starting QB on the ’76 Bucs who lost every game, 0-14. That was the only true winless season in modern league history.

It would be great to hear the witty, annoyed comments from the Ol’ Ballcoach.

St. Pete Times columnist John Romano takes a look at the ’76 Bucs team today, in what is sure to be the first of many articles on the ’76 Bucs, if the Lions keep losing.

Recently, former Bucs great Warren Sapp has been unloading on his former Bucs teammate Meshawn Johnson. After a phone call and a scolding from Mom, Sapp has changed his tune.

Seems as though former Bucs great Warren Sapp isn’t the bad ass  he would like people to think he is. At least when his mom gets involved.

Recently, Sapp has been unloading on his former Bucs teammate Meshawn Johnson, going so far as to call Johnson “a bitch” on the Showtime weekly program “Inside the NFL.”

Well, calling Meshawn a female dog apparently didn’t sit so well with Sapp’s mom, per Adam Shefter of NFL.com.

“A week ago I took a shot at an old teammate of mine and I really felt like I crossed the line,” Sapp said. “My mother was watching that show and she gave me a buzz and said, ‘You know what, that’s wrong because you and that boy and the kids and all of your families have played together and won together and you’ve got to apologize.’

“And I said, ‘You’re right.’ I am so wrong for crossing that line with Key and I apologize to my man out there and good luck to you on your (ESPN) show.”

Well. A man can be a big, bad, tough football player spouting crap all day long until his mom calls. Then he’s just like the rest of us.

Odd that Sapp might think Meshawn is effeminate for playing an interior decorator on a reality show, but it’s — Joe guesses — manly to try to make a living as a dancer on a reality show.

UPDATE: Here’s the video (hat tip to AwfulAnnouncing.com):

If Roger Goodell's plan goes through, Bucs playoff tickets will be easier to get, and cheaper.

If Roger Goodell has his way, local scalpers will be screwed if the Bucs make the playoffs.

The NFL commissioner is tired of scalpers making out like bandits while the NFL is not making the same amount of mark-up. In recent years, the NFL has partnered with “ticket bookies” like StubHub.com in an effort to get its slice of the scalping pie.

But the NFL, always out to make an extra buck, is irritated others are making cash. So Goodell is trying to figure out a way to leave the scalpers eating their tickets.

In an article by Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, Goodell might force fans to show identification upon entering the gates to prove they actually bought their tickets from the NFL, not from Sam on the street corner.

“It’s difficult and it’s time consuming, but it may be the next step that we need to take is where you actually say, ‘You come to the stadium with your identification, and you’ll get your two tickets after you’re inside the gate,’ ” Goodell told a small group of reporters in Los Angeles.

While Joe is a capitalist at heart, this proposal warms Joe’s heart. This might make tickets to a playoff game both easier to get, and cheaper.

Goodell’s naughty-minded wife also warms Joe’s heart.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com discusses with Lauren Shehadi his top five NFL teams. Joe was shocked to learn Prisco has the Bucs at No. 4.

Prisco noted that Earnest Graham’s injury will hurt the Bucs and that “it’s funny they sat down Jeff Garcia” for Son of Bob.

Gee, ya’ think?

Watch CBS Videos Online

Buccaneers.com has the entire John Lynch retirement press conference from Monday on video.

Joe just ran across something pretty neat. Earlier today, Buccaneers.com uploaded John Lynch’s Monday press conference when he announced his retirement from One Buc Palace in it’s entirety. The press conference is broken down into two videos.

There are no embed codes as Joe is confident some IT geek must have tried to molest Roger Goodell at some point in his life and he is therefore scared to allow NFL fans to view videos. At any rate, Joe has the links. Here’s the first half of Lynch’s press conference and here’s the second half.

Bucs running back Earnest Graham was placed on the injured reserve list this morning. His season is finished.

The PewterReport.com has reported that running back Earnest Graham is done for the year, placed on injured reserve this morning.

Linebacker Geno Hayes met the same fate as he injured his knee on special teams.

Graham rushed for 563 yards (4.3 avg.) and four touchdowns before sustaining a serious ankle injury vs. the Vikings last Sunday. He was the primary ball carrier for Tampa Bay’s offense, which ranks 14th in the NFL in rushing.

Obviously, Joe is bummed about this. Joe is also scared Warrick Dunn will be too worn down for a playoff run and that Cadillac Williams simply isn’t ready.

So Michael Bennett was expendable? Nice job Chucky!

Tampa Bay area thieves may not want to tangle with new Bucs running back Noah Herron.

As Joe suspected, the Bucs signed a running back, so reports Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times.

The Bucs signed former Northwestern University and Packers RB Noah Herron to a free-agent contract Tuesday, adding depth to a thin backfield after the loss of Earnest Graham to a severe ankle sprain Sunday.

Joe likes this move for a simple reason: Herron is no one to screw around with, as a burglar found out the hard way this summer.

According a criminal complaint, Herron was in an upstairs bedroom playing a video game and talking by phone with his girlfriend about 11:30 p.m. on May 30 when the doorbell rang twice. He ignored it and then heard people on his deck, so he called police.

When he heard breaking glass and realized people were inside and coming up the stairs, he called police a second time.

Then he unscrewed a bedpost, hid behind a bedroom door and saw a man enter and take cash from his desk drawer. Herron told police the man went to the stairs and called to someone else, which made him fear for his life as he realized there were at least two people inside.

When the second intruder came in, Herron hit him in the head, then shut the bedroom door to keep the other man out.

He said he heard one person running outside, and when the man on the floor started to get up, he hit him again and then went to his garage and told police a man upstairs needed medical help.

Herron put the scumbag in the hospital. Nice!

So you pieces of human debris out there, word to the not-so-wise: Don’t plan on breaking into Herron’s home when he moves to town.

As you read here, Joe was scheduled to appear on The Sports Animal, WDAE-AM 620, yesterday with the legendary Steve Duemig about 5:30 p.m.

If you were listening to The Big Dog’s program, you heard the show go off the air temporarily about 5 p.m. because of a technical difficulty at the show’s remote location. Subsequently, Joe’s appearance was cancelled.

The Big Dog was very apologetic and says he’ll have Joe back soon to talk all things Bucs and for updates on the Monte Kiffin-Lane Kiffin saga.

Aaron Boulding of a BSPN.com has an odd video where he bounces across the globe for what seems like the sole purpose of playing video games. Oh, kay.

Meanwhile, Boulding stops at One Buc Palace where various Bucs play video games against members of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed overseas. Joe isn’t sure this is what Al Gore envisioned when he invented the internet. But it’s a neat project the Bucs do with the troops. Anything that makes their grueling days a little bit better is more than OK with Joe.

The best thing about this video is Joe was, uh, introduced to a lovely lass by the name of Molly Qerim. Joe is impressed.

Remember when watching a Bucs-Lions game was a twice-a-year thrill?

Joe’s been studying the 0-10 Lions, who will take on the Bucs in Detroit on Sunday. It’s seriously ugly up in Motown.

But the reality is that Duante Culpepper and Calvin Johnson are capable of several big plays, and our field goal happy Buccaneers love to keep games way too close. …Don’t give the points.

In Detroit, columnist Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press is writing a regular Road to XVI feature. It takes a fun look at Detroit’s march towards Loserville.

The Lions don’t have a single impact player on defense, and their only true impact guy on offense, Calvin Johnson, is hamstrung by mediocre quarterbacking, poor play-calling and constant attention from defenses.

How do you beat the Lions? However you’d like.

Joe would like to order a Bucs touchdown drive on the opening possession and a 10-0 first quarter lead, please.

Jeremy Green of BSPN.com ranks his top six NFL teams as we enter Week 12 and surprisingly, Green has the Bucs ranked No. 5. Watch Green explains his rationale:

Tiffany Simons and Gregg Rosenthal of NBCSports.com discuss why fantasy footballers would be wise to choose either Bucs running back Warrick Dunn or possibly take a stab at Cadillac Williams.

Joe’s not much for fantasy football, or any fantasy sports. Joe’s concept of a fantasy has nothing to do with football but everything to do with a hottie, a secluded tropical isle and ample supplies of adult beverages.

Upon further inspection, Joe can envision Ms. Simons fitting the bill. A cute chick talking football? Hot!

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune told WQYK 1010-AM's Bobby Fenton that he thinks Chucky might rush Cadillac Williams back too quick now that Earnest Graham is hurt. Joe doesn't have to think. He believes it.

Joe’s a little late to the table with this, but there is lots happening in Bucsland.

Joe was listening to Bobby Fenton’s weekly Bucs show on WQYK 1010-AM Monday night and Fenton, who Joe enjoys a great, ran a tape of an interview he had with Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune earlier that day on Fenton’s morning show, “The Free Stretch.”

In the interview, Cummings feared Gruden, in desperation now that Graham is done, will rush Cadillac Williams back to the field probably before he should even suit up.

“He might rush Caddy out of the garage too soon,” Cummings said.

Joe is convinced Chucky will pull such a stunt.

Chucky doesn’t give a damn about a player’s health. Chucky believes if a player is breathing, he should be on the field. Joe is beyond convinced that Caddy will blow his knee again because Chucky will be desperate to get him back on the field long before he even should don a helmet.

In his NFC South video blogger blitz, Vacation Man talks about what a stud newly retired John Lynch was. Vacation Man also discusses the Bucs running back issues.

Earnest Graham's ankle injury might keep him out until 2009. Check in with Joe regularly for updates

UPDATE: 5:59 p.m. Joe has learned Earnest Graham was using a motorized wheelchair/scooter today to get around. Also, Graham has a high ankle sprain that could keep him out 4-10 weeks. Bucs medical staff has not determined the depth of the injury at this time.

Our source? Earnest Graham himself, speaking today on The Earnest Graham Show at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports Radio 1010 A.M. Graham co-hosts with J.P. Peterson every week.

Graham was upbeat and expressed optimism that the injury wasn’t worse. Graham said a more definitive diagnosis is expected later this week.

Graham left Sunday’s game against the Vikings after injuring his ankle in the first quarter. He did not return.

Typically, team officials update the media on injuries on Wednesdays.

Tom Dienhart of Rivals.com said on the online network's Sirius radio show that "it's almost a done deal" Monte Kiffin will join his son Lane in the college ranks

Tom Dienhart of Rivals.com, speaking today on the online network’s Sirius radio show, Rivals Radio, noted that former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, son of Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, is in line for one of three coveted college football openings at Washington, Tennessee and Clemson.

Dienhart, a former senior writer for The Sporting News, said his sources have told him that “it’s almost a done deal” that whatever job the younger Kiffin takes he will bring along his father Monte to serve as his defensive coordinator.

“All these kids want to play in the NFL and what better way to help recruiting then to have the kids coached by (Monte Kiffin),” Dienhart said.

Joe was the first to report that Clemson was going after Lane Kiffin only if he brought along his father as the defensive coordinator. Lane Kiffin was interviewed recently by Clemson.

Joe also passed along news that Raiders owner Al Davis, in his press conference announcing the firing of Lane Kiffin, said Monte Kiffin had admitted to Davis he wanted to coach with his son.

CBSSports.com has another few clips of Chucky’s postgame press conference after the win over the Vikings. Nothing really new here, but Joe figures if you are a Bucs fan, there is never enough Bucs information.

Watch CBS Videos Online