No. 84 will be politically correct and all for the team on his radio show tonight, but Joey Galloway has got to be extremely frustrated about his role as cheerleader on the sidelines

Anyone else wondering why Joey Galloway is out of the loop in the Bucs offense? He was rarely on the field Sunday.

Jon Gruden made the most of two true deep threats when he coached in Oakland. Of course, they were Hall of Fame studs Tim Brown and Jerry Rice. Even when they didn’t catch the ball, those guys opened up space on the field for Charlie Garner, a very Warrick Dunn-like presence.

Joe’s hoping Chucky doesn’t have Galloway in the doghouse and that he was just playing matchups yesterday. Frankly, the Bucs didn’t seem to miss Galloway against the Vikings, but he’s too talented to be on the sidelines.

The fact Joe is able to deliver Bucs video highlights to the masses before 8 p.m. on a Sunday should be enough for any Bucs fan to jump for joy.

Just because Roger Goodell doesn’t want you to see highlights via the Internet outside of NFL.com doesn’t mean Joe won’t bring you the links.

First are over four minutes of game highlights replete with calls from Gene Deckerhoff, Dave Moore and the clowns from Minnesota.

Next are NFL Network highlights with analysis from Jim Mora and Tom Waddle.

And lastly Joe has the postgame press conference from Chucky.

The Bucs look like major boobs in, or near, the red zone. It nearly cost them the game against the Vikings. ...Speaking of major boobs, Joe's a big fan a Robin Meade

Joe views the Bucs as a true Super Bowl contender. That’s what gets him excited in the morning, except when he’s watching Robin Meade on CNN.

So the Bucs failing miserably to win the Vikings game with its offense late in the fourth quarter made Joe want to vomit. That’s not how true contenders perform.

To reset the scenario, the Bucs started a drive with just 2:24 left in the game on the Vikings 27 yard line. That’s right, the Vikings’ 27. The Bucs led by six and needed a field goal and/or a first down to all but finish off the Vikings. And the Bucs got neither.

Here’s how the ugliness went down:

• 1st down – handoff to Dunn for four yards over right guard
• 2nd down- same play. Dunn loses one yard
• 3rd down – pitch to Dunn left loses four yards
• 4th down – Matt Bryant misses a 46-yarder, and the Bucs defense is forced to step up yet again

This late-game meltdown falls on Chucky’s fearful playcalling and the continued inability of the offensive line to establish a running attack. The Bucs attacked well vertically most of the game yet still couldn’t get a rhythm in the running game and averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. They were just beaten at the line of scrimmage.

It’s hard to be negative after such a big home win that kept the Bucs perfect at RJS and re-established their defense as a dominant force. But Joe is very worried by the offense’s inability to execute when it really has to get it done. That’s not going to cut it on the road against the Giants in the NFC Championship game.

Fullback B.J. Askew got his first carry as a Buccaneer against the Vikings

It took 17 games for B.J. Askew to have his number called in the Bucs running game. Against the Vikings, the big fullback took his first-ever carry for Tampa Bay in the third quarter and powered into the end zone for a 1-yard TD to tie the score.

Major props to Askew for a successful return against the Vikings after being out a couple of months with a torn hamstring.

Joe told you last week not to underestimate the impact of his return. His blocking and receiving skills are in another league compared to Jameel Cook’s.

Five sacks and a shutout in the second half might finally earn the Bucs defense major respect nationally

Before this week, the national media showed the Bucs little love. Get ready for that to change. 

How will the experts deal with the Bucs holding national golden boy Adrian Peterson to only 85 yards and knocking him off the path to 2,000 yards? They will start slobbering all over the Bucs defense, which proved ready for today’s huge test from the Vikings., especially considering Gus Frerotte didn’t throw a pick.  

Joe is sure you’ll hear a lot this week about the Bucs having a Super Bowl-caliber defense, plus Jeff Garcia’s leadership and deadly accuracy. He’s now throwing at a 70 percent clip for the season.

ESPN’s Mark Schlereth and other talking heads picked the Vikings to win this game.

Maybe now Barrett Ruud, Tanard Jackson and the other relatively unknown studs on the Bucs defense will get their due.

BUCS 19, Vikings 13

Great win by the Bucs! Joe is so happy he has to momentarily walk over to the grocery store to restock his supply of adult beverages.

* How about that Bucs defense? Five sacks. Five! They absolutely shut down the Vikes in the second half. The time of possession for the Bucs didn’t hurt either. It helped keep the defense fresh.

* Fantastic playcalling by Chucky in the second half, especially the first possession of the third quarter. Joe also loved the blocking by Garcia on the touchdown drive. The Bucs did their best to blow up the drive but great job by Chucky to get the ball in the end zone.

* Joe has made it perfectly clear what he thinks of the King of Turds, Jerramy Stevens. But this jerk actually made some plays today. Doesn’t change what Joe thinks of the King of Turds but Joe has to give credit where credit is due. Hopefully this will be the King of Turds’ last game as a Buc.

* Derrick Brooks was making plays all game. Great play by the old veteran to break up a pass on fourth-and-one after Ronde Barber missed a sack.

* Clifton Smith really hits the hole quickly. Joe loves his burst of speed. But son, please take care of the ball!

Joe has some quick musings on the first half:

* Great to see John Lynch be an honorary captain. Even though he wore other teams’ jerseys, he will always be a Buc.

* Good to see a long pass on the first play rather than a dink-and-dunk for three yards. Also good to see Michael Clayton start the game off well.

* Loved Derrick Brooks spying on Adrian Peterson. Notice Brooks always gets the call when an opposing stud offensive skill player comes to Tampa Bay?

* So B.J. Askew is a “body rocker?” Personally, when Joe thinks of “body rocker,” Rachel Watson springs to mind

* Wonderful play by Jeff Garcia when he scrambled, bought time and hit Warrick Dunn for a long gain late in the first quarter.

* When he gets some space, there are few backs more fun to watch than Dunn.

* A gadget play by Chucky? Joe likes the idea but that Wildcat play Chucky called was very unimpressive.

* Though Joe is not excusing him at all, is Jeremy Youngblood starting to get a reputation as a headhunter by officials? Is Youngblood starting to become something of a target? Moronic personal foul by him in the first quarter may have cost the Bucs a touchdown. Come on Jeremy, you’ve got to use your head!

* When Garcia got clobbered in the second quarter, Joe nearly had a heart attack. He had visions of Son of Bob!

Vikings (5-4) at Bucs (6-3)
Week 11
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: FOX, WTVT Channel 13, DirecTV/NFL Sunday Ticket Channel 708.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 113.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, a crisp yet sunny day in Tampa Bay. Kickoff temperature is expected to be 61 with a very slight breeze. Temperatures should remain steady with a forecast of 60 in the fourth quarter.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Bucs -4.
Outlook: If the Bucs are true contenders for the NFC South and not pretenders, they need to put the Vikings away. Simply put, Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte is too awful to describe and the Vikings punt and kickoff coverage teams have more holes than a fishing net. Sure, Adrian Peterson is an elite running back and quite possibly the best in the NFL. He is carrying the Vikings. But it’s not like the Bucs defense is soft.

The Bucs defense only needs to worry about Peterson. It seems whenever the Bucs play an average offense with one absolute stud skill position player, the Bucs shut that guy down and take prisoners with the rest of his teammates.

When the Bucs have the ball it’s a bit more dicey. Minnesota’s defensive line is quite good and the Bucs offense line will have to play up to its expectations. With a lot of passing (and Lord knows Chucky is infatuated with the dink-and-dunk garbage) it could be a long day for Carmella’s husband. If so that means Son of Bob. If that happens, please have an emergency bottle of liquor nearby.
Yeah, Joe gets to be a broken record with the following: If the Bucs can run the ball and control the clock thereby playing keep-away and limit the number of touches Peterson has, the Bucs should win.

Throwing the ball to Ike Hilliard is the surest bet in the NFL, according to Football Outisders, the team of stat geeks who study every single play

Joe confesses. He’s a bit of a math geek. He enjoys a quality numbers challenge or some meaty data to study.

So it’s no surprise that Joe admires the work of Football Outsiders, the team of math wizards that has its own set of statistics to breakdown all things NFL. (Please don’t even bother going to their Web site if you ever hated a math class. Your head might explode)

The Football Outsiders recently released “catch rate” stats for wide receivers, which tracks what percentage of balls thrown a player’s way are caught by the player. For what that’s worth, Ike Hilliard leads the NFL with a catch rate of 87 percent. That means he hauled in 33 of the 38 balls thrown to him. Second in the NFC is Arizona’s Anquan Boldin with 73 percent.

No surprise to see Hilliard on top of the list. He runs sharp routes, has great hands and rarely takes a deep throw. And he’s fearless over the middle, as evidenced in the catch against Seattle when Leroy Hill did his best to dislodge HIlliard’s head.

Keep it up, Ike. We need you.

Warren Sapp again unloaded on his former Super Bowl-winning teammate Meshawn Johnson. Something tells Joe these two won't exchange Christmas cards this season.

Man, Meshawn Johnson must have really hacked off Warren Sapp when the two played for the Bucs. Sapp unloaded on Meshawn again yesterday on WQAM-AM Radio in Miami on a show hosted by former Dolphins stud Jim Mandich.

Just this season, this is not the first time nor the second time Sapp has gone after Meshawn. In fact, this is the third time this past month Sapp has grilled Meshawn.

Friday, per ProFootballTalk.com, Sapp described an incident between Meshawn and Chris Simms in a 2003 practice that Sapp and linebacker Derrick Brooks witnessed.

It culminated in 2003, the season after the Bucs won a Super Bowl title. Rookie quarterback Chris Simms was in camp, throwing balls to Johnson.

“Me and [linebacker Derrick] Brooks walked across the field and Chris Simms was there,” Sapp said. “He’s a big left-handed kid — Christopher as his father tells me he named him, Christopher Simms — and he throws the ball to Keyshawn on an out-route. Me and Brooks was right there in front of Keyshawn and he drops the ball and looks back at the kid and says, ‘Your ball spins funny.’ I looked at Brooks and I said, ‘I will never say another word to this man. He don’t know what my bad is Brooks. It’s always someone else’s fault.’

“Brooks said, ‘Wow.’ So that’s why I said what I said. Enough is enough. You want to get on a damn show or do something crazy, yeah, but interior decorating? I mean come on. Let’s be men about this.”

Not to steal a line from Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, but is being an interior decorator any less or more manly than appearing on a dancing reality show?

One of Joe's all-time favorites, John Lynch, is retiring.

Joe seems to be ahead of the curve of late. First it was Monte Kiffin, now John Lynch.

It appears one of the NFL’s greatest safeties is finally calling it quits. Joe has learned via ProFootballTalk.com that both Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com and Adam Shefter of NFL.com, the two best NFL reporters, are reporting Lynch is done.

And Lynch will announce his retirement here in Tampa! Where he will always be a Buccaneer! The press conference will be 3 p.m. Monday.

This is a sad day for Joe. Lynch was one of Joe’s all-time favorites. Joe has a bobblehead doll of Lynch in his office. But Joe is sort of relieved Lynch is calling it quits. Lynch has so much to offer and Joe was concerned that Lynch might end up like Joe Frazier with another concussion or two.

Thanks for the memories John! You were — and are — the best!

Just the suggestion that the Bucs are worse off since Son of Bob was injured is so revolting to THE PESSIMIST it nearly provoked a seizure.

THE PESSIMIST has always been a big fan of Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com and the Kansas City Star. Really, you have to admire a guy who gets fired from BSPN for publicly calling out Mike Lupica, both on and off the air. Well done, Jason!

And Joe also knows that Jason played offensive line for Ball State. So it’s not like he doesn’t know the game.

If that isn’t enough street cred for you, how about the time Whitlock and Meshawn Johnson had to be separated because the two almost got into a fistfight in the Bucs locker room after a game?

But when Joe read the following from Jason’s recent column on FoxSports.com it pained Joe and saddened him.

Jason was writing about the top 10 and bottom 10 NFL coaches and he had Chucky at No. 10 of the best.

10. Buccaneers’ Jon Gruden: He lost his quarterback (Brian Griese) and tailback (Cadillac Williams) and the Bucs are still sitting at 6-3. The Bucs have a mediocre offensive line and 50-year-old Joey Galloway is the team’s deep threat. Somehow Gruden gets this offense in the end zone often enough for the Bucs to be competitive.

The problem isn’t that Jason had Chucky at No. 10. That argument is for another day. It’s the misinformation that Jason uses to come up with his conclusion that is troubling.

First of all, only Son of Bob’s father, agent or wife would consider Son of Bob the Bucs starting quarterback. The only reason Son of Bob was even in the lineup was one of Chucky’s twisted and demented mind games. It’s a blessing for the Bucs that Son of Bob got hurt. It forced Chucky’s hand.

Now hold on! THE PESSIMIST doesn’t want any player to get hurt. But he cringes at how awful the Bucs season would be if Son of Bob was still behind center. 

Same thing with Cadillac Williams. He’s been out with an injury for over a year and the Bucs have better running backs. Chucky and the Bucs didn’t “lose” Williams. Besides, the Bucs won the NFC South last year without Williams. So how exactly were the Bucs worse off without him?

Additionally, Jason called the White Tiger the Bucs only deep threat. Really? You mean Jason never saw Antonio Bryant?

The worst element of Jason’s comment was the Bucs have a mediocre line. Give me a break! The offensive line is arguably the best the Bucs have ever had! Sure, they can be a bit shaky with pass blocking but for run blocking these guys are road graders.

Most depressing about Jason’s synopsis is that Jason (allegedly) was in the Arrowhead Stadium press box when the Bucs played in Kansas City two weeks ago. So how in the world can he suggest the things he wrote?

Jason, THE PESSIMIST loves you but come on man. If you haven’t watched a team, don’t try to pretend you know everything about the team. What you wrote tells just about any Bucs fan that you paid little or no attention to the Bucs in the past two years.

You’re better than that, Jason!

It's been five weeks since the Bucs D has had a challenge near the level of what they'll get Sunday from the Vikings

Think about the Bucs’ last three opponents – Seattle, Dallas and Kansas City – three teams that started backup quarterbacks and had second-rate offenses.

Tampa Bay’s “D” performed superbly in two of those games and got lit up by the Chiefs before the bye week. Lost in all that celebrating and postgame Chucky spin, was K.C. racking up  183 yards on the ground and 384 for the game.

So here come the Vikings into Tampa on Sunday with 1,000-yards-already running back Adrian Peterson and a quarterback who’s better and smarter than Seneca Wallace, Brad Johnson and Tyler Thigpen, the last three to start against the Bucs.

(Yes, Joe knows Gus Frerotte sucks, but he’s still better than those three. And the Vikings are 5-2 since he took over as the starter.)

Minnesota represents a supreme test for the Bucs defense, and, frankly, they need it. It’s been too long since they’ve had to face a playoff caliber challenge.

Unfortunately, there’s no reason to think the Bucs offense will move the ball consistently against the Vikings’ stud pass rush and run-stuffing defense, third best in the NFL. Heck, the Bucs have struggled against much worse.

It will be up to the defense to prove again they can take over a game against a quality opponent.  We haven’t seen that since the Carolina game five weeks ago.

Time for the weekly power rankings and Joe has them.

Leading off is Jason McIntyre, the creator of TheBigLead.com. He has the Bucs ranked No. 10.

Darn, Caddy’s back in time for the Vikings.

Vic Carucci of NFL.com has the Bucs a bit higher at No. 7.

As the Bucs hope to sort out their injury-ravaged running game, they’d better have an answer for stopping Adrian Peterson.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com incredibly has the Bucs at No. 4.

Jon Gruden has to be thrilled with his 6-3 start and the way Jeff Garcia has played. We know the defense will be good.

Vacation Man of BSPN.com isn’t as high on the Bucs but he has them listed at No. 6.

Bucs should be pretty healthy coming off the bye, and they might have Cadillac Williams back. But Adrian Peterson will be most talked-about runner in Tampa this week.

And finally, Joe checks in with Dr. Z, Paul Zimmerman of SI.com. He lists the Bucs at No. 8.

Headline on Buccaneers Web site: Gruden dismisses rumors that he’s going to the U. of Tennessee. Dismiss, dismiss dismiss. We’ll meet again at the next recess period. Where have I heard all this before? Just substitute the names and the schools. Nick Saban dismisses Alabama rumors, Bobby Petrino dismisses Arkansas, Al Groh dismisses Virginia, going way back to Ray Perkins dismisses Alabama. What ever happened to the sanctity of a contract? Of the American home? Of girls with glasses?

Woody Cummings of TBO.com suggests the reactivation of Cadillac Williams was, in part, a motivational tool for the team. If accurate, Joe considers this yet another weak Chucky stunt.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune has posted his weekly podcast. In this edition, Cummings explains one reason Cadillac Wiiliams was reinstated was because he made such significant progress in rehabbing his knee injury. So the move was, in part, a message to other players that if you bust your tail you will be rewarded.

Joe thinks this is high school nonsense.

Look, the Bucs are in the playoff hunt and if not for Chucky’s lamebrain offensive gameplans the Bucs would have an even better record. If anything, this nonsense of juggling running backs and how Chucky dealt with Michael Bennett did more to Pearl Harbor morale than the major roll of the dice of bringing Cadillac back so soon.

Cummings also briefly discusses the Chucky-to-Tennessee chatter.

You’ve read it. Joe’s read it. Every Bucs fan has read it or heard about it: Former Bucs great Warren Sapp called his former Bucs teammate Meshawn Johnson “a bitch.”

Now you can see and hear it for yourself. Joe has the video. It comes around the 1:30 mark from CBSSports.com. The Tiffany Network’s censors bleep out the word but Joe knows what it is. Joe also loves Chris Collingsworth’s reaction.

Watch CBS Videos Online

The NFL Network has a short video feature on how the White Tiger might be more involved in the offense Sunday.

Joe’s loading up on the video. Let’s be honest, it’s Friday and you don’t want to read. You want to watch. As the ad campaign for the NFL Network famously says, “All you want is football.” Joe understands.

First up, the NFL Network (memo to Roger Goodell: will you please begin providing embed videos?) has a brief segment on the return of Cadillac Williams. Next up is Chucky talking about the rumors that he is in the running for the vacancy at the University of Tennessee.

The third video is the NFL Network’s breakdown of the Bucs-Vikings game. And finally the NFL Network has a video on the possibility of the return of the White Tiger, Joey Galloway.

JoeBucsFan.com analyst Jacquez Green, the former Bucs wide receiver (1998-2001) and All-American at the University of Florida (1995-1997), checks in with his breakdown of the Bucs offense. This week Green talks about how the bye can affect the Bucs.

Green, who won back-to-back Madden Bowls, is currently the offensive coordinator at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg.

This is a good time for the Bucs to have a bye. It’s not too early. If a bye comes early, that’s not always good. Sometimes you are just starting to click with the offense and then you have a bye. You never want to disrupt something just when you get rolling. And the Bucs are rolling.

As a player, you always looked forward to the bye. It gives everyone a chance to rest a little and heal up. The bye for the Bucs this year is perfect. The bye comes with just three more division games left. That’s great.

The receivers I think are really playing solid just when it’s getting into the meat of the schedule. I think the offense is on a roll. A lot of people are complaining but you can always nitpick an offense. Let’s be honest: This is Tampa Bay. The team is built on defense so the offense will always be the step-sister. The Bucs offense will always be nitpicked.

CBSSports.com’s Charley Casserly and Jason Horowitz have the preview on the Bucs-Vikings. Casserly predicts the Bucs will crowd the line of scrimmage on defense to stop the run and adds, “Good luck.” Casserly suggests Adrian Peterson is the NFL MVP.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Monte Kiffin's son, Lane Kiffin, interviewed with Clemson University last week for the vacancy left by Tommy Bowden's firing. Will Monte work for his son, which is what Al Davis claims Monte told him he wanted to do?

Last month, Joe was the first to report, citing Joe’s sources, that Clemson University boosters had decided to throw money at former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin to take over for fired coach Tommy Bowden, but only if Kiffin brought along his father, Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, to run the Tigers’ defense.

Per Joe’s source, this was strictly a package deal: Both Kiffins had to come.

Today, multiple sources are reporting Lane Kiffin indeed interviewed for the Clemson opening last week. No word on the specifics of the interview.

The question remains: Will Monte Kiffin go with his son if Lane Kiffin is offered the Clemson gig? Remember, Al Davis, in his press conference after he fired Lane Kiffin, admitted that Monte Kiffin approached Davis about joining the Raiders’ staff so he could work alongside his son.

In a curious curve to the story, Lane Kiffin was interviewed on Friday by Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips. The interview just happened to be during the Bucs’ bye week. Hmmm?

Time will tell if this fire continues to burn bright.

A definite Hall of Famer one day, John Lynch is being considered for another ballot in 2010

John Lynch couldn’t get hired by the Patriots. And it’s been lonely sitting by the phone waiting for NFL general managers to call. So maybe the future Hall of Famer will take a meeting with Dick Wadhams, head of Colorado’s Republican party.

Wadham named Lynch as a potential face of the struggling Republican party in Colorado, according a recent report in the Denver Post.

Lynch, it seems, scored major points making stump speeches around the state with John McCain and Sarah Palin this fall. The GOP chief told the Post Lynch is on his short list of candidates for Senate and Governor races in 2010.

“He’s a superstar. He’s been in the back of my mind,” Wadhams said.

Joe would rather see Lynch return to the field. But that’s unlikely, since he probably only answers his phone if the caller ID reads Dungy, Kiffin or Belichick.

But at least he’s a better potential candidate and role model than Charles Barkley, who is always talking about taking over the chief executive role in Alabama. Unlike Barkley, Lynch never spit on a little girl during a game.