The Bucs’ head coach is 5-3 and his team is on the rise. He’s also 8-16 overall for an organization that wasn’t satisfied with 9-7 and wants to build a lasting contender.

Does Raheem Morris deserve a new contract?

Rick Stroud, of the St. Pete Times, shared some tender time with the head coach to talk about what Stroud says is Team Glazer’s one-year option on Raheem for 2011 and what the future holds.

“I’ve been Mr. One-Year Contract Boy for a long time,” [Raheem] said. “I kind of like being a free agent. It makes you hotter.

“A lot of people are not confident in that situation. But I’ve got a lot of confidence and belief in myself and in what we’re doing that things will work itself out.”

Assuming there’s a football season next year, Joe’s quite certain Raheem will return, barring a total collapse during the remainer of 2010. Joe would define a collapse as the Bucs winning just two more games to finish 7-9.

If that happened, barring an injury to Josh Freeman, Joe wouldn’t be so confident in Raheem’s future.

Perhaps that sounds harsh, but a 2-6 finish to the season and major struggles at the gate is a poor combination for any head coach.

There is no better way to prepare for the NFL weekend than the latest edition of “Cosmic Schein,” featuring Adam Schein of FoxSports.com. Among the topics are Eric Mangini, “America’s quarterback” David Garrard, and Jerry Jones. Joe has a hunch Bucs fans will enjoy what Schein has to say about the Bucs game with Carolina.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video/?vid=0c87723e-cdb6-4bf7-b524-106f26be7823&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videocentral_player" target="_new" title="Cosmic Schein: Week 10">Video: Cosmic Schein: Week 10</a>

"Olie, get ready to throw 50 times in Baltimore."

As a manly man, Joe has NFL Network. Therefore Joe watched a hell of a game last night between the Ravens and Falcons.

Unfortunately, Atlanta is now 7-2, a game and a half ahead of the Bucs.

The Falcons came out throwing, and on the second play from scrimmage Matt Ryan was all but decapitated by Tyrell Suggs. Joe had to laugh, remembering how the Bucs never got to the Falcons QB.

The Ravens made the Falcons’ stud running game look feeble, holding Michael Turner to 39 yards on 17 carries. His longest run was eight yards. But the Falcons had too much firepower and won 26-21, about the same score they beat the Bucs five days ago.

Raheem Morris seemed to know earlier this week that the Ravens would stop Turner while talking about the Bucs’ challenges stopping the run.

“We’re not the Ravens yet. You know I’m not going to kid you there,” Raheem said. “We don’t go out there and stand up … shed blocks and shed tackles all day. Limit you to minus-2 rushing or something like that. I’m not going to be unrealistic.”

Rather than believe in the Falcons’ incredible home record, Joe believed Raheem was seeing something special for the Ravens’ defense on film as it related to Atlanta, and Joe took the Ravens and 1 1/2 points in his pool. Oh, well.

The Bucs’ trip to Baltimore in a few Sundays might require a miracle of epic proportions. Hopefully, they’ll be 7-3 when they get there.

Good guy Stephen Holder discusses potential changes upcoming for the Bucs offensive line in this St. Petersburg Times video.

Despite Joel Glazer saying loud and clear that “money will never be an issue” when it comes to building the Bucs, Rick Stroud of the St. Pete Times doesn’t seem to believe him.

Stroud told his followers cutting Derrick Ward was a business decision. Now Stroud says Jeff Faine possibly riding the bench this week could also be a business decision. 

Stroud was reacting to Raheem Morris saying at his news conference today that Faine will have to battle for his job with fill-in center Jeremy Zuttah and there is a concern that Faine is not in game shape despite being healthy.

“There’s an economic angle to this,” Stroud said on 1010 AM to host J.P. Peterson Thursday. 

Stroud talked about the mega millions of non-guaranteed cash owed Faine and said “purely from a business standpoint, …knowing what you know about the Bucs, is it a stretch to think [Faine’s] not within their plans?”

Joe knows the Bucs are light years below what would be the salary cap floor when/if a salary cap returns to the NFL with a new labor agreement.

The Bucs will be forced to spend gobs of cash when that day comes. Considering Faine’s age and time missed for injury, Joe would rather see the Bucs spend that dough elsewhere versus on Faine.

Now Joe is sure his readers fly to Vegas to wager legally, versus placing bets with the guy whose cell number changes every week. 

Regardless of how or why you wager, Joe knows there are many aspiring handicappers reading. So to please the gambling crowd, Joe has turned to superpicker Bob Fox. A writer for various sports publications over the years, Fox flashed his stellar picking skills back in 2008 on JoeBucsFan.com, when Joe had a contest here among sports media.

Fox gives you a handful of games here every week. To date, Fox is 24-12 on the season. Not too shabby.

By BOB FOX
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Baltimore Ravens 24, Atlanta Falcons 20
 
This game will be the first televised by the NFL Network in 2010, and it matches two teams that are 6-2 and leading their respective divisions. The Falcons are coming off a big win vs. the Bucs, which was also in Atlanta, like this game will be. However, the Tampa Bay game might have come at a very large cost as WR Roddy White suffered a knee injury that has made him questionable for tonight. White is key in the Atlanta passing game, along with TE Tony Gonzales.  But the running game is what makes the Falcons click, as they are sixth in the NFL in rushing, behind RB Michael Turner. The Ravens can stop the run at times, as they are ranked 13th in the NFL, plus they play the pass well (led by S Ed Reed), as they are ranked ninth. The Ravens offense is very balanced, as they are ranked 10th in rushing and 14th in passing behind QB Joe Flacco. I just like the Ravens ability to make big plays more in this game, whether it’s someone like RB Ray Rice, ILB Ray Lewis or a ball hawking safety like Reed making a game changing play. I know there won’t be many fans disappointed in the Tampa Bay area if the Ravens win, that’s for sure.   

Florida Gators 31, South Carolina Gamecocks 24
 
Who would have believed just a few weeks ago that the Gators would have any chance of winning the SEC East and advancing to the SEC championship game after dropping three straight games in October. Luckily for the Gators, those three losses all came from SEC West teams (Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State). Since then, the Gators have turned it around, winning a key game vs. Georgia and then blowing out Vanderbilt.  QB John Brantley has been exceptionally sharp under center in these last two games for the Gators, completing 63 percent of his passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns as the Gators offense is starting to play pretty well. The Gators defense has been solid all year, as they are ranked seventh nationally. South Carolina, meanwhile, has gone 2-2 after upsetting top ranked Alabama. The loss last week to Arkansas was eye-opening, as the Gamecocks secondary gave up 303 yards to Ryan Mallet in a 41-20 beat down. South Carolina plays the run pretty well, but the Cocks are ranked 106th in the country vs. the pass. QB Stephen Garcia has had a nice season overall, but he’ll be going against a very tough secondary. The Cocks have lost to the Gators four straight years, plus this year’s game is at the Swamp, so I see the Gators taking care of their former old ball coach…Steve Spurrier…as Gator nation will be thrilled by the win.   
 
Chicago Bears 20, Minnesota Vikings 17
 
The game between the Vikings and the Bears in Chicago is huge for many reasons. The Bears need to win to stay even with the Packers who are 6-3 and lead the NFC North. The Vikings need to win, as another loss will put them 3-6 and on life support with another game vs. the Pack looming next week. The Vikings are still a team that is imploding, even thought they came back from two touchdowns down very late in the game last week to defeat Arizona at home. It was another classic Brett Favre comeback that led the way, but the win also allowed head coach Brad Childress to keep his job, the same week he waived WR Randy Moss without first gaining approval by team owner Zygi Wilf. The Vikings had acquired Moss just a month or so ago by trading a third-round pick to the Patriots. In addition to all that, Childress had a spirited argument with WR Percy Harvin last week at practice, just a week or so after throwing Favre under the bus after the game in the 28-24 loss to the Packers at Lambeau. Talk about a dysfunctional family.  Da Bears have played Favre and the Vikings very tough at home recently (beat the Vikes 36-30 last year in the Windy City), and I see the eighth-ranked Chicago defense (led by Brian Urlacher and Charles Tillman) making enough big plays to cause a total implosion for the Vikings.
 
Pittsburgh Steelers 27, New England Patriots 24
 
The Steelers come off a big road win against the Bengals on Monday night, while the Patriots suffered a shocking 34-14 defeat on the road at the hands of the suddenly surging Browns. This game on Sunday night will be at Heinz Field, and all signs point to another Pittsburgh win. The Pats are 6-2, but seem to be winning behind smoke and mirrors, as the New England offense is ranked only 19th, while the defense is ranked 27th. QB Tom Brady has been very solid though, as he has thrown 14 TD passes to just four interceptions, for a 95.7 QB rating. The Steelers also have an elite QB in Ben Roethlisberger, as the rust is starting to wear off from his four-game suspension to start the year, as Big Ben has thrown 6 TD passes compared to three picks, for a QB rating of 96.8. In addition, the Steelers have a nice running game as well, led by RB Rashard Mendenhall, who has 702 yards rushing thus far, along with seven TDs. But in Pittsburgh, everything starts with the defense and this year is no exception, as the Steelers are ranked fourth. The Steel Curtain defense is ranked No. 1 vs. the run in the NFL, while they are only 24th in pass defense. Brady could use that to his advantage, if he can stay upright. The Steelers are tied for fifth in the NFL in sacks, while Brady has only been sacked 13 times in 8 games.  Bottom line, I see the Steelers outlasting the Pats.

Ronde Barber told a group of Carolina reporters yesterday that Raheem Morris’ approach is spot on for this young football team.

Joe listened in on the Panthers’ official website and Barber said there’s been no let up to Raheem’s high-energy approach since Day 1.

“Raheem’s a lot looser than some of the other coaches I’ve had here, but his approach to football and his approach to what goes on in this building I think relates well to a young football team. And so everybody’s excited for it, still excited for it,” Barber said. “That energy hasn’t died down at all. It’s always a hard transition when you’re getting a new coach. But he made it as easy as possible, even though we were struggling a little bit last year.”

No doubt Raheem has the Bucs playing extraordinarily hard from top to bottom on the roster.

Joe wonders whether Raheem will have the magic touch for knowing when to tighten — or futher loosen — the reigns and manage the club when it matures this year and beyond.

Yes, the gorgeous Jenny Dell has returned after vanishing last week, to babble statistical nonsense at you, not that whatever comes out of Jenny’s mouth truly matters in this BSPN video.

For some reason the local newspaper scribes have decided to focus on Gerald McCoy and the anemic pass rush today, and changes coming to the defensive line play.

Joe’s merely browsed through the assorted mumbo jumbo, since Joe prefers his D-line analysis from former Bucs defensive lineman Steve White’s blog, which is usually light years ahead of the curve.

But one quote in Sarasota Herald-Tribune beat writer Tom Balog’s story stood out to Joe. It comes from Bucs D-line coach Todd Wash on Gerald McCoy.

“He’s really, I’d say, five plays away from having five sacks and being right where he needs to be,” said Buccaneers defensive line coach Todd Wash. “Maybe it’s technique letdown. He’s close. He’s seeing those little tiny things that maybe he got away with in college are really keeping him from getting three or four sacks up to this point.”

Now if stats are for losers, then who are almost stats are for? Stats like the five plays Wash is talking about.

Joe has to see it on the field at this point. The Bucs are winning, but they’re awful against the run and they’re flirting with the NFL record for fewest sacks in a season. 

Joe wants to see if the Bucs can really coach up the young linemen on the fly and realize some success from the youth. They’ll need it to make a real playoff run.

“We’re entertainers. We’re in the entertainment business.” — Raheem Morris

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

The head coach has busted out this entertainment line and philosophy oh so many times. Every time it makes THE PESSIMIST laugh, but for the wrong reasons. He did it again yesterday.

THE PESSIMIST would love to see Raheem Morris dance and sing, maybe even tell a few dirty jokes because the Bucs play at home needs a helluva lot more entertertainment value. It’s been anything but worth watching.

THE PESSIMIST feels like he’s gotten nowhere near his money’s worth buying tickets these last two years. It’s sickening.

THE PESSIMIST is here to tell Raheem Morris that it’s not good enough to squeak out a win Sunday against the heinous Panthers. Carolina is the worst team in the NFL and on a downward slide. The Panthers suck at 1-7. Jimmy freakin’ Clausen is starting on Sunday. Dan Conner is gone, and DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart aren’t practicing because of injury.

The Bucs need style points Sunday. They need to pound the crap out of Carolina. There will be nothing entertaining about another fourth quarter comeback against this crap team. Nothing.

Good teams on the rise clobber crap teams at home, especially the ones with loads of injuries, rookie quarterbacks, a coach on the hotseat and that have probably given up on the season.

There are no more excuses. If they’re entertainers, then Sunday is the easiest stage they’ll get the rest of the way.

No fans are paying $100 a ticket for fat cheerleaders or second-rate football. For THE PESSIMIST, the win is meaningless this week. The entertainment is everything. 

No amount of spin and Rah-Rah from the head coach will convince the Bucs they’re a good team this week if they can’t bury the Panthers by three scores.

Joe has gone on record several times that Bucs third overall draft pick Gerald McCoy cannot be expected to do much at defensive tackle in 2010 because, well, he’s a rookie, and that he’s getting absolutely no help.

Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune isn’t exactly buying that line of thinking. In this edition of a TBO Bucs vlog, Richardson details his thoughts on GMC’s rookie year. Please let Joe know what you think of Richardson’s views.

In case your coffee hasn’t kicked in yet this morning, it’s Veterans Day, the 11th day of the 11th month.

There’s quite a few people all around you — you may know a few, be related to a few — that did a whole helluva lot just so you can read Joe’s daily screeds about the Bucs (and the Bolts and the Rays and of course, Rachel Watson).

So if you know someone that served once upon a time, just say thanks. Or, Joe recommends what Joe does, a tradition he started a few years ago.

Later this afternoon, Joe will walk into a local VFW hall — an American Legion post will suffice — and step up to the bar and buy a round for the vets. Joe will then promptly walk out once the bill is paid.

It’s a small token of appreciation for what quite a few did so slobs like us wouldn’t be forced to eat sauerkraut each day with a side of sushi and subjected to soccer.

Also, try to keep those who are currently serving overseas to protect us from the animals that fly planes into buildings in your thoughts at least once today.

You’ll be better off for it, trust Joe.

"Let me tell you, Rah, you wanna be @#$'n successful head coach in this league, you better @#$%'n know everything about every @#$%'n player wearing a helmet in this @#$%'n country and Canada. You get what I'm sayin'? You gotta be a @#$%'n one-man freakin' genius like me."

Raheem Morris invoked the name of his great mentor Chucky today in a chat with the Carolina media.

And for those who don’t think Chucky was the driving force in Bucs personnel issues, Raheem might change your mind with his comments.

It seems the prized ripening fruit from Chucky’s coaching tree credits his noble mentor for advising him to know everything about everyone in order to get an edge on his peers.

Raheem was asked how he might prepare to face Carolina rookie QB Tony Pike, who will be the Panthers’ backup on Sunday. Raheem scoffed at the notion he’d have someone dig up college film on Pike.

Panthers reporter: How do you prepare for a guy like Tony Pike? Do you just base it on last week’s film in the fourth quarter? Or would you have someone go back and look at his college tapes?

Raheem Morris: You don’t have to go back if you’ve done a good job in researching guys throughout the draft and being detailed in your assignments. …That’s the only way you get better. That’s the only way you’re able to go out every week and understand people and know who people are so that you can have a chance to compete and have a chance to know.

You know I was told a long time ago by Coach Gruden to be a student of this league and understand all the players and know them all, pride yourself at being a master at personnel in this league. And that’s what I try to do by trying to go back and study film and draft evaluations and everything that we do.

It’s not the first time Raheem has referenced his many years being as involved as he could be in the draft and evaluation of players. It’s just the first time he explained that Chucky was his guiding light.

No touchdowns and 33 catches is the official stat line on Kellen Winslow.

Over the past three games, the Bucs’ big money tight end has just nine catches for 80 yards.

Obviously, his production is down from 2009. Josh Freeman said at his news conference today that it’s a result of defenses trying to make other players beat them.

“Defenses are doing stuff to take him away. Talking to buddies on other teams after the game they’re like, ‘Man, our whole gameplan was to go out and stop you from getting the ball to Kellen Winslow,'” Freeman said.

“He realizes that it’s going to be tough when they’re double teaming him, when they’re rolling a safety down to his side and in and out on all his routes.”

Joe would love to see the Bucs get more creative to get Winslow involved.

When he arrived last year, the big talk from the offensive coordinators was about getting him and Jerammy Stevens work on the field together to capitalize on the mismatches that would create — never materialized — and there was talk about how Winslow could be used as receiver in some sets.

It’s great that he’s getting double-teamed, which opens up the offense for others, but the guy’s a mad talent. The Bucs need to get Winslow more involved.

The gorgeous Jenny Dell is back from a week of hiding. In this BSPN video, rather than prattle about some statistical gibberish, Jenny actually talks real football with Tim Hasselbeck. Specifically, young NFL quarterbacks is the subject and Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman’s name is invoked.

Ex-Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

Last week I wrote about the importance of performance in all three facets — offense, defense, specials teams — for the early season success of this Buccaneers team. There was no better example of this concept than this past Sunday against the division leading Atlanta Falcons.

Without the outstanding performance of the kickoff return team, they would not have been very competitive in the Georgia Dome.

After falling just inches short of winning on the road against a quality opponent, the youngest players on the team were mentioned as “the problem.” Well, the youth of this team can’t be blamed for the lack of success when it is just that youth that is responsible for their unexpected success.

There is a problem, however, with some of their veterans. Second year quarterback Josh Freeman threw an interception when he was hit while throwing by an unblocked defensive end. This was a simple “brainfart” (brainfart: (noun) a mental mistake made on a routine play) by veteran offensive tackle Donald Penn.

On that particular play, the Falcons had four down defensive linemen and a middle linebacker over center, while the Bucs had an empty backfield. There was no way to be confused in this set, but inexplicably Penn turned right to the inside and blocked nobody, because everybody was being blocked already. This left Josh Freeman, the second year QB, without a clue that his veteran left tackle just left him vulnerable to a potentially season-ending blindside hit and the team vulnerable to both losing their star quarterback and also to the resulting turnover. Pass protection assignments and proper reactions by QB and receivers is one area that needs continued attention for this offense.

On the right side of the line, Jeremy Trueblood missed his second straight game and the Buccaneers enjoyed their second straight game without a personal foul or illegal block in the back or illegal procedure call by their big, veteran right offensive tackle. Trueblood’s replacement James Lee was serviceable, but is probably not the long-term answer to securing the right side, as his lack of strength is reminiscent of Kenyatta Walker.

Now to the key play of the game which could have won the game and left the Bucs tied for the best overall record in the entire NFL and alone atop the NFC South.

The offensive line had been struggling regularly throughout the game as the Falcons’ defensive linemen were getting through the gaps before the offensive line could get there. The noise factor with the loud crowd should have been the deciding factor for the quarterback sneak, a play that Josh Freeman is currently sitting at 100% success rate.

And since Raheem Morris likes Rays’ Manager Joe Maddon’s style, which depends heavily on percentages, it would seem Freeman’s perfect past would have led to giving the “savior” the opportunity to save yet another game.

This is not “Monday Morning Quarterbacking”, Dave Moore, former player and radio analyst, was saying this before the play was called. I agree with him whether the Blount play worked or not. The defense is used to reacting to the ball movement and with the crowd noise they are far less likely to jump offsides with the quarterback’s snap count drowned out by the crowd.  So, getting the QB, and in this case a QB bigger than the big RB, to move forward immediately is the best call. 

Dropping games, especially road games, that are within your grasp are hard to swallow, but fortunately the Bucs are only a game out of first place at the halfway point and will get another shot at the Falcons at home.  If you asked Raheem Morris or his coaches or players in August if they would take 5-3 and one game out for their first half of the season, I doubt any would have a problem with that call.

“The Professor,” John Clayton, is shoving people aside on the Bucs bandwagon looking for a seat up front. Clayton dishes out his NFC South midseason report grades in the BSPN video and gives the Bucs the highest grade. Find out why and see if you agree.

Joe feared that when the Bucs drafted defensive tackle Gerald McCoy third overall in the past spring’s draft, he would forever be compared to manbeast Ndamukong Suh who was drafted by the Lions.

Some psychotic Bucs fans even went so far as to label GMC a bust before even the first preseason game kicked off, which to Joe is outrageous beyond words.

When GMC got off to a slow start — expected for rookie defensive tackles — certain haters began whipping Bucs fans into a frenzy, already claiming GMC was a waste.

Joe wrote many times GMC didn’t have a solid veteran playing alongside him as Suh does. This seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Well, not the ears of Joe’s good friend, Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620. Justin has evidence of how GMC is getting no help on the defensive line. In fact, Pawlowski believes GMC is actually playing quite well but the rest of the substandard Bucs defensive line is dragging GMC down.

I learned that Gerald McCoy is getting better and better every week and is becoming very fun to watch. After the last 3 years of keying in on Barrett Ruud, I have now shifted my focus to Gerald McCoy when the Bucs are on defense. I was pleased with McCoy’s effort to get penetration into the Falcons backfield. I think it’s easy for naive people to simply point to the highly touted McCoy when the Falcons were running all over the Bucs defense and when Matt Ryan has tons of time to throw, but that’s simply not his fault. When I see McCoy getting penetration and right next to him I see Roy Miller get completely blown off the ball, you have two guys going in opposite directions, which, in turn, creates a huge gaping hole. McCoy did his job. This guy is going to be very good with better players around him. I’m not saying they are the same type of player, but watch Casey Hampton of the Steelers get penetration, but watch how his teammates take full advantage of his disruption. McCoy needs his teammates to take advantage of his disruption. Until they do, McCoy won’t be viewed as a success.

GMC is starting to get the job done.

What puzzles Joe is how much Roy Miller has regressed. If Miller was playing anywhere near how well he played as a rookie, the Bucs may just be 6-2. The fact Miller has terribly regressed falls squarely in the lap of defensive line coach Todd Wash.

Simply put, with Brian Price, Kyle Moore, Miller and GMC all drafted in the first two days of the past two drafts, that’s a boatload of Team Glazer’s cash invested to rot away by not being coached up.

Is Wash up to the task?

Though the Bucs are in the midst of a playoff run — and a “Race to 10” — as we have reached the midway point of the 2010 season, to this day there are a number of Bucs fans who still hurl obscenities at their computer screen over Peter King.

The Sports Illustrated columnist stepped out on a ledge and guessed the Bucs would win a grand total of two games this year. Many Bucs fans erupted in outrage upon learning this prediction.

But King was hardly alone. Adam Schein of Sirius NFL Radio and FoxSports.com also had an equally dire forecast for the Bucs, going so far as to call the Bucs “a trainwreck,” believing the Bucs would fight the Rams for the first overall pick in the 2011 draft.

But things have changed. Schein, observed earlier this season attempting to board the Bucs bandwagon, is now on record as believing Raheem Morris is the NFL coach of the year, so he wrote on FoxSports.com.

Coach of the Year: Raheem Morris

I thought the Bucs would win five games – between 2009 and 2010. Tampa is 5-3 at the midway point. Morris finally took ownership of his staff and put the team in the hands of young Josh Freeman as the unquestioned leader. I think everyone who follows the league looks at the Bucs with a jaded view, wondering when they will collapse. Morris consistently has the Bucs ready, playing their best ball late in games.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is currently No. 2 on my list, and frankly more of a “1-A”. Separating Morris from Tomlin was rather difficult. Tomlin’s 6-2 start, while missing Ben Roethlisberger for the first quarter of the season, is incredible.

Joe agrees. To Joe’s knowledge, Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune was the first to float this in the MSM, although Joe was squawking about it the minute the Bucs beat the Bengals. As Richardson has said on a number of local sports radio shows, look at the Bucs roster and see if any player is among the top-five at his respective position.

Joe understands how Bucs fans still wake from a deep sleep in a cold sweat, nauseous with the memories of Peter King claiming the Bucs would only win two games this season.

Strangely yesterday, King put down his coffee, pushed aside his bowl of oatmeal and forgot about shoveling popcorn for the moment to suggest the stinging loss to the Dixie Chicks Sunday was the Bucs’ best game of the season.

That’s what the SI.com columnist wrote in his MMQB Tuesday edition column.

“Can #Bucs fans feel like the team has earned some respect, despite a tough loss?”
–@BennyCline

Absolutely. That was the season’s most impressive Tampa Bay performance to me. Coming back late against a good 6-2 team on the road, and losing because they couldn’t convert a fourth-and-short near the goal line … for the Bucs, that’s real progress.

A loss is progress??? Joe is absolutely confused by this. “Progress” would have been LeGarrette bowling over Falcons to score a touchdown to end the game Sunday.

It’s hard for Joe to count a loss as progress when a team very clearly is in the hunt for a playoff berth.