Mike Williams said on the Bucs radio network that officials refused to grant a measurement on the fateful fourth down play that ended the Bucs' final drive.

Yeah, some can point a finger at Josh Freeman for spiking the ball on first down with over a minute left in the fateful final Bucs drive.

Yet the Bucs still almost converted for a first down. Kregg Lumpkin got nine yards on a pass from Freeman and the original spot by the linesman appeared pretty damned close to a first down if not a first down outright.

Then the ball was spotted short of a first down. The play clock was ticking. There were no more timeouts left.

As Joe pointed out earlier, it seemed pretty hectic. Part of that may have been because, per Mike Williams on the Bucs radio network after the game, the team was begging for a measurement, but the officials refused.

“We wanted a measurement, they wouldn’t give us a measurement,” Williams said.

Rarely on a close play is a measurement not granted to a coach. Joe can’t believe the officials in the replay booth didn’t call for a measurement.

To be honest, the Bucs shouldn’t have put themselves in this position. As Derrick Brooks is profoundly known to say, “It is what it is.”

Well, what an interesting season this has been. And it all fit into a nice little package that was the Bucs third-to-last drive of the game, a drive that melted down just like the Bucs season.

For perhaps the first time all season, Raheem Morris/Greg Olson finally decided the team was going to feed the ball to LeGarrette Blount. The team was going to ride his wheels.

Blount paid the Bucs back. He was breaking off what seemed like seven yards a carry. The Bucs were finally imposing their will on the Titans and the Titans has no answer but to bend over and say, “Thank you sir can I have another?”

It was freaking beautiful.

But then the Bucs completely melted down. Kellen Winslow was called for holding. Why??? Then Jeremy Zuttah was busted for a false start, which is downright dumb.

What looked to be a touchdown series, was no more. What looked to be at least a field goal was out of the question with the ball now pushed back to midfield.

“Holding, [illegal procedure], holding, that killed you,” Morris said after the game on the Bucs radio network. “We had to punt the ball back. That’s been our Achilles heel as a team. We cleaned it up but you can’t have a series like that.”

Right there was your 2011 Bucs season, all in one series.

Morris has noted all season that the Bucs are killing themselves with penalties and he is right. Joe knows the coaching staff works to stop this malady. But it continues.

There is clearly a disconnect. Whatever the coaches are teaching the players to limit penalties isn’t sinking in. Whatever techniques the coaches are telling the players, they are not understanding. The key here is to find the disconnect.

Once again Joe pleas for the Bucs to hire an outside consultant to help this team. The playoffs are a virtual pipe dream right now. Chicago and Atlanta would have to have monumental collapses.

With no realistic expectation of a playoff berth, there’s no better time to start preparing for next year than in November.

Joe’s not sure what the heck was happening on Josh Freeman’s late fumble on fourth-and-inches on the Titans’ 30 yard line.

Wasn’t somebody in his ear immediately and calmly telling him to run a sneak up the gut and then spike the ball on first down on the next play? Shouldn’t that have been the play for anything fourth-and-short late before even the third-down snap?

To be fair, Mike Williams said on the Bucs radio network following the game the team was begging the officials for a measurement but the referees refused.

Freeman clearly looked surprised and obviously rushed, which helped lead to the bungled snap.

 Game over.

These kinds of scenarios — forgetting about whether the Bucs could have challenged the spot or demanded a measurement — should be drilled in practice and Freeman and his linemates should have been ready.

The dust hasn’t settled on that play, but it sure seems like the Bucs weren’t being led from the sidelines with the game on the line.

It’s a damn shame the Bucs had the junior varsity playing in front of the secondary today.

As a group the Bucs’ secondary hit. They tackled (with some ugly exceptions). They stripped balls, and didn’t get burned or flagged. They picked and scored a touchdown. It was almost a throwback day for the defensive backs.

Of course, it was led by the active throwback himself, Ronde Barber, whose pure-hustle strip from behind late in the first half was picked up by Tanard Jackson. And the Bucs’ offense marched into the end zone from 31 yards out to close the half and tie the game at 10.

Joe liked the halftime reaction of FOX-TV studio analyst Michael Strahan when told Barber’s play was “a veteran move.” Strahan fired back saying it was a rookie/fundamental move, something taught at the lowest level of football — chase and look to strip. How true.

Aqib Talib’s Pick-6 was a thing of beauty covering Nate Washington, the Titans top receiver.

Dare Joe say the essence of the “yungry” term Raheem Morris has used incessantly was on display from the veteran core of the Bucs’ defense today.

So sad that the effort was wasted.

The Bucs’ historically porous 2011 run defense and more stupid penalties doomed Tampa Bay in Tennessee. The newest version of the “Race to 10” is now history. 

The Bucs have some nice pieces but are a poor, 4-7 team. The worst running attack in the NFL just lit up the Bucs for 200+ yards.

Someone call Domino’s and order a linebacker.

The current streak extends to five losses in a row, and progress for this Bucs team feels like ancient history.  Josh Freeman wasn’t even close on his costly late interception before the final drive was fumbled away. C’mon, the biggest play of the game and you can’t get off a snap?

It was nowhere near enough times for Joe in this game, but LeGarrette Blount was fed the ball 20 times for (whaddyaknow) 103 yards, and Greg Olson finally decided to throw him the ball with excellent results.

Despite all that success, did the Bucs use play-action downfield? Where were the homerun shots?

Stats may be for losers, but the Titans were 7-for-17 on third down and the Bucs were 2-for-10.

There’s your ballgame. (Stick with Joe through the night for so much more on this brutal loss.)

What could be more fun than a rolling tailgate to Jacksonville with hardcore Bucs fans to see your favorite team dominate on Sunday, December 11?

Yes, the Bucs are playing a 1 o’clock game at EverBank Field in Jacksonville against the Jags on Dec. 11, surely a critical game to the Bucs’ playoff hopes. And if you haven’t heard, tickets aren’t too pricey in Jacksonville and there’s plenty of empty seats and tickets outside the stadium.

So let Joe take you there on a chauffeured, 29-seat luxury bus courtesy of Paradise Worldwide Transportation, the official transportation company of the Tampa Bay Lightning and a first-class operation in every way.

The roundtrip cost is only $59.00.

Yes, you can eat anything and drink adult beverages during the trip, and you’ll get free soft drinks and snacks. There will be two pickup/dropoff points — one in Clearwater and one in Tampa.

The bus will depart 11681 49th St. N., Clearwater, at 7 a.m. The location is the Paradise Worldwide Transportation headquarters. Parking is safe and secure there. The second stop in Tampa at Lee Roy Selmons near International Plaza about 7:35 a.m. It also will be at a safe, secure, free-parking location.

The bus will make at least one rest stop during trip. The goal is to arrive in Jacksonville at noon, so there’s plenty of time to relax and get a ticket if you don’t buy one in advance.

That’s about it. Joe has led dozens of trips through Paradise Worldwide Transportation. Buy your ticket now and score your seat. Purchases are not refundable. After purchasing you’ll get a receipt emailed automatically, and a separate email within 24 hours with more details. Questions? Send them to joe@joebucsfan.com.

OK, boys and girls, have at it. Titans hosting the Bucs in the Music City.

Ready… set… go!

• Week 12

Bucs at Titans
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13 locally, DirecTV Channel 710.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 136.
Weather: Per Accuweather.com, simply an ugly day in Music City. For Bucs fans tailgating, they will be dodging raindrops with temperatures in the 40s. As Joe’s dad would say, “that’s simply raw.” Rain should dissipate by kickoff with a temperature of 46, which will be the high for the day. By the end of the game it should be 42 under cloudy skies.
Odds: Per SportsBook.com, Bucs +3.
Outlook: There is no mincing words. A loss and the Bucs are certain to be watching the playoffs in a bar like Joe. The Bucs have to win this game, simply put. And on paper, there doesn’t appear to be an issue. The Titans are garbage against the run and Chris Johnson, on his way to Canton, has hit a road block, which means their running game is a sham. For the Bucs to win, it’s a broken record that Joe is worn out from typing; but it bears repeating. Despite this season’s history that shows the Bucs would rather be cute passing the ball with a passing game that struggles, LeGarrette Blount needs to run the ball time after time until his wheels fall off. Given the fact the Titans struggle against the run, Blount will/could open up the entire Bucs offense. But Joe will believe it when he sees it when it comes to Bucs commitment to the run. Right now, the Bucs are tied with the winless Dolts for fewest rushes, which if you think of it, is disgraceful and, bluntly put, a waste of talent. Run LeGarratte Blount and good things will happen. It’s no more complex than that.

Joe loves food, and Joe is proud to say that Mugs Grill & Bar in Clearwater serves up some of the finest quality and value in the Tampa Bay area.

The wings at Mugs Grill & Bar wings have won more awards than Derrick Brooks, and everything on the menu is extraordinarily fresh and homemade. And if you find a colder draft beer, you’re lying. Mugs has great domestic pitchers for only $6.25 during all football games.

Joe loves the wings but often grabs Mugs’ phenomenal filet mignon tips, real grouper sandwich, or chili cheese fries with bacon.

Don’t forget to join the Mugs E-Club for free nachos for 2 (click above), plus great discounts and deals all year long. You’ll be glad you did.

Mugs also is a dynamite spot to watch all college football, MLB and NFL games.

There’s loads to watch in this game, but Joe definitely will be keeping an eye on the Bucs’ star recruits along the defensive line.

Da’Quan Bowers makes his first start for injured Michael Bennett. Finally Bucs fans will get to see this guy consistently unleashed on opposing quarterbacks. Brian Price, Albert Haynesworth, who should have his starter legs under him now, and Adrian Clayborn will join Bowers.

A quick look at league stats shows the Titans’ beastly offensive line has allowed the fewest “QB Hits” and second fewest sacks in the NFL. As a point of comparison, the Bucs’ high-priced hogs are fourth-best and seventh-best, respectively, in those areas.

Can the Bucs get to the quarterback today at all? They’ve been among the worst in the league in that area all season.

If Chris Johnson and the Titans running game magically gets healthy today (doesn’t everyone’s get healthy against the Bucs?), then it could be very long afternoon, assuming Matt Hasselbeck’s injury doesn’t affect his play.

Earlier this week, Bucs coach Raheem Morris made his weekly appearnace on “The Blitz,” co-hosted by former Super Bowl quarterback Rich Gannon and popular sports radio personality Adam Schein, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Naturally, Joe transcribed the interview.

Adam Schein: Coach, welcome back, Happy Thanksgiving to you and the family.

Raheem Morris: Thanks Adam, I needed that to cheer me up. How you doing, Rich?

Rich Gannon: I knew it would take a special effort to win [at Green Bay]. I was impressed with Freeman, with Blount, definitely, Talib… tell us about the effort.

Morris: That is what it is all about. You play fast, play hard, play consistent and try to play smart. I have no problem with that type of a loss. We didn’t get a win but I feel good about that type of an effort and the resiliency from the coaching staff.

Schein: Raheem, before we get into the Xs and Os, we talked about this the last few weeks, I felt like it was the same refrain, the need to talk about getting faster starts, the need to get LeGarrette Blount the ball but it never happened. What changed? Your team responded this week.

Morris: The double-session pads that we had last week, we recreated practice habits and the running game is powerful. LeGarrette responded. He created holes for himself and was running downhill. The defensive backs did well in man-to-man coverages. At the end of the day, they made more opportunites.

Gannon: Coach, tell us about your decision with the coverages on defense.

Morris: You know how good Aaron Rodgers is. If you give him zone coverage he will dice you up. We tried to make tighter windows for him and take away some timing and make him make plays with his feet. But he did scramble a little and made some throws with his feet.

Schein: Why did you go for two the second time?

Morris: We tried to be aggressive. We had a chance to tie the game up, we knew we were going to onside kick the next play. We had to play hard, play physical, play smart. You have to get your team to believe that way.

Schein: What about the onside kick earlier?

Morris: Same thing. We were trying to get good field position. We saw an opening but we got an illegal touch. They had to respond on a short field and they did. We had to throw our punches at the champ. You can’t shadow box with the champ and expect to get a win.

Gannon: I thought Josh had his best effort of the season.

Morris: That may have been his best effort as far as accuracy. He tried to get a big time win for his football team. He made some really good timing throws and decisions. He played pretty well for us. You have to remember this is just his second [full] year as a [starter].

Schein: Raheem, it is interesting. I watched the game on TV, tell me if I am wrong with this take: I saw a guy from last year. I saw a guy that had the most confidence that Josh has played with all season.

Morris: I give you credit for that. The offensive line did a nice job of keeping people off him. The wide receivers did a nice job of winning one-on-one spots which we never had this year and getting LeGarrette Blount going. We need to do that every single week.

Gannon: Why are the Packers so hard to defense against in the pass?

Morris: Well, they have so many good receivers. They have Jordy Nelson, they have Cobb coming off the bench, they have Jermichael Finley, they have a bunch of different weapons that Aaron Rodgers has no problem winging the ball to. You have to match up with their receivers with your defensive backs because if you give them room in a zone, he will dice you up.

Schein: The officiating was interesting.

Morris: I just have to get used to it. It’s too close to Christmas. I need to take care of my money so I can help my family members.

Gannon: Tell us about your remaining schedule.

Morris: It’s one at a time for the next six games. We can still match the record we had last year. It’s just one at a time.

Schein: How pivital of a strech is this for you Raheem?

Morris: It’s more about the organization. you want to be consistent and be one of the better football teams in the league and the only way to do get to that level is to play consistently.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik finally got his man, when defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth signed with the Bucs a few weeks ago.

Haynesworth seems to be anything but the player many reported him to be in his previous stops at New England and Washington. Haynesworth appears motivated and something of a mentor to the young Bucs defensive line.

This has not been lost on the Titans, Haynewsworth’s former team. His ex-teammates believe Haynesworth is a changed man, so writes John Glennon of the Nashville Tennessean.

“He looks like he’s playing better than he did in Washington,” Jake Scott said. “I didn’t see film of him in New England (where Haynesworth spent six games this season), but he looks pretty solid now. It looks like he’s playing pretty well.”

Haynesworth has a combined nine tackles in his two games, along with two quarterback pressures and a blocked extra point, according to statistics compiled by the team.

“He’s a big, strong man. There’s a lot of those (in the NFL), but not many of them are as athletic as he is,” Scott said. “When he decides you’re not going to block him, it gets pretty hard to block him.”

Joe can only hope this diagnosis is accurate. How cool would it be, first, that Haynesworth is reborn with the Bucs, and equally if not more important, that Dominik got the man he hoped to land two years ago, only at a significant lower cost?

How Andrew Friedman of Dominik.

Joe doesn’t think stats are for losers, but Joe’s hardly a stats guy at all. Joe’s fantasy team consists of scantily clad women, not a list of uniformed men in shoulder pads.

Sometimes, however, the game-charting number crunchers on the Interwebs churn out telling and intriguing data, even if it is a bit subjective. Many months ago, Joe brought word from the stats geeks at FootballOutsiders.com when they rolled out numbers claiming E.J. Biggers was a top-10 cornerback.

This week, the stats geeks at ProFootballFocus.com exposed the Bucs defense for being the worst tackling team in the NFL. And it’s the Bucs veterans stinking up the field.

Terrible Tackling in Tampa

If I’m honest, the inspiration for this research just so happened to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After watching them miss 42 tackles in three games, I was astounded and started digging to find out just how much worse they are than everyone else. Well, as it turns out, they’re quite a lot worse. Their 15.54% of attempted tackles missed almost makes even the atrocious Eagles look competent. Almost. It’s nothing new for the Bucs as they had the sixth-highest percentage last year, but it’s almost impressive how much worse they’ve become. Players deserving special mentions (percentage of tackles missed in parenthesis) include Quincy Black (25.5%), Ronde Barber (22.7%) and Tanard Jackson (a staggering 44%) who have all played significant parts.

You can click through the link above to get more insight into the ugly numbers. Sad tackling is nothing new to Bucs fans, but seeing how it stacks up to the rest of the league — and seeing Ronde Barber’s name — is a bit enlightening.

It’s rare for Joe to fantasize about things other than Rachel Watson and bags of cash, but it does happen.

And one of those dreams involved Sunday’s Bucs-Titans game. Yes, count Joe among those drooling for months over the thought of LeGarrette Blount lowering his head and barrelling over Barrett Ruud enroute to the end zone. That would have been damn sweet, but it won’t happen. Ruud has been ruled out of Sunday’s game with a groin injury.

Per The Tennesseean, Ruud is working diligently behind the scenes to teach his teammates and coaches about all things Bucs.

“He’s been talking to (Titans teammates) about what (the Bucs) like to do,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said. “It’s disappointing for him, I’m sure he circled this on his calendar when we got him here. You always want to play well against a team he grew up with.

“I know it’s going to be a hard weekend for him not to participate in. but he’s been helpful and will still be helpful on the sidelines wihth the defense, so we’ll take advantage of any ideas he has..”

Middle linebacker Colin McCarthy (knee), tackles David Stewart (calf) and Michael Roos (groin), and defensive end Derrick Morgan (ankle) and defensive tackle Karl Klug (knee) are listed as questionable.

Interesting to read above that McCarthy, a rookie from the Bay area Joe knows well, also is hurt. McCarthy has become a protoge of Ruud’s this season and had 12 tackles a couple of weeks ago at middle linebacker in Ruud’s absence.

But Joe will take a banged up rookie in there over Ruud any day. We know Josh Freeman will be happy to see a 4-3 defense Sunday, and he’s got to be breathing easier knowing Ruud’s out and the Titans might end up using their third-stringer (behind McCarthy) up the gut.

As for Ruud, Joe can’t help but wonder what the Bucs would have looked like with him at middle linebacker this season with Mason Foster playing one of the outside spots. It’s a waste of time to think about, of course, but with the Bucs allowing 399 yards a game (second worst in the NFL), one has to think they would have fared better in that scenario, and Foster could have leaned on Ruud to help his development.

You could hear the smile/relief in Josh Freeman’s voice on WDAE-AM 620 Wednesday night.

Host of The Josh Freeman Show, Steve Duemig, asked Freeman about facing so many 3-4 defenses during the Bucs’ latest struggles, and Freeman responded saying he was looking forward to seeing more 4-3 defenses starting Sunday in Tennessee.  

“It’s going to be nice to play a traditional defense,” Freeman said. “The teams that play these 3-4’s, I mean they’ll play it, and they all have a guy that’s kind of like a hybrid. So they can stand him up at end, slightly shade the nose, and you kinda gotta, you’re very front-aware with what defensive front their in, knowing what pressures they bring from up front, and at the same time watch the secondary and be aware of their coverages. So it has really been overdrive as far as preparation for IDing fronts, the run points, the protection calls.

“It is [easier against a 4-3] because you look at the variables. …Where I was Friday in the Packers gameplan, I’m there right now [on Wednesday.]” 

Obviously, Freeman was ready to play against the Packers and notched a strong day. But if he feels more confident entering Sunday’s game because of the Titans’ 4-3 defense, then all the better for the Bucs.

Maybe they’ll even manage a first-quarter touchdown.

You know where Joe will be tomorrow at 10:45 a.m. That’s right — Mugs Grill & Bar in Clearwater.

The food at Mugs already is phenomenal and a great value, and now you can get it at half price. Check out the offer below and don’t blow your chance to save some money and feast.

Last week proved it, even in a loss.

The Bucs’ offense — to be kind — struggled without LeGarrette Blount, without handing him the rock. The fact that he had only 13 touches against Houston was simply unacceptable.

This puzzle even has eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune perplexed. Using the TBO Bucs Twitter feed as a vehicle, Kaufman explained just how allergic the Bucs are to the run.

The Bucs proved again they have one of the NFL’s better run-blocking lines. So why are they tied with 0-10 Indy for fewest attempts?

This boils down to simply wasting talent. That’s the only logical explanation Joe can find. The Bucs’ best weapon is Blount, and this isn’t debatable. The Bucs passing game, for reasons unknown, is struggling this year. So why not rely on one of the league’s best backs?

And as last week showed, once Blount gets going, it opens up the passing offense.

This seems to be getting through to the Bucs braintrust as, per Scott Smith, the Bucs offensive coordinator is said to have promised to get the ball to Blount more often.

OC Greg Olson said today that the Bucs want to get the ball into LeGarrette Blount’s hands 25 times a game, if the circumstances permit it.

Let’s hope. The Titans are vulnerable to the run. Pound them with Blount.

Jason Horowitz and ubiquitous Pat Kirwan break down the upcoming Bucs-Titans game. Kirwan says it’s time to give LeGarrette Blount the ball “a ton” to take advantage of the Titans’ porous run defense. Kirwan also makes a bold prediction.

Sign of the times?

Sign of the team?

Sign of Team Glazer hearing the cries of fans?

It’s surely some combination of the three. But regardless, the Bucs have cut 2012 season ticket prices in many price ranges. The cheapo 300-level seats are now down to only $30 a head and you can pay over 10 months, per Buccaneers.com.

Many of the popular $35-season tickets will now be just $30 per game, and the previously $17.50 youth tickets for fans 16-and-under will drop to just $15 per game. A family of four would pay only $90 per game if they chose to sit in the most affordable seats. 

Season passes in the lower level will also be considerably more affordable. For example, 100-level end zone tickets have gone from $89 to $75 per game. With the new prices, a family of four seeking to sit in the lower level would save $560 from last year’s season pass prices.

Joe hopes this all makes a blackout-busting difference, though Joe sadly suspects otherwise.

If the Bucs can win out, or at least head to Atlanta in January at 9-6, then that might fire up the bandwagon. But otherwise it’s probably another opening day blackout without an opponent with a huge local following.