The trade deadline approaches and it's time to unload alleged rapist Jerramy Stevens. Bucs fans deserve to sleep better at night.

As the trading deadline approaches, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune writes today that the Bucs could be strongly considering landing a wide receiver or possibly Tony Gonzalez from the Chiefs.

Cummings says Joey Galloway’s age and injuries might force their hand. But it’s odd that Cummings makes no mention of who the Bucs might trade or what draft picks they might consider moving.

Joe has an idea.

King of Turds Jerramy Stevens, known more for his alleged rapes and dirtbag-like behavior, should be included in any deal. Heck, the other teams can cut him for all we care.

Stevens has five catches in three games after sitting out the first two for a suspension related to a DUI.

Plus, Stevens has yet to rape any of the women in the Tampa Bay area, (hopefully) so this might be a good time to unload him. He’s not known as a great blocker, and with just five catches he’s surely not important to the Bucs offense.

There’s got to be lots of teams lining up for this 28-year-old, big-target tight end. He’s a stud talent, Chucky tells us, and he seems to be acting like a human. For now.

Joe says Sunday's game against the Panthers is the biggest of the season for both teams.

The buzz in Carolina puts the 4-1 Panthers on a  path to Tampa for the Super Bowl in 2009.

Jake Delhomme is back, and Carolina has a healthy Steve Smith, a running game and a defense some say is better than during they’re 2003 Super Bowl season.

Joe says the Panthers haven’t shown enough yet.  So far, they’re perfect at home with a last-second road miracle victory at San Diego. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) That’s what makes Sunday’s Panthers-Bucs game at Raymond James Stadium the most critical game of the season in the NFC South.

The Panthers win, and they’re the runaway favorite in the division. The Bucs win, and they set themselves up to go 5-2 with a home win against the horrible Seahawks on October 18.

The "White Tiger" will further test his injured paw today.

While you were probably watching the Rays clinch their series with the White Sox, Joey Galloway was hosting his weekly radio show on 620 AM The Sports Animal.

Galloway says today is a big day for him, as the Bucs training staff has cleared him to run and make cuts on his injured foot and ankle. Galloway implied that if today goes well, that could set him up for a return on Sunday against Carolina.

Joey Galloway ran Sunday with Bucs trainers. Chucky says Sunday could mark his return.

Chucky said today at his news conference that Joey Galloway ran on his injured foot with members of the Bucs’ training staff on Sunday.

Great news.

Gruden said Galloway could return as early as Sunday against the Panthers at Tampa, or perhaps as late as Nov. 16, the Sunday following the Bucs’ bye week.

Galloway makes the other receivers better and his mere presence would help the running game.

Joe says put him out there on the field Sunday, even if you don’t throw his way. His ability to stretch the defense will be critical to beating a Carolina team that has a MUCH better defense than the Broncos’.

The Bucs need to do everything they can to keep pace in the division.

Joe continues to be amazed that the softball Tampa Bay media doesn’t even question Jon Gruden about the sub-par defensive line play, his inconsistent use of an effective running game, and getting outcoached by Mike Shanahan.

Gruden says Mike Shanahan's defensive scheme stymied the Bucs. Translation, Chucky admits he was outcoached.

Today, Gruden admitted to being stymied by the Broncos dropping eight guys in coverage. But nobody pushed him to explain why he couldn’t find a gameplan to beat that Broncos defense, which is second rate.

The freakin’ local media hacks should return their paychecks. Why are they afraid of him?

Here are some nuggets from Jon Gruden’s Monday morning news conference:

Gruden was non-commital about the quarterback situation. “Jeff did some good things. His health is still an issue. …Brian played pretty well. Jeff played pretty well. Both guys did some good things.” Gruden said Griese is questionable and he’ll have a starting quartback announcement on Wednesday.

On the Bucs’ anemic offense Sunday: “Denver used strange tactics. …Not a lot of places to throw the ball when there’s eight in coverage. …Eight guys in coverage, it’s a zone…There are not a lot of throwing lanes no matter who has the chalk. Anytime you throw the ball against a three-man rush every route is contested. You don’t see that in a normal football game. They did it 23 times.”

“Against that defense … you have to get yardage after the catch. We need to make improvement in both areas [running and passing game.] ”

On Garcia: “Our observations of him on the practice field, we’ve seen more of [the old] Jeff Garcia recently. …He made some creative plays. …The signs area postive, and I’m excited about that.”

On the running game and running the ball on 3rd-and-long deep in Broncos territory to close the first half: “We are pleased with the running game as a whole. We can do better.”

“It was a run audible against an all-out blitz. We didn’t hold up on the perimeter.” Gruden said they played for the field goal there, knowing they’d get the ball back to start the second half.

Gruden defended Dexter Jackson’s struggles in the return game: “He’s capable. He’s a talent. …He’s a work in progress.”

Chucky and the Bucs got outfoxed by the Broncos' kicker

Here’s one to make you vomit. It seems the Broncos’ 55-yard field goal to tie the game at 6 was never supposed to happen.

The Denver Post tells the story that Broncos kicker Matt Prater screamed at Broncos coaches to get the punt team off the field at the end of the first quarter. Prater’s argument was to let the quarter expire, so the Broncos would change sides and he would get the wind at his back for the 55-yard attempt.

If the Bucs burned a timeout, they could have forced Denver to punt and taken that three off the scoreboard.

Joe says Chucky will blame a lack of playmaking on the Denver loss during his Monday news conference. No chance he shoulders blame for a lousy offensive gameplan against a poor defense.

 Remember when Tony Dungy always used to say the Bucs offense just “needed to execute.” That they just had to make the plays that were there.

Cue the images of Mike Shula and Les Steckel.

Even with Dungy, a stand up guy, all of that talk was mostly coachspeak excuses for poor offensive coaching and a lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball.

At today’s 11 a.m. Jon Gruden press conference, Chucky surely will talk about Brian Griese missing Jerramy Stevens wide open in the end zone in the first quarter. He’ll talk about missed reads by Griese, the Broncos’ zone defense limiting the Bucs options, and probably missing Galloway and B.J. Askew. All excuses.

Then he’ll talk about how Denver kicked a 55 yard field goal, and how they moved the chains late. (How about that gutsy call by Shanahan with a first-down pass with 2 minutes left.)

At the end of the day, the Bucs could have won the game. But were they well coached on offense?

Clearly the Bucs defense was ready.

Did the offense adjust? Did it establish a consistent running game? Did it try to open the game up downfield? It looked more like Chucky was playing conservative most of the game waiting for the defense to hand him a gift. That turnover never came, and today he’ll enter the “We didn’t make plays” spin zone.

Sunday marked the end of the Brian Griese experiment. For now.

Forget all the politically correct nonsense. This is football.

So what were you thinking when Champ Bailey drilled Brian Griese in the armpit and he fell to the ground like that big gaudy statue of Saddam Hussein?

Were you at the edge of your seat bursting to see what Jeff Garcia would do with the struggling offense?

Joe was fired up. Nobody’s wishing Son of Bob any harm, but the return of Garcia was a welcome sight and a shot of excitement and hope that the Bucs could rally to beat Denver.

After the broken headset nonsense and what seemed like 100 false start penalties, Garcia lucked out when Marcus Thomas fumbled away his Griese-like interception. But Garcia came back like a warrior to take several licks, make tough throws and move the Bucs down the field. Heck, he even had some completions more than 10 yards.

Bottom line: Garcia showed why he’s the Bucs most dangerous playmaker by far. 

As Chucky would spin, personnel decisions are all about putting the best players on the field, one game at a time. Clearly, Garcia is healthy and better equipped to put points on the board then Brian Griese. 

Chucky now has a save-face excuse to start Garcia. He got his Griese bailout.  Garcia is back in the saddle.

Greg White and company didn't get to Jay Cutler on Sunday.

Name a Super Bowl-winning defense without a pass rush, or at least one undeniably big-time pass rusher.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Gaines Adams, Greg White and company have had their moments this season, but the Bucs just don’t have the defensive line to do what’s necessary to advance in the playoffs. No matter how sharp the secondary, or how quick the linebackers, the Bucs defense can’t reach greatness without pressure on the quarterback.

Five games into the season, and there’s no apparent improvement on the defensive line from last season. 

Not to say the Bucs are horrible in the trenches, they’re just not good enough. It was painfully obvious in the 16-13 loss against Denver on Sunday. And if they can’t get to Jake Delhomme next week without compromising their coverages, Carolina will stick it to them.

Garcia returned but never got the chance to win the game at the final whistle. Denver notched two late first downs to ice the game.

Defense got the job done. Offense didn’t. Loss sets up a true must-win game against Carolina on Sunday in Tampa.

More later.

Tied at 6, the difference in this game is Brian Griese failing to hit a wide open Jerramy Stevens in the end zone in the first quarter.

Taking the crowd out of the game early was a huge plus for the Bucs’ defense. Barrett Ruud’s punishing hit on Michael Pittman to force a three-and-out on Denver’s opening drive was huge.

Excellent tackling by the Bucs.

Bucs pass defense, even with a non-existent pass rush, is making Jay Cutler look like, uh, Brian Griese.

Ball on the Broncos 20 with 18 seconds left and one timeout, and Chucky calls a pitch out for Warrick Dunn. What the F does that say about his confidence in Griese. No shot in the end zone? On the road? 

Yes, that was a Michael Bennett sighting.

Crappy ass call on the 3rd sack of Griese. Dude grabbed him by the helmet.

Bucs (3-1) at Broncos (3-1)
Week 5
Kickoff: Sunday, 4 p.m.
TV: WTVT Channel 13.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 130.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, football weather with partly sunny skies and 67 degres at kickoff but a chance of thunderstorms in the second half. Towards the end of the game it’s expected to be partly cloudy and 65.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Broncos -3.5.
Outlook: Simply put, if Chucky can somehow keep from being Chucky, the Bucs can win this game. The Bucs defense is playing lights out and the running game is superb. In short, the Bucs have to play like they have no quarterback: Run, run, run and run some more. A sane person would never start Son of Bob much less sign him. So somehow the criminally insane (Chucky) have to be conned into limiting Son of Bob to as few pass attempts as possible, maybe five.

Let’s hope somebody on the Bucs sideline has the ear of Chucky.

Denver’s defense is, to be polite, soft on the run as evidenced last week when Larry Johnson ran wild for the Chiefs. The Bucs, with their potent one-two punch of Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn, can do the same.

If the ball is left in Son of Bob’s hands, the result won’t be pretty.

Props to beat writer Woody Cummings, of the Tampa Tribune, who took a closer look today at the whole truth behind the benching of Jeff Garcia.

Some even believe the roots of change date to last season, when Garcia openly challenged some of Gruden’s play calls and suggested that certain potential playmakers were being ignored by Gruden.

"If Brian Griese goes 4-0 today, I'm the f'n Coach of the Year."

Cummings doesn’t name those potential playmakers, but Garcia had mentioned Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall. (Thankfully, Garcia isn’t our GM.)

Joe’s is certain Chucky made this move to Griese to feed an ego/power trip and regain his Alpha status in the locker room. But surely Gruden has done enough with Griese to declare victory – on the field and off – and insert Garcia into the lineup next week against Carolina.

Garcia, to his credit, has quietly taken his lumps, which has got to stroke Gruden’s ego. Hey, he brought a Pro Bowler to his knees. At this point, win or lose in Denver, Gruden can easily tell himself and the media that his genius is driving the Bucs ship.

Gaines Adams celebrates his game-winning interception with Bucs linebacker Adam Hayward.

Each week Joe documents Bucs defensive end Gaines Adams’ every move on the field.

NIP: Not in the play.
NOF: Not on the field.

Green Bay – 14:51
First possession
1st-10, GB42 14:51 Grant rushed to the left for 6 yard gain
Adams is double-teamed and pushed to the right. NIP.
2nd-4, GB48 14:25 Grant rushed to the right for 3 yard gain
Adams is unblocked but runs inside right past Grant.
3rd-1, TB49 13:53 Grant rushed to the left for no gain
Double-teamed again and pushed to the right. NIP.
4th-1, TB49 13:30 Rodgers rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain
NIP.
1st-10, TB48 13:06 Rodgers sacked by Carter
Adams is stood up as Carter brings him down.
2nd-11, TB49 12:35 Rodgers incomplete pass to the right
Adams sheds his block and starts to get pressure but Rodgers releases ball before Adams could get to him.
3rd-11, TB49 12:30 TB committed 5 yard penalty
At left defensive end Adams jumps offsides.
3rd-6, TB44 12:30 Rodgers passed to Nelson to the left for 11 yard gain
Adams gets past his blockers but is no where near Rodgers.
1st-10, TB33 11:51 Grant rushed to the left for 8 yard gain
Adams cuts inside but is taken out of the play by fullback Korey Hall.
2nd-2, TB25 11:14 Grant rushed to the right for no gain
NOF.
3rd-2, TB25 10:24 Rodgers passed to Jennings to the left for 25 yard touchdown. M. Crosby made PAT
NOF.

Green Bay – 8:48
Second possession
1st-10, GB20 8:48 Rodgers passed to D. Driver to the right for 8 yard gain
Adams drops back into pass coverage but Rodgers throws to the opposite side of the field.
2nd-2, GB28 8:20 Grant rushed to the left for 1 yard gain
Packers left tackle Chad Clifton handles Adams. NIP.
3rd-1, GB29 7:41 Grant rushed to the left for 2 yard gain
Initially Clifton controls Adams but Adams is able to shift away and get an assist.
1st-10, GB31 7:00 Rodgers incomplete pass to the right
Adams puts a spin move on Clifton and evades him but as he is coming out of the move is blown up by Packers left guard Daryn Colledge.
2nd-10, GB31 6:53 Grant rushed to the left for 5 yard gain
At left defensive end, Adams runs outside as Grant runs inside.
3rd-5, GB36 6:10 Rodgers incomplete pass to the right
Adams gets some pressure on Rodgers but as he’s about to pounce on Rodgers Packers right. tackle Mark Tauscher takes him out of the play.

Green Bay – 2:32
Third possession
1st-10, GB23 2:32 Rodgers passed to Jennings to the left for 6 yard gain
Adams initially cuts outside and busts inside, getting past the blocks. Just as he’s about to get to Rodgers the Packers quarterback releases the ball.
2nd-4, GB29 1:47 Rodgers passed to D. Lee down the middle for 6 yard gain
Clifton gets away with a hold. Adams cuts inside and just as he’s about to get past Clifton the Packers tackle grabs him. No penalty called.
1st-20, GB25 0:38 Rodgers incomplete pass down the middle
Adams initially gets some pressure but not enough to get to Rodgers.
2nd-20, GB25 0:31 Grant rushed to the right for 2 yard gain
Adams shows his quickness as he cuts outside and Grant cuts inside. But Adams is able to quicky shed his block and moves right to get a tackle.
2nd Quarter
Green Bay continued
3rd-18, GB27 14:50 C. June intercepted Rodgers for 1 yard
At left defensive end Adams runs a loop stunt inside but is no where near the play.

Green Bay – 12:03
Fourth possession
1st-10, GB11 12:03 Grant rushed to the right for 6 yard loss
Adams is unblocked but Grant rolls right to the opposite side of the field.
2nd-16, GB5 11:21 Rodgers incomplete pass down the middle
Again Adams loops right. NIP.
3rd-16, GB5 11:13 Rodgers incomplete pass to the right
At left defensive end Adams gets some pressure on Rodgers.

Green Bay – 6:36
Fifth possession
1st-10, GB22 6:36 Grant rushed to the right for 1 yard loss
Adams cuts inside and gets the tackle on Grant.
2nd-11, GB21 5:57 Rodgers passed to Jennings to the left for 21 yard gain
Adams gets no pressure at all.
1st-10, GB42 5:27 Rodgers sacked by J. Wilkerson
NOF.
2nd-18, GB34 4:33 B. Ruud intercepted Rodgers for 10 yards
NOF.

Green Bay – 0:59
Sixth possession
1st-10, GB28 0:59 Rodgers passed to Nelson to the right for 8 yard gain
At left defensive end he puts a swim move on Tauscher but it gets him nowhere.
2nd-2, GB36 0:39 Rodgers passed to Nelson to the right for 9 yard gain
Adams loops inside but gets no pressure.
1st-10, GB45 0:29 Rodgers sacked by B. Ruud
No pressure.
2nd-19, GB36 0:24 Rodgers passed to B. Jackson to the right for 18 yard gain
Adams flies in from the right side but is pushed outside.
3rd-1, TB46 0:15 Rodgers incomplete pass down the middle
At left defensive end Adams cuts inside and gets some pressure on Rodgers before falling at the Packers quarterback’s feet.
4th-1, TB46 0:04 Rodgers incomplete pass to the left
At left defensive end rolls left and gets some pressure on Rodgers as the quarterback rolls right.

Green Bay – 11:32
Seventh possession
1st-10, GB44 11:32 Rodgers passed to Jennings to the left for 1 yard gain
Adams drops back into pass coverage and as a result is able to get an assist.
2nd-9, GB45 11:00 Rodgers passed to Jennings to the right for 8 yard gain
Loops right but gets no pressure.
3rd-1, TB47 10:16 Grant rushed to the left for no gain
Slides inside and nails Grant.

Green Bay – 5:48
Eighth possession
1st-10, GB40 5:48 Rodgers incomplete pass down the middle
Adams blows past his blockers but runs right past Rodgers.
2nd-10, GB40 5:42 Rodgers passed to Grant to the right for 2 yard gain
Again Adams blows by his blockers and this time nearly gets to Rodgers.
3rd-8, GB42 4:57 Rodgers rushed to the left for 7 yard gain
Cuts inside and just misses Rodgers.

Green Bay – 3:18
Ninth possession
1st-10, TB42 3:18 Grant rushed up the middle for no gain
Clifton manhandles Adams.
2nd-10, TB42 2:41 Rodgers passed to Grant to the left for 6 yard loss
Clifton pushes Adams inside just enough to prevent him from getting to Rodgers.
3rd-16, TB48 1:46 Rodgers passed to Jennings down the middle for 48 yard touchdown.
Adams runs an inside loop and is lost in the scrum.

Green Bay – 2:26
Tenth possession
1st-10, TB40 2:26 Rodgers incomplete pass to the left
At left defensive end Adams chases Rodgers all across the field when Rodgers unloads the ball near the sideline to avoid a sack.
2nd-10, TB40 2:12 G. Adams intercepted Rodgers for 5 yards.
Drops back into pass coverage and seals the game with his second interception.

Joe’s found a sad video for you. John Lynch sat down for a brief chat with the Rocky Mountain News, and the 37-year-old says he’s waiting for the phone to ring so he can get back in the game.  

The Broncos’ defensive captain last year, Lynch reportedly left the Denver this summer because he wanted assurances for regular playing time. Then New England cut him during the preseason.

Let’s hope Lynch finds a place to ride out into the sunset on his terms.

John Gilmore helped Dexter Jackson stop looking like this on kick returns

Slipping sliding and scared. That was the best way to describe Bucs rookie Dexter Jackson’s performances as a punt and kick returner during the Bucs first three games of the season.

Then, poof, Jackson looked like a stud agaiinst the Packers.

Dave Scheiber of the St. Pete Times found out that some one-on-one tutoring by tight end John Gilmore snapped Jackson out of his funk.

“He said, ‘Rookie, if you need some help, I don’t mind staying later and getting one-on-one time with you and show you what I looked at in Chicago with Hester,’ ” Jackson recalled.

Given Jon Gruden’s lack of patience, it seems Gilmore may have saved Jackson’s career.

JoeBucsFan.com analyst Steve Campbell is very impressed with the play of Jeremy Trueblood; not so much with Arron Sears.

The Bucs offensive line had some regression last week but still put together a pretty solid effort against the Packers. The running game was slow to get going, but props to Jon Gruden for sticking with it and allowing the Bucs put the game away on the back of Earnest Graham.

Graham and Warrick Dunn are proving to be quite a 1-2 punch at running back. A lot of that credit should go to the big guys up front. Oh, by the way, they aren’t doing a bad job protecting the passer either. Quarterback Brian Griese hasn’t been sacked in his last 97 pass attempts. On to the grades:

Donald Penn, LT: Penn came back to earth a little against the Packers. He seemed to have trouble on passing downs with Green Bay defensive end, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilla. KGB used his speed several times to get around Penn. He also struggled in the running game with Packers DE Cullen Jenkins. Still, not a horrible game for Penn. Grade: C

Arron Sears, LG: Speaking of horrible games, I’m not sure what is wrong with Sears. He was beaten numerous times by the pass rushing legend Johnny Jolly, who has one career sack. He hit Griese too often just as he released the ball. I’m not certain when Davin Joseph will return from this foot injury, but I would not be surprised to see the Bucs give Jeremy Zuttah some of Sears’ reps at LG if this type of effort continues. Grade: D

Jeff Faine, C: To steal a line from Dennis Green, Faine is what I thought he was. He’s pretty good in space and getting to linebackers on the second level. But he’s not so good moving a big DT off the line of scrimmage. But again, some of the credit for these blitz pickups by the line need to go to Faine, because he’s making the line calls 100 percent of the time. And the Bucs have been outstanding this season at picking up A- and B-gap blitzes. Grade: B-

Jeremy Zuttah, RG: Another solid effort for the rookie. Zuttah is proving to be a steal for where the Bucs drafted him. The coaches obviously have the confidence in Zuttah, because the Bucs are running right about 75 percent of the time. Grade: B

Jeremy Trueblood, RT: I realize the season is only a quarter of the way over, but I’m going to be the first to state if Jeremy keeps this level of play up, he will find himself in Honolulu in February. For the second week in a row, Trueblood absolutely stoned a premier pass rusher. Two weeks ago it was Adewale Ogunleye. This week it was Aaron Kampman. Solid, solid effort. Grade: A

The defense the Bucs will be facing this Sunday at Invesco Field is a much maligned unit. Consider these numbers: The Broncos are giving up 29.2 points per game, 409 total yards per game, which includes 276 yards passing and 133 rushing. Opposing QB’s are completing 72.6 percent of their passes against them. They are led up front by former first round bust of the New York Jets, Dewayne Robertson. I recall when the Bucs played the Jets in the Meadowlands in 2005, Robertson was a terror in our backfield all day long. Then I remembered our OL consisted of Anthony Davis, Dan Buenning, John Wade, Sean Mahan, and Kenyatta Walker.

Quick question, how in the hell did the Bucs go 11-5 with that unit blocking all year?

Back to the present, Robertson and fellow defensive tackles, Kenny Peterson and Marcus Thomas will play on the inside for the Broncos. Peterson is a journeyman player who has never had much of an impact and Thomas has tons of potential, but has never had his head screwed on straight going back to his days at the University of Florida.

At defensive end, veteran starter John Engelberger is questionable this week. If he is not able to go, Trueblood would probably face a platoon of Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder. Moss and Crowder were early round picks last year out of Florida and Texas respectively. Penn will face the small but speedy Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil had 12.5 sacks last season, but has none this year in four games. And at 5-11, 260, he is useless against the run.

More good news for the Bucs this week, considering the Bucs are a right-handed running team. According to Football Outsiders, the Chiefs ran right with great success last week. Chiefs RB Larry Johnson had 28 carries for 198 yards and 20 of those carries went to the right side.

Sound the trumpets. Gerry N. of lovely Pinellas Park won our Courtside Grille contest last week. Gerry guessed Earnest Graham would rush for 120 yards. Graham ran for 111, so Gerry was within the necessary 10 yards to win a $20 gift card to Courtside Grille.

We’re serving up the contest again. …E-mail Joe how many yards Earnest Graham will rush for Sunday against the Broncos. If your guess is closest, and within 10 yards, Joe will mail you a $20 gift card to Courtside Grille.  You must include your name, mailing address and e-mail.

Their gameday feast kicks ass. Joe wants to give you a $20 gift card. But you'll have to earn it.

If you haven’t feasted at the Courtside Grille during football season, well, you haven’t taken on the Bay area’s best feeding frenzy and drinkfest on gameday.

Donald Penn (r) is the Bucs big trash talker

Which Bucs player does the best job trash talking and getting under the skin of opposing defenses?

Well, Jeremy Trueblood and Davin Joseph named Donald Penn the team’s unofficial Big Mouth on Thursday night, during Joseph’s radio show on 620 AM The Sports Animal.

“Anything comes out of his mouth. …He’ll talk your head off, and he’ll say whatever it takes to the opponent,” Joseph said of Penn.

Trueblood dismissed any notion of him being a dirty player, as the Bears tried to label him. “I’m nasty, never dirty,” Trueblood said.

Trublood was a guest on Thursday’s show. Joe applauds Joseph and Trueblood for some interesting discussion, often hard to find on the Bucs player shows.

Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber told Jim Rome he has no plans to retire.

Say what you may about Jim Rome but once in a while the guy conducts a great interview. This is one of those times and all Bucs fans need to check it out.

Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber gloats over how good the Bucs defense is in an interview on “Rome is Burning.” Among the nuggets:

On the defense: “We definitely have the talent. We have the potential to be the best unit I’ve been around.”

On retirement: “I enjoy Sundays too much.”

On the Bucs: “This team can be great.”

The fact the NFL Network will not enable embedding codes depresses Joe. But the NFL Network still puts out good stuff.

First, a preview of the Bucs-Broncos.

Next, Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler and Broncos coach Mike Shanahan talk about the Bucs defense.

Lastly, the NFL Network crew discusses how Son of Bob is giving away more presents than Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.