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.

Former NFL executive Charley Casserly and CBSSports.com host Jason Horowitz break down the Bucs-Broncos game this Sunday. Give it a look:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Chucky got mad because those evil reporters kept asking him about the Bucs quarterbacks. WHAH!!!!

So let’s get this straight: Chucky decides to bench his starting quarterback for a slug that couldn’t beat out Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman.

Then, this same slug quarterback, Son of Bob, does his best to Pearl Harbor a pair of Bucs wins by throwing six interceptions. In two games.

SIX!!!

Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune reports that Chucky got upset with the intense Tampa Bay beat writers for asking about Son of Bob and dethroned starter Jeff Garcia.

So Chucky is of a mind that no one should dare question if he may bench a quarterback so miserable that he makes Brody Croyle look like Tom Brady.

The nerve!

Hey Chucky, don’t get mad at the reporters or the fans. If you got a problem with your QB smelling worse than an uncleaned Porta-Potty left for days in the August Florida sun, just look in the mirror at the culprit.

It sure as hell isn’t the Pen & Mic club.

That is how NBCSports.com’s Gregg Rosenthal refers to the Bucs quarterback situation, specifically with Son of Bob calling the plays.

It’s obvious to anyone with a white cane that Son of Bob is brutal beyond words. All but Chucky.

Dear God Chucky, bench this guy before he costs the Bucs a playoff berth. Now!!!

Entering Week 5, Brett Favre is really making Bruce Almighty look foolish in not pulling the trigger on a high draft pick to land the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

The Bucs dropped the ball, literally, on not acquiring Brett Favre in the offseason. Let’s do some quick comparisons:

The man who should be the Bucs starting quarterback, Jeff Garcia, is sitting on the bench.

The man who is the Bucs starting quarterback, and who couldn’t lead an arena team down the “field” without throwing an interception, Son of Bob, has six interceptions in his last two games — SIX!

Last week alone Favre threw for six touchdowns, as many touchdowns in 60 minutes of football as Son of Bob has interceptions in two games. Through four games in 2008 Favre has 935 yards passing with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Through three games Son of Bob has thrown for 716 yards and four touchdowns.

The way the Bucs are playing, specifically the running game and the defense, not landing Favre might be the difference between an NFC Championship berth and sitting at home watching bowl games.

Good job Bruce Almighty.

"You get one more damn pick, Griese."

Both the St. Pete Times and the Tampa Tribune are reporting that Jeff Garcia stuck his head out of Chucky’s doghouse in practice on Wednesday.

Garcia got more reps in practice Wednesday and spent time working with the first team offense. And he might be named the No. 2 QB against the Broncos on Sunday.

The Times’ story quotes Bucs QB coach Greg Olson saying Garcia is looking fresh and fit.

“He seems healthy now, and his legs look better,” Olson said. “Even he said, ‘I was watching myself in the preseason games and in the opener, and I thought, gosh, I look so slow.’ So he started concentrating on the separation from the center.”

Jaquez Green

 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, specifically the passing game.

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

Joe: How taxing is it on receivers when they have to run a two-minute offense in four or five minutes? Does the adrenaline just take over or do you even think about it at the time?

Jacquez: You don’t think about it at the time. Usually when you are tired you are only tired between plays. Once the play starts, you don’t think about it. It’s an advantage I think for the offense. I think the defensive linemen are getting more tired than the offense. They are trying to rush the passer.

Joe: When a quarterback is struggling and is getting picked off right and left, mentally for the wide receivers are you like, “Come on, man. I’m there. I’m open. Where are you throwing the ball to?” What goes on in those situations?

Jacquez: You just hope he gets it together. You are hoping the coaches are giving him some easy reads so he doesn’t have to force the ball down the field as much. As a receiver, you know there are times when the quarterback is on and the receivers may not be on. Balls can get tipped. Receivers can drop balls. You know as a professional these things can happen.

Joe: An analyst on TV watches the game just like someone at home. He sees a receiver make a play and says, “He ran a good route.” If he doesn’t know the specific route the receiver was assigned on a certain play, how does he know he ran a great route?”

Jacquez: They don’t know. But their job as an analyst is to sound smart. What’s funny to me is that they said they talked to a coach. Coaches aren’t going to give them any information about what they’re going to do. But as far as a good route, if a guy is open in the NFL, most of the time it’s because of a good play design which usually means it’s a good route.

Joe: Back to the Bucs overtime game against the Bears, how did the play of the receivers impress you? What were some of your impressions?

Jacquez: It was impressive because Tampa Bay hasn’t used the same set of starting receivers in two straight games this year. They’ve had Antonio Bryant playing the ends and playing the Z. Joey Galloway’s been out. The No. 3 receiver, they started Michael Clayton one game and Ike Hilliard one game and Stovall one game. It’s impressive because they haven’t had any continuity between their receivers and their quarterbacks. Yet they were able to produce and win which should be a good feeling for the team right now.

Joe: What was your take on the Green Bay game?

Jacquez: It was impressive. In the NFL, you have to find a way to win no matter what it takes. You have to find a way to win and Tampa Bay is doing that right now. They have different guys making big plays. Hilliard making a big third down catch. Next time Clayton will make a big catch. People don’t assume he will make the play. And now they’re 3-1.

Michael Pittman's wife, Melissa, deserves so much better.

If you forgot about versatile former Bucs running back Michael Pittman, he was signed by Denver as a free agent in the offseason.

Joe never was a big fan of Pittman, whose wife said he abused her often. But he is a wonderful saint of a man when compared to our own Jerramy Stevens, aka King of Turds

Anyway, Pittman talked about the Bucs this week in a video below produced by the Denver Post

On Monday SI.com’s Peter King suggested Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks was the defensive player of the week. The NFL somewhat agreed.

Brooks was named NFC defensive player of the week.

Below, Brooks is interviewed just moments after the Bucs win over the Packers by BSPN’s Rachel Nichols. One of the perks to being Brooks is chicks like Nichols want him. Joe is rather fond of Nichols, even though she’s an NBA chick.

Joe again brings the Bucs power rankings of the various media outlets.

As usual, we lead off (sorry for the baseball term, but, hey, the Rays begin their postseason run today) with Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com. He has bumped the Bucs up all the way to No. 8 but sees storm clouds on the horizon.

They’re 3-1, but they have big-time quarterback issues. When will they ever throw the ball down the field? The horizontal passing game is tough to watch.

Next, Pat Yasinskas of BSPN.com has the Bucs at No. 10 and seem surprised due to Son of Bob.

Brian Griese is 3-0 since taking over as starter.

And finally, Joe checks in with Paul Zimmerman, the notorious Dr. Z of SI.com. He seems puzzled how he can rank the Bucs at No. 9.

Here’s a mysterious quote from Brian Griese. “I want to find out how good we are when we don’t turn the ball over.” You might drop that first person plural down to first person singular, Brian. Six picks in two games are a lot, even when accompanied by a pair of W’s.

Brian Griese founded a Denver-based charity that helps grieving children

As the Bucs head for their clash with the Broncos in Denver on Sunday, Denver Post writer Anthony Cotton gave his take on Brian Griese, who struggled as the  Broncos post-Elway quarterback.

Griese still lives in the Denver area, according to the story, and is a Warrick Dunn-like citizen there, founding and overseeing a charity that assists grieving children. 

Son of Bob clearly is a good guy, but even the Denver writer seems bewildered that he is still the Bucs starter.

The man with the backwards leather hat is back again.

Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger offers up his video take on the Bucs win over the Packers. Give it a look. By the way, should Joe start a pool as to the next (first?) time Brown doesn’t wear his backwards leather cap on a video report?

Whenever Gaines Adams gets a pickoff, it's all good for the Bucs.

Just surfing through some box scores and Joe has come across an interesting little fact:

Whenever Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud or defensive end Gaines Adams picks off a pass, the Bucs are undefeated.

Of course, both games in which Adams has intercepted a pass, so too has Ruud.

Whenever Ruud has recorded an interception, the Bucs are 4-0.

Battle flags will be waving at the CITS if the Bucs can pull off a win in Denver.

But if the Bucs could somehow pull off the win, TBO.com notes this should be a memorable season. Going through the Bucs history, every time the Bucs have jumped out to a 4-1 record or better to start the season, the Bucs have advanced to the playoffs.

Joe likes the sound of that.

Bucs defensive lineman Kevin Carter thinks middle linebacker Barrett Ruud is "the best" in the NFL.

Bucs middle linebacker Barrett Ruud is starting to become the next great Bucs linebacker. But in an article by eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, Bucs defensive lineman Kevin Carter already things Ruud is great. Either that or Carter is Ruud’s press agent.

“Barrett Ruud is quietly becoming the best middle linebacker in the game. For him not to receive any Pro Bowl support last year was crazy. Now, he’s even better. I take pride in working hard and arriving here early, but Barrett puts me to shame.”

Joe loves how Ruud is developing into such a stud. But Joe isn’t so sure Ruud is the best middle linebacker in the game. Still, it’s great to see him turn into a force.

On NBCSports.com, NBC sports anchor Bob Costas and SI.com’s Peter King discuss if the Bucs should be mentioned as part of this season’s NFC’s top teams. Both agree there is merit to include the Bucs into the discussion. Joe would agree, if Son of Bob were watching games from the bench.

Just FYI: Son of Bob has more interceptions in two games than Carmella’s husband had last season. Take a look at what Costas and King have to say and include your two cents’ worth.

Raiders owner Al Davis claims Monte Kiffin told him he wanted to flip to the Raiders to coach under his son Lane Kiffin.

Gotta love Al Davis for a lot of reasons. One is, in the rare times he holds a press conference, he drops all sorts of bombs.

In the presser following Davis’ canning of Lane Kiffin, the son of longtime Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Davis claims that Monte Kiffin told him that he wanted to come to the Raiders and coach under his son.

“Monte told me that he wanted to come here…even though he is under contract with Tampa,’ Davis said at his news conference Tuesday.

HHHMMM??? There are whispers around the press box at the CITS that the Bucs were thinking of doing a “Jimbo Fisher” and annointing defensive backs coach Raheem Morris as the Bucs “defensive coordinator-in-waiting” while gently pushing Monte Kiffin out the door. Maybe those whispers have a nugget of truth behind them?

The last time Al Davis had a press conference where he dropped a bombshell about the Bucs is when the Glazer Boys acquired Chucky. Then Davis claimed the Glazers called him and Davis told them he would only talk to Rich McKay. The Glazers then told Davis that McKay had been fired.

McKay lasted another year with the Bucs as the team’s general manager.

Let’s hope Davis, the NFL’s Darth Vader, has some more press conferences before he croaks.

There's no 'Crush' in Denver's defense this year

Jon Gruden must be licking his chops looking at film of the Denver Broncos’ defense, which only has one interception all season. That means Son of Bob couldn’t throw another three picks on Sunday. Right?

Here at JoeBucsFan.com we’re not stat geeks. They can be useful and telling, but they rarely accurately tell the story of a team or player.

The Broncos, however, have such horrendous defensive statistics, that it’s safe to say they are a bad defensive football team.  At the bottom of the league in almost every  category, Denver can’t stop anyone. They’re 3-1 because they’re lighting up the league with 33 points per game.

The Bucs should be able to move the chains all day in Denver, in what is forecast to be good football weather. Maybe they could even connect on a long ball in the passing game, if Galloway returns.

But they can’t afford to turn the ball over. Not one Bucs rusher has coughed it up this season. That leaves it up to Son of Bob to somehow manage to protect the ball and the Bucs defense to keep playing at a high level.

"I hope Coach still loves me."

When you are an ego-maniacal spin doctor like Jon Gruden, your comments must always show a little bit of your hand so nothing ever looks unplanned down the road.  You must always appear in control.

So on Monday, ever so slightly, Gruden laid the groundwork to return Jeff Garcia to the mix this season and have it seem like it was part of the plan all along, according to the St. Petersburg Times. 

Gruden did acknowledge that backup quarterbacks Luke McCown and Garcia could get some repetitions this week in preparation for Sunday’s game at Denver.

“We’re going to try to split the reps up and get all three guys some work,” Gruden said.

And he said he believed the Bucs would need all three quarterbacks at some point during the season, including Garcia, who has been the inactive third quarterback the past three games.

“Garcia was our starter and might be our starter again at some point in time,” Gruden said.