Joe found an interesting video. Maybe the Bucs cheerleaders should try such a thing?

Enjoy!

(Florida State fans might recognize one of the original Cowgirls in this video. )

Sunday may be the first time in Derrick Brook's NFL career where he may miss a start.

It was really difficult for Joe to see linebacker Derrick Brooks watching most of the second half of last week’s season-opener from the sideline last week, which probably spoke volumes as to how bad Brooks was hurt. Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald noted that Sunday may be the first time in Brooks’ NFL career, now 14 seasons strong in a Bucs uniform, where he can’t answer the bell.

Sunday was his 193rd straight start, second only to Brett Favre’s 254. Brooks has played in every game since the start of the 1995 season, that’s 209 and counting, and Brooks is still counting.

On his weekly radio show with Steve Duemig on WDAE-AM 620 Wednesday afternoon, Brooks would not say whether he will start or not. He did say that his hands, or tongue if you will, were tied by the Bucs front office. In other words he was under a “gag order.” And, when Brooks does announce his playing status for Sunday, he will do so on his official website, hit55.net.

As one might imagine the Bucs took a nosedive in the various power rankings by the national MSM.

Dr. Z, otherwise known as Sports Illustrated’s Paul Zimmerman, still has the Bucs in the middle of the pack in the NFL.

The first time I ever met Jeff Garcia he reminded me of that kid in the neighborhood whose mother puts him in a chair in front of the house, with a blanket across his knees, because she feels the sun is good for him. I wondered how the hell he’d ever hold up in the NFL. Well, he has, for many years. Now it seems that it’s catching up to him. Calf, finger, ankle…he’s missed practice time, camp time, too much time. The offense sputtered against the Saints. They’re talking about replacing him with Brian Griese, whose role in life seems to be a human disaster replacement. It’s sad. Jeff is a tough, courageous competitor. Would one of you kids move his chair over to that sunny area, please?

Pat Yasinskas of BSPN.com wasn’t too high on the Bucs after a season-opening win with a No. 20 ranking.

Showed no big-play capability and the defense is looking old.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has the Bucs all the way down to No. 22.

They didn’t do much offensively in losing to the Saints, and now might be forced to play without quarterback Jeff Garcia (ankle). Brian Griese might be the guy this week.

Joe hopes the Bucs pound the Falcons Sunday so they can climb back up everyone’s power ranking.

Without hesitation, Coach Gruden has turned to Brian Griese.

It’s the one handoff Bucs fans shouldn’t be happy about: Brian Griese taking over as the Bucs’ No. 1 quarterback. 

The official word is Jeff Garcia has a sprained ankle, a slow-healing calf muscle and overall he isn’t quite right. (That last part sounds very Chris Simmsesque.)

Unoffically, Jon Gruden has leaped again at the opportunity to push Garcia out of the mix. It’s as if Gruden’s saying, “Don’t let the doghouse door hit you in the ass.”

From the coach filled with fight, albeit misguided sometimes, Gruden was way too quick today to say  his hand-picked savior will put his feet up against the Falcons on Sunday.

No Gruden telling Garcia to get his ass on the field. No Gruden saying he’ll let his field general make the call later in the week. Nope, just a quick handoff to Griese, not even a bluff to keep the Falcons guessing.

It’s like Chucky has completely forgotten – or is totally unaware – Garcia saved his job last year.

So here we are. Gruden’s having flashbacks to Griese’s 5-1 start in 2005, before he suffered a season-ending injury. What glorious memories. The Bucs put up a stunning 19 points a game during that stretch, with Griese tossing seven TD’s and seven picks. He was a model of consistency.

Oddly, after that performance, Griese couldn’t land a starter’s job before returning to the Bucs this year.

But now he’s back in the No. 1 spot against a young Falcons team that is very unlikely to experience another miracle this week.

The stage is set Brian. You perform and your pal Chucky will call your number in Week 3, and Week 4 and Week 5 … as if you never got hurt in 2005.

Gruden and Garcia may not be chatting much on Sunday, the Tampa Tribune reports.

Ugh. The Tampa Tribune is reporting Brian Griese took all the snaps in Wednesday morning’s walkthrough practice.

The report speculates Griese will start Sunday, but Joe’s not convinced. If Garcia trots out there this afternoon or Thursday, then he’ll surely go. Gruden has to know Garcia represents this team’s best chance to get to the Super Bowl. One only hopes.

Joe can’t imagine Garcia’s going to sit out with a twisted ankle while his contract year goes down the drain.

Oxycontin and a good tape job are in your future, Mr. Garcia.

Always fun to see this photo. Joe predicts Vinny could return to the Patriots.

Gotta love Bill Bellicheat saying he’s in no hurry to sign a new quarterback after Tom Brady went down Sunday.

Sure, Bill, you’re just going stick with two no-name quarterbacks who make Luke McCown look like a cagey old veteran.

Joe predicts the phones of Vinny Testeverde and Drew Bledsoe are ringing non-stop this week.

Matt Bryant kicked for his job against the Saints

Lost in Sunday’s game was Matt Bryant literally kicking for his job at the end of the first half. If he misses that 37-yarder, that’s the end of his Bucs career. No doubt.

The Bucs looked at four kickers this month, as the team prepared for life after Bryant’s next shank.

Joe gives Bryant major props for delivering on Sunday and erasing a horrendous preseason performance.

Chucky's play calling Sunday was enough to make Joe scream.

It’s taken Joe this long to compose himself after Sunday’s loss to the Saints. Simply put, Joe has come to the conclusion Chucky either doesn’t know how to use the talent he has on offense or he is beyond stubborn and sometimes can’t see the street sign he walks right into because he’s too busy looking at the trees.

Given the fact he is friends with Tony LaRussa, what more evidence does Joe need?

Chucky has the deepest group of running backs in the league. He has three that could start at tailback for virtually any team save for Minnesota and San Diego with Earnest Graham, Warrick Dunn and Michael Bennett.

Throw into the equation that the Bucs have such a strong run blocking offensive line, you’d think that against the Saints with their suspect run defense that Chucky would have pounded the ball so much that even a guy like Joe Paterno would start crying for one of those new fangled forward pass thingies.

(How old is Paterno? Ever hear of “The Somme?” Paterno can tell you about it. He was there.)

But nnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooo! Chucky had to be Chucky. He had to be cute. Why he’s even smarter than Brian Billick, just ask him. Let’s pass the ball 40 times and use a no-huddle offense in a frigging dome with 70,000 drunk, screaming ragin’ Cajuns. My, what an offensive genius.

This is not counting that Garcia has been rustier than a ship stranded on a reef for 20 years. Oh yeah, the Bucs best receiver, Joey Galloway, has practiced with the offense just two or three days more than Joe due to the ever troublesome sore groin.

As the game progressed, the few times the Bucs ran they were breaking off solid gains each attempt. You could see it; Joe could see it; anyone walking around with a white cane could see it. Yet Chucky only saw dink-and-dunk passes in an attempt to fool the Saints defense.

The only person Chucky was fooling was himself.

After the game, Chucky blamed himself for a poorly called game. No kidding! You think he may have been able to realize this, oh, I dunno, maybe in the middle of the second quarter?

The sign of a good coach is one that is flexible. A good coach can see what is working and what is not working and tinker accordingly. Only a football version of a LaRussa acolyte would stubbornly keep trying to ram a square peg in a round hole because, by God, He – Chucky — knows better than the drunken sloth at the CITS that pays his salary.

This isn’t the first time Chucky has pulled such a stunt. And sadly it won’t be the last.

Joe knows what the Bucs record is: the Bucs have zero wins. Chucky has one loss.

Joe had to take a couple of days to calm down; those SOB referees had him so upset. It’s times like these Joe wishes he had something like a baseball backstop for his TV and living room walls.

Why, these crooks disguised as zebras had Joe so mad he had to keep the remote control and empty beer bottles away from him.

Yes, Joe will get to the injustice done to Gaines Adams but there may have been a worse call then that.

It was early in the second quarter and the Saints had just got a first down on their own 32. Drew Brees tries a swing pass to Reggie Bush. Unlike at USC, Bush didn’t have deep pocket boosters to protect him. This time Ronde Barber was prowling.

Barber completely lit up Bush like it was the Fourth of July. Bush fumbled. And the Bucs scooped and scored and had a touchdown!

But wait. No! Those crooks claimed it was an incomplete pass. Replays clearly showed Bush pulling the ball to his body with both hands. If that’s not possessing control of the ball, Joe doesn’t know what that is. That was the turning point in the game. That would have had the Saints on their knees.

Then there was that travesty done to Adams early in the fourth quarter. New Orleans had a second down on their own 24. Adams was running over Saints left tackle Jammal Brown when Brown literally tackled Adams just as he was about to devour Brees. There was no flag and Brees connects with Bush down the middle for a 29-yard gain and eventually the Saints score a touchdown.

What really infuriates Joe is that holding penalties (or non-calls of holding penalties) are not eligible for review. Why? Someone try to tell Joe that a blown holding call is any less important than a blown change of possession call? You mean the zebras couldn’t tell by instant replay Adams getting tackled wasn’t a hold? How did he fall down, he slipped on spilled gumbo? This is outrageous!

The NFL will say holding calls are judgment calls. Like fumbles aren’t judgment calls? Like guys keeping their feet inbounds aren’t judgment calls? Like where a ball is spotted isn’t a judgment call? Someone try to explain to Joe that any referee’s call isn’t a judgment call.

It’s enough for Joe to start doing shots in the middle of the week. These crooks stole a win from the Bucs. I hope they can sleep at night. Joe can’t.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune reports Derrick Brooks could miss two games with a bum hamstring.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, in a video on TBO.com, suggests the fact that Brooks sat out the last 20+ minutes of the Bucs’ season-opening loss to the Saints means Brooks could miss the next two games.

Cummings casts serious doubts on whether Brooks will play  against Atlanta in Sunday’s home opener.

Despite the hamstring injury, Cummings said, Brooks insisted there wasn’t any reason to believe he won’t play this coming Sunday. Time will tell.

Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger has a video breakdown of the Bucs from the newspaper’s Web site. He lays out both the bad and the good from the Bucs season-opening loss to the Saints. Give it a look:

Please welcome the newest member of the JoeBucsFan.com family, Jacquez Green, former Bucs wide receiver (1998-2001) and All-American receiver at the University of Florida where he helped the Gators win the 1996 national championship, alongside current Bucs WR Ike Hilliard.

Green will serve JoeBucsFan.com as a regular analyst concentrating on the Bucs offense, specifically the passing game and a focus on  wide receiver play. Green, who won back-to-back Madden Bowls, is now the offensive coordinator at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg.

Joe plans to announce additional analysts soon. Please give Jacquez a warm welcome and take a moment to read his comments on the Bucs’ receivers and the immediate future of the Bucs offense.

Concerning Sunday’s game, I think the main thing is [running back Earnest] Graham ran the ball real well. But I think [Jeff] Garcia is a little rusty. He hasn’t had enough reps in the preseason. Timing and precision is a big thing with the receivers and the quarterback. Garcia and [receiver Joey] Galloway have not practiced. They need to work together.

It’s the same thing with Antonio Bryant. He’s new to the team and right now he is the No. 2 receiver. But he and [Garcia] are basically new to each other. They haven’t been working together either. I’m sure when Bryant got here he was probably working with the second team. This wouldn’t be a big deal if Garcia and Galloway were working together in training camp.

This [rust] could continue if Garcia is too hurt to practice. In the NFL, the No. 1 quarterback gets all the reps with the first team in practice. If Garcia can’t practice this week, that could [delay] the receivers and Garcia from getting their timing down. You have to develop timing, it’s important. It takes time.

Bryant had a solid game Sunday. Bryant has a world of talent. I’ve been watching him since his Miami Northwestern days [in high school]. He has a world of talent and the more he learns this offense and the terminology the better he will be. It’s difficult to pick up [Jon Gruden’s] scheme at first. Basically, it’s the name of the plays. The more he plays, the better he will get. He’s very explosive.

And don’t forget about Ike [Hilliard]. Ike had a good game last Sunday. Ike has always been solid. Always. The moment or a play is never too big for Ike. It’s just never been too big for him. He’s always consistent. He’s a steady guy; he’s been that way all his life. He’s reliable. Ike runs a great route and is always good after the catch. I’m not sure how many people know he was a high school running back so I think that’s why he’s so good with the ball after the catch.

Joey Galloway was sharper on the radio than on the field.

Of the many Bucs player radio shows, Joe enjoys and recommends The Joey Galloway Show on WDAE-620AM. The 2008 edition kicked off Monday night in its 6 p.m. time slot.

Galloway is an eloquent, intelligent football and sports analyst who has a real future behind the mike. He’s got a touch of arrogance, but not enough to make you dislike him.

Joe only wishes that callers would hit Galloway with tough, more personal questions. Softball radio makes Joe nauseous.

Some Galloway highlights from Monday’s show:

On Sunday’s fourth quarter downfield Garcia pass to Galloway where it appeared he gave up on the ball: “I was thinking one thing and [Garcia] was thinking another. I better start thinking what he’s thinking. I didn’t turn around, and it’s going over my head.” 

Galloway, who was rehabbing his groin through the preseason, explained why he didn’t talk to the media during the preseason: “I didn’t have much to say. And the focus should be on the guys working on the field.”

On sitting out every preseason game, as he did this season: “It’s a negative. … I like to get tackled at least once and be on the field through two [long drives].”

Joe understands this is an NFL blog, specifically a Bucs blog. But occassionally something comes along that Joe just has to share.

When Chucky came up with the phrase “Pound that rock!” during the glorious Super Bowl season, Joe isn’t sure this is what Chucky had in mind.

Brian Griese hung his head often last season with the Bears. Does Gruden secretly want him to start Sunday?

The Bucs have now moved closer to an all-out starting quarterback controversy.

The team announced today that Jeff Garcia has a swollen ankle and is listed as questionable for Sunday.

Joe’s take is that there is no way Garcia will sit out the home opener Sunday against Atlanta. That’s why the team has trainers, doctors and quality pain medication.

But at his Monday press conference Chucky said Garcia must have significant practice time this week, according to the Tampa Tribune.

Gruden said Garcia would need to participate in the majority of reps this week in order to play, and considering Garcia seemed a little rusty against New Orleans, he will need to practice on Wednesday and Thursday to convince coaches he is ready to go.

“We have to get the quarterback the reps,” Gruden said. “We have to get wired in. We’ll do that, here, in the next 24, 48 hours. We’ll make sure we get all the information we need to to do what gives our team a chance to get back to 1-1 and win our first football game.

Joe is concerned that these quotes are not gamesmanship to keep the Falcons guessing. But they actually reveal that Gruden is eager for an excuse to give Brian Griese a chance to run this offense.

OK Bucs fans, you can do the math:

Yesterday, in a 20-14 Jets win at Miami, Brett Favre completed well over half of his passes, 15 of 22, for 194 yards, an average of 8.8 a pass. He also threw two touchdown passes. Favre did not have any interceptions.

In the Bucs 24-20 loss to the Saints at New Orleans, Jeff Garcia had slightly more yards (221) in just a few more completions (24) but he had 40 attempts. Then there was that brutal interception to end the Bucs chances where he threw into double coverage as if he was trying to throw the ball through two defenders.

So, yeah, the Bucs would have been better off with Favre in the first week.

Favre’s wife Deanna may not be Carmella, but I doubt you’d complain if she was the option.

Deanna Favre is no Carmella. But this week Bucs fans would have been better off with Deanna's husband, not Carmella's.

Track every move of Gaines Adams at JoeBucsFan.com

 Mixed bag today for Gaines Adams, the Bucs 2007 first round draft choice and fourth overall selection. He came up big late in the game when the Bucs needed a huge play.

The Bucs right defensive end lined up against New Orleans left tackle Jammal Brown.

 In a weekly feature on JoeBucsFan.com, Joe will document each play to chronicle how Adams fared.
NIP = Not in play.
NOF = Not on the field; Greg White at right end.

Saints first possession
New Orleans – 14:55
1st-10, NO24 14:55 Thomas rushed to the left for 4 yard gain
Blown off line. NIP
2nd-6, NO28 14:22 Brees quick pass to Bush to the left for 16 yard gain
NIP
1st-10, NO44 13:52 Bush rushed to the left for 10 yard gain.
Bush runs away from Adams.
1st-15, NO49 12:43 Brees quick pass to Thomas to the right for 5 yard gain.
NIP
2nd-10, TB46 12:11 Brees passed to Bush down the middle for 7 yard gain.
Adams runs a stunt to his left and did not get past the line, offered no pressure.
3rd-3, TB39 11:27 Brees passed to Patten to the left for 39 yard touchdown. Gramatica made PAT.
Adam is driven back by Brown initially and then he tries to turn inside but by then Brees got the pass off.

Saints second possession
New Orleans – 10:05
1st-10, NO9 10:05 Brees passed to Bush to the left for 11 yard gain.
Adams sails past Brown but is picked up by fullback Mike Karney just before getting to Brees.
1st-10, NO20 9:35 Bush rushed to the right for 1 yard loss.
This time New Orleans left guard Jamar Nesbit blocked Adams and owned him.2nd-15, NO15 8:13 Phillip Buchanon intercepted Brees for 26 yard touchdown.
Adams got some heat on Brees but it was Barrett Ruud who got to Brees to force him into a bad throw.

Saints third possession
New Orleans – 8:06
1st-10, NO6 8:06 Brees incomplete pass to the left.
Adams runs a stunt to the left, getting some pressure on Brees.
2nd-10, NO6 8:00 Bush rushed to the right for 4 yard gain
Adams does a nice job of getting to Bush. Though he didn’t get a tackle he got a hand on him.

Read the full breakdown here.

Can anyone remember the last time Jon Gruden put a loss on his back and shouldered some blame for his offense?

The Tampa Tribune reports Chucky, 2-5 in season openers with the Bucs, took responsibility for the Bucs going a miserable 2-of-12 on third down against the Saints.

“It’s my bad,’’ Gruden said. “It’s obviously bad coaching. We just didn’t make the plays. I didn’t call a very good game.’’

Joe can’t figure out if Gruden was being sarcastic, or showing a moment of truthfulness?

With a freshly pulled hamstring, Derrick Brooks might be doing more coaching than playing.

Derrick Brooks reportedly left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. The future Hall of Famer hasn’t missed a start in a decade and he hasn’t missed a game in his career.

No matter how much rehab Brooks goes through, at 35 years old a hamstring pull likely will slow him down the entire season. The way Matt McCoy looked backing him up, the Bucs’ brass might be yearning for Ryan Nece about now.

Why wasn’t Cato June playing every snap in Brooks’ absence?

Chucky must explain calling a timing route for Galloway on 3rd and 6 with the game on the line.

So much to say about this loss to the Saints. But first, what the heck is with 3rd-and-6 on the final drive and Gruden calls a sideline timing route for Galloway?

Garcia and Gruden were out of sync most of the game, and before that they weren’t on the field together since last season?  This was a horrendous call. Executing that route typically takes a tremendous amount of practice time.

And another thing. Where was Earnest Graham after his breakout run? Where was the running game today? It was working, but seemed to disappear late, as usual.

Strange game. Ugly loss when your defense gives up 400+ yards.

Joe will have more on this game later today. But let’s just say he’s irate at Garcia’s last pass that was intercepted. For that Carmella should shut him off for the week.

And no, this is not an excuse to post Carmella’s likeness.