Doug Williams doesn’t appear to be with the Bucs much longer, or he may not want to be. Yesterday, Williams interviewed with Southern University, reports the Mad Twitterer of the St. Petersburg Times.

Bucs pro personnel director Doug Williams interviewed for Southern University head coaching job in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday.

The Mad Twitterer goes on to write that Williams’ contract with the Bucs expires in February.

Joe would be sad to see Williams leave.

* Nice play by Aqib Talib to start the second half and save a first down.

* Wow. Backbreaker. Brees was going down for a sack by Ronde Barber and not only did he get away a pass but it was perfect to a wide freaking open receiver.

* Reggie Bush rips apart the Bucs. Again.

* There’s been a Quincy Black sighting.

* Bucs radio network reporting Jimmy Wilkerson is in street clothes with an ice pack on his knee.

* Geno Hayes with a sack. Geno always with the big play.

* Caddy with a beautiful run for a first down.

* Damn, what a good catch by Bryant. Good coverage, he just made a sick catch.

* That’s it: Keep running. Six and seven yards at a crack.

* Third-and-one: Rollout.

* Freaking-A! That’s the way to run the ball. Dave Moore didn’t like the call on the Bucs radio network but loved the effort from Cadillac.

* Joe is liking this drive.

* Fitting. Interception. Shouldn’t have Bryant come back for the ball?

* Game turning interception. Brees and the Saints are slicing apart the Bucs defense on their second possession of the second half. Sad that Tim Crowder had to chase a running back down to save a tackle.

* Huge, huge play by the Bucs defense.

* Oh, boy. Punt downed at the two.

* Nice patience by the big rookie in the pocket to get the ball (behind) Brian Clark.

* Quick third quarter.

* Bucs are running the ball well. Keep it up. What do you have to lose?

* Dave Moore on the Bucs radio network is ripping the team for “self-destructing” on each possession they have had.

* Geez. First-and-20. Joe smells another interception coming.

* Second-and-17. Joe fears what may happen.

* Well, Joe wasn’t expecting a fumble.

* Wonder if that was what Jerry Wunsch calls a “casino blitz?”

* Ruud finally makes a tackle for a loss. First one of the game for the Saints, who previously looked like they were scrimmaging a high school team… you know, like the way Reggie Bush danced through the Bucs defense for a first down.

* Has Brees thrown an incomplete pass yet?

* How many missed tackles were there on the Pierre Thomas gouge for 20+ yards?

* Geez. The only way the Bucs could get Thomas down was by a face mask.

* Um, are the Bucs showing any improvement in this game?

* Hey Ruud, if you were paying attention you had a pick-six.

* Fourth-and-two. Would the Saints go for it? Why not?

* Trying to guess how the Bucs will melt down on this series.

* Well, whaddya know? A Jeremy Trueblood false start. How quaint? Idiot.

* Nice pitch and catch by Freeman to Winslow in traffic.

* That pass should have been intercepted. Freeman was off balance and Winslow was in triple coverage.

* Freeman looked like Big Ben on that scramble. How he didn’t get sacked — twice — Joe has no idea.

* OK. So the Bucs have 68 yards to go for a score with 1:45 left in the half. Can they do it? (Quit laughing).

* Dump passes won’t get too far.

* Caddy with a first down with a nice move but couldn’t get out of bounds. Not real smart.

* Winslow with the first down and out of bounds. That’s the way to do it Josh.

* OMG! Not just a Michael Clayton sighting but a catch and damned near broke it for a score. Antonio Bryant with a first down and a penalty for good measure. Bucs looking very sharp. Can they get it in the end zone in 18 seconds?

* That was a good call going for Stovall in the end zone. Just good defense by the Saints.

* Gene Deckerhoff begging for no interception.

* Good play by Caddy on that fumbled snap. This should be a chip shot field goal… then again, nothing is a chip shot all year for Bucs place kickers.

* Bucs avoid a shutout with a field goal.

* Raheem the Dream at halftime said the defense has to slow down the Saints. Gee, ya think?

* Things Joe (thankfully) misses when listening to the Bucs radio network: godawful, incessant Geico and Progressive commercials (with all the millions of dollars these companies spend on ads, cannot they find an advertising agency to come up with decent commercials?), that douchebag “Mike” on those Ford commercials (who the hell is “Mike?”) and that asswipe half-assed comedian who eats toothpicks who narrates those Ford commercials. Joe drives a Ford truck but those ads are enough to make Joe think about buying a riceburner when he needs another vehicle.

* Keep running the ball. This will not be the last time Joe types this. Run!

* Faine was a roadgrader on that five-yard game by Cadillac.

* Nice call by Greg Olson with the pitch to Caddy. Very nice. Now keep running!

* Very good throw by Freeman to Antonio Bryant. Very nice. So far, so good.

* Saints seemed like they knew that run play by Cadillac was coming. Half the defense was firing to that hole.

* Damn, a decent throw by Freeman and Bryant had an easy first down. Dude had all sorts of blockers in front of him.

* Illegal shift does not cost the Bucs a first down as Winslow was short, though it was a good play.

* Damn. Freeman rolls left and had Winslow wide open but Freeman must have been trying to throw the ball in the Mississippi River.

* That reverse to start the Saints first series didn’t catch the Bucs off guard, did it?

* Early going and the Saints are carving up the Bucs on the ground.

* When the Saints are getting roughly eight yards a carry, this will make for a long day for the Bucs. Of course, if this continues, Joe can imagine the hillbilly with a thesaurus Jack Harris bragging how the Bucs gave the Saints all they could handle.

* The Saints early on look every bit the best team in the NFC.

* Is Jim Bates in New Orleans?

* Dave Moore on the Bucs radio network was very critical of the Bucs defense on the Saints first drive. “I’m fearful of what’s still to come.”

* Love the play-action pass to Earnest Graham and then how he ran over a Saints defender.

* Caddy is having a good day. Nice gain.

* Offensive line is having a nice day.

* Is Joe seeing things? He thought he saw the King of Turds throw a block.

* Damnit! The Bucs were running very well. Why in the world is Greg Olson bailing on the run???

* Freeman has a habit of having balls sail on him. Is this a continuation of why he had a poor completion percentage in college?

* Quote from a Twitter post from AOL Fanhouse writer Nancy Gay, “Josh Freeman makes one HORRIBLE play for every 3 good ones.”

* Barrett Ruud gets penetration but no tackle.

* Sabby Piscitelli with an open field tackle. That’s refreshing.

* Ronde Barber got run over on that play action pass.

* Wow. Robert Meachem wasn’t open was he? Touchdown Saints. Blowout alert.

* Holy spit. Mo Stovall with a monster play down the right sideline to end what has been a brutal first quarter. How will Jack Harris spin that?

Joe was listening to the hillbilly with a thesaurus, Jack Harris, interview Bucs general manager Mark Dominik earlier this morning, and Joe has to believe Harris must have money concerns about his (not soon enough) retirement.

It’s one thing for a young employee of the Bucs to grovel to the master, but for a grown man who has a modicum of respect within the Tampa Bay community and considers himself a journalist to throw away all pretenses of dignity is shameful.

That’s exactly what Harris did with Dominik.

In interviewing Dominik, Harris had the gall to tell Dominik, and the thousands of listeners on the Buccaneers Radio Network, that when the Bucs were destroyed by the Saints Nov. 22, the Bucs “had a real shot at beating” the Saints.

In what universe is Harris coming from? A “real shot?” Really? By what standards?

Why, the Bucs played such a strong game against the Saints, they defrocked their defensive coordinator Jim Bates it was such a close contest.

It’s one thing for Harris to act like he has swallowed a thesaurus — which may impress some homebound little old lady. It’s something else to hijack interviewees on his radio show to jam his not very well hidden agendas down people’s throats.

It’s quite another to outright lie to a listening audience to impress a high-ranking member of the Bucs front office.

Joe has constantly banged the drum that unless you have the NFL Network, you may not be a football fan and you certainly are not a man.

The following is evidence of that:

Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network claims the Bucs have reached out to Super Bowl-winning and former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher to “gauge” his interest in coaching the Bucs.

The Bucs have tried to gauge Cowher’s interest should they decide to make a move regarding Raheem Morris, who has endured a difficult first season as head coach. But Cowher’s stance through this season has been clear: He will not interview for any jobs during the season and will not talk about any positions that aren’t already vacant.

The Bucs declined to comment about this situation after being contacted Saturday.

The Buffalo Bills also reached out to Cowher after Dick Jauron was fired and replaced by interim coach Perry Fewell, but he declined to interview for that job last month for the same reasons. And while the Bills aren’t on Cowher’s radar, the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach has looked at the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers as potentially intriguing situations, according to sources.

If this is true and if this happens — two major ifs — this could be the end not just for Raheem the Dream, but also for general manager Mark Dominik.

Cowher reportedly has a team of people he would bring with him that not only would coach, but would also run the football operations of whatever team he chooses to go.

In short, if this happens, it’s a package deal: Bring in Cowher’s people as well, or pass.

Week 16
Bucs at Saints
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTVT Ch. 13, DirecTV 711
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 158.
Weather: It’s asinine to give a forecast for a dome game but Joe suspects there may be a few Bucs fans prowling Bourbon Street prior to the game. For those hearty souls, AccuWeather.com suggests they will need a jacket. Tailgating temperatures will be in the lower 50’s under cloudy skies. If it’s too chilly, Joe is confident Bucs fans can find a nice warm, albeit a smokey and smelly watering hole in the quarter.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Saints -14.
Outlook: Joe is expecting a blowout. The Saints are coming off an extra day of rest and still stinging from a bad loss to Dallass. The Saints will want to show the NFL that it still means business. A win by the Saints will clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs. That written, Joe is looking for a spirited effort from the Bucs. The Bucs want to show that the the win over Seattle and the resurgence of their defense since defensive coordinator Jim Bates was defrocked were or are not flukes. Though most believe Raheem the Dream will likely be back next year, a close game with a good showing will help reinforce Raheem the Dream’s chances of being back with the Bucs in 2010.

Time for Joe to bring you videos from the good people of the NFL Network to get you ready for the Bucs-Saints game.

First up is a production from NFL Films previewing the game.

Then there is the weather prediction from AccuWeather.com. Hint: Joe suspects the weather in the Superdome will be comfortable.

Scott Smith of Buccaneers Insider also serves up his unique take on the upcoming game.

Overrated Suzy Kolber, Tedy Bruschi and Mark Schlereth break down the Bucs-Saints game Sunday.

"You f'ing right I'd like to move to Gainesville and coach the Gators. Imagine how I could ruin Scot Brantley's nephew?"

Though Joe doubts it, he’s already gotten texts and seen on Twitter Chucky’s name floated as a replacement for Florida coach Urban Meyer who shocked the football world earlier tonight by resigning as coach of the Florida Gators.

Joe doubts Chucky will go to Gainesville. But Meyer’s decision could effect Chucky.

Florida is behind the eight ball in a number of ways now. First, all the top candidates have already been hired. Second, this throws the recruiting process for the Gators in a mess.

If you are a recruit in Florida, look at what is going on? One coach may be on thin ice (Randy Shannon), another program just lost its best coach (Meyer), a third program may have to fire its coach (Jim Leavitt).

The only “stable” coach in the state of Florida is a guy who has never been a head coach before. Wow, how quick things change.

Anyway, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley once made a run at Mike Shanahan. If Shanahan were to take that job, that means there are two jobs with Chucky acolytes running an NFL organization: Cleveland and Washington.

This will be very interesting to see how the dominoes fall once Foley picks a replacement.

If Joe was Foley, he’d go after, in order, Kyle Whittingham (a Meyer disciple and a man who knows how to beat Bama), Tommy Tuberville (who knows the SEC) and Butch Davis (who knows how to win and recruit in the state of Florida).

Who would have thought a month ago that both Bobby Bowden and Meyer would leave their respective programs on the same day?

Will Stylez G. White be able to disrupt Drew Brees Sunday?

Few Bucs fans give the Pewter Pirates much of a chance to win Sunday in the Superdome. For good reason: The Saints are coming off an upset loss and the Bucs are not in the same stratosphere as the Saints.

But Jason Feller of NFL.com is of the belief that the Bucs can beat the Saints.

On paper, this game is a complete mismatch. The Bucs were blown out at home by the Saints, 38-7, in their first meeting earlier this season, and have less accomplished players at nearly every position. In such situations, the heavy underdog typically needs some breaks and a reason to believe. Well, the Bucs figure to have no shortage of belief. They have had some success in the state of Louisiana. They are 5-3 in their last eight road games against the Saints, and all three losses came by four points or less. They will believe they can pull off this upset. Tampa Bay is also coming off its first road win — an impressive victory at Seattle — which is a tough place to play. The Bucs will enter this matchup with more momentum than they’ve had all season.

New Orleans was on a magical ride this season, but that ended last week at home against Dallas. The Saints were outplayed in every facet of the game and suffered a 24-17 loss, their first of the year. While they are clearly an outstanding team, as their 13-1 record attests, they have benefitted from several breaks. While they deserve credit for leading the league in takeaways, there is also an element of chance involved. For example, the Saints have recovered 13 of the 14 fumbles they have forced — an incredible percentage. If those bounces start going against the Saints, then Tampa Bay just may shock its NFC South rival with a second consecutive loss.

Joe isn’t as convinced as Feller the Bucs will beat the Saints. Of course, Joe hopes the Bucs win, but Santa Claus came yesterday.

Joe enjoys the many reader comments that appear here. Especially when Joe’s former-Buccaneer pals weigh in.

Recently, following one of his popular QB Blast columns, ex-Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson answered a question about Josh Freeman’s mechanics.

Joe found it interesting, so here it is for all to read:

By JEFF CARLSON

Right now, like many a rookie QB before him, Freeman is a combination of everything: confused at times, poorly aligned with his feet, which means missed targets with throws, and delivering awesome throws, which give us all hope.

He is like an amateur golfer right now. He is somewhat erratic off the tee and in the rough. But he occasionally hits the ball so perfectly that even though you are frustrated most of the round, it is just enough to get excited about coming back to the course one more time.

I did some stop-action analysis on the Seahawks game, both the warm-up throws that John Lynch said he had never seen a QB throw so much before the game and also in-game throws. I was surprised at how side-armed and off-balance Freeman was in his warm-up throws and misaligned on his in-game throws.

Also, I understand his apprehension in the red zone with his recent turnover binge, but he had a sure touchdown pass to Sammy Stroughter in the flat yet decided to overthrow Antonio Bryant out of the side of the endzone.

Will he work hard enough to take his game from amateur duffer to PGA pro? Does he have the coaching to improve the technical fundamentals of his stroke?

Yes and no. I like his mental game and think he will improve that part of his game. I don’t think there is anyone around One Buc to tighten up his mechanics (which is just like most other NFL teams).

This news is a few weeks old, but it didn’t make the rounds among Bucs fans and the MSM, so Joe thought he’d throw it out there.

Joe caught the item while perusing the pages of the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The Glazer clan has dumped an estate on Florida’s east coast at a tidy profit.

Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, closed Palm Beach’s biggest deal of the year with the sale of his home for $24 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a report online, the Journal said the nearly 12,000-square-foot home, which has nine bedrooms and nine-and-a-half bathrooms set on 3.8 acres, had a price tag of $27.5 million and was on the market for less than 30 days. The buyer was Los Angeles real estate investor Jeff Greene.

The home was built in 1924 and Glazer’s company, First Allied Jacksonville Corp. bought it in July 2000 for $14 million, the report said. The Glazers never lived in the home, called La Bellucia.

Not bad work if you can get it: buy for $14 million and sell for $24 million.

Joe’s never been of the belief that the Glazers are hurting for cash. Although, of course, that doesn’t mean they aren’t committed to running the Bucs on a tight budget.

Earlier in the week Joe brought you news that Bucs defensive tackle Chris Hovan angrily denied he would lay down in order for the Bucs to lose and increase their chances of drafting Nebraska defensive tackle/manbeast Ndamukong Suh.

Now add Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud. Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune is making the case that the Bucs may need to trade away both second round picks to St. Louis in order to draft Suh. 

While Ruud — and a number of other Bucs players and front office types admit Suh is incredible — would like the Bucs to draft Suh, he hopes the Bucs don’t have a chance to draft Suh.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my guy Suh at Nebraska, he’s a great guy,” said Ruud, who has worked out with Suh in Lincoln the last four summers. “But there’s no 21-year-old kid who’s worth losing games for. There isn’t.”

There’s no guarantee the Bucs will keep the third overall pick. If they win one of their final two games, they might drop down the draft board.

“Third?” Ruud asked. “I hope we end up fifth or sixth. I hope we win all our games and somehow get booted out of the top 10.”

Just like the next Bucs fan, Joe too wants Suh. But if he can’t be had, Joe will settle for Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy.

The Bucs have too many holes to be trading draft picks right now.

Go ahead and blame Drew Brees for Raheem the Dream hiring Jim Bates. Also, thank Brees for getting rid of Bates as well.

Joe learned all sort of interesting nuggets about the inner-workings of the Bucs in this week’s Bucs TBO podcast with Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

The biggest bombshell was that, to quote Cummings, “I can tell you for a fact there are people in the upper levels of the organization are not happy at all [that Bucs running back Derrick Ward] only has 107 carries.”

As a result, Cummings explained that is why Raheem the Dream is using Ward more.

Another interesting tidbit Joe learned from the podcast was that one reason Raheem the Dream hired now defrocked defensive coordinator Jim Bates was the feeling that Drew Brees and Matt Ryan learned how to pick apart the Tampa-2 defense and Raheem the Dream wanted to quit using the Tampa-2.

As Cummings said, “the ideas made sense but in practice” it was a disaster.

Just curious, what defense hasn’t Brees picked apart?

Ironic that it was Brees roasting Bates’ abortion of a two-gap defense that may have forced Bates into retirement.

The folks who cover the Saints day in and day out for the Times Picayune do some really neat stuff with video and graphics.

Joe can only hope this video below is fact, not fiction. Without freezing the action too many times, it looks like Michael Clayton pops the big block downfield. In reality, Clayton will return to the field Sunday after recovering from his bum knee.

When the Bucs acquired running back Derrick Ward in the offseason, he was supposed to be a prized acquisition, part of the now infamous 2-2-1 running back rotation.

We all know how far that went.

Ward has been seldom used by Raheem the Dream and his offensive assistants. But per a story from Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, that may change Sunday at New Orleans.

“I’m sure he wants the ball more, but he’s not a complainer,” Morris said of Ward, who has gained 377 yards this year. “He just wants to be better. I mean, he’s been great around the building.”

Ward didn’t have much to complain about after last week’s game. The Bucs handed the ball to him a season-high 19 times and threw to him once for what proved to be a 6-yard touchdown during their 24-7 win at Seattle.

The Bucs’ plan is for Ward to get a similar dose of work this week against the Saints. And while Ward probably won’t start the game, his first touches could come a lot sooner than in the past.

Cummings also points out in the article that one reason Raheem the Dream is going to force feed the ball to Ward the next couple of weeks is to see if the Bucs will need to draft any running backs come April.

Joe just thinks Ward is a victim of the Bucs being blown out so much that they had to go to the pass, and the overall subpar play of the offensive line.

Joe doesn’t have to remind any Bucs fan how defrocked defensive coordinator Jim Bates’ two-gap system failed miserably in the front seven.

Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger offers an interesting question concerning Bates: How did he last 10 games?

Given the fact the Bucs cut their losses with offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski a week before the regular season, it stands to reason the Bucs should have cut Bates loose much sooner.

And look at the difference in the past four weeks. The defense has yielded more field goals (up from 1.4 to 2.2 per game) but has dramatically cut the number of touchdowns (down from 3.4 to 1.5) from the first 10 games.

Again, this could all be a mirage based on the competition. But it’s at least encouraging that the Bucs seem to have rediscovered their identity on defense. And while Morris isn’t saying the Tampa 2 will be back in 2010, he dropped hints in that direction.

“We want to be known as a team that goes out there and plays fast and hard. You guys know my roots and background. I will be whatever I am if I can get wins like that, whatever you want to define me as,” Morris said.

The only thing Joe can think of why Bates lasted 10 weeks and Jagodzinski never got to see a regular season game was that Jagodzinski was really terrible and Bates is a family friend of Raheem the Dream.

Joe firmly believes Sunday’s game in New Orleans could shape Bucs history.

No, Joe isn’t hopped up on egg nog and too much Caybrew.

Playing the top team in the conference on the road (New Orleans), when that team desperately needs the victory for home field advantage in the playoffs, is the ultimate opportunity for Bucs management to evaluate the team as a whole and its respective offensive and defensive units.

And that evaluation is very likely to go a long way toward shaping offseason decisions.

Scary. … Especially if you’re of the mind that Mark Dominik and co. are not exactly top notch talent evaluators. 

Now Joe watches lots of NFL Network, (and do treat yourself to it this Christmas) and Joe has seen replays and film breakdowns of the Saints’ recent games. They haven’t been pretty. The 4-10 Redskins sure looked like the better team in the Skins-Saints game a couple of weeks ago.

Jeff Duncan, a Saints writer for the Times Picayune, served up a damning, detailed report on the Saints performance over their past three games.

The past three weeks, the Saints have not run the ball effectively, have been shaky on special teams and haven’t been able to stop anyone consistently, especially through the air.

Since crushing the Patriots last month, the Saints have morphed from juggernaut to jugger…not.

The Rule of Three appears to be in effect with the Saints: Once is unlucky, twice is a coincidence and three times is a trend.

Reading the entire article, Joe mustered a faint glimmer of hope the Bucs could go to The Big Easy and pull out a victory.

Joe also still hopes Rachel Watson will come down the chimney.