Wow! Michael Johnson will not play against the Falcons today. [read more]

 Dixie Chicks  (2-6) at Bucs (1-7)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. [read more]

No reason for an O-line setback

They run blocked like champs in the first half. They passed blocked all day.

No, it wasn’t the fault of Tampa Bay’s offensive line that Mike Glennon flushed touchdown throws down the toilet in last Sunday’s five-point loss to Cleveland.

Now what? [read more]

Starting quarterback Josh McCown is known to talk about his “journey,” one of the more amazing longevity stories in the NFL.

Consider McCown was hired this year and given his biggest contract by a head coach who had cut him a few years prior in favor of Jason Campbell. [read more]

Dixie Chicks QB Matty Ice roasted Bucs Alterraun Verner in September.

It doesn’t look too good for Alterraun Verner playing today. The Bucs cornerback was hobbled all week and we won’t know for sure until 90 minutes before kickoff whether he is on the active list or not.

Given Verner’s play during the chain-whipping at Atlanta earlier this year, he may not be missed much. Consider the numbers dug up by Tom Bassinger of the Tampa Bay Times.   [read more]

“Well, you know, there have been quite a few bright moments, obviously the Pittsburgh game, and then New Orleans [he] played a very good game. I thought he was outstanding in that game. He’s a had a lot of throws, not to sound cliché, that he’d like to have back, including [in Cleveland]. It’s been a little up and down. We’ve got eight games left to go. And we’ll see how it goes after that. But right now I would say, I don’t want to say incomplete, but we’ve got a ways to go, and so does Mike.” Bucs general manager Jason Licht on Mike Glennon, Monday, Nov. 3. [read more]

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, national champion James Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s regular nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback to wear No. 5 ever in the state of Florida.

Tonight, the undefeated Winston and Seminoles try to keep their national title run alive as they host Virginia, a team that shut down Brent Hundley and UCLA earlier this year. Bang it here for all your Jameis thoughts as the game proceeds.

Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. on BSPN.

It’s preview time!

Yes, there’s a football game tomorrow, a Draft Bowl, if you will. And WTSP-TV, Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth takes a look for JoeBucsFan.com readers. [read more]

With the second half of the season here and Lovie Smith returning to his handpicked quarterback with loads of optimism and talking about being “still in it,” one thing is crystal clear: Lovie wants Josh McCown to be his starting quarterback in 2015. [read more]

You asked for it, you got it. It’s the TV map for tomorrow’s game between the Dixie Chicks and the Bucs live from the Den of Depression.

If you are a resident of Florida or Georgia, there is a better than average chance you won’t have to run to a local bar or find someone with NFL Sunday Ticket to watch the game. [read more]

No more rope for Lovie Smith special teams coach and guru Kevin O’Dea

A realist would say the Bucs lost in Cleveland last week because their special teams imploded.

Sabby medals would go to Mike James, Will Gholston and Logan Mankins for their incompetence. Typically, when there’s a special teams goat, there’s only one, but the Bucs had three on three different plays. Nice! [read more]

Joe gets a chuckle out of the revisionist historians that whine about how former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik passed on middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and, instead, drafted safety Mark Barron. Yeah, Barron was/is a bust.

However, in the next round, Dominik traded up to get his linebacker. That man’s name is Lavonte David, who Joe pimped the Bucs to draft in December prior to his selection. [read more]

Joe knows some haters like to pick the Bucs apart. We are talking about a 1-7 team here, people. But stop with the nonsense that Lavonte David is not playing well. David is the least of Lovie Smith’s concerns.

Another player who Joe hopes Lovie has stopped worrying about is Johnthan Banks. The second-year man from Mississippi State is arguably the best cornerback on the roster. [read more]

Before someone tries to brand Joe a hater, there may not be a nicer guy in the Bucs locker room than Da’Quan Bowers.

The defensive end has come nowhere near the player folks thought he would be coming out of Clemson. Unlike others, however, who are shadows of their college hype, Bowers never hides from reporters (coughmarkbarroncough) as if the fourth estate is responsible for their suckiness on the field. [read more]

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, national champion James Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s regular nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback to wear No. 5 ever in the state of Florida. [read more]

Lovie Smith demands the Bucs take advantage of the Falcons’ rookie left tackle

It’s the battle of ankle excuses questions on Sunday at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.

Rookie left tackle Jake Matthews lines up for the Falcons against the apparition known as Bucs defensive end Michael Johnson. [read more]