Former Bucs DE Steve White

By STEVE WHITE
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Steve White spent every season of the Tony Dungy era playing defensive end for the Bucs. He’s spent countless hours in the film room with the likes of Warren Sapp, Rod Marinelli and more. Joe is humbled to now have White, also a published author and blogger, as part of the JoeBucsFan.com team. Below is White’s weekly Bull Rush column that breaks down all things defensive line. It’s simply a can’t-miss read for the hardcore Bucs fan.

One thing I prided myself on as both a player and later a coach was film study. Watching opponents on tape can reveal all kinds of tendencies, as well as strengths and weaknesses.

Since the Bucs did not play this weekend I decided to check out the Vikings-Packers game yesterday to study the Packers’ offense in action and give a sort of mini scouting report, so fans can see the kinds of things players and coaches look for.

Here are a few things I picked up on:

As a unit the Packers’ offensive line plays well. They don’t really have a bell cow, meaning one guy that really stood out in the game. But they do seem to be a well-coached group, and I didn’t see very many busts in their blocking schemes.

In the running game they aren’t really a come-off-and-knock-you-off-the-ball kind of offense. Rather, they run quite a bit of zone scheme, and with formations they try to spread the defense out and then run the ball between the tackles.

If there is one guy who looks weak to me on the offensive line it’s the center, Scott Wells. Admittedly, you won’t see a lot of centers perform well against the Vikings’ Pat Williams, but still Wells seems like more of a finesse guy who tries to either position-block a guy or tries to release quickly up to the linebackers.

If there was ever a game for us to put our weakside tackle back over the center it would be this one against Green Bay on Sunday. The Packers pride themselves on getting up on the linebackers of the other team either with the center or the guards. So much so that even though Wells isn’t that great, generally the guards don’t give him much help on run blocking when he has a shaded nose tackle.

On the other hand, when Wells isn’t covered he gets up on the middle linebacker quickly and he is athletic enough to either block him high or cut him low. I don’t think that’s what Barrett Ruud would like to see. I think any of our three defensive tackles could dominate that guy and make a lot of plays in the backfield if given the chance.

Nobody on the Packers’ offensive line is particularly physically imposing, so I don’t see a match up where we should get blocked in the run game consistently. The tight ends aren’t all that great at run blocking either.

If I had to pick the best guy, I would have to say it’s No. 86, Donald Lee. But even he doesn’t look strong on film and is mostly just an effort guy. If our ends get their hands on him, they should really be able to take advantage of that match up.

Now the one thing about the Packers offense is that they do a lot of misdirection plays and bootlegs so this will be a game in which the entire Bucs defense must read their keys and not get caught guessing.

As for the Packers’ pass blocking, I think we have some good matchups there as well.

One of the things I noticed right away is that the guards both want to quick set their guys on the line while the offensive tackles both want to get depth and make the defensive ends run a wide route around the outside. That creates two different blocking levels for their offensive line. What this means is that both sides are very suceptible to EX games (End penetrates, tackle loops for contain) in the passing game.

I think their right tackle and right guard are especially vulnerable to all kinds of pass rush games. If the defensive end gets up the field three steps and then chops his feet causing the right tackle to get his normal depth, the “TEX” game (tackle penetrates, defensive end loops inside to A-gap) will be WIDE open.

If it were me, I would tell the left ends and left defensive tackles that they would be wasting a rush if they didn’t run some kind of pass rush game on third downs.

As for the Packers’ left tackle, he is a guy I think we can really get after on passing downs. He is athletic but relatively weak and his set opens him up to inside moves. He punches his hands a lot, which means a guy like Greg (Stylez) White can really work him if he knocks his hands down.

The one thing I think you wouldn’t want to do is just run around the guy because all he will do is wait for you to get deep and then ride you past the quarterback. If one of our right ends wants to make a speed rush, I would suggest that they get into a bull rush first and then rip off outside. I wouldn’t run any TEX games on the left guard and left tackle because they keep a better relationship in their pass sets than the guys on the right side do.

Now as a reminder this is just from watching one game so its all subject to change.

For one thing the Packers have a few guys out with injuries, like starting left tackle Chad Clifton, who might return on Sunday. And normally I would be watching all of the games this year to get a good idea of what I would be facing. Still, I think that all things being equal this scouting report will hold up on Sunday. If not I invite everyone to come back and tell me how wrong I was.
 
Here is hoping we get off the snide this week and kick the Packers while they are down.

Insider Adam Schefter says Raheem needs a W to avoid the chopping block

Raheem The Dream needs a win.

Sure, the Bucs need several victories. But it seems Raheem The Dream needs at least one victory this season to comfortably avoid the Grim Reaper.

Is  that too much to ask?

Today, former NFL.com in-house scribe turned BSPN talking head Adam Schefter said it’s only fair to consider firing Raheem The Dream if the Bucs finish 0-16.

“They’re going to be underdogs in each of those [remaining] games. …That’s not pretty,” Shefter said on 1040 AM. “I know there’s been a lot of speculation about the future of the coach. But the word on him [before the season] was it was going to take him a year or two to adjust.  …It’s fair to wonder at 0-16, and only 0-16, if he’ll get another year.”

Schefter said he’s confident the big name coaches on the market are interested in coaching the Bucs.”[Tampa Bay] is a great place to live. If offered enough money, sure,” Schefter said. “But [the Glazers] do not want to make a change down there. Not with Gruden and Allen on the books.”

Joe believes Raheem The Dream needs more than one win to feel comfortable when the final whistle blows in Week 17.

Back in January, he and Czar Dominik had enough time and resources to hire quality coaches and cobble together a roster and a plan to win a few games. Even the Glazers know that.

If the Bucs win just one (big if), Raheem The Dream’s going to need to have Josh Freeman at least show flashes of greatness and improvement to sleep well at night in January.

Joe is thoroughly disgusted by these thoughts. How far the Bucs have fallen.

To protect the fragile, Joe is not showing photographs of Michael Clayton's hands.

Michael Clayton hasn’t moaned in a while. He also hasn’t caught many balls either, 11 catches and no touchdowns, to be exact.

What would happen if Clayton was on the Tampa Bay Lightning? Joe can answer that for you. Clayton would be in the minors.

Lightning superstar Vinny Lecavalier, with $80 million+ guaranteed in his new deal, has had a bad start through about 15 percent of the new season. And now he’s being punished. 

Joe’s got all the details on JoeBoltsFan.com. The site’s a must read for Lightning fans every day.

Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports suggests if a player had cursed out Mike Tomlin in a hotel lobby, that player would be wearing an imprint of Tomlin's shoe on his backside to this day.

Raheem the Dream may not be as influenced by his mentor Mike Tomlin as Raheem the Dream may want people to believe.

Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports details the spiraling downward circle the Bucs are involved in, courtesy of his weekly “Morning Rush” column.

In short, Silver writes about the tumultuous bye week for the Bucs with the Dan Sileo misinformation about the Glazer Family’s finances and the story, broken by the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, that after breaking curfew in London, Aqib Talib cursed out Raheem the Dream in a London hotel lobby at 2 a.m.

Silver writes that if a Steelers player would have ever cursed out Tomlin, a former Bucs defensive backs coach, in public, that player would have had a severe penalty to pay.

Brrrrrrrr … It just got awfully cold in Tampa, where the Bucs (0-7) emerge from their bye week as the NFL’s lone remaining winless team. And that’s a fairly dubious distinction in a season in which seven other franchises (Browns, Chiefs, Lions, Raiders, Rams, Redskins, Titans) can make a case for being abominable. For now, the Bucs stand alone after a week in which one of its owners, Joel Glazer, forcefully denied a report by Dan Sileo of Tampa radio station WDAE-AM that he and family members had lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the Bernard Madoff investment scam and that, consequently, the team might be for sale. Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, who lives in Tampa, told the Los Angeles Times’ Sam Farmer that he “would be a moron not to at least look into” a possible purchase of the franchise; and, most disturbingly, it was reported by WDAE’s Steve Duemig that second-year cornerback Aqib Talib screamed profanities at rookie coach Raheem Morris after he and other players showed up at the team’s London hotel significantly past curfew following the Bucs’ defeat to the Patriots in Week 7. Assuming that last report is true, I’m sort of speechless. This happened in front of numerous witnesses? Can you imagine if one of the Steelers’ players had tested Mike Tomlin that way during the ’07 season? I have a sneaking suspicion that if a Pittsburgh player had been stupid enough to do so, he’d have spent the flight home in the baggage area with a giant shoeprint on the back of his pants.

In a perverse way, this zoo the Bucs organization has morphed into is entertaining Joe. The rocky, winless season by the Brutal Bucs has given Joe ample subjects to write about.

Thanks for the link, Mike!

Readers have brought to Joe’s attention Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620’s post about Barrett Ruud.

Pawlowski is no fan of Ruud. Joe isn’t as harsh but there are some valid points Pawlowski brings up. Among them is the number of tackles for loss Ruud has this season.

That would be none.

The first half of last season Ruud appeared to be Pro Bowl bound, the next Bucs stud linebacker. A one-handed interception he had against the Bears was one of the best plays Joe has ever seen a linebacker make.

In the past calendar year, Ruud has been far more dud than stud.

Now part of the problem isn’t exactly Ruud’s. He generally has offensive linemen crawling all over him at the snap of the ball. Think it has anything to do with that vaunted Jim Bates’ two-gap system?

People with a helluva lot more football street cred than Joe — Warren Sapp and Pat Kirwan to name two — spoke out from day one that unless the Bucs got different personnel upfront, that a two-gap system would not work.

Have the Bucs proved Sapp and Kirwan wrong in any way?

Recently on Sirius NFL Radio, Derrick Brooks was asked why the Bucs gave up so quick on defensive end Gaines Adams. Brooks tried to be polite and politically correct but it was difficult to do. Brooks said Adams didn’t fit Bates’ system.

It seems Bates has done a decent job in turning around the Bucs secondary. It’s not nearly as bad as it was. The defensive front?  Ha!

Yeah, Joe knows Bates did a fine job in Miami. He was last there in 2004, five seasons ago. That’s damned near ancient history in the NFL. Herm Edwards also had the Jets in the playoffs when Bates last coached the Dolphins. What’s Herm up to lately? Last time Joe checked this is 2009 and the Bucs are not in Miami. Oh, and the Bucs are winless too, largely thanks to the (lack of) defense.

A pet peeve of Joe’s is when a coach, any coach no matter the sport, tries to force a player to play a specific system or scheme. A good coach adjusts and crafts a scheme to best utilize the talents of his players (example: Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe in a pass-happy Patriots offense in the mid-1990s).

Shoot, Monte Kiffin even had Adams drop back and play pass defense in the flat at times, and Adams did a decent job of that. At least Kiffin tried to come up with different looks, schemes, stunts and ideas to get the best out of Adams.

Unless the Bucs get massive new personnel up front on defense, or unless Bates (finally) figures out there are other ways to use defensive tackles, there’s no sense in throwing a lot of money at Ruud next year. 

That is, if Bates returns. Not too many defensive coordinators survive a winless season, which the Bucs are barreling down the track towards.

With 0-16 staring the Bucs in the face, this video seems like something from the History Channel.

Yes, you probably know by now the Bucs are the lone winless team. Even before yesterday’s games, few people could see where the Bucs might win a game.

Include Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. He notes how the Bucs have a pretty brutal schedule the rest of the season. In fact, even the bad team left on the Bucs schedule isn’t so bad.

And the immediate future doesn’t look too bright for the Bucs, who will return from their week off Sunday with first-round pick Josh Freeman making his first start at quarterback.

Of Tampa Bay’s next four opponents, only 3-4 Miami has a losing record, and the Dolphins — who will play host to the Buccaneers on Nov. 15 — have won three of their last four.

Last year when Joe cheered the fact the toothless Lions lost all of their 16 games did Joe even fathom the Bucs might replecate that feat this season.

Joe would love to see Cadillac Williams return next season but just how long will his surgically repaired knees hold up?

Joe has decided to take a look at a handful of Bucs players who, per Rotoworld.com, are in the last year of their current contract with the Bucs. Joe wonders who should the Bucs keep and who they should let walk.

Antonio Bryant: Gifted receiver but there are two problems. One is his health. He had limited play in training camp due to a bum knee. That missed time has shown as has his bum knee. Plus, he will be expensive to sign. Additionally, why would Bryant want to stay with the Bucs?

Donald Penn: One can argue he is the best Bucs player. But the Bucs will have to open the safe to keep him. Imagine what a solid left tackle like Penn can get on the open market and Jerry Jones and Danny Snyder waiting with an open checkbook in hand?

Barrett Ruud: Joe isn’t so sure why people are in love with Ruud? Great guy, nice guy. But has he done anything since, oh, last Thanksgiving that makes anyone stop and think, “Oh, man, the Bucs must have Ruud?”

Jeremy Trueblood: Joe likes him but Mark Dominik should not break the bank on this guy. He’s a walking yellow flag. Sure, he can block OK but what good are his blocks if the gains are called back for his penalties? Keep him, yes, within financial reason of course.

Jimmy Wilkerson: With the exception of Roy Miller and possibly Stylez White, there is no one on this defensive line that really should stay.

Cadillac Williams: This could get dicey. He’s having a great season for a running back with two surgically repaired knees. How long can they hold up? Buyer beware.

Good morning, Bucs fans. Joe just thought he’d inform you, if you have not yet heard, that thanks to the Lambs and the Titans winning yesterday, the Bucs are now the lone winless team in the NFL.

Oh yeah, and the team the Bucs will face this Sunday at the CITS will be the Packers, fresh off getting humiliated at home yesterday. Oh, and the Bucs will be playing a rookie quarterback making his first start.

My, what a wonderful Monday morning. Hope you have a good week, too.

Even in a bye week, the Bucs found a way to lose.

Esteemed Broncos beat writer Jeff Legwold checks in with Joe talk about the downfall of Jim Bates as Denver's defensive coordinator

[Editor’s note: Joe has gotten his share of e-mails about Bucs defensive coordinator Jim Bates. Clearly, he’s clearly becoming a polarizing figure among Bucs fans. Some say Bates has so little talent to work with he can’t fairly be judged. Others say it’s too soon to evaluate him. And others say Bates is proving to be incapable of making adjustments and failing miserably at adapting to the talent provided to him. 

Given the scrutiny on the Bucs defense, which has been torched in many ways this season, Joe thought it would be neat to dig up this Q & A from the JoeBucsFan.com archives. It’s a chat with former longtime Broncos beat writer Jeff Legwold, who covered Denver in 2007, when Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan turned over his defense to Bates but yanked it away from him halfway through the season.]

(Q&A initially published Feb. 17, 2009)

Joe sat down today with Broncos beat writer Jeff Legwold of the Rocky Mountain News to talk about the very brief Jim Bates era in Denver.

Bates, the Bucs new defensive coordinator, was hired to take Denver’s average defense to the next level in 2007. By midseason that year, Bates was almost completely phased out by Mike Shanahan. 

Joe wanted to know how an accomplished veteran coordinator like Bates failed so quickly in Denver.

Legwold (who in Joe’s opinion is the king of beat writers in Denver) kindly offered his take.

Joe: Did Mike Shanahan have a relationship with Bates prior to him becoming defensive coordinator?

Legwold: Mike didn’t really have any lineage with Bates like with [2008 Broncos D-Coordinator] Bob Slowik. He knew him from having been at the combine, and Jim’s reputation.

What kind of input and control regarding personnel was given to Bates? Was this his defense?

He had great input. Initally, he was given a lot of freedom. They switched to bigger [interior linemen] guys who could anchor, and supposedly stop the run and open things up for the guys on the edge. They signed and drafted guys they probably wouldn’t have signed otherwise in years past, guys like Sam Adams inside. …They opened the season with the biggest line they had in years.

Simeon Rice signed with Denver early in the 2007 season. Was that Bates’ call?

Simeon Rice was more Mike [Shanahan’s] call. He fit Jim’s scheme, guys up the middle who can anchor, and edge guys who could get upfield.

How did everything crumble for Bates? What went wrong?

Immediately they didn’t stop the run. I think Mike was really upset by that. …They simply couldn’t stop the run. That they were swithing schemes, it’s not surprising to me they weren’t successful quickly. ….. Then midway through the season came this thing where [Bates] and Bob Slowik were a hybrid where they were both calling the shots.

When you struggle early it’s hard for guys to buy into it. This was a team that had some expectations. They thought they would be better probably. The scheme was different from what they played, and I’m not sure the players ever knew what was going on on defense. …There was a lot of turnover that year. They were cutting guys, bringing guys in. …In mid-season, Slowik starting calling the shots. …You could see it on the field. Everything just looked different. …By the the end of the season [Bates] was just a participant. …Even Mike [Shanahan] was in the [defensive] gameplan at times. ….

Bates’ reaction?

Whatever Jim’s mindset was he kept it to himself. He was a professional. Mike had a dominating presence, you didn’t go public. …. After the season, Mike told him he could could coach linebackers, ‘but you’re not going to call plays.’ …That was the end for JIm.

Bates meets with the media tomorrow in Tampa. How do you think he will he describe his time in Denver?

I would be surprised if he says too much. Jim’s been around a long time, been in a lot of places. He might say he was disappointed. … He did not have a lot of time to work with and, like I said halfway through the first season they were changing the plan.

What’s Bates like on the practice field?

He’s an intense guy. He had a tough beginning, working his way up. I’ll say he’s real easy to find out there. … For those who know Rod Marinelli’s [intense] style, like that, although I don’t know if it will be to Marinelli’s level. …Jim spent a lot of time with the linebackers. It’s a position he’s coached a lot over the years and he’s very comfortable there.

Not too many people in the fourth estate this side of Mel Kiper championed the cause of the Bucs drafting and now playing rookie quarterback Josh Freeman — no matter the consequences, no matter if he is ready — than BSPN.com’s Vacation Man, aka Pat Yasinskas.

Despite his long support for Freeman, Vacation Man, a former Bucs beat writer and current Tampa resident, isn’t giving the Kansas State product much time. Vacation Man is willing to give Freeman one year to prove his worth.

Jose S. (NYC)
Pat, if Josh Freeman does not show any promise for the remainder of this season and the first half of next, what is the next QB move for the Bucs?

Vacation Man
Hire a new coach and let him pick the QB.

Gee, for someone that appears to be in the tank for Freeman, that’s not much of an opportunity.

The dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, broke a story on 620 WDAE-AM yesterday about Aqib Talib and other Bucs significantly blowing curfew in London.

The result wasn’t pretty.

After the Bucs’ loss to New England, per Duemig citing an eyewitness, the curfew violators were confronted in the hotel lobby by a waiting Raheem The Dream and numerous F-bombs were fired from Talib’s mouth to Raheem The Dream’s ears.

Joe must note that the Bucs have not denied the report, and Joel Glazer has not issued a scathing response.

It happened.

Surely, Talib will be fined yet again. Whether it be paying fat hourly wages to defense attorneys, numerous team fines, bar tabs for Torrie Cox, and no doubt soon a civil suit payoff to a cab driver, Talib is a walking ATM these days.

What concerns Joe most is the lack of internal leadership within the Bucs locker room. What has multiple players thinking it’s OK to be 0-7 and bust curfew?

Does this happen if Derrick Brooks is on the team?

It was Raheem The Dream who labeled Talib “wild child” after he got in trouble shortly after being drafted by the Bucs in 2008.

It’s time for Raheem The Dream to drop serious discipline on his bad apple before he spoils the whole young bunch.

Still thinking about what to do tonight?

Why limit your options. Head over to Derby Lane in St. Petersburg for an unbelievable buffet in the Derby Club and enjoy live greyhound racing, poker tournaments and live action play into the wee hours. And you won’t miss any college football while you’re there.

Total fun.

So there’s Josh Freeman in the huddle at practice with his teammates hanging on his every word as he calls a play. And there’s Jeff Faine barking at the rookie, “Speak up!”

This was one glimpse Faine gave into the maturation process of Freeman, during an interview on 1010 AM on Friday.

Faine tossed aside the politically correct ramblings that flow from most players’ mouths while addressing the media and talked about how Freeman has the physical tools but needs to work on his leadership.

Faine talked about how Freeman needs to lose his soft-spoken guy aura. “It’s one of the things I’m trying to help him with.”

Joe isn’t surprised to learn about this being an area of weakness for Freeman. And surely he can step up and take command of the team, especially if he plays pretty well.

But Joe also has to wonder. What if it becomes obvious he’s clearly not ready to take this on, especially given the pressure of a horrendous team and an angry fan base?

Raheem The Dream can’t take him out of the lineup. There’s no turning back.

As talk of helmet-wielding Aqib Talib getting into yet another confrontation swirls (Joe will bring you that later), Joe thought it might be a good time offer the latest on Talib’s legal troubles.

In the case of the State vs. Talib, who allegedly clocked a cab driver in the back of the head while the cabbie sped along I-275 and Talib was intoxicated in the back seat, the court system is moving things along.

Talib’s arraignment on his midemeanor battery charge is on Nov. 9.

Talib has signed a waiver so he doesn’t have to appear in court for that, and he’s waived his right to a speedy trial. Mr. Talib also has filed his written plea of “not guilty.”

Jeff Faine says he was in the center of Thursday's skirmish at Bucs practice

Things got a little nasty as the Bucs practiced in full pads and their throwback helmets Thursday in a final workout before their bye weekend vacation.

No, this is not a post about a player clobbering a teammate with his helmet. That guy was given the day off to meet with his attorney nurse an injury.

But there still was a good practice field fight on Thursday, so said Bucs center Jeff Faine.

Speaking Friday on 1010 AM, Faine said the entire offensive line got into it with rookie defensive end Kyle Moore, who has yet to play in the regular season. Faine wasn’t too specific but made it clear he personally was went after Moore — “twice.”

Faine said such heated practice exchanges can be good for the team but he avoided explaining how or why Moore set off the O-line. In fact, Faine wouldn’t even say the rookie’s full name.

“It’s just Moore. Rookies don’t have first names,” Faine said.

Former Bucs great and current NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp has never been one to hold back his opinions. One such opinion is the promotion of rookie Josh Freeman to the Bucs starting quarterback position.

In Friday’s chat with Sapp on NFL.com, Sapp tore apart the decision.

Jennifer, Tampa
Hi Warren! Do you think the Bucs are doing the right thing by starting Freeman or should they have let Josh Johnson handle the rest of the season?

Warren Sapp, NFL Network
Nope. Nope. Nope. You don’t have an OC. This is your third QB. What’s different about the people on the field? You went from a veteran to a young guy to a rookie. You want experience at that position … they’re going in the wrong direction.

Joe has no further comment.

Joe brings you the power rankings from various national media outlets for the Bucs bye week. It ain’t pretty folks.

Mike Sando of BSPN has the Bucs at No. 30.

With nine games left, is it too soon to hand over the offense to rookie Josh Freeman?

Adrian Hasenmayer of FoxSports.com is even more harsh with the Bucs dead last.

With all due respect to young QB Josh Johnson, this should have been Josh Freeman’s gig the entire time — tough Tampa schedule or not. With the Bucs headed into a bye week, the rookie first-rounder will get all the first-team reps for the rest of the season in what will be very accurately portrayed as “learning under fire.”

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com isn’t as rough on the Bucs, ranking them at No. 30.

One has to wonder if Raheem Morris will make it longer than one year. There are doubts about it now.

Clifton Brown of SportingNews.com predicts bad things for the Bucs at No. 31.

Look at their schedule, and look at their team. A winless season is quite possible.

Knox Bardeen of Fanhouse.com also has the Bucs deadlast at No. 32.

The Bucs enter their bye week with a huge decision looming over their heads. The season is lost and Josh Johnson is floundering. Is it time to hand the quarterback job to the future of the franchise, Josh Freeman? Whoever is throwing the ball in Tampa, don’t expect too many wins from here on out.

Is Raheem the Dream beginning to crack under the pressure of being 0-7 in his first season as Bucs head coach?

The Bucs are taking a four-day weekend thanks to the bye — Joe will write about that in a moment — but Joe noticed some very curious comments from Raheem the Dream.

Joe is trying to figure out who he is calling out.

In a rare admission (?) of guilt or fingerpointing by an NFL head coach, Raheem the Dream claimed he could sense, or is just now realizing, that months ago the Bucs were being shaped into a potential winless season, detailed by Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Morris said that this slide into NFL oblivion has been long in coming for the Buccaneers, dating back to the offseason, when their identity as a winless team began to take shape.

”We actually talked about it this morning. Losing doesn’t start, going 0-7 doesn’t start yesterday. It didn’t start at the beginning of the season when we played Dallas,” Morris said. “It started in weight training, it started in OTA days, it started in training camp.

”Everything we’ve done to this point is who we are. These guys are holding up, but we’ve got to do more than hold up. We’re not in here to hold up. Holding up gets you to 0-7. We’re here to fight through, we’re here to power through, we’re here to be our best selves. We’re not about holding up.”

What exactly Morris trying to say?

Is he starting to crack, dropping veiled hints that he’s not getting enough support from high above at One Buc Palace?

Is Raheem the Dream taking a swipe at general manager Mark Dominik?

Is Raheem the Dream admitting that he hired a bunch of louses as assistants?

Or could Raheem the Dream be dropping hints that maybe he’s having second thoughts about even accepting the gig as Bucs head coach?

Raheem the Dream is calling someone out — maybe himself — but Joe can’t quite put a finger on who.

As for the four-day weekend, unless — which is quite possible — there is something written in the NFL’s contract with the NFLPA, all but a handful of these guys should be busting their rear ends off at One Buc Palace if they had any pride.

Sammie Stroughter, have fun back home on the west coast.

Donald Penn, take off for some time in the Bahamas.

Aqib Talib, party hearty anywhere you want, just hire a limo and stay away from cabbies?

Cadillac Williams, do anything you want so long as you rest those knees.

The rest of this winless team — especially your wet-behind-the-ears rookie starting quarterback who is about to make his first start against Dom Capers’ defense  — should be spending 14-hour days at One Buc Palace practicing, lifting and pouring over tape.

Why a winless team is getting a four-day weekend is beyond Joe.

Before he was hit with a gag order by Clear Channel management, WTSP-TV Channel 10 was able to snag an interview with suspended WDAE-AM 620 morning host Dan Sileo over his inaccurate report that the Glazers were near bankruptcy thanks to investing with financial scoundrel Bernie Madoff and were about to sell the Bucs to cover their losses.

Joe is sad to learn that former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, one of only three men to lead the Bucs to an NFC championship game as the starting signal-caller, was recently let go by BSPN.

But not for that reason.

Usually when BSPN lets go of an on-air personality, it’s for some sexual dalliance, whether it be (allegedly) sexting or getting to know a co-worker in the Biblical sense.

That is not the case with King.

Joe is sad to learn this. Joe enjoyed listening, the few times he watched King on BSPN (because, other than college football or basketball games, Joe avoids the four-letter like the plague). King was insightful, intelligent, and a likable personality.

Joe got to briefly know King when he was the highly successful offensive coordinator at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg just after his NFL playing days. Joe had also interviewed King a time or two when he was the Bucs quarterback.

Here’s to hoping King lands on his feet for a superior operation like, say, the NFL Network.

And if you happen to be cheating yourself by not having the NFL Network, Joe kindly asks, “What’s the matter with you?”

Be a man. Get the NFL Network!