This is starting to get terrible and Joe is fearing it will get worse.

Joe has already detailed the absurd kvetching of the Bucs for passing on Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson. Joe thought someone like former Bucs beat writer and current SI.com columnist Don Banks would know better.

Apparently not.

Banks takes each NFL team to task that passed on drafting Peterson in the 2007 draft. Naturally he calls out the Bucs.

4. Tampa Bay defensive end Gaines Adams — This is the slot where the pain of passing on Peterson really starts intensifying. In terms of top-five impact, Adams has been a disappointment, registering 12½ sacks, two interceptions and one touchdown in 25 career starts. The former Clemson star has not become a consistent pass rush threat as the Bucs have hoped, and Tampa Bay has played in and lost one postseason game since he arrived.

Stop it. Please, stop it!

There’s no way the Bucs were going to draft Peterson that year. Anyone who thinks otherwise really needs to do some modest research.

It seems as if Bucs fans are freaking out over the awful start of the season and are going to extremes in hopes of  reversing the Bucs fortunes.

Sorry if Joe is a tad late on this, but if something happens over a football weekend, it better be big or Joe doesn’t know about it. From the time Joe gets off work on a Friday until he goes to bed on a Sunday night, there’s one thing on Joe’s brain and one thing only: football.

Well, actually, there’s one other thing.

So Joe didn’t know this until this morning but apparently some Bucs fans, disturbed over how the season has begun, have already taken matters into their own hands in an attempt to push the Bucs into the win column, or at least help Gaines Adams record a sack.

They are sacrificing animals.

Per Luiz Perez of the St. Petersburg Times, headless chickens and a goat were found on the east side of the Courtney Campbell Parkway.

“They’re all headless. It’s extremely grotesque,” Walker said.

The animals were found on the sand near the edge of Old Tampa Bay.

The discovery is under investigation, but is not known to be a criminal matter, Tampa police Lt. Brian Dugan said. There are no witnesses.

It’s not uncommon for goats and chickens to be associated with ritualistic killings, Hillsborough County Animal Services spokeswoman Marti Ryan said.

The headless chickens sounds Haitian, voodoo. Hey, if it works, it works but it sure as hell didn’t work yesterday.

The goat thing has been tried by moron Cubs fans. Lord knows that hasn’t worked either.

Vacation Man of BSPN.com isn’t exactly a Negative Nancy. So when he is even ripping the Bucs, it makes Joe take notice.

It almost seems as if Vacation Man is suggesting that Raheem the Dream is over his head. Joe’s not suggesting that, but it seems Vacation Man is.

They simply went up to Buffalo and got beat by a team that may or may not be any good. Did you really expect anything else?

The Bucs don’t like to use the word “rebuilding’’, but it’s clear that’s exactly what they’re doing in just about every area. Yeah, Byron Leftwich put up some pretty decent numbers, but that’s not really what the Bucs are looking for. Leftwich is a bridge to Josh Freeman, who is the future of this franchise.

But it is obvious there are some other things this franchise needs to work on, long before Freeman takes the field. If Raheem Morris’ plan is going to work, the Bucs need to be able to run the ball consistently and play good defense.

Joe’s not willing to throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water. If the Bucs are to be a strong team for years to come, Joe’s willing to suck it up this year.

Saying Raheem the Dream may not work out after just two games, well, Joe thinks that’s jumping the gun.

Are there problems? Of course. But let’s take a deep breath first.

Rookie cornerback E.J. Biggers is on injured reserve

Yes, Joe’s grasping at lifelines for the Bucs’ putrid defense.

Perhaps smart guy safety Steve Cargile can help. The young veteran loved by John Lynch returned to the Bucs’ roster yesterday in place of rookie cornerback E. J. Biggers, who was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

This leaves the Bucs with four cornerbacks plus two no-names on the practice squad. Given the flimsy depth at the position, Joe wonders whether the Bucs are not concerned about Aqib Talib getting suspended.

Joe’s already piled on the Bucs’ defense, calling it the NFL’s worst. Anyone else wonder if the Saints might drop three digits on this crew?

Of course, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, also recognizes the Bucs’ biggest troubles are on D. 

 He notes the Bills’ offensive line sported a pair of green rookies and backup tackle, yet the Bucs couldn’t capitalize.  

“It’s getting frustrating, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and keep it going,” [Stylez] White said. “No excuses, they were a better team than us today.”

Sunday’s poor defensive play up front raises even more concern because the Bills started a pair of rookie guards and lost right tackle Brad Butler to a knee injury before the half.

“Everyone believes in this system,” Wilkerson said. “This system has worked in other places – now we have to make it work here.”

Scary for Joe is the apparent fact that the Bucs just don’t have the horses on defense. The talent isn’t there along the front seven.

Look at how the Buffalo News describes the Bills’ offensive line.

The line was the most inexperienced the NFL has seen in a couple of decades. That was before Brad Butler, the old man of the line, went down with a knee injury in the second quarter. Jonathan Scott, who spent last year on the Bills’ practice squad, replaced Butler, two plays before Jackson’s fumble. 

And Joe didn’t see Bates forcing the action. Wasn’t Quincy Black supposed to be a ferocious pass rusher?

"Let me get this straight, zebras, you saw the football hit the ground on the replay and you didn't overturn the interception. What you got against me?"

Joe can’t be all negative. It’s not like the Bucs have lost six in a row and have a raw, 21-year-old quarterback waiting to take the reins.

Oh, wait.

So Joe is reaching for 11 positives in these minutes following the 33-20 loss to Buffalo.

1) Cornerback Elbert Mack had excellent man coverage on Lee Evans on multiple occasions. Evans had just one catch.
2) Josh Freeman says he’s better than Mark Sanchez. And Mark Sanchez has proven in two games that he’s pretty damn good.
3) Kellen Winslow can get open and catch the ball. He blocks worse than many high schoolers, but he’s still a phenomenal weapon.
4) Byron Leftwich has a hefty set of jewels to take all those hits and hang in the pocket time after time. Hopefully, some of his toughness will rub off on Josh Freeman.
5) The loss to the Bills wasn’t all on the Bucs. The Bucs got outright screwed by the officials in the first quarter, when the Bills’ first interception wasn’t overturned on review. Might have been a very different game.
6) Earnest Graham is awfully fresh after three carries in two games.
7) Rookie defensive tackle Roy Miller got his first sack, and it’s obvious the third round pick at least belongs on the field in an NFL uniform. Joe can’t say that much for Gaines Adams.
8. Greg Olson’s playcalling is pretty good, considering they just handed him the offense. This isn’t Chucky’s anemic red zone offense.
9) Defensive end Tim Crowder flashed some speed, football smarts and energy. Not bad for a guy on his couch last week. The young former second-pick might be a steal.
10) Donald Penn has to be one of the top pass-blocking left tackles in football. Leftwich dropped back 50 times, and Penn was near perfect.
11) If Raheem The Dream is going to continue to foolishly go for it on fourth down at the wrong times, Joe’s going to lose weight from all the vomiting.

The whispers heard about what might happen if the Bucs lose to the Bills game can now be spoken out loud.

“When will the Bucs win their first game?”

It doesn’t appear likely for a while. Let’s look at the Bucs next 14 games.

It’s ugly folks.

Giants
at Redskins
at Eagles
Panthers
Patriots (at London)
Green Bay
Saints
at Dolphins
at Falcons
Jets
at Seahawks
at Saints
Falcons

That’s a brutal schedule by anyone’s standards. Sure, Carolina is now 0-2 like the Bucs. Those might be winnable games.

The Packers aren’t looking quite as strong as previously thought. That might be a win.

Maybe Washington. maybe Seattle, though the Bucs historically (aside from the Super Bowl) have blown chunks on the west coast and Seattle is one of the toughest places to play.

Can the Bucs win three games?

This is a question that Joe is almost too scared to ponder.

If you are of the mind to torture yourself with watching replays of the key plays of the Bucs loss tonight, there’s no need to wait up until damned near midnight. Joe has them right here.

What, you would expect otherwise?

First up are the lowlights replete with Gene Deckerhoff calling the plays.

Next is NFL Network’s Total Access breaking down the game with Rich Eisen and Deion Sanders, who are of the mind the game was worse than the score indicated.

Third, is a compilation of Byron Leftwich’s top plays.

Then there Sabby Piscitelli highlights including his interception and fumble return.

And let’s not forget touchdowns from Kellen Winslow, Cadillac Williams and the King of Turds.

Buccaneers.com has the video of the postgame press conferences of both Raheem the Dream and Leftwich.

Thirteen penalties for 112 yards against the mighty Bills. The Bucs didn’t meet a face mask they didn’t like.

That’s crappy, sloppy football, and that falls on the head coach.

Jeremy Trueblood was at it again. Gaines Adams gets the genius-of-the-day award for ripping off Trend Edwards’ helmet after his legs stopped moving during a quarterback sneak.

Hey, Gaines, if you want your name called, try getting to the quarterback!

Where else can you lay the blame for such an extreme amount of penalties than on the feet of the head coach?

Joe would love to place it somewhere else. Perhaps Raheem The Dream has been too lenient with his team?

Perhaps the defense is so out of synch in the new system that guys aren’t relaxed and able to perform the basics like blocking and tackling? Joe is confident JoeBucsFan.com analyst Scot Brantley, the former Gator and Bucs legend, will have much to say about this later in the week.

Unfortunately, the Bucs aren’t talented enough to play sloppy and win.

Raheem the Dream sat down with the Bucs radio network after the game and was already looking to the Giants game a week from today.

“We started out this game pretty bad. We were down 14 and that’s not our game. We want to be a running team. They took us out of some of our runs. We only had 19 attempts. That’s not what we want to do.

They made some big time throws and big time plays and their defensive dictated play and took us out of our game right away.

“They had the ability to play single-safety and bring a bunch of people They covered better downfield. We need to find a way get open downfield and we didn’t get people open. We need to get people open downfield.

On Terrell Owens’ touchdown against Aqib Talib:

“Aqib was following Owens around all day and pretty much keeping him a non-factor all day. T.O. Just made a T.O.-type of play. It was a big time play by a big time player.”

On his team’s mentality:

“This is a young football team and they are fighters. They never thought they were out of it. I am proud of them for that. We have to find a way to put these guys in different positions to win football games.

“We can’t worry about this loss. You have time to go home and sulk. But we have to worry about the Giants. We have to be confident that we can win and go out and do it.”

While the secondary didn’t get roasted as bad as it did last week, Bucs safety Sabby Piscitelli is hardly satisfied.

Though his play was markedly better than last week when he was roasted time and again, Piscitelli said on the Bucs radio network the secondary isn’t close to being good.

Yet.

“Our secondary didn’t get it done,” Piscitelli said. “We have to do better. We didn’t get it done defensively. We have to analyse our problems and fix it.

On his near-touchdown on a fumble return, he gave all the credit to Ronde Barber.

“Ronde did a great job of popping that ball out and I was in the right place at the right time. It was all Ronde. He popped the ball out and I was right there.”

On Fred Jackson tearing the Bucs apart, Piscitelli said only, “He’s a good running back.”

If anyone is of the mind that the Bucs should start playing Josh Johnson or the Bucs should throw Josh Freeman to the wolves (Giants) next week , wide receiver Maurice Stovall is not your friend.

Stovall, talking on the Bucs radio network after the loss to the Bills, gave full and strong support to Bucs quarterback Bryon Leftwich.

“Byron Leftwich is a great leader,” Stovall said. “He’s always coming up to guys, ‘Hey, keep it going.’ He has great stamina and is making good reads at the line.

“Byron Leftwich is doing just what a good quarterback is supposed to do.”

There’s just so little positive to say about the Bucs’ defense after another 400+ yard effort by their opponent and 26 points on the scoreboard (Byron Leftwich gave away the other seven with a pickoff return).

The Bucs’ defense is horrendous right now. That’s the only way to describe not being able to stuff the run, rush the passer or defend the big pass (Joe hates spin, as loyal readers know.).

Missed tackle after missed tackle. Arm tackles broken. Shoulder tackles broken. Jermaine Phillips and Sabby Piscitelli flying into the backfield only to whiff at key moments.  

The pass rush is anemic. A pocket passer like Buffalo’s Trent Edwards had time to hang in and complete more than two-thirds of his passes. And if Terrell Owens doesn’t drop that second half bomb …

Where does Jim Bates go from here?

Tim Crowder looked better than Gaines Adams. That’s a start. Geno Hayes is improving. Tanard Jackson will be back in three weeks. The NFL Draft is in just seven months.

Bucs beat up quarterback Byron Leftwich was able to talk on the Bucs radio network after the game and he’s of the opinion that Bucs are “four or five plays” away from being a good team.

“They played better than us but it came down to four or five plays, just like last week,” Leftwich said after the Bucs loss to the Bills. “It came down to four or five plays.

“We’re getting better, but we have to find a way to win these games.”

Leftwich thought the Bills defense in the second half was the deal-breaker.

“They did a great job of slowing us down in teh second half,” Leftwich said. “When you are in third and long all the time, it is tough in this league. We have to do a better job. When we were in third and medium, we converted. When you are in third and long, you can’t make a living in this game doing that.

“We still have 14 games to go. We have a good team. We have to be ready to play. If we can change four or five plays, we can play with anybody.”

Bills 33, Bucs 20

Joe had some thoughts on the final quarter. Depressing loss and Joe doesn’t really know when the Bucs can get a win before the trip to London.

And don’t you dare go anywhere else. Joe will have tons more about this awful loss through the evening. Check back early and often.

Better yet, don’t go anywhere.

* A Gaines Adams sighting (outside of a dumb play)! Dude chased Trent Edwards out of bounds. Take whatever positives you can get, man.

* Bucs defense tightens just in the nick of time.

* Strong hit by Jermaine Phillips to force a fourth down.

* Bucs secondary is playing well now, despite being thin.

* Where is the blocking? The offensive line has vanished.

* A Brad Johnson Bucs jersey spotted.

* Leftwich is not getting any time to throw.

* Is it too early to stop running with 11:13 left?

* Fine catch by K2 but he was too short. Either he needs to run deeper routes or Leftwich needs to throw deeper, provided he gets time.

* Bucs defense needs to step up. A Buffalo score could be the ballgame.

* Stupid penalty by Ronde Barber. He knows better than that. This doesn’t look good.

* Owens with a touchdown. Dave Moore of the Bucs radio network was right. The Bills have been trying to go deep right all game. Moore said that would cost the Bucs. It did. This looks grim.

* A Steve Young Bucs creamsicle uniform in the house!

* Mo Stovall again with a catch. Does he know what month it is?

* Great job by Leftwich and Caddy for a first down. How about some blocking boys?

* Come on Lefty, the King of Turds was wide open! You have to make that pass.

* The offensive line is a sieve right now. How about a screen pass?

* Mo Stovall with a big catch! Doesn’t he know it’s not August. Has he seen a calendar?

* Again, no push by the offensive line.

* Dave Moore wants a bootleg. Seriously? By Leftwich?

* Maybe a draw?

* KING OF TURDS!!! This guy can make big plays, among other things.

* Not sure about that kickoff. Either kick in onsides or boot it deep.

* Just when the Bucs need a stop, they let Jackson run free. They looked tired. So much for all that work in the heat. Buffalo in the early evening in late-September isn’t that hot and humid.

* Field goal by the Bills keeps a miracle possible. But without blocking it won’t matter.

* Joe thought the offensive line was the strongest unit on the team. They’re horrible today. Leftwich is absolutely getting beat up. Joe doesn’t buy that Jeff Faine’s injury suddenly turned the offensive line into Swiss cheese.

* Idiots with FOX were too busy showing highlights of that jackass Terrell Owens (who did NOTHING in the first half so WTF are they showing “highlights” of him?) and in the process missed a play. GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES AND STOP WITH THE MTV-IZATION OF SPORTS!!!

* Elbert Mack out of the game. Bum shoulder on his tackle of Trent Edwards. Bucs are terribly thin in the secondary. Expect the Bills to exploit this.

* WTF! Another face mask? Come on people!

* Big play by Jimmy Wilkerson on the sack. Bucs needed that!

* K2 with another big play. This is his coming out party.

* On the drop by Clayton, K2 was open for the first down.

* Fourth-and-one. Go for it!

* No push by the offensive line. No wonder the Bucs lost yardage on the play. Buffalo takes over.

* SABBY WITH ANOTHER PLAY!! Man he is making amends for last week in this game.

* Offensive line is not getting any push now.

* Where’s the offensive line. Looking terrible right now.

* Crowder had the reverse read perfectly but he slipped. Still, he slowed the reverse down and actually saved yards.

* Aqib Talib is apparently dinged up but no word on what the injury is. He returned, but the secondary is woefully thin if he goes out.

* Bucs playing soft underneath defense is killing them. Buffalo gaining three and four yards a play.

Raheem The Dream was one fired up SOB at halftime. Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network at halftime coming off the field, Raheem The Dream’s excitement was not containable.

“It’s not what this team has to do. This team has no quit,” Raheem the Dream yelled. “We just have to play hard in the second half. We just have to play football. No excuses. We just have to play football. There are no excuses, just play football!”

The way the Bucs crawled back in this game when it should be over, Joe shares Raheem the Dream’s excitement.

* Great running by Ward. He’s hot.

* Very nice catch by Clayton for a big gain. If the Bucs have a prayer left this afternoon, Clayton needs to continue to make big plays like that.

* Winslow arrives! Fine catch and even better nifty, nimble feet by Leftwich to avoid pressure.

* Hovan just swallowed a running back.

* Barrett Ruud absolutely got schooled on the short pass on third down. Dancing doesn’t cut it in the NFL. Attack!

* WTF?! Gaines Adams gets a face mask on a fourth-and-inches dive by the quarterback. How freaking stupid!

* Dave Moore of the Bucs radio network claims Elbert Mack made a big play on Lee Evans dropped touchdown. But that was Evans’ fault, not Mack’s great play. Evans had the ball in his hands and bobbled it. Bucs dodge the bullet.

* Hovan may have saved the Bucs six on his sack but he hit Trent Edwards so hard he thought he was going to get flagged for a personal foul.

* Earnest Graham with some nice hustle for a first down.

* Joe is of the opinion the Bills are a helluva lot better team than the Cowboys.

* Another fine run by Graham!

* Come on Trueblood! How difficult is it to remember the snap count?

* Was Leftwich throwing to an official?

* Joe just noticed Sapp, Alstott and Barber jerseys in the crowd.

* Good to see alligator arms Terrell Owens make an appearance. How does that popcorn taste asshole?

* Edwards seems to be picking on Talib or at least someone deep right. Dave Moore of the Bucs radio network said that will cost the Bucs dearly if they don’t fix whatever Edwards is trying to expose.

* Joe didn’t know Cadillac is milk. Gene Deckerhoff just said Cadillac “curdles” for a gain. Strange.

* A turnover here may be the game for the Bills.

* Why not go for it on fourth-and-five on the Bills-46?

* Moore said the Bucs defense is gassed.

* Big hit by Elbert Mack on Edwards!

* GREAT PLAY BY SABBY! But he had that refrigerator on his back. He really ran out of steam.

* Wow! Leftwich really threads the needle to Caddy for the score! Buts are still in the game. Luke McCown couldn’t pull that off.

* Seems as though the Bills want to brawl.

* Dave Moore on the Bucs radio broadcast said Kyle Williams getting Cadillac behind the line was a missed assignment. Really?

* Oh, no. Clayton has to come up with those catches. Joe doesn’t care how well he blocks, he also has to catch open passes too.

* On the reverse to Terrell Owens, Gaines Adams did a nice job recovering to get the tackle but it was his dumb move by getting sucked in on the fake which led to the play developing. If he stays home, Owens is tackled for a loss.

* Gene Deckerhoff of the Bucs radio network is calling Geno Hayes’ name a lot.

* Oh, no. If Ronde Barber get burned for a touchdown, this could be a long day.

* Nice to see Caddy catching the ball. Dave Moore of the Bucs radio network said that play is there all game long.

* Josh Johnson at wide receiver??? Joe likes it. Luke McCown couldn’t pull that off.

* Offensive line not getting much of a push.

* A Mo Stovall sighting! And it’s not August. What’s wrong?

* Sammie Stroughter continues to impress.

* Sometimes it’s best to just take a sack. Leftwich should know better than to give up a pick six!

* Big run by Derrick Ward but why take him out?

* Interesting move by Greg Olson with Clifton Smith lining up at wide receiver.

* Ward hot. Keep him in, but he did get good blocking. He nearly broke that first down run at the Bills-43.

* Bills don’t seem to be missing Paul Posluszny (yet).

* That pick is not Leftwich’s fault.

* It appears Joe is going to need several Caybrews today.

* The Bucs are biting on just about every fake the Bills try.

* Geno Hayes is flying all over the field!

* Good tackle by Sabby Piscitelli on the quick pitch to the left side. May have saved four points.

Week 2
Bucs at Bills
Kickoff: 4:05 p.m.
TV:WTVT Ch. 13, DirecTV 713
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 91.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, the game will seem like another world from training camp at One Buc Palace. Temperatures are expected to be about 73 degrees at kickoff under partly sunny skies with the temperature dropping gradually throughout the game.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Buffalo -4.5.
Outlook: The Bucs’ running game must repeat the solid performance it had in the season-opening loss to Dallass. It’s not a sure thing the Bucs secondary, which got roasted last week, will be much better. Let’s be honest, the Bills have much better receivers than Dallass.
But another powerful effort from the running game will be difficult with center Jeff Faine out and Antonio Bryant out, the Bucs’ lone deep threat. Sure, the Bills are dinged up, highlighted by linebacker Paul Posluszny’s broken arm. But if the Bucs can’t block (Sean Mahan) and have no deep threat to keep the Bills from clogging the line with eight or nine men deep, it may not matter.
Fun facts: The Bucs have not lost a game when Cadillac Williams has rushed for 22 or more carrries. … This is the first regular season game the Bucs have played in Buffalo. … The Buffalo cheerleaders are terribly pasty white. Does not anyone in Buffalo have a tanning bed?

The NFL Network and Buccaneers.com have you covered for pregame analysis of the Bucs-Bills game today.

First up is the preview from NFL Network via NFL Films. Second is Buccaneers Insider and Scott Smith with his look at Sunday’s game.

Finally, there’s the weather forecast from AccuWeather.com.