"You hear those cheers, Jaws. Those are for me."

Could it be?

Might the Tampa Bay community stain of blacked out Bucs games come to an end in 10 days when the Colts come here to face the Bucs on Monday Night Football?

Rick Stroud, of the St. Pete Times, apparently is hearing that good things are on the horizon, so he Twittered this morning.

@NFL Stroud – With a good week of ticket sales, Bucs Oct. 3 Monday Night Football game vs. the Colts will most likely be a sellout and televised locally

 

The stats show the Bucs’ defensive linemen have no sacks this season.

The stats also reveal that Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been on his back nine times already and has practiced little this week because of a roughed up knee.

This week Atlanta’s starting center returns from injury, and it’s pretty obvious the Falcons want to run the ball down the Bucs’ throat to help keep Ryan upright and because, well, because they’ve had a lot of success with that before against the run-porous Bucs.

Bucs DE Tim Crowder tells Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger that the Bucs will get their share of sacks — if they can manage to stop the run and force 3rd-and-long opportunities.

“We’ve made progress,” said defensive lineman Tim Crowder. “In the first game we didn’t have too many opportunities rushing the passer….In the second week, we got behind because we didn’t stop the run too good. We got to stop the run before we even think about rushing the passer.

“It’s not really pressure to get to the quarterback,” he said. “The pressure is stopping the run again. We’ve got to earn the right to stop the passer. Stop the run first to the point where you know they can’t run anymore. That’s when sacks come, that’s when pressures, quarterback hits come where you just pin your ears back and get after it.”

Joe surely wouldn’t bet a nickel the Bucs will stop the run this week or knock Ryan around. If the Bucs are to win, they’ll need a big day from the secondary, to prevent big plays in the running game, and the offense is going to have to fire out of the gate in the first quarter instead the deer-in-the-headlights garbage of the last two weeks.

Joe’s also figuring Maurice Stovall 1,000+ miles away will be a welcome sight if the Bucs grab another fourth-quarter lead on Atlanta. Actually, Joe can’t say enough about the Bucs’ special teams this season. Rock solid all around.

Joe would have expected Roddy White to deliver some fightin’ words before Sunday’s Bucs-Falcons game, but it seems the first round of trash talk is coming from Atlanta middle linebacker Curtis Lofton.

Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620 and the Buccaneers Radio Network, caught some of Lofton’s genius on Atlanta radio.

“Legarrete Blount, I want no part of that guy,” the host of the Curtis Lofton radio show in Atlanta said earlier this week. 

Lofton responded swiftly, “I want all of him.  I don’t want no piece.  I want the whole thing.”

That’s funny. Lofton’s head coach told Sports Illustrated that one man can’t tackle the beast that is Blount.

“It’s one of our major musts to be successful — stopping the running game,” [Mike] Smith said. “[Blount] is such a big, strong running back and when he gets through the first level of the defense, he can really create some problems. You’re not going to be able to tackle him with one set of pads. You’re going to have to get multiple sets of pads on him. I know Raheem and what he wants to do offensively. He wants to feature that and he wants to run the ball.”

One can only hope Lofton gets his wish while the Bucs pound out the clock with a fourth-quarter lead.

It seems the Bucs have a new quarterback: Mason Foster.

The potential situation that made many Bucs fans tremble before the season could come to fruition Sunday. If Quincy Black stays on the sidelines injured, rookie middle linebacker Foster will get the fancy headset in his hat and will play on every down and become Raheem Morris’ new QB of the defense.

Morris made it clear today at his news conference and said Foster could have handled all the duties from Day 1.

“Mason will call the plays, if Quincy doesn’t go. He’s not that deficient. I just was trying to take something off his plate,” Raheem said. “You know, Mason’s sharp, smart. You know, Mason’s dying to get the green thing in his helmet anyway. He wants all the information.”  … He’ll play all situations this week.”

It was inevitiable, and now seems as good a time as any since Black is playing ugly football and is hurt. Though this surely is tough duty for Foster with the high-powered Falcons and Tony Gonzalez in town.

Joe hopes the Bucs aren’t in for a Ruud awakening.

Could Sunday be Adrian Clayborn's breakout NFL game?

It has been well-documented that the Bucs have come out of the starting gate slower than molasses in the first two weeks of the NFL season.

Joe has also documented that this must not continue if the Bucs plan on playing in mid-January.

Sunday, the Bucs have their best chance to get rolling defensively because it seems the Dixie Chicks offensive line has not been exactly rock solid this season.

Per Orlando Ledbetter, of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Dixie Chicks offensive line has been positively porous so far, giving up nine sacks and 17 hits on Matty Ice.

“We’ve been sweating ourselves and we don’t want to get him hit either,” said Sam Baker. “We really have to pull it together and really firm it up so that he can make plays.”

Last season, the line gave up just 23 sacks and the offensive line was a finalist for the Madden most valuable protectors award, which goes to the NFL’s best offensive line.

Though center Todd McClure may return, this is the Bucs’ best chance to start fast, instead of sleepwalking through the game’s first 30 minutes.

If the Bucs can get a jump on the Dixie Chicks, then it’s time to feed the ball to LeGarrette Blount time and again.

Though she’s not the gorgeous Jenny Dell — where the hell is Jenny?! — someone by the name of Prim Siripipat give us this week’s edition of statistical nonsense about the Dixie Chicks-Bucs game Sunday.

The likelihood of Quincy Black sitting out the Bucs-Falcons game Sunday has increased. Yes, Joe knows legions of Bucs fans like the sound of that.

Good guy Joe Smith, of The St. Pete Times, says Black is still nursing his injured ankle.

Bucs starting strongside linebacker Quincy Black did not practice again Thursday, making his status for Sunday’s game all the more doubtful.

Raheem Morris made it clear yesterday during his news conference that he wasn’t about to abandon Quincy Black after a couple of bad games. But, of course, that doesn’t mean the Bucs won’t let Black take time to recover fully.

Based on Black’s play over his career, Joe would prefer Black get healthy before returning. The mere thought of Black playing at anything less than 100 percent is enough drive to Joe to shots of Southern Comfort.

Joe’s rarely, if ever, at a loss for words, but Joe must admit this week leading up to Sunday’s Bucs-Falcons game isn’t that exciting.

Joe’s feeling little buzz in his travels and less than normal on these pages. Why? Because there’s not much to say.

The Bucs are healthy. The Bucs are home. The Bucs must win Sunday or they’re just the same team looking up at two teams in the division and still wondering when they’ll take the next step.

So far, the Bucs have been what they were during most of 2010, not the team that closed out last season with two convincing wins against Seattle and New Orleans. Essentially, they’ve taken a baby step backwards.

Father Dungy, speaking on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday, said the Bucs-Falcons contests last year were about closing out games. And Father Dungy said Sunday surely will be about the same thing.

Joe’s not always one to agree with Father Dungy’s analysis, but that was spot on.

Just find a way to win.

Maybe no Buccaneers players bitch and moan about Raheem Morris. Or maybe none is foolish enough to do it within earshot of Josh Freeman.

Regardless, Freeman painted an extraordinary picture of teamwide devotion to Raheem Morris during the The Josh Freeman Show last night on WDAE-AM 620.

“It’s crazy, you know. We talk in the locker room. Guys talk about all different things. Guys got complaints. But I can honestly say I’ve never heard anybody say anything negative about Coach Raheem. Never,” Freeman said.

“A lot of people don’t see the whole picture. I mean, people hear about Raheem, how the players love him, and they automatically think this guy’s a pushover, a player’s coach. But that’s not Raheem at all. You know, Raheem keeps it real 100 percent of the time. If you’re messing up, Raheem’s going to let you know. And he’ll let you know in a big way, a way that kind of humbles you.

“That’s what I think guys really respect about him. They respect that he’s going to shoot you straight. He’s going to be completely honest. And you might not like what you’re hearing but he’s not going to tell you something something just for the sake of telling you.”

It’s awesome that the players love Raheem. But they’re going to have to start performing mentally and physically for 60 minutes every week, otherwise Raheem won’t be around to love in 2013.

Joe’s just doing his best to “shoot you straight.”

In this TBO.com video, the wily Bucs beat veterans from The Tampa Tribune talk about the Falcons matchup and share an insightful take from Derrick Brooks.

Thanks to Arrelious Benn’s illegal motion penalty, Mike Williams had a brilliant touchdown catch called back Sunday and finished with one reception for -4 yards.

Sure, the Bucs could, and probably should, call more slants to force the ball into Williams hands, but Josh Freeman explains that defenses are keying on Williams and forcing him to look elsewhere. Last night on WDAE-AM 620, Freeman told a caller to The Josh Freeman Show what’s not being seen on television. 

“It’s not anything with me and Mike aren’t on the same page,” Freeman said. ” The defenses know that Mike’s a good receiver. You know, so they’re rolling a lot of coverages to Mike. They’re trying to double team Mike. They’re trying to take Mike out of the game completely. And, when that’s the case, you can’t try to force it to Mike or you’re going to get incompletions, you’re going to get interceptions, bad things are going to happen trying to throw into coverage.

“That’s something nobody sees, they don’t see that they’re putting a cloud corner and a safety over the top with linebacker help, basically triple-teaming, double-teaming Mike on every play. … It’s really tough to get anything.

“So how do you combat it? You spread the ball around. You show teams that, ‘Ok. Take away our No. 1, and we’ve got No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and some got some great tight ends to throw to. So you guys are going to have to change that up or we’re going to keep getting you.'”

None of this is surprising. There’s a reason Williams’ peers voted him the 80th best player in the NFL. Plus, Arrelious Benn has a lot to prove before defenses show him anything close to the respect Williams is garnering.

Joe’s not concerned. If the Bucs can rack up 24 points in a half like they did Sunday, there’s surely enough firepower out there.

Joe’s life isn’t so rough. Like recently, for example, when Joe was lucky enough to have Miss January from the 2012 Hooters Calendar deliver a special video thank you to JoeBucsFan.com readers. (Safe for work, though you might not get any more work done today.) Remember to use code JoeBucsFan for 25 percent off your entire order at HootersCalendar.com.

Joe referenced earlier that Raheem Morris was pleased with the play of his safeties against Minnesota.

Looking at game film, Raheem was fired up that Cody Grimm and Sean Jones didn’t let Adrian Peterson run wild — or at least more wild. Now it seems Raheem is so filled with pride he’s given the duo a nickname, “The Wolfs,” so he proclaimed at his news conference today. (No. Not Wolves. That’s Wolfs.)

“We call those guys back there the Wolfs. It’s kinda like Pulp Fiction. You gotta clean up a mess, you call The Wolf. They sent the Wolf and I was excited. [Grimm] and Sean J last week called in the Wolf,” Raheem said. “We missed some run gaps on Adrian Peterson, missed some tackles. And the Wolfs just didn’t let him break out to 60 yard touchdown runs. They sawed him down in the middle of the field, got him down on the grass and gave us another opportunity to get the ball back for [Freeman]. So I’m excited about my young Wolf [Grimm] back there lurking.”

For those unfamiliar with the 1994 classic Pulp Fiction. Here’s the scene with The Wolf below:

The fate of Tanard Jackson as a Bucs safety and an NFL player currently rests in the hands of NFL strongman Roger Goodell.

Joe knew the moment he posted something about Tanard Jackson early this week it would bring a flurry of responses.

Often, Joe would receive an e-mail or read a comment along the lines of “What’s the update on Tanard Jackson?” Even though there could be no update until the Bucs talented but smoky (allegedly) safety served his one-year sentence for getting popped with the bong (again/allegedly).

Jackson’s detention ends this week. Maybe.

Given the fact Jackson is a repeat offender, whether his suspension is ever lifted depends upon the soul of NFL chieftain Roger Goodell, so writes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

The biggest hurdle, of course, is the approval of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has sole authority to determine if and when a three-time violator of the policy will be reinstated.

Before Jackson can meet with Goodell, though, he must “meet certain clinical requirements” detailed in the substance abuse policy, including earning a recommendation for reinstatement from the NFL’s medical director.

Whether Jackson has earned such a recommendation or even applied for reinstatement is hard to know, because no one associated with the matter has commented on it.

For Bucs fans who were of the mind that Jackson would start for the Bucs against the Dixie Chicks, whoa, Nellie! Better slam on the brakes. Not only does it seem that Jackson being eligible in four days seems like a Hail Mary. Further, who knows if Jackson is remotely in football shape?

Jackson has proved multiple times he cannot be trusted by the Bucs or his teammates. To bank on Jackson being ready to play against the Dixie Chicks seems, at this moment, far-fetched.

Former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) posed an interesting question to Father Dungy during The Ron and Ian Show on WDAE-AM 620 today.

Beckles asked Father Dungy whether as the co-godfather of the Bucs defense he cringes watching the current Bucs try to stop the run. 

Dungy said it will the Bucs’ run defense will come in time while the Bucs recover from the Jim Bates Experience. 

“What it is is just experience with the system,” Dungy said.

“…I think they’re re-learning some of those lessons. I really do believe they have the right pieces in place. It’s just going to be a matter of getting down the reads and the reaction. I think the defensive line they’re putting together, they’re going to be a team that stops the run eventually.”

The Bucs have been better against the run in both games this season, though not enough to call them average on rush defense. Raheem Morris himself this week praised Sean Jones and Cody Grimm for containing Adrian Peterson and preventing him from breaking off huge gains.

Joe can only pray that streak continues against the Falcons.

The stats geeks over at BSPN.com have poured over game film and have outed Arrellious Benn as leading the league in dropped passes.

The Bucs haven’t fared well as a team, either.

Tampa Bay’s Arrelious Benn leads the league with three drops. The second-year pro has been targeted nine times and has five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Two other big-name NFC South receivers are among a bunch of receivers who are tied for second with two drops each. They are Atlanta’s Roddy White and Carolina’s Steve Smith. But White and Smith have been targeted a lot more than Benn. White’s been targeted 17 times while Smith is tied for the league lead with 17 targets.

Of course, after two games, clobbering Benn for a few drops is silliness. But Bucs fans surely won’t react kindly to another highly-drafted receiver with a ton of potential that drops balls.

You want to keep ripping Gerald McCoy for his flimsy statistics? Well, McCoy says he hears the cries and doesn’t take them seriously.

Speaking on The Gerald McCoy Show last night on WDAE-AM 620, McCoy said his game is heralded inside One Buc Palace.

“It’s not frustrating because I know internally, as far as the organization goes and my teammates go, and my coaches, owners, GM, you know, when they start complaining, then I’ll have an issue,” McCoy said. “Seriously. Fans, fans want to see what fans want to see. Fans are about numbers. You know, fans, they’re not going to, the outside world, internally, you know, everybody says, ‘Keep disrupting. The numbers will come. You’re doing exactly what we need you to do. Take on those double teams. Penetrate. Make the ball bounce. Disrupt. Do all those things.’

“You know, but the outside world will say, well, you know, they look at numbers. ‘Well he did this. They look at numbers. He had this many. Had that many. Why doesn’t he have this? Why doesn’t he have that?’ Well, you know, I think perhaps our head coach said it best, ‘Stats are for losers.’

“Some stats are for losers. But, you know, until I start hearing stuff from the guys upstairs and my teammates, then that’s when I’ll start getting worried. But until then, I’m just going to keep doing exactly what my team asks me to do and playing hard.”

The show then went to a commercial, but before the break McCoy asked host Dave Moore to remind him to add to his comments when they returned.

“Even at OU, the most sack I ever had in a season was 6 1/2. But I always had the quarterback running. I always had the running backs bouncing. I was always in the backfield. That’s what I did, and that’s what the Bucs drafted me on,” McCoy said. “You know, the Bucs didn’t draft me because in college I had 15 sacks a season. You know, I’m working to get to double digits. Don’t get me wrong. That’s exactly what I’m working to get. But I’m playing my game. That’s how I play. That’s what they brought me here to do.”

This past weekend, Joe shared various takes from ex-players and media on McCoy’s public comments.

Again, Joe’s got no problem with how McCoy expresses himself — and McCoy has played decent football this season. But Joe would advise McCoy not to talk about how fans think. That’s unlikely to have a happy ending.

You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also brings you THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t.

Every once in a while, everyone feels the urge to jump ship. Yes, even The Optimist.

Ask yourself honestly, did you on Sunday?

You watched a slow backup running back take a handoff and run around the left side of the field, as Ronde Barber missed, as Quincy Black took the worst possible angle, Tim Crowder jogged, and as Cody Grimm appeared to run hopelessly nowhere near him, all the while Toby Gerhart gained 31 yards.

Did you feel like going overboard then?

How about when Donovan McNabb made you think you were watching Randall Cunningham as he ran around the end and tiptoed along the sideline getting a first down when it was 3rd- and-long. All the while Brian Price was hobbling along.

Did the thought cross your mind to look for the nearest life preserver?

Maybe when you saw any of the many Quincy Black whiffs, or whoops attempted tackles?

Because it’s ok…The Optimist did. I had enough. I thought back to a few other times I had to consider the benefits of being a Bucs fan. Halftime 1983, the Bucs were 0-4, but they lost their games by  11, 7, 3 and 6 points, respectively. So of course I’m going to watch the Bucs play at Green Bay. It was Packers 49, Bucs 7 — at halftime!

In 1985, the Bucs just won their first game of the year, they were 1-9,  but being a mini Optimist back then, I always watched the Bucs. They went up on the favored Jets 14-0 in the first quarter. OH! Lookout, the Bucs are back! The Jets led at the half 41-21.

Orange Man Overboard!

Listen, it happens. After everything I went through in the 80s and early 90’s, the Bucs were even THINKING about moving out of town?  That was going to be Hugh Culverhouses legacy? Cheapness? Followed by abandonment?!?

Sometimes, especially when hopes are inflated a little higher than they should be, the let-down is just too much to handle. But is it really jumping ship when you know someone is going to come swimming after you? Is it really all that bad to curse out Buccaneers when you know the players are going to come to life in the second half? 

Trust me, even the Bucs know they let down themselves, their fans, and relatives, and everyone who has anything vested when they under perform.

It’s the same thing as the team did last year, so you have to look for the common denominator; youth. Raheem Morris coined the phrase  ‘Youngry’…but this is a team that gets hungry only once it’s able to get over its own poor play. They need to learn how to move on  past a bad play. Arrelious Benn dropped a ball and was down all over  himself. One has to wonder how many other Bucs players are doing the  same thing,
wallowing in their despair over a poor play. Maybe  instead of Youngry, the word should be You-gretful! Or You-covery!

If that’s the case, then we are going to have to get used to this brand of football, because until the Bucs get more experienced, they’ll give
us all the first half springboard material we need to get ourselves in trouble.

Until then, we must watch Mason Foster grow before our eyes, Adrian Clayborn, too.  And maybe after a year to think about it, Tanard Jackson has matured enough.

Lets hope so, jumping ship can be quite painful! But it’s not permanent.

Joe’s a bit surprised to be getting emails asking whether Sunday’s huge Bucs-Falcons game will be blacked out from television in the Orlando and Tampa Bay markets.

Yes, the game won’t be on TV. It’s just not happening. Stop praying. It’s not in Team Glazer’s gameplan to eat 10,000+ unsold tickets every week.

As for the Bucs’ return to Monday Night Football in 12 days against the Colts. That game is not sold out and hopes for that game were dealt a blow when it became obvious that Peyton Manning will not play.

Regardless, the Monday night game will sell a load of tickets and Joe hopes Team Glazer sees the value in forking over cash to buy up unsold seats and get that game on TV.

Joe’s racked his brain to find a reason why it wouldn’t benefit the Bucs — longterm and short-term — to have the team seen on Monday Night Football by the local television audience. Joe can’t think of one.