Click on through below to learn about The Blackout Tour. Not many seats left. Joe knows most people operate at the last minute, but that’s not going to fly for opening day.

When Joe makes a Bucs season prediction like this, he tries to answer as if a team of armed terrorists are before him demanding the correct answer with a knife to his throat.

In other words, Joe takes it seriously. So here goes:

The Bucs’ brass, from Bryan Glazer to Mark Dominik to Raheem Morris, is quick to compare the Bucs’ current construction of a “lasting contender” to the Father Dungy era. Even old school Bucs from that time like John Lynch and Warren Sapp have bought in — that the current plan replicates that of the glory years.

Well, history says that after the 1997 season, Year 2 of the Dungy era when those young Bucs went 10-6 and made the playoffs, the Bucs took a step back to 8-8 and a third-place finish in 1998. And that was with a slew of potential Hall of Famers on the roster and a smothering defense that came off allowing the fewest points in the NFC in ’97.

So what can be expected of the 2011 Bucs, likely the youngest team in the NFL once rosters are finalized soon?

While Joe will cheer and hope for a perfect Bucs season, Joe sees big question marks at linebacker, a team with a ton to prove in its rush defense and pass rush, questionable depth at the skill positions, plus two teams in the division that likely are still better than Tampa Bay. 

Thankfully, Josh Freeman is no Trent Dilfer, and Greg Olson is no Mike Shula, which means a hell of a lot. And the Bucs have plenty of playmakers, from Freeman, LeGarrette Blount, Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams, to Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber. But the Bucs don’t feel at all like a team ready to hit the next level up from the high standard of 10-6 set last year, much like their young counterparts in 1998, who needed one more year to win the division.

Coaching will be a big X-factor. Raheem worked miracles last year with an injury-ravaged roster and rookies and scrap-heap players. Joe doesn’t underestimate the ability of Raheem’s staff and leadership, especially with the addition of Keith Millard. Raheem deserved Coach of the Yearfor 2010, but the jury’s still out on his effectiveness as a defensive coordinator.

It’s painful to think of the Bucs taking a step back from 10-6 last year. But Joe suspects that’s where they’re headed.

Joe’s calling a 9-7 record for 2011. Maybe that’s good enough for the playoffs. It often is. The Bucs finish the season in Atlanta, in what should be an extraordinarily meaningful game.

Bucs wide receiver Ed Gant was one of those annual preseason wonders, a guy who has splash plays in training camp before throngs of overheated patrons and quickly becomes a fan favorite despite doing little in games.

In recent years, that man was Kareem Huggins, for example.

While fans clamored for Gant, the wide receiver position is deep for the Bucs. Gant, who prior to Thursday night had done little against teams with a different color jersey, changed all that against the Redskins.

Gant blew up last night, looked like a star, as much as one can look like a star playing against guys who will drive beer trucks and work as bouncers next weekend.

Gant was so special last night, Bucs fans were pretty much universal on Twitter: Preston Parker should be concerned. Prior to the game, Parker was seen as a bubble player and Gant pretty much an afterthought, perhaps a practice squad candidate.

Those positions flipped in a matter of hours.

But former Bucs linebacker Ryan Nece is not of the mind that Parker should be updating his resume. Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network postgame show, along with co-host and Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski, Nece believed another Bucs receiver is now in danger of losing his job thanks to Gant blowing up.

That would be “Run Micheal Run” Spurlock.

Spurlock has made clutch plays for the Bucs as a receiver, but he is mostly known as a return man first, so Nece believes, a kickoff returner specifically. With the new rules this season having kickoffs from the 35-yard line, kickoff returners have pretty much been neutered, and this is why Nece believes Spurlock is the odd receiver out.

“Now with kickoffs this preseason, five of every six are touchbacks, so how valuable are kickoff returners now?” Nece asked.

Gant’s play “hurts Michael Spurlock,” Nece said.

It’s an interesting theory. If Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik values Spurlock more as a kickoff return man than a receiver, the NFL may very well have phased Spurlock out of a gig with the Bucs.

Joe was pleased to see Elbert Mack really come to play tonight and cap off a strong preseason. His final line had nine tackles and two passes defensed.

Mack signed a restricted free agent tender after the asinine lockout, so the Bucs were going to pay him for 2011 regardless, but Joe isn’t seeing Mack getting cut anytime soon because of his play.

As for Myron Lewis, this guy just can’t stay healthy. He left tonigh’ts game early with an ankle injury. Yeah, he had a couple of decent games at the end of 2010, but he missed a ton of time last season and more this year.

Cruel as it may be, staying healthy is part of the game, and Lewis can’t do it.

If any Bucs fans stayed up through the fourth quarter of the telecast on WTSP-TV Channel 10, they all but heard Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik pretty much rule out the Bucs keeping three quarterbacks on the active roster.

That didn’t stop Josh Freeman from lobbying for Carpenter to remain with the Bucs.

“First of all, Rudy is a great person,” Freeman said. “In the quarterback room, we all love Rudy. As far as a [being a] quarterback [goes], Rudy is a competitor. These coaches do a great job of bringing in guys that have a passion for winning the games and [who] play well. You saw it last week: Rudy goes out and wins the game. Rudy is a tough guy, a smart guy and we just love having him around.”

Given a chance to pimp himself on the Bucs radio network after the game, Carpenter declined, only speaking of team first.

“I think in games like this you just have to come out and battle and some good things will happen and some bad things will happen and you just hope you put your team in position to win,” Carpenter said.

Doubtful to be agent-driven speculation since it’s an injury matter, St. Pete Times beat writer Rick Stroud is reporting that Bucs rookie tight end Luke Stocker has a fractured hip.

Stroud took to the 1040 AM airwives this evening to explain on Primetime.

“I’ve been told by some folks over there, [Stocker] has kind of a small fracture in his hip,” Stroud said before tonight’s Bucs-Redskins game. “I think it’s healed to the extent it’s not going to be any worse” through the season.

If Stroud’s diagnosis is true, then it could make things interesting for the Bucs’ forthcoming roster decisions. Do you only keep three tight ends when one has chronic knee issues (Kellen Winslow) and another is playing through a fractured hip?

Joe imagines that Daniel Hardy will get the nod at No. 3 tight end. Beyond that, it’s just another interesting element to the final roster decisions.

Joe didn’t make enough of a fuss over Brian Price playing against Miami last week and flashing his trademark burst and coming out of the game healthy.

What a warrior this guy is to return from his horrific hamstring/pelvis surgery.

And there he was tonight getting the start and a pile of snaps against the Washington Redskins’ first-team offensive line. Price was disruptive and it seems he’ll be able to contribute legitimately this season.

Mark Dominik even took to the Ch. 10 airwaves to praise Price for playing about 30 snaps tonight and impressing.

Talk about competition at nose tackle.

Redskins 29, Bucs 24

If you care about the result of this rather meaningless game, it was a tough late loss for the Bucs after a big comeback.

That written, who cares?

Joe will have more on the events of the night later and tomorrow.

Unless Joe missed something, and Joe was looking closely, it seems that Frank Okam and Jeremy Zuttah got the night off.

Hmm, perhaps they’re starters now, since the starters didn’t play?

Okam as a starter is no surprise. He’s the healthiest nose tackle, and he’s been impressive. But has Zuttah gotten the nod over Ted Larsen, who was lousy the last two weeks and has a minor ankle injury?

 The Zuttah-Larsen question should be answered by Monday.

Feel free to comment throughout the game as the Redskins host the Bucs in the District.

Caution: Do not post, or try to post the URLs of any pirated Bucs video feeds of the game. Not even using spaces. Any and all persons who violate this rule will be subject to immediate banishment without warning. You may email URLs between yourselves but they are not to be posted on this site. They are illegal feeds and Joe does not need the hassle of getting a knock on his door from FBI agents in the middle of the night.

Thank you.

Preseason Game 4
Bucs at Redskins
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
TV: WTSP-TV Channel 10 in the Tampa Bay area. The game will be rebroadcast Saturday at 10 a.m. on NFL Network.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 882.
Weather: Per Accuweather.com, a pleasant summer night by both Washington and Tampa Bay standards. The game will start off in the low 80s with low humidity and by the end of the game, will be 73. A soft breeze will decrease as the night wears on and the game is expected to be played under clear skies.
Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs +7.5.
Outlook: Though few starters are expected to play, it will be a chance for tweeners to maybe win a starting job or for bubble guys to secure a spot on the 53-man roster, which NFL teams need to meet by Saturday afternoon. … Joe is of the mind that cornerback Anthony Gaitor has made the team but who is the odd man out? If Gaitor is in, to Joe, that means Elbert Mack may just be on his last legs unless he has a major splash tonight. Also, Ahmad Black might want to have a helluva game. He has been limited in training camp with a sprained ankle. If he cannot shine tonight, his best chance of making his hometown team will be on the practice squad. Also, could Jeremy Zuttah unseat Ted Larsen at left guard? Joe believes Frank Okam could seal a starting job at defensive tackle if he has yet another solid game, assuuming he play. Joe is of the mind that Preston Parker and Kregg Lumpkin are on thin ice. There is a glut of talent at wide receiver and unless Parker shines as a return man, he may be an odd man out. If Lumpkin doesn’t so something, he is in danger of losing a roster spot to someone that Bucs rock star general manager plucks off the scrap heap in a couple of days.

Joe already brought word that Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib will not play tonight against the Redskins; he has not suited up all season due to a nasty hamstring.

Talib is not alone. Seems that defensive tackle Roy Miller, who has a minor tear in his knee, will also sit out tonight, so Miller Twittered earlier today.

@MillTicket_90: no im not playing today, the knee is healthy, and yes i will play next week, to answer all texts i likely received today

It seems with Miller, the Bucs are holding him back as a precautionary measure because of his knee. Smart move.

But since Miller has played so sparingly because of his injury, has that locked up a starting gig for big Frank Okam, who has had a wonderful training camp and preseason? Remember, Brian Price is still gimpy, too, and Gerald McCoy missed the first preseason game with a bum shoulder.

With Okam fully healthy, if he has a decent game tonight — if he even plays tonight — Joe would not be surprised if he starts against Detroit on opening day.

OK, this isn’t enough to make Joe run to his favorite watering hole and chug multiple beers in fright over the Bucs season collapsing, but it is a concern of Joe’s and should be a concern of all Bucs fans.

Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib will not play in tonight’s preseason finale at Washington, so types eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, via the TBO Bucs Twitter feed.

@TBO_Buccaneers: Bucs CB Aqib Talib missed the first 3 preseason games & won’t be playing tonight in DC. Not the way to prepare for Calvin Johnson.

For those keeping score at home, as Kaufman pointed out, that’s the entire preseason that Talib has missed with a nagging hamstring.

This is not good. While Joe remembers quarterback Josh Freeman missing much of last year’s preseason yet having a pretty darn good regular season, the fact Talib is hampered by a hamstring is unsettling.

Hamstrings just don’t go away. If Talib is bothered by it now, enough not to play in any preseason games, this ailment is not going to disappear by next week when the Bucs snap their chin straps to play the Lions.

This very well could be a nagging injury to Talib.

Good thing the Bucs are deep with cornerbacks.

(Is the noun “Megatron” spelled correctly?)

How bout the Bucs-Redskins game LIVE tonight on WTSP-TV, Ch. 10! No tape delay for this one.

In this exclusive video for JoeBucsFan.com readers, veteran Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth fires off some things of note for tonight’s contest.

Another record-breaking month is in the books at JoeBucsFan.com. And Joe wants to spit out a heartfelt thanks to all his loyal readers, as well as the vast majority of you who can only tolerate Joe’s brand of bloggery once in a while.

In August, Joe was visited by 66,908 unique visitors who came for 340,942 total visits. The average visit was more than eight minutes in duration, which is among the highest totals for U.S. online sports publications. 

Joe looks forward to more record numbers in September, as fans grow more obsessed with the young Bucccaneers and retreat from the boredom and hidden bias prevalent in other mediums.

Joe’s got too many people to thank, but Joe does want to issue a special thanks to those who sent him money for his birthday. Joe indugled mightily with those gifts.

Look, Joe likes Rudy Carpenter as much as the next guy. The Bucs’ third-string quarterback seems like a fine young man. Joe was the first to give Carpenter a serious interview when he arrived in Tampa in 2009, after Byron Leftwich’s mysterious injury.

But Joe would be stunned if Carpenter is on the Bucs’ final roster.

The Bucs really have no need for a traditional No. 3 quarterback, especially with the new league rule that doesn’t require teams to name an emergency third quarterback and gives them an extra active-player spot on gameday to use as they wish, verus dedicating that spot to a third QB.

Yeah, Joe’s heard the argument that Josh Johnson is going to embrace free agency and a chance to start somewhere else after the season, so allgedly the Bucs need Carpenter for next year because he knows the system.  Well, Joe’s not buying that there’s much, if any, starter’s market for Johnson, and Joe suspects the Bucs will pay him to stay.

Former college quarterback Micheal Spurlock has been an emergency QB for the Bucs since last offseason, and he’s been getting more work there through training camp. Spurlock talked to Joe about it a few weeks ago.

JoeBucsFan.com: Raheem has spoken a couple of times recently about you being the emergency quarterback and the team having more flexibility with the rule change that allows a third quarterback or an extra man to be activated. Talk about how much you know to play QB in this system and your readiness in that area.

Micheal Spurlock: I think the biggest thing for me, I’ve played the position already, so just certain little calls and stuff I know because as a Zebra, the third receiver in the slot, you have to make sure things to pick up on defenses. So for me it’ll be more time spent in the run game and learning if I have to get under center and call the snap count and things of that sort. As far as the coverages and what we like to run against what, it’s not a big thing because for me. Playing receiver I try to prepare and think like a quarterback because it makes my job a lot easier when I’m on the run trying to figure out coverage or where the quarterback is going to check this play, or if it should have been checked. I don’t think it’s going to be that hard. It’s just put on me to really focus on the run game.

Joe: Are you already working more on QB duties because of the rule change?

Spurlock: I think so. I’ve always considered myself a student of the game. When I played quarterback you had to know everything and then it just helped out at receiver and I had to shut off certain sensors because I wanted to hit a whole play rather than just what I was supposed to do on a route. That’s when you really grow into the game and become a student of the game — when you think like a quarterback. As for as just taking snaps for me is the only difference. I don’t think the playbook is that hard.

With all the injuries and healing players the Bucs have, they certainly should want that extra gameday roster spot to go to a versatile player, versus Carpenter. Spurlock should be prepared well enough to finish a game in a pinch.

And if the Bucs are down to their third QB to make a start, then the season is likely lost anyway. Joe’s just not seeing the value in keeping Carpenter, who is expected to start tonight in Washington.

For those who don’t know Carpenter, here’s a fresh video from his hometown California publication that tracks his movements.

"I tell ya, Jaws. If they got me Calvin Johnson, I could have won a Super Bowl with Griese."

Joe sure hopes Mike Williams is reading.

In a Monday Night Football conference call today former Eagles quarterback turned talking head Ron Jaworski says he doesn’t think the Bucs receiving corps is keeping defensive coordinators awake at night, so noted veteran Tampa Tribune NFL scribe eye!-RAH Kaufman.

Gruden’s fellow ESPN analyst, Ron Jaworski, said he doesn’t think Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman is surrounded by enough weapons.

“I really don’t,’’ Jaworski said. “I think Josh Freeman is a rising star and he’s everything you’d want in a quarterback. But I think the Bucs have to run the football a lot more consistently. They have some quality at wide receiver, but I don’t see a team that makes you say, ‘Wow, they’re going to scare me.’ ’’

Of course, Jaworski works alongside Chucky on Monday Night Football. You can read some of Chucky’s thoughts by clicking through the link above. Chucky loves every player and coach in the NFL, but this year he especially loves his protoge Sean Payton.

Joe’s focus is on opening day, but the Bucs-Colts game on Monday, Oct. 3, is going to be a heck of a lot of fun. Joe wonders whether at the game the Bucs officially will acknowledge the return of their lone Super Bowl coach.

Dave Parr and Adam Anshell of ProFootballWeekly.com break down the Bucs for the 2011 season. You may be surprised who they pick for a defensive MVP.

Through three preseason games and watching training camp, Joe has gleaned this much from the Bucs:

* When healthy, the Bucs defensive line could be formidable.

* The Bucs have a glut of reliable receivers.

* The offensive line is still, well, skittish.

The Bucs offensive line, which seemed to be on the cusp of greatness in the final year of Chucky and Bill Muir, at best struggled for roughly a year and a half later.

But in the second half of last season it seemed the Bucs offensive line finally got it. It finally was a strong unit, blasting open holes for LeGarrette Blount and on occasion, Cadillac Williams.

But this season, it seems like groundhog day. The Bucs offensive line has struggled, and eye-RAH Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune has not lost sight of this.

In a recent TBO Bucs question-and-answer offering, Kaufman professed the O-line has been less than stellar, in so many words.

Q: What’s up with the offensive line? It looks like the weak link. No holes for the runners and no protection for Josh Freeman.

Richard, Valrico

A: The offensive line has looked very erratic through the first three preseason games. The running game hasn’t been productive and Josh Freeman is having trouble staying clean, but there is time to improve before the Lions come to town Sept. 11. At this point, new OL coach Pat Morris has to be concerned about his first unit.

– eye-RAH! Kaufman

Simply put, the offensive line had their collective hats handed to them against the Patriots, scheme or no scheme. At times, the Patriots defensive front was nothing less than a jailbreak.

In Joe’s eyes, this unit bears monitoring. It is the most important element of the team as we inch towards Opening Week.

The Bucs do not (yet) have a strong enough defense to lock down opponents if the offense is sputtering. And if there are no holes to run through, if Josh Freeman has no time to throw and his jersey is filthy from being pounded into the ground, the Bucs won’t have an offense.