Former Bucs QB Shaun King weighs in on Carson Palmer, who surely will let his speedy Raiders wideouts test the likes of E.J. Biggers and Leonard Johnson.

Shaun King, one of three quarterbacks to lead the Bucs to the NFC title game, says there’s drool falling off the chin of veteran Raiders QB Carson Palmer.

King, however, is hopeful the Bucs pass rush can disrupt Palmer enough to prevent the Raiders from putting up video-game numbers Sunday.

“He’s licking his chops,” King said of Palmer on WDAE-AM 620 this morning. “And right now, when you look at our won-loss record and defensively what we’ve been able to do, if we play a team that has an average or below quarterback, then we generally have done really well. When we’ve played guys that have above-average quarterbacks, then we’ve had a lot of difficulty.

“Up to this point [the Raiders] haven’t been real effective running the ball and they don’t have a great offensive line, so we should be able to get enough pressure on Carson where he just doesn’t kill us.”

The Raiders offense is a strange brew, so Joe is confident nobody can know what to expect Sunday. Oakland’s new offensive coordinator has come under heavy fire, and the Raiders seem to changeup their attack regularly. They’ve already scaled back using their new-for-2012 zone blocking schemes, and Palmer has run a load of no-huddle in some games and not much in others.

Perhaps the most consistent element has been Palmer himself. He ranks in the NFL’s top tier in numerous statistical categories and his speedy receiving corps is healthy.

This game is no cake-walk. It still troubles Joe that the Falcons needed a late 55-yard field goal and turnover to beat the Raiders earlier this season in Atlanta.

There’s a pretty darn cool ESPN at Sea cruise leaving from the Port of Tampa in February. On this fantastic Royal Caribbean cruise, you can hang out and watch the “BIG GAME” with all kinds of former Bucs and NFL players (more to be announced soon), along with greats from the world of soccer.

Click below to check out Joe’s special page at the ESPN at Sea website, where you can find the discount code joebucsfan, check out all the options and learn about the cheerleaders on board. There’s also another “BIG GAME” cruise from Ft. Lauderdale.

Breaking Bucs news is what “The Big Dog” does.

Yesterday, Joe’s good friend, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, once again broke Bucs news as he is wont to do.

While the Bucs were showing Ted Larsen taking snaps at left guard in the 30-minute window the Tampa Bay pen and mic club was allowed to watch practice yesterday (which is mostly used up by players warming up), Bucs coach Greg Schiano is up to espionage, Duemig told his listening audience, and in fact is working Jeremy Zuttah at left guard and Larsen at center.

The reason for this is, as Bucs fans should know by now, All-Pro guard Carl Nicks is out for the year with a grotesque toe injury (which Joe has seen and can confirm it is gross).

Zuttah was the incumbent left guard until Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik signed Nicks as a free agent in the offseason. Zuttah did play left guard last year when Jeff Faine played at center. When Faine couldn’t answer the bell, Zuttah moved to center and Larsen filled in at left guard, where he is marginally better than at right guard.

Schiano would not say yesterday who was playing or who would start at left guard Sunday at Oakland, but Schiano said, in so many words, that all offensive linemen were in the mix in various mix-and-matches to try to find the best combination for the starting five.

Joe spoke with former starter Jeremy Trueblood, who lost his right tackle gig, and who had been whispered to perhaps play guard at some point, a position he hasn’t taken a snap at since high school. But Trueblood flatly told Joe he was not going to play left guard, nor has he been working out at the position in practice — words straight from Trueblood’s mouth.

There is no way the Bucs can replace Nicks. That isn’t happening. But perhaps Schiano believes Zuttah is a better fit there than Larsen.

Schiano’s mixing and matching on the offensive line seems to have plugged holes/weaknesses on the right side of the line thus far. So Joe’s hoping Schiano can use the same magic on the left side.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the offensive line scramble with “The Big Dog” by calling his show this afternoon from 3-6 p.m.

The Bucs have the unflattering notoriety of having their starting two cornerbacks, Aqib Talib and Eric Wright, in trouble with Adderall, a banned substance in NFL circles.

While Talib admitted he tested positive for Adderall, Wright has not been as forthcoming. FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer reported Sunday that Wright, too, tested positive for Adderall. Wright, not surprisingly, has been quiet and kept at arm’s length from probing reporters. And while Bucs officials are under the cloak of player confidentiality and deflect drug-related questions about Wright, not one Bucs official or NFL spokesman has denied Glazer’s report.

Alan Dell absorbs all of this information and is seething. The Bradenton Herald columnist documents Wright’s troubled past with felony charges, alleged pill possessions and indirect links between Wright’s former teammates and their brushes with Adderall as well.

Dell wonders aloud why Talib is crucified by Bucs fans while Wright is seemingly given a pass.

It seemed everybody wanted to run Talib out of town when he was recently suspended for taking Adderall, a substance the NFL bans, citing it as a performance-enhancing drug. For a player to take it, he must get a doctor’s prescription and then a waiver from the league.

Talib got neither.

He is not known for making wise decisions and to keep him out of trouble, you want to surround him with people who will look out for his best interests, which brings us back to Wright.

Dell goes on to write that Wright is a quesitonable influence around the young Bucs roster.

It is an interesting theory of Dell’s. One could argue that Wright’s past makes Talib’s indiscretions pale by comparison. Many of Talib’s steps over the line just weren’t smart moves.

Wright’s brushes with the law seem a bit more sinister.

As to why Bucs fans may be giving Wright a pass, Wright has only been around the Tampa Bay area a few months. Sure, there was the California collision this summer, with charges dropped, so the positive test for Adderall (allegedly) is his first offense as a Bucs player.

Talib averages an annual indiscretion.

In short, Dell’s piece is worth reading.

Joe sure hopes Gerald McCoy never left a cool lid like this at an ex-girlfriend’s pad.

Joe was busy this afternoon asking various defensive players what is the biggest concern in facing the Oakland Raiders. And Joe will provide various responses before the game kicks off.

But the most interesting response to Joe’s queries came from defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who didn’t blink with his answer.

“It’s the fans,” GMC said of the  Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, more popularly known as “The Black Hole.” “It’s a hostile environment we have to go into. It’s like going to your ex-girlfriend’s house to pick up a shirt you left there. It’s a hostile environment and you will have to be ready for anything and everything they can throw at you.”

For GMC, facing Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer, it will be the second time the Bucs’ stud tackle has gone up against him. The first time was in GMC’s rookie year in 2010 at Mike Brown Stadium when Palmer was the Bengals signal-caller.

Despite two years having passed since the two have faced each other across the line of scrimmage, GMC says it’s the same old Palmer.

“Carson Palmer is still Carson Palmer,” GMC said. “He is still him. He is patient. If [the pass] is not here, than it has to be there and it’s not there, then I have to make a play with my feet. He is a bigger guy and a stronger guy than people give him credit for.”

Sunday’s Bucs-Raiders game in Oakland is a homecoming of sorts for Donald Penn. Today, Penn told Joe he was a diehard Raiders fan for many years and recalled his devastation at a Super Bowl party in college when his beloved Silver and Black were clobbered by Chucky’s Buccaneers. Penn’s no Raiders fan anymore, but he did weigh in today on the impact of losing Carl Nicks, among other subjects. (Unfortunately, Penn had no interest in Joe’s question about his recent Smackdown with Jared Allen.)

JoeBucsFan.com: Talk about your 83 consecutive starts streak. That comes into focus a little more with all the injuries on the O-line. Does the streak mean a lot to you?

Donald Penn: It means I’m staying healthy, just trying to stay healthy and win games. That’s it.

Joe: But does it mean a lot to you?

Penn: Yeah, I’m out there with my team helping them win. Of course it means a little bit to me [personally]. But I want to play. Unfortunately for those guys, you know, stuff like that happens. But I don’t think anybody wants to be on the sideline.

Joe: You were here when backups and rookies stepped up huge after injuries on the offensive line in 2010, and the Bucs offense was a top-10 offense for the second half of that season. Do you there’s any chance the impact of losing Nicks could be a little overblown?

Penn: Losing Carl is big. He’s one of the best guards in the league. You cannot sit there and honestly say losing Carl is not going to hurt you. He’s the best guard in the league and losing him is going to be big. We’ve got to step up. Next person up, you gotta step up, whoever it’s going to be. I still don’t know. But whoever it’s going to be they gotta step it up, man. That’s how I got my start. That’s how a lot of these people get their starts in the league. You gotta come and step up. It’s going to be hard replacing Carl, just like it was hard replacing [Davin Joseph]. Definitely gonna be hard, but whoever is out there has to come to play like they are Carl.

Another reporter: You’ve played with quite a few left guards in your career.

Penn: Story of my career, ain’t it. I mean that’s how it goes. I’m going to try to help those guys, whoever it is. I’m going to try and help him as much as I can. Going to try and give him a little bit of help I can from my experience. I’m going to try and help him as much as possible. We’re going to be alright. We have to focus on the Raiders not focus on the outside stuff of who’s missing. We got to be make sure we keep our focus on the Raiders because on Sunday the Raiders aren’t going to be worried about who’s missing and who is out there and who is not.

While Bucs coach Greg Schiano was coy as expected about who will replace injured left guard Carl Nicks — all signs point to Ted Larsen — Bucs fans at least know who won’t be replacing Nicks any time soon, assuming backup tackle Jeremy Trueblood was not pulling Joe’s leg.

That would be Trueblood himself.

Joe caught up with Trueblood after practice and asked him if he would be playing left guard any time soon. Trueblood’s answer was short yet direct.

“No.”

Joe followed that question up with asking Trueblood if he has been practicing at all on the left side of the line. Trueblood was equally short and direct with Joe.

“No.”

Again, unless Trueblood was conning Joe and others, do not expect Trueblood to be playing in the void left by Nicks at any point in the near future.

A drunken (?) Bucs fan was dragged out of the Metrodome last week during the Bucs beat down of the Vikings. Bucs fan got mouthy with Vikings fans and it didn’t go over too well with the locals, nor the cops. Watch how one cop puts the Bucs fan in a nasty headlock and slams him to the concrete stairs. Let this be a lesson on how not to act during road games. Lucky this dude wasn’t in The Black Hole. Joe would have already read his obituary.

(Hat tip TheBigLead.com.)

Pressed to pinpoint who on the Bucs reminds him of members of the glory-days Buccaneers teams, Ronde Barber pulled three names out his pocket last night on the Buccaneers Radio Network on WDAE-AM 620.

The most direct comparison, Barber said, is Adrian Clayborn and Greg Spires.

“They are the exact same player. Just like, workman, do all the grimy hard work,” Barber said of the Clayborn-Spires similarities.

Barber also evoked No. 55.

“I look at Lavonte David and I see a young Derrick Brooks, not necessarily how he plays, but just like his instincts and just his knack for football,” Barber said. “That was one thing Derrick really had, just kind of a knack for the game. Lavonte’s absolutely shown that in the first part of his career. “

And while Barber said Mark Barron and John Lynch are completely different players, the sounds they bring to the field are similar.

“I haven’t heard pads pop like that, (laughs) you know, since four-seven left,” Barber said.

The comparisons are not fair, but they’re still fun to hear and consider. And coming from Barber, they’re very credible. Greg Spires was a fierce pass-rusher but, of course, the Bucs are hoping to get more from Clayborn than they did from Spires.

Click on through below to learn more about Tilted Kilt, one of Joe’s favorite hangouts. The world famous Kilt girls will be in rather naughty costumes tonight at their big Halloween party. The beer, drinks, food and fun will be flowing.

Bucs fans have been been gripping like Joe has never seen before in the wake of the awful news that All-Pro left guard Carl Nicks is out for the season with a bum toe (which Joe has seen before and it’s gross) and placed on the injured reserve list.

The offensive line, which figured to be the Bucs’ strongest unit in training camp, has been wracked by injuries, including All-Pro right guard Davin Joseph, who was lost for the year in the preseason with a blown knee.

The Bucs are now down three starters from the start of the season, including former starting right tackle Jeremy Trueblood, who was benched for subpar play.

The Bucs offensive line is currently a shambles. Happy Halloween.

Bucs fans have panicked as a result and Joe understands. The Bucs running game was just starting to rumble and now, well, good luck. Joe has read comments, received e-mails and heard calls on sports radio from Bucs fans wondering if this guy is available, if that guy is available, can the Bucs trade for so-and-so?

Bucs fans are so desperate that Joe was even asked about the possibility of Arron Sears returning to the Bucs fold.

For those who aren’t aware of the sad story of Sears, a promising young Bucs guard, Sears developed mental disorders and last Joe heard, was unable to take care of himself as he bounced from jail to institution for a bizarre string of incidents.

No, there is no magic potion to replace Nicks. The Bucs are not the only team in the NFL with offensive line issues. The Steelers, for example, have been ravaged by offensive line issues and they are making a go of it.

This is what the Bucs will need to do. Suck it up. Find a way to win.

This saga reminds Joe of a conversation he heard between Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Back in September when NFL teams locked in their 53-man rosters, Kirwan and Ryan discussed guys walking the streets who, in an emergency, could be signed by a team and contribute.

Both co-hosts found a name or two of an unemployed player who could come off the street to play at just about every position until they came to offensive line. When Ryan asked Kirwan for an out-of-work offensive lineman who could help out in an emergency, Kirwan, after a long pause, simply said, “No one.”

Ryan agreed, that offensive lines across the NFL were so thin, that no one could walk into a team’s locker room and be expected to be able to stop a cool breeze.

This is the pinch the Bucs find themselves in. Rally behind (likely) Ted Larsen, who to be honest is better at left guard than right guard, and hope for the best.

There is no savior to come in and replace the irreplaceable, Nicks.

Lost in the wash out of the Bucs’ stunning win on Thursday Night Football was Michael Koenen setting a modern NFL record of 21 consecutive touchbacks.

Koenen hit the mark against the Vikings, and the streak was broken when Percy Harvin took a kickoff out of the end zone.

Hats off to Koenen. Clearly he was well worth the bounty rockstar general manger Mark Dominik paid him before the 2011 season. Raheem Morris didn’t get Barrett Ruud or Cadillac Williams in free agency, as he wished, but he did get the best punter/kickoff guy in the business.

There’s no question that the entire Bucs kicking game is top shelf. For leg lovers, Sunday should be quite a showcase. Shane Lechler (one of Chucky’s early mancrushes) and Sebastian Janikowski are old masters of their craft.

Sure, Greg Schiano has missed some details this season, but there’s no question that he and the Bucs are dialed in successfully on a majority of details and fundamentals.

No. 1 on that list is ball security and forcing turnovers, explained Ronde Barber on the Buccaneers Radio Network last night on WDAE-AM 620. Barber talked about how he “raked” at the ball when Mark Barron had Adrian Peterson wrapped up Thursday, forcing a key fumble and impacting Bucs’ win against the Vikings.

“We practice it every single day. It’s part of our ball-disruption circuit that we do every single day,” Barber said. “[Turnovers are] the No. 1, and we’re reminded of this daily. And it’s I think why we’re taking such good care of the football.”

With a +7 on the turnover ratio scale, the Bucs are among the best in the NFL. No running back has coughed up a fumble, let alone turned it over.

Some scoffed at the relentless Pop Warner-like ball security drills the Bucs went through all offseason and, per Barber, continue to perform daily.

All Joe knows is that they are working extremely well. Score one for the New Schiano Order.

The biggest blow to the Bucs playoff chances just happened today with word from Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune that All-Pro left guard Carl Nicks was placed on injured reserve with a toe injury.

@RCummingsTrib: Bucs LG Carl Nicks lost for the season to a toe injury. He’s been dealing with that injury all year long.

There simply isn’t a bigger hit to the Bucs than this. The Bucs’ offensive line is now officially a shambles. Nicks joins fellow All-Pro right guard Davin Joseph, who’s on injured reserve.

Just when the Bucs started to get a running game going with Doug Martin bursting onto the scene, now he will be dodging for his life more than exposing creases and holes in the offensive line.

Joe’s seen that toe numerous times. Frankly, Joe’s not sure how Nicks was playing on it to begin with.

Joe’s not sure how the Bucs recover without the human armoire on the roster. Ted Larsen at left guard?

This is a crushing blow. No way to sugarcoat it.

Recently, Joe asked Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy if he had noticed a change in opponents’ blocking schemes against him now that end Adrian Clayborn was out for the season. GMC said he had, that he was seeing much more double-teams.

GMC wasn’t using this as an excuse. He said it was his job to fight through double-teams.

Now that Da’Quan Bowers has been activated after missing the first six games with an Achilles injury, Joe wondered if Bowers logging playing time last week against Minnesota caused a let-up in pressure on GMC.

No, GMC said, he did not see a change and isn’t expecting a change to occur in the near future.

“I don’t think [opponents] would change initially because it was [Bowers’] first game back and so they didn’t know what he could do, they were just getting the feel of it. So I don’t think the blocking schemes changed that much.

“I still had a lot [of blockers] slide to me, but I think they will [change] though when [Bowers] gets in his groove. Now they will be like, ‘Well, now what?’ Honestly, your best bet [as an offensive line coach] if you don’t have an inside threat, you want to slide [blockers] to your DeMarcus Wares, your Jared Allens. Your best bet is to [protect the] inside because that is the shortest route to the quarterback. Regardless of if Mike Bennett is playing well or Bowers comes in, I will still expect [double-teams].”

Joe can understand where GMC is coming from. It’s one thing to worry about Bennett, who is playing lights out. But when there are two ends as serious threats, such as Clayborn and Bowers, then teams will have to account for both Bennett and Bowers.

When Bowers gets up to speed, it will thin out opponents’ offensive lines which means GMC and others could go wild.

One might think a guarded coach like Greg Schiano would shy away from comparing a rookie running back to a complete, two-time Pro Bowl RB like Ray Rice.

But just the opposite was true yesterday during The Greg Schiano Show on WDAE-AM 620. Schiano was very specific about how Doug Martin is like Rice, who was Schiano’s workhorse at Rutgers. “The patience, the vision, the balance,” was the direct comparison delivered by Schiano.

The leader of the New Schiano Order also explained that Martin has the unspoken greatness understood by students of the game.

“He’s got IT,” Schiano said of what makes Martin special. “As a football coach you know what that is, and Doug has it.”

This is very high praise for a kid who’s only played seven games. But Martin has made Bucs fans forget their Trent Richardson fantasies, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Joe remembers when Raheem Morris likened Mason Foster to Ray Lewis. That was comical at the time, but the way Foster is playing that might not be so farfetched.

Last week with the Bucs still down a cornerback thanks to Aqib Talib’s suspension and Brandon MacDonald dinged up, former Largo High School quarterback and free agent rookie Leonard Johnson got the call for his first NFL start.

He played well, very well in fact, and had a pick and if there was a decent replay, may have had two picks.

Bucs coach Greg Schiano raved about Johnson’s play against the Vikings during his Monday press conference and said he is confident with Johnson if he should be called into starting duty again. Talib still has to serve one more game for his sentence and there’s the looming suspension for fellow Adderall fan (allegedly), Eric Wright.

Mark Cook of PewterReport.com buttonholed Johnson late yesterday to get his take on his play.

“I just went out and tried to have fun and do everything I was asked to do,” Johnson said. “The fact I was able to start in nickel and dime (coverages) was something I looked forward to doing all week. I didn’t want to put too much thought into it or pressure on myself about going out there with the first team. I just wanted to hang out and let all be natural.

“That’s the kind of approach I take when opportunities like that present itself. All week I was just telling myself – I do a lot of self-talking – that the bigger the stage, the bigger I perform. I told myself that all week knowing that if I just took care of things in practice I’d feel confident and then I’d be able to go out and perform. I always visualize having big games. I didn’t actually visualize that (the interception), but I just knew something big would happen.”

Now Joe may not be totally objective when it comes to Johnson, who Joe has known since Johnson was a freshmen starter for Largo. But Joe thought the Bucs got a steal when Johnson slipped through the cracks of the draft.

Johnson, from people Joe has spoken qirh, has improved since signing with the Bucs, which is exactly what one would hope. If Johnson gets the call in the coming weeks, let’s just say Joe has more confidence in Johnson making plays than he does Myron Lewis.

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