Though they made the trip to London, return specialist and fumbling running back Clifton Smith and alleged Bucs defensive end Kyle Moore have been declared inactive for today’s game with New England.

Smith, when he isn’t putting the ball on the ground as a backup running back, was an assault victim last week by dirtbag Dante Wesley and is still feeling the effects of a concussion.

Moore is more a figment of Bucs fans imagination than a member of the Bucs squad. Outside of a few sightings in practices at One Buc Palace, Moore has never donned a Bucs uniform in a regular season game. Either put the guy on IR or admit this guy is some kind of a Kreskin mirage and he doesn’t exist.

Byron Leftwich is the third string quarterback.

Week 6
Patriots vs. Bucs (at London)
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTSP Ch. 10, DirecTV 704
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 158.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, chilly by Florida natives standards. The game is played at 6 p.m. London time. Temperature at kickoff is expected to be 53 degrees and may dip below 50 by the end of the game under partly cloudy skies with breezy conditions.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, New England -15.5.
Outlook: This game could be frightening for Bucs fans who, when this game is over with, might just wish they were drinking warm beer like the good people of London. The Patriots racked up 59 points last week against another winless team while shutting out the Titans. Now, the Bucs had to travel late to London and had a practice canceled. So the Bucs are going up against this juggernaut with two days of practice? This could get very, very ugly. There really isn’t much more for Joe to write. Unless the Patriots commit eight turnovers, the Bucs don’t stand a chance.
Fun facts: Not much fun to write about a horrid team like the Bucs. … Tom Brady has a 12-game winning streak against NFC opponents. … Bill Belicheat likes to play the field and dresses like a homeless man.

This post is not for angry drunks or those with a weak stomach. So prepare yourself.

Raheem The Dream has told a British newspaper that Bucs fans aren’t as smart as they need to be.

Joe is now a few steps closer to believing Raheem The Dream needs to take the next bus out of Tampa. Joe’s hardly there yet, but after this gem of a comment, Joe’s losing patience quickly.

You see, Rah says the typical Bucs fan just doesn’t get that that the Bucs are not a frugal club. The Glazers and the Bucs just spend smart, Rah says, and you fans can’t grasp the concept.

Here it is in Raheem The Dream’s own words. Apparently, he was asked whether the Bucs are shafting the team and fans by not spending as much as the other NFL clubs.

“No, because look at the money we spent. Kevin Winslow has given us a boost. It’s all about smart spending. In football it’s really not about how much you can buy a person for, it’s about the best team you can put together. We like to think we’re spending smart. Fans never really understand it.”

What’s not to understand, Rah?

The Bucs have lost 10 consecutive games. The Bucs biggest free agent signing on defense this year was Angelo Crowell, a guy who missed the entire 2008 season and is out again. Angelo Crowell! On a team whose defense was mauled in December last season.

That’s smart spending? Even an idiot can see it’s not. Why can’t you?

You want to talk about smart spending, Rah? How exactly is it smart to be paying Mike Nugent more than you earn yourself? Or Jon Gruden to sit in a TV booth, or Bruce Allen?

How smart was it to invest eight-figures on a rookie quarterback and then not give him enough reps in the preseason? Smart spending to pay Byron Leftwich $2 million for three games?

Joe could go on and on.

Raheem The Dream repeatedly hasn’t learned to be careful what he says to the media. The guy just can’t shutup, and it’s hurting him.

This kind of rip of Bucs fans’ intelligence is the type of comment that can make an entire fan base turn against a coach.

Rah better hope the Bucs win a few games this year and Josh Freeman looks like a stud.

Hammering Hank Goldberg of BSPN give you some information you should ponder before placing your call today to your short-term financial investor.

Joe has sobered up enough after watching JoePa destroy the Malaise and Blue at the big outhouse, breaking a 12-year losing streak there, to dig up some Patriots-Bucs preview videos from the good people of NFL.com and its NFL Network partner.

The Playbook crowd of Sterling Sharpe and Joe Theisman break down what to expect from the game. Then, the fine folks of NFL Films have a preview of the game.

Kara Henderson of NFL Network has a report from London on the two teams and AccuWeather.com has a weather report.

Joe can’t tell you enough about what a great time there is to be had at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg.

Take your pick: All-in poker tournaments, limit tables, live greyhound racing and top-notch dining or just great casual fare.

The action rolls into the wee hours, and tonight’s first post-time is at 7:30 p.m. You can even head to Derby Lane right now.

If these clowns don't want the NFL, why force it upon them?

Joe is an admitted ugly American. He doesn’t have a passport and the only time he ever stepped foot on foreign soil was a week-long work assignment he once had in Hutchinson, Kan.

Joe has no pressing desire to travel to Europe, outside of Italy to eat some great food and sample some awesome women. Oh, yeah. Germany would be a fine trip as well to drink the beer.

(Speaking of which, Joe is ashamed to admit he nearly forgot this is the month for Oktoberfest. In honor, Joe just picked up some brats, which he will grill later today while watching college football, and an ample supply of Caybrew. Props to the Krauts: They have a whole month dedicated to their culture. The Irish have only one day. Ha!)  

Other than Italy and Germany, meh. You can have Europe.

Which brings Joe to playing football in Europe. While NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell seems to have a boner about London, this is totally lost on Joe. The British don’t want football and while playing regular season games over there, the NFL screws fans back home.

NFL fans pine for eight months a year to have football, go to games, tailgate, etc. Yet Goodell is hell bent on depriving fans something they crave to push a sport upon a people that do not want it.

Case in point, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. He is in London to cover the game and documented how far down the totem pole the Bucs game is.

During an hourlong train and taxi trip in from the airport, in the city there were no signs promoting the game, and few of the locals who were asked about the game seemed to even know it was going to happen.

“Bloody hate the sport,” said one taxi driver. “I’m a real football fan. Fulham’s my team.”

The newspapers are giving the event scant coverage at this time. The Times of London had one short on the game, and that was a story about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Page 91 of Thursday’s edition.

Joe doesn’t know what is more surprising, that a British cabbie would prefer that glorified Easter egg hunt over football or that a daily newspaper in the first decade of the 21st Century prints  (more than?) 90 pages in a Thursday edition?

Good thing for that cabbie Aqib Talib wasn’t a passenger.

Goodell’s fascination over forcing the NFL on an unwanting society is also lost on SI.com’s Peter King.

The league seems bound to play two games a year in London by next year, with as many four on the continent by 2012 and a team there by 2020. Make no mistake about it: These 32 owners want to grow the league and make it a world-wide entity. Just wanted to throw this in: When I was in England in May, I asked 10 Brits if they’d heard of Tom Brady. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. And no.

Look, Goodell can have as many preseason games in Europe or Mexico or Australia or Japan as he wants. In fact, Joe would encourage Goodell to hold all preseason games outside of American soil; let those games soil some other countries.

If a lesser society prefers kickball to football, fine. Don’t force the NFL upon them while screwing your loyal fans in the United States the right to get blasted at a tailgate party and scream obscenities at the opposing 11.

Trey Wingo, Mark Schlereth and former Bucs assistant coach Herm Edwards talk about the Patriots-Bucs game. The only thing positive they can say about the Bucs is the weather in London.

Apparently, Joey Galloway has stayed in touch with former teammates Ronde Barber and Cadillac Williams.

Both told the Boston Globe today that they were a bit shocked by Galloway getting cut from the Pats this week.

Tampa Bay running back Cadillac Williams was even more surprised than Barber about Galloway flaming out in Foxborough.

“Oh yeah, man, I was,” said Williams, demonstratively. “I actually talked to the guy back and forth. We texted in the last week or so. When I heard I was like, ‘wow.’ I was kind of surprised because that guy still has a lot of good years in him. He’s a heck of a football player. For whatever reason it just didn’t work out.”

Well, the Bucs apparent leader on offense, Cadillac Williams, thinks Galloway can still get it done. But don’t think for a minute that Mark Dominik and Raheem The Dream might consider a Galloway return.

First, there’s no reason to believe that Chucky disciple Greg Olson, who has been systematically returning Chucky’s plays to the offense, would be able put both Antonio Bryant and Galloway on the field at the same time. His mentor couldn’t figure that out. So why would he?

Second, veteran leadership and mentoring is not part of the plan for these Bucs.

Bucs practice at Wembley Stadium in London today has been cancelled, reports the Mad Twitterer, aka Rick Stroud, Bucs beat writer for the St. Pete Times.

Associated Press reports that rain on the historic field at Wembley is the reason why.

The Bucs only practiced two days this week — Wednesday and Thursday — instead of the normal four. The Patriots actually practiced an additional day — Tuesday — and worked out on Friday in England shortly after arrival.

We’ll have a chance to talk with coach Raheem Morris and several players in a few hours. Chances are, they will conduct a walk-through in one of the large meeting rooms in the hotel.

But it’s fair to say they’re not as prepared as New England for Sunday’s game.

Did the Bucs not have a backup plan in place to run a decent practice just in case? Who planed this trip?

So the Bucs took off Friday to travel, and on Saturday they’re going to have room service and walk around a ballroom to prepare for the Patriots?

Joe suspects there’s a church soccer field or some other facility in London that would be pleased to take a few hundred bucks from the Bucs to host a decent practice. 

Good grief. And how is Michael Clayton supposed to catch balls when he can’t practice?

The Bucs have yet to see what rookie defensive end Kyle Moore can do on the field in the regular season, but the team has seen what he can do off the field.

Moore has embraced the opportunity to serve the community. He’s visited hospitals and done some other cool stuff, which he outlined in his blog.

I have been doing a lot of work in the community with Ryan Sims’ foundation. …It deals a lot with foster kids and underprivileged kids. We go over there and give them hints on hygiene and how to keep healthy. We talk about brushing their teeth, using mouthwash washing their hands regularly.

All of the kids received Buccaneers gifts once we were done, such as sweatshirts, t shirts, back packs, knapsacks calendars, and hats. The kids all had a good time and we had a blast.  

The Buccaneers Rookie Club, which is where all of the Bucs rookies go out into the community and help out in some way. We have gone to the Boys and Girls Club, have gone to Sea World with some underprivileged kids. All of the Bucs rookies are required to do this by the team, but we all enjoy it and look forward to it.

Joe was most impressed with the Bucs requiring rookies to serve in the community. The Glazers get high marks for that.

The Glazer Family is coming under intense scrutiny locally as the Bucs, seemingly just yesterday, were atop the NFL.

Now, they are at the bottom with no light at the end of the tunnel.

Meanwhile in England, soccer fans are even more irritated, worried that their beloved Manchester United, also owned by the Glazer Family, will shortly resemble their NFL brethren Bucs: dismal beyond words.

Yet the Glazers still hide in their bunker away from the peasants and littles, both the local press and the international press.

eye-RAH!  Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune details why there are frayed nerves both in England and in Florida.

But today’s game is also about the Bucs owners, who have yet to field questions regarding Manchester United since 2005, when Malcolm Glazer bought controlling interest in the world’s most popular sports franchise.

The 81-year-old Buc owners remains incapacitated after suffering two strokes in spring 2006. His sons, Joel, Bryan, Ed and Avram, have assumed a more active role in operating the family’s sports interests.

The Buccaneers entered the 2009 season with the most room in the 32-team NFL under the salary cap, the payroll ceiling governing how much each club can pay out in player compensation.

Look, it’s quite simple: doesn’t matter if you are a reporter from London or Manchester or from the Largo Leader. The Glazers have absolutely no use for reporters and the fourth estate (which is an indirect link to paying customers, i.e. fans) unless said fans have an open checkbook.

At one point it was obvious the Glazer Family was completely commited to winning. Sadly, one cannot make the same claim now with a straight face any longer.

Again Friday afternoon, former Bucs great linebacker Derrick Brooks co-hosted “The Red Zone” with Ross Tucker on Sirius NFL radio.

Brooks had some great nuggets, such as how he studied the Wildcat offense run by the Dolphins and came up with tendencies both Ronnie Brown and Rick Williams display when they are in that formation.

An interesting take Brooks had on the Bucs dealt with Gaines Adams. Some NFL prognosticators and pundits (Pat Kirwan for example) have been critical of the Bucs for giving up so quick on Adams, the fourth-overall selection in the 2007 draft.

Brooks, who played with Adams for two years, explained why the Bucs gave up on Adams.

“I think there is a lot left in Gaines Adams,” Brooks said. “The first thing you get is an athletic defensive end that can compliment Mark Anderson and Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye. I think he will help the Bears.

“Also, Gaines gets to go back to a defense that he was drafted to play in. He will be with Rod Marinelli and he runs a defense in which Adams had some success in rushing the passer as a rookie.

“Gaines, for whatever reason, can’t play in the defense the Bucs are running now. He didn’t deliver this year and, again, for whatever reason, [the Bucs] didn’t see him being successful in the system they now run.”

Now remember this is coming from Brooks. Derrick Brooks. A former teammate of Adams and arguably one of the smartest football players to ever snap on a chinstrap.

Throw in the mini-bombshell Kirwan talked about in his preview of the Patriots-Bucs game, well, Joe will let you do the math.

The Bucs are wretched. Not even Rachel Watson would dispute that.

A lot of the blame for the brutal Bucs is that, in short, management gets what it paid for (little). Bucs officials will point to the fact they have met the requirements of the salary cap, specifically the salary floor.

Not so fast my friend. No less an authority than the Wall Street Journal details just a few of the many tricks a savvy capologist can play to use all sorts of loopholes in the salary cap, brought to you by Reed Albergotti.

A person familiar with the finances of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers says that last season, the team signed two free-agents, running back Noah Herron and defensive end Patrick Chukwurah, for contracts that totalled $25 million. Under the rules of the salary cap, the Buccaneers were charged that full amount for the players. But to actually earn that money, each player had to, among other things, block six punts apiece—an exceedingly difficult prospect. In the end, neither player ended up taking a single snap. Mr. Herron was paid $157,000 and Mr. Chukwurah $71,000, although the team’s salary-cap number reflected the full value of their contracts. Tampa Bay, which ranked among the lowest teams in spending last season, has lost all six of its games. Tampa Bay and NFL officials declined to comment.

Hhhmmm? A “person familiar with the finances” of the Bucs? That wouldn’t happen to be Bruce Almighty by chance, would it?

Though he’s still feeling the effects of his assault at the hands of dirty backup cornerback Dante Wesley, Bucs return specialist Clifton Smith expects to make the trip to London. That’s the word from Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times, who is already in London.

The Bucs left Tampa International Airport earlier this morning for this weekend’s game in England.

It’s expected that all players will make the trip, including RB Clifton Smith, who is trying to get over a concussion he sustained last Sunday.

Good guy Backwards Hat, aka Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger, documented that Smith may not be fully over his brutal hit from cheapshot artist Wesley. 

“He said he suffered from some headaches in the days following the hit but is good to go now.

“It’s more of a precaution (keeping him out of practice),” Smith said. “The trainers are doing a good job of handling it. I’m going to go with whatever they say.”

Joe’s guess is that Smith won’t suit up for the Bucs, but the team didn’t want to leave Smith behind and miss a mini paid work/vacation trip overseas.

Last night, JoeBucsFan.com, drawing on its founders’ many years of reporting experience, tracked down David Duggan, the cab driver who was allegedly victimized by Aqib Talib.

More than six weeks after completing interviews with Bucs Torrie Cox and Angelo Crowell in the misdemeanor simple battery case against Talib, the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney filed charges against Talib late Thursday.

Talib is accused of striking Duggan in the head while the cabbie was driving and Talib was chilling out in the back seat with Cox. Crowell was in the front passenger seat.

The Tampa Tribune reported yesterday that the state contends there was no “rational justification for hitting the man,” and “there was no argument reported to us,” just an unprovoked belt by Talib to the head of an unsuspecting man.

Duggan has moved and changed his phone number since the incident. He said he’s happy the state is moving the case forward and he plans to sue Talib in civil court soon.

Duggan’s quotes below are believed to be Duggan’s only comments to the media since the hours following Talib’s arrest in August.

As a point of note, Duggan said he’s not a Bucs fan and doesn’t follow the NFL, and he doesn’t read JoeBucsFan.com.

“It’s about time,” Duggan said Thursday night.

“I feel good about everything. I’m looking forward to telling the judge what happened, that just all of a sudden this guy hit me in the back of the head while I’m driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour. It felt like a hammer.”

“This is the first time I’ve been a victim. The guy needs to pay, in [criminal] court and out of his pocket. You can’t go around hitting cab drivers.

“I only remember him hitting me once. I got like a concussion, fluid in one ear and blood in another. I’ve had headaches since then. …I’m unable to work. I’ve got injuries to my neck and I go to therapy twice a week.

“I gets me angry. You know, you give these young guys millions of dollars and they think they own the world. You can’t go around smashing people upside the head. They need to keep that play on the field. I don’t care what sport it is.

Duggan remains completely puzzled why Talib hit him. “He’s never apologized,” Duggan said. “I don’t know if the guy’s even sorry.

“I wasn’t talking in the cab and there was no radio on, just the dispatch radio. Nobody was really saying anything. And then I got hit in the back of the head. I thought I was getting robbed.

“I had no idea when I picked these guys up that they were Buccaneers. I don’t follow the team. If I did I never would have collected the $50 fare up front. I would have waited and hoped I got a $100 tip.

“Torrie Cox in the back seat, if he didn’t grab Talib he probably would have hit me again. I swerved, I’m just glad I wasn’t on the bridge [to Tampa]. Crowell sitting next to me put his arm up by my head like to protect me. And he yelled, ‘Hey man, what are you tyring to do, kill us?” Shit, Cox and Crowell didn’t want any part of Talib then, and then when the police got there.

“The guy needs to learn his lesson.”

Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz of CBSSports.com take a look at the Patriots-Bucs. Kirwan said he did some research working his sources as to why Josh Freeman hasn’t played yet. He found the answer. Hint: If you are a regular reader of Joe, you will have read why this week.

The dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, talked about the very same subject yesterday on his show.

Clark Judge of CBSSports.com has plenty to say about the Bucs, none of it good. He rakes Raheem the Dream over the coals, comparing him to dead man walking, Jim Zorn, (soon-to-be-fired) head coach of the Redskins.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Record: 0-6

The good: It was [89] and sunny in Tampa today.

The bad: In Raheem Morris, the Bucs promoted an assistant who increasingly looks as if he’s so far in over his head it might take a free diver to pull him to the surface. The team gutted the roster and started over, which is OK if you have a plan. I don’t get that sense with Morris, and neither do a lot of people.

How they got here: By firing Jon Gruden and taking a flyer on a 32-year-old secondary coach who never was a coordinator. Excuse me, but isn’t there another head coach with those qualifications who’s on the endangered list?

Why there’s hope: Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman. I don’t know how good he is, but the more he doesn’t play, the better he looks. At some point, he must get a sniff.

Long-term prognosis: It depends on Freeman. If he plays well, maybe they have a chance. If not, I give Morris maybe two more years before he goes back to being an assistant.

Joe has written it even before Freeman was drafted: Raheem the Dream will sink or swim with Freeman. If Freeman succeeds, so too will Raheem the Dream. If Freeman fails…

Running back Derrick Ward seems to be doing what classy athletes do when they’re throroughly unhappy with their role on a team and have nothing nice to say: Ward has stopped talking to the media, so reports Anwar Richardson, of the Tampa Tribune.

The Bucs heralded offseason free agent signing, fresh off a 1,000-yard season with the Giants, has done little — 135 yards on 33 carries. And he’s a backup, now that Raheem The Dream has decided to make Cadillac Williams a feature back.

“Derrick Ward is fighting his demons and he’ll be ready to come back and play,” Morris said. “I’m counting on Derrick Ward to go in there, and when it’s his turn, he’ll go. He should be a little quiet this week.

“You fumble your first snap when you go out there, you don’t get many opportunities to go out there and redeem yourself. You can’t wait for your next opportunity, and that’s what he’s waiting for, I hope.”

Joe’s troubled by the “I hope.” Where is that coming from, Rah? 

And when is Raheem The Dream going to realize that he doesn’t need to comment to the media about everything and everyone? There’s a time to say nothing or mix-in a glorified ‘no comment.”

Joe suspects there’s a major rift between Ward and Raheem The Dream. Take into consideration the quote above with Raheem The Dream’s comments about Ward just six weeks ago.

“You’re talking about a leader,” Raheem The Dream said of Ward. “ You’re talking about a guy that’s come from the bottom, that’s self-driven. You’re talking about a guy that’s absolutely spread that whole concept that the Giants had, the three running back system and spreading the ball around. …And being that same kind of core guy, and team guy. And he’s brought all those qualities to us. He’s just a dynamic person, and dynamic player.”

If Ward wants to wash his hands of the Bucs and try to force their hand to trade him, it’s another black mark on Mark Dominik and Raheem The Dream’s scorecard.

Jerramy Stevens wouldn't play for the Patriots

Joe’s been monitoring the English newspapers and can comfortably say there’s minimal hype for the Bucs-Patriots game in London.

Yes, the game is sold out and tickets were top-dollar, but this is World Cup (soccer) qualifying season. And nothing can compete with that in England.

The London Times has had two NFL stories this week (less than what they’ve had about the Los Angeles pro soccer team), including today’s feature of the Robert Kraft ownership style and, in part, how it compares to the Glazers’. Both bought their NFL teams within a year of each other.

Joe enjoyed the feature, especially when Kraft explained why Aqib Talib and Jerramy Stevens wouldn’t play for the Patriots.

“Throwing money at things doesn’t work,” Kraft said. “You have got to have an internal culture, build a trust. We do a lot of little things that make the difference. We took Richard Seymour and Ben Watson and then Tom Brady to Israel. We witnessed Richard and Ben being baptised in the River Jordan, we took Tom Brady to Bethlehem and it was great seeing them react to different cultures.

“There’s no one on our team that I wouldn’t have at my dinner table. I give autonomy but I told the coach, ‘The only rule is: no thugs and hoodlums. If we need that to win, then I’m getting out.’

“These people carry my name in the community. They pulled a fast one early on and drafted a player who beat up women and I cut him, to make the point.”

Joe wishes the Glazers operated more like Mr. Kraft.