[UPDATE: Dante Wesley was suspended by the NFL for one game for his assault on Clifton Smith.]

For Bucs fans who may have missed it, here’s the assult by Carolina’s Dante Wesley on defenseless Clifton Smith.

"Bill Belichick is licking his chops," Raheem The Dream said.

Some quality ridiculousness at Raheem The Dream’s Monday news conference.

After telling the media, “Bill Belichick is licking his chops,” Raheem The Dream went on to explain that one way he prepared to face the New England Patriots in London on Sunday is by consulting with the Glazers on how to deal with jet lag.

“We got some ownership that’s really familiar with going over there a lot and traveling over there and how you deal with jeg lag and all those things. So we took a lot of advice from our ownership and took a lot of advice from people that go over there often,” Raheem The Dream said.

Joe finds this bizarre. The Bucs are playing at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday, their usual time, and they have a daytime flight on Friday to England.

Why would there be jet lag issues?

It’s not like the game is in Tokyo, or Hawaii for that matter. London is five hours ahead. Keep your regular schedule and play the damn game.

As for what the Glazers could offer up for advice, Joe can only imagine. Last Joe checked none of them are professional athletes, unless you consider hiding from the media a sport.

Alex Loeb and Cris Cater recap the Panthers victory of the putrid Bucs.

The Bucs are miserable. No denying that.

So putrid are the Bucs that Joe can’t think about watching them without a few Caybrews, it’s that frightening.

So now the Bucs are in a race for the top overall draft pick in next spring’s draft with St. Louis and Tennessee. At worst, St. Louis and Tennessee will cancel each other out because they play against each other.

Look at the remaining schedules below and see if you can guess who will be the first team walking to the podium next spring when NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell opens the draft.

Bucs

Green Bay
at Miami
New Orleans
at Atlanta
at Carolina
New York Jets
at Seattle
at New Orleans
Atlanta

Rams

Indianapolis
at Detroit
New Orleans
Arizona
Seattle
at Chicago
at Tennessee
Houston
at Arizona
San Francisco

Titans

Jacksonville
at San Francisco
Buffalo
at Houston
Arizona
at Indianapolis
St. Louis
Miami
San Diego
at Seattle

Cheap shot artist Dante Wesley nearly incited a riot yesterday when he clobbered defenseless Clifton Smith on a kick return, knocking him out cold and out of the game.

Naturally, the dirtbag was thrown out of the game. He should be thrown out the NFL for a few weeks as a result.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports crucifies the dirtbag Wesley.

At best, it was reckless judgment. At worst, it was malicious. And predictably, the hit sparked a clearing of parts from both sidelines as players mixed it up. Meanwhile, Smith laid on the field for several minutes before being helped up and wobbling his way to the locker room. Wesley was ultimately ejected, and now he’ll face what should be a significant fine and suspension from the NFL.

Joe suspects Wesley is going to receive a nasty FedEx letter this week from Roger Goodell.

Charles Davis and Dick Stockton of Fox Sports discuss how the Panthers ran all over the Bucs.

Former Bucs DE Steve White

By STEVE WHITE
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Steve White spent every season of the Tony Dungy era playing defensive end for the Bucs. He’s spent countless hours in the film room with the likes of Warren Sapp, Rod Marinelli and more. Joe is humbled to now have White, also a published author and blogger, as part of the JoeBucsFan.com team. Below is White’s weekly Bull Rush column that breaks down all things defensive line. It’s simply a can’t-miss read for the hardcore Bucs fan.

I would imagine most Bucs fans awoke this morning wondering what the hell happened in the fourth quarter yesterday.

Surely, there will be no shortage of people who don’t really have a clue throwing out a bunch of reckless speculation about why our defense got pounded all the way down the field by the Carolina Panthers with the game on the line. They will talk about heart and talent and question the toughness of our players, usually with little to no grounding to back up their comments.

Well, what I am here to provide is insight on what actually happened, specifically where it pertains to our defensive line. And I can tell you unequivocally that it wasn’t about heart and it wasn’t about effort and it definitely wasn’t about toughness yesterday.

What it came down to was technique and execution, and that can’t all be attributed to the players.

You want a sacrificial lamb?

Ok, I will give you one. Ryan Sims did not play well yesterday. He was blown off the ball on double teams too many times, he didn’t give us a lot when he had one-on-one blocking versus play action pass, he got hooked (blocked inside) several times when lined up over the guard, and the one time he lined up head up on the center he got high which made us soft up the middle.

But here is the thing, Sims gave great effort all day yesterday from his first snap till his last. And the guy made several tackles with linemen hanging all over him. I criticize him not because he sucked, but because I know and have seen him play better. But if you want to see heart, watch him get knocked down and then jump up in a sprint running to the ball. You want to see toughness? Watch him get double teamed all day and keep coming back for more.

What this was really about was the fact that we were not gap sound in our defense. We have all of these guys two-gapping instead of penetrating in the backfield, which not only makes it relatively easy for a good back to bounce it outside on us, it also makes it relatively easy for them to cutback on any given play.

Then yesterday many times we had our defensive tackles slanting one way or another. But again these slants were lateral movements that generally made us softer, not stronger against the run. And last but certainly not least, if there is one thing that stood out on that embarrassing last drive its that we didn’t even seem to have a plan for that situation.

You want to know what kind of alignment we had in many of the short yardage situations yesterday? A frikkin’ 3-4 alignment up front.

Sometimes we had five defensive lineman, sometimes we had four plus a linebacker, but either way we had two guys on the guards and one guy head up on the center, inside. Who in the hell thinks we have the personnel for that?

In what world does that even make sense? Sims, Roy Miller and Chris Hovan are pretty good inside players but they are not built for a 3-4 defense or 3-4 alignments. They just aren’t. But time and again it’s how we lined up, including down by the goalline. And time and time again they made us pay.

Now everything wasn’t doom and gloom yesterday by any means.

Greg (Stylez) White got his first sack of the year and showed a lot of hustle to get a hit on Jake Delhomme on another play by crawling to him. Jimmy Wilkerson was strong against the Panthers two tight end sets and made some excellent plays versus the run. Sims, Hovan, and Miller all made some good things happen in the run game, and Tim Crowder gave us some quality reps as well including playing a lot on short yardage plays for White.

But the end result is still the same, we got our ass handed to us on a silver platter. I hope having read this post that you have a better idea why.

Joe always enjoys reading Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports dating back to his Sports Illustrated days. Despite the fact he’s a Maoist, Silver’s a good guy and a damned fine football writer.

This morning, Silver does a Phil Mushnick: He takes only one paragraph to torch the Bucs, albeit a very long paragraph.

Silver claims the Bucs problems are both mishandling from atop by the Glazer family, and piss poor coaching.

Two years ago, I flew to London to watch the Dolphins fall to 0-8 (en route to a 1-15 season) and apologized to the good people of England for having to witness such a jolly bad show. This year? Apologies in advance. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6) should be similarly atrocious when they face the Patriots at Wembley Stadium next Sunday, a matchup that has the potential to be as brutally lopsided as Austin Powers’ teeth. It might be cathartic for those Man U fans who are still mad at the Glazer family for daring to own a cherished British club – and, truth be told, the Bucs’ owners deserve to be booed for the way they’ve let their American football franchise deteriorate. With twice the cap room of any NFL team, Tampa Bay predictably has struggled against more talented foes and didn’t give rookie coach Raheem Morris much of a fighting chance. That said, the Bucs have been outscored 47-7 in the third quarter this season, the lone points coming in Sunday’s 28-21 defeat to the Panthers on Sammie Stroughter’s 97-yard kickoff return. Two words: bad coaching.

Joe is not as down on Raheem the Dream as some people are. His coordinators? Now those are the guys that are giving Joe irritable bowel syndrome. The fact that the Bucs have been outscored in the third quarter 47-7 — 47-7!!! — tells Joe one guy on the Bucs sideline is getting absolutely schooled by opposing coaches.

Like many, including Joe, Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times is frustrated.

The longtime columnist has seen enough. He claims it’s time to place a call to the bullpen and call in quarterback Josh Freeman.

For months now, the Bucs have been patient, and bully for them for it. For months, they have repeated a thousand times that they would not force Freeman to play before he was ready.

After all, he is the franchise.

After all, he is the future.

At 0-6, and after another Sunday of being battered at the ball yard, isn’t it finally time to get that future started? If Freeman really is the Next Big Deal around here, isn’t it time the Bucs gave us a glimpse? Goodness knows, there is nothing left of today.

Joe has stated time and again there is no reason to bring in Freeman, especially against Bill Belicheat and the Patriots. None. A lot more can go wrong than can go right. And who in their right mind actually thinks Freeman can magically turn around this season? He won’t.

For those who believe it’s absolutely necessary to bring in Freeman, Joe has two words: David Carr.

If it was up to Joe, Freeman wouldn’t see an opposing defense (except on TV or from the sidelines) until next year. The fact Freeman has yet to take a snap in a regular season game is one of the few things this team has gotten right this year.

When Clifton Smith got knocked cold on a vicious, dirty play by headhunter Dante Wesley, it was all Sabby Piscitelli could do to not go after Wesley.

Fortunately Piscitelli kept his cool. In fact, Piscitelli likely kept Aqib Talib from getting thrown out of the game.

In the melee that ensued after the cheap shot, Talib was punched in the head by an unnamed Panthers player and Talib freaked. Piscitelli physically grabbed Talib and, thus, saved him from taking an early shower, reports Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Piscitelli did grab teammate Aqib Talib after a Carolina player punched him in the head in the ensuing skirmish. He saved Talib from a possible ejection and fine.

”I just saw him going crazy,” Piscitelli said. “At times like that you have to act professional. It’s hard when you see one of your soldiers, one of your players like that. You have to keep your composure.”

Joe couldn’t believe that a full-scale riot didn’t break out. If there was ever a time Joe could understand Talib wielding his helmet, that was the time.

Much was made yesterday of the report Sunday morning that Bucs general manager Mark Dominik did not give Raheem the Dream a vote of confidence. This report was later shot down when Dominik spoke to NBC’s Peter King saying Raheem the Dream is safe.

Joe spoke with a number of sources last night who informed Joe that Raheem the Dream’s job security, or lack thereof, is not up to Dominik. Rather, Bryan and Joel will determine Raheem the Dream’s fate in this nightmarish season.

Then there’s the fact Joe irresponsibly overlooked yesterday that Joe has been harping on for months:

So long as Chucky’s salary is still on the Bucs books, Raheem the Dream is safe. There’s no way Bryan and Joel will pay for three head coaches, two of which (Chucky and Raheem the Dream) would be walking the streets.

Until Chucky has another coaching gig, it’s asinine to talk about unloading Raheem the Dream.

Antonio Bryant’s name was barely mentioned yesterday and the losing and lack of opportunities are starting to get to him.

Though he’s been the healthiest all season, Bryant got few balls thrown to him and he’s upset, so notes Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times.

The frustration is clearly starting to set in after a game in which he had a limited number of touches. After two catches on Sunday, Bryant made reference to limited opportunities and was asked whether he deserved more.

“You tell me,” he said. “This is probably the best I’ve felt all this year. I’ve had a lot of great results on this (injured) knee.

“All I can do is. . . control what I can control. That’s going out there, running the routes, trying to get open and being where I’m supposed to be so it shows up on film, the right people see it and something gets done about it.”

Who exactly are the right people? Bill Belicheat? Danny Snyder? Oh, that’s right, tamperer Tuna.

Last week a commenter claimed he heard Chip Carter of WTVT-TV claim that Michael Clayton was so distraught after the loss to the Eagles that he asked Mark Dominik to be traded.

Apparently, that was a bunch of bull. Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune asked Dominik about that and Dominik flatly denied such a conversation ever took place.

Dominik might make more moves, but diffused rumors suggesting wide receiver Michael Clayton asked to be traded earlier this week.

“I have no knowledge of that,” he said.

Make that the second piece of manufactured Bucs news that Carter tried to pass off as a scoop in less than a week.

No wonder he hides his e-mail address much less stories from the station’s website.

Joe’s a big fan of Josh Johnson. The kid shouldn’t be judged on just a handful of starts, especially after getting so few preseason and practice reps over the past two seasons, but that’s the cruel world of the NFL.  

The reality is Johnson took a step back against Carolina, with too many poor decisions, a bizarre fumble — a very Luke McCown-like fumble — and just seven points from his offense. 

Johnson’s got one game left to keep his season alive and add to his quarterback stock.

If somehow he can turn in a monster game and a victory against New England in London next Sunday, Johnson will probably remain the Bucs starter. But that’s a massive long shot, given the state of both teams.

Barring a miracle, Joe is convinced the Bucs will turn to Josh Freeman during the bye week unless the rookie has some serious unreported issues. Or if he doesn’t feel like playing, since it’s clear Raheem The Dream doesn’t want to upset his bride.

So Johnson’s got his bed made. One game left to prove himself and possibly save his starting job and/or show the world he’s worth another look as a starter in the NFL.

As McCown has learned, you don’t get too many shots, and judgment isn’t always fair.

Joe’s rooting for Johnson.

Some lowlights of the Bucs loss to the Panthers courtesy of NFL Network:

First, the Total Access crowd discusses the Bucs loss. Next are the lowlights replete with Gene Deckerhoff.

Now for some happy things: David Joseph blocks a field goal, the Bucs pick up a fumble, Sammie Stroughter returns a kickoff 97 yards for a score, and Tanard Jackson’s pick-six.

Also there are a few Josh Johnson highlights and Cadillac Williams’ 20-yard touchdown.

It’s bad enough that the Bucs are struggling on the field. So this little tidbit is depressing Joe.

Seems as if Bucs general manager Mark Domink and director of pro player personnel Doug Williams don’t always see eye-to-eye. That’s the news that Michael Lombardi of the NationalFootballPost.com reports.

I’m hearing from my NFL sources that the Bucs’ front office is a house divided, which usually happens when a team takes the committee approach. Mark Dominik, the current general manager, and Doug Williams, the pro personnel director, don’t always agree on things, and there seems to be some dysfunction going on inside the organization.

Maybe Joe is reading this nugget through rose-colored glasses because he likes both men. But Joe thinks that it may actually be healthy if there is some disagreement among front office types. Otherwise, you have a bunch of yes men.

If underlings just nod their heads and smile at what the boss thinks, you have the Oakland Raiders.

Wait a minute. The Raiders have a better record than the Bucs.

[UPDATE: Joe has learned through a trusted source that Mark Dominik told NBC’s Peter King that Raheem the Dream isn’t going anywhere. Joe is sure, unlike WTVT-TV, that NBC is not afraid of uploading video and will have said piece uploaded in the next few hours.]

The local MSM sometimes confuses Joe to no ends. For example:

1) One local MSM outfit owns both a popular Web site and a TV station. Joe really enjoys this site in question, but it seems  the head honchos at said place are allergic to showing any video on its site. It could destroy all competitors by liberally using its video on its site, yet if lucky, said site might — might! — have one Bucs video a week.

2) Another local MSM organization seems to have scoops from time to time on the Bucs, so Joe learns from e-mails and comments on this very site. One would think if said TV station had a scoop, it would want to splash this story all over its site and in the process rake in tens of thousands of pageviews (which, in turn, rakes in ad dollars).

But said TV station hides their scoops, which would be like, in the old days, a newspaper having a scoop but burying the story amid the obituaries.

The way some MSM outfits run their operations, they will have their own obituaries written if they don’t start embracing this newfangled Internet thing.

The latter example is specifically about WTVT-TV in Tampa. Joe received an e-mail from his good friend Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620 this evening. Seems Justin was watching some pregame show of a  pregame show on WTVT where Mark Dominik was asked if Raheem the Dream will return next season.

Joe will let Justin explain Dominik’s response from his e-mail to Joe:

Also, Chip Carter interviewed Dominik this morning and asked him if Raheem would be given a chance to remain coach next year. Dominik responded with, “we will evaluate him at the end of the season.” He could’ve easily said “yes, we fully expect him to”, but he didn’t. I found that extremely interesting.

Joe finds this more than a little interesting as well. So Joe quickly went to WTVT’s site, thinking surely they would have this splashed all over the place. This is huge news. Dominik did not give Raheem the Dream a vote of confidence.

So Joe logged on to the site… nothing. Not a word about it. Nowhere.

So Joe then went to e-mail Carter, hoping to confirm this information. Nowhere on the site was there an e-mail address to be found for Carter, but Joe did learn Carter likes dogs and hiking.

So Joe decided to message Carter’s comrade at WTVT, Kevin O’Donnell via his Facebook account. Joe’s not holding his breath. Last time he messaged O’Donnell to confirm/deny a story, O’Donnell got back to Joe roughly 10 days later.

And people actually wonder why the MSM is losing money?

Joe would love to confirm Justin’s information. Joe trusts Justin, but Joe is also a journalist. He would love to confirm this.

So if anyone knows how to get a hold of Carter, or if any readers also saw this piece this morning, please e-mail Joe or leave your comments below. Joe knows how to get in touch with you (he can read your e-mail address).

Joe suspect the Glazers love the value their getting from these two low-budget youngsters: Sammie Stroughter and Josh Johnson.

As loyal JoeBucsFan.com readers know, Joe regularly takes time out to think like a Glazer.

No doubt the Glazers are  now preparing to avoid the British media like they would syphillis-plagued whores on Nebraska Avenue, or, more simply stated, as they avoid the local Tampa Bay media. The hardball British MSM will be roasting the Glazer Boys all week, as the Bucs try to avoid a beating from the Patriots in England.

The only thing that will soften the British media blow to Team Glazer is the fact that Manchester United sits comfortably in first place gunning for their third consecutive premier league crown.

Great owners, those Glazers!

Today, Joe’s thinking that the Glazers’ ongoing scorecard for Mark Dominik has higher marks this week.

Yes, the Bucs lost to Carolina. But Dominik has scored major points for Sammie Stroughter’s big time performance on Sunday — a kickoff return for a touchdown and three catches for 65 yards. Heck, Stroughter’s got more catches and touchdowns this season than Michael Clayton. Damn good for a seventh round pick.

The Glazer Boys like value, and the rookie Stroughter is top shelf in that department.

Between stealing a second round pick for Gaines Adams and Stroughter’s breakthrough game, Dominik might have earned himself a bigger Thanksgiving turkey from the Glazers.

And if Dominik keeps this up, he might be back next year, — if one thinks like a Glazer.

Despite today’s latest debacle being declared a sellout, anyone at the game today or watching on TV without a white cane could see more holes in the crowd than a Jim Bates defense.

In short, nearly a third of the stadium was empty, so writes Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times.

The Tampa Sports Authority, which manages the stadium, tells us the actual attendance today was 42,847, a shockingly low number even for a winless team. On Thursday night, the University of South Florida drew an actual crowd of 55,073 for its loss to then-No. 8 Cincinnati.

The team avoided a television blackout when it announced on Wednesday that all tickets would be sold. But it has long been speculated the team was making arrangements to account for unsold tickets whether with the local television affiliates or companies that intend to buy advertising during the broadcast. The team has taken a no-comment stance on matters related to ticket sales and refuses to disclose how many season tickets it has sold for 2009.

There is something very fishy going on and Joe really wonders what the suits in the NFL office think about this.

Meanwhile, Joe doesn’t really care how the Bucs sold the game out, so long as it wasn’t blacked out.