Joe’s really not sure what goes on inside the head of Raheem The Dream. Come gameday, he’s totally unpredictable.

Trailing 7-0 on the Eagles’ 26 yard line, the Bucs had a 4th-and-2 following an Antonio Bryant drop. So rather than attempt the 43 yard field goal to put points on the board for his struggling offense, Raheem The Dream opted to go for the first down.

Then Michael Clayton, right on cue, promptly dropped the short pass for a first down.

Aside from the odds of making it on 4th-and-2 being very poor in the NFL, Joe suspects those odds are significantly worse on the road, significantly worse with an inexperienced quarterback, and even worse when Michael Clayton is on the field.

Knowing this, Raheem The Dream should have gone for the field goal. The Bucs would have had better odds for some points and at least  gotten the first-kick jitters out of the way for new kicker Shane Andrus.

On the heels choosing to kick a field goal on fourth and goal late in the game last week in Washington, Raheem The Dream is failing Fourth Down 101.

Eagles 33, Bucs 14

Make sure to stay tuned to JoeBucsFan throughout the afternoon and evening for tons of updates, including a new feature which Joe is confident all Bucs fans will enjoy.

* Even though Joe is happy to see the Eagles’ option play fail, memo to NFL coaches: the option doesn’t work in the pros.

* Nice run by Cadillac. Maybe he is wearing down the defense? Too bad the Bucs are down by 24 in the fourth.

* What’s that tell you that when your quarterback is the leading rusher on an NFL team?

* Winslow clearly has had his best game as a Bucs receiver.

* Another nice play by Winslow, maybe setting up a score.

* Finally a gadget play! But is the onside kick too late?

* So much for the onside kick.

* Officially garbage time now that Vick is playing quarterback.

* Didn’t hear much about Geno Hayes until the game is way out of hand.

*If this was “Cadillac Williams Day,” Joe will hate to see when the Bucs don’t expect anything from him.

^ A safety. How fitting? Sean Mahan with some quality blocking on that play.

* For some reason, this blowout doesn’t feel near as bad as the Giants debacle.

* Sabby almost gets the interception on the volleyball tip. Bucs will need a few more breaks like that to get back in the game.

* Jimmy Wilkerson came to play. A sack and a batted down pass. Would have been a first down had Wilkerson got his mitts on the ball.

* Joe likes that call of a screen pass to Caddy. Nice play, nice call.

* But Joe didn’t like that pass call to Winslow. Why throw to a guy who is five yards behind the first down marker unless he is wide open?

* Wilkerson with another big time play on a near interception/tipped pass.

* Bucs offense is grinding to a halt in the third quarter.

* Johnson nearly had a pick-six but Clayton didn’t help out his quarterback much by not coming back to the pass.

* You could almost smell that interception coming. The Eagles has really been turning the wheels on the vice on that possession. Eagles are about to seal the win.

* Westbrook vs. Ruud = mismatch and not at all in the Bucs favor.

* The rout is on. And currently and more importantly in some circles, the Eagles are covering the spread.

* Four-yard game but not sure if pounding the rock is worth it at this point.

* Joe likes the pass interference call but that was very iffy if Winslow could have caught that.

* Johnson seems so much more relaxed and in control than last week.

* Nice wheels by Johnson but it’s wasted because someone that their head up their ass and a didn’t know how to make a shift.

* Michael Clayton with a nice catch. Quick, someone document this moment. Add a roughing the passer penalty and the Bucs are in the red zone.

* Eagles defense locking down the Bucs in the red zone.

* While Johnson is looking better than last week, three picks are still three picks and inexcusable.

* This game is quickly spiraling out of control.

* Jimmy Wilkerson is having the game of his life. Too bad it’s wasted.

* What the hell was Johnson throwing to Caddy behind the line with a defender draped all over him? If no one else is open, throw the ball at his feet instead of completing a pass for a loss.

* Hey Josh, ever hear of throwing the ball away?

* Bucs get a gift with the Philly personal foul. That’s one way to get a first down.

* Geez. A four-yard run is the longest of the game so far for the Bucs. Not good.

* What the hell is going on with the Bucs? Now Bryant drops an easy first down trying to run before had the ball. Terrible.

* At least Kellen Winslow can catch the ball, and props to Winslow for turning up field rather than going out of bounds like he did earlier this season.

* Great, great  job by Johnson to avoid the sack to complete the pass to John Gilmore. This is the best drive so far this game.

* Ward stuff. Joe’s not so sure the Bucs should stick with the pass.

* Well, that’s one way to get a rushing first down: Johnson runs.

* So Greg Olson watched Georgia Tech last night? Doesn’t mean an option will work in the NFL.

* OMG Michael Clayton catches a ball. (Bronx cheer from Joe).

* Another gift from the Eagles. Bucs nearly in field goal range but who knows if the Bucs can try one from… who is kicking for the Bucs again?

* King of Turds with a strong one-yard catch (please note sarcasm).

* Joe is starting to be impressed with Josh Johnson. Nice rifle passes when needed.

* About time the Bucs run for a nice gain. Could Moore be right and Caddy is just warming up?

* Moore likes the call going for it on fourth-and-one. Joe agrees. Why not? What do the Bucs have to lose? It also tells Joe that Raheem the Dream is not confident with whoever is kicking for him this week. Some Colts castoff.

* You have to be (spitting) me??? A fumble and a Eagles defensive touchdown, scoop and score??? If this play is not overturned, the game is over. Seriously.

* Joe would pay to see Dennis Leary run over by a Ford F-150, or any Ford truck for that matter.

* Bucs dodge a major bullet on that Eagles scoop and score.

* Roy Miller with the batted down pass. Nice job rook.

* Wonder how if feels to be a hurdle Ronde Barber? Will Allen got schooled badly on that play.

* Eagles receivers are simply superior to the Bucs.

* Donovan McNabb does not appear to be a guy who has missed a few games. He looks damn sharp.

* Um, David Akers, it helps if you put your toe into the ball, you know?

* Despite having a goose egg on the scoreboard, Joe likes how Johnson has moved the ball. Not his fault there are so many drops.

* Could the Bucs actually be softening up the Philly defense with the run?

* NICE  catch by Winslow on a pass that was thrown a little too high by Johnson. Field goal range (at least) provided they don’t fumble.

* Another good catch by Bryant. Good job of Johnson to pick up the blitz and fire a rocket to Bryant.

* Bucs are back in the game. Great job of Winslow to fight for that pass.

* Doesn’t look like Winslow had two feet down. Joe will be surprised if this is not overturned.

* Joe is pleasantly surprised. Nice job by Johnson on that drive.

* Why give the Eagles a short field to get points before halftime?

* Geez. That didn’t take long, Eagles get the touchdown back and with some time possibly for the Bucs to get a field goal.

* Will Allen is rather toasty today.

* Naturally, the Bucs have a nice runback on the kickoff and there’s a holding penalty. Figures.

* Though Winslow was out of bounds, Joe believes Winslow is becoming Johnson’s favorite target.

* A rare sack given up by Donald Penn. Hey, the guy is human.  Joe doesn’t agree with Dave Moore who said Johnson stepping up in the pocket created that sack. Um, Dave, that’s what a quarterback is supposed to do: step up in the pocket. Let’s be honest, Penn just got burned badly. It happens.

* Wonderful gutsy run by Ward for a massive gain. If Scot Brantley were still on the Bucs radio network, Joe could just hear him talking about Ward’s “want-to.”

* Bucs are lucky there wasn’t an interception throwing into double coverage..Samme Stroughter was wide open for a score but Johnson didn’t see him.

* Donald Penn is the secret weapon. Even knew how to switch hands with the ball after catching the deflected pass. Joe was impressed.

* On the intercepton to end the half, Stroughter got absolutely lit up.

* Master of the obvious: Raheem the Dream, as he was leaving the field at halftime, said, “Our secondary has to play better.” Ya think?

* Not bad vision (or blocking) on the near-miss bomb by Josh Johnson to Michael Clayton.

* Third down and long to a rookie quarterback is lethal, especially against the Eagles.

* On the offsides call against the Eagles, Joe was waiting for Jeremy Trueblood’s name to be called.

* What’s with an option? Since when did the Bucs think they are Georgia Tech? There’s a reason why NFL teams don’t run an option.

* Well, that didn’t take long, did it? Two plays. Touchdown Eagles. Wonder if Elbert Mack is going to be picked on today? Joe fears this will be a long afternoon. Good thing he has plenty of Caybrews.

* Nice throw to Antonio Bryant by Johnson. Not an easy throw, not an easy catch.

* Johnson seems much more relaxed today than last week.

* Dave Moore on the Bucs radio network is talking about how the Eagles love to blitz on first down so he expects the Bucs to do a lot of throwing on first down. If the Bucs don’t get the running game going, every down will be a passing down.

* Bryant needs to make that catch but Joe was very impressed with how Johnson hung in the pocket just before he was going to get drilled. Last week Johnson would have taken off running, maybe getting a two-yard gain. Maybe.

* The Bucs radio network just lost their feed from Philadelphia and host Scott Ledger has been pressed into play-by-play duties via the Clear Channel Tampa studios.

* Very nice play by Barrett Ruud to stop McNabb from getting a first down. Ruud stayed home and didn’t take the bait from McNabb’s juke moves. Nice job forcing a punt.

* All right. Nice field position.

* Great job on the rollout when he was flushed that Johnson kept his eyes downfield and found Bryant to a good gain.

* Running game isn’t getting the job done today.

* At least Derrick Ward was able to get some positive yardage.

* Fourth-and-two going for it. Why not?

* Michael Clayton drops a first down. Again! What’s the matter Michael, is Chucky stalking you from BSPN so that you can’t catch? That is one of the most gutless excuses Joe has ever heard, that Chucky make Clayton drop passes. Joe will say AGAIN: It doesn’t matter if a wide receiver blocks better than Dan Dierdorf in his prime, if a *receiver* cannot catch the ball, what good is he?

* Crowder with a great job of tackling Westbrook at the line.

* First down Philadelphia and Joe is directly quoting Gene Deckerhoff: Their guys catch it. Our guys don’t. Take THAT Clayton!

* ENOUGH: Michael Vick in a shotgun formation is NOT a Wildcat offense!!! Will NFL producers actually do a modicum of research to learn what a Wildcat offense is?

* Great pursuit on the attempted screen pass to the right by the Bucs defense.

* DeSean Jackson push off. Hee, hee.

* Not sure if Aqib Talib was roasted on the third down play but that was one helluva play for him to get a hand on the ball to break up the pass.

* Near block on the punt by the Bucs. Now can Michael Clayton freaking CATCH THE DAMN BALL on this drive???

* Joe is sick of this radio commercial for some truck company he hears constantly on the Bucs broadcasts. As soon as Joe hears it, he turns the channel temporarily. And by the way, who the hell is “Mike” and why should Joe care about what the hell he does?

* Deckerhoff — for his standards — is hammering Clayton. “We had a first down but it was dropped.” That’s the second reference he’s made to Clayton’s drops. When Deckerhoff is ripping you, that’s bad.

* The way Sammie Stroughter catches the ball, why should Clayton even be on the field?

* Dave Moore thinks Cadillac will wear down the Eagles defense. it would be nice if he could get some decent yardage.

* Not a good way to end the quarter: penalty and a sack.

In speaking on the Bucs radio network during today’s pregame show, Bucs general manager Mark Dominik explained how the Bucs sift through the free agent list to find a kicker.

In short, they hear the clock ticking.

“We put them on the clock,” Dominik said. “From the snap to the kick, we want them to kick it in 1.40 seconds. If they can do it in 1.30 that’s great. If they are not [hitting 1.40] they are taking too much time and we have to yell at them.”

Dominik also said when the Bucs work out kickers, he likes for there to be several on hand to amp up the pressure.

As for the Bucs ditching the 2-2-1 running back rotation, Dominik said the play of Cadillac Williams dictated that.

“We feel pretty confident because Cadillac has done such a good job,” Dominik said. “He has the hot hand. We will still see Derrick Ward, but this will be Cadillac Williams Day. He’s been close to breaking the big one.”

Bucs center Jeff Faine is still unable to start and is inactive for today’s game at Philadelphia.

Also, if the Bucs are to win, they will also have to do so without the services of running back Earnest Graham who is also inactive.

Others not playing for the Bucs today are quarterback Byron Leftwich, safety Corey Lynch, defensive tackle Dre Moore, defensive end Kyle Moore and offensive lineman Marc Dile.

Week 5
Bucs at Eagles
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV:WTVT Ch. 13, DirecTV 710
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 158.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, not bad football weather for mid-October. Temperature at kickoff will be in the mid-60s under sunny skies. Temperature is expected to remain steady throughout the game. Winds expected to be right around 10 mph.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Philadelphia -15.5.
Outlook: As expected from the oddsmakers, this game could get downright ugly for Bucs fans. The Eagles have one of the highest averages for first down plays on offense; the Bucs one of the worst. The Eagles defense is strong; the Bucs offense putrid. One of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb is returning from an injury; Bucs quarterback Josh Johnson makes his second NFL start. Nearly everywhere Joe looks, he sees mismatch and it’s not in the Bucs favor. Maybe, just maybe, the return of starting safety Tanard Jackson might slow the bloodletting, but the jury is still out on that. About the best the Bucs can hope for is that no one gets hurt.
Fun facts:In the last 20 games the Bucs have not turned the ball over, they are 18-2. … Eagles fans seem to respect Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber, if not begrudgingly. Joe wonders why? Oh, that’s right. The Bucs have some interesting history in Philadelphia.

Raheem The Dream often praises Cadillac Williams for running angry and playing angry.

Now it seems Williams is just plain angry at teammates he believes are slacking. In Joe’s mind, and Joe has played on a lot of teams in many sports, this is a very bad sign for the Bucs.  

Williams called out guys on the offense who he believes aren’t buying into doing their jobs, he told The Tampa Tribune.

“The chemistry on this team (is the problem),” Williams said. “Our offense, we’re not playing as one. Until everybody gets on one page, until everybody buys into doing their job, that’s when you are going to see things explode.

“Right now, we still have something missing here and there, not to point any fingers. Until everybody gets on one page, we’re going to continue to struggle.”

So who is Caddy referring to? Is he hearing the offensive line moaning about the zone blocking system? Is Michael Clayton complaining again? Is there bitching about Greg Olson’s play calling and installing new plays every week?

Joe hates to write this. But throw these comments alongside Davin Joseph calling out Sean Mahan and it’s getting ugly inside the bowels of One Buc Place. If wins don’t come soon, Joe believes the wheels might just fall off the Raheem The Dream regime come the bye week.

Joe was a bit surprised to read these quotes from Davin Joseph.

Yes, center Jeff Faine is a valuable player, but Joseph all but says Sean Mahan is problem No. 1 in the offense during a chat with Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune.

“If you look at that (Dallas) game, we had our starting center in there,” guard Davin Joseph said. “Not an excuse, but we need to be able to mesh better. We need to be able to work better. We need to have communication.

“When you take the brains out of anything, Jeff being the brain of our offensive line, it’s going to take us a while to get used to the new brain. We need to be able to mesh together and work with (Mahan) and be able to complement each other a lot better than we have been.”

Joseph might has well just have called Mahan worthless, despite Mahan being a veteran who was with the team through most of the preseason and was part of this O-line last year.

It sounds to Joe like there are already some fingers pointing at One Buc Place.

As one would expect, the good people of NFL Network have a variety of Bucs-Eagles videos.

As one would expect, Joe brings them to you.

First up is “The Playbook Crew,” better known as Sterline Sharpe, Joe Theismann and knothead Brian Baldinger talk about how DeSean Jackson should light up the Bucs.

NFL Films then has its preview of the game which as always is quality work.

AccuWeather.com has its video weather report for the game.

Lastly, Raheem the Dream talks about the return of Tanard Jackson.

Gil Brandt of NFL.com believes if Aqib Talib can somehow contain DeSean Jackson, the Bucs may have a prayer.

Former Dallas Cowboys executive and current columnist for NFL.com and host on Sirius NFL Radio, Gil Brandt, believes the Bucs-Eagles game could turn depending on who win the battle between Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib and Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

Talib is coming off a big game against Washington in which he had three interceptions. He limited Santana Moss to two catches. Talib was the highest pick Tampa has ever used on a cornerback (20th overall in ’08). He has good height and is hard to throw over. He has very good ball skills, but he lacks cat-like quickness and that could hurt him in this matchup.

Jackson is on fire — he has 12 catches for 259 yards (21.6-yard average) and two TDs in three games. He also averages 22 yards on punt returns. He runs the 40 in 4.39 seconds and has great explosion, and even greater quickness. He makes some outstanding catches and has excellent vision on punt returns. He might be the most exciting player in the NFL.

Joe doesn’t know if the Bucs can hang with the Eagles. But if Talib can get the job done and with a few turnovers from a rusty Donovan McNabb, who knows?

Injured center Jeff Faine says he would have practiced this week and would play tomorrow if the Bucs’ medical staff would let him.

It’s a battle to play he plans to fight harder next week, Faine said on 1010 AM on Friday. Saddled with a torn tricep suffered Week 1 against the Cowboys, Faine said he’s at 80 percent strength.

“They’re trying to push me back as far as they can,” he said. But at center “I use the tricep every single play.”

Joe would love to see Faine back, but there’s no sense in rushing him. Might as well bring him back after the bye week.

Pat Yasinskas, aka Vacation Man of BSPN, takes his weekly look at the NFC South. In this video, he gives his two cents on the Josh Johnson experiment.

One reason Joe was in pain that the Bucs drafted Josh Freeman in the first round of last spring’s draft was Joe thought it was a reach. Seeing the early success of quarterbacks taken just before Freeman, Matt Stafford of Detroit and Mark Sanchez with the New York Jets, bears Joe out.

Stafford and Sanchez played at a higher level in college against much stronger competition. Freeman did not excel in a conference with garbage defenses.

But Freeman’s readiness may not solely be the reason the Bucs haven’t had Freeman take a snap yet. The Bucs may just be too horrible for Freeman to start. That’s the premise of Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune, writing for NBCSports.

But just because Stafford and Sanchez have handled it doesn’t mean every quarterback can. The Bucs have taken it very slowly with their first round quarterback Josh Freeman. After benching opening day starter Byron Leftwich, they went with Josh Johnson ahead of Freeman.

The Bucs probably don’t have the kind of infrastructure in place to develop an inexperienced quarterback. The Jets definitely do, given their defense and running game. They are set up a lot like the Ravens were in 2008, when they developed Flacco.

Joe wouldn’t be opposed at all if Freeman didn’t take a snap until next year. What’s the rush? It isn’t like Freeman is going to magicially save the season.

Joe was surfing YouTube.com for something interesting and he found it: This video, neatly produced, has some no-name Eaglefan talking about the Bucs-Eagles game.

Joe fully expected Eaglefan to be dropping F-bomb after F-bomb. He didn’t. In fact, it was well-researched and the guy was almost sympathetic to the Bucs. He was actually more complimentary than a lot of Bucs fans.

Eaglefan, however, is no fan of Raheem Morris.

Given the Bucs sad third down efficiency — especially against the woeful Redskins last week — it would stand to reason the Eagles aren’t exactly sweating bullets.

But Paul Domowitch of the Philly Daily News believes the Eagles should be worried. In his “What We’re Watching” column, he lists five keys to the game and he listed the No. 1 key to be Josh Johnson’s legs.

1. Tampa Bay’s elusive QB: The Bucs have benched Byron Leftwich and gone to second-year man Josh Johnson, who is short on experience but long on escapability. He runs a sub-4.5 40-yard dash and can do some damage with his legs if the Eagles don’t maintain their rush lanes and keep him in the pocket.

Though Domowtich has a point, it’s not like the Bucs are going to come out in a wishbone offense. If Greg Olson knows what he’s doing, he should use Johnson on a number of quarterback draws and rollouts.

In case you haven’t noticed, the Bolts are well into the regular season and last night lost a heartbreaker of a game against the Devils.

Bolts games have the necessary ingredients for entertainment in Joe’s eyes: violence, alcohol and women. In fact, Raheem the Dream is likely a Bolts fan. He likes violence.

If you like Joe’s takes on the Bucs, you’ll love Joe’s takes on the Bolts at JoeBoltsFan.com.

Besides, how could you not visit and in the process disappoint Lou the Lightning dog and the official pooch of JoeBoltsFan?

If Bucs fans are looking for some legitimate hope for a victory in Philadelphia on Sunday, there is one place to start.

Just don’t start with Eagles head coach Andy Reid’s record after his team has a bye week. That record would be 10-0. Ugh.

Look at the Eagles starting middle linebacker on Sunday, Jeremiah Trotter. Yes, that’s the same guy who played a handful of snaps for the Bucs in 2007, and then was out of football before joining the Eagles two weeks ago.

Sunday will be Trotter’s first start in years, after a four-time Pro Bowl career with the Eagles seemed to be ruined by knee injuries and led to him being cut after the 2006 season. 

Those knee injuries were still a problem only weeks ago, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, but he signed with the Eagles regardless.

In Joe’s mind, Trotter, 32, has got to be a major weakness in the Eagles’ defense. Greg Olson has got to find ways to exploit it.

Boy, Joe’s got a treat for Bucs fans. Some 30 years ago, the Bucs were in their first playoff game, hosting Philthydelphia. Brent Musberger, Jayne Kennedy, Irv Cross and Jimmy the Greek were on hand.

Let’s just say any time someone drops the name of Gifford Nielson, it’s a quality reference. Please bear with Joe through the testy video quality. Normally, Joe wouldn’t post this as a result. But this is a jewel of a find.