Game 2

St. Louis Lambs at Tampa Bay

Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. [read more]

It sure seems Lovie Smith is more of a detail man than self-proclaimed details junkie Greg Schiano

Your Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be tested by the Rams today, but they also were drilled the day before the game.

The Bucs don’t get a day off on Saturday when they play on Sunday. They’re at the Tampa team hotel living and working and sticking to an 11 p.m. curfew. [read more]

This will be a short post because there is really nothing to write about. Bucs Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks can’t be summed up in a few paragraphs, and Joe’s not about to type a long tome.

Brooks is the greatest linebacker in Bucs history and perhaps the best outside linebacker in NFL history. Jack Ham, widely considered the greatest outside linebacker, was great but not sure Ham was any better than Brooks. Ironically, Brooks molded his game to mirror Ham’s. Brooks likely surpassed Ham. [read more]

Joe is sure the Bucs will see a steady diet of stud Lambs RB Zac Stacy today

The Lambs are not much different than the Bucs. They, too, lost their first game, embarrassingly so, with virtually no offense. The Lambs lost behind a backup quarterback; the Bucs lost behind a career backup quarterback.

The Lambs could be on their third- or possibly fourth-string quarterback today as backup Shaun Hill is a game-time decision for Jeff Fisher. When he was healthy last week, Hill sure didn’t scare the Vikings.

Fisher never has been fond of the passing game. Fisher comes from the Buddy Ryan school of football where you beat up your opponent physically and pass only if you have to. [read more]

The man of the hour, Tampa Bay starting quarterback Josh McCown, knows all about today’s opponent.

McCown was battered and bludgeoned by St. Louis last year, when McCown played for the Chicago Bears. [read more]

The “Custodian of Canton,” eye-RAH! Kaufman, stated Bucs QB coach and last week’s play caller Marcus Arroyo can’t be blamed for the Bucs’ impotent offense

It is such a depressing statistic, Joe doesn’t want to type it.

The percentage of teams that lose their first two games and make the playoffs is dismal.

(Joe will type the actual data tonight in the event of a disaster at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway). [read more]

“The Road Warrior,” WTSP-TV traffic reporter Holley Sinn, has tips on how to get to the Bucs game quicker.

Driving to the Bucs game can be a major pain in the posterior. Just getting late to a tailgate is enough to ruin your day.

Leave it to WTSP-TV traffic reporter, “The Road Warrior,” Holley Sinn to help. She knows all the tricks to get you past the congestion and to your tailgate (or the game) quicker. Life is not made to be stuck in traffic. [read more]

Joe’s Sunday watch list

1) Is There An Edge Rusher In The House? – Former Chargers bust Larry English, cut-Monday-returned-Friday Scott Solomon, recovering Da’Quan Bowers and Will Gholston, both making their season debut, will try to generate a pass rush off the edge against the shaky Rams offensive line tomorrow — while Michael Johnson rests his bum ankle. Good luck, fellas. [read more]

The Bucs host the Lambs at 4:05 p.m. It is one of five late-afternoon games today.

So, the odds are, since this is a battle of two winless teams, unless you live in Florida, Illinois or Missouri, you will need DirecTV or have to go to a bar to watch the game. Below is the map showing where Bucs fans can watch the game free with the broadcast piped into their hopes from their over-the-air FOX affiliate. [read more]

Josh McCown needs a quicker start Sunday and simply must take better care of the football

For three quarters last week, the Bucs offense was pretty much non-existent. That is, if you don’t count the mind-numbing turnovers by Josh McCown. Yet, the Bucs rallied in the fourth quarter and nearly pulled off a victory.

Had the Bucs had any kind of an offense in the first three quarters, or McCown took care of the football, the Bucs would not have needed a three-score rally late to tie or win. [read more]

Wacky as it might be, many Bucs fans and observers believe a loss at home to the bruised, bungling Rams tomorrow would be an apocalypse to the Lovie Smith regime.

One longtime local analyst says failure “would almost erase all the goodwill established by Lovie.” [read more]

There are official injury reports, and then there’s a player talking directly about his injury. The latter provides a lot more information.

Doug Martin detailed his issue and status last night on the Buccaneers Radio Network. [read more]

Heee’s baaack! Da’Quan Bowers will get plenty of action Sunday

Injuries have been unkind to Da’Quan Bowers throughout his career, but now the football gods are delivering a little payback.

Bowers is healthy again (for now) and returns to the field Sunday. His timing is impeccable: defensive end Adrian Clayborn was lost for the season yesterday and big-money DE Michael Johnson is out with an ankle injury. [read more]

The inability to get Doug Martin into gear concerns former NFL scout Chris Landry.

Joe must admit, like most fans, he expected a better effort Sunday against the Stinking Panthers. The Bucs’ offense, for the first three quarters was painfully woeful, and quarterback Josh McCown’s reckless ball security turned into 14 Stinking Panthers points and doomed the Bucs.

Former NFL scout Chris Landry, currently an NFL and college football analyst,  was aghast at the Bucs offense and the result reinforced Landry’s notion that not only are the Bucs not a contender for the division title, they will be lucky to finish 8-8. [read more]

Evening listening here from Joe and smooth-voiced Ronnie Lane of WDAE-AM 620 and the Buccaneers Radio Network.

Joe dives into the Rams-Bucs game, among other topics. [read more]