Joe just couldn’t believe his eyes watching the Bucs play in the first half. Joe knew Philip Rivers would at some point slice apart the Bucs defense, given the Bucs have the worst pass defense in the league.

But Joe never envisioned Rivers simply ravaging the Bucs the way he did in the game’s first 30 minutes.

Yeah, some will say the Bucs couldn’t get heat on Rivers. They could, but it didn’t matter. When you let a running back run free in the flat, when you let Antonio Gates get off the line of scrimmage without breathing on him, of course receivers will be free as wild turkeys in Tennessee.

Rivers didn’t need any time for his receivers to get open. They already were. So the moment a Bucs defender started charging at Rivers, he simply flipped a ball to a running back or Gates and there was a first down if not a touchdown.

Joe wanted to vomit at halftime. In the name of Monte Kiffin, what the hell was going on here?

Well, the Bucs, more importantly Bucs defensive coaches, learned from their mistakes in the first half. They started to contain running backs in the flat. They began to have Lavonte David nail Gates at the line, not just disrupting his pass route, but blowing up the play.

“We kept playing, kept grinding,” Bucs defensive end Michael Bennett said. “Of course we made mistakes in the first half. If they score, that’s a mistake.

“They kept a lot of people in in the first half and were hitting check-down routes, which is what they are known for. That’s a great team. Rivers is a great quarterback. They have a lot of good receivers, good running backs.

“We didn’t make the same mistakes that we made in the first half. That was the difference. Unless [Rivers] was going to sit back seven yards we weren’t going to get to him and he didn’t do that.”

Look, Joe knows it was a team victory today against the Chargers, but it’s darn interesting that the Bucs beat the San Diego primarily without cornerback Eric Wright, who left the game early with what was announced as an ankle injury, and without helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, Adderrall-popping, coach-cussing, referee-charging, pistol-friendly, granny-hassling Aqib Talib.

The Bucs are now 4-1 without Talib.

The patchwork unit of E.J. Biggers, LeQuan Lewis, Leonard Johnson, and Myron Lewis, did enough, with some very savvy anticipation by Ronde Barber and a decent day from Mark Barron.

Joe still has no illusions that the Bucs have a good secondary, but only small improvement is needed among this group when they continue to force turnovers and they have a punishing offense to rely on. 

Joe’s confident the Bucs can light up the scoreboard with anyone. If the defensive backs can progress, that might just be enough to get this team to the playoffs.

How bout those 5-4 Buccaneers!

The depth and versatility of the New Schiano Order was on full display against the Chargers.

Newcomer cornerback LeQuan Lewis scored a big interception. Undrafted rookie CB Leonard Johnson had a pick-6, redeeming his opening drive gaffe. Daniel Te’o-Nesheim registered a monster sack late. Dekoda Watson and Adam Hayward teamed for a punt block and score.

Those are not the names you penciled in as your likely heroes before this game.

For Joe, this win was all about maturity. As Greg Schiano likes to say, the porous Bucs defense “bowed their necks” and didn’t crack in the second half, allowing the Chargers only three points.

Doug Martin returned to earth (19 carries for 68 yards, and a few dumpoff passes, one of which he took for 42 yards), but Josh Freeman was precise and error-free.

This was an all-phases win for the Bucs, not spectacular, but damn good. It’s good to have real winning football back in Tampa!

Welcome to Week 10 of the NFL. The Bucs host the Chargers, blacked out in this neck of the woods.

Feel free to holler, scream and vent about the game here. As always, you are encouraged to share URLs of illegal, pirated feeds amongst yourselves via e-mail but posting those URLs on this site is grounds for banishment.

This should be an interesting game, much like recent Bucs games, hold on tight. Decent quarterbacks give Joe a stroke the way they light up the Bucs secondary each and every week.

So for the Bucs to win, you know, it has to be a shootout. At least those are entertaining.

If anyone believes in a higher authority, perhaps a silent word to the Supreme Being that a certain No. 23 never touches the field of the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway other than warming up and delivering water during break in the game’s play.

And so it goes for Bucs forgotten running back Michael Smith. The Bucs released their inactives a short time ago and for the ninth-straight game, Smith is inactive.

Here is the list of Bucs inactives for today’s game with San Diego:

WR Arrelious Benn

RB Michael Smith

S Cody Grimm

CB Danny Gorrer

LB Jacob Cutrera

LB Najee Goode

G Roger Allen

Joe doesn’t know what bowl of cereal Smith must have spit in. The Bucs return game stinks. Even Bucs coach Greg Schiano has said as much.

Why not try Smith, who returned kicks in preseason and on opening day?

Joe just doesn’t get it.

Week 10

Chargers at Bucs

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: Blacked out in the Tampa and Orlando TV markets; DirecTV 711.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 113.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, you are not going to get a much better weather day to go to a Bucs game. This Chamber of Commerce weather is why we live in west-central Florida. Temperature at kickoff is expected to be 79 degrees which will bump to 80 in the second quarter and shouldn’t budge much after that, all under sun-splashed skies. Bring your sunscreen!

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs -3.

Outlook: If you like offense, this game should be for you. If you have a pacemaker or are weak of heart, maybe you should leave or turn off the radio in the fourth quarter. On one one side you have the explosive Bucs (Joe never dreamed he would type such a thing) with great wideouts like Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson, and the cannon arm of Josh Freeman and the legs of Doug Martin. Easily the most potent offense Tampa Bay has ever seen. On the other side you have Philip Rivers, who Joe still believes is one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. As Joe hinted at earlier, good quarterbacks have roasted the Bucs secondary in the fourth quarter. Joe doesn’t expect that to change, especially if the Bucs are wont to use a three-man front. Unless there is serious heat on Rivers, he will put up pinball machine numbers on the Bucs defense. Joe fully expects a high-scoring game. This should be fun to watch. Unless the Bucs somehow find a way to shore up that pass defense, or unless the Bucs are able to get a bunch of turnovers, Joe doesn’t expect to have many fingernails left late in the game.

Fun quotes: Here are some neat quotes from Chargers coach Norv Turner and quarterback Philip Rivers on the Bucs:

Turner: “I appreciate Vincent more than most having the opportunity to have him here. Big plays turn into points. It opens up the field for other guys (too). Other Bucs players have benefited from having Vincent there. Mike Williams is a big play receiver like Vincent. Makes things challenging. … Bug players but very athletic. I am very impressed with their front seven the way they move. They are doing a great job of stopping the run and when you do that, you have a chance in every game. If you are able to stop the run, you can live with that [porous pass defense]. … We have to protect the ball. If we don’t turn the ball over we have a chance to win and we cannot give up big plays. The rules are structured for teams to make big plays. If you give up long drives you have an opportunity [for a turnover]. If we give up big plays, we will be in trouble. … [Ronde Barber] is phenomenal. When he has his helmet on he looks like he is about 24 years-old and he is playing about like he is 24 years-old. You can see he is helping everyone on that defense.”

Rivers: “You certainly miss a player like Vincent Jackson. He was a great player and a good friend of mine for, shoot, six or eight years. You pull for him every week — except for this week. Because he is big and fast and physical, easy to label him a deep target and a jump ball guy but he is much more than that. He was really good on underneath stuff and quick slants. He was not limited. He obviously is a stretch-the-field guy but he was so diverse. He practiced and he was great in the meeting rooms as far as how he prepared. Just a real committed player. Can’t say enough positive [things] about his time here. … This is a big game for both teams. Each of us are trying to keep things going. … There are some big plays that have been made on them in the past few weeks but it is a defense that is attacking and fast. They have given up some big plays but at the same time they create turnovers and create negative plays. You look at how they have been No. 1 in run defense is because they create a lot of negative plays. They have a real active front and linebacker group. They are a diverse group and it is certainly a challenge. … [Ronde Barber], unless you are playing against him, is a fun guy to watch. A guy who has played that long, he is an awesome football player and it is fun to watch him make plays, strip the football, make plays in the hole on Adrian Peterson, he is a heck of a player and an unbelievable career. … The backers are active, they are all active. So active.”

It was a feel-good morning earlier this week when eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune dropped by to speak with Chris Dingman and Kirk McEwen, co-hosts of the WHFS-FM 98.7 morning show. Kaufman sounded like a Bucs cheerleader.

All thumbs were pointed upwards in Kaufman’s eyes as the Pewter Pirates head into their game with San Diego tomorrow.

Kaufman noted how the Bucs have changed. Just 10 years ago, the Bucs had one of the most savage defenses in NFL history and rode that defense to a Super Bowl win.

Now, as Kaufman pointed out, the Bucs have the most dangerous offense in the NFL.

“They are in line to shatter all of the offensive team records, all of them. This is easily the best offense this town has seen in 35 years. Everything has changed around now. They are averaging  28 points a game — for the season — and that is after a sluggish start. Everybody deserves credit.

“This team in this NFC playoff picture, let’s be honest. It’s all good for Bucs fans right now with this prolific offense.”

Kaufman then went on to cite the deft drafting of Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, new Bucs coach Greg Schiano for his New Schiano Order, offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan for crafting this offense yet never calling a play in the NFL prior to this season, and to offensive line coach Bob Bostad wizardry in keeping a unit together despite it having just one starter left in place from the start of preseason (remember, Jeremy Zuttah has moved to left guard).

Joe happens to believe Kaufman is on the mark. It’s hard to believe this is virtually the same organization that stunk worse than an uncleaned Porta-Potty baking in a Florida summer.

Even if the Bucs don’t make the playoffs — those losses to the Giants and Saints are killers — it’s remarkable the headway this franchise has made in half a season.

If Keyshawn Johnson was throwin’ the damn ball for the Bucs, he’d be eyeballing Mike Williams before Vincent Jackson.

Speaking on the Booger and Rich show on 98.7 FM this week, the man who caught 106 balls for the Bucs in 2001 says his prefers the film on Williams. 

“They’re making plays. They’re going and getting the football. I like Williams better than I like Jackson,” Johnson said of the Bucs’ receivers. “I think Williams has the ability to just make plays all the time. When it looks like he’s not going to catch the football, he goes up and he gets it, he catches the ball in traffic. He’s just a solid playmaker to me. But Jackson, it helps him because of his height advantage. I think his size and his height advantage, you know, especially in the red zone, gives him that size advantage that you’re looking for in a receiver.”

Joe, too, is impressed by the versatility and the wow factor of Williams. Hell, the guy’s first career touchdown grab was spectacular and unique. Of course, the body control all starts on the basketball court for Williams, who’s been known to fly around the court.

The woes of the Bucs secondary this season have been the Achilles heel of the physical Bucs defense.

The secondary has had it its quality moments, full halves of football even, but inevitably a roasting comes. This is painful to Ronde Barber, who shared that the fix is obvious and simple in theory, during a Tuesday interview on the Buccaneers Radio Network.

“It’s really nothing to address. I mean, you get in 1-on-1 situations sometimes; we just gotta win. You know, they’re winning,” Barber said of failures in the defensive backfield. “There’s no secret. Balls can not go over your head in the secondary. That’s the bottom line.”

Barber referenced simple yet profound advice he got many years ago from ageless Hall of Fame Redskins cornerback Darrell Greene (1983-2002) on how to stay in the league so long, “Don’t get beat deep.”

“It’s a really simple concept that we have to get better at. We can’t let the ball go over our head,” Barber said.  

Joe fully expects the Bucs secondary to struggle the rest of the season. There’s no miracle cure in the bushes. The Bucs are probably hoping that’s speedy CB LeQuan Lewis, but that’s an experiment, nothing more.

Joe simply hopes the Bucs improve in coverage this season until they can invest in cornerback this offeseason. Basic improvement could be enough to ensure the Bucs win shootout after shootout the rest of the way.

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Mingle with NFL greats and renowned soccer stars, cruise cheerleaders and more. Click below to learn all about the parties, and the discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers on these fantastic Royal Caribbean ships.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe loves when Carlson fires away. Carlson is often seen as a football color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company,America’s Best Quarterback. Plus, he’s a really cool dude.

Greg Schiano certainly marches to the beat of his own drum and it is clear that Buccaneers’ players are marching right along with him and the results are quite impressive.

Although I was against the kneelgate fiasco against the New York Giants, maybe, just maybe, it was a significant piece in helping to establish the personality of Schiano’s football team, a hard-scrabble group that will play hard each and every down, even when the game is all but over.

Schiano came into a team early this year much like Tony Dungy did in the 1990’s, with much the same gameplan for turning the team around. A tough defense and a conservative, run-first offense were the keys to success. 

Dungy was successful building his stellar defense, but fought against improving his low-scoring offense with coordinators Mike Shula, Les Steckel and Clyde Christiansen. They all ultimately failed to beat the Eagles in the playoffs in successive years and it led to Dungy’s dismissal.

What seems to separate Schiano from Dungy, not only in their significant differences in personal demeanor, but is his willingness to embrace a more wide-open offense that has produced record-breaking numbers recently.

Dungy was able to win a Super Bowl when he took his defensive philosophy to the big-strike offense run by Peyton Manning. Schiano is ahead of Dungy’s curve by allowing Mike Sullivan to evolve quickly from the ultra-conservative concepts of the first month of the season to one of the more exciting big-play offenses in the entire league.

Tomorrow, the San Diego Chargers come to town with the multiple Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator (Dallas Cowboys) Norv Turner as head coach. I gained a lot of respect for Turner as a rookie QB with the Los Angeles Rams, when he was their wide receivers coach. He was learning his offensive strategies well from Ernie Zampese at the time, but now the Bucs have one of his best weapons in Vincent Jackson, who I am sure would like to impress his former coach and team with another stand-out game of big plays!

Veteran Ch. 10 sportscaster Dave Wirth says if the Bucs can survive the smoke from Ahmad Black, and not have their secondary smoked, then they should be in good shape Sunday. Check out Dave’s weekly somewhat wiseguy take below, exclusive for JoeBucsFan.com readers.

What a fantastic event on Saturday from the Ed Morse Truck Team at Ed Morse Auto Plaza in Port Richey!

And they’re not just about trucks. This is where Joe bought his pre-owned Ford 21 months ago. Not a problem since!

There are a lot of things fans could call Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Thin-skinned, prickly, obnoxious are a few that come to mind.

But also terms like stud, rocket-armed and gutsy are equally accurate.

How about “elusive?” Well, that word wouldn’t jump right out at Joe. Rivers always reminded Joe of a classic throw-back, statue of a quarterback with no wheels.

That’s not an accurate description of Rivers, so a few Bucs defenders told Joe. In fact, the word “elusive” was thrown out more than a few times.

“He is sneaky elusive,” Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “He can slip you. I’m not saying he can scramble. There is a difference between being able to scramble and being elusive. He can slip you and make the throws.”

Bucs linebacker Quincy Black agreed with GMC.

“He can buy time in the pocket,” Black said. “That’s what elite quarterbacks do, they find a way to be elusive.”

Fellow Bucs linebacker Mason Foster was a bit more descriptive in how Rivers, not fleet of foot, avoids the pass rush.

“He buys time by sliding to his left or fight to avoid rushes and get ball to athletic playmakers,” Foster said.

Given how the Bucs pass rush isn’t scaring anyone outside of Bucs fans this season, Bucs defenders know they have a large task at hand in trying to stop Rivers.

“Last time he came down here he lit us up,” Black said of the 2008 Bucs home game that almost knocked the Bucs out of playoff contention. In that 41-24 loss to the Chargers, Rivers tossed four touchdowns, two in the fourth quarter.

“We are always working to get better, each and every week,” Foster said of the porous pass defense. “That is one of the main points we focus on.”

At least for one Sunday, GMC won’t be a fan of Rivers.

“I am actually a fan of his throwing style,” GMC said. “It looks cool.”

Joe just wants to call attention to a cool ESPN.com feature on Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan that posted today.

NFC South Blogger Pat Yasinskas got to cozy up to Sullivan and chat about his days at West Point and as a young Army officer. The entire piece offers good insight into Sullivan, as the Bucs prepare to host the Chargers and numerous military appreciation happenings at the game Sunday, which is Veterans Day.

Sullivan’s not sure if all the lessons he learned in the military are the reason he quickly climbed the ladder through the college ranks and on to the NFL, where he quickly is developing a reputation as one of the league’s best young offensive coordinators. But Sullivan, 45, knows his background didn’t hurt.

“I know that I’ve relied upon it heavily, and that it steers and directs how I approach things and how I try to be very disciplined and also maintain a level head when things are going crazy,” Sullivan said. “I learned that early on in Ranger school, when I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off and a Ranger said, ‘Hey, you’re trying to do well, but you’re nervous. You’ve got to just settle down here and keep a cool head.’ When you keep a cool head, the people around you will keep a cool head.”

As Joe wrote yesterday, if Sullivan’s stunning success as Bucs offensive coordinator continues, his background will make him a hot head coaching candidate this offseason. And a national feature like this only adds to the potential hype.

“Buccaneers 28, Chargers 24,” predicts former NFL coach and front office executive Pat Kirwan, who is now a host on NFL Radio and an analyst on CBSSports.com.

Kirwan and Kevin Corke of CBS break down the game in this video. Kirwan says the combination of the “2-high safety looks” teams are using to stop Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, plus explosive Doug Martin, makes it a brutal task to handle the Bucs.

Bucs stud wide receiver Mike Williams chats below with Erik Kuselias on “Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network.” Among the many subjects discussed was that rookies, in particular Bucs running back Doug Martin, do not get to choose their nicknames. Williams said like it or not, Martin is the “Muscle Hamster.”

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