Wednesday afternoon, Dashon Goldson told Joe he was in the clear from Roger Goodell’s fine squad for his Sunday hit on Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey.

“The Hawk” was oh so confident (click above). Well, he spoke too soon. It was revealed today that Goldson was whacked for $60,000.

This is goofy. If this was such a nasty, dangerous hit, then why didn’t Goldson get hit with another six-figure fine and a suspension? Either a receiver is “defenseless” or he’s not. Fining Goldson $60K is the equivalent of fining Joe a hundred bucks for upsetting readers — annoying, but not enough to change anything.

Someday, a spreadsheet geek will study whether Goldson’s handful of penalties are a worthwhile trade-off for having a punishing hitter in the secondary. It sure didn’t seem to slow down the 49ers in 2012.

These are exciting times for Bucs fans. Nobody knows whether Bucs commander Greg Schiano will remain at the helm on Monday. Team Glazer has been quiet.

This week, SiriusXM NFL Radio personality Pat Kirwan, the former Jets personnel man and linebackers coach, and current CBS analyst, talked about hearing changing and surprising takes on Schiano’s job status.

And today, Sports Illustrated brought more conflict into the debate. [read more]

Greg Schiano said recently that the Bucs defense is two players away from being “dominant.” He didn’t offer more detail, but it’s safe to assume he wasn’t referring, in part, to the newly-predicted 2014 revival of Da’Quan Bowers.

Chris Wesserling of NFL.com dove into a study of NFL defenses and claims the Bucs have the NFL’s 12-best defensive nucleus. [read more]

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Joe went back and forth this morning on WDAE-AM 620 with former Bucs guard Ian Beckles. All sorts of topics were on the table, from regime change to Mike Glennon and more. Full audio below.

Schiano is always teaching

Bucs commander Greg Schiano spent years working for Joe Paterno at Penn State and wore a tie to work there everyday, so he told NFL.com back in September.

Why so formal?

Paterno demanded it because “we were teachers,” Schiano said. [read more]

Bill Sheridan makes a stunning revelation

Now this should spread immense hope and optimism throughout the Tampa Bay area for the next eight months leading into the 2014 season.

Struggling defensive end Da’Quan Bowers “has never been well” this season, Bucs defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan said. [read more]

Greg Schiano has stayed away from reflecting on the 2013 season during his chats with local media this week.

When asked big-picture questions or to evaluate players, Schiano largely has said he’ll get to that on Monday after the Saints-Bucs game. But Schiano did engage in a little reflection with the New Orleans media. [read more]

Saints S Malcolm Jenkins seems to be a fan of Bucs QB Mike Glennon

Joe really believes that if Bucs commander Greg Schiano survives to coach the Bucs another year, it largely will be because Team Glazer offered Schiano a mulligan for how Rip Van Freeman maliciously attempted to tear apart the team and, in doing so, tried to Pearl Harbor Schiano’s career in order for Mr. Third String/Healthy Scratch to get his selfish way. [read more]

WDAE-AM 620 Bucs beat writer Tom Krasniqi shared an intriguing nugget from Darrelle Revis this afternoon.

Per his daily notebook, Krasniqi said the $1-million-per-game cornerback wants a hand in improving his new team. [read more]

Brian Billick talks about the Bucs’ formula and why it’s not working

Bucs fans remember the old Tony Dungy offensive formula to win football games in Tampa. It wasn’t always pretty.

Former Super Bowl winning head coach Brian Billick knows all about it. He used the same philosophy. But Billick doesn’t think it suits the current Bucs under Greg Schiano.

Billick will call the Bucs-Saints game Sunday, and he called the Bucs-Rams game last weekend for FOX, so that means he’s been studying all things Bucs meeting with players and coaches. [read more]

Greg Schiano weighs in

The leader of the New Schiano Order worked on Christmas Day honing the Bucs-Saints gameplan, but he didn’t settle on a starting left guard for Sunday.

Gabe Carimi, Carl Nicks, Ted Larsen, Jeremy Zuttah and Jamon Meredith have all gotten the call there this season. [read more]

King demands higher standards

What would the Christmas season be without hearing from former Bucs quarterback Shaun King?

King, one of three quarterbacks to lead the Bucs to the NFC title game, offered many passionate takes this morning, including a call for fans to wake up and start being pessimistic. [read more]

Bradenton Herald columnist Alan Dell threw a few punches to the gut of Greg Schiano this morning.

Dell not only calls for the swift firing of Schiano, he makes a case that Schiano is worse than the ol’ ball coach, Raheem Morris. [read more]

There’s no truth to the rumor Da’Quan Bowers recently injured his knee fervently praying for the double-digit sack season Greg Schiano expected of him, a March decree that was no Nostradamus moment.

Today, Bowers, who has one sack in 2013, was placed on injured reserve for the season finale. [read more]

Change around Mike Glennon? Or a change of QB?

In this CBSSports.com video preview of the Bucs-Saints game Sunday, NFL insider Pat Kirwan, the former Jets personnel chief and linebackers coach, seems stunned that Greg Schiano’s job might be in jeopardy. Kirwan reveals he’s heard new intelligence this week that blindsided him.

Kirwan endorsed a Schiano return, though he wasn’t robust about it. [read more]