"Oh, Joe. Can we come on your naughty journey to Jacksonville?"

The Bucs’ 2011 schedule looks quite a bit tougher than it did for 2010. Joe’s quite certain this is how Tampa Bay’s opponents will shake out later this year:

Home: Bears, Lions, Texans, Colts, Falcons, Panthers, Saints, Cowboys

Away: Packers, Vikings, Jaguars, Titans, Falcons, Panthers, Saints, 49ers

No, Joe’s not about to start spouting off opinions about games that are many months away.

However, Joe will assure his readers that he is planning an absolutely fabulous, affordable road trip to the Bucs game in Jacksonville via his partners at Paradise Worldwide Transportation.

Think party bus.

Veteran Saints defensive end Alex Brown is asked to assess Josh Freeman in this Times-Picayune video.

Even if one ascribes questionable motives to Team Glazer gutting the Bucs and hiring Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik after the 2008 season, one can’t deny it took a hefty set of tomatoes to fire a popular Super Bowl-winning coach following a 9-7 campaign and kick beloved veterans to the curb in the name of rebuilding.

Team Glazer essentially told Bucs fans to take it or leave it because they weren’t budging. They knew best, they said, and were prepared to take their lumps to build a winner their way.

The master plan was stuffed down fans’ throats, invevitable backlash, blackouts and all.

And there sat the Bucs on Sunday, with half the payroll of the Saints, kicking the ass of the world champs en route to a 10-6 season.

Mission accomplished by Team Glazer. The first step of their vision — a winning young team with a franchise quarterback — was realized in just two seasons.

Joe feels good knowing that Team Glazer has tasted NFL glory once before. Joe can’t imagine that these guys will have the patience now to wait around for another ring.

Joe hopes Dominik gets the nod from Team Glazer to do what he has to do to win now at all costs.

It was a satisfying win. Well, that’s an understatement from Joe.

The Bucs took every punch from the Super Bowl champs and came out on top, despite a beat up lineup that included Dezmon Briscoe and Larry Asante.

Don Banks believes the rest of the NFC should be breathing easy tonight. Despite the Bucs making the race to 10, the Bucs have been shut out of the playoffs.

This, Banks writes on SI.com, is a good thing for the rest of the NFC.

The six teams in the NFC’s playoff field should be very, very happy that Tampa Bay lost at home to Detroit two weeks ago and won’t be going to the postseason. Because if there’s a better, more dangerous non-playoff team in the NFL, I haven’t seen it. Second-year quarterback Josh Freeman gives his club a chance to win almost every game, and the Bucs simply don’t back down to anyone.

This just sickens Joe. Winning 10 games is a monumental feat, especially after the team won but three games last season. Yet the Bucs are on the outside looking in.

And Seattle is hosting a playoff game, really? Galling!

Busted thumb? No problem? Inexperienced receivers? No problem. Protection breakdowns? No problem. Backup center? No problem. Fourth quarter? No problem.

Josh Freeman takes a winning record (13-12) as a starter into the offseason. 

After consecutive rough games and losses in Baltimore and at home against Atlanta, Freeman was at the low point of his 2010 season but rebounded in a huge way.

In his final five starts (the December and January schedule including that Atlanta game), Freeman had 10 touchdowns, one interception and completed 66 percent of his passes.

The kid is still 22 years old.

As talented as the Bucs offense is, Joe would love to see the Bucs give Freeman even more toys to play with.

Now that the Bucs have beaten a playoff team and wrapped up a 10-6 season with two big wins, it’s no surprise that the bandwagon is filling up quickly.

After Sunday’s games were over, the FOX studio crew of Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw were all fighting to talk about how great the Bucs are.

Johnson’s out there hyping Raheem Morris as NFL Coach of the Year. Strahan’s rambling about the Bucs needing to stave off a let down (imagine that) and maintaining their work ethic, and Bradshaw looked like he was about to tear up trying to express how much he thinks of Josh Freeman.

Of course, all this means about as much as Peter King and nearly all the pundits picking the Bucs as garbage bottom-feeders for 2010.

However, this hype surely will lead to the Bucs snatching themselves a couple of night games for next season. (Joe can only smirk at the thought of a Thursday night NFL Network road game forcing locals to leave their Out House.)

Joe hopes the Bucs marketing team is ready to pounce immediately. Joe suspects a lot of season tickets can be sold on the heels of the hype and excitement surrounding the 10-6 Bucs.

The Bucs may have missed the playoffs, thanks largely to a touchdown stolen from Kellen Winslow two weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean Bucs fans cannot wallow in enjoyment of the Bucs beating the Saints in New Orleans.

Naturally Joe has the video highlights, courtesy of the good people of the NFL Network.

Josh Freeman to Dezmon Briscoe for 54 yards.

Down goes Drew Brees

Freeman to Mike Williams for a 17-yard touchdown.

Down goes Brees again.

Run Michael run Spurlock for a 69-yard return.

Drew Brees… fum-bull!

Perhaps Mo Stovall’s last catch as a Bucs receiver for 38 yards.

Briscoe with a touchdown.

Barrett Ruud makes a splash play (!), his first since Chicago 2008.

LeGarrette Blount rumbles for 16 yards.

Geno Hayes puts Brees on the turf.

All the game highlights in one video.

Lastly, the press conferences of Raheem Morris and Freeman.

Joe hates to even acknowledge this, but the Packers have gotten past the Bears this afternoon and made the playoffs. The Bucs (10-6) and Giants (10-6) are going home empty.

Still sick about losing to the Lions two weeks ago, Joe’s teetering back and forth between feeling great about the Bucs and their great strides this season and agonizing about what could have been with a win against Detroit.

The Bucs would be heading to Seattle or St. Louis next week.

Oh, well. Nothing a few evening cocktails can’t soothe.

And with the season on the line who was the Bucs leading receiver in the thrashing of the Saints?

Dezmon Briscoe.

The success of this whole next-man-up thing the Bucs have working keeps boggling Joe’s mind. It’s to the point where you have to assume a guy is talented as hell if he’s on the Bucs roster.

Briscoe is a 21-year-old Mark Dominik rookie special snatched off the Bengals practice squad a few weeks ago, a move that made Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis cry like a baby.

After getting his feet wet with two catches last week against Seattle, Briscoe ripped off four catches and one of the sickest grabs of the Bucs season in the end zone on a fade route for the Bucs first touchdown today.

Joe is pretty confident the Bucs now will wash their hands of Maurice Stovall. Minus Stovall, here’s the receiving corps:

Mike Williams
Arrelious Benn (returning from injury)
Sammie Stroughter
Preston Parker
Dezmon Briscoe
Micheal Spurlock

Maybe the Bucs snag a solid free agent receiver as insurance in case Benn isn’t ready for next season.

"You better get your ass back here next season, Ronde. We're going for a ring!"

As Joe sits here cheering like hell for the Redskins and Bears, Joe is drinking an ice cold adult beverage and toasting away the “lasting contender” line that surely Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik won’t be spewing anymore.

Regardless of whether the Bucs head to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles next weekend, Joe can’t imagine the 10-6 Buccaneers won’t be looking to win a ring next year.

When at team goes 10-6 with a stud young quarterback and a young squad that should be much improved after getting healthy, said team absolutely has to make a hit-the-hole run at a Super Bowl.

Yeah, Joe wrote Super Bowl.

Health and fortunes change too fast in the NFL to monkey around and not go for the jugular when the window is there. As much as it seems these exciting young Bucs will be healthy and together forever, Joe’s seen too many teams self-destruct.

The lasting contender line the Bucs rolled out in the spring surely meant building through the draft to establish a core of strong players, but the Bucs are easily a year ahead of schedule or more.

“Win now,” Chucky’s only attitude, has no doubt returned.

Of course Joe is happy about the win. But there was something so frightening to Joe he, as a form of mental therapy, must write about.

Josh Freeman, for two plays, looked like Trent Dilfer today.

It was in the second half. The Bucs were nursing a lead. Freeman was rushed and flushed. As he is so adept at doing, Freeman ran out of the pocket to avoid the rush.

He neared the sideline. As he was being sacked out of bounds, Freeman decided to force a pass for roughly three yards when it appeared he was intercepted.

Fortunately for the Bucs, the Saints were called for a horsecollar. First down Bucs.

The heinous decision by Freeman reminded Joe of Trent Dilfer against the Giants at home, falling out of bounds he decides to throw the ball away, only to have it intercepted.

It was without question the most ignorant play of Freeman’s young career. Joe screamed bloody murder at the big HD screen. Others at the watering hole Joe was at were equally outraged. The common cry was “What are you doing?”

The very next play Freeman was under duress. He was about to be sacked when he tossed a short shovel pass to LeGarrette Blount who, mobbed, fumbled.

Joe put his heads in his hands and vividly was reminded of Dilfer wearing Bucco Bruce orange.

The only logical conclusion Joe could come with was that Freeman finally was letting the pressure get to him, with the Bucs chances, prayers of postseason clearly on his shoulders.

Joe obviously hopes that the win, culminating the race to 10, has forever exorcised his Dilfer demons.

The rock star status of Bucs general manager Mark Dominik is becoming Eddie Van Halen-like.

Just look who was on the field for the Bucs today, in the thrilling, clinching race-to-10 victory:

The immortal Dezmon Briscoe was clutch (thank you Mo Stovall for participating in the NFL. Please enjoy your departing gift). There was Larry Asante who, outside of Omaha, wouldn’t be identified in a police lineup. The rest of Dominik’s scrap heap warriors are already known to Bucs fans.

Joe doesn’t know where to begin to heap praise on the Bucs rock star general manager. Before you know it, Valerie Bertinelli will be calling him.

There are a myriad of stories about this race to 10 season. The blossoming of Josh Freeman. The play of the stellar rookies. The play of Ronde Barber as if he’s 26. The list is nearly endless.

But the jewels Dominik has unearthed in the rubble of castoffs and wannabe practice squad fodder is in Joe’s eyes the biggest story of the 2010 season.

Yeah, Joe trashed another remote control today watching the Bucs put LeGarrette Blount in motion (what’s the point?) and fail to use him consistently, but Joe has to give it up for the coaching staff’s decision-making late in the game.

Blount was about 13 yards shy of 1,000 yards when the Bucs got the ball back with two minutes left and a 10-point lead. The Bucs could have gone to their “ball security” team and let Cadillac Williams run up the middle, or do some combination of that and Josh Freeman taking a knee.

But no, Greg Olson and Raheem Morris did the right thing and stuck with Blount in an obvious attempt to get the kid the 1,000-yard season he earned in just 13 games.

Blount cranked out a five yard run, followed by a 12 yarder and three-yard run as the clock ran out to finish with 1,007 yards.

Joe was ecstatic to see Josh Freeman and the offensive line so fired up to block for the kid. Just great stuff.

Joe might have shed a tear, but he won’t confirm or deny.

Joe is giddy — tingly even — with the Bucs making the improbable race to 10. But Joe — after downing his free shot of something red, courtesy of Lee Roy Selmons in St. Petersburg to celebrate the Bucs’ 10th win — has to get something off his chest.

Officiating in the NFL is becoming unconscionable .

Joe still wakes up in the middle of the night cursing to no one in the dark about the horrid call against Kellen Winslow that, barring Bears and Redskins wins, will keep the Bucs out of the playoffs.

The touchdown pass to Mike Williams was virtually indescribable it was so good. Williams fought off a defender for the catch.

That, my friends, is the issue. Williams was held, grabbed, fondled, and quite frankly, wrestled with the entire time after the snap. It was horrible. Horrible!

Joe still doesn’t know what he is more amazed at: that Williams caught the ball or there was no flag.

Friends, the time has not come, it’s past, that interference calls should be reviewed. There is absolutely no reason not to allow interference or non-interference calls to be reviewed.

It has gotten to the point that virtually every pass, Joe is waiting for a flag, looking at the top of the TV screen for yellow warning, or if a receiver is jostled for no flag to be thrown.

Joe hates whining about the officials. It’s not something that is becoming of Joe. But the NFL officiating has gotten that out of hand.

So there were the Saints near the goal line about to pound the ball in for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

And look who shed a block and put a hard hat on Julius Jones to force a fumble the Bucs recovered.

Mr. Barrett Ruud.

No question it was the turning point in the game. It shut up the Saints crowd and the Bucs churned out a 96-yard drive to take the lead.

Ruud led the Bucs with eight tackles today, and he got run over like a cardboard cutout in the first quarter by running back Chris Ivory as the two met head on.

As Joe wrote yesterday, Joe’s got a feeling Raheem might want the stated “quarterback” of his defense to return and upgrade around him, rather than find a replacement for Ruud while the team tries to get over the top for a deep playoff run.

No question the Ruud debate will rage on for weeks until the start of free agency, if there is free agency and it’s not halted by a lockout.

The Signature Win!

The Bucs kept the NFL world waiting an entire season before beating a good team — a team with a winning record. If Joe had to pick just one winner to beat it would have been the Saints in New Orleans. This was a beautiful thing.

The Bucs hung tough. They made — and got — their share of breaks and the Race to 10 is complete.

Joe called for Raheem to bring his A-game as a coach, and Joe was not disappointed (although there will be some nitpicking later). The defense held on, and Alex Magee (another scrapheap pickup), Larry Asante (practice squad fodder), Barrett Ruud and others made huge plays.

Josh Freeman was stout. Rookies Mike Williams and Dezmon Briscoe made sick catches. And the Bucs moved the ball despite becoming rather allergic to LeGarrette Blount through three quarters.

Yes, the Saints rolled over in the fourth quarter when Drew Brees got yanked for rest in preparation for the playoffs.

Now Joe becomes a Redskins and Bears fan for the afternoon. If they both win, then the Bucs are in a playoff game next weekend.

How amazing would that be, considering the Bucs could beat anyone in the NFC right now.

Week 17
Bucs at Saints
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13 locally, DirecTV 711.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 123.
Weather: Per Accuweather.com, of course this game is played in a soulless dome, but as Joe has done before, there are fewer better tailgate atmospheres than The Quarter in New Orleans, walking distance from the Superdome. Man, the food is without equal and of course the drinks never stop flowing. For those fortunate few Bucs fans tailgating in The Quarter, it will be a bit chilly with temperatures in the high 40s, though sunny. After the game will be a bit more comfortable with the temperatures in the mid-50s.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Saints -7.5.
Outlook: It has come down to this pesky, gnawing, irritating fact for many Bucs fans. Joe has harped on this for a couple of months which with every mention far too many Bucs fans slammed their half-empty beer bottles on the table in anger, provoking loud obscenities. Well the truth hurts and it simply was not and is not trivial: The Bucs haven’t beaten a team with a winning record. Haven’t. Hasn’t happened. For the Bucs to get into the playoffs the Bucs have to, must, need to beat the New Orleans Saints: a team with a winning record. Had the Bucs beaten a team with a winning record previously, the Bucs likely would not be in the position they are in currently. Sadly, we can’t change the past in the NFL. So it’s time to beat a team with a winning record and hope for the best from the Bears and Redskins. To do that Joe believes Raheem Morris and Greg Olson must give the ball to LeGarrette Blount early and often and pray the defense gets a few turnovers. In the previous meeting between the two teams the Saints absolutely chain-whipped the Bucs. The alleybeating the Saints delivered to the Bucs that day was partly because the Bucs had no running game of any sort. Now, the Bucs have Blount. The Saints lit up the Bucs when the Bucs were relatively healthy on defense. That’s not the case any longer so ball control and keeping the ball out of Drew Brees’ hands is paramount. If Blount doesn’t run the ball and the Bucs go three-and-out, it plays right into the hands of the Saints. Yeah, the Bucs with a two-win record went into the Superdome last year and beat a Saints team playing for something. Trust Joe, the man Joe went to college with, Sean Payton, won’t get blindsided like that again. Blount needs to run the ball first, second, third, early, often. Feed the man. Feed the man the ball! Blount is hungry.
Video: As one can expect, there’s tons of Bucs video offered up by the good people of the NFL Network. Jamie Dukes and Rod Woodson break down the Bucs chances of making the playoffs. … Josh Freeman talks Bucs. … Mike Mayock demonstrates on film why Freeman is special. … NFL Films preview of the Bucs-Saints. … Sterling Sharpe, Brian Baldinger and Joe Theismann look at the Bucs-Saints game. … LeGarrette Blount and Josh Freeman are the FedEx Air & Ground players of the week. … Slur-hurling Trey Wingo, Tim Hasselbeck and Tedy Bruschi of BSPN break down the game. … Video star Anwar Richardson and his Tampa Tribune colleague Woody Cummings discuss the Bucs must-win against the Saints.
Fun facts:  Drew Brees has a record third 400-completion season. … Pierre Thomas punishes NFC South opponents. He has eight touchdowns in his last nine division games.