Joe had a chance recently to chat briefly with Bucs stud rookie wide receiver Mike Williams about a variety of subjects.

JoeBucsFan: How much has LeGarrette Blount helped the passing game in your mind? There were plays against Seattle when, on play-action fakes, you could see the Seahawks defenders freeze.

Mike Williams: Oh yeah. Blount, man, when he hits the hole, defenses know they need two or three men to tackle him. [As a defense], you can’t just look at the receivers, you have to make sure [Blount] doesn’t have the ball. That little second we get, we will get open.

Joe: How much better are you now than you were, say, two months ago? Do you consider yourself a rookie still since you have started 16 games?

Williams: Oh, yeah. It’s still my first year. I hope all the other teams still believe I’m a rookie and keep playing me like a rookie. But I’m still a rookie. I’m still out there learning and I’m learning real quick.

Joe: Can you see how defenses have changed playing you since September?

Williams: Oh, just the last six weeks. It’s like a whole different defense. But others make plays and that’s how we live.

Every fan knows the Bucs are playing a patchwork team of youngsters at this point. They’re stretched super thin.

But at last check, Raheem Morris and his coaching staff are in great shape. Better than ever. Songs of praise for this staff are being heard far and wide.

Joe hardly expects miracles from the Bucs on the field today in New Orleans, but Joe darn sure expects Raheem to bring his A-game. No excuses for poor decisions, not being aggressive, a dud gameplan, a slow start on offense, or getting completely outcoached like he did the last time the two teams met.

A shot at the playoffs is on the line and Joe wants to see the head coach and offensive coordinator play to win at all costs and have the team performing to its best abilities.

With a playoff berth a possibility, this is Raheem’s signature moment of his career. No doubt.

A strong performance by the Bucs might still leave them with a 10-point loss, but Joe will not be able to stomach a coaching debacle.

These are the kinds of games when big-time coaches earn their money. Good luck, Raheem.

So 2010 is over and you know deep down inside that your business should have made more money. What a painful thought.

So what are you going to do about it?

More than 2 million actual visits were made to JoeBucsFan.com in 2010, and the average visitor was here about 7.5 minutes a pop. You could expose all these people to your company!! What the heck might that do for business?

Advertising on JoeBucsFan.com is about 90 less expensive than you’d pay for comparable traffic on other media sites. Joe has no time to run around overcharging advertisers, so you reap the benefits.

Joe expects traffic on these pages to nearly double in 2011. Jump aboard. Get your website buzzing. E-mail Joe today at joe@joebucsfan.com.

"Oh, Mr. Dominik, you need your very own cheering squad. You've been perfect after banishing those first guys you picked to run the offense and defense."

If one only considered the Bucs’ undrafted rookie free agent pickups for 2010, those guys alone could comprise a pretty good NFL Draft class.

Veteran Tampa Tribune beat scribe Woody Cummings served up that interesting take this morning on TBO.com.

Essentially, Cummings starts by claiming that LeGarrette Blount and Ted Larsen would have been stellar performers for first- and second-round picks, respectively, and there’s plenty of other talent down the line with defensive tackle Al Woods, punter Robert Malone (whose really kicked well the past few weeks) and more.

It’s an interesting case.

Joe’s not sure how Mark Dominik could possibly match the 2010 body of work next season. But the Bucs are surely headed for a monster 2011 season if he can.

Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson (1990 & 1991) writes The QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson is often seen as a color analyst on Bright House Sports Network, and he trains quarterbacks of all ages locally via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

In the week following the Bucs’ devastating home loss to the Detroit Lions and leading up to their explosive win last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, stories in the Tribune and Times (including the front page) surrounding the Buccaneers were more about the lack of attendance at Raymond James Stadium and a season-long blackout on local television than the team’s playoff scenarios.

Blaming the economy is the most popular answer to the problem, but I believe it is more complex than that and includes marketing, public relations, perceived value and a changing marketplace. It is the same problem that most businesses have to deal with to sell their products over time.

I grew up in Los Angeles with the Rams and later the Raiders as well. The nation’s No. 2 television market has been without a pro football franchise since the early 1990s.

Fans showed up late and left early and didn’t show up at all if the teams weren’t really, really good. The NFL has wanted to reclaim that massive market for years. (I really thought the Glazers were going to take the Buccaneers to L.A. before the stadium here in Tampa was agreed on.) And there are a few businessmen that have been trying to build a new stadium and bring football back to L.A. for many years, but there just isn’t a clamoring by fans to make it happen.

In Los Angeles there are plenty of other entertainment distractions and fans found they could live without pro football and, as it turns out, there is plenty of NFL football on regular television, as we have been forced to discover here as well. And if your football appetite isn’t quenched with that, you can buy the “NFL Ticket” if you really want more.

We in blacked-out markets can buy NFL rewind and watch the games in their entirety only a few hours after the real deal. So in a multi-entertainment spot like the Tampa Bay area, there is a limit to what the market will bear, especially with great options like USF football, the Rays and the Lightning vying for the same family entertainment dollar, not to mention Disney and Busch Gardens.

The Lakers win championships as often as any pro team, and fans still won’t fill their arena if they aren’t vying for the top spot each year. The “bandwagon” fan isn’t unique to Tampa, Florida. Every city is basically the same in that regard — everybody loves a winner –although some smaller towns with limited entertainment options (Green Bay comes to mind) may still sell out their stadium regardless of how the team is doing on the field. 

NFL Might Have To Enhance Fan Experience

Why haven’t the Bucs filled up the stadium once all year while enjoying a winning season from the start? The economy is important, but the “Redbox effect” is redefining the market (Redbox is the little DVD vending machine sitting at your local Walmart or 7-Eleven). Blockbuster already was struggling to fight off competition from mail-away movie companies like Netflix when Redbox started renting movies for a buck!  A buck?

The perceived value had been defined by Blockbuster for a long time at nearly $5 for a multiday rental and they had driven almost every “mom and pop” rental store out of the market. Who would ever spend $5 for a movie rental ever again?  Not many,as Blockbuster quickly found out.

The home video market had been redefined and Blockbuster has now followed the Redbox business model.  With the growth of the Internet and cable/satellite TV, the NFL has been morphing its market over time, just as “Hollywood” did when VHS home videos came out and as the music industry has with iTunes.

Going to the “Drive-In movies” was a way of life for me and millions of other Americans in the 1970s but has almost disappeared as part of Americana. As VHS movies started coming out in the late 1970’s, “Hollywood” started worrying that the end of the walk-in movie was close at hand as well. Why would people pay the big bucks for tickets, popcorn and cokes that go along with the movie theatre experience, when they could buy or rent the movie and enjoy themselves at home? 

The movie industry has had to reinvent itself over the last 30 years (remember double features?) as technology of television and surround sound has made the “home theater” experience better than going out. Movie makers have relied on star power to open movies and salaries for top stars skyrocketed up to $25 million per movie for some, much like the salaries for top performing professional athletes (Michael Jordan $30+ Million). 

People will always want somewhere to go to get out of the house, go on dates, etc., but they can’t or won’t pay the steep ticket price to go for average movies. You can trust Redbox with a $1 for average movies. To get me to the theater, the lure must be pretty good. The current trend is 3-D.  You can watch it in 2-D for one price and 3-D for a few bucks more.

The Buccaneers and other mid-market teams are at a similar crossroads now and I believe the NFL as a whole will deal with this moving forward. The Cowboys, Giants and Jets probably won’t feel it as much,  but even Jerry Jones will have to come up with interesting ways to fill all those seats and luxury boxes in his sparkly new house if his team continues to disappoint.

Discouraging Families, Corporations

There will always be fans for football and the biggest markets and top performing teams will continue to sell tickets, but with better and better televisions the live product is going to have to be bigger and better than it has been in the past to get me and others off the couch (perfect weather, nobody standing up in front) and pony up $500+ for a three-hour entertainment experience for the family.

I have been to plenty of football games in my life and don’t care that much about being there in person anymore. My motivation for going out in the elements is simple and singular, to make my kids happy. 

My kids asked me if we could go to the Falcons game a couple weeks back, so I called for tickets. When I was told that the cheapest ticket started at $75 for the upper level and $105 for the lower, unfortunately I had to tell my boys that we wouldn’t be going to see the Bucs. I don’t know how many of those $25 kid’s tickets ($35 adults) that have been promoted all year are available or where they are in the stadium, but it makes me think of the airlines that advertise $49 plane tickets. 

I know some people and/or companies spend $300 for a single “Club” ticket and God bless them. But like many in Tampa Bay, I have to make choices about my family’s entertainment expenses. For me, a $500 investment for tickets in the corner of the stadium isn’t going to happen. With my playing history and broadcasting responsibilities, I have gotten into games for free for a long time, so I may not be a typical customer, but at that price, the game itself isn’t going to get my family to the stadium. I simply need more value for my money and it seems many others do as well.

The Tampa Bay Storm bring their players back on the field after the games to sign autographs. The Rays and Lightning have made post-game concerts a value-added program to increase attendance.  USF has lower ticket prices and a good atmosphere for “JoeFootballFan” to get his “live” football fix.  I don’t know if a Rick Springfield or REO Speedwagon concert will get me there either, but it might (actually neither of those artists would do it, but adding more value outside of the game is the concept).

Over 50,000 people decided to take the financial plunge for the divisional match-up of potential playoff teams, but only about 40,000 were interested enough in each of the final two home games. The local economy isn’t going to change dramatically soon, so there probably isn’t going to be a great clamoring in 2011 for new season ticket holders or luxury box owners even with the surprisingly good season the team has put together. 

Tampa is like the little town that could. We are not a big market, but we try to play with the big boys, and even though we have endured much ridicule over the years with all of our sports teams at different times, we have faired pretty well.

Baseball is a different animal without a salary cap. The Rays are outspent 3-to-1 every year (at least) by the Yankees and Red Sox and need ticket revenue to survive. Every team in the NFL shares in their television revenue, guaranteeing each club a certain amount. In 2010 the NFL didn’t have a salary cap or basement, meaning teams could spend as much or as little as they wanted. The Cowboys spent more than anyone and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent less.

According to a Sporting News article from November 22, the Bucs spent $30 million less than what the salary cap minimum would have been. Meaning they would have been forced to spend about $110 million if there was a cap. I’m sure they have plenty of answers to explain why they are spending so little in comparison to other teams, but news earlier this year that the Bucs invested the least amount of money in their team (in the entire NFL) over the last five years doesn’t make individual fans or corporations get too excited to invest either.

The blackouts are also a problem for the Bucs because guys like Jon Kitna, David Garrard, Chad Henne, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Mark Sanchez have spent as much or more time on our TV screen this season than the Bucs’ budding superstar QB Josh Freeman, and that doesn’t help sell more merchandise and other things that increase the overall perceived value of the franchise when those rankings come out each year.

With time off from work and school, my family was looking for something to do and my kids like hockey too. We watch portions of almost every Rays game and Lightning game throughout their respective seasons because they are on TV and their players become household names. I know the Lightning have 41 games to sell and the Rays have 81, but as I said, it is just a three-hour entertainment expense for me, so there is a small difference between a pro hockey game or pro football game — my family is getting the same value.

The difference is my wallet is much heavier when I go home from a hockey game.

So, this New Year’s Day, my family watched the Gators play at Raymond James Stadium all afternoon, and for $120 my family of four will be enjoying the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers all night. And for that $120 we also got the added value of four hot dogs, four beers (sodas) and four hockey pucks to take home. My family will be happy, I have $380 left in my back pocket and I’m home in plenty of time to catch the Bucs and Saints in Hi-Def.

Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net believes the formula for beating the Saints is simple: LeGarrette Blount early. LeGarrette Blount often. LeGarrette Blount all day long.

As Barrett Ruud enters what could be his final hours in a Bucs uniform, Joe knows many fans’ Christmas wish was for a new, punishing middle linebacker.

While Joe would bet a few nickels that the Bucs wouldn’t mind one either, Joe would not be stunned if Raheem Morris wants Ruud, the “quarterback” of his defense, to return.

Joe thinks much of the Ruud decision will come down to Mark Dominik and Team Glazer’s approach to next season. If there’s an open checkbook and a real drive to go for a winner, then maybe Raheem wants the comfort level of Ruud in the middle and would rather invest in the positions around him.

Considering the possibility of a lost offseason program due to a lockout, Joe imagines that bringing in a rookie or outsider into the center of the defense would present a challenging task to get the guy up to speed in limited time.  

If the Bucs are still working patiently on the whole “lasting contender” philosophy, then Joe would imagine Raheem would welcome the chance to ditch Ruud and work in a fast, hopefully violent young player.

Joe’s tossing this out here now because he’s heard several times from Dominik and Raheem in the past week or so about how much all the young players develop via the offseason workouts. On WDAE-AM 620 this week, Raheem all but said E.J. Biggers became a stud because of his work last offseason. There are other examples. 

If there’s a likelihood of a completely dark offseason, then how can the Bucs realistically bring a young guy in at middle linebacker and expect him not to suffer on opening day?

Joe’s just got growing nausea because Raheem might stick with the devil he knows and the 100+ tackles he can count on at middle linebacker, even if he has to pay for him.

One guy has a Super Bowl ring.

The other guy has a grand total of two wins over teams with a winning record.

One guy will be leading his team in the playoffs (again).

The other guy, short of Joe waking up next to Rachel Watson, will be watching the playoffs like the rest of us on TV.

Yet if one is to look at statistics (settle down you baseball stat geeks), one would or could suggest Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman is a better quarterback than New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.

That’s the point that video star Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune is trying to make.

In addition, Freeman’s passer rating is 93.6 compared to Brees at 92.2. Freeman’s passer rating also is higher than Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning (91.4), who has 17 interceptions and 31 touchdowns this season.

“It’s just a constant awareness of ball security and also just having a whole offseason to get the majority of the reps to get used to the system,” Freeman said. “Every year I try to improve, and from Year One to Year Two I feel like I’ve made pretty good strides. I feel like I can continue to get better.

“There are still some interceptions, ones you wish you could have back, because you really shouldn’t have thrown it. If I can find a way to go out and correct that in the future, I feel like I can be pretty good.”

Richardson also cobbles together other numbers to make one feel that Freeman is a better quarterback than Brees, at least this year.

While Joe won’t argue with the premises, Joe bases his beliefs based on two relevant football issues:

Who is wearing jewelry?

Who is playing games past New Year’s weekend?

Slur-hurling Trey Wingo, Tim Hasselbeck and Tedy Bruschi look at the Bucs game at New Orleans Sunday in this BSPN video.

Now Joe is sure all his readers fly to Vegas to wager legally, versus placing bets with the guy whose cell number changes every week. 

Regardless of how or why you wager, Joe knows there are many aspiring handicappers reading. So to please the gambling crowd, Joe has turned to superpicker Bob Fox. A writer for various sports publications over the years, Fox flashed his stellar picking skills back in 2008 on JoeBucsFan.com, when Joe had a contest here among sports media members.

Fox gives you a few games every week. To date, Fox is 38-25 on the season.

By BOB FOX
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Wisconsin Badgers 31, TCU Horned Frogs 17
 
The Badgers (11-1) are going to their seventh Rose Bowl, while the 12-0 TCU Horned Frogs will be going to their first ever trip to the “Granddaddy of them all.”  TCU gets to play in Pasadena over a Pac-10 team – the traditional selection to face the Big Ten representative — because the Rose Bowl was obligated this year to select a team from a non-automatic BCS qualifying conference, if one was eligible and not playing in the title game. This should be an excellent game. The Badgers steamrolled their competition down the stretch, piling up 83 points (and 338 rushing yards) vs. Indiana, 48 points (and 357 rushing yards) vs. Michigan and 70 points (and 329 rushing yards) vs. Northwestern. The Badgers are led by QB Scott Tolzien, as he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for his performance in 2010. He completed 74.3% of his passes and had 16 TD passes, compared to just sixinterceptions for 2,300 yards.  But the calling card for the Badgers is their ability to run the rock, led by the three-headed monster of running bakcs John Clay, James White and Montee Ball. They average more than 247 yards a game. Combined the three backs have 44 rushing TDs. The main reason for the success on offense for the Badgers?  Their mammoth offensive line, led by Outland Award winning LT Gabre Carimi and All-American LG John Moffitt. On defense, the Badgers are led by a guy that Bucs fans should look at…DE J.J. Watt…as he will most likely declare for the draft. Watt leads the team in sacks (7), leads the teams in tackles for losses (21), has an interception, has recovered two fumbles and forced three others. Did I mention that Watt blocked three kicks as well? The Horned Frogs lead the country in total defense and in total pass defense. The Badgers will try to exploit the TCU defense as it is undersized across the line (6-2, 265 average) and will do what they do besrut — run the ball. The TCU offense is ranked ninth overall in the country. The offense is led by QB Andy Dalton, who has thrown 26 TD passes, compared to just six picks for 2,638. Dalton can run too, as he has 407 yards rushing and five TDs. The main man running the rock for the Horned Frogs is Ed Wesley, who has 1,065 yards rushing and 11 TDs. The key to the game for the Badgers defense is keeping Dalton in check and forcing him into mistakes. Bottom line, I see the Badgers forcing their will on the Horned Frogs, and although it will be a spirited game, I see the Badgers bringing back their fourth consecutive Rose Bowl trophy.   
 
New Orleans Saints 24, Tampa Bay Bucs 20
 
The Bucs (9-6) are still hoping for a playoff berth, but there will be a lot of dark clouds that will surround the Pewter Pirates on Sunday. For one, the Saints are going to go all out in this game, as they hope to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs after they beat the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.  The Falcons will be facing the Carolina Panthers at the same time the Bucs and Saints will play. It’s very unlikely that the Dirty Birds will lose, but who knows? To get into the playoffs, the Bucs must beat the Saints, plus have BOTH the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers lose. The imploding Giants will play the Washington Redskins on the road. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears, who will face the Pack at Lambeau Field at 4:15 Eastern time, already have the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs secured, and will probably have no reason to play all their starters the entire game vs. the Packers if the Falcons beat the Panthers, which would make da Bears’ chances of getting the No. 1 seed an impossibility. Now, I LOVE what I’m seeing from the Bucs as of late, and they will play much better than they did the last time these two teams met (I predicted a Bucs victory then by the way), but I just don’t see the Bucs getting enough pressure on Drew Brees to stop the Saints vaunted passing attack. Yes, I know that Marques Colston is probably going to be out (knee scope), but Brees still has plenty of weapons at WR and TE, and that also includes RB Pierre Thomas, who is back to form now. Josh Freeman is playing at a top notch level at QB, but one of his main weapons of late, WR Arrelious Benn, is now out with a knee injury. Freeman still has WR Mike Williams, TE Kellen Winslow Jr. and RB LeGarrette Blount on offense to help out the cause, but I can’t see the Bucs outscoring Brees and the Saints (6th ranked overall offense). The Saints defense is also very opportunistic (5th ranked overall). The Bucs will play hard, but I don’t see them winning this game in the Big Easy. 
 
Green Bay Packers 27, Chicago Bears 17
 
This game is very simple for the 9-6 Green Bay Packers. Beat the Bears (11-4) and they are in the NFC playoffs. Da Bears will know before kickoff if they have any shot at securing the top seed in the NFC playoffs, which is probably not going to happen, as the Falcons should beat the Panthers at home with relative ease. Then, no matter what head coach Lovie Smith says he will do before the game, I don’t see them playing their regulars more than a half or so.  However, even if the Bears decide to play their starters the entire game, I still don’t see them winning this game. When the two teams met earlier in the season, the Packers thoroughly outplayed the Bears but lost. Why? Too many mistakes and a Devin Hester punt return for a TD. I don’t see that happening this week.  QB Aaron Rodgers had maybe the best game of his career last week vs. the Giants when he threw four TD passes and had over 400 yards passing. Overall for the season, Rodgers has 27 TD passes, compared to 10 picks for 3,693 yards and a 101.9 QB rating. That still wasn’t enough to get Rodgers an invite to the Pro Bowl.  Josh Freeman knows the feeling, too. The Packers defense also forced six turnovers against the G-Men. The Pack has great balance as they have the eigth-ranked offense and the No. 9 defense in the NFL. The Packers can also rush the passer, as they have 41 sacks, led by the 12.5 QB putdowns by Clay Matthews. Nobody in the NFL has been sacked more often than Jay Cutler (46 times). Cutler has been protected better as of late, but still the offense for the Bears has been dreadful for the most part, as they are ranked only 30th in the NFL. One key to this game is will be special teams play. In other words, don’t punt the ball to Hester. When it’s all said and done, I see the Packers capturing the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs with their win.  
 
St. Louis Rams 17, Seattle Seahawks 10
 
Can you believe that this game will be the game of the week on NBC on Sunday night? What a horse manure division the NFC West is this year. The Rams (7-8) will be facing Seattle (6-9) for the division crown. The Rams have the 25th-ranked offense in the NFL and have the 17th-ranked defense. The Seahawks have 28th-ranked offense and the 29th-ranked defense. And these two teams are playing for the right to proceed to the NFC playoffs? While teams like the Bucs will probably sit at home? Oh well. QB Charlie Whitehurst probably starts for the Hawks. Whitehurst has been terrible in limited playing time this year (1 TD pass vs 3 picks and a 54.7 QB rating). The Rams have a pretty good QB meanwhile in rookie Sam Bradford (18 TD passes vs. 14 interceptions for 3,357 yards).  The Rams also have RB Steven Jackson, who is having another fine year (1,196 yards rushing, 42 receptions). The Rams also have a decent defense and I just don’t see the Seahawks winning this game, even at the normally tough venue of Qwest Field in Seattle. I would give the Seahawks a shot if Hasselbeck played, but not with Whitehurst behind center. I know America is football crazy, but this game will probably give NBC the lowest ratings that they have had all season, as the Rams will end up winning the game and the NFC Worst…er…West.

Sure, Joe knows the Bucs still have a shot at the playoffs. But the stars must align correctly.

Good guy Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times knows this all too well. In fact, if the Bucs miss the playoffs, Holder has the five plays that doomed the Bucs.

One of the plays is the play that Joe has written that is the play that ruined the Bucs playoff chances: When Kellen Winslow was held and interfered with so blatantly on a touchdown pass against the rebuilding since 1957 Detroit Lions that a drunk TSA agent would have been ashamed.

That play took away a touchdown, which would have been the winning score in what turned into an ugly loss.

Update 11:22 a.m. – Joe realizes Holder didn’t let Maurice Stovall off the hook for his choke job in kickoff coverage after all.

Gregg Rosenthal explains why Bucs fans should not be running for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge tomorrow night in this NBCSports.com video.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Joe wants to wish all his faithful readers a warm Happy New Year. Joe sincerely hopes this new year (hey, today is 1.1.11!) will be prosperous and beneficial for all.

As always, Joe will never take a day off. Expect Bucs news each day every day throughout the year. 

Joe will have sporadic posts today. He will be awash in Yuengling at the Outback Bowl, a New Year’s tradition of Joe’s, and when he returns from the game Joe will continue to inhale as much college football as humanly possible.

Joe also will do some maintenance to this site tonight. So if the site is slow or unavailable for a short period of time, please allow Joe some necessary patience.

Thanks, as always. Let’s hope 2011 starts favorably tomorrow, right?

What better way to kill off the final hours of the calendar year than with a pleasant, calming episode of Cosmic Schein? Back for his weekly trip to the end zone of the NFL universe, popular radio personality Adam Schein travels through football space and time outs. Among the subjects Schein rails about this week are the NFC West and the Giants. He also has an interesting comment about Raheem Morris. Consider yourself sucked in to the latest episode of Cosmic Schein!

Video: Cosmic Schein: Week 17 – NFL Picks

Joe expects the Bucs’ defense to get carved up on Sunday. It’s just a painful reality.

Good defenses get spanked by New Orleans, and the Bucs are not a good defense. But surely the Bucs can make big plays, improve on third down and do enough to get a win if Josh Freeman and LeGarrette Blount light it up.

Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network this week, Bucs icon and ironman Ronde Barber talked about stopping the Saints, which he says must be about being smart and holding on.

“I think our familiarity with [New Orleans] really worked to our detriment [earlier this season]. We thought we could get into certain situations where we knew exactly what they were going to do and we could just take it away. That just can’t be the case. You got to be smart when you play these guys,” Barber said.

“You gotta limit their big plays. Obviously, they’re going to move the football. But they’ve also been prone to make some mistakes. We’ve got to wait for them to make mistakes and try to hold on. This is not a team you stop. It’s not a team you go out and take away everything they have because they have too much talent on offense to do that.”

Of course, Barber fielded the inevitable questions about his health and his future. Joe’s hoping he returns. He’s definitely not replaceable, barring a stunning trade or free agent acquisition.

Barber sounds like he wouldn’t mind pulling a Brett Favre or Roger Clemens and showing up later than his teammates.

“I don’t feel great. But I still feel like I can get up on Wednesdays and Thursdays and go to practice and enjoy it. …A lot of it is just the daunting mentality of going through an entire offseason and getting yourself prepared to do this all over again,” Barber said. “…You have to make an unbiased decision. If I made a decision right now it would probably be to play, but you know, in February and March hopefully I’ll have more clarity.”

“Going over the details of coverages [during the offseason] and the little intracacies, and movement on the field and you’re like, ‘Oh, God. I’ve to do this again for another five months until we start training camp?'”

Joe has to assume that money will play a big role for Barber. How could it not? The man has made a pile of money during his six-year contract that ends in a matter of weeks. He deserves to be paid well for 2011. 

Joe hopes the Bucs do whatever they must to bring him back. Again, all things considered he’s really not replaceable, and the team should be driving to get over the top next season.

Mark Dominik said he laughed at a report claiming there was uneasiness among his coaching staff.

Joe’s been waiting on this for a while. …Waiting on a correction from PewterReport.com.

At this point, Joe suspects it’s not coming. So Joe can’t sit quiet.

Back on Tuesday, the web-only Pewter fellows published a story spelling out via anonymous sources that there was rash uncertainty gripping coaches at One Buc Palace, primarily because much of the coaching staff has no contract for 2011. And, of course, there may be a lockout or work stoppage in 2011.

The implication was that staff is worried about unemployment. And PewterReport.com went on to write that Greg Olson and offensive line coach Pete Mangurian were among those without contracts for 2011. The story went national via ProFootballTalk.com and NBC Sports.

But later that day Rick Stroud of the St. Pete Times refuted part of the story, and other publications followed. 

Many of the Bucs’ assistant coaches do not have contracts for next season. But contrary to reports, offensive coordinator Greg Olson and offensive line coach Pete Mangurian are under contract with the Bucs for 2011, according to a team official.

And then while speaking on WDAE-AM 620 Wednesday, Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said his staff was laughing at the PewterReport.com-generated story and that it was off the mark.

“Around the building, I wouldn’t say there’s any uneasiness. This coaching staff has really bonded and really worked well together. You know, we walked around today and kind of laughing about an article that was written and sitting there saying, ‘There’s no one in this building that’s really concerned about what’s going on.’ I think we all feel like this unit, and this group that we have is working cohesively … scouting/front office/coaching. …It’s really not a concern right now,” Dominik said.

“And I think everybody understands there’s 31 other teams that have coaches or people that are coming out of contract whenever the season ends. And so it’s not a problem within our building. I’m sure once the season’s over and the dust settles a little bit, we’ll take care of business here in the organization. And continue to get this ship going exactly where we want it to go, which is where it’s headed.”

Now Joe’s not quite sure what the fellows at PewterReport.com are waiting for when it comes to issuing a correction on their site.

Maybe they still think they’re right and Olson and Mangurian are, in fact, wondering where theyll be working next year?

But if that’s not the case, then the Pewter fellows are really failing in their journalistic duty and giving guys like Joe, Pat Yasinskas and other Web-only professionals a bad name.

And as Joe braces for the hateful feedback/comments on this post, please know that Joe always expects to be held to the highest standards of journalistic integrity. When Joe learns he’s wrong, Joe’s the first to speak up.

This champ goes for a prestigious North American mark tonight

A great champion will shoot for a major honor tonight at Derby Lane Greyhound Track in St. Petersburg.

Flying Coal City is gunning for his 49th win of 2010 in Race 10. If he gets it, that would make him the winningest dog in North America this year. (He could tie for the honor depending on the outcome of an afternoon race in Palm Beach).

Now Joe’s been a greyhound racing fan for a long time. And Joe can assure you this is a huge deal.

Flying Coal City, aka Cook Train, has faced top competition all year in sprint and distance races. And he’s recorded record times in both. No challenge is too great for this dog.

Tonight he’ll look to repeat his latest performance in the 550-yard sprint, which he covered Wednesday in 30.66 seconds. …The Bucs could use a running back with those kind of wheels!

If you don’t have New Year’s Eve plans, get out to Derby Lane tonight to enjoy great racing, poker and dining. The action runs all night.

Here’s a look from the other side of the fence at Sunday’s Bucs-Saints game from the Times-Picayune beat crew.

Columnist Jeff Duncan makes the point that the Saints’ pattern this season is that they don’t always come to play. He said the Saints-Ravens game (a loss for New Orleans) two weeks ago was a great example. Reporter Mike Triplett says the Saints can blow out the Bucs.

Check out the video. Interesting to hear how the Bucs are viewed. Caution: video nuggets might drive you to punch a wall.