Let the JJ era begin in Tampa Bay

I'm now officially the president of the Josh Johnson fan club

Update 12:30pm: During his Monday press conference, Coach Raheem Morris named Josh Johnson as the Buccaneers new starting QB. Finally, a decision from Coach Morris that I can stand behnd. Good job, coach! You've taken your first step. Now, don't ever, ever, ever let Byron Leftwich under center again. He's fine as 3rd QB for the rest of the season.

It's over. Three weeks into the season and as far as I'm concerned the Byron Leftwich era for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is over.  He should never line up behind center again unless he's the only QB left standing. I don't care if he's the most experienced. I don't care if he's suffering because of injuries to his teammates. I don't care that the defense is spotting the other team points by the boatload. I'll I care is that this team is awful and it does no good to start that guy anymore.

What is there to be gained by Leftwich ever throwing a pass again. We know he's not the future of the franchise. We know he's not even the present. We know that the offense has slowed to a crawl the last three weeks. No hustle, no heart. The Bucs offense fooled us a bit on week 1 by giving Dallas a little bit of a game. But, that was all emotion. And that emotion has disappeared. Now, we're left with a team with no leaders, no identity, and no spark. Changes need to be made and it needs to start at the quarterback position.

I think Raheem Morris should make the move to Josh Johnson this week. What does he have to lose? They've already made the decision to sit Freeman for awhile, so I suggest that he give some snaps to Josh Johnson. He can't be any worse than what we saw from Leftwich yesterday.  He may even be able to provide a little emotion or a little spark like he did yesterday. Sure, he has plenty to learn and I understand the Giants were playing soft when he came in yesterday. But, I think it's worth a look. Give the kid a chance. What's the worse that can happen? He loses. The Bucs are already losing. Maybe he can even allow Morris to keep the other Josh on the sideline for a little longer.

No matter what a change needs to be made. This team is awful and Morris will start losing this team rea quickly if he doesn't make and effort at changes. I still wonder how Chucky would be faring this year.

Defense seems confused

Since 1996, there's one thing Bucs fans could always count on: the Defense. Even if the offense was terrible, the defense seemed to be there. Even if you couldn't stand watching Trent Dilfer throw INT's or Jeff Garcia dance around the pocket, the defense was always there. The defense was the unit you didn't want to miss. The defense was the unit that was going to keep the Bucs respectable. Well Bucs fans, it seems them days are over.

As it stands after 2 weeks in the season, the Bucs have the 31st ranked defense in the NFL. They give up big pass plays. They give up big chunks of yards to unknown backs with a crappy offensive line. They make Tony Romo look like Joe Montana.

Now it seems, Coach Raheem Morris has found the solution to the defensive problem: They players don't buy into it. Yesterday, Coach held a town hall meeting to try and convince his team that defensive coordinator Jim Bates defense can work.

"It's exactly what I put up on the board (Wednesday) to show our team (Bates') philosophy and what he believes in," Morris said. "And I matched it up with our philosophy and what I believe in. And it's pretty similar. So a lot of things that we already believe in is what we're going to do."

Really coach? Our philosophy is matched up with our philosophy? Is that what you mean? Or do you mean that Bates' defensive philosophy is the same as your defensive philosophy? Or does it just mean that all this defensive philosophy has you confused and you just want to go back to the Cover 2 you know so well.

And I think that's where the problem likes. Morris may have been trying to convince himself as much as the team. In fact, the Bucs played a lot more of the traditional 2-deep safety look as opposed to Bates' bump-n-run deal. Sounds like coach isn't quite sure.

Let's be honest, changing the defense wasn't the best idea this year. Morris probably should've stuck with what he knows best and hired someone to be the defensive caretaker. Morris has a lot on his plate as a first year coach and really shouldn't be exerting that much energy into the defense. If the Bucs had stayed with the Cover 2 base defense, Morris would have a much easier time diagnosing what the problems are.

Of course, the biggest problem is that the Bucs really don't have the personnel for Bates' defense.  The defensive line is atrocious. And, because of Tanard Jackson's suspension, the secondary is missing one of its best players.

I'm not sure why the organization decided to change the defense among all the other changes this year. I guess growing pains are to be expected after the loss of Monte Kiffin, but who knew they were going to be this painful. I just hope Morris doesn't get so fed up with the defense that he decides to fire his 2nd coordinator in his short coaching career.

Do you miss Chucky, yet?

Hey you. Yes, I'm talking to you. I'm talking to the fan who wanted Chucky out of town. I'm talking to the fan that has been complaining about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2003. I'm talking to the fan who couldn't stand Jon Gruden. I'm talking to the fan who thought Gruden won with Tony Dungy's team. I'm talking to the fan who actually rooted for the team to lose, so they could call louder for a new coach. I'm talking to the fan who thought that all the Bucs needed was a new coach and a new direction. I'm talking to the fan who gave Monte Kiffen all the credit for the wins, and blamed Jon Gruden for all the losses. Yes, I'm talking to you. Do you miss Chucky, yet?

I'm guessing those fans don't miss Chucky too much, but I sure do. This team is like a rudderless ship. As Martin Fennelly of TBO put so succinctly, "This team stinks like Leeman Bennett and Richard Williamson." That's right, after 2 games I officially calling this regime the 2nd coming of the Bennett and Williamson days. To be sure, it's not all Raheem Morris's fault. I actually feel sorry of the guy. The Bucs are playing in the NFL with one hand tied behind the back.  For some reason, the team is well below the salary cap and seem to like it that way.

With all the hemming and hawing about Gruden and Allen, it looks as though the culprits may have been higher up on the food chain. Give Chucky credit, he did what he could with what he had. He even was willing to stick around and not call out ownership. He even took the blame for them.  But now, the curtain is revealed.  And much like the days of Bucco Bruce, the team won't be able to lure a coach of Chucky's caliber here anymore.  Morris will probably flounder a few years before the next sacrificial lamb is brought in. Get used to it Bucs fans. This team is bad and it isn't getting better anytime soon.,

I know John Lynch. Sabby, you're no John Lynch

Nothing gets my blood boiling quicker than yet another comparison between Sabby Piscitelli and Tampa Bay Buccaneer great John Lynch.  After Sabby's performance on Sunday, I thought all that kind of garbage could've been put to rest. But, leave it to Times columnist Gary Shelton to apologize for Sabby through Lynch.

In an article this morning. Shelton wrote how Lynch understands Sabby's pain . No thanks, Gary. I'm not buying.

Ever since Sabby was drafted in 2007, fans have been looking for Sabby to become the next John Lynch. I mean it's obvious they're the same guy, right? They're both white and they both play safety.  To me, that's where the comparison ends.

Sabby is no John Lynch. If you noticed last year, the Bucs defense dropped off dramatically every time Jermaine Phillips was hurt and the Sabby had to fill in. Not only does he get burnt, I've also seen him get blown up at the line. I've seen him take bad angles. And I've seen him make boneheaded plays like running into a punter.

Say what you want, but I don't think John Lynch ever ran into a punter. I don't think John Lynch ever got his teammates so upset that they started punching the bench.

The scary part of this whole discussion is that Coach Raheem Morris decided to try the Jermaine Phillips to linebacker experiment just to get Sabby more playing time. Makes you wonder what he's watching? It also makes you wonder just how bad Will Allen is that he can't be Sabby out.

They are who we thought they were

Coach Morris has a discussion with Soldier Boy Winslow

I must admit, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had me fooled for a few minutes. With just about a minute left in the 1st half, the Bucs were winning 7-6.  It looked like they would head into the locker room with a lead.  It looked like Coach Raheem Morris's inspiration had worked. The offense looked good. The defense held. I even started thinking that .500 may not be out of the question.

Then the shoe dropped. With 46 seconds left on the clock, Cowboys QB Tony Romo hit Miles Austin for a 42 yard touchdown pass.  And like that, I realized the Buccaneers were who I thought they were. Sevicable on offense, bad on defense.

I have to give Coach Morris credit for getting his team "juiced" for this game. They played way over their heads in the 1st half.  However, the superior talent on the Cowboys eventually overcame any "juice" the Bucs had. The question is: How long can Morris keep the juice flowing? Each time the Bucs lose, the team will find it harder and harder to find that juice. Soon, the players will start turning on the coach to protect their own reputations. How long before we see Kellen Winslow call out Morris? It could be before week 3.

At least the offense passed for a professional squad. Props to Cadillac Williams for showing his ability as a runner. I think he and Derrick Ward make an excellent tandem. I also thought Byron Leftwich did a good job. I expected much less from him, but he was able to come through. Of course, if Jeff Faine is out for any length of time, we could lose Leftwich rather quickly.

Runnin' through your team in a Cadillac

I'm not so sure why so many Bucs fans were surprised when the Bucs released their opening day depth chart and penciled Cadillac Williams in for the starting job.  The writing was on the wall. Coach Raheem Morris practically said as much in the 3rd pre-season game. Yet, there are still those who don't understand why the team would make this move.

Let's be clear. Cadillac is injury-prone. But, don't confuse injury-prone with lack of talent. A healthy Cadillac is the most talented running back on the roster. Why wouldn't you give him a chance?

Of course, there are those Bucs fans who hate everything about Cadillac. He represents the old regime. He represents a "failed" draft pick under the previous regime. He was an easy fall guy for what they said was wrong with the team. Success for Caddy, refutes their argument that Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen didn't know talent. It refutes the argument that Gruden was unable to see past a Cadillac to Mr. August, Earnest Graham.

For me, I'm going to enjoy watching #24 make his comeback. I have no axe to grind. I'm always looking for the coaching staff to put the best guy out there.

Life after Chucky: The grass isn't always greener. Bucs fire OC.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse at One Buc Place under the new regime, they have to go and fire their offensive coordinator just days before the 4th preseason game.

Look, I don't know the details. All I know is that the Bucs said they've dismissed Jeff Jagodzinski. Head Coach Raheem Morris is scheduled a news conference at noon. But, does it really matter what he says? This team is in shambles and it's obvious. From the moment the Bucs fired Chucky, this is the kind of thing we've seen over and over again from a regime that seems in way over its head.

For my part, I just shake my head. For the past 3 years, the chorus of fans calling for Chucky's head grew louder and louder.  Having one of the best coaches in the NFL wasn't enough, some fans wanted change. Nothing Chucky did seemed right. If the Bucs won, it was the players. If the Bucs lost, it was Chucky's fault. It was as if Chucky beat their dog or something.

Now, we're left with the aftermath.  We have a head coach who doesn't look like he knows what he's doing. We have a general manager who hasn't learned the fine art of running a team yet. We have a team that can't decide on a quarterback.  We have guys in the secondary who can't keep out of trouble. And we get Offensive coordinators who are shown the door right before the season starts.

For the first time since the Bucs moved into Raymond James Stadium, I have absolutely no expectations for this team. It's a sad feeling. And it's a feeling that seem to be pretty prevalent among Bucs fans.

I ask you: Would you feel like this if Chucky was running this team today?

I know I'd be arguing with fans from the other NFC South teams about how the Bucs were going to take care of business this year.