Did I Not Like That Well boy were myself and the President wrong in predicting a win last Sunday. That was a good old fashioned arse-kicking of the highest calibre and 31-14 flattered us in many respects, particularly with the Saints taking a knee at the end and leaving points on the table. Before writing this drivel I spent a fair amount of time searching for the positives out of the game, but besides Joey Galloway I came up snake eyes in that respect. If you give a passer like Drew Brees time in the pocket he will kill you and that’s what happened. The lack of pressure up front was alarming and to be brutally honest The Anthill Mob could have created a bigger pass rush than Messrs Rice, Spires and Hovan last weekend. Looks like old father time has caught up with some members of our defensive front seven, and gives proof to the old adage once spouted by a wise old NFL sage that pass rushers are in fact a lot like dogs turds – the older they are, the easier they are to pick up, and as a result the Saints offensive line had a grand old time palming off our aging crew in the afternoon sunshine. A few things I think 1. Hey Chad Johnson – just shut up and play the god damn game will you. Cut the Ocho Twitto, novelty haircut, hit-list etc shit and just get on the field and play. You’re not even the best receiver on your own team at the moment and for the record, no we don’t give a toss what your thoughts are or where you are between Monday to Saturday. 2. Suggestion for the Bucs this Monday Night – give the run a full commitment why don’t we? Focusing on the pass has hardly been wildly successful so lets get back to basics. 3. Our defense looks old and more to the point downright s***. 4. I think if our roster was a hand at cards, you’d probably want to throw it in and start over. Time to demonstrate why you are known as an offensive genius Chucky – I don’t expect a stream of W’s but I do want to see consistency on offense, a passing game featuring more than just flinging the long ball at Joey Galloway, and some explanation as to why some weeks Alex Smith and Michael Clayton just completely disappear off the radar. 5. Is there a bigger **** in sports than Terrell Owens? And if he wins the gold, Jerry Jones must also be on the rostrum too while we are on the subject. 6. Am I the only one thinking Reggie Bush may turn into a total bust in the NFL? He looks more like Gail Platt than Gayle Sayers at the moment; anyone else remember the can’t miss prospect known as Desmond Howard – eight games in and I fear a similar fate for a guy I may have wasted the top pick on in the FFL Draft. 7. I think that though I’m not wishing any ill on Shelton Quarles, his injury may be a blessing in disguise. Barrett Ruud has waited patiently for 25 games to get a decent run at MLB and now he will get his shot in a decent audition. We really have sod all to lose by playing him so I don’t see any negatives at this position. 8. I think if the Bucs beat the bastards this Monday Night and put a spanner in their works, then I will forgive them for this season. 9. It’s rivalry week in the FFL – let’s get it on Clive (now there’s a sentence that I never thought I’d write). 10. I think if you click on this link it might cheer you up - I particularly laughed my sides off at the bloke two rows in front in the Bengals game shirt – bet he felt lonely! Still let's not get too downhearted, after all there’s a high draft pick to play for and looking at our upcoming schedule we will be right in the ballpark for this little competition with only the Cardinals to watch out for in the pecking order. Therefore a trip to visit the Twits in the heart of big bad-ass pick-up truck and cross-burning country is just what we need. At least with a 2-6 record we should be able to go there and play loose – though not the kind of loose our secondary demonstrated last Sunday. We should have nothing to fear going into this game and even enjoy our casting role as spoiler and underdog. The Panthers’ offense is a one-man band so by sticking Ronde Barber on Steve Smith or even double-teaming him, we can force somebody else on their roster to beat us basically taking Smith out of the game. Offensively we surely must establish the running game and avoid putting ourselves in a 14-0 hole by half-time, now that would be progress. Buccaneer Bruce is now tailing off a little after a sensational start but the problems on this team are much more deep seated than lying at his door. As I said a few weeks back, Gradkowski is simply there to not lose us the game – you cannot place a rookie QB in the role of saviour as unless your Dan Marino it just won’t happen. The key question for me is whether to steel myself for a night of two hours sleep and stay up and watch the game live. Ah, what the hell you’re only young once – at least I was a few years ago – I’ll tough it out and take one for the team, though I’m not sure how my missus and kids will take to me hurling foul and abusive language and insults at 2am when I see the Twits take the field. Do I believe we can win this game – yes. Will we win it? Probably not. Our offense is unbalanced and our defense stinks but as we are playing that lot from the hick state, I cannot predict anything but a Buc victory so let’s go 21-17 Bucs in the most wildly off-base optimistic observation since Shaun Alexander came out with his “god healed my broken foot” b******s back in September. Enjoy the game and do me a favour, when you see a Panther, abuse him. Nod of Acknowledgement to – Saints coach Sean Payton. Rookie NFL Coach who didn’t get caught up in the emotion of a road win and showed the class to take a knee 4 times thus giving up a certain score, with still more than 2 minutes left last Sunday. Classy move coach, and for that you have my respect and good wishes for your team for the rest of this season. Additional Nod of Acknowledgement to – Southend United, winners of the Essex Derby this past week. Get in the Real World Award – The Pittsburgh Steelers. Their 2-6 record as defending champs is self-explanatory really – they got hot for two months at the end of last season and rode the fairytale all the way and kudos to them for that, but as for a period of dominance and repeat championships? Nah. US Sports Story That Bores Me Senseless – Any story with a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning feature. Please give it a rest – we have no wish to know what toe nail clippers Tom uses, or whether Peyton scratches and sniffs sachets in magazines. I now appear to know more about these guys than some members of my own family, enough already.