"Whoa, ref, hold on. We're not taking a knee to close out the half. The Bucs can't stop us."

Perhaps the greatest sign of how far the Bucs defense has fallen was the Chargers’ fearlessness at the end of the first half.

San Diego displayed major league bravado you don’t usually see from an NFL offense, especially when there’s allegedly a nasty, big play defense on the other side of the ball.

In case you headed for the fridge or the toilet and the end of the first half Sunday, the Chargers, leading 17-10, returned a kickoff to their 36 yard line with just 17 seconds left in the half. Rather than take a knee, San Diego threw the ball over the middle to Vincent Jackson for 25 yards, Then the Chargers kicked a 56-yard field goal to end the half and shock every Bucs fan on the planet.

Joe believes this was the ultimate slap in the face to the Bucs’ defense. No respect. No fear.

As much as the Chargers watched film of the Bucs secondary making big plays in the past month, Norv Turner saw the Bucs up close and wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

Joe hopes the Bucs can turn it around defensively against the Raiders and get into the playoffs. It would be criminal for Monte Kiffin’s legacy to be tarnished by a defensive collapse to end the season.