Joe provides his weekly peek at what the lords of the national media seem to think of the Bucs in their weekly power rankings.

Mike Sando of BSPN.com doesn’t seem overly enthused with Raheem the Dream’s defrocking of defensive coordinator Jim Bates, ranking the Bucs at No. 30.

Firing the defensive coordinator with six games remaining isn’t going to fix the Bucs’ talent problems.

Former Bucs beat writer and current SI.com columnist Don Banks seems to be of the same mind as Sando, ranking the Bucs at No. 31.

Well at least now Jim Bates and Jeff Jagodzinski go can go out and grab a beer together and talk about their days as Bucs coordinators under rookie head coach Raheem Morris. And I do mean days. Weeks at most.

Not even the solid performances of rookie quarterback Josh Freeman can give the Bucs a boost in the eyes of Adrian Hasenmayer of FoxSports.com who has the Bucs at No. 31.

After two solid outings, rookie QB Josh Freeman got his first true rookie hazing by the Saints last weekend. That’s OK fans, give this kid some time and talent and you just may have something here.

Though Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com was not surprised at the firing of Jim Bates, the move by Raheem the Dream was not enough for Prisco to promote the Bucs in his rankings. He has the Bucs also at No. 31.

Josh Freeman played like a rookie against the Saints, but he will have those days. It’s hard to believe that’s a Bucs defense we’ve been watching. It tells us why Jim Bates was fired.

Knox Bardeen of Fanhouse.com isn’t enamoured with the Bucs either, placing them at No. 31.

Tampa Bay took a big step backwards on Sunday as rookie Josh Freeman was hit often and threw three interceptions and the team flailed around most of the day against New Orleans. The remaining schedule doesn’t get a whole lot easier with Atlanta twice and the Saints again, meaning the Buccaneers may be ready to get the 2009 season behind them. Be thankful it’s almost done.