You’ve all read THE PESSIMIST, who spews his Bucs-related anger like no other. But Joe also wants you to know THE OPTIMIST. 

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the team goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t.

The Saints game was ugly, no doubt. The Bucs were exposed in just about every area of need they have.

The lack of pass rush? Fifteen NFL Players have more sacks than the Bucs do.

Trying to stop the run? The top two draft picks including the 3rd overall choice has increased the Bucs from dead last in Rush Defense to, well, next to last — 157 yards per game. But hey, that is better than last year; where at 158 yards per game the defensive coordinator was fired.

That is not likely to happen this year, as its good to have friends in high places! But if you look closely, there is a difference. No folks, the Bucs are not there yet, and anyone who reads my Bucstop website regularly knows I predicted exactly this kind of start to the year. I said the Bucs would start the year 3-1, before reality hit in; this is a very, very young team. How young? This is the  entire Blue-Grey team plus Ronde Barber playing all time cornerback. This is a team where Josh Freeman and Sammy Stroughter are veterans and Gerald McCoy and Brian Price just havn’t found their home yet.

I won’t sugar coat it. Warren Sapp had a sack by now; heck, he had one before halftime of his very first game up in the Vet at Philadelphia.

But that’s about all Sapp did for the first year or so, and Randall Cunningham trips up every once in a while too, you know. McCoy is still trying to think about what to do, instead of instinctively just doing it. That takes time, as anyone who switches jobs can attest to. If you’re a cook at Hops for 5 years, then you take a job with Chili’s, it’s going to take awhile before you don’t have to think about how the fixings on an order of fajitas are set up. You think, you take up time. You react instinctively, you’ve got fajitas for everyone!

Last year, the Bucs gave up 158 yards per game on the ground, but that was to everyone, including the likes of Fred Jackson and the Buffalo Bills gashing us for 163 yards. It was also the Redskins adding on 128, and Miami rushing for 198.  Sure, Chris Ivory is an unknown too, but the offensive line he was running behind wasn’t; we were watching them in February, remember?

No this team is not ready to take on the Steelers or the Saints just yet. What they are ready to do is take on the weak teams, you know, the ones that beat them last year, and play competitive with them. They are ready to play in the same league with the average teams, all the while learning their lessons from their beat downs, taking film of their ills and having them dissected.

At this time a year ago, we were wondering, Can the Bucs win a game?

Today, were wondering, can the Bucs reach .500? We’re asking the tougher questions because the players are better. Byron Leftwich has been replaced with Josh Freeman, who still has not finished a full 16 games. Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall have been replaced with Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn. Mike Nugent’s wide right kicks would have dreamed of the chance to hit the right goal post.

The progress is there folks, if you care to see it. The finished product, however, is not. But don’t think for a moment that just because of last week’s game, that it won’t be.