Strong takes on the Bucs.

If one were to accuse former Bucs guard Ian Beckles of hopping on the Bucs’ bandwagon, it wouldn’t be fully off the mark.

Beckles is really enjoying watching his old team flip the switch in the past few weeks. And the way the Bucs defense is playing and the offense has found purpose, Beckles said don’t be shocked if the Bucs play a home game in two weeks.

Of course, Beckles, a popular local sports radio personality, took to his podcast “In the Trenches” to discuss his beloved former team.

On the overall team effort against New Orleans:

“I thought the Bucs played better defensively than offensively.”

On the difference in the Bucs from when Bucco Bruce Arians took over until now:

“Tom Brady bringing that winning mentality is the difference. The difference is Tom Brady. We have to give Jason Licht deserves a lot of credit for piecing this team together. There were years where we had no idea what Jason Licht was doing. But it kind of came together this year.”

On Arians at least publicly lusting over Brady last winter:

“You have to give Bruce Arians some love for going out and getting Tom Brady. They all deserve a pat on the back. …
Drew Brees plays old. Tom Brady doesn’t play old. First and foremost the Buccaneers have to be given credit for keeping him upright, keeping him clean. And that gives them a chance to win the game.”

On how the Bucs, loaded with weapons, turned to two guys who were backups just a few weeks ago to beat the Saints:

“Leonard Fournette and Cameron Brate were our leading receivers. I don’t know if you told me that before the game I would have said the Buccaneers would have won.”

On how the defense beat the Saints:

“Todd Bowles was uber-aggressive in that game. And I love going out there swinging. … Carlton Davis took out Michael Thomas. No catches … are you kidding me?

The Bucs proved they were more loaded than the Saints on offense:

“As a whole we just had more weapons. To say that with a Saints team with Alvin Kamara and Sean Payton calling the plays and Michael Thomas, it is saying something. Especially in their house. … Scotty Miller all of a sudden resurfacing.”

On Bucs inside linebacker Devin White:

“Devin White is a monster, OK? He was out of control yet in control. He was frothing at the mouth. He was everywhere, imposing his will. And that is greatness to me. To me I saw Hardy Nickerson; I saw Derrick Brooks out there. It’s fun to watch. And that’s why we got Devin White.”

On the Bucs winning in the trenches:

“[Rakeem] Nuñez-Roches has been picking his game up a little bit. He’s getting some good penetration. Not making a lot of plays but penetration is half the battle a lot of times.”

Beckles loves how the Bucs seemingly have embraced ground-and-pound football:

“We attempted more rushes than the Saints and that is the equation. It’s who has the ability to run the ball more. Who has the most rushes in the game? The Bucs just grinded them. RoJo is back running hard. That’s all we need. We don’t need Tom Brady throwing for over 400 yards. I don’t like that equation. Nobody does. We need to run the football especially going into Lambeau Field in January. You can’t throw the ball 50 times in January in Lambeau Field. Don’t do that.

“To me, the Bucs are changing their mindset at the right time. They changed their mindset to ‘Let’s run this ball a little bit. Let’s control this ball. Let’s control this game. Let’s control this clock.'”

Growing up in Canada, Beckles spoke on playing in northeastern Wisconsin in January:

“It ain’t gonna be warm. You have to put your big boy pants on. I could literally teach a class in playing in cold weather being from Montreal, Canada. I played in some games where humans really weren’t supposed to be out there. And I was still out there playing. … You know how I dealt with it? Just deal with it. Just almost ignore it. You are better off ignoring it. Like, I am not going out there with sleeves. I’m not. Just forget about the cold and go out there and play. Nobody has died in the cold, not that cold anyways. Don’t worry about it. The worst thing would be to let cold be the reason why you didn’t advance to the Super Bowl to play in your city and it is probably going to be 70-75 degrees here. Nobody wants to hear you bellyache for those three hours.”

On the Bucs’ chances tomorrow against the Packers:

“The Buccaneers are as hot as anybody in football right now. … The Buccaneers are in a wonderful position. Six weeks ago I would have bet my house they would not be here. But here they are.”

Beckles ended his podcast simply saying, “This is Tom Brady’s world.”

As always, Beckles welcomes feedback and encourages listeners to submit Bucs questions by e-mailing him at IanBeckles@RadioInfluence.com.

Enjoy the Ira Kaufman Podcast, presented by Bill Currie Ford.