A strong year from a healthy Earnest Graham will go a long way to helping the Bucs navigate a brutal schedule.

Joe was doing a bit of research last night — no, he wasn’t trying to find out what school Rachel Watson teaches at — and came across an interesting tidbit thanks to the hard-working NFL Media Relations folks in New York.

Of the 32 NFL teams, the Bucs have the fifth-highest strength of schedule, trailing only, in order, Miami, Carolina, New England and Atlanta.

For good measure, NFC South foe New Orleans has the eight-highest strength of schedule.

What’s this tell Joe? If the Bucs can somehow get decent play from whoever Raheem the Dream starts at quarterback and somehow Jim Bates can get decent play from a patchwork of a defense — two major ifs — it’s not totally out of the question the Bucs could make things interesting come Thanksgiving.

After all, if the strength of schedule means anything, it’s not as if the Bucs’ NFC South bretheren have a cakewalk this year either.