The Bucs offensive line showed flashes of being ready to lead a dominant running attack. The success of Cadillac Williams and Earnest Graham against Miami was invigorating. Joe sat down with Pro Bowl guard Davin Joseph to get his take on the line’s progression in the zone-blocking scheme, his play, and the state of the Bucs.

Joe: In the past you’ve talked about how it took you almost an entire season to master Jon Gruden’s playbook. Tonight, Jeff Faine said at halftime the offensive line would probably master the zone-blocking system by midseason. What’s your timeline? How long is it going to take?

Davin Joseph: I don’t like to put a timeline. I really believe the more games we get in. The more practices. The more times we actually get to run our offense the better we’ll get. The longer we keep these guys together and the healthier we are, the better everything will blossom. With the running backs we have, they cover us so good. Sometimes we miss blocks and they still make us look so good. But it’s hard for me to put a timeline. But I feel as if we’re going in the right direction. …To know that the guys are believing in the offense and trying to execute. Soon, and we don’t know when, we’re going to hit a boom and it’s going to be really exciting. It’s going to be really exciting.

Joe: Can you put a percentage on it? Do you feel you’re 60 percent there as an offensive line?

Davin Joseph: I gotta go back and see this film because I feel like the beginning of the game the running game wasn’t going but the passing game was there. At the end of the game the running game was really loaded in the box and the passing picked up and then there were all the blitzes. …It’s hard to judge. I’ll know better as we get into that Dallas week of preparation about how much we’ve progressed. From the first game to now we’ve progressed a lot. But we still need more games, more time together and all that good stuff.

Joe: The offensive line is meaner and leaner physically this year. After playing three preseason games in your new body, how do you feel right now?

Davin Joseph: This is the best physically I’ve felt since being in the league. It’s a combination of things. It’s dropping weight, lifting more, being in pads more. It all kind of gets you in football shape. I feel like I’m in football shape now, which is much earlier than in previous years.

Joe: Is there a Super Bowl mindset in the locker room?

Davin Joseph: We have to take everything week by week. And if we’re able to do that, and fight every game, we’re going to put ourselves in a great position to make a run. As long as we fight, the way we know how we can fight. We’ll be fine.

Joe: Was the fight there against Miami?

Davin Joseph: The fight was there. The execution was not there. But the fight was there. Some guys really going out and giving up their body and making special plays, really on defense. Really going out there and executing and playing physical. On the offensive side of the ball, our chemistry wasn’t quite there and we didn’t make great adjustments. But the fight was there. You saw guys finishing blocks and being aggressive. That’s what has to be consistent. And it’s been that way. We can correct everything else.