Joe expects the Bucs’ defense to get carved up on Sunday. It’s just a painful reality.

Good defenses get spanked by New Orleans, and the Bucs are not a good defense. But surely the Bucs can make big plays, improve on third down and do enough to get a win if Josh Freeman and LeGarrette Blount light it up.

Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network this week, Bucs icon and ironman Ronde Barber talked about stopping the Saints, which he says must be about being smart and holding on.

“I think our familiarity with [New Orleans] really worked to our detriment [earlier this season]. We thought we could get into certain situations where we knew exactly what they were going to do and we could just take it away. That just can’t be the case. You got to be smart when you play these guys,” Barber said.

“You gotta limit their big plays. Obviously, they’re going to move the football. But they’ve also been prone to make some mistakes. We’ve got to wait for them to make mistakes and try to hold on. This is not a team you stop. It’s not a team you go out and take away everything they have because they have too much talent on offense to do that.”

Of course, Barber fielded the inevitable questions about his health and his future. Joe’s hoping he returns. He’s definitely not replaceable, barring a stunning trade or free agent acquisition.

Barber sounds like he wouldn’t mind pulling a Brett Favre or Roger Clemens and showing up later than his teammates.

“I don’t feel great. But I still feel like I can get up on Wednesdays and Thursdays and go to practice and enjoy it. …A lot of it is just the daunting mentality of going through an entire offseason and getting yourself prepared to do this all over again,” Barber said. “…You have to make an unbiased decision. If I made a decision right now it would probably be to play, but you know, in February and March hopefully I’ll have more clarity.”

“Going over the details of coverages [during the offseason] and the little intracacies, and movement on the field and you’re like, ‘Oh, God. I’ve to do this again for another five months until we start training camp?'”

Joe has to assume that money will play a big role for Barber. How could it not? The man has made a pile of money during his six-year contract that ends in a matter of weeks. He deserves to be paid well for 2011. 

Joe hopes the Bucs do whatever they must to bring him back. Again, all things considered he’s really not replaceable, and the team should be driving to get over the top next season.