Once More Into the Last Chance Saloon Like the Bucs play-off chances themselves, it’s a lingering and lame effort that follows from your truly this week, as the entire contents of my stomach has decided to exit the scene in the last 36 hours – a bit like the Bucs secondary on several deep passes this season, so I write this from the sick bay of my home computer, oh woe is me. Rather like Boris the Blade in the movie Snatch, the Bucs play-off life appears simply impossible to kill and if the Rams do lose to the lowly Cards this week and we better the Saints, then the possibility really exists of a Wild Card berth. Sounds enticing doesn’t it! However what would that potential play-off game entail? Five things I think 1. I think I had to laugh when I read that the classless tub of lard known as Todd Sauerkraut of the Panthers, has been arrested for a multitude of motoring and intoxication offences the other night – what a fine chap this man is. It appears that the blobby Panthers Punter needs to concentrate on putting his own chaotic house in order before pointing his opinions at others. Enjoy your time in court Fat Boy. 2. If I ever do win the lottery one of the first things I’ll do is join the Clearwater Touchdown Club – it sounded like one hell of roadtrip fellas. Take a tip though, only three fights in the stands would be considered a major victory in the UK! 3. Brian Griese – your play has been admirable this season, but please stop the dumb-ass interceptions, especially the ones that are run back the other way. 4. I think Michael Clayton is clearly the best rookie in the NFL this side of Ben Roethlisberger and is doing it without any hype whatsoever. That TD catch last week was worthy of being a game winner but was unfortunately lost in the madness of our performance in the last four minutes. 5. I think I’m very much in agreement with Peter King of Sports Illustrated when he keeps hinting that up coming free agent to be, Edgerrin James would be a great fit for the Bucs. Lets hope messrs Gruden and Allen think the same way. In the cold hard light of day, the bottom seeded Wild Card in the NFC takes on the third seed of the division winners, which will be the Green Bay Packers so the dubious prize available for sneaking into the Wild Card slot is an all-expenses paid trip to sunny Lambeau Field in January, to freeze our nuts off and get battered by Brett Favre. Now that I’ve taken care of the play-off scenario let’s look at this week’s game against the Saints, a team seemingly even more schizophrenic than ourselves. You really could make a case for either side to win or lose this one but as we seem to have found some consistency on our home turf at least, I think we will prevail and keep this play-off idea madness running for another seven days at least. Bucs to win by 10 and hopefully provide some cheer to an ailing fan in the UK. One final point I would like to make is how much a do sympathise with Chris Simms at this time as he waits patiently for his turn again, indeed he was denied a true audition as the Bucs QB thanks to another marvellous piece of blocking from Todd Steussie whose wiff block against the very same Saints some 10 weeks ago, took the carpet out from under Chris’s feet. It’s extremely tempting to insert Mr Simms back into the line-up and I have mulled the idea over throughout the week, but I think by doing so we would be doing Brian Griese a disservice, as he has earned the right to keep playing at the moment. Stick with it Chris and I’m sure your time will come – especially if Mr Griese bolts elsewhere for major dollars in the off-season which remains a distinct possibility.