Winning washes over all ills.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are proof, victors of two straight games and looking more like the team coach Greg Schiano has preached about for so long in Sunday's 41-28 stomping of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bucs (2-8) are in prime position to walk away with a high draft pick, but players and coaches alike are playing for their jobs in Tampa. Schiano's methodologies have come under fire during a campaign that's veered into multiple dark corners, but guard Davin Joseph praised his coach for keeping the locker room focused.
"There was a time there a few weeks ago when it could not have gotten any worse at One Buc (Place)," Joseph told reporters Sunday, per The Tampa Tribune. "I mean, it was the worst it's ever been, and I've been here for eight seasons.
"It was coming down hard on (Schiano). ... But he stuck with it. He stuck with what he believes and now it's starting to pan out."
Said Joseph: "All of a sudden, it's like a light's been turned on."
Many of Tampa's early-season losses were nail-biters, the products of a stingy defense with talent at every level. The Bucs' running game -- no matter whom you plug in -- is a beast. We'd argue they have shown more effort than their NFC South rivals, the Falcons, who have been outscored 61-135 during a lifeless, four-game losing streak.
There isn't enough time for the Bucs to make any real noise inside the division, but space remains for Schiano to put his stamp on this team. It's fair to doubt the plan in Tampa -- or ask if there is one -- but Joseph sounds like he's buying in.
We recapped every Week 11 game on the latest "Around The League Podcast."
