You know what is really amazing about football? You can learn new things about the game every time you watch. 

Take the Bucs/Dolphins game yesterday. See, I thought that an interception was when one team throws the ball, and the other team catches it. But you know what an interception really is? It’s when one team throws the ball to its own receiver, the receiver has possession of the ball, falls down, keeping possession as his knee and arm and butt hit the ground, at which point a guy from the other team jumps on top of the lying-on-the-ground-with-the-ball receiver and knocks the ball out for his own teammate to pick up.

[UPDATE from the St. Pete Times: NFL informs Bucs they agree with Taylor INT call.
And in related news:  Bucs Chick informs NFL Officials that they are blind.]

 Thanks for the lesson, refs!* I’ll keep that one in mind! 

I’ll also keep in mind a lot of anger. Like, a lot of anger. 

And so will Coach Raheem. Seems he just learned about the new interception rules, too. Which is why he had a teeny-tiny outburst that earned him a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, thus assuring the Dolphins that they would score a touchdown on a short field. It was a game-winning touchdown, by the by.

Now, really, the outburst was typical Coach Rah–opening his mouth with the best of intentions and letting a whole lotta crazy s#@t out. (See here and here.) But this time, it was also totally warranted. After the stone-face Dungy years and the vitriol-spewing Gruden years, it’s kind of nice to see a coach who yells in support of his guys and his team.

(Side note: It’s a good thing I still like Coach Raheem a little, because Gruden is staying put at Monday Night Football next year. No chance the Glazers hire a big-name coach while Chucky is still on the payroll. Which he will be for the next 2 years, unless he is hired for another NFL job first.) 

So, anyway, the refs made up new rules, the coach got mad, the Bucs lost. But there were some good parts of the game, too. A few:

• Rookie QB Josh Freeman looks like a future gamer. Though Joshy Jr. started the game with 4 fumbles and an interception, he ended with a go-ahead TD-scoring drive in the 4th quarter. The Bucs shoddy D couldn’t keep the ‘Fins from scoring immediately thereafter, but still, not too shabby for Joshy’s second start. Especially considering the Bucs’ wide receiving corps is probably the worst in the league. (Nice drop, Stovall! Thanks for not holding onto the ball, thereby allowing the refs to make a bad call, Clayton! Oh, and awesome holding penalty on a day when you didn’t even make a catch, Brian Clark!)
• Caddy looked pretty good when he had the ball, including a nice TD run in the 4th quarter. 
• The Bucs have a real, live place-kicker in Connor Barth, who kicked 3 successful FGs, each over 50 yards–a Bucs’ one-game record. Third kicker is the charm!
• Peanut Smith is still rocking the returns. Even now that everyone knows to watch out for him, Smith still had 171 yards on 6 kickoff returns and 31 yards on 4 punt returns.

*Now, I’m not one to make up conspiracy theories (ok, that’s a lie), but do we know who these  Landshark Stadium refs are? Maybe, ahem, former members of the Miami Sound Machine? Loyal Parrot Heads? A bunch of guys with kids who want tickets to see the U.S. Open? Just saying.

(Despite all this sunshine and optimism, the Bucs still suck. They’re 1-8, after all. Remember to vote for this week’s Suck Fest winner.)