Yes, it’s a day later, and Bucs fans seem split on the outcome of the Bucs’ win over the Fish in South Florida Saturday night.

The Bucs offense, specifically the first team, appeared listless. Then in the second half, motivated by guys fighting for their football lives as the first round of cutdowns loom, brought the Bucs back for the squad’s first preseason win.

Joe, along with his good friends at WDAE-AM 620 and the Buccaneers Radio Network, offers up loads of audio from the locker room after the game.

Among the players are wide receiver Mike Williams, guard Davin Joseph, franchise quarterback Josh Freeman, linebacker Lavonte David, linebacker Mason Foster, linebacker Jonathan Casillas, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, cornerback Johnthan Banks, safety Dashon Goldson and safety Cody Grimm.

Again, the audio is courtesy of Joe’s friends at the Buccaneers Radio Network and WDAE-AM 620.

Once a upon a time, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris gifted the starting left defensive end job to sackless Kyle Moore in 2010. Moore was a second-year pro with no sacks to his name, hence the nickname.

Moore was a liability and never did record a sack with the Bucs before landing in Buffalo in 2011. He revived his career there last season with his first three sacks.

Moore was cut today by the Bears, a team pretty darn deep at his position.

Joe brings up Moore because the Da’Quan Bowers mess always reminds Joe of Moore. Bowers was gifted the starting left end job this season for no logical reason. Double-digit sacks for Bowers was the rallying cry from Greg Schiano. But oft-injured 23-year-olds light on experience should never be anointed starting jobs.

To the New Schiano Order’s credit, it’s obvious the regime refuses to let Bowers become the next Kyle Moore and has stripped Bowers of his starting role.

Newcomer veteran Trevor Scott looks like he could help make up for the loss of Michael Bennett. And the Bucs remain high on the not-too-wild Samoan, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim. Perhaps the Bucs could bring back Moore to compete with Bowers.

Greg Schiano is not all rosy about his sputtering offense, but he says he can see why it will be successful. “A little disappointed, not discouraged,” was Schiano’s take on the offense this afternoon.

Joe also can see how the Bucs offense could move the chains; Pound the rock with Doug Martin and get the mega-millions receivers to catch balls that hit them in the hands. That should at least get the Bucs what they had last season.

Joe’s not sure what Greg Schiano likes on offense specifically, but the leader of the New Schiano Order can see success through the choppy seas of doubt and disappointment.

“Yeah, I wish we would have played better on offense but I can see how we’re going to. The worst thing is when you’re looking at that vision and you’re saying, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to do this.’ I do see how we’re going to do it,” Schiano said.

The head coach acknowledged there will be plenty of preparation — and wishful thinking.

“Turn up the stakes a little bit [on opening day] and hopefully we’ll perform,” Schiano said.

Listed at 5-8 officially, Bucs cornerback Michael Adams may be 5-6. Maybe. Joe would bet he’s shorter that that.

Frankly, Adams surviving in the NFL for seven seasons at that size is one of the great untold stories in the league.

As Bucs quarterbacks coach John McNulty, the longtime Arizona Cardinals assistant, told Joe in the spring,  Cardinals coaches annually felt they could find an upgrade to Adams — and every year they were wrong. Adams would win his job as the third or fourth cornerback and a top special teams player.

McNulty speculated Adams’ size left him a victim of discrimination. It was just too easy to believe Adams’ height was unworthy of the NFL.

In Tampa, it seems Adams has won over coaches again and is the Bucs’ new nickel cornerback. Greg Schiano praised Adams play at the position during his Sunday news conference. Earlier this preseason, without being asked, Schiano praised Adams’ tackling.

And then there was that stout forced turnover on punt coverage last night, when Adams drove the guy blocking him into the Dolphins’ punt returner that had called for a fair catch. The ball pelted the overwhelmed Miami players and the Bucs recovered leading to the opening touchdown for Tampa Bay.

A couple of weeks ago, Joe also had a long chat with Adams about Schiano and his focus on special teams and blocking kicks and punts. Schiano has been coaching up Adams in that area, and Adams likened Schiano to one of his college coaches, who helped lead Adams to blocking five punts/kicks in college.

Get used to seeing a lot of Adams. The guy is no superstar, but the Bucs were desperate for solid veteran help at cornerback in the wake of the Eric Wright debacle, and it seems they found it.

Jon [Gruden] demanded, you know, certain things out of his team. And Coach Schiano does the same thing, demands a way of doing things. And that’s good for the football team. How they’re different? That’s tough to say. Jon was really just kind of an offensive-sided guy. Monte [Kiffin] was really the head coach on defense when Jon was here. But Coach Schiano really takes ownership on everything. I think he is as detailed a commander (laughs), that’s a good way to put it, as I’ve been around. There’s not an aspect of the game that he doesn’t have a part of making a decision on, or at least, you know, influencing. That’s just how he is. He’s a detail oriented guy. He anticipates, everything that could happen in the game he’s anticipated and is prepared for, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams. That’s just his manner. When you meet the guy, if you ever meet the guy, he’ll talk to you and the way he comes across to you is like, ‘Hey, I am on top of everything that I need to be on top of and I’m going to force my will on every situation because that’s my job.’ That’s how he looks at it.- Ronde Barber, Nov. 27, 2012.

The quote above was one of the most insightful ever on Greg Schiano. And it’s got Joe wondering this morning how the head coach will respond to his team not being sharp on offense or defense last night — and the week before.

Joe’s heard Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams both talk recently about how the Bucs offense is light years ahead of where it was at this time last year. The problem is Joe’s not seeing evidence of that, including from those two guys, who have been sloppy this preseason. And there are other issues; pass blocking comes to mind quickly.

Preseason is the time to make these mistakes. No problem. Make adjustments and be ready for opening day. But Joe’s wondering how Schiano will approach righting his ship. Schiano’s talked a lot about how he “trusts” his team now, versus last season. But will Schiano be patient and trust in the face of ball security issues, major breakdowns, and a noticeable lack of energy out of the gate for his team? Will Schiano crack the whip this week or take a different approach?

Last season, the Bucs collectively responded poorly to Schiano during their November-December, five-game losing streak. The head coach found a way to get back on track in a big way at Atlanta to close the season. Now Schiano is again off course. No matter how the state of the Bucs is characterized at this moment, there’s no denying they’re not where they want to be on Aug. 25.

Again, Schiano found a way to fix things for the season finale last year. The pressure on him has returned to do that for opening day. A matchup against the train-wreck Jets should help. A loss to the Jets would be unthinkable.

You absolutely must check out Brandon Auto Mall Fiat. They’ve got an amazing selection of pre-owned and new vehicles, and the Ed Morse experience can not be topped!  Click above or below.

The leader of the New Schiano Order praised Tom Crabtree and Michael Adams for forcing turnovers on special teams, and Greg Schiano liked the “opportunistic” play of his defense.

But Schiano was down on the mistakes of his offense, particularly pass protection, off-target throws and drops. Enjoy 3 1/2 minutes of Schiano’s postgame commentary below, courtesy of the Buccaneers Radio Network and WDAE-AM 620.

The newest Buccaneer delivered a pounding to Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill

Joe already wrote about newcomer veteran defensive end Trevor Scott and his three sacks tonight, which came from all angles. But now Greg Schiano has chimed in to all but call Scott a Buccaneer Man.

“I like his demeanor. And I like the way he carries himself,” Schiano said of Scott. “Hopefully that will continue.”

Damn, if Scott, the former Patriot, can hit quarterbacks, a statue of him could get erected on Dale Mabry Highway. Bucs fans are that desperate for a consistently dangerous pass rusher.

Gerald McCoy and the Bucs’ first team defense bent but held the Dolphins to one first-half touchdown.

In the glass-is-half-full view of the world, the Bucs defense was strong last night in Miami.

Sure, Ryan Tannehill went all Tom Brady on the first team Bucs defense (oh, and Drew Brees is coming to town in three weeks, yea!) but when the Bucs needed a stop, even after playing Santa Claus, the defense stood tall.

The Dolphins had two series in the first possession inside the Bucs-10 thanks to an illegal contact penalty, but the Bucs defense stoned the Dolphins, forcing them to settle for a field goal.

“There is a lot we need to fix,” Bucs tackle Gerald McCoy said. “But the top defenses in this league keep you from scoring. As long as we are stingy in keeping people from getting into the end zone, we can work on the rest of it.”

This is a good thing. New England is famous for this. So what if opponents march down the field on the Bucs if the Bucs force teams to kick field goals, sooner or later that turns out to be the football equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot.

When Joe first learned that the Bucs were cutting loose Roy Miller, a fireplug of a nose tackle, Joe wondered why.

No, he never got to the quarterback. No, he couldn’t chase down runners. But he did what he was supposed to do and that was take heat off Gerald McCoy which enabled McCoy to wreak havoc. Bucs insiders would rave to Joe about how effective Miller was and how invaluable he was. Then why let him walk?

Well, for one, he was damaged goods. Understandable. Now, Joe isn’t worried one bit about Miller. Because his replacement is worlds better than him.

The Bucs drafted Akeem Spence out of Illinois in the fourth round and Joe vividly remembers Bucs fans moaning out loud about how the Bucs drafted a Big Ten player who didn’t get sacks. Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik should be ashamed of himself, they said.

Well, even Spence surprised the Bucs. Strong as an Adonis, Spence started to show he could do more than just eat up blockers. He could rush the quarterback and run down ball carriers. He just wasn’t asked to do that at Illinois. It was the Bucs’ pleasant surprise.

Saturday at Joe Robbie Stadium, Spence had four tackles including two for a loss, one came when Spence ran to his right to drag down a Dolphins running back in the right flat, something you would never see Miller do.

There’s no question in Joe’s mind that Bucs running back Brian Leonard is far more valuable that 2012 third-down back D.J. Ware.

Leonard was at it again tonight, showing he’s a versatile runner, a blend of punisher and hole-finder.

The Bucs were wise to give Doug Martin the night off following a head injury last week.Leonard was tonight’s starter and he finished with 10 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. He ran hard and successfully in the red zone.

The Bucs’ haven’t had a consistent, versatile short-yardage back since the A-Train wore his No. 40. (No. Earnest Graham had his issues in short yardage). Leonard won’t fill Mike Alstott’s shoes, but he can upgrade that position in a significant way.

Bucs cornerback Johnthan Banks may be only a rookie, but in his third preseason game in the NFL, he played like a veteran.

It was early in the game, first quarter to be exact. Dolphins second-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill looked like Tom Brady as the Texas A&M product with a trophy wife sliced the Bucs defense apart like a skilled surgeon.

That is, until the Dolphins got into the red zone. It was there, the Bucs’ red zone defense stood tall. And it was Banks who made perhaps the best play on the drive’s last play.

On the eighth play inside the Bucs-10 on 3rd-and-4 from the Bucs-4, Tannehill tried to hit Brian Hartline down the middle on a slant pattern. But Banks, a second-round pick, was on him like glue and got a hand on Tannehill’s pass, forcing the incompletion and the Dolphins had to settle for a field goal.

As it turned out, it may have been the play of the game.

“We work on that stuff, we do that every day in practice,” Banks said of the red zone defense. “Practice carries over into the game.

“We stepped up when we needed to. We played hard. We still have a lot of improvement to do. I am just here to play my role and do whatever coach wants me to do, that’s what Bucs fans can expect. I will give everything I’ve got.”

Fresh as a daisy, the Bucs’ first-team defense was gutted and gashed to open tonight’s game against the Dolphins in Miami.

It was ugly. It was Raheem Morris, every-game’s-a-slow-start ugly.

It was so damn ugly that Bucs icon Ronde Barber said on the game broadcast during that drive, “This defense needs to find some energy.”

The Dolphins, or any team, ripping off a 17-play opening drive on the Bucs is a recipe for wearing down the Bucs defense in the Florida heat.

There is no excuse for that. The Bucs’ first team defense should have been chomping at the bit to “swarm,” as Greg Schiano calls it, and fire off the ball and be full of life. They weren’t.

Bucs anointed left defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, who Bucs coach Greg Schiano has been riding hard to improve, did not start for the second straight preseason game.

Joe does not recall hearing Bowers’ name called until the second half and he only had a few first-half snaps.

Now remember the Bucs made a decision to let sack leader Michael Bennett walk for a paltry sum of cash, despite tons of cap space available. One reason the Bucs let Bennett walk was the Bucs’ belief that Bowers was ready to take over as the team sacks leader. One could argue Bowers, now in his third season, is off to his worst start (even when he started last year late because of injury) after being all but given a job.

The Bucs passed up chances to get several free agent pass rushers, even though the Bucs clearly knew pass rush one was a critical area needing an upgrade.

No, Bennett may not have been a toes-on-the-line kinda guy. No, Bennett is not nor ever will be the second coming of Bruce Smith. But in the immortal words of Raheem Morris, “I will tolerate you until I can replace you.”

The Bucs, clearly, have not been able to replace Bennett.

Donald Penn, not having a great preseason, has given up three sacks in the past two games.

OK, so Joe knows the Dolphins have one of the better four-man defensive front in the NFL. They should have pressured Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman Saturday night in South Florida.

But that doesn’t mean the Bucs needed to pretend they were Jeremy Trueblood turnstiles.

The Bucs’ offensive line, thought to be a strength, was miserable in pass protection. Donald Penn, in the best shape of his life, has given up three sacks in the last two glorified scrimmages preseason games. Gabe Carimi showed just why the Bears unloaded him on the Bucs on passing plays.

There was more, but Joe is too disturbed to list the gory details. Joe knows the Mike Glennon Mob was worked into a lather in the third quarter, but goodness gracious, Joe Montana would have had a bad game with all the drops and ole’ pass blocking.

With Carl Nicks out indefinitely because of his MRSA (he is doing well, but probably needs some time to get back in football shape), it sure seems the Bucs offensive line, thought to be an asset, needs some coaching up.

Josh Freeman didn’t look the franchise-quarterback part tonight.

Does it matter? Yes and no.

Preseason is meaningless except for how it’s evaluated by coaches. A crummy preseason potentially could affect how much time the Bucs brass gives Freeman to be successful in 2013.

Tonight Freeman was sacked five times and needlessly fumbled a ball away. The Bucs’ franchise quarterback was 6-for-16 for 59 yards. It was a heinous performance, regardless of the handful of times when Freeman’s receivers and his pass protection let him down.

Joe’s been firmly in Freeman’s camp. If Mike Glennon plays this season, then the Bucs likely are in massive trouble. However, that doesn’t mean the Bucs wouldn’t turn to Glennon if the organization gave up on Freeman.

Joe’s overall assessment of Freeman hasn’t changed. But tonight surely fueled the Mike Glennon Mob and injected more doubt in the head of the Bucs hierarchy.

“I don’t know if they’re really feeling comfortable right now,” Ronde Barber said of Freeman on the TV broadcast.

Unless Joe missed a snap, newcomer defensive end Trevor Scott entered the game on third down midway through the second quarter and promptly recorded his first sack in pewter. He tossed Ryan Tannehill to the turf with Lavonte David coming in late to help.

This might not be a big deal for most teams, but for the pass-rush starved Bucs, every time a quarterback is hit is worth noting.

Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and Adrian Clayborn got starting nods at defensive end. As for Da’Quan Bowers, well, Joe will write more about him later.

Update 9:30 p.m.: Scott recorded another sack early in the third quarter. It’s possible it will be recorded as a half sack to be shared with Bowers. It was, though, Scott whose pressure made the play.

Update 9:45 p.m.: Scott beat his man 1-on-1 from the right defensive end and forced a sack-fumble in the third quarter.

MIAMI LAKES, Fla. — Good evening from (nee) Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Lakes as Joe is at the Bucs-Fish game where he will bring all sorts of updates both on this here corner of the Interwebs and on Twitter.

Joe noticed something way cool about Joe Robbie Stadium that can be used (if the Tampa Sports Authority ever gets off its arse) at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway: Ringed outside the stadium is taps of both domestic and craft beers. There are dozens of wooden patio decks, covered, where people can have a few beers and hang out like a backyard picnic. Joe was impressed.

Anyway, feel free to sound off on the game. It looks like there may be some rain. Joe drove through a downpour just as he entered the Broward County line off of Alligator Alley. There are both white puffy clouds and very dark puffy clouds hanging over the stadium.

As always, if you want to share links to illegally streamed broadcasts of the game among yourselves, feel free. Posting said links in this thread will get you banned. Thanks and enjoy the game!

Per the Buccaneers official Twitter feed, Darrelle Revis will not play tonight in Miami but he is not hurt or in the midst of a setback from his knee rehabilitation.

Bucs guard Davin Josepsh is active!

He was cleared to play. Whether Joseph gets snaps or not is unknown now, but Joe suspects he’ll get at least a series.

Preseason Game 3

Bucs at Dolphins

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

TV: WFLA-TV Channel 8, locally. Game will be broadcast via tape-delay on the NFL Network at 7 a.m. Sunday, and at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM 103.5, and WDAE-AM 620); SiriusXM Channel 136.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, looks like a beautiful South Florida evening with a kickoff at a pleasant 84 degrees falling slightly through the night under partly cloudy skies.

Odds: Per FootballLocks.com, Dolphins -3.

Outlook: This should be the final dress rehearsal for starters that Bucs coach Greg Schiano is confident will start. For guys still fighting for jobs (Dekoda Watson, Jonathan Casillas, Da’Quan Bowers, etc.), they should get plenty of snaps. It will be interesting to see how many snaps Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman gets. He has played scant minutes thus far, and Joe has noticed a pattern across the NFL that has quarterbacks are getting pulled quickly (see Aaron Rodgers last night). Schiano would not speculate how many plays starters will log, so only time will tell. Aside from the Watson/Casillas battle, Joe will naturally keep an eye on Johnthan Banks to see if he’s still a stud. There is always a surprise chance Darrelle Revis plays, though Joe would doubt it. Who plays where on the offensive line also will be important, as who knows when Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks can return to the lineup?

Greg Schiano talked this week about how you don’t just plug a cornerback into the nickel position because he’s not as good as a team’s top two cornerbacks or is a liability on the outside.

It’s a darn tough job, Schiano explained, and nickel requires diverse skills and mature awareness.

So who is the Bucs’ nickel cornerback? It’s a critical position, especially in the NFC South.

Ronde Barber is busy bashing Josh Freeman. Eric Wright is back in California where he belongs. Danny Gorrer has missed two weeks of practice with a blown groin. Rookie Johnthan Banks is learning the ropes on the outside in Darrelle Revis’ absence.

Last year, the Bucs pulled Brandon McDonald off the street to be their nickel cornerback on opening day. He’s now out of football at 27 years old. Veteran Michael Adams has plenty of experience at nickel in Arizona, and Leonard Johnson is a hard worker and has talent, but he has to develop and he’s hardly the quickest guy on the block.

Joe will be watching the nickel position closely tonight. Sean Peyton and friends likely are keeping an eye on it, too.

Click through and really enjoy yourself this weekend. Save cash! Rock the Tour!