Joe’s gone to the videotape and his notebook and taken a look at the run defense against the Patriots.

In the first quarter, New England totaled runs of the following yardage: 2, 29, 6, no gain, 6, 2, 14, 16,  and 1 (TD).

In the second quarter, the Patriots’ carries came consecutively on one drive. They pounded the ball as follows (in yards): 7, 5, 12, 7, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Then, after a completed pass, New England scored on a one-yard touchdown run to grab a 21-0 lead.

So that’s eight of 18 first half runs of at least six yards a carry, plus two touchdowns. It was ugly. But Raheem Morris has no worries, so he said yesterday during his afternoon news conference.

Reporter: What’s your concern with the run defense overall?

Raheem Morris: None really. It’s just a matter of fitting things up, letting Mason Foster get better. Our first team actually did a decent job on the run game. You had the one breakout run against the first team, where the ball cut black on a blitz. We were closed the wrong way. That was a mistake, whether it was by the D-line or young Mason closing the wrong way, that was an error that was very correctable. So I don’t have an issue. …

“For the most part, I’m pretty comfortable with what’s going on. We missed a couple of tackles on Woodhead. He’s slippery. He’s quick. He’s fast — quick twitch. But other than that we feel pretty good. It was not any just miss fits where you had a real problem. There was a missed tackle on the one big Woodhead run. And there was a missed [call] where we didn’t have a player where he was supposed to be. And we just gotta fix those things.”

Frankly, this response by Raheem left Joe speechless. Joe has nightmares about the Bucs’ run defense while the head coach thinks the first team “did a decent job” Thursday.

Joe sure hopes Raheem has got this one right and Joe is terribly wrong.

For those wondering what really was the deal with Tanard Jackson violating the NFL substance abuse policy three times and getting booted from the league, St. Pete Times beat writer Stephen Holder definitively laid it out for all during a live chat on TampaBay.com.

The NFL doesn’t announce details of how/what a player failed after testing. But Holder says marijuana was Jackson’s only infraction and Holder also offers a strong statement about other players blowing bongs but getting away with it.

Comment From MJMJ: Thanks again for doing this, Stephen. Props to you. How do you think the T-Jax situation plays out when/if he is reinstated? Who’s roster spot will he take?

Stephen F. Holder: I think he probably gets reinstated. It was only marijuana at the end of the day. I’m not defending it, I’m just saying that it’s not something many other guys in the league haven’t also done and gotten away with (trust me on that). Can’t’ say who’s spot he takes because I don’t know what the makeup of the safety position is going to be.

Holder’s “trust me on that” line was a bit troubling to Joe, only because Holder’s career bio on the Times website doesn’t list him as a beat writer for any other NFL team in his career. But perhaps Holder was referring to players using drugs before they got to the NFL.

Regardless, Joe’s not sure what the Bucs plan to do about Jackson, who could be reinstated with most of the 2011 season remaining. It would seem the like the Bucs would want to give him a shot, but it would have to make sense.

What could make the whole decision interesting is rookie Ahmad Black’s sprained ankle. Without having much time to show his value, Black, if he makes the Bucs’ roster, could be the odd man out if Jackson returns.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Joe knows it’s preseason and Joe knows win-loss records, among other things in preseason, mean about as much as whatever Joe flushed the morning after a plate of chicken fajitas washed down with several adult beverages.

But an irritant for Joe hasn’t gone away from last year, even with a shutout slapping of the Chiefs.

The Bucs are still giving up chunks of real estate on the ground.

Through two preseason games, opponents are rushing for an average of 4.8 yards a carry, so notes eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.

Kaufman also documents how the Bucs were 28th in the league in rushing defense last season, giving up 4.7 yards a carry.

Now Joe knows that defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has only played one game and that is likely a factor as is middle linebacker Mason Foster is still as green as a lime having just a handful of practices as a pro.

Simply put, if the Bucs plan on making it to the playoffs with a much tougher schedule than last year, toughing up the run defense is an area that simply cannot be avoided.

The Bucs are playing in London for the second time in three years this season, once again against a high-profile, popular opponent.

Sadly, this move of another Bucs game to London has triggered ugly domestic disputes among Bucs fans. The sheer thought of yet another loss of a home game overseas, forced upon a kickball-loving, royals-obsessive public, has enraged many a Bucs fan.

ESPN blogger Pat Yasinskas sure seemed to hint in a recent NFC South mailbag that Bucs fans not buying tickets is the root cause of this move and that Team Glazer doesn’t want to be shamed with Bears fans filling The CITS.

Nate in Alaska asks why Tampa Bay keeps drawing games in London.

Pat Yasinskas: I think there are two reasons. First, the Glazer family has ties to the United Kingdom. The Glazers own soccer’s Manchester United and, although they might not be beloved by fans, bringing the Bucs to London might help their public profile. Second, the Bucs have been having trouble selling out Raymond James Stadium. If the game against Chicago was held in Tampa, the stadium might be loaded with Bears’ fans and that can be embarrassing. The game in London is pretty much a guaranteed sellout and the crowd won’t be rooting against the Bucs. I don’t think the NFL is forcing these games on the Bucs. I think there is a willingness by the team to go overseas.

Now Joe was under the impression — he could be offbase — that Team Glazer offered up the Bucs for another London game because the NFL was in a pinch thanks to the asinine lockout.

Joe understands that NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell wants to grow the game, meaning expose the NFL to markets yet untapped. Hence, games in London.

Obviously, Joe’s not a Park Avenue marketing maven, but Joe would think that, say, Mexico, despite it’s drug cartel-laden violence, would be a better market to tap into. Mexico is double the population of Great Britain and there seems to be a bigger pocket of NFL fans there.

At least if the Bucs played in, say, Cancun, it would be a nice, easy, quick vacation spot for Bucs fans and it’s doubtful you would hear many Bucs fans kavetch too much over this.

Who the hell wants to spend hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars to go to England in October? Brian Urlacher doesn’t.

Last week when the best nationally broadcast football radio show came to One Buc Palace as part of its “Training Camp Tour 2011,” Joe got a chance to chat with the co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains,” Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, heard exclusively on SirusXM NFL Radio.

 First up was Kirwan. Now it’s Ryan’s turn. The former Bears defensive tackle regaled Joe with how geeked he is for the Bucs and gave a special take on Bucs first round draft pick Adrian Clayborn.

 FYI, Ryan, who also calls games for FOX Sports, will work the Bucs season opener against Detroit.

JoeBucsFan: What is your vibe about the team now that you have interviewed some coaches and players and watched some practice?

Tim Ryan: Exciting. I think that it all starts with the quarterback and everybody will say that but there are other good pieces to the puzzle. Getting the O-line re-signed and back with Davin and Jeremy, good move. Mike Williams, great move. Kellen has had a great offseason. Go back and watch the tape like I have of every game, he is still playing at a high level. The more LeGarrette Blount gets it going, watch what it does to the tight end position and watch how those two will feed each other in terms of how many guys stay in the box to defend the run and how many guys gotta get out there and cover Kellen Winslow in the base packages in terms of a backer. There are really, really, really simplistic ways to reduce the number of defenders just in the running box just by flexing your tight end out a little bit in some of your base packages. Those two guys will feed each other.

I am so excited for the defense and the defensive line. Look, this league has become about quarterbacks and the line of scrimmage. Go watch Matt Ryan and watch how many times he is at the line of scrimmage Peyton Manning-esque, calling the plays, dialing things up, controlling the tempo. There is not a greater equalizer in the game on defensive linemen and the impact of a game than a quarterback who is playing hurry-up and controlling the tempo of those defensive linemen. When you go get more guys and you keep shuttling guys through.

No one wants to talk about Kyle Moore who was a fourth-rounder a couple of years ago but he is part of the deal because you are going to have to have seven guys who can consistently go with fresh legs who can rush the passer. You couple that with the addition of Keith Millard who was a great undertackle in Minnesota, really in the same base form of this defense in what Monte Kiffin did up there, great addition to those guys. All that speed is going to show up. I’m hoping for Brian Price that he can get out there and go.

I’m a little bit worried about the third down defense without Barrett Ruud although I know Quincy Black is going to be stepping in there in the middle.

I’m excited man, just talking to these guys. Listening to them and their maturity, and the coaches and what Mark Dominik is trying to do here. Think of Green Bay how they built through the draft. This team is built to win now, but they are built to win a championship in two years. That’s my opinion.

The quarterback will continue to get better. Can they win the division this year? You bet they can win the division this year. But you look at Atlanta and you look at New Orleans, where I am thinking — and I will never concede this year for these guys — they could win it but if you think of a year or two down the road: Drew Brees will be two years older. Michael Turner down in Atlanta will be closer to the end. John Abraham will certainly be closer to the end.

This team is certainly closing the gap day by day by day with the signings and still be competitive on the field. So what Mark is doing down here, I know he has taken a lot of flak for the lack of some free agent moves and building this thing through the draft. He’s building this thing to win now, but to really win the Lombardi Trophy in a couple of years.

Joe: Donald Penn is raving about Adrian Clayborn. The two of them lock horns each day in practice. How much as a rookie does going against Penn each day help Clayborn?

Ryan: Oh, it is helping him but here is the problem with that: He knows Donald Penn already. He has studied Donald he understands Donald he knows where Donald’s weaknesses are and vice versa and those guys can help each other. Anytime he can go against a Pro Bowl tackle and he can tell him, “OK, here’s what gets me, here’s what doesn’t get me. Here is what you are doing wrong: You’ve got to get a little lower, you have to use your rip a little more, maybe you need to develop a counter move… “

All of that stuff is great. But until he gets a black book on the other tackles in the league, on the guys that are in New Orleans whether you are talking about [Jermon] Bushrod or Sam Baker in Atlanta or Jordan Gross [with Carolina]. Once you start getting a book on those guys, now you are cooking with gas because you know what their weaknesses are too. But he is such a talent. I think in talking to him such a motivated guy and a precocious guy in terms of how he sees the game, he is going to be fine. He is going to have a fine rookie year.

Joe: Clearly the Bucs drafted Clayborn to get heat on the quarterback but against the Chiefs he looked like he was stopping the run pretty well also. This is sort of icing on the cake.

Ryan: Well, if you play in the Big Ten you learn how to play the run. You have to and everybody talks about his Erb’s Palsy and the amount of reps he did at the combine and that stuff is never going to change, it is a condition he’s had all his life. I have watched the tape and the guy has been able to make up for it in many other ways. Getting to look at him physically, he doesn’t look like he is shortchanged in any areas. You don’t draft a guy that high where they drafted him to not be able to play the run and to be exclusively a third down pass rusher. So I am excited for him.

Joe: Well, you were an NFL defensive tackle, speaking of combine reps, Warren Sapp’s famous line is “You don’t pump weights at the 50-yard line.” And he didn’t have a great weight rep at his combine.

Ryan: Here is my saying: “I’ve thrown around a lot of 500-pound benchers.” Weight reps don’t always translate to the football field. This is a game of balance. This is a game of speed. It’s a game of leverage. Is a bench press great and a great measure of strength? Yeah, it is. Now some guys translate great but I’ve seen a lot of guys who can lift weights all day long but they get out on the football field and they spend 58 of the 60 minutes of a game on the ground and they can’t play football.

So [Clayborn] will be fine. He will get stronger while he is here. Maybe the bench doesn’t go up because of his condition but watch what happens with his power clean. Watch what happens with his squat. I have always said this: The game is played from the lower body down. Especially as a defensive lineman. Low man wins and leg explosion and Clayborn has all of that.

There were so many things that turned Joe’s stomach over Thursday’s beat down the Patriots laid on the Bucs Joe lost count while pounding beers, trying to erase the debacle from his memory banks.

But one of the things Joe can’t just wash away with adult beverages was the jailbreak than ensued with Patriots defensive linemen running wild in the Bucs backfield, jostling and hounding Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman.

So Sunday it was damage control at One Buc Palace. While listening to Raheem Morris and Bucs center Jeff Faine, NFL.com blogger Jenna Laine Twittered their defense of the Bucs offensive line Thursday.

@JennaLaineBucs: “We had one or two breakdowns in protections but I don’t know about ‘gaping holes.’ Kind of an exaggeration” – Bucs’ Morris on O-line … Bucs center Jeff Faine: “We didn’t see anything out there that was unblockable. We didn’t see an exotic scheme. We just didn’t get it done”

Joe is well aware that this was a preseason game and that in a preseason game, much like a spring training game in baseball, players might very well be working on specific moves or techniques and the results be damned because, in the end, preseason games don’t matter, just ask the 2008 winless Lions who won every preseason game that year.

Thursday’s game, however, looked eerily similar to the Bucs seal-clubbing at the hands of the Steelers and Saints last year at home. Joe isn’t sure if the Bucs were that overmatched or that they were overconfident is pounding the Chiefs or still giddy from training camp breaking on Tuesday.

Hopefully, this was all a wake up call.

Raheem Morris loves to live by the phrase “mentality before reality.”

As Raheem says, that’s one of his “core beliefs.”

And the mentality is simple nowadays, the head coach explained to St. Pete Times columnist Gary Shelton, win now.

This year, when many expect this team to backslide, he talks about winning the NFC South. Mention having time to grow, having time to build, and Morris shakes his head.

“There isn’t any such thing,” Morris said. “Did the 1990 Cowboys (7-9) feel they were ready? They were young and hungry, and most people felt they were two, three years away. (Dallas won the Super Bowl two seasons later.) I’m not going to let anyone tell us we’re two, three years away.

“Wait two, three years, and people can get hurt, or they can leave. The window is short in this league, man. You have to jump in while you can.”

Joe suggests you click through above and read Shelton’s excellent column. It should sufficiently fire you up for Bucs football.

Joe’s ecstatic that Raheem has high expectations. Every fan should. You don’t go 10-6 and then think something less the next season is progress. To be a lasting contender, you must contend. And the Bucs need another playoff-caliber record this season.

Interestingly, Shelton makes a reference to Raheem likening Josh Freeman to Magic Johnson. Man, Joe would love to hear Raheem flush out that analogy one day. On that note, it’s still a bummer the Bucs don’t have a speedy Norm Nixon-type in the backfield.

It’s pretty clear to any sober or even not-so-sober Bucs fans that the success of the Bucs last year came down to three players: Josh Freeman, LeGarrette Blount and Mike Williams.

A memorable but not exactly accurate comment Joe had from one of his readers last month was that without Freeman, Williams and Blount, Dale Mabry Highway would be lined with fans baring torches and pitchforks.

Jeffri Chadiha of BSPN believes that, as Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik likes to say, it’s all about No. 5. Chadiha says Freeman is the straw that stirs the Bucs cocktail and the challenge of the rest of the team faces, specifically rookies and second-year players — is that they must keep up the pace of improvement that Freeman has displayed.

That lesson will be essential to whatever the Bucs do this season. One of the NFL’s youngest teams went from being a three-win bunch in 2010 to a 10-6 squad last year, largely because Freeman developed so quickly that he tossed 25 touchdown passes and only six interceptions in his second year. What his maturation also did was give his teammates incentive to grow up in a hurry. It’s no coincidence that an offense that had as many as four rookies starting at one point — including wide receiver Mike Williams and running back LeGarrette Blount — managed to come within a whisker of qualifying for the wild-card spot that ultimately went to Green Bay.

That growth is what it takes to make people believe in a rebuilding effort. While someone has to be the centerpiece of the blueprint — Freeman, in this case — all the other rocks in the foundation have to see the importance of keeping pace. As Freeman said, “We are a hungry team. We want to be in the playoffs year in and year out. We want to be a team that is competing for championships, and not making the playoffs last season really stung.”

Joe has seen enough of (the new) Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn that Joe believes the Bucs will be fine there and, of course, the secondary Joe has no concerns over.

While Chadiha points out the Bucs youngsters need to keep pace with Freeman — and it’s a strong, valid premise — Joe believes it is the veterans that need to hold their own. The Bucs offensive line has three veterans in Donald Penn, Jeff Faine and Davin Joseph, four if you believe Jeremy Trueblood will start.

It is those veterans that will decide the fate of the Bucs, Joe is convinced. If Freeman’s jersey is filthy, if Blount has no holes to run through, the Bucs offense will simply sputter and bluntly put, the Bucs’ defense is not stout enough (yet) to shut down opponents if the Bucs offense is struggling all day.

Former Bucs QB Shaun King clobbered Gerald McCoy on local radio yesterday in a blast for the ages.

In one of the more epic radio tirades of this century, former Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King unloaded five cans of verbal whoopass on Gerald McCoy yesterday while co-hosing The King David Show on WQYK-AM 1010.

King was set off by McCoy cracking jokes to reporters about the greatness of Tom Brady and playfully insulting Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko, plus making excuses for his own play. The Boston Globe recorded McCoy’s entire chat, which Joe wrote about yesterday.

King made it clear that his rage was built up over time, saying McCoy consistently talks too much for a guy with “no pineapple in your diet.” King explained, for the benefit of Joe and other laymen, that “pineapple” is playerspeak for Pro Bowls.

“The league’s asking Ndamukong Suh to please stop slamming quarterbacks. McCoy’s asking Tom Brady to slow down,” King said. 

“In [McCoy’s] fantasy world, he’s somebody. …I’m trying to think of what excuse is he going to come up with next. Last year he was confused. He was blaming the coach. Then he had a sore arm.

“Tom Brady doesn’t now who you are. He needs a reality check. Somebody needs to knock on his door. He’s out of line. …Until he starts producing and gets some sacks, he stinks. …I want Gerald McCoy to stand up and be accounted for. … You are the No. 3 player in last year’s draft. … Kyle Moore stunk when he got here, but at least I didn’t have to listen to him.

“Local media, don’t interview Gerald McCoy anymore. I don’t want to hear him talking. …Right now you stink Gerald McCoy. Shutup and play. Last I checked there’s no pineapple in your diet.”

McCoy missed the first preseason game nursing a minor shoulder injury. In general, the Bucs have been cautious with players’ health this preseason. Raheem Morris has been very open about that.

That doesn’t sit well with King, who thinks McCoy and the youngest team in the league needs to be on the field more.

“Coach Morris might be babying these guys too much. Too many guys with no pineapple in their diet that aren’t coming to the dinner table. … There’s a whole lot of Joey Galloways on this team,” King said, referring to Galloway’s light practice schedule under the Chucky regime.

King also blasted McCoy for taking his Twitter fans to the movies, which King says is another sign McCoy is taking on a superstar personna — minus the superstar production.

The whole concept of McCoy joking to reporters wedged under King’s skin, too, and King blasted McCoy for not realizing how expensive it is to go to a game and some people “make signifcant sacrifices” to buy tickets. “This is not a game. This is not a joke.”

Interestingly, Raheem Morris commented on McCoy’s attempt at humor with reporters to close his Friday news conference.

“That was a soft statement by Gerald last night,” Raheem said. “But, I think he was trying to, it was a bad joke, I think he was trying to give Tom Brady really a compiment.”

For Joe, there’s no question McCoy is going to be scrutinized mightily by King and fans because of McCoy’s contract — though fans will probably give McCoy more rope than King. As the No. 3 overall pick, he’s enjoying $35 million or so of guaranteed money. That’s just football and the rest of professional sports.

Ironically, Raheem praised McCoy’s disruptive play in Thursday’s game, as did former Bucs defensive end Steve White, who called in to The King David Show to discuss McCoy following King’s tirade.

“The Patriots aren’t saying today that they blocked McCoy. They couldn’t block him,” White said of McCoy’s play early in the first quarter.

White acknowledged McCoy’s missed tackle in the backfield that led to a huge Patriots gain, but in all White said McCoy is improving and should almost be lauded for not throwing his defensive line coach clearly under the bus last year. White is no fan of departed Todd Wash.

At the end of the day this will all come down to production. If McCoy has a good, healthy season, nobody will care what the hell he says or where he frolics with his Twitter pals.

If you want to send Shaun King your thoughts, he welcomes you to follow him on Twitter and have at it @realshaunking.

Of course everyone at One Buc Palace will state from the start that Thursday night’s debacle against the Patriots and Bill Belicheat was just a preseason game, a glorified scrimmage, the Bucs weren’t scheming, et al.

All valid points.

But there’s one point that eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune makes that happened Thursday and is reflective of last season for the Bucs:

The Bucs offense simply is stuck in first gear in the first quarter.

The Bucs were outscored 73-43 in the opening quarter last season as only Carolina (35) scored fewer first-quarter points in the NFC.

“We have to be able to start strong against a good opponent,” Joseph said. “We’ve got to go out in the first quarter and sustain drives, giving our defense a fighting chance. You can’t keep putting yourself behind the eight-ball with penalties.

“Starting strong was a problem last year and we’ve got to get ourselves in manageable down-and-distance situations. They say this game doesn’t matter, but the things we did are not going to be good for us in the regular season and in the long run.”

It is fundamental football, especially with the Bucs. Now, yes, the Bucs have a chance to have a prolific offense (provided the front line keeps Josh Freeman’s jersey clean). But digging yourself a hole neutralizes one of the Bucs’ best weapons LeGarrette Blount.

Scoring a touchdown once in a while in the first quarter — which is just what the Bucs did at Kansas City last week — is chicken soup for the Bucs’ soul.

The massive Fred Flintstone-like turkey drumstick for sale on the 300 level of the C.I.T.S. that Joe loves so much will be half price on opening day, along with soft drinks and all the Bucs’ gameday grub, so reports the Facebook page of WDAE-AM 620, the Buccaneers’ flagship station.

In a nod to fans, or perhaps an attempt to bust the Bucs’ heinous blackout streak, Team Glazer is shaving profits from the Bucs-Lions game on Sept. 11.

Joe thinks this is pretty cool.

While gameday drunks will still be soaked for overpriced warm beer, the move will represent a significant savings for a lot of folks. Joe’s still pegging opening day attendance about 12,000 shy of a sellout, but perhaps this could help move the needle a bit.

Update: 11:19 a.m. – It seems the Bucs’ half-off gesture is in response to screwups on Thursday night. From a Buccaneers letter to season ticket holders: “We would like to apologize to all fans who attended Thursday’s game for the concession service issues throughout the stadium.  It is our commitment to ensure that our fans receive a first class experience at all Buccaneers games.  Because of this, we will be offering 50% off all food and non-alcoholic beverages at our home opener on September 11.”

Clarification: Just so everyone is clear, this SNAFU Thursday night at the concession stands was due to issues with the vendor, Levy Restaurants, NOT the Buccaneers. But Team Glazer is making sure things are right with the fans. Joe doffs his cap.

As Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski just said on WDAE-AM 620, how cool is it that on a broiling 1 p.m. kickoff, you can get fluids at half-price?

As Joe wrote immediately following the Bucs’ crushing defeat at the hands of the Patriots, the Bucs’ high-priced offensive line was the greatest disappointment last night.

It’s unthinkable for that unit to be manhandled like that over five series.

During his Friday news conference after reviewing game tape, Raheem Morris was candid grading the unit.

“Maybe Larsen had a little bit of built up emotion, jumped off sides, completely whiffed a guy on a run early, then he settled down and played a little bit better. He took turns messing up a little bit,” Raheem said.

“Trueblood played probably his most solid game that we’ve seen in a while. He looked very productive.

“Davin looked okay. He made one mistake that’s very correctable.

“Penn didn’t play great. It was kind of a dragover from kind of his week that he had. It’s a good teaching moment for Penn. He didn’t play awesome. He didn’t play terrible, but he didn’t play great by any means.

“Faine was very solid. Zuttah came in and did a nice job for us at the backup center.

“James Lee didn’t play particularly well, as well as he did towards the end of the season when he was really competing. We want to get him better.”

Hearing this it’s safe to say Trueblood has the starting right tackle job all but locked up. And if you’re keeping score, four the big seven above had issues. On the upside, Raheem also later credited Faine for excellent adjustments.

The Bucs are going to go as far as the O-line and Freeman can take them, so Joe can’t help but obsess about their performance.

In what Joe found eerily similar to the way former Bucs offensive guard and current WDAE-AM 620 personality Ian Beckles used former Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud as his cause célèbre, lashing out at him virtually each day, former Bucs quarterback quarterback Shaun King unleashed an angry sermon at Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy today on WQYK-AM 1010.

King skinned GMC for a variety of things, and Joe will detail these comments tomorrow morning.

While Joe would never claim he’s an NFL coach, Joe monitored GMC often last night with Joe’s binoculars and Joe thought GMC did alright, sans a mistackle that was turned in to a 29-yard run. Hell, the fact that GMC was in position to make the damned play in the first place was impressive enough for Joe.

After the game, GMC took full blame for the whiff.

One of the things King lashed out at GMC for was Twittering, which led to King and GMC got into a Twitter spat this afternoon while King was on the air.

@realshaunking: the people that paid their hard earned money to come to support u guys didnt come to hear or see jokes.

This didn’t sit well as one can imagine from GMC.

@geraldini93: Sense of humor people. GET ONE. Stop being so serious all the time. Good day to you.

Joe may have been the first media member that spoke with GMC last night. Joe was talking with Kyle Moore whose locker is right next to GMC’s. No other media members were there and Joe asked GMC if he wanted to chat and GMC obliged. Joe never, ever got the impression that GMC was blowing off how the Bucs got beat down last night. He fessed up that he missed on some plays and that he was rusty and can play better.

Shoot, this was his first taste of battle since he was hurt last year. Did anyone really expect GMC to come out and play like Mean Joe Green against the Patriots of all teams?

Bucs fans fishing for bright spots out of last night’s game can surely grab hold of defensive end Tim Crowder’s sack of Tom Brady, who doesn’t hit the turf all that often. Crowder talked to Joe about his game and more.

JoeBucsFan.com:  How did you play against New England?

Tim Crowder: I think I did ok. I’m still polishing all aspects of my game. As far as pash rushing goes, I feel I’m finally starting to figure it all out from my experience and coaching.

Joe: Didn’t see you on special teams? What was the deal there? You’ve been a big contributor there.

Crowder: They were just giving me a break and other guys looks. I’m sure they’ll take advantage of what I can do on special teams. I like to think I’ve exceled there and I look forward to it.

Joe: Your sack was against rookie left tackle Nate Solder and the rest of New England’s starting offensive line. Tell me about it.

Crowder: Let me say [Solder’s] going to really be a good player. He’s going to be a monster. I got up on him fast with a long arm and got through.

Joe: Are you more comfortable on the left side or right side of the line?

Crowder: Most definitely the right side. I’m left-handed. I can put my natural left hand down and go.

Joe: You were the last of the Bucs unrestricted free agents brought back to Tampa. Was that a tough time for you? Were you visiting other clubs? What was that like?

Crowder: To be honest with you, I really don’t know what was going on. I learned we had a deal, and I felt very blessed to be here and be a part of all this team is.

Joe: What kind of advice have you been able to pass on to Adrian Clayborn.

Crowder: I tell him to do what you do best — ‘Don’t ever forget what got you here.’ He ‘s so aggressive and that’s what it takes. Working with the coaches and learning like he is, I feel he can get it real quick. He’s just got to maintain that aggression.

Bucs center Jeff Faine discusses the beat down the Patriots handed the Bucs last night in the first home preseason game of the season in this St. Petersburg Times video.

If someone very close to Bucs guard Brandon Carter didn’t call this to Joe’s attention, Joe might have thought it was some kind of joke. But apparently it’s not.

Following last night’s game, Carter took to Twitter to complain about being mysteriously ejected for playing the game the right way.

@bcarter60 – Ejected from the game for… Get this…. Word for word from the ref “#60 you’re out of here you’re being TOO PHYSICAL” no penalty though???

On the heels of Mason Foster’s BS personal foul, Joe doesn’t know where to begin. What’s happening to the NFL?

Carter was on the practice squad last year before getting promoted late in the season. The kid is supposed to be drilling people and playing through the whistle. If this story is not some unfortunate misunderstanding, Joe hopes this referee is relegated to working girls soccer matches.

Update 10:46 a.m. – An NFL source tells Joe that Carter was not officially ejected but “removed” and not flagged for some sort of skirmish. … Still lame stuff from the referee.

In candid, entertaining and mildly embarrassing comments to a crew of reporters following the Bucs beating at the hands of the Patriots, Gerald McCoy shared a long take about the Patriots and the Bucs’ reaction to them last night.

The Boston Globe uploaded the audio and transcribed some highlights. Here’s a snippet:

“… …Now [Mason Foster] knows when those live bullets start flying when Detroit comes here, now he knows what to expect. And I’m glad he got to experience that. (DE Adrian) Clayborn came to me and was like, ‘Oh my god, it was so fast!’ I said, ‘I know! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!’ It was a reality check, we needed that.

“Man, I’m telling you man, they came out, they’d turn around huddle, snap, oh, ‘There’s the Mike, Go!’ I was like, ‘Dang! Um, Mr. Brady, can we line up?’ He didn’t care. He was like, ‘You’re not going to line up.’ When we turned around one time I checked back around and my hand was going to the grass and they were like, ‘Hut!’ And I said, ‘Noooooooooooo!’”

Joe suggests you click through above and listen to the entire raw audio, which might have to come down tonight per NFL rules.

It’s serves as a good look at how far away from the Patriots the young Bucs are. But McCoy says the types of mistakes made on defense tonight are very coachable and fixable.

We’ll find out.

Our biggest obstacle is “to defend against outside sources leaking into our building and telling us how good we were last year and all those types of things. We don’t want to listen to that. We want to remain unwavered … and play the game the way it has to be played.”  — Raheem Morris this week on NFL Network, offering his take on the biggest hurdle facing the Bucs entering the season.

Joe popped the Raheem quote above to make an important point: getting mauled last night by the Patriots was probably a great thing for the Bucs.

It would have been nearly impossible for the young Bucs to not get a little too high on themselves after all the love they’ve been getting from the national media, and after thoroughly thrashing Kansas City last week. And what better way to come back to reality than to endure a complete beating at home.

Bucs players said all kinds of things about Thursday’s game, but it’s pretty darn clear that heads on the first-team offense and defense were somewhere else. … They lost their “youngry” for a half to the wrong team.

Joe suspects those “outside influences,” as Raheem called them, pumping up the Bucs surely willl pipe down considerably over the next week.

The humbling silence has got to be welcomed by the head coach, whose team should be sufficiently embarrassed and re-committed to playing great football.

Raheem Morris weighed in on the Bucs' beating.

After the beating the Bucs took last night at the hands of the Patriots, Raheem Morris said he liked that the Pats played their first team a long time so the Bucs could get “a good barometer” of where the team is.

While Joe can’t get too caught up in the Bucs’ failures Thursday, if there is a team barometer, the pressure is low and a dangerous storm is approaching — if the Bucs can’t right the ship.

“Good thing it was practice,” Raheem said.

Without watching the game tape, Raheem said the Bucs got owned in the trenches.

“They outphysicaled us up front. … Both sides of the ball. They won the up front battle. They definitely won those battles early. They won them often early. We started to have a little bit of fight back there in the second half, and I was very proud of those guys. But by that time it was too late,” Raheem said.”

There’s a reason the Patriots went 14-2 last year, but Joe’s eager to hear the coach’s assessment after watching the game tape.