Giants offensive lineman Chris Snee claims the Bucs were trying to take out people’s knees yesterday.

Joe loves the NFL Network. LOVES it. One reason is they show old games and highlights of old games like the Raiders-Steelers classics.

When those two teams played, it more a backalley brawl than a football game. Defensive players were going after opponents’ knees — 10 yards out of bounds — and clotheslining players and kneeing people in the groin play after play and a yellow hanky was not to be seen.

Now, half the roster of both teams would be suspended.

Well, it seems the Giants players are whining that the Bucs are the new Raidesr and trying to take out knees, so the Giants told Mike Garafolo of USA Today.

Re: scrum on last play, Snee called Bucs’ actions “Busch league.” Said they were throwing “helmets into knees.”

Well. Was it just the fact the Giants may not be used to other teams punching them in the mouth? Giants players were dropping like flies out there Sunday.

Then, Giants headmaster Tom Coughlin gets into a hissyfit with Bucs coach Greg Schiano for the Bucs playing too hard.

Sad. Joe thought better of the Giants than to get all snippy like this.

Veteran sports columnist Gary Shelton gives his take on the Bucs fourth quarter defensive meltdown to the Giants Sunday in this Tampa Bay Times video.

Tom Coughlin is no longer a Greg Schiano fan

Tom Coughlin had nothing but kind words for the New Schiano Order last week, but now he’s got a problem with it.

After Josh Freeman’s last second interception, the Giants needed a kneel-down play to close out the game. But the New Schiano Order plays through to the final whistle and plays hard on kneel-downs, which got the old man head coach in Schiano’s face after the final whislte.

The heated exchange was on the minds of reporters after the 41-34 loss. Schiano defended the Bucs actions. It’s the Schiano way, the Rutgers way,

“We fight until they tell us the game is over,” Schiano said. “There’s nothing dirty about it. There’s nothing illegal about it.

“We’re not going to quit. That’s just the way I coach and teach our players. Some people are upset about it. I guess that’s just the way it goes. I don’t have any hesitation that that’s the way we play, clean, hard football until the game is over.”

Screw Coughlin. That’s Joe’s reaction.

It’s the New Schiano Order, deal with it, especially on the field where Joe Pisarcik made history.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This Bucs loss, which stung as bad as acid reflux at 4 a.m. after a long night of many beers, wasn’t as painful to some Bucs players.

“We hung with the World Champions,” some Bucs said.

“We can play with any team,” others sighed.

Bucs wide receiver Mike Williams was not one of them. For him, the simple fact is what matters at the end of the day is what’s on the scoreboard. And for the Bucs, it was less points than the Giants.

“We still didn’t win the game,” Williams said. “It didn’t matter if we lost by one or lost by 50; it didn’t matter if we fought hard or didn’t fight hard. Losing is losing.

“We have to look at the film to see where we can get better. We have to play better.”

It seemed Williams had a long catch of a Josh Freeman bomb with 12 seconds left deep in Giants territory. But after an official review, the play was waived off, declared an incomplete pass.

Williams took the road to less fines and wouldn’t blame a scab ref for overturning the play.

“The refs made their call, that’s their job,” Williams said. “My job is to catch balls and block and catch touchdowns. [Overturning the catch] was not my call. That’s their job.”

Did the Bucs ever really play physical football under Raheem Morris?

Despite Raheem’s talk of being violent and yungry, it never really happened on either side of the ball, except late in the 2010 season when the offensive line was blocking for LeGarrette Blount.

But in the area of physicality, it truly is a New Schiano Order. And that was on display today in full force.

The Bucs knocked three Giants out of the game — in the first half. Mason Foster drilled WR Domenik Hixon in a play that drew a personal foul, but that was just a wussy call of the modern NFL. Foster was just playing hard football and Joe can assure reader that Greg Schiano will applaud that play. Then Ahmad Bradshaw aborbed a neck-crushing hit, and Eric Wright clobbered Henry Hynoski low (photo above) and left him in agony on the turf.

Joe’s not counting it since it was just part of typical play, but the physical play also claimed Giants starting right tackle David Diehl in the first half.

Don’t accuse the New Schiano Order of playing soft football. You’d be wrong. Eventually, this will deliver the Bucs wins over the course of the season. Not every team has the backbone, or the quarterback, of the Super Bowl champs.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The best honor an offensive lineman can have is when his name is never uttered in an NFL game. That was pretty much the case with Demar Dotson today in a loss more painful than acid reflux.

Jeremy Trueblood, the Bucs starting right tackle, came down with a bum ankle this week and was inactive. Dotson started in place of Trueblood.

Joe was confident that the Giants would flood the right side of the Bucs offensive line with their powerful defensive linemen, led by Jason Pierre-Paul, and expose the Bucs’ flank manned by backups, including right guard Ted Larsen.

But Larsen, and Dotson, held their own against the best defensive line in the NFL. This nasty three-touchdown, fourth quarter collapse is not on their shoulders.

“It was a challenge, a big-time challenge, going out there and competing with those guys because those guys are so good,” Dotson told Joe after today’s loss. “It was an opportunity to step up.”

Dotson claimed his solid play was a result of learning from his Bucs teammates.

“I learn a lot from those guys,” Dotson said. “I learn from them all the time. I have confidence in myself so that others can have confidence in me. I work just as hard as those guys do and I think I can be a really good tackle in this league. I have to get better every day.”

Take a look at the film and you’ll see that the celebration of Mike Williams’ stunning 41-yard touchdown grab late in the fourth quarter has a surprise guest early in the end-zone celebration.

That would be LeGarrette Blount.

The best Joe could tell, Blount was not on the field for the play. In fact, Blount had no carries and appeared to only be in the game for one offensive snap.

But there was Blount fired up for his teammate. Joe brings this up because so many of Joe’s media brethren have implied that Blount has a poor attitude that is escalating now that he is a backup. Greg Schiano all but called that nonsense one day last week after the Carolina game, but the implication persists.

Joe hopes Blount’s actions on that touchdown quiet some of the negative chatter. Joe remembers well when Kellen Winslow pouted after a Preston Parker touchdown and got in Josh Freeman’s ear when he should have been celebrating in last year’s inspiring home victory against the Saints.

Blount is no Winslow, despite what some want to believe. As for why Mike Sullivan can’t yet find a role for Blount, that’s a topic for another day.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Remember how bad, awful, rotten, pathetic the Bucs played in 2011? Remember how badly the Bucs were alley-beaten by the dregs of the NFL such as the Jags?

Sure, the Bucs suffered a painful loss, almost like a wrestling script where a grappler seemingly rises from the dead just before the bell to render his foe defeated? That’s what the loss to the Super Bowl champs felt like in the Garden State this afternoon.

The loss actually proved something to Bucs rookie safety Mark Barron: That even if the team folds in the fourth quarter, it showed the Bucs can hang with the NFL’s uppercrust.

“We feel we can play with anybody as long as we can execute,” Barron said after the crushing 41-34 gut-wrenching loss to the Giants. “I feel if we can come out and execute, we can play with or beat any team in the league.”

But the Bucs picked the wrong team to toy with in the end, a team that had a week and a half off, a team looking for its first win, a team that hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy aloft in victory last February, a team with two Super Bowl MVP trophies on his mantle, Eli Manning.

“He came out and played a great game,” Barron said. “He is smart. We came out and pretty much had to go back and forth on the play calls with him all night. He just played a great game.

“Things just didn’t go our way today. [The Giants] played hard all the way — so did we — they are a tough team.”

Joe referenced this in the instant postgame post below, but it bears further analysis.

Mike Sullivan is in his first-ever season calling plays and his performance bears scrutiny.

In the third quarter with only 39 seconds left, the Bucs started a new drive with a 27-16 lead following a Giants’ long drive and momentum-grabbing field goal. Time to show your identity by running the football, rest your defense and eat clock, right? Nope.

Despite running on the previous drive with Doug Martin on five consecutive plays and burning clock and wearing down the Giants defense — even Troy Aikman referenced the punishing effects of running late in games —  Mike Sullivan went to the air on first down this time, which he did most of the game.

Joe was livid.  

The Bucs are supposed to have a run-first, punch-you-in-the-face identity, but they quit on that when they needed it most. Why not ask Donald Penn, Carl Nicks and Doug Martin, who had solid games, to put the damn game on their backs with 15 minutes left and a two-score lead? You’ve also got a fresh LeGarrette Blount sitting on the sidelines ready for a punishing run or two.

But Freeman threw a dangerous ball on first down up the middle incomplete to Vincent Jackson. Then Freeman dropped back again and forced a ball in traffic to Jackson that was picked off.

That needless 18-second drive was a killer.

Sullivan got too damn cute. Sure, he made good calls pumping the ball down field and actually pulled a successful end around with Preston Parker, but Joe’s got to give Sullivan a bad grade for this game. Dallas Clark was a missing weapon until the final drive, and he didn’t use his backs well.

Yes, Joe realizes the Bucs defense endured an epic torching, but Sullivan didn’t help their cause much.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This one will sting a while.

The Bucs had the world champs on the ropes, bleeding, sucking air, in their own living room no less. The Bucs looked to be on the verge of a historic win and possible franchise-turning victory.

But then, the ghost of Raheem Morris appeared.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning obliterated the Bucs for the eighth-most passing yards in a single game in NFL history by rocking the Bucs defense for 510 yards, tying Drew Brees in a come-from behind, gut-punching loss delivered to the Bucs.

Manning threw with such ease in the fourth quarter it looked like backyard football. The Bucs couldn’t get Manning’s jersey dirty, couldn’t stop the slant, couldn’t stop the bomb.

It seemed the only time the Bucs could stop the Giants was when the Giants stopped themselves by Manning throwing a pick or the Giants receivers simply dropping the ball.

For fans who believe that the Bucs — who have now given up 813 yards through the air in two games — and Greg Schiano will change things around to somehow stop the bleeding via the pass, think otherwise said Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib.

“This is our defense, man,” Talib said. “It ain’t no all or nothing, it’s our defense. This [the schemes are]what you are going to see all year. We are either going to make those plays on the back end, or lose. Simple a that. That’s what it is going to. That’s how it’s going to be and I don’t mind that at all. That’s our defense.

“We fought, we just didn’t make enough plays. They made one more play than we did. A loss is a loss, no matter if they have a thousand yards running or a thousand yards passing. When you come out with an ‘L’ they all feel the same way to me.”

So what should Bucs fans take away from this loss?

Donald Penn had the answer after the game. Penn was fired up on Buccaneers Radio Network.

“[The Giants] know the Bucs ain’t no joke. That’s one thing we can take away from this. We ain’t playing around this year,” Penn said.

Penn also went on to say the Bucs need to learn how to finish and were a play or two short. Penn said he had complete confidence the Bucs would tie the game on the late drive that led to Mike Williams’ heroic 41 yard touchdown drive and on the drive that came up short to end the game.

The leader of the New Schiano Order had similar commentary as well. ““It was a battle, and the Giants made one more play than we did,” Schiano said.

Now Joe knows the Giants victory was more than just a “one-play” difference, but Joe buys into the sentiment. The Bucs are for real because they’re physical and they have playmakers.

A big thing that stood out for Joe in this painful loss to the Giants was the lack of pass rush, even after the Bucs knocked out the Giants’ right tackle David Diehl early in the game.

The Bucs’ dialed up blitz after blitz and couldn’t rough up or rattle the not-too-mobile Eli Manning in the second half, and there wasn’t too much pressure in the first half, either.

Yeah, Aqib Talib was burned repeatedly. And Ronde Barber and Brandon McDonald got embarrassed. But the pass rush sure didn’t help these guys out.

Roy Miller was invisible, and Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn were neutralized. Michael Bennett had a few moments.

It was nowhere near enough, and nothing compared to last week against Carolina.

The pass rush failed and Bucs’ secondary was gashed and trashed to the tune of 510 yards. Tampa Bay aslo was carved up the gut in the running game.

Amazingly, the Bucs were gritty enough and physical enough to be in position to win the game in the fourth quarter.

Gut-wrenching stuff, for sure.

Joe is fuming that the Bucs didn’t run the ball down 27-16 late in the third quarter and came out throwing, which led to a Josh Freeman force and interception on the second play of that drive. The run was working. Why go Greg Olson?

The Bucs did a lot of good things, but not enough when it counted.

OK guys, Joe’s at Met Life Stadium, there is no blackout and it is the Bucs first road game of the season, at the defending Super Bowl champs no less. Your comments are welcome but as always, please do not post links to pirated feeds but instead, you mail e-mail them among yourselves. Have fun.

Greg Schiano has used his red pen, and the following Bucs will not have a helmet on today.

Cornerbacks Anthony Gaitor and E.J. Biggers, both still nursing injuries, RB Michael Smith, which lets you know LeGarrette Blount is healthy and ready, guard Derek Hardman and DE George Johnson.

That means Arrelious Benn and Myron Lewis will make their 2012 debuts.

Week 2

Bucs at Giants

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: Locally, WTVT-TV Channel 13, DirecTV Channel 707.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 135.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, good football weather. The Bucs and Giants will play under sunny skies with a kickoff temperature expected to be 70. The temperature will gradually climb to 73 with mild breezes.

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs +7.

Outlook: If Joe comes across here as a bit arrogant, let Joe apologize up front.

Joe always reads and hears Bucs fans talk about how either national media types (insert the dreaded four-letter acronym here) don’t give the Bucs any attention or that the Bucs are — gasp! — not respected.

Well, you want the Bucs to get attention? You want the Bucs to get respect? It’s quite simple: go into the living room of the defending Super Bowl champions located in the media capital of the western hemisphere and you punch them in the mouth.

The ultimate signature game for the Bucs and first-year coach Greg Schiano could come this afternoon when the Bucs face the defending world champs, the New York Giants.

Talk about rocking the NFL if this happens… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This isn’t the stinking Panthers here (who, by the way, the Bucs coughed up 303 yards in the air against). We’re talking the Giants, Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Ahmad Bradshaw.

Beating the Panthers is one thing. Stopping the Giants in their house, after a season-opening loss is quite another.

The Bucs are dinged up on the right side of the offensive line. Obviously, Davin Joseph is gone and Jeremy Trueblood is hobbled with a bum ankle. So now you are possibly looking at Ted Larsen and Demar Dotson going up against the best defensive line in the NFL?

Grab a hold of your beers (or better yet, Rachel Watson).

Joe firmly believes this will come down to Josh Freeman vs. Eli Manning. The Giants’ rush attack does not scare Joe and the Giants soft spot is their secondary. If Freeman can somehow avoid Justin Tuck, et al, and complete some deep passes, Joe’s thinks the Bucs have a shot. The Bucs matching the Giants’ defensive line pressure with their own against a less-than-mobile Manning will be critical.

With the Bucs facing the Giants today at the New Jersey Swamplands, the task at hand was clear to both Bucs left tackle Donald Penn and left guard Carl Nicks.

“They are the world champs,” Penn said.

“They are beasts,” Nicks added.

It wasn’t just about the Super Bowl champions that Penn and Nicks were referring to. It’s the front defensive line of the Giants. There is no stronger defensive line in the NFL. It’s not close. With players Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul, it’s a living, breathing nightmare for quarterbacks, must less for offensive linemen.

If there is a unit on the Bucs that the had their antennae up moments after beating the stinking Panthers in the first week of the season, it is the Bucs’ offensive line.

“This is one of the best front sevens we will see all year and it’s already the second game,” Penn said. “They are one of the best front sevens in the league. After their loss, they will be coming back with a lot of vengeance, a lot of motivation. It is a must-win game for them.”

“They get sacks, tackles for loss, pressure, bull rushing, speed rushing; they are just a bunch of jack-of-all-trades over there,” Nicks said.

The Giants were humbled by the Cowboys to open the season on a nationally-televised game on a Wednesday night where Pierre-Paul, Umenyiora and Tuck were invisible. After being chewed on by Giants headmaster Tom Coughlin for the past week and a half, it’s highly unlikely those three monsters will go unnoticed today.

“You just have to do what you do best and execute,” Nicks said in how to combat the Giants defensive front. “That’s the main thing: no mental errors. you can’t let get one good play because once they do, that will erupt into another big play and everyone will bounce off each other with more big plays real quick.

“After a couple of plays, there will be tendencies and you go from there but you have to play the game and can’t just guess.”

“They have freak of natures all over there,” Penn said. “Pierre Paul, there’s not many people who can do what he does. I get a double-dose. I get a little bit of him and a little bit of Osi. This is going to be a tough one. How do you forget Justin tuck? It’s going to be tough. It’s not going to be easy.”

Last week, Giants two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning had a conference call with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club, and Joe jotted down some of the highlights of the conversation. Among them were Manning’s experience with current Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, what he expects from the Bucs today, and his relationship with Josh Freeman.

On preparing for the Bucs with the new, somewhat unknown philosophies of Greg Schiano.

It’s the same challenge they have also, we know their offense well and they are running same offense or similar. Still, football is a matter of just going out and executing. They don’t know what play we are running. Just see their style of defense and make adjustments. It’s how we perform and how we execute. That’s the big thing.

What he learned from Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, who was his position coach with the Giants.

Make good decisions and play wisely. Have a plan and an idea and trust your instincts.

On the Giants laying an egg to open the season against the Cowboys

What we brought to the table Wednesday night was not good enough.

On what he expects from the Bucs defense.

Very fast on defense, quick, moving around. Pretty good bit of man coverage and they trust their corners. But I am sure they will throw some wrinkles at us.

On Josh Freeman touching base with him after Sullivan was hired as the Bucs offensive coordinator and what he told Freeman about Sullivan.

He did reach out and we talked and I told him a little bit about Coach Sullivan, I think very highly of Coach Sullivan. We had a great relationship, we worked hard together. We had a great plan each week, great preparation, and great study. I know [Freeman] was looking forward to working with him.

On what he sees in Freeman the times he has watched the Bucs.

He seems like a hard worker, a guy who prepares; he gets everything lined up, changes protections, makes all the throws, moves around the pocket and extends plays.