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.

New York media types don’t get us fans down in Tampa.

Case in point was Evan Roberts on WFAN-AM, New York’s premier sports radio station. This morning Roberts interviewed Roy Cummings, Tampa Tribune Bucs beat writer, and expressed disbelief that Josh Freeman isn’t on a flaming hot seat fanned by Bucs fans and media ready to hang Freeman after leading the NFL with 22 interceptions in 15 games last season.

“Here in New York we eat up quarterbacks,” Roberts said. “He’d be like public enemy No. 1 in New York.”

It’s an interesting point, and a fair one. Collectively, Bucs fans have been very patient with Freeman, likely understanding that he’s still 24 years old, has at least proven himself for a season, and was burdened by a Benn’d-around-loving offensive coordinator who couldn’t figure out how to maximize his best weapons in 2011.

But Joe remembers the Trent Dilfer era very well. Like Freeman, Dilfer’s third season (1996) was heinous (19 picks), but Dilfer bounced back the next year and made the Pro Bowl as the Bucs ended their long streak of losing seasons. Then Dilfer tortured Bucs fans from their forward when it became obvious he wasn’t very good.

This is a critical season for Freeman. Joe suspects his rope is shorter than it appears. And Joe’s confident Bucs fans would be quick to turn him into “public enemy No. 1,” if he became a glaring negative in an otherwise positive season.

Yes, Joe took the trip north to the New Jersey Swamplands to cover the Bucs game tomorrow against the Giants. So since Joe was so close to “The City,” Joe decided to prowl around a little bit in the heart of the Big Apple.

Only in Jersey.

A serene scene in Central Park. Just perfect weather in the Big Apple today.

Some of the Manhattan skyline looking south from Central Park.

Time for lunch!

FGU!

Lucius, creamy cheesecake served before Joe walked out.

Empire State Building.

Macy’s headquarters.

The world famous Madison Square Garden.

ABC studios in Manhattan.

Times Square.

Want a taste of what it’s like to play defense for the New Schiano Order?  Then you must set your dial for Sound FX on NFL Network tonight at 8:30 p.m.

(If you subscribe to a Satanic cable TV outfit that doesn’t provide NFL Network, then Joe thinks you’re nuts. That written, hopefully NFL.com or Buccaneers.com will post a link to the segment later.)

Essentially, the four-minute Schiano segment blends practice footage and last week’s game footage against Carolina, with the head coach “miked up.” Among the highlights, Schiano explains why “a shoe” is what sends a player to Hawaii, and Schiano outlines and demonstrates the “brake-foot-drive-foot” mentality of the swarm, the key to the Bucs defense. It’s phenomenal stuff.

Veteran sports anchor Dave Wirth has a special weekly analysis for readers of JoeBucsFan, this time explaining keys to beating the Giants and dropping a curious LeGarrette Blount theory. Enjoy this WTSP-TV video.

Gerald McCoy told reporters this week how Warren Sapp called him after Sunday’s game to threaten to kick his ass if he ever let Cam Newton or other quarterbacks out of his grasp again, like McCoy did a few times in the home-opener.

That was cute to hear, but speaking on Total Access on WDAE-AM 620 last night McCoy went much deeper into his conversation with Sapp and explained that Sapp legitimately is serving as his personal position coach.

“He’s so helpful, man. I don’t think people realize how helpful he is,” McCoy said of Sapp. “He literally took every play and broke it down and told me what I can do to better myself. And he didn’t go off,  you know, ‘Well you need to change this. You need to change that.’ He’s so good at what he does, he took what I’m capable of and said, ‘this is what you’re able to do; this is what you should do with how you play.’ It’s a blessing, man. And I can’t thank him enough.”

There was a deep, grateful tone in McCoy’s voice, and McCoy went out of his way to make it clear that Sapp calls him on many occasions and Sapp is proactive as a coach, not just answering McCoy’s questions. McCoy also said Sapp calls him “young fella” and is working on making him nasty.

McCoy’s got a real edge having a personal coach like Sapp in his corner. Now all he has to do is stay healthy. Man, Joe wishes he could be a fly on the wall when Sapp finally gets to sit down and talk football with the leader of the New Schiano Order.

In the locker room with the Giants’ defensive line, Mike Garafolo reports how Big Blue’s defensive front plans to rebound against the Bucs from an invisible performance against the Cowboys in this SNY video.

One cool thing about the Bucs playing a team from Gotham is that there is no shortage of fresh Bucs content coming from various New York outlets, which isn’t a shock given that New York is the media capital of the western hemisphere.

Thursday, Bucs coach Greg Schiano appeared with sleepy Mike Francesa on the blowtorch sports radio station of the Big Apple, WFAN-AM. Francesa, fresh from his nap, asked Schiano why he chose the Bucs as his springboard back to the NFL.

In short, Schiano says he was drawn to Team Glazer.

“In my opportunities meeting with the Glazers, they had very similar beliefs in what was important and how we wanted to build a team,” Schiano said. Team Glazer “loves defensive football, the city loves defensive football and the area loves defensive football. I think that is the formula we will build this team on. Everybody is on the same page and the same core values. They are serious about this. They want to build it the right way and I think you can win as you build.”

Well, talk about walking the fine line between rebuilding and winning. Joe likes this, though. Sure, as Schiano later pointed out in the interview, teams are always building, even Super Bowl champs. Teams can win games and still strive for the Holy Grail.

The entire Schiano interview with Francesa can be heard here.

The leader of the New Schiano Order took to the podium today at One Buc Palace and offered and opinion on Josh Freeman running the football.

Schiano is all for Freeman using his legs as a weapon,but he wants to see Freeman master the slide and stay safe.

The head coach was no fan of a first-down run Freeman had against the Panthers. “A little too much spinnin’ and jukin’,” Schiano said.

Freeman gained the second-most yardage among NFL quarterbacks in 2010. He can run effectively.

Joe doesn’t want to see Freeman get hurt, either, but Joe’s fine with Freeman’s decision-making on the run. With the Giants sporting their beastly defensive line, “freaks of nature” as Donald Penn referenced them to The Tampa Tribune the week, Freeman’s likely going to be running for his life on Sunday.

Pat Kirwan dissects the Bucs game at the Giants this Sunday in this CBS Sports video.