Gerald McCoy went down last night on the Bucs’ third defensive play, and in came E.J. Wilson to fill his shoes.

E.J. Wilson?

Joe has to watch the game again, but Wilson played pretty darn well.

A Butch Davis defensive end at North Carolina, Wilson was a fourth-round pick of the Seahawks in 2010 but was cut midseason. He was signed by the Bucs before last season and blew out his Achilles during the 2011 preseason.

And now he’s backing up Gerald McCoy. For those who love the bottom-of-the-roster drama, Wilson tossed a fat new wrinkle into the defensive line mix. 

Amobi Okoye is still slowed by his knee issue. Gary Gibson made his preseason debut last night and looked rather plodding. Frank Okam can’t be high on the charts if Wilson played over him, and Wallace Gilberry, who drew strong praise from Schiano after the Miami game is still around.

Given the fragility of Gerald McCoy, Joe can’t imagine the Bucs not keeping five defensive tackles on the final roster, one more than usual. That, of course, the Bucs would force the Bucs to go leaner at another position, which could spell unsuspecting doom for a wide receiver or safety, especially given the sad new question mark on the offensive line.

Ronde Barber was too smart for Tom Brady last night

Mark Barron brought home the glory for his pick-6, first-quarter touchdown against Tom Brady and the Pats last night, but it was Bucs icon Ronde Barber who made the play.

Graybeard Barber read Tom Brady, undercut the route and tipped the pass up into the welcoming arms of Barron. Then Barber led the calvary into the end zone.

That wasn’t the only special play Barber made last night, according to the leader of the New Schiano Order.

“Some little things [Barber] did tonight, I haven’t experienced in a long time,” Schiano said, with tone that expressed awe.

Schiano explained that Barber’s “little things” took him back to special moments of his days as a Bears assistant coach in the 1990s.

Joe loves Barber as much as the next guy, but Joe has serious concerns as to how well Barber can play safety and handle the increased pounding he’ll get at the position.

Barber’s going to have some trouble in coverage with tight ends, but last night was an indication that he’s likely going to make up for that with guile and pure football smarts.

It was glorious to get the first real taste of what Vincent Jackson can do in a Bucs uniform last night.

Finally, Josh Freeman fired a pass downfield this preseason. Finally! And it came very early — with zip — to Jackson. It was the second play of the Bucs’ first possession, and Freeman found Jackson in daylight nestled in the Pats’ deep zone for a 25-yard completion.

Then man coverage was no match for Jackson, and he caught two more balls on that opening possession and wrapped up the series and his night with three catches for 49 yards, and a drop.

If the Bucs can simply rip off a Jackson-led drive like that twice a game, Jackson will be in the Pro Bowl and the Bucs likely will be in the playoff hunt.

Jackson makes everything look so easy with his size, speed and route-running. Maybe it can be just that easy?

The Bucs are paying Jackson $11 million+ per season. Hopefully, Mike Sullivan will let Freeman cash in regularly on the high-priced talent.

The Bucs’ attendance last night of 47,440 was surely discouraging to those yearing for the community stain of TV blackouts to leave forever.

The Bucs-Pats preseason game last year drew a crowd of 49,313, per ESPN data. Joe’s no math major, but that means last night’s game represented a drop of roughly 2,000 fans, or 4 percent.

One would think the New Schiano Order and last night’s victory, and Cam Newton in town, and honoring Ronde Barber’s 200th start, would generate enough buzz over the next 12 days to avoid a blackout by the league deadline of Thursday, Sept. 6.

Joe sure hopes so, but it’s hardly a given that Bucs fans get the job done.

While WTSP-TV Channel 10 sports director Dave Wirth, who was the Bucs sideline reporter for Bucs preseason games, reported that right guard Davin Joseph suffered a broken kneecap, Wirth was quick to point out that is not an official word from the Bucs.

The Bucs have yet to speak on the record about the injury.

Joseph has, well, sort of.

Joseph took to Twitter just after midnight and seemed to offer a glimmer of hope his injury may not be devastating, though he was vague.

‏@DavinJoseph75: Thanks for all of the support, positive vibes, and prayers. Overall, it could be worse. God has a plan. I’ll be back ASAP.

It’s possible that Joseph may not have a season-ending injury, but again, nothing is confirmed. Greg Schiano will likely have an update in his weekly day-after press conference this afternoon.

Definitely click  through to learn more and/or shop online at Ed Morse Brandon Auto Mall Fiat. Joe bought his pre-owned Ford at Ed Morse and had a fantastic experience. Not a peep of trouble with the vehicle in 18 months. You’ll be amazed by the selection, price and service at Ed Morse.

There have been a lot of changes under the New Schiano Order since Bucs coach Greg Schiano took charge.

One of which is, he has tried to turn One Buc Palace into Langley, where the CIA is headquartered. There is barely no piece of information too small to be deemed classified information. Virtually everything is a state secret.

Like paranoia that pervades much of Washington, Schiano views the third estate as a branch of the KGB. Thus, he has instructed players not only to stay away from scribes away on their private time, but they are not in any way to discuss injuries.

So when Joe and the rest of the local pen and mic club paced through the Bucs locker room trying to scape up any morsel of information on injuries to Davin Joseph, Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn, Joe noticed Clayborn laughing and joking with his teammates. He was not wearing any type of wrap on his arm, where it appeared early in the game he suffered an elbow injury.

So when Joe asked Clayborn, who is one of the nicest guys you would every want to meet, if he was doing OK, Clayborn looked at Joe with an ear-to-ear smile and answered, “I got hit in the scrotum,” and walked away.

Yes, Schiano has his troops well-trained already.

What befuddled the Raheem Morris administration seems to be no problem for the New Schiano Order.

How could this be? How could the slow starts to games, the most consistent aspect of the Raheem regime, poof into thin air under Greg Schiano?

Amazing how that works. Joe still contends the Bucs of last season were just too stubborn to hire a consultant, fresh sets of eyes, to study what was going wrong and causing those heinous starts to games.

Schiano has delivered three solid starts to three preseason games, capped by tonight’s 14-0 zip early lead on the Patriots.

This is by far one the most exciting developments of 2012.

Veteran WTSP-TV sportscaster Dave Wirth just reported on the 10 NEWS airwaves that Davin Joseph has a broken patella (kneecap) and will miss at least three months. Though Wirth says his source is not an official word from the Bucs.

Wirth was the sideline reporter for tonight’s Bucs-Pats game.

Joe is somewhat uplifted by this news, as an ACL tear would have been much more devastating.

Jeremy Trueblood is tight with Davin Joseph. The two offensive linemen were drafted in the same class (2006, Joseph a first round selection, Trueblood a second-round pick) and all but started at the same time.

The duo is so close, that there were heavy rumors last summer that Joseph was prepared to walk away from the Bucs had Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik not also signed Trueblood as part of a package deal.

Even after the game tonight, even after win, Trueblood’s mood was more of a guy who had left a wake.

Neither he nor his fellow offensive linemen would comment on the nature of Joseph’s injury and the Bucs are being tight-lipped about his condition.

But Trueblood did comment what it was like to see a friend unable to leave the field under his own power.

“You feel bad for anyone who gets injured but knowing Davin personally, it was probably embarrassing for him to get carted off, that’s his worst thing,” Trueblood said. “We’re hoping that it’s not that bad but right now, I have no idea.

“I wasn’t out there when it happened as I was rotating with [Demar] Dotson so I was watching from the sideline. All I can do is wish him a speedy recovery.”

Greg Schiano updates Gerald McCoy’s injury

It looks like the Bucs dodged a bullet and Gerald McCoy was not seriously injured when he left the game with a hurt knee during the Bucs’ first defensive series.

Speaking after the game on the Buccaneers Radio Network, Greg Schiano said McCoy just needs some time off to get back on the field.

“I think Gerald’s going to be OK. I think he just needs a little rest,” Schiano said.

Like McCoy or not, this is damn good news.

In the heart of the punishing Bucs first-team defense tonight was veteran linebacker Adam Hayward.

Always a physical cat, Hayward played downhill. He led the first team with seven tackles. He showed quickness on a blitz and sacked Tom Brady as the Bucs jumped out to a 20-7 halftime lead.

Joe has to wonder if maybe, just maybe, Hayward won a starting job from Mason Foster, who was scratched last night with a hamstring injury.

Ronde Barber has talked about how much he appreciates the win-now urgency of the New Schiano Order. Perhaps Schiano is ready to make Hayward, 28, the first supposed backup to earn his way to a starting job?

Joe still has to review the film, but Hayward looked like he played a better game than Foster ever has.

When injuries hit the Bucs on the defensive line tonight, Michael Bennett took over.

If Joe was in a bar or at home watching the tape-delayed broadcast on WTSP-TV Channel 10, on his leather couch, Joe would be standing and applauding the play of the defensive line.

The front four jostled, mocked and stung Patriots quarterback Tom Brady all night.

 On the defense’s third play from scrimmage, Gerald McCoy went down with a borderline dirty low hit that appeared to take out his knee. Then Adrian Clayborn went down.

It didn’t matter. Michael Bennett stepped up and played like a monster.

But now, here come the injuries. It was heartwarming to see the Bucs defensive line play so well, but this is a unit that had about as much depth as wet toilet paper. Now it could be even thinner.

No word (yet) as to the extend of GMC and Clayborn’s injuries.

Good thing for Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik that there will be a glut of players hitting the open market in the coming day. And if so inclined, Dominik might be able to purloin a salary cap casualty for a mere seventh or sixth round pick.

It just might be time for Dominik to start shopping.

It appears the Bucs offensive line is not nearly as strong with the apparent loss of right guard Davin Joseph.

What was a strength for the Bucs is now a question mark.

With Davin Joseph leaving the game on a cart late in the first half, it means the All Pro guard is lost, perhaps for the season. Joe is not going to guess on injuries (remember how awful LeGarrette Blount’s injury looked last week?) but indications are Joseph has a major injury.

When Ted Larsen came in he did his best Jeremy Truebood imitation with back-to-back false starts. That’s just not having your head in the game.

Even before Joseph went down, the right side of the line wasn’t opening up much room for Doug Martin and later, Blount.

That, however, doesn’t mean Martin and Blount weren’t getting some runs in. Early in the game, Martin was tried time and again on the right side, only to be met by a blue wall. Vince Wolfork had his way. When Martin’s number was called to the left side, he gained ground, chunks of it in fact.

Now the right side of the line is a major concern. Good thing there will be a glut of players hitting the market in the coming days.

Remember, that’s how Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik picked up Donald Penn.

No Bucs fan could claim to be stunned or horrified when Gerald McCoy went down with an apparent knee injury early in tonight’s game.

McCoy has been so injury-prone, that it just couldn’t have been a shock.

But late in the second quarter when Davin Joseph was carted off with an apparent serious knee injury, well, Joe and Bucs fans everywhere had to take poise to ponder the serious impact this could have on the Bucs’ season.

Yeah, the Bucs had no problem in 2010 when Joseph was out and Derek Hardman came out of nowhere to fill in admirably and help lead LeGarrette Blount to a 1,000-yard season, but it’s just unrealistic to expect a reserve performance like that again. Joseph is a Pro Bowler and paid a king’s ransom for a reason.

Ted Larsen came in to fill-in for Joseph tonight. Larsen had told Joe last week that he was busting his butt to become “that sixth man,” after getting high praise from Greg Schiano last night.

There’s no official word on Joseph yet, but it seems like Larsen will have to be the fifth-man for a while.

Look, Joe has nothing against Preston Parker. But after tonight’s performance by the former Florida State star, Bucs fans may very well have witnessed him fumble return his last punt and maybe play himself off the roster.

Against Miami to open the preseason, Parker fumbled a punt return and got flagged for a personal foul, cardinal sins in the New Schiano Order.

It didn’t get much better for Parker tonight. He again fumbled a punt return, and with the exception of one good catch, played sloppy.

With Michael Smith showing he can easily handle both kickoff and punt returns, barring injury, Joe would be surprised to see Parker waiting hovering under a punt come the regular season.

Provided he’s even in a Bucs uniform.

E.J. Wilson filled in admirably for McCoy as the Bucs’ defense shined

No matter who praises or moans about Gerald McCoy, they all all agree that McCoy has to stay healthy after his first two seasons were cut short by bicep tears.

Now McCoy is hurt again.

On the Bucs’ first defensive series against New England, McCoy was cut at the line of scrimmage with his knee planted and went to the ground. He left the game and apparently came back later for one play before his night was ended abruptly by the Bucs’ coaching staff.

Hopefully, McCoy doesn’t have an injury that will sideline him for opening day.

Amazingly, little known E.J. Wilson was a handful at defensive tackle in McCoy’s absence, while the Bucs’ defense knocked around Tom Brady and looked as dangerous as it has in years.

The Bucs came out and punched the Patriots in the mouth.

There’s no other way to put it.

They hit and rattled Tom Brady, even sacked him twice, and tagged him for a pick-6 by Mark Barron for a 14-0 lead, and the Bucs walked off at halftime with a 20-7 lead.

Yeah, preseason games mean squat, but the New Schiano Order just opened some eyes across Tampa Bay and around the country.

Joe’s proud to introduce Tilted Kilt to JoeBucsFan.com. Their great location at Drew Street and U.S. 19 in Clearwater is an awesome place to watch games and enjoy the scenery — indoors and outside. It’s definitely a favorite of Joe’s and open late. Click below to learn more.