Yesterday, former Bucs quarterback Brad Joshson, who led the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory over the Raiders 10 years ago, dropped in to talk Josh Freeman and the Bucs with Todd Wright and Booger McFarland on WHFS-FM 98.7.

Johnson discussed how the Bucs’ new offense should help Freeman and that Johnson believes Freeman should be on the cusp of some special things. Oh, yeah, and how Greg Olson was a Chucky-and-duck disciple.

Booger McFarland: The Bucs are in an offense where they are going to be run-oriented and then take shots downfield. How much pressure does that put on the quarterback than when you do throw the ball, you have to be accurate and on the point?

Brad Johnson: Hopefully the line gives you better coverage to take those shots and get you those one-on-one situations. You can imagine situations where you are not always in third-and-eight or third-and-ten. I remember when I was in Washington with Norv turner and we have Stephen Davis who was an unbelievable runner. It really helped me in the play-action game because I threw for over 4,000 yards. That was my best career year as far as numbers go and that is what you want from Josh. Take care of the ball and when you do take your shots, you have to hit them. [Freeman] has playmakers to make those plays. But the running game, that will get you into a third-and-short, third-and-medium type of a game where you don’t have to force things on third-and-long. It is redundant when you talk about that over and over but the neat thing is for Josh this year is the hot [reads] will be a little different this year from the past.

McFarland: Josh in his fourth year, at one point in your career, the term “light goes on,” at what point did things calm down where you could play at a high level?

Johnson: I was in a different situation in that I didn’t play that much at Florida State. When I got to Minnesota, I was backing up Rich Gannon, Jim McMahon and Warren Moon. It took me to my fourth or fifth year until I was the actual starter. Thing about it, I was in the same system for seven years so I got to know the offense like the back of my hand, learning concepts from Brian Billick and later with Norv Turner so by the time I got to Tampa with Dungy and Gruden, I understood concepts pretty well. I do think the system that Josh was in was formulated from Gruden, the audibles and the formations and his adjustments for protections. He has a lot more playing time than I did so he is probably ahead of his time. I think Josh is ready to take that turn.

Well, some interesting comments there. High praise for Freeman, indeed. Joe believes Johnson hit the nail on the head in that for Freeman to make connections downfield on third-and-short, he needs protection. One reason Freeman struggled against Tennessee last week is that Freeman didn’t often have time to sneeze much less throw a pass.

The offensive line for the Bucs simply must be able to not just open holes for LeGarrette Blount and Doug Martin to make this offense work, it also has to keep Freeman’s jersey clean.

It all starts up front.

Oh, and it didn’t take Johnson to tell Joe how Olson was like Chucky in that he’d rather go down throwing the ball then using the talent on hand to pound the football.

Yesterday, former Bucs great Warren Sapp, pitching his book “Sapp Attack,” dropped in on the one and only “King of All Media,” Howard Stern, heard exclusively on SiriusXM radio.

It was a raucous hour-long sit down and Joe cannot remember a more spirited interview Stern has had outside of Mr. T or the Insane Clown Posse.

Of course, Joe took notes as Sapp finally met his match in someone that controls an interview. Here are highlights:

* Warren Sapp was the “baby boy” of his family and all five of his older brothers were running backs. They would come home with all sorts of bumps, bruises and injuries and Sapp’s mom wouldn’t let Sapp play football as a result. When Sapp was a sophomore in high school, a family friend convinced her to let Warren play, only because he wouldn’t play running back.

* Sapp weighed 225 when he graduated high school. “I’m a safety trapped in a 300-pound body.”

* Sapp said he never thought he was an NFL prospect until he was switched to defensive line at Miami. Sapp was originally a tight end.

* The last time he saw his estranged father was just after the Bucs won the Super Bowl, which was their first meeting since Sapp was in junior high school. At the meeting 10 years ago, Sapp told his father, “You have grandchildren you will never meet. I just want to tell you that now. Just drive away.” Sapp, however, is close to his uncles, his father’s brothers.

* Sapp grew up a Cowboys fan and fantasized about being the next Tony Hill.

* The infamous draft report: Sapp was expected to go high in the draft but late on the Friday night prior to the draft, not quite 12 hours before the draft began, Chris Mortenson reported that Sapp had flunked seven drug tests at Miami; six for pot and one for cocaine. This dropped Sapp’s stock so much he fell to the Bucs. Sapp vehemently denied ever doing coke, not even to this day. “I never took seven drug tests at Miami but I took three NCAA drug tests. I never even sold crack!”

* Howard Stern kept badgering Sapp about having to sell his shoes as part of his bankruptcy and Sapp claimed he hasn’t had to sell anything.

* Sapp said the NFL is so proactive these days to help players not blow their money, that if a player wants to go into business with non-football player, NFL security will run background checks on prospective business clients/partners to determine if they are shady or not, all as a courtesy.

* In so many words, Sapp confessed he learned far too late what a wise investment prophylactics are.

* “Howard, I want to put my foot so far up your @ss,” Sapp said after Stern kept pestering Sapp about his incident in Miami two yeas ago during Super Bowl week with his then-girlfriend. Sapp’s charges for allegedly roughing her up were dropped, but not before Sapp spent a night in a Broward County cage and was briefly taken off the air by the NFL Network. “How does a man wait 37 years to be a woman-beater? She was a psycho, some chicks are just crazy.”

* Sapp claimed he nearly got thrown out of the University of Miami for a one-punch fight at a basketball game when he was a freshman. Sapp dropped a guy with a left hook to the cheek that drew blood. He was hauled into a dean’s office and had to beg not to be run out of Coral Gables. The altercation began when Sapp was defending Canes receiver Lamar Thomas who was undercut on the basketball court.

* “Pressure is making a $5 bet with $3 in your pocket.’

* Sapp claims he never dated a celebrity.

* Warren Carlos Sapp II, Sapp’s son, is playing football for the first time this week. Sapp said he and his son have never watched a football game together though they enjoy watching baseball games when spending time with each other. Sapp’s son is a big baseball fan and Sapp would rather have his son play baseball. “We’ve already got all the football trophies you can want in the house.”

* Sapp’s secret to being a successful broadcaster on the NFL Network: “The eye in the sky never lies and I’m going to say what I see on the field for those six-seconds of play.”

* Sapp cannot fathom putting a hit on a player that ends his career. “You don’t take turkey off a man’s table, Howard.” He cited the Lawrence Taylor-Joe Theismann hit that ended Theismann’s career, when it was Taylor who was the first who screamed for Redskins medical staff to treat Theismann. “You don’t ever want that feeling on your resume.” He said he saw three players in high school that were hurt so bad they never played football again and the memory of each shakes him to this day.

* Stern asked Sapp if the NFL is regulating hitting so much that the game is turning into “two-hand touch,” and Sapp screamed “You can’t hit receivers now! They’ve built the autobahn down the middle of the field, where you been?”

* Stern was offended that in Sapp’s book, he mentions how Brad Culpepper referred to Sapp as “colored” and that Sapp called Culpepper “Whitey.” Stern seemed to think that Culpepper was throwing out a racial slur. Sapp explained it’s different in the south and the nicknames were nothing but terms of endearment and that he and Culpepper are great friends. Sapp explained that the Bucs were nearly named the Florida Crackers when the area was awarded an NFL franchise in the mid-1970s.

* Stern asked Sapp about the brotherhood of the NFL and Sapp said it is tight. When Stern mentioned it seemed to him the same as veterans who served together in combat, Sapp got defensive and said “I wish we would stop comparing football to the military” and explained “When Brad Culpepper don’t hold the A-gap, I don’t get shot.” Rather, Sapp agreed with Stern that the NFL fraternity is more like a motorcycle gang. “You eat, chew, sleep the same dirt. When you spend that amount of hours with someone, you really become close.”

* During his “Dancing With the Stars” appearance, Sapp was smitten with Brooke Burke. Understandable.

* Sapp continued to suggest Jeremy Shockey was the whistleblower in the Saints bounty scandal mess, though offered no specifics. Though Sapp first mentioned this on NFL Network months ago, it was his other job, with “Inside the NFL,” that that he lost his Shockey comments; not the NFL Network.

* “Sunday is my pleasure, they pay me Monday through Saturday.”

* Bill Belicheat told Sapp he wanted to draft him in Cleveland so bad that Belicheat became aroused (as in standing at attention) while watching his tape from his playing days at Miami. But Michael Lombardi, then a Browns front office man, refused to draft Sapp and vetoed Belicheat’s wishes because Browns security was spooked after digging into Sapp’s background, which later turned out to be inaccurate. Lombardi, who now works with Sapp at the NFL Network, said that had the Browns drafted him, the team never would have moved to Baltimore. “I love Bill Belichick,” Sapp said.

Lombardi later worked with the Raiders when Sapp was in Oakland and Sapp said Lombardi is still tormented by being fed wrong intel, thus passing on drafting Sapp in Cleveland.

* Sapp misses training camp but not so the rigors of day-to-day NFL life. “I wanted to make practice so hard that it was worse than anything I ever saw on Sunday so that would make playing a pleasure. I had butterflies and everything until that first hit.”

* Sapp described the very play where he decided it was time to hang up his cleats. Against left guard Daryn Colledge when Oakland hosted Green Bay in 2007, Brett Farve called a play-action pass which Sapp said he had seen from Farve too many times to count. “I’ve seen that play, forever. A five-step drop. He’s going deep!” Sapp read the play like a book but couldn’t get off the block of Colledge. Then, Sapp said, if he couldn’t get loose from Colledge, it’s time. “I didn’t want to walk in a room on Monday morning and see that. I knew right then it was over. I didn’t have the physical ability to get around this bum.” Sapp said he could have played “two or three more years, easily,” but didn’t want to be remembered as a hanger-on. “I gave everything I had on Sunday.”

* When Stern asked Sapp if he was angry he never played on “a killer team,” Sapp shot back in disbelief, “I won a world championship in Tampa. You ever hear of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? The icicle orange? I won a world championship there.”

* Stern didn’t seem to believe that Sapp lost his Super Bowl ring.

“Where’s your ring?”
“Uh, that’s the one — I lost it.”
“Did you sell it or did you lose it?”
“Howard, I wouldn’t lie to you.”

To hear the full interview between the “Quarterback Killer” and the “King of All Media,” click on this link. Warning: Segments of the interview are very graphic in nature and are for mature audiences only. It is very NSFW of the highest order.

Click here for a few SFW clips from the interview.

Joe cannot remember one player who so divided a Bucs fan base like linebacker Barrett Ruud.

NFL authorities from national types down to Bucs coaches lauded Ruud for what he was supposed to do in the Tampa-2.

Many Bucs fans and one local former Bucs player who makes a living behind a radio microphone would not listen, despite the fact Ruud led the Bucs in tackles. They demanded Ruud do what he was not supposed to do, and that was be a combination of Dick Butkus and Jack Lambert, in other words, a fifth down lineman.

Countless glasses of beer were thrown at local barkeepers due to the rancor and anger Ruud ignited in local watering holes. Neighborhood dogs and cats feared his very name.

Well, Ruud will be talked about again in the Tampa Bay area as the Bucs’ division rivals, the New Orleans Saints, acquired Ruud in a trade for an undisclosed draft pick, per multiple sources.

So Bucs fans get ready: your heckling of Ruud has not come to an end.

Joe doesn’t have HBO. He dropped it the second the screen went dark on “The Sopranos.” HBO has some good stuff, including “Real Sports,” but Joe couldn’t justify keeping HBO just for that.

Tuesday will be one of those nights Joe wishes he had HBO. On “Real Sports,” which has its season premiere at 9 p.m., former Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Chucky is featured. Here’s a preview:

In an intriguing and possibly telling move, and one that surely has shaken up every Bucs receiver fighting for a job, the Bucs were awarded WR Jordan Shipley off waivers today.

Shipley had a gruesome knee injury last September while playing for the Bengals. In 2010, his rookie season, the former University of Texas star caught 54 balls. The Bengals released him on Aug. 17.

Joe’s concluding a few things from this move, Shipley is likely healthy. Shipley will play on Friday night. And the Bucs aren’t pleased with some of the guys in their receiving corps listed below: 

Vincent Jackson
Mike Williams
Arrelious Benn
Preston Parker
Tiquan Underwood
Sammie Stroughter
Jordan Shipley
Ed Gant 

With all the hot seats in that receivers room, Greg Schiano might have to adjust the thermostat to meet team standards.

No. 99, the QB Killa, is on the prowl pimping his new book, Sapp Attack. And Sapp landed on WDAE-AM 620 this morning to talk to the Ron and Ian Show but the conversation quickly turned to Gerald McCoy.

Sapp was asked for a scouting report on McCoy, and it wasn’t pretty.

“Looks like somebody that’s thinking,” Sapp said of McCoy. ” Looks like somebody that’s thinking through, you know, where they want to go. The biggest thing I told him this year. He’s gotta get that damn blocker off. He’s gotta shed him. You gotta shed him and go put your horns on people.”

Sapp went on to say “I don’t see his push-pull or his violence.”

You can listen to Sapp’s entire take below. As usual, he’s extraordinarily entertaining.

Sapp says he’s a fan of Michael Bennett and Adrian Clayborn. And he shares more about McCoy, who he says needs to “wake up.” Interestingly, he also says Brian Price didn’t like McCoy. Sapp also explains why Greg Schiano’s fitness test was a wonderful thing to toughen up the Bucs. Great stuff.

Don’t forget that Joe gets after it on the Rays, as well. Joe’s joined at the hip with the famous RaysIndex.com. If you like the Rays, it’s a site you must be addicted to. Click below.

Greg Schiano was quick to heap praise on No. 90 today

It seems the leader of the New Schiano Order is smitten with Roy Miller.

This is somewhat amazing to Joe. It represents quite a turnaround for Miller, who was front and center within the Bucs’ heinous defensive line play the past three seasons.

“As our base down noseguard, he’s made for what we want him to do. He’s very strong. He’s explosive. He’s quick,” Schiano said today of Miller. “I’ve been pleased with Roy our first two games. A mature guy. He’s a grown man that we need. We need some of that maturity out there. Like I said, I’ve been pleased.”

Joe’s pulling for Miller. It’s pretty obvious he’s going to be the starting nose guard. But Joe’s really going to have to see the Bucs stop the run and record sacks before he becomes a Miller believer.

Bucs fans gasped at the sight of starting running back LeGarrette Blount writhing in pain Friday on the middle of the field at the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway, with Bucs medical staff working on his knee.

After the game, it was revealed that Blount “only” hurt his groin. He was walking about on the sidelines and the Bucs locker room with no wrap of any sort on his knee.

NowBucs fans that gasped at Blount getting hurt are breathing a major sigh of relief as Blount was back at practice and told Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune that he was more scared Friday night than hurt.

Blount said the hit that knocked him out of Friday’s game in the second quarter put a scare into him because he took a similar hit a year ago during the regular season that caused more damage than the one he took Friday.

“It scared me a lot, really but I was fortunate enough not to get the same injury as last year,” said Blount, who missed two games with a leg injury in 2011. “The groin was the only part that got hurt this time, so I feel good about it and I felt good today.”

Greg Schiano told the Bucs pen and mic club after practice that Blount “was not limited” in practice.

Had Blount been lost for any period of time, it really would have put a dent into Schiano’s plans to use a two-headed monster in a power running game. After Blount and rookie Doug Martin, the Bucs’ top two backs are fellow rookies Michael Smith and little-used Mossis Madu.

Without Blount, the Bucs running backs are greener than the grass the players play on as far as NFL experience.

When the Bucs last had a great offense, the second half of the 2010 season, Jeremy Zuttah was the starting center for eight games, filling in for injured Jeff Faine.

And last season, Zuttah moved over from guard to make his only start of the season at center when the Bucs punished the Saints behind Earnest Graham rushing for 109 yards and Josh Freeman throwing for 303. It was the Bucs’ last win.

So considering Zuttah’s unique versatility over four seasons and his success at center, the Bucs paid Zuttah this offseason and locked him up as their starting center for typical starting-center money. But ESPN.com NFC South blogger Pat Yaskinskas thinks the Bucs took a huge gamble on Zuttah.

Yasinskas seemed spooked by Zuttah’s rough game Friday.

Jeremy Zuttah, center, Buccaneers. The team made a big leap of faith when it signed Zuttah to a large contract, shifted him to center and ushered Jeff Faine out the door. Coach Greg Schiano had Zuttah at Rutgers and has faith in him. But that faith will be tested quickly if Zuttah doesn’t play better than he did Friday night against the Titans. Zuttah was fine in the opener and a young guy at a new position should show improvement every week. 

Joe finds Yasinskas’ take to be way off base.

Zuttah earned his contract like most players do, by proving himself at the position, and by proving durable and hard-working. Yeah, Zuttah wasn’t sharp on Friday, but neither was anyone else on the Bucs’ O-line.

When Joe watched the Bucs offense and second-string defense struggle mightily against Tennessee, Joe’s first thought was that this was a good thing in the long run.

Why? Because it sets up the New Schiano Order to really crack the whip this week, return hard to the basics and drive home more discipline and focus to the players. The reality is it’s just harder to do that successfully after a game performance is strong.

Speaking on WDAE-AM 620 Sunday, former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht fell into the same camp as Joe. Becht feels good about the timing of the Bucs’ bad loss.

“Going into that second preseason game, trying to amp it up and build on what you did last week [in Miami] when you saw success and had a little bit of that in front of you, you wanted to come out a little stronger in the second game. You kind of look at it and take it with a grain of salt, but I think it’s good with Coach Schiano that he gets a game like this early in the preseason, so now he can really press the buttons a little more,” Becht said.

Becht went on to explain that the Bucs have had a tough training camp and, essentially, the poor results Friday allows that beneficial atmosphere to continue and ramp up successfully for another week, verus the Bucs possibly falling into a “cruising” mentality if they had dominated a meaningless preseason game.

Keep your foot on the pedal, Schiano. (Becht’s entire interview is below.)

Joe senses a level of panic building among Bucs fans after the lackluster loss to the Titans in the second preseason game of the year.

The defense, fans bark, is a throwback to November 2011, a frightening thought indeed. But lost is the fact that the Bucs defense started the game with three, three-and-outs, which pleased Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

Joe had a fan Twitter him just today, thinking quarterback Josh Freeman will be no better than his 22-interception season last year because said fan thought Freeman telegraphed a couple of passes Friday night.

In short, as Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said after Friday’s game, it’s preseason.

“We can fix it, we can fix it,” GMC said. “We just have to get it on tape and get on the grind. Not saying we haven’t been, but this is preseason and this is where you make your mistakes and make your corrections so on Sept. 9 we have those things behind us.”

Exactly the point. Rarely if ever is a team going to show its hand in a preseason game. Often, players are asked to work on very specific moves that may expose them.

There’s no reason to panic over Friday’s game. If this play continues into October, then perhaps.

E.J. Biggers raised an eyebrow this offseason when he talked about how the New Schiano Order is helping him know better about where to be on the football field versus his 2011 coaching staff.

Interestingly, Ahmad Black, the Bucs’ defensive star Friday with an interception followed by a quality return, also said there’s more focus this year on reponsibility in the secondary.

Buccaneers Radio Network locker room show host TJ Rives asked Black what’s new and different for defensive backs under the New Schiano Order.

“He’s basically, you know, he’s pressing us to make sure we know our defense and know our reponsibilities and to do our job like we always stress,” Black said.

It’s repeated comments like these that give Joe hope for the defense in 2012. They reinforce Joe’s belief that poor coaching and leadership, rather than a lack of talent, led the Bucs to a historically ugly defense.

Bucs Pro Bowl guard Davin Joseph checked in after the Bucs-Titans loss with the Buccaneers Radio Network on WDAE-AM 620. Among several takes in the interview below, Joseph explained of the offense, “We were just a little bit timid.”

Two fair catches were part of Preston Parker’s quiet night Friday.

And while that doesn’t seem like a big deal, those two fair catches were key bounce-back steps for Parker, who had fumbled away a punt in the preseason opener and committed a senseless personal foul.

“You can’t dwell on it other than to correct it,” Parker said. “We’ve been working on my technique. It was just something that happened in Miami. Stuff happens and you have to go and correct it the next time you get a chance. I was going out there to make sure I caught the ball securely [against Tennessee]. I had the fair catches, so I just made sure I caught them.”

Parker’s an interesting study. The guy was a stellar third-down receiver last season, one of the very best in the NFL, but he’s less-aggressive and much less sure-handed as a returner.

Though Joe’s unsure why, it seems the Bucs are set on Parker being their No. 1 returner. 

In 2011, Parker finished ranked 35th in the NFL in yards per kick return (10 or more attempts). Sammie Stroughter was 14th.

Parker also was one of the worst punt returners in the NFL in 2011. He led the league in fumbles on punt returns with six, and Parker ranked 23rd in yards per return among those with 10 or more opportunities. And Parker only had three punt returns of 20 yards or more and never “broke” one.

It feels to Joe like the Bucs are forcing the issue with Parker in the return game. This leads Joe to conclude that the prospects for Stroughter making the team aren’t strong.

Ted Larsen still draws on lessons learned in Patriots training camp

While it’s hardly sexy to talk about reserve offensive linemen, these guys are critical. To Raheem Morris’ and former offensive line coach Pete Mangurian’s credit, then 2010 backups James Lee, Derek Hardman, Jeremy Zuttah and Ted Larsen miraculously led the Bucs’ offense to its best showing in ages during the second half of that season.

The Keydrick Vincent Experience had gone sour. And Jeremy Trueblood, Jeff Faine and Davin Joseph all went down with injuries, yet the Bucs proved deep at O-line.

As for Bucs’ depth in 2012, Greg Schiano took to the Buccaneers Radio Network pregame show airwaves Friday and went out of his way to praise Larsen, a name we haven’t heard much of this season, which is always a good thing for an O-lineman.

“Ted Larsen is really a guy I think is a solid performer there,” Schiano said of his offensive line depth.

Larsen told Joe he’s working on tapping his experience and maturity and increased strength.

“I’ve got to be that sixth man, that guard, center, and tackle if need be. Just working toward being that guy you can plug in anywhere,” Larsen said. “It’s my third year, and I’m kind of one of the older guys with the second line and I’ve had the benefit of a lot of experience to tap and impart.”

Larsen was a sixth-round pick of the Patriots in 2010. He was cut by New England right before that season started and was signed by the Bucs. Larsen said he and the Bucs should benefit from their upcoming practices with the Patriots. He still has friends in the Pats organization and great respect for Bill Belichick.

“[Belichick] does a great job getting guys prepared. And I draw on that knowledge as much as I can, even now two years later,” Larsen said.

From Joe’s vantage point, it seems the Bucs’s final cuts will not include Larsen, Demar Dotson and veteran free agent pickup Jamon Meredith, who has been seen with the second unit at various positions.

Boy oh boy, was Mark Barron right.

Last week he told Joe, in so many words, that Bucs fans who have come out to training camp haven’t seen the true Mark Barron and wouldn’t until he played his first game.

In Joe’s mind, it was a helluva debut.

The Bucs drafted Barron to be a physical, lay-the-wood safety and Barron showed just that. Barron showed how he has lighting-quick speed. Once, when firing in a scrum to close a game and drop a ball carrier, Barron for a brief moment looked to Joe like John Lynch with closing speed, which brought a smile to Barron’s face.

“John Lynch with wheels, huh?” Barron laughed. “I came out and made a few plays, came out and got a feel for the game. I think it was good to get that in-game experience.”

Barron was held out of the preseason opener at Miami with a bum toe. So Friday was his first chance to play under the lights in an NFL uniform.

“No, I didn’t have butterflies, but I was a little anxious I guess,” Barron said. “I enjoyed it. I feel that getting that experience was good for me.”

Barron didn’t think there was any undo pressure put on him by Greg Schiano or Bucs management but he is well aware of the standards the team has for him.

“They are not putting pressure on me but of course there are certain things they expect of me,” Barron said. “So I have I have that in mind to do those things.”

Things like filling gaps, being physical and punishing opponents.

“I could have played a little faster in my opinion, but that all comes with experience and knowledge with what you are doing,” Barron said. “Once I get more game experience, I will be able to play faster.”

Schiano also dropped a tune that brought Joe back to 1996

The New Schiano Order watched film of last night’s Bucs-Titans game and came away yearning for more thump on both sides of the ball.

Greg Schiano said today that his players need to force themselves to battle through fatigue, which was a factor in the team’s questionable attention to fundamentals last night.

“We didn’t play physically enough on either side,” Schiano said. “You know, if you could say [we were physical] anywhere it would be the early part of the defense, but after that I didn’t think we played as physical as even we did the week before. So we need to get back to work and make sure that pad level and intensity and those things, and then more precise – aiming points, footwork, those kinds of things.

“Why? As a head coach you say, ‘Why is that happening?’ Some of it’s fatigue. No doubt. That’ll get better because we’ll get’em feeling better. But the execution part, you know, you gotta be able to fight through that and execute.”

That all sounds great. But this is the kind of situation that will test the mettle of the New Schiano Order. Can Schiano lead, develop and draw greatness out of a professional team?

Joe knows it will take time. However, the New Schiano Order is operating with extreme urgency, so said Ronde Barber this week.

Schiano also talked about how players need to trust their coaching, which was something former members of the 1996 Bucs have said was a theme during the early days of the Father Dungy regime. Dungyball started 1-8 before things turned around that season.

Joe’s wonders whether fans in 2012 would have less patience for a woeful start than they did in ’96.

Last night after the ugly loss to the Titans, Bucs coach Greg Schiano and running back LeGarrette Blount downplayed what looked to be a major leg injury to Blount late in the first half.

Blount layed on the ground, writhing in pain for some time but walked off — with help — and in the second half was spotted pacing the sidelines in full pads, though limping.

Joe even noticed in the locker room that Blount was not wearing any type of wrap around his left knee, which initially looked to be where the injury occurred.

The injury was deemed a groin injury and today when meeting the Tampa Bay pen and mic club at One Buc Palace, Schiano again stressed how Blount’s injury isn’t major.

“I don’t know how long [Blount will be out] but I don’t think it is going to be serious,” Schiano said. “Will [Blount only miss] this week? I don’t know but I don’t think it will an extended period of time.”

This is big news for the Bucs. Schiano has made no secret that he wants the Bucs’ offense to be a two-headed running back monster, pound the ball early and often, the anti-Greg Olson.

If Blount was unavailable, the Bucs top two running backs would be rookies, Doug Martin and Michael Smith — a backup his senior year at Utah State — with largely unproven yet talented Mossis Madu as your No. 3 back.

Joe’s going to guess that Blount will be shut down for the next two weeks of preseason and that Michael Smith will get some extended work with the first team offense.

Joe would love to see what that guy can do behind the blocking of Carl Nicks or Davin Joseph.