Schiano opening statement:
"We originally planned to go yesterday and today but we listened to the weathermen."

How did Davin’s procedure go?
"Good. Successful."

Did you talk to him?
"I did."

What’s his spirits like?
"Davin is a mature guy. He’s ready to get on the rehab, help continue to lead our team. All those things."

Could you talk about Davin’s intangibles?
"Well, you hit it on the head. He’s a leader, he may be the leader. But in sports, that’s part of sports, right? Whether they’re leaders or man No. 53, you have to move forward. So you mourn it and you move forward. That’s the only thing you can do. Otherwise, someone else will get hurt, you won’t play well, you’ll have issues. You have to move forward. That’s what we’re doing. He’ll be part of the moving forward because he’s going to be here. He’s going to be helping out. He’s going to be doing everything he can in addition to getting his rehab."

Anything new on Mason Foster and his hamstring?
"He’s getting better. Hopefully, it can become a non-issue sometime in the near future."

Is he going to be ready opening day? Is he going to play tomorrow?
"He’s not going to play tomorrow. Will he play on opening day, I’m not sure. I hope so."

What about (Adrian) Clayborn?
"Clayborn will be OK. He just needs a couple of days."

Do you expect him for Carolina (September 9th)?
"I do expect him."

And (Gerald) McCoy?
"McCoy practiced today."

Are you looking at (Jamon) Meredith at guard?
"Yeah, we’re looking at a bunch of guys at guard. We’ll do that tonight. We’ll have different guys in there. We’ll have (Ted) Larsen, (Derek) Hardman, Meredith. We’re going to play a bunch of guys at guard and we’ll make use of that film in part of our evaluation process. We have time right now before we have to make a final decision and we’re going to utilize that time."

We saw Larsen take some snaps at center. If he’s your guard, who’s your backup center?
"Well, we’ll have a lot of different permutations before we get to ifs and buts, we’ll figure it out. But he doesn’t forget how to snap even if he lines up at guard. He’s flexible. Position flexibility in this league is more important than any other level because you go into a game with seven offensive linemen that guy better be able to do multiple things."

What have you seen from (Aqib) Talib? Do you like what you see?
"I do. Since we’ve arrived, he’s done everything I’ve asked. He’s worked hard in the offseason. He’s worked hard during training camp. Unfortunately, he’s tweaked that hamstring which kept him out of some practice. But even when he’s been out, he’s worked very hard with our strength and conditioning staff and in the meeting room. I’m pleased and he’s going to have to be a big, big part of our defense. Those two corners, he and Eric Wright are critical to the success of the overall unit."

Are you pleased with the secondary?
"We’ve done some good things. We’ve had our moments as well. That’s what’s preseason is about. I think the secondary can play well. If they do the preparation in practice the way I think they’re going to they’ll have a chance to be good."

What has it been like for you during cut week?
"I haven’t done it as a head coach but I’ve had my players at my position be cut. There’s nothing fun about it, there’s nothing happy about it but it’s part of the business. It’s part of pro football. I think everybody understands that when they get into it. I’ve been very clear that we have to find the best 53 guys for the Buccaneers. That may not be the best 53 guys for some other team but the best for this team. I made it clear but my expectations were and what my criteria were to be part of that 53. What you do is take their actions in the building, take their actions on the walk-through, action in practice, what they do on video and then their actions in the preseason games and you make decisions. They’re not easy but you make them."

How pleased are you with Lavonte David?
"Lavonte has done a nice job. He’s come in here, worked very hard. He’s been no non-sense, all business and secured a starting job at the linebacker position. I think he’s made plays in the preseason. He’s got a long way to go. He’s just scratching the surface of what he can be but I think we drafted him with the thought he could come in here and help and I’m glad he has so far. He’s an important guy."

How’s he looked in coverage so far?
"He looks fine. He does his job. He wouldn’t be playing if couldn’t do everything. That’s why rookies usually can’t get on the field, they can do one thing but they can’t do the other. The coverage part is a little tougher to grasp from a mental standpoint. He’s done well."

How has LeGarrette Blount taken losing the starting job?
"Well he’s disappointed but he’s been great. He’s about this team. He’s about us winning. At the very beginning, I sat them both down and told them what the deal was and they knew it. When you watch the tape, and LeGarrette is a smart guy, he sees that he got outperformed. But that doesn’t mean that’s it. As I’ve told him, that can go the other way if you outperform him. We don’t hand jobs and sign them over. It’s always competition around here, continual. I think Doug’s done a great job. That’s why he has the No. 1 seat but he’s got to work to keep it."

Are you going to be cautious when it comes to starters tomorrow night?
"We have some different plans. We’re going to let it unfold a little bit. Final decisions, I’ve got a whole plane ride up to think about it. But we have some plans right now, like you probably won’t see No. 5 very much."

What are your thoughts on Jordan Shipley?
"He’ll play tomorrow and he’ll do some things tomorrow. What it is, a week we’ve had him? So we’ll have a week of evaluation. We’ll go off of what he’s done in the league – pre-surgery, post-surgery, the whole deal – and we’ll make a decision. Jordan has been a fun guy to coach. He’s grasped what we’re doing pretty well in the short time that he’s been here. Like a lot of those decisions, after the game flying back Thursday and Friday there’s going to be some tough decisions to make. We’ll make them and not look back. "