Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy appeared on “The Blitz” on Sirius NFL Radio today with co-hosts Adam Schein and Rich Gannon.

McCarthy talked about the Packers upcoming opponent, the Bucs, and how the Packers are hoping to defend rookie Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, who will make his first NFL start.

“The Bucs really have a different scheme defensively, it’s not one you play against every single day,” McCarthy said. “We have some familiarity with it since we had it the previous three years. The ability for us to be able to run on first down and get pass protection are needed to beat the bump-and-run coverage.”

On Freeman, it sounds like the Packers are poring over Freeman’s college tapes, just like Gil Brandt suggested they would.

“We definitely went back and looked at tapes and we cut down each pass he threw in the preseason,” McCarthy said. “We don’t have a whole lot to go on. We have to think of how [the Bucs] will use him. We’re focusing on the concept of their offense.

“[The Bucs] have good running backs and they run the ball well and we think that’s how they will play it.”