PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Steady Benny. Love this guy, on the field and off it.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/steady-benny-love-this-guy-on-the-field-and-off/

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I think Wes was in.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/i-think-wes-was-in/

Quick first half thoughts on Patriots – Buccaneers

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Well that might’ve looked a little foreign to a lot of Patriots fans, to see an opposing quarterback under constant duress like that. Wow. I might not be able to re-watch this game for fear of getting too cocky. But the Pats looked like a machine. Some quick hit thoughts…

– Looks like the same 4-3 look we saw last week, but with Eric Moore sliding over to LDE and Andre “my new boo” Carter going in at RDE. Carter looked relentless, and it goes to show why it’s a man’s job to go after QBs, not rookies.

– Remember when I wrote about this defense being suited to opening up Jerod Mayo to make plays? Well yeah, that’s what happened.

– Looks like they had McCourty and Arrington at the corners then when a 3rd WR came on they had Arrington in the slot and Bodden outside. Interesting mix and match. Wonder if there still just working Bodden back in slowly or if they really like Arrington that much.

– Hard to tell anything about the safeties but with Bret Lockett going down it makes it even more likely that someone will be brought in this week.

– Looks like Yeatman is ahead of Lee Smith on the depth chart at 3rd TE, but they might just be seeing how he does in there with the starters. He’s another huge dude.

– Benny and Woody picking up where they left off last year.

– Brady is Brady. But a lot of people falling around his legs, take him out BB before I have a heart attack!

– Nice TD by Ochocinco, but it looks like there’s still work for him to do.

– Tampa Bay knew the game started at 7:30pm right?

– Overall a crazy impressive first half if you’re a Patriots fan. It’s going to be hard to keep people level headed after this one.

– Let’s get some backups in there and get out of Tampa with a win and no major injuries. Sorry Lockett, you’ll always have Kim.

5 Patriots Things to watch vs. Buccaneers

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1. Brady to Ochocinco: Obviously the Pats aren’t going to reveal too much on how they plan on using Chad, but it will be nice to see at least a little chemistry between the two. In reality I think it’s Welker who’s going to be the real explosive playmaker for this Patriots offense. Chad will get open and make plays, but it will be Welker, Gronk and Hernando that are the stars this year.

2. Safety Sitch: It will be interesting to see who’s playing next to Patrick Chung as the starter and how long they go for. The focal point will obviously be two time Pro Bowler Brandon Meriweather and how much he plays. If Sergio Brown is in there we’ll be keeping a close eye on him. How things go tonight could largely affect how hard the Patriots pursue a safety acquisition by Labor Day.

3. Bodden/McCourty on outside?: We start to get a better sense of how the cornerbacks will be used as well. We saw Bodden in the slot a good deal last week, where will he be this week? If he’s on the outside who’s the top slot man? I’d guess Wilhite. DBut also needs a big game. Seriously, two interceptions might be what it takes to get him our of the doghouse. And even then I’m not so sure, he’d probably need another two next week too.

4. Defensive Scheme: Is it a coincidence that two of the first three things I’m watching for are on the defensive side of the ball? Put it this way, I have full confidence the offense will be badass in 2011, but the great question mark will be the defense. I assume we’ll see more of the same defensive front we saw last week, but I’d love it if we saw something new (as would most of the NFL scouts that will be there tonight as well). With some injuries mounting and starters actually ready to get some live action we’ll get a little more of a clearer picture of where guys will be lining up. On interesting piece to me will be how Guyton-Fletcher-Mayo line up, who lines up a LDE in place of Cunningham, and whether Eric Moore is still starting at RDE. I think he might be a little bit more of a roster spot battle than we realize.

5. No Injuries: Maybe this is a stupid thing to watch for but just getting through preseason without injuries is so hugely important. In 2008 Brady didn’t play at all in the preseason and said he thought that contributed to his knee injury the first week of the season because he didn’t have his timing down. If you can bring yourself to re-watch that play he was hurt on it’s pretty clear that the ball should’ve been out of his hand sooner. He delayed, stepped up, stepped up and WHAM. Bernard Pollard meets knee. So getting your starters in there is important, you just pray that nothing horrible happens to anyone on any team. Yes, including the Jets.