The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots are both off to disappointing starts. It’s absolutely wild that that sentence is true when one considers the Patriots are 2-0 heading into week three. The wounded Pats were expected to make light work of the Bills and Jets to start the season, but barely scraped by with two very ugly/close wins. The Buccaneers were literally on the exact opposite side of the spectrum, losers of two close games – one to those very same Jets in week one, and to New Orleans in week two.
This game has huge implications for Tampa Bay. While New England has struggled though their first two, they’re nowhere near fully equipped and/or on the same page with each other offensively. Tampa Bay really doesn’t have an excuse. They’re returning what should be a prolific offense from last year, and they added arguably the best defensive player in the league during the offseason.
I’m going to point the finger at Head Coach Greg Schiano because I believe it’s impossible to coach grown men with the ‘hard ass’ mentality when he has literally not won anything significant in his entire coaching career. Seriously – the guy’s greatest coaching accomplishment was leading Rutgers to a Texas Bowl victory in 2006. That’s literally it. You think grown men are going to respect you screaming in their faces and being overly strict when you literally have no legs to stand on? No way pal. Better check yourself in a hurry.
Regardless, should be an exciting one this weekend in Gillette. Let’s break it down:
Quarterback: There isn’t a bigger enigma in the league than Josh Freeman. The guy was tagged as the next Ben Roethlisberger and to be fair he plays like it sometimes. He got wicked-hot in the middle of last year then fizzled out, playing terribly down the stretch. Now there are rumors coming out that he might be traded, which would actually be hilarious, as rookie Mike “Good God Am I Inaccurate” Glennon would be forced into a starting role. I will again blame Schiano for this, as I truly believe players just don’t respond to never-done-nothin’-dictator coaches.
I don’t think anything is wrong with Tom Brady. He’s working with an offensive unit where Julian Edelman is his most NFL-heralded receiver. You could see the frustrations on the sideline last week vs. the Jets with Tom throwing tantrums on the sideline over blown routes. He’s someone who thrives on perfection and the guys who he’s working with just simply aren’t comfortable with the pro game yet. He’s still better than anyone on the Bucs roster.
Advantage: New England
Running Back: I think the Patriots defunct running game is a product of their inability to find any consistency in the passing game. Opposing defenses are loading the box and are meeting every ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. The loss of Shane Vereen is killing the Patriots, as he was a true off-tackle threat while running the ball. Until the Pats can figure out the passing game, Stevan Ridley and company are going to have to BATTLE for 3+ yard gains.
On the other side of the ball, Doug Martin is an absolute stud – one of the best do-it-all backs in the league.
Advantage: Tampa Bay
Wide Receiver: Tampa Bay has two absolute studs in Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. If Freeman can’t have a field day with these two against a terrible New England secondary, than maybe Josh Freeman just isn’t capable of NFL success.
The Patriots are again without the “Human Injury formerly known as Danny Amendola”. Amendola is the babe in high school that everyone tells you not to date because she’ll just fool around on you (aka get injured; for this analogy). But temptation wins, and you break up with your long time faithful girlfriend (Wes Welker) in hopes that this babe (Amendola) will change for you. And then there she goes, cheating on you a week into the relationship. Please stop cheating Danny… PLEASE.
If you can’t tell, I officially miss Wes Welker.
Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson just can’t get on the same page with Brady. I’m going to hold out hope and blame it on them playing a combined total of three NFL games. Let’s figure it out guys.
Advantage: Tampa Bay
Tight End: Rob Gronkowski returning this week has been the talk of the town in New England, but it’s still hovering around a 50/50 chance that he actually takes the field. For the sake of this season, I hope he doesn’t play this week and continues to strive towards 100% health before returning. I actually had to Google search who the Bucs starting tight end is. It’s Luke Stocker. Rookie Zach Sudfeld is expected to return this week, and he actually has the same amount of catches this season (zero) as Stocker does. The slim chance of a Gronk return along with Sudfeld’s ability tips the scales towards the Patriots.
Advantage: New England
Offensive Line: Tampa Bay is returning one of their best lineman in Carl Nicks this week. Brady and Freeman have both been sacked four times this season. This one is too close to call.
Advantage: Even
Defensive Line: The Bucs have a nice little run-stopping tandem in Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn. They bring little to the table in forms of a pass-rush as they’ve gotten borderline nothing out of Da’Quan Bowers, who has fallen down the depth chart. The Pats d-line has been on fire as of late, lead by Chandler Jones who tallied two sacks vs. the Jets. Vince Wilfork is the anchor in the middle, helping give the Patriots a more well-rounded unit.
Advantage: New England
Linebacker: The Bucs have a group of nobodies (Dekoda Watson, Mason Foster, and Lavonte David) most famous for Lavonte David’s late hit on Geno Smith that essentially handed a win to the Jets in week one. David was fined, but let the record show it was a terrible call. Thanks to Mike Williams for the Instagram proof. The Patriots unit of Jarod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower and Brandon Spikes is simply better.
Advantage: New England
Defensive Back: Alfonzo Dennard and Aqib Talib both had pics against the Jets last week, but let’s not get cute. They’re still super inconsistent, and the rest of the unit plays like scarecrows who are halfway through the stages of transforming into living beings. The Bucs have superstar Darrelle Revis. They also have two very, very good safeties in Mark Barron and Dashon Goldson. They’re going to make things very difficult for a battered Patriots passing game on Sunday.
Advantage: Tampa Bay
For those of you keeping score at home, the Patriots have a 4-3 advantage in this one. It’s where the advantages fall that I believe we’ll find a winner in this game. The Bucs solid passing game vs. a pretty bad New England secondary. The Patriots weak passing game vs. a strong pass coverage. The most important player in this game is Josh Freeman. If he can manage not to fall on his face, the Bucs will win. I think he’ll turn in a serviceable performance.
Prediction: Tampa Bay over New England 24-13
Previous Week’s Prediction: New England over New York 21-10
Actual outcome: New England (2-0) over New York (1-1) 13-10
Season Prediction Record: 2-0
Rob Werkowski’s Random Fun Fact About The Opponent: Back in my days of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), I, like many youths at the time, went through a constant rotation of screen names that I thought were cool. At some point I purchased a flex fit (a REVOLUTION at the time) fitted all-white Tampa Bay Buccaneers hat. I thought they had a cool logo. This ultimately led to the creation of one of my screen names: TB Buccaneer Boy… YIKES.
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