Week 7 Buccaneers Discussion

jmt57 said:

We're halfway through the week, the trade deadline has passed; isn't it about time to talk about Sunday's game? Even though the Pats won by 59 last week and the next opponent is 0-6, if there is any group of fans that should know they cannot take a win for granted, it should be fans of the Patriots.


Obviously these are not the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had one of the most dominating defenses in NFL history when Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch led their team to the 2002 Super Bowl. Anybody else with some insight on Tampa Bay?

Some Bucs stats:

Defense
Yards per Game: 370.2 (27th)
Yards per Play: 6.0 (31st)
Points per Game: 28.0 (29th)
1st Downs per Game: 20.3 (24th)
3rd Down Percentage: 43% (28th)
3rd Downs Allowed: 33 (26th)

Passing Defense
Yards per Game: 198.5 (11th)
Yards per Attempt: 8.5 (32nd)
Completions: 61.5% (21st)
Touchdowns: 13 (30th)
Interceptions: 6 (24th)
20+ yard pass plays: 16 (18th)
40+ yard pass plays: 8 (32nd)
Sacks: 10 (23rd)
Opponent QB Rating: 101.0 (30th)

Rushing Defense
Yards per Game: 171.7 (31st)
Yards per Carry: 4.9 (31st)
Touchdowns: 6 (24th)
20+ yard run plays: 7 (28th)


Offense
Yards per Game: 277.7 (28th)
Yards per Play: 4.7 (26th)
Points per Game: 14.8 (27th)
1st Downs per Game: 16.0 (27th)
3rd Down Percentage: 32% (25th)
3rd Downs Made: 26 (17th)

Passing Offense
Yards per Game: 178.2 (22nd)
Yards per Attempt: 5.4 (30th)
Completions: 54.1% (28th)
Touchdowns: 7 (18th)
Interceptions: 8 (27th)
20+ yard pass plays: 13 (22nd)
40+ yard pass plays: 2 (16th)
Sacked: 12 (17th)
QB Rating: 64.9 (26th)

Rushing Offense
Yards per Game: 99.5 (21st)
Yards per Carry: 4.4 (9th)
Touchdowns: 3 (20th)
20+ yard run plays: 6 (4th)

Time of Possession: 28:56 (20th)
Turnover Differential: -1 (16th)

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The Bucs are going to challenge Welker and Randy Moss, as they do with every opponent, with aggressive, in-your-face pass coverage.

And the Patriots will do their best to exploit it, something they're very good at.

"A team that's physical like them, you have to be physical back," Welker said, referring to the bump-and-run coverage Tampa Bay plays. "You have to make sure you're out there doing the things necessary to get open, whatever that might take. They are a very aggressive team (in the secondary) and like to get in your face and you have to be prepared for it."

A little stat comparison to consider: The Patriots have thrown 12 touchdown passes, tied for third-most in the NFL. On the other end of the spectrum, the Bucs have yielded 13 touchdown passes, the third-worst total in the NFL.

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Talib, who Sunday will take on Randy Moss, the Patriots' 12-year veteran — on the heels of shutdown performances against the Eagles' DeSean Jackson and the Panthers' Steve Smith over the past two weeks — shared his thought process, beginning with what happens before the snap.

"The most important thing I'm thinking is, 'Stay inside,' " Talib, 23, said. "If you let that guy get inside of you (toward the middle of the field), he's going to run away from you. I'm also thinking, 'Move your feet.'

"Then, depending on the down and distance, I'm trying to think about what routes he might run. If it's third and 5, I might be playing the (first-down) sticks more than I'm playing the fade. … On a first and 10, I'm just playing safe. If he catches something underneath, then he just catches it. You're trying to stay on top of the route."

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When defensive coordinator Jim Bates calls for his defensive backs to line up on their man rather than several yards off, the so-called bump comes into play. That's where things get really interesting.

The goal is to reroute the receiver and throw off the timing of the play within the 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage contact is permitted. A good bump can make all the difference. This is how Talib shut down Jackson, the second-year Eagles star, holding him to one catch for 1 yard on the heels of two 100-yard games. Bates called it Talib's best game of the season. Sunday, Talib helped limit Smith, in his ninth year with the Panthers, to one catch for 4 yards.

But ineffective bumps at the line are part of the reason the Bucs have given up 13 touchdown passes, third-most in the NFL, as they transition to this aggressive style.

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Not only do the Bucs have to prepare for a Patriots team coming off its best game of the season, they have to do so with one less practice session.

Tampa Bay travels to London on Friday morning for Sunday's game. New England flies overnight after Thursday's practice.

The Bucs are scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. and arrive around 6 p.m. Eastern time, 11 p.m. in London, and "you get off and go to sleep," Morris said. That means their Saturday walk-through becomes their Friday practice, though Morris said it won't be "the full-speed tempo you'd usually get.'' They'll try to make up for it in the meeting room.

"Less walk-through and more classroom," he said.

Coach Bill Belichicksaid the Patriots are "treating it like a Saturday game," getting all their preparations in regular Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday practices. They'll have a short practice Friday in London and try "to get in the same routine in a different location," QB Tom Brady said.

"Friday is going to be like a Friday, Saturday is going to be like a Saturday, game day is going to be like game day," Brady said.

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Peachhead said:

We're doomed...NOT!

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On Tom Brady's six-touchdown performance last week: "The evaluation of him every week is going overboard. Everybody's trying to evaluate every single one of his throws, the status of his knee -- it's endless. It's ridiculous, but that's what we all do. And, last week in those conditions, it's not the six touchdown throws. It's not the numbers. It's the physical performance that was impressive. The fact that he controlled the football, throwing it with touch, power, accuracy, and everything you want in a perfect day against a bad defense. But he also did it on one of the worst days he's probably played in, and on one of the worst fields he's ever played on. And, he still did all those things. So that's what's impressive, no matter if you're Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Dan Marino or anyone else. Confidence can never hurt an athlete's performance. So to have such an outstanding statistical game has to build his confidence."

On the winless Buccaneers: "The big thing this weekend is that it's an extremely tough matchup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I don't just mean that because they're 0-6. I mean that just from the scheme and skill of their players. It's not a great match for them against the New England Patriots. The style that each team plays doesn't serve Tampa well. In games like this, if you're undermanned you have to find ways to make it even. I'm not saying trick plays, but changing things a little bit to hopefully catch the Patriots by surprise. Then you hope to make plays. When you're a team like Tampa, you're 0-6, you're just trying to get into the fourth quarter with the game still in doubt, and then you try to win it, or steal it or whatever phrase you want to use. To me that's going to be Tampa's game plan for this weekend."

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Backup BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 67 yards on seven carries against the Titans, and he could help New England on the ground against the Bucs' 31st-ranked run defense.

Carolina exploited that weakness in a 28-21 win at Tampa Bay last Sunday, rushing for 267 yards. The Panthers' game-winning 16-play drive included 15 runs, killing most of the final nine minutes of the game.

"The results right now are disappointing," Morris said. "But to see people start to grow and develop into what they can become are pretty encouraging."

The Patriots looked like a finished product against the Titans, as Moss totaled 129 receiving yards while Wes Welker caught 10 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. New England was overwhelming even though rookie Sebastian Vollmer was replacing injured left tackle Matt Light.

The team's defense - without healthy scratch Adalius Thomas at linebacker and with 40-year-old Junior Seau back in the lineup - was also impressive, holding the Titans to 186 total yards, including minus-seven passing.

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The Patriots seem to be getting it going -- at least last week against the Titans. The Bucs have problems defending the pass. Tom Brady will have a field day here in front of the London crowd, and Josh Johnson won't be able to handle the Patriots defenses. The Bucs fans will be happy they moved this game to London.

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The Patriots are coming off a dominating game against the Titans and it appears that the team is getting its swagger back. Patriots QB Tom Brady faces a Buccaneers defense that held Panthers QB Jake Delhomme to just 65 passing yards. Bucs QB Josh Johnson took a step back in his performance last week. Johnson could struggle against a Patriots defense that held Kerry Collins to minus seven yards on 2-of-12 passes.

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Talk about rude. Here we are, bringing our nation's favorite game to the Queen's country, and we're going to give them this matchup? Coming off last week's 59-0 rout of Tennessee, the Patriots are looking as fully loaded as ever. Tampa Bay? Well, they're 0-6 and headed towards a top-five draft pick. If I have any one request from this one, it's that we get a foreign announcer of some sort saying the name Stylez G. White in a British accent. Jim Nantz, can you pass that along in the press box on Sunday? Thanks.
The Pickatriots 37, Buccaneers 14

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With the Pats and Bucs on tap for this year's NFL game in London, Tom Brady will keep another overmatched defense in the fog. For you U.K. football fans, Brady's our Becks, and he'll get his kicks with Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Tampa's main goal: Avoid looking like Tennessee did last weekend. Patriots 31, Bucs 7

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The Patriots are coming off a 59-0 pasting of the winless Titans in the snow at Foxborough, and here come the Bucs, winless at 0-6. This one, on the pitch at London's Wembley Stadium, doesn't figure to be pretty, especially with Patriots QB Tom Brady seemingly finding his groove during last week's route of Tennessee.


The Bucs will counter with first-year starting quarterback Josh Johnson, who seems to get a little better every week, but still has that rookie-like knack for making the one or two critical mistakes that cripple his team.

The Bucs' problems can't be laid solely at the feet of their young quarterback, however. They've been abysmal in the third quarter, have given up way too many big plays on defense and can't stop the run.

They haven't found their offensive identity yet either. They wanted to be a power run team but that hasn't panned out, and top wideout Michael Clayton and Antonio Bryant have been complaining about a lack of receiving opportunities.
Despite all their problems the Bucs have hung tough through halftime with all but one opponent. They aren't into moral victories but hanging with the Patriots through halftime may be the best anyone can ask for from them.


Bottom Line:

This seemed like it would be a pretty good matchup when the NFL put it together almost a year ago. The Bucs' decision to rebuild has changed all that. The Patriots have found their groove and the Bucs still seem lost. There's a chance the Bucs could be embarrassed in this one, but look for them to stand up to the challenge and give the Patriots a game for at least a quarter or two.

Scoring prediction: Patriots 35 - Buccaneers 17

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BradyFTW! said:

Talib is really, really good. Pretty much everyone else sucks.

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Caught up with some members of the UK Patriots fan club, which has more than 1,000 members, and one thing was clear from the start: These guys would fit in quite well back home.

Upon my arrival at the team's flag football game against the UK Buccaneers fan club Saturday morning, the first question asked was: Who will be the Patriots' No. 3 receiver?

They are right on top of the pressing issues, while at the same time, showed they aren't afraid to be critical when warranted. When a teammate dropped a would-be touchdown pass in a controlled scrimmage, one player shouted: "He catches like [Joey] Galloway!"

It seemed a bit harsh, but one lasting impression from catching up with the friendly Patriots fans here is how knowledgeable and passionate they are about football and their favorite team.

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swheeler23 said:

Their secondary is not bad.

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