It\u2019s Batman vs Superman, that\u2019s all the media wants to talk about.\u00a0 Who is the greatest!\u00a0 What Tom Brady is accomplishing is remarkable.\u00a0 At age 44, Brady has defied the aging process and is producing at an amazing rate.\u00a0 He won the Super Bowl last season, proving that he could win without Bill Belichick.<\/p>\n
The reason that Brady left the Patriots is that he wanted to prove that he was the reason the Patriots won the 6 Super Bowls and not Belichick.\u00a0 He was tired of the hard coaching by Belichick, sometimes treating him like a young, inexperienced QB.\u00a0 If I was at the game, I would cheer Brady when they show his highlight film, for what he has done for the franchise.\u00a0 He left the Patriots, left them high and dry by saddling them with a $25M dead money cap hit, ruining the ability for the Patriots to sign any Free Agents last year, and stealing Rob Gronkowski, whom the Patriots couldn\u2019t sign because they were up against the salary cap.\u00a0 For that reason, I would boo him.\u00a0 I\u2019m a Patriots fan, not just a fan of Tom Brady!<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay<\/strong><\/p>\n Offense<\/strong><\/p>\n QB<\/strong> Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert<\/p>\n Will the Patriots stop the game when Brady breaks Drew Brees yards passing record?\u00a0 How awkward is it that Drew Brees is the color analyst for NBC when his record is broken?<\/p>\n RB<\/strong> Leonard Fournette, Ron Jones, Giovanni Bernard<\/p>\n Solid runningbacks. \u00a0I expect Fournette and Jones to have a big game.\u00a0 The Patriots will play cover 2 and probably with Nickel coverage from the jump.\u00a0 Brady will see this and be audible to running plays.\u00a0 Bend don\u2019t break.\u00a0 The key to this defense is putting pressure on Brady, not necessarily sacking him, but perhaps hitting him. \u00a0\u00a0Bernard took a big hit late in the game versus the Rams and is ruled out for Sunday.\u00a0 Ke’Shawn Vaughn<\/p>\n OL<\/strong> LT Donovan Smith LG Ali Marpet, C Ryan Jensen, RG Alex Cappa, RT Tristan Wirfs<\/p>\n This is a solid, experienced unit.\u00a0 Smith and Marpet were drafted in 2015, both in the 2nd<\/sup> round #34 and #61 respectively.\u00a0 Marpet played for DIII Hobart (Liberty League), the same league my son played in.\u00a0 Jensen, in his 9th<\/sup> year, is a tough and nasty blocker.\u00a0 He is a little dirty and plays to the whistle (and beyond).\u00a0 Cappa was a 3rd<\/sup> round pick in 2018 and is in his 4th<\/sup> year, Wirfs is a former 1st<\/sup> round selection in 2020.\u00a0 Tampa Bay invested in their future by selecting and developing their Offensive Line with high premium draft picks.<\/p>\n WR<\/strong> \u00a0Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown Jaelon Darden, Scotty Miller (IR)<\/p>\n One of the main reasons Brady chose to sign with Tampa Bay was the experienced O-line and the outstanding receivers The Bucs had.\u00a0 Evans is a huge downfield target.\u00a0 Godwin is a quick and elusive receiver.\u00a0 They will miss Scotty Miller who was added to the IR this week.\u00a0 Antonio Brown is unquestionably a great WR.\u00a0 Forget what he does off-field.\u00a0 It’s on-field with Brady that matters.\u00a0 Jaelon Darden is an exciting rookie.\u00a0 He is extremely quick (6.67 3-cone) and scored 19 TDs in just 9 games.<\/p>\n TE<\/strong> Rob Gronkoski, OJ Howard, Cameron Brate<\/p>\n Gronk has missed the first two practices this week after taking a shot to the ribs vs the Rams. \u00a0\u00a0Coach Bruce Arians said Gronk and Jason Pierre-Paul will be game-time decisions, according to the Athletic\u2019s Buccaneers beat writer \u00a0Greg Aumon.\u00a0 Howard and Brate are excellent TEs and there is little drop-off if Gronk can\u2019t go.<\/p>\n Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n DL\u00a0 <\/strong>LDE Ndamukong Suh, NT Vita Vea, RDE William Gholston<\/p>\n The front seven of Tampa Bay is outstanding.\u00a0 Suh is still a disruptive force.\u00a0 Vea is an immovable object in the middle of the field.\u00a0 He cannot be blocked one-on-one.\u00a0 Gholston can make plays and he has one sack so far.\u00a0 These guys don\u2019t make a lot of tackles, but they keep the blockers off the Linebackers, which do make all the plays.<\/p>\n LB<\/strong> Lavonte David, Devin White, Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul (game-time decision)<\/p>\n An absolutely great LB group.\u00a0 White and David are tackling machines.\u00a0 Pierre-Paul can still put the pressure on the QB, but doesn\u2019t have a sack so far this season.<\/p>\n DB<\/strong> SS Antoine Winfield, LCB Richard Sherman, RCB Carlton Davis, FS Jordan Whitehead<\/p>\n Winfield is a star in the making.\u00a0 The Bucs are desperate for secondary help and signed Richard Sherman this week.\u00a0 Sherman is not projected to be in the starting lineup but will dress and travel with the team.\u00a0 The remaining players are marginal at best and very susceptible.<\/p>\n Look for the Patriots to employ a no-huddle \/ 2-minute type of offense to tire out the big D lineman of Tampa Bay and put pressure on the Tampa Bay secondary.\u00a0 Jones has thrived so far in this type of offense.<\/p>\n ST <\/strong>Ryan Succop is the placekicker and he is consistent if unspectacular.\u00a0 He is 2 of 3 so far with a long of 36 yards.\u00a0 Bradley Pinion has 12 punts for a 44.3 average.\u00a0 The return men, Jaydon Mickens is averaging 29 yards on 4 Kickoff Returns, and Darden also has a couple of returns, averaging 24 yards.<\/p>\n Replacing James White <\/strong><\/p>\n White is scheduled to go on season-ending IR due to his hip subluxation. \u00a0\u00a0Who will pick up the slack and fill the void left by White?\u00a0 Running backs coach Ivan Fears stated that it will be spread around the other players.\u00a0 I have no confidence that Harris, Stevenson, or Taylor can block against the blitz.\u00a0 Here are two suggestions that might be able to solidify the position.\u00a0 Outside help could come from Duke Johnson.\u00a0 The former Browns and Texans’ 3rd<\/sup> down back had 307 receptions and 2,289 yards in his career.\u00a0 He can block and catch out of the backfield.\u00a0 Johnson is the same size as White and is just as successful as a receiver.<\/p>\n An alternate solution in-house is to elevate FB Ben Mason from the Practice Squad.\u00a0 No question Mason cam block.\u00a0 How good he would be as a receiver remains to be seen?\u00a0 He only had a few catches in college but worked out well after an impressive week at the Senior Bowl practices where he did catch the ball.\u00a0 Mason is faster than most of the Middle LBs he will be matched up against.\u00a0 He also had a 6.89 3-cone drill which indicates his quickness.\u00a0 White was a 4.57 40 yard dash vs 4.77 for Mason.\u00a0 However \u201cSweet Feet\u201d ran only 7.05 3-cone.\u00a0 If mason is given that 3rd<\/sup> down role, I guarantee you he will be putting some of these blitzing defensive players on the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At age 44, Brady has defied the aging process and is producing at an amazing rate.\u00a0 He won the Super Bowl last season, proving that he could win without Bill Belichick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":21607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22712],"tags":[22539,22724,44,2299],"class_list":["post-38018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2021-patriots-season","tag-2021-patriots-season","tag-brady-vs-belichick","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers"],"yoast_head":"\n