Week 7 Preview
Patriots (4-2) @ Buccaneers (0-6)
I bid thee good day from London! I am not personally in London, but for those of you who are unaware, or have been sleeping the past couple weeks, the Patriots are taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London! This is the second year of that tradition, where the NFL tries to outsource to other countries in the world. I am ok with the one game a year thing, I think it adds some outside interest, similar to the NHL playing a game outside on a baseball field (Bruins @ Fenway New Years day!). But if the NFL is seriously considering putting a team out there…well that’s a different story.
This will be a perfect means for the Londoner’s to witness a replay of last weekend’s romping of the Titans, only this time its Tampa, and instead of snow covering the field there will probably be some rain and a thick layer of smog. I don’t know how the ball will travel in such smog, so maybe the running game may be more practical. This game counts as a normal road game for the Patriots and a home game for the hapless, meacock Buccaneers. If you thought the Titans were bad last week, wait until you see this team. They have a poor defense, virtually no weapons on offense, and have a terrible draft every year. I don’t see any future potential in this team. Hopefully our guys will be able to potch these guys around, go up early and give our starters an early and lengthy rest over the next fortnight (Week 8 = BYE).
Keys to the game:
BUILD CONFIDENCE
Let’s see if the defense can remain rather deft and force turnovers on this young offense. They capitulated 5 total turnovers last weekend (3 fumbles, 2 picks). Maybe this week someone can take one of those picks to the house or return a fumble all the way. These types of things can build major confidence for better opponents later in the season. Another shutout would be a huge plus towards becoming the powerful defensive force that I believe they are capable of becoming. I would rather see another 0 on the scoreboard over another 59 points. Both would be desirable.
STAY IN SYNC
Keep running the plays effectively just like last week. Look for Brady to remain continuate working on his mechanics, and click with Welker and Moss on some big plays. There may even be a chance for some patchery like last week’s flea flicker, so look for some aggressive play clepes.
DISCIPLINE
Do not fall asleep early. This is still a pro football team and if Tampa shows up early and keeps it close, they could have an outside shot of pulling off quite a large upset. Realistically though, they have no shot. The Pats are too well coached to lose a game like this, sorry Tampa.
UNKNOWN
Other than that, I don’t know anything about the Buccaneers. Their QB is a kid named Josh Johnson, and they have a 32 year old rookie head coach in Raheem Morris. They also have a tackling machine linebacker in Barrett Ruud. That’s about it. I don’t even think the coaches and fans know much more than that. They are 0-6, so hopefully New England will rid of them early. Some people think the Patriots really will score 100 this week, but we will see. Here are some team stat comparisons between the Pats and Bucs:
(Team stats from first 6 weeks of 2009, based on all 32 NFL teams)
The difference this week compared to last week is that maybe we will be able to work our running game a little bit more. Tampa has a terrible rush defense, and their strength is actually their pass defense. Perhaps we can get it going in the run game like we did with the pass game last week. All I know is that New England already has this one wrapped up. I also know that Raheem Morris and his good gentles may want to taketh down a couple bottles of mead or a few lagers in a local pub after this one.
Shakesperean Dictionary Reference:
Capitulated – make a combined force
Clepe – call
Continuate – uninterrupted
Deft – skillful with the use of hands or body
Fortnight – two week period
Meacock – cowardly
Mead – an alcoholic beverage made from honey
Means – opportunity
Patchery - trickery
Potch – to push violently
Rid – destroy
I bid thee good day from London! I am not personally in London, but for those of you who are unaware, or have been sleeping the past couple weeks, the Patriots are taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London! This is the second year of that tradition, where the NFL tries to outsource to other countries in the world. I am ok with the one game a year thing, I think it adds some outside interest, similar to the NHL playing a game outside on a baseball field (Bruins @ Fenway New Years day!). But if the NFL is seriously considering putting a team out there…well that’s a different story.
This will be a perfect means for the Londoner’s to witness a replay of last weekend’s romping of the Titans, only this time its Tampa, and instead of snow covering the field there will probably be some rain and a thick layer of smog. I don’t know how the ball will travel in such smog, so maybe the running game may be more practical. This game counts as a normal road game for the Patriots and a home game for the hapless, meacock Buccaneers. If you thought the Titans were bad last week, wait until you see this team. They have a poor defense, virtually no weapons on offense, and have a terrible draft every year. I don’t see any future potential in this team. Hopefully our guys will be able to potch these guys around, go up early and give our starters an early and lengthy rest over the next fortnight (Week 8 = BYE).
Keys to the game:
BUILD CONFIDENCE
Let’s see if the defense can remain rather deft and force turnovers on this young offense. They capitulated 5 total turnovers last weekend (3 fumbles, 2 picks). Maybe this week someone can take one of those picks to the house or return a fumble all the way. These types of things can build major confidence for better opponents later in the season. Another shutout would be a huge plus towards becoming the powerful defensive force that I believe they are capable of becoming. I would rather see another 0 on the scoreboard over another 59 points. Both would be desirable.
STAY IN SYNC
Keep running the plays effectively just like last week. Look for Brady to remain continuate working on his mechanics, and click with Welker and Moss on some big plays. There may even be a chance for some patchery like last week’s flea flicker, so look for some aggressive play clepes.
DISCIPLINE
Do not fall asleep early. This is still a pro football team and if Tampa shows up early and keeps it close, they could have an outside shot of pulling off quite a large upset. Realistically though, they have no shot. The Pats are too well coached to lose a game like this, sorry Tampa.
UNKNOWN
Other than that, I don’t know anything about the Buccaneers. Their QB is a kid named Josh Johnson, and they have a 32 year old rookie head coach in Raheem Morris. They also have a tackling machine linebacker in Barrett Ruud. That’s about it. I don’t even think the coaches and fans know much more than that. They are 0-6, so hopefully New England will rid of them early. Some people think the Patriots really will score 100 this week, but we will see. Here are some team stat comparisons between the Pats and Bucs:
Patriots | Buccaneers | |||
NFL Rank | Yards/Points | NFL Rank | Yards/Points | |
Offense | ||||
Yards gained/game | 4th | 404 | 28th | 277 |
Rush yards/game | 13th | 116 | 21st | 99 |
Pass yards/game | 4th | 288 | 22nd | 178 |
Points scored/game | 7th | 27 | 28th | 14 |
Defense | ||||
Yards allowed/game | 6th | 293 | 27th | 370 |
Rush yards allowed/game | 20th | 112 | 31st | 171 |
Pass yards allowed/game | 6th | 180 | 11th | 198 |
Points allowed/game | 3rd | 15 | 29th | 28 |
(Team stats from first 6 weeks of 2009, based on all 32 NFL teams)
The difference this week compared to last week is that maybe we will be able to work our running game a little bit more. Tampa has a terrible rush defense, and their strength is actually their pass defense. Perhaps we can get it going in the run game like we did with the pass game last week. All I know is that New England already has this one wrapped up. I also know that Raheem Morris and his good gentles may want to taketh down a couple bottles of mead or a few lagers in a local pub after this one.
Shakesperean Dictionary Reference:
Capitulated – make a combined force
Clepe – call
Continuate – uninterrupted
Deft – skillful with the use of hands or body
Fortnight – two week period
Meacock – cowardly
Mead – an alcoholic beverage made from honey
Means – opportunity
Patchery - trickery
Potch – to push violently
Rid – destroy
Labels: barrett-ruud, buccaneers, josh-johnson, new-england-patriots, raheem-morris
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