Every time I hear that monicker for a swashbuckler I think of the old joke my father used to tell me:
Father: Where are your buccaneers?
Me: I don't know.
Father: On the side of your buccanhead.
Bahdum, ssssss. Thank you very much - I'm here all weekend.
Ugly is my word for this game. Ugly, messy, stinky. There were very few bright spots in what was an abysmal showing. However, as I've mentioned before, relax. This is preseason and it's not about winning, although winning would be nice. It's a science experiement. It's about putting players in situations and examining the outcome. It's about getting as many players on the field as possible. And it's about getting a look at players so coaches can decide who to send home. A few rambling thoughts:
- A most excellent observation by standingpat during the game thread, the defense was "bend don't break" and very generic, as if BB was purposely "hiding" his good stuff. This was evidenced by CB Ellis Hobbs playing very soft for the first part of the game. Bucs QB Brian Griese made the same observation.
- Adam? We heart you and thanks for the rings, but DANG!! G-man spanks a 53 yarder. 2 games in a row he's money.
- Welker looked like he'd shaken off the rust from a post season groin injury which put him on the PUP.
- Cassel stretched out Moss midfield and I thought he was going to get crushed. Brady never does that as it spells disaster for tall skinny guys like Randy or little skinny guys like Wes. 2 de-merits, Matt.
- Speaking of Cassel, he's in the fight of his career and he's losing. No excuses at this point, because the vets were on the field. Matt can't blame "The Chad" or CJ Jones for his woes when Moss and Welker were on the field for a crapload of snaps. He managed only 3 points in 6 drives. Not good.
- S Brandon Meriweather appeared to be in considerable pain when he left the game in the first quarter. If it's serious, batter up - John Lynch.
- Kevin O'Connell, after looking pretty good in his first NFL outing against the Ravens, throws an interception on his first play against Tampa Bay. Later, he admits he forced that one and the ball should've ended up in the stands.
- ILBs weren't plugging the gaps during Tampa Bay running plays. Even veteran Bruschi was having a tough night.
General observations: There were some glaring individual mistakes on the field. But, this is where I gotta say Belichick is smarter than me. He's playing very basic, vanilla offenses and defenses. There's nothing exotic nor is there anything special about what he's putting on the field. It's all about evaluation in a "live" situation, against someone wearing a different helmet.
Buccanhead...I kill myself.