Fruitless Conclusions: Reading between the lines of the Buccaneers vs Patriots preseason game

By Mike Devarenne

Editor-in-chief

Okay people, ready to overreact to a meaningless preseason game? I certainly am, so let’s get right to it. I’ll spare everyone elongated breakdowns and instead just get right to the point with my observations and thoughts.

FIRST QUARTER

First drive of the game for the offense, and boy did it impress me:

·      Danny Amendola had 3 receptions, including a 26 yard touchdown catch. He already seems on the same page as Tom Brady, finding the soft spots in the field. Shane Vereen had 2 receptions, and lined up in various positions on the field.

·      Talking about snaps: Aaron Dobson only saw 1 snap, while Kenbrell Thompkins saw 14 (out of 15). That’s pretty telling. Jake Ballard saw 10 snaps, and I didn’t even notice him until someone mentioned it on Twitter. I’m beginning to dislike him more and more.

·      Zach Sudfeld is a huge target, catching a jump ball in the end zone on the 2-point conversion. Good hands, too (2^nd quarter catch was unreal)

·      The plays the Patriots ran were very simple but sometimes kept a frantic pace, and no one seemed too confused considering all the new faces.

First defensive possession:

·      It was a 3 & out, but the D did get a coverage sack (Brandon Spikes)

Second offensive possession:

·      Second and final drive for Brady. Only incompletion was a little miscommunication with Amendola. Besides that minor hiccup, their chemistry is legit and I’m becoming giddy.

·      Speaking of Amendola, his 5^th reception of the night came off a swing pass from Brady that was eerily reminiscent of Welker in past years.

·      LaGarrette Blount was the primary running back, and looked above average.

Second defensive possession:

·      2^nd coverage sack of the night, Chandler Jones gets the credit.

·      Another sack, this time Jones and Rob Ninkovich did the deed. If Jones can actually take a big step in his second year, he could be a borderline elite pass rusher just like I predicted in my defense preview.

Third offensive possession:

·      Ryan Mallett gets his shot to impress me. Let’s see where this goes.

·      Instantly has a bad throw. He looks very shaky. I’M TRYING TO LIKE YOU MALLETT.

Third defensive possession:

·      Great all around showing. Dont’a Hightower and Jones each had a tackle for loss. Like I said before, Hightower has the potential to be an above average linebacker, I really think he will become something special.

·      Ninkovich gets another sack to the end the Bucs’ drive. This is where overreactions take place – how good are our pass rushers or is Tampa Bay’s offensive line overmatched?

Quick tangent: Why in the world is Julian Edelman returning punts in a preseason game in the 2^nd quarter? He already has a spot on the team (most likely) so why are you putting him in danger?

Fourth offensive possession:

·      Mallett sails a football over a receiver’s head from 6 yards away, and then the next play rolls out in a naked bootleg and fires a pass to Vereen 12 yards down the field and hits him in stride. What the hell is going on?

·      After that throw, I definitely noticed it boosted Mallett’s confidence. He looked great the rest of the drive. Sell high on him Patriots!!

Fifth offensive possession:

·      Okay, I figured out Mallett: he overthinks a lot. When the Patriots allow him to sling it, he looks comfortable and plays with his instincts. Just like how they adapted the offensive for Tim Tebow, they should do the same with him. The small dink and dunk stuff that Brady excels at isn't playing to Mallett's strengths.

·      Like I said before, just ridiculous catch by Sudfeld from Mallett. Just as good was the throw.

·      Dobson looks good.

So that was the first half recapping meaningful plays with meaningful players. For the second half, I’ll strictly do bullet notes without labeling specific drives because I doubt I will know the majority of the players.

·      Tebow’s first series was a QB keep, then an off tackle run, and he capped it off with a disgusting throw into the ground. I think it was more of a miscommunication with the receiver, but it still was hideous.

·      Logan Ryan had a nice pick 6. Still really high on him.

·      Brandon Bolden is just now getting on the field. I have no idea why people want to keep him over Blount. If Bolden is seeing his first snaps in the third quarter, that’s bad news for him. Four RB’s had rushing attempts before him (Stevan Ridley, Blount, Vereen, and James Develin)

·      Has there even been faster fall from grace than Peyton Hillis? Well besides our tight end who moonlighted as a serial killer (allegedly).

·      I know the amount of heart and effort Tebow puts into the game. He doesn’t need to impress anyone by taking big hits from linebackers when he takes off running.

·      Moving into the 4^th quarter, I am lucky if I know a handful of players on the field. Regardless, the Patriots secondary playing right now will be in street clothes soon because this group of unknowns are miserable to watch.

·      I may have overrated Tavon Wilson. He looks a step slow and I would not be surprised in the least if Duron Harmon jumps over him on the depth chart.

·      Jamie Collins has been disruptive in the second half, as he should be. When he was getting first team reps he wasn’t as visible as I would’ve liked, but he is definitely tooling on the scrubs.

·      Tebow just threw a horrendous interception. I can’t defend you forever, Timothy.

So what can we gather from this game? The Brady-Amendola relationship looks legit, and Sudfeld (#Studfeld was the joke of the night on twitter) earned himself a spot on the team as a play maker. The offense ran basic plays but in interesting formations and sometimes at a hurried pace. The pass rush from the front 7 looked awesome, but that should be taken with a grain of salt. Admittedly, I think Tampa Bay represented tougher competition than Philadelphia last Friday. Although team scores mean zilch, there is still value in breaking down individual play on the gridiron. See you next week vs the Detroit Lions.