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.

Yes, New England Patriots fans, preseason game number two is upon us.  For your viewing pleasure, tune in to The NFL Network or WCVB / Channel 4 @ 8:00 PM.  I'll have the game thread opened up around 6'ish as well.

After preseason game number one against the Ravens, I have a few things I'll be looking for, so here's a breakdown:

Quarterbacks - Matt Cassel did not have a good game.  Communication with wide receivers was off, despite a lot of reps in training camp.  Hopefully Belichick and the coaching staff worked on that aspect of Cassel's game and he comes out with a little more polish than we witnessed.  Matt Gutierrez wasn't much better, but he's backup to the backup; I'm less concerned about him.  Kevin O'Connell was a welcomed surprise and I hope to see more of the same.  Tom Brady did not make the trip to Tampa Bay due to a sore foot.  Which foot it is has not been revealed.  Happy place...happy place...ohhhhmmmm.  Seriously, relax.  Preseason is not the time to push an injury, especially with your star quarterback.

Wide Receivers - After Welker got off the PUP a few weeks back, he commented how it'll take some time to get back in the swing of things, that he was working to get his timing back with the QB's, specifically Brady.  Apparently, it didn't take long.  Mike Reiss has reported that the triumvirate is looking as sharp as ever.  Look for more playing time from Moss, Welker and Gaffney.  C.J. Jones is fighting for his job.  He did not have a good showing and will need to step up.  "The Chad" is another that needs to amp it up a bit.  I really hope he succeeds; we could really use the skills he projects to have.

Running Backs - LaMont Jordan was killer against the Ravens.  At this point, I really feel like he could own the redzone/goal line RB job.  I think Maroney and Morris will see more playing time as well as Faulk.  I'd like to see a few successful options to Kevin before a feel better.

Offensive Line - JHR is the guru, but overall the O-line struggled against the Ravens and has been hampered by injuries.  Barry Stokes has been IR'd and the boys are getting older.  A younger OL is a necessity, IMO but we needed to fix linebacker first.  Let's just hope we don't need Kevin O'Connell scrambling skills all around.

Linebackers - An area focused on so heavily, the linebacker corps appear to be shaping up nicely.  OLB draftee Shawn Crable is really looking good while ILB Jerod Mayo is turning into a stud and Pierre Woods was an animal against the Ravens.  OLBs Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas will see more reps as will ILB Tedy Bruschi.  I think if this lineup proves successful, fan favorite ILB Junior Seau will retire.  I'd like to see ILB Victor Hobson do well.  He's been struggling after moving from OLB for the Jets.  Rookie ILB Gary Guyton continues to impress.

Cornerbacks - Hobbs and Bryant continue to be the starters in my mind and rookie Terrence Wheatley has really gotten himself noticed in a field of 10.  Why so many?  Belichick's looking for something, some secret sauce that'll spell disaster for opposing teams.  With that many cornerbacks on the roster, this says to me he thinks this will be a key position for 2008.

Safeties - The Denver Broncos released veteran John Lynch and Belichick promptly snatched him up.  Lynch is known for being a super hard hitter and has signed a one year deal with the Patriots.  This appears to be a direct response to the loss of Tank Williams, the hybrid safety/linebacker guy who was such a good fit for the nickelback position.  I'll be watching John.

Defensive Lineman - Jarvis Green is back and Richard Seymour is feeling pretty good.  An interesting note: Belichick had the guys practice switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3.  A 4-3 is a good overall defense, but is very effective against the run so look for it during an obvious running situation.

With less than a month and 3 preseason games left until the Sept 7th opener with KC, the New England Patriots have their work cut out for them.  But, this is no surprise; every team has their work cut out for them.  Preseason games are not about winning, they're a science experiment designed to test many hypotheses in a live situation.  You'll see play calling I'd term "head scratchers" (pass on the 2 point conversion vs. hand off to Jordan), but coaches are experimenting with different packages, players and situations.  There's a lot of ingredients in this soup and we haven't even seen much of the starters.

Positives

Jerod Mayo - as any first rounder should, he's having an immediate impact.  Other than a few mis-reads in coverage, he appears to be stepping up to the NFL level and making an impact.  One play in particular, knocking of Ray Rice's helmet on a 1 yard run, was of particular note.  He smothered Rice.

Stephen Gostkowski - I said it in the game thread - Adam who?  I mean no disrespect to one of New England's heroes, but Gostkowski was money.  He hits 3 field goals for 36, 44, and 40 yards and was kicking off like a mofo.  Thanks G-man.

Shawn Crable - he used his long arms to bat down at least one pass.  When he was taken out on one play, I saw his eyes never the play and he bounce up running.  It's good to see the "never stop" mentality.

Kevin O'Connell - cool surprise.  He handled himself better than Matty Squared.  Sure, he may have been up against backups to backups to backups, but I thought he did a fine job and DAMN... he can run.

Pierre Woods - What tha?!?!?!  He was all over the field, reading pass coverage and making tackles.  I think we'll see more of him.

LaMont Jordan - the guy's a bull and fills the gap between fullbacks and running backs; he could be the goal line guy to blast through defenses.

Negatives

Cassel and Gutierrez - looked like O'Connell should've looked - deer in the headlights.  Whether it was their fault or receivers running bad routes, who knows.  I just know how Kevin looked compared to #2 and #3 - they should be worried.

CJ Jones - dropped passes, mental mistake during a kickoff return (should've let the ball hit the endzone for a touchback) and bad routes.  If he can't catch the backup's passes, how's he going to pull down Brady's rockets?

Chad Jackson - He's not showing me he can fill Stallworth's shoes.  Whether it was Cassel's fault or his, there was clear miscommunication between the 2.  Chad needs to build confidence with the QBs and hit the playbook.

Special Teams - FINISH! FINISH! FINISH!  That run back was ugly.  I mean, how many Patriots had their hands on the guy?  Finish the tackles by either knocking his block off or wrapping the guy up.

Head on over to Baltimore Beatdown for blogger Rexx's take on the game.

www.83foundation.org

You knew this was coming. I've gone at least a month without writing an article about, or with, Wes in it. And now it's time.

One of the most productive receiving corps of the 2007 season, the real question is, "Can they do it again?"  Longevity and consistency is the hallmark of a great offense and this is true of this group of receivers.  For 2008, all eyes will be watching.  Will they dominate like 2007?  Can they continue the incredible success they had last year?  The answer is a definitive, homeristic yes.  Why?  Because with this group of guys we seem to have all the bases covered.  Seam - Moss; underneath/slot - Welker; power receiver - Jackson; speciality - Gaffney, Washington.  Let's not forget Aiken, Jones, Ortiz, and Slater.  And, for the stars of 2007 (Moss and Welker) it was their first year in a Patriots uniform.  THEIR...FIRST...YEAR!!  It can only get better.  Let's get to it.

Randy Moss - Breaking the regular season TD record by pulling down 23 touchdown passes, Randy is the gazelle of the group.  There's nothing sweeter than watching Moss "lope" down the sidelines, pull down a pass only he can catch, and then turn on the afterburners.  DBs, who were already struggling to keep up with him, give up as the legs attached to his 6-4 frame extend even further to totally embarrass that back.  While not catching those impossible passes, he draws mucho coverage away from other receivers; a HUGE benefit, if you ask me.  I'm glad he's signed.

Wes Welker - In my opinion, one of the most impactful acquisitions of 2007, Wes owns the slot.  Belichick, always watching other teams, picked him up from the Dolphins because he gave Patriots DBs fits - they just couldn't cover him.  Wes's footwork and quickness make him very slippery and difficult to manage.  He was absent from all OTAs which led to many questions about his health.  A theory which I agree with: he was worn out.  One of Brady's favorite targets as the chain mover of the group, he pulled down 112 catches for a 10.5 yard average.  When Moss wasn't open, Wes was the look of choice; I see that changing a bit as there's just too much film from 2007 showing that exact scenario over and over.  Defenses are preparing for it, I guarantee you.  The little engine that can, he'll succeed no matter what the defense tries.  Where's Wes?  Oh, he's behind you...with the ball...running for the endzone.

Jabar Gaffney - The ultimate speciality receiver, Jabar is brought in to make those impossible "keep both feet in bounds" catches.  Time and time again, I've seen Brady throw the ball at his fingertips and outside the plane of the in bounds line, only for Gaffney to somehow pull it down, keeping both feet in the green.  He's not used a lot and will never have stellar numbers, but he's the guy when you need to make possible the impossible.  The most memorable, however, is the Brady-to-Moss-to-Brady fleaflicker against the Steelers.  Brady ends up launching it to Jabar, burning Anthony Smith yet again.  This year, however, I have a feeling Jabar will take on a more active role with the departure of Stallworth.

Chad Jackson - A lot has been written about this man.  The heir apparent to Stallworth's position, much attention will be focused on "The Chad".  His role is Welker with a few more pounds and some muscle.  He's the chainsaw to Wes's scalpel.  Jackson will be relied upon to produce like an RB post catch; his job is breaking tackles and gaining yardage after the catch, a running back with great hands.  There's a few question marks, though.  Having spent his first 2 seasons injured for the most part, he's considered fragile.  In addition, it's been reported he has trouble with the playbook.  Coaches have been working with him non-stop, so I think we'll see improvement and productivity from Jackson.  He's definitely a guy to watch during TC.

Sam Aiken - A recent acquisition from the Bills and first year Patriot, Sam will be a strong addition to the special teams corp, but I don't see him getting much time on the field as a WR with the group of guys above.

C.J. Jones - Previously with the Browns and Seahawks, CJ has spent much of his career moving back and forth between active roster, practice squad and NFL Europa.  If things get tight and the front office needs to tighten its belt, I believe CJ is in jeapordy.

Robert Ortiz - 2007 saw him spend some time with the Seahawks after playing in Europe for awhile.  Robert, like CJ, may be in jeapordy if things get tight.

Matt Slater - Matt, a 2008 draftee, has been looking solid during OTAs.  Lining up at both WR and Safety, it'll be interesting to see where he ends up.  Belichick likes multi-role players and I see Matt initially adding value as a kick returner; he's got good hands and, with WR and Safety loaded up, he's an investment in youth, in my opinion.

Kelley Washington - One of the best special teams tacklers on the Patriots, I see more of the same for Kelley.  WR is a crowded position and unless he gets a chance to step in and make a big play, he will most likely become one of the Patriots best special teams guys again.  I hope he gets a shot; I really like Washington.