Patriots vs. Bucs Recap

The Patriots made it look easy once again on Sunday by dominating their competition. There was concern the Pats could stumble in this potential "trap game" but Brandon Meriweather erased all doubts on the 5th play from scrimmage when he returned a 39 yard interception for a touchdown.

Lets take a look at the keys to the game and than get to some conclusions.

1. Preparation. As he always does Coach Belichick had is team ready to play hard and smart Sunday. In the preview we talked about preparation being the key to winning this game. The Pats were clearly the superior talented football team but in order to avoid a "trap game" they needed a good week of preparation. Props to the veterans who are leading by example.

2. More Maroney. The Pats did not put an onus on running the ball but stuck to what they love, the pass. Maroney did have a TD on 13 carries but Tom Terrific had another field day with his newfound plethora of receivers. This week it was Sam Aiken showing off his ability to fight hard for yards after the catch, hauling in a 54 yard crossing pattern from Brady for a touchdown. Welker also reigned in 10 grabs on the day for 107 yards and a touchdown.

3. Contain Josh Johnson. Johnson showed why the Bucs are playing him over rookie first-round pick Josh Freeman. Johnson not only has wheels but also possesses a rocket for an arm. Unfortunatly the Pats took the winds out of his sails early picking him off on his first two drives. Josh Freeman saw his first action as a pro in some mop-up duty in the fourth quarter.

We noted in the preview that along with winning, heading into this bye week healthy was critical.

Injuries:

• Ty Warren was carted off the field with an ankle injury but said after the game he doesn't think he will miss any time.
• Randy Moss took a couple of big hits Sunday and appeared shaken up but should be fine to play in two weeks.
• As far as the inactives go, we will know more of their status for after the bye week.
  

Extras:

• The Patriots were penalized 10 times Sunday.
• Tampa intercepted Brady twice (breaking his streak of 184 pass attempts without one). Subsuquently Tampa went three and out on both possessions.
• Pats have won 16 straight regular season games against NFC opponents.
• Kevin Faulk became just the 26th running back in history to have more than 500 receptions.
• Former Patriot and Pro-Bowl safety Rodney Harrison proclaimed on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" that Brandon Meriweather has been the MVP of the Patriots. Harrison went on to say Meriweather and Brian Dawkins of the Broncos have been the best safeties in the AFC this year.
• While the entire offensive line has been playing very well, let's give some props to LT Sebastian Vollmer. Vollmer is an absolute mauler and has played admirably while Matty Light has been out.
• Don't look now but all of a sudden the Pats have some depth at WR. Both Sam Aiken and Brandon Tate looked explosive Sunday so let's hope there's more good things ahead for these two young men.