Pundits will rightfully poke holes in it but the Patriots (3-0 overall, 2-0 home) don't have to apologize for their 2013 early season schedule, they didn't create it. New England played far from a perfect game but it was their most complete performance of the first three weeks as they shut down the dumpster fire Buccaneers (0-3 overall, 0-2 away) 23-3 this afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
We had heard from afar how much Tampa Bay was struggling but to see it up close was another matter. Formerly promising young quarterback Josh Freeman (19 of 41 for 236 yards, 1 INT, sacked 3 times) has become a headcase incapable of consistently hitting quality receivers like Vincent Jackson (3 catches, 34 yards) or Mike Williams (5 catches, 65 yards). You can't say the Bucs don't have talent since they also employ Doug Martin (88 yards rushing; 20 yards receiving) and Darrelle Revis (5 tackles, 4 assists).
Predictably after they had a few extra days of practice, Patriots rookie receivers Kenbrell Thompkins (3 catches, 41 yards, 2 TDS) and Aaron Dobson (7 catches, 51 yards) looked way more comfortable with Tom Brady (25 of 36 for 225 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) who spread it around to six different players including Julian Edelman (7 catches, 44 yards) and Brandon Bolden (49 yards receiving; 51 yards receiving). Facing the Bills, Jets and Bucs in the first three games allowed the Pats to survive without Danny Amendola (the past two weeks) and Rob Gronkowski. It'll be a different story as the competition really ramps up starting next week.
Thompkins' first two NFL touchdowns were sweet but the story of this victory was New England's defense which held Tampa Bay to 323 total yards including 0 for 4 on fourth downs. Aqib Talib picked up his third interception in the past two games, against his old team no less, while the Patriots recorded three sacks as a team. Jerod Mayo (9 tackles, 5 assists, tackle for loss, quarterback hit) and Chandler Jones (sack, 2 quarterback hits) helped make Freeman's life miserable.
Ironically, the Buccaneers scored the first points on Rian Lindell's 30-yard field goal late in the first quarter. Little did head coach Greg Schiano know that would be their final points of the contest. Midway through the second quarter, Brady found Thompkins for a 16-yard catch and run TD. With 47 seconds left in the first half, Thompkins added a five-yard TD catch as Tampa Bay somehow lost him in the back of the end zone. Who else were they worried about, Zach Sudfeld?
You knew it wasn't the Buccaneers' day when Freeman threw the lazy sideline interception to Talib with 11 seconds left in the second quarter. New England gained eight yards in two plays, setting up Stephen Gostkowski with a 53-yard field goal that he boomed right down the middle as time expired.
You are excused if you fell asleep during the second half since little happened other than a 46-yard field goal by Gostkowski in the third quarter and he wrapped it up with a 31-yard kick in the fourth quarter.
I kind of look at the first three games as the preseason (in this case) while the next five weeks should be way more interesting: New England travels to Atlanta (1-2, 2nd in NFC South) on Sunday night (8:30, NBC). That's followed by a game at Cincinnati, home date with New Orleans then back-to-back divisional games at Jets and home vs. Miami. The Falcons lost 27-23 at Miami this afternoon so they'll be desperate to get a win. They have something these previous three teams definitely lacked: a competent quarterback in Matt Ryan along with numerous weapons like Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White.
On the surface, we couldn't have asked for a better start (record wise) for the Pats but most would argue that we won't know anything about them until they start playing elite teams. Next week is a good beginning point to see what they're really made of in a primetime game on the road against a team that is a legitimate Super Bowl contender after losing a heartbreaker in the NFC Championship game last season.
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