2009 NFL Review: Week 7

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 35-7

First let me talk about the Buccaneers because there really is not a lot I have to say about them. I have seen them twice this year and they are simply not a good team. They are clearly in a rebuilding phase and it will probably take a few years for them to either get a competitive team together or sink into a perennial bottom feeder. In this game, Tampa Bay was simply overmatched by a better team. I will say this about Tampa Bay, they played hard to the end, unlike the Titans last week, which is a good sign for this team.

It’s really hard to evaluate where the Patriots are after losing a close game to Denver and then blowing out two bad teams in back to back weeks. The Tennessee Titans just quit and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just not that good. But the bottom line is the Patriots are good team, but not an elite team like the Saints, Colts, Vikings, Denver, and the Steelers. At the same time they did what they had to do to win against teams they should beat and didn’t play down to the level of the competition.

There were a lot of positives to take away from this game for Patriots fans, but some red flags as well. First, the offense played really well at times but in parts of the game they were really sloppy. Brady threw two interceptions, one in the end zone taking points off the board. And the left side of the offensive line with Logan Mankins and Sebastian Vollmer struggled at times with bad penalties. Vollmer actually played pretty well in place of the injured Matt Light at left tackle. In the third quarter he appeared to be injured and was called for holding a few times after that. Mankins had no excuse and just seemed to lose focus during parts of the second half. On the bright side rookie wide receiver Sam Aiken stepped up to the plate with a nice touchdown and Wes Welker was, well, Wes Welker, salting the game away in the second half with a series of catches that put the game away.

On defense, Brandon Meriweather had two interceptions, including a pick six at to put the first points on the board to open the game. But the Buccaneers, who are no offensive juggernaut, moved the ball very well at times, which is worrisome considering the prolific offenses New England will be facing after the upcoming bye week. I have also noticed that Vince Wilfork is not nearly the dominate force in the new 4-3 alignment as he was in the 3-4. It seems having to take on blockers from the side makes him a bit easier to move around and he simply isn’t as dominating he has been in the past. Don’t get me wrong, he is no slouch and is still a top flight defensive tackle, he just simply appears to be more effective in a 3-4. Solid tackling is also an issue for this team.

To quote another fanatic Patriots fan like myself, who summed up the game exactly the way I did:

Another feel good win. These bad teams make our defense look so good. I have to keep on reminding myself that our defense is defending against horrible offenses. I suspect that in reality, we are pretty good, but we’re not elite. We’re in that group right below the elite teams. If we make the playoffs, which I’m assuming we will somehow, we won’t be favored against Colt type teams, but we’ll be dangerous and if we peak at the right time and with a little luck, anything could happen.

And one last comment, while Brandon Meriweather had a great game with two interceptions and a touchdown, my MVP is going to Wes Welker, whose catches in the second half put the game away. He finished with 10 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.

MVP: Wes Welker, WR

Cincinnati Bengals over Chicago Bears, 45-10


The Bengals offensive line absolutely dominated the Bears defensive line. That, along with determined running by Cedric Benson, who netted 189 yards rushing, lead to a blow out win for the Bengals. The Bears, meanwhile, were awful on offensive and the whining Jay Cutler who thinks he’s the next coming of John Elway chucked up three interceptions, leading the Bears to a 3-3 record, mainly on the back of their defense. Kyle Orton anyone?

The Bengals look like a very solid team this year and I have no idea where this new and improved Cedric Benson has come from. In years past he has been an injury prone, contact adverse, bust of a top ten draft pick. He certainly wasn’t avoiding