“The Bucs are Not the Same Team” (4 Viewers)

[LetsGetWaffles]

I'm certainly not looking past them.

And that will make all the difference

 

[BELOWSEALEVEL]

I want the media to put us down.
Last time we were hyped and ate the cheese was philly.
Our boys will not overlook Tom Brady

 

[SaintTupelo]

With all that max protection, Brady still only completed 55% of his passes. If he keeps this percentage up, they will lose.

 

[BoNcHiE]

To be clear, they are the same team and could still whip us Sunday. But they aren’t some transformed, super-gelled machine now compared to mid-season.

 

[UltraSaints]

I believe we are the better team, however it’s the playoffs and they are capable of beating us. Sometimes the better team may not be the better team on the day. Hoping we don’t come out flat. I would feel sick if we lost too them. Can’t stand Gronkowski, Brown, Evans, you name it.

We’ve beaten them twice this season, but all that will count for nothing if we don’t beat them this weekend.

 

[broccoli60]

They “weren’t the same Bucs” week one and still weren’t the same Bucs in November after they had time to gel. So they’re not the same team after what now looks to me to be a second gelling. Or is it third??

 

[Dallas_Saint73]

Except for the fact that they just lost a starting guard this weekend.

Cappa is RG and his replacement is capable. Losing Marpet was a bigger loss. Either way, he will be getting the ball out quick with short and intermediate passes. We’ll need to have sure handed tackling behind the line. Basically, dink and dunk like we do then take the occasional big shot down field or try something creative with the run. Coaching and trench warfare is what this will come down to IMO.

 

[BooBirdSaint]

The difference from what my untrained eye saw was a stout Wash DL and a secondary that was playing a lot of zone. Brady was killing their zone with quick hitters.
Tommy had 40 drop backs and was killing them with zone beaters.
Washington was also not very good vs the run. Wash also couldnt cover Brate who ate them up down the seams.
IDK but I doubt we hold them to 3 this week. Could be a shootout.

 

[jasonsw]

This sounds simple. I think Chicago has a better D-Line than Tampa. Both times Chicago's line gave Drew more fits than Tampa's. This was Drews first game back where he had to deal with a talented aggressive D-LINE. By second half he was warmed up and used to the game speed and put on a clinic against Chicago.

Sunday's game is still all bout the trenches. Saints boast a better D and O-line than Tampa. If the Saints execute thier plays they will win. Plus Payton is a superior coach to Arians. As long as he doesn’t try to outsmarts himself and Bruce, the Saints should have good success on the offensive side of the ball

 

[HogsNSaints]

A poster on another thread pointed out some things they’re doing differently (@Jellybean). More Max protect (let your elite WRs have time to create space), more two TE sets.

I’ll be curious to hear from some of the smart football people on here how we counteract that. More zone?

Definitely appeared to be the case against Washington. I don’t know how many routes Gronk actually ran, but I know he was used consistently as an additional offensive lineman on most passing attempts.

The Bucs matched up well with Washington’s speed rushers. They have Wirfs on the right side that throughout his career will essentially specialize in slowing down speed off the edge. That negated Sweat. Again Gronk staying in and helping with Young made a huge difference. The problem Washington had was that they were built on getting home, because their secondary is just average in terms of talent.

That’s the way New Orleans presents problems Washington didn’t. They can keep more in to protect like they did against Washington, but running long developing patterns against New Orleans, you’re not significantly out-talenting the back end. The Saints have also cut off the check down as well as any team in the league.

It will be interesting to see what TB’s strategy on offense is. New Orleans will allow for some 1 on 1 shots down the field, I just hope the DBs can come up big again and the pass rush can force some off schedule throws. If they do, Brady’s going to have another ugly game.

 

[26ISTHEMAN]

The is the exact same theme the media ran with prior to our second meeting. "The Bucs are better than they were week one." "Brady has had time to gel with his receivers." Blah blah blah. Remember the graphics below all the commentators on NBC prior to the game? Nothing but Bucs stickers across the board. Every single one picked the Saints to lose "because the Bucs are not the same team." Then 38-3 happened, and they all curled up in a ball and cried themselves to sleep.

They may pick the Bucs across the board again this week, but it won't matter one bit. If the Saints come out and play their best, we win because we're the better team.

 

[motivation2k12]

We will be at Full Strength on the d line. Trey Hendrickson, cam , onyamata, Davenport,Rankins,Malcom n crew are about to bring the heat. Force Brady to get it out early and you will see some interceptions.

 

[BBarnes]

I think they’re the same team, of course with a great QB that same team can beat any other team on any given day.

HOWEVER, they are saying how much better they are on offense

ummmmm you ended the year playing the following defensively ranked teams. 27th, 29th, 32nd, and 29th

 

[VA WHO DAT]

Brady will have better protection this time around vs. game two. I don't think we'll have near the pressure that we had game 2. Brady has also has had more time to gel with his unit, so he can get the ball out much quicker. In the end- what I think people are saying is that TB will be fielding a healthy, complete unit this weekend. I think that this comes down to trench dominance and coaching.

Didnt they lose their LG in the game with Washington? I believe they were down to a PS player, just something to keep an eye on. If so look for some stunts to try a confuse the protection

 

[Krodwhodat]

I was worried and then I watched them Saturday night. They have a solid D and good O but they have a lot of holes. Their O line is terrible and their secondary is suspect. It will be a close game but if we lose it will be self inflicted