John’s Well-Educated Guesses: Week 5
It’s always been my dream to start a blog series that would
go until the end of the season. This is
one blog in that series, and I will answer for my predictions next week.
Disclaimer: My takes are almost always correct. So buckle up- buckaroo
Last week was an ugly one.
I do find solace that the Pats are always in it until the very end. It seemed like the perfect chance for Tom
Brady to engineer another game winning drive…oh well….any given Sunday…
Anyway, here we are talking about another game WAY too
soon. Ask me how much I fucking hate the
Thursday game. I just wrote one of these
stupid blogs like two days ago, and I know I’m gonna drink too much and be
hungover on Friday…and this is the second Thursday night game so far this
year! Here’s a thought…Since the Super
Bowl winner always plays the first game on a Thursday, that should be their one
Thursday game all year. Call it an
advantage of winning it all, but I hate that the team doesn’t get rest, I hate
that they can’t practice, I hate the low quality of football played, and I hate
staying up late. Hate, Hate, Hate.
Similar to the Panthers, I don’t know a ton about the Bucs
since we play them so infrequently. They
are an occasional trade partner (Blount, Talib, Mankins), but otherwise this is
the definition of an inconsequential inter-conference game. Too early to tell if they are the real deal,
but they are 2-1 after their forced week 1 bye…Wake me up when we play the AFC
East.
In terms of what to look for, Jameis is obviously their guy. He has fought the Bucs out of the basement,
and they are looking to take the next step.
Their receivers are lethal with Mike Evans and Desean Jackson…OJ Howard
is an interesting rookie who has been getting more productive. Doug Martin is back too, so he could be a real factor if they stick with him.
I don’t know much about the Bucs defense, except they stink
in pass coverage. This Patriot offense is built
to continue to roll, but its looking like they have to put up 40 a week for us
to win.
Prediction: Famous Jameis will throw for over 300
yards: I don’t know what to say about
this defense at this point. They
honestly look competitive most of the game.
The coverage is there, the pass rush is there when we need it, and we
are generally stopping the run. It’s
just 2-3 lapses per game (Thanks Stephon) that go for a 75 yard tuddy. You can’t win if you are giving away free
tuddies like that. It pains me to
predict this, but until they hold ANYONE below 300 yards, I gotta assume it’s
going to happen.
Prediction: Gronk will play and be a difference maker: OK so
this isn’t an earth shattering prediction (I need to get my average up), but it was unsettling to see him on
the injury report. Let’s say he has to
have 6 catches and/or a tuddy for me to be right.
Prediction: Stamina will be an issue: The Pats are normally the best conditioned
team, so I hope it’s not them that gets tired. Tampa is
hot and muggy, Florida is a house of horrors for a lot of teams. I think the heat will be an issue of note in
this game.
Prediction: Two crappy defenses, short rest, crappy
game. Pats win 38-31
