Well, we are in the homestretch and despite an improvement in our effort and scoring, the team remains a bit of a train wreck. We got some good news this week with the reinstatement of Aaron Sears, but that will do little to assist our porous offensive line this Sunday. (Wait a minute, did I mean our porous defensive line? Dammit…this is very confusing!) Nevertheless, the New Orleans Saints are marching into Raymond James Stadium this week carrying around an undefeated record, their usually potent offense behind the golden arm of Drew Brees and a resurgent defense that has replaced the weak secondary of the past with one that creates turnovers. If they did not bring KimK with them on the road, this would be like a horror movie plot! (As it is, it is still a movie plot…)
Thursday night at 7:00 PM we will peel back the layers of this New Orleans squad. We may have a guest from the Big Easy, but nothing else about this matchup will be easy (yea, I know that is a stretch). Many fans are hearkening back to 1996 when the undefeated Vikings came into Ray Jay. They left that day with 41 points hung on them by Shawn King and a foot in their collective asses. Can this Bucs squad rekindle that emotion? God knows they need it. John Lynch after the win said, “”It’s been so long since we’ve had a win … It cures so many things. I don’t care what you say, when you’ve lost four straight, the confidence sags a little.” Imagine having lost 7 out of 8 John!
We will have our standing agenda but the focus will be on the Saints. I would like to say that they are not scary, but they are. They are no worse than 5th in key offensive statistics and 1st in Points and Yards.
- News from around the league
- Live show review and thanks
- Injury Update
- Saints Offensive review
- Saints Defensive Review
- Keys to the Game
- Predictive MVPS
- Mail Bag
- Pewter Prognostication
The injury bug has hit a few Saints, but we are early in the week to get excited about depleted ranks.
Player (Pos) Injury
Reggie Bush (RB) Did Not Pract – Knee
Jonathan Goodwin (C) Did Not Pract – Ankle
Jabari Greer (CB) Did Not Pract – Groin
Lance Moore (WR) Did Not Pract – Ankle
Word out of camp is that Jim bates is mad as hell and he isn’t going to take it anymore. Coach Morris has dropped the gauntlet that the squad he chose does not possess the talent needed to compete (though he said the opposite for weeks so who knows what he really thinks). Expect to see some regular starters getting less time (and yes, we are working on a VooDooPriest or Priestess to work on getting Clayton included in that group). There is a rumor that we may get a few of our 10 million dollars worth out of Antonio Bryant this week if they make sure he is able to walk prior to the game.
DAMMIT! This sucks! We are all mad. I see improvement but we need some wins. We need some guys to step up! Will this be the week? Not sure, but Chef Red is cooking Gumbo and we are tailgating regardless so join us on the show and then come out and share a drink before we see what our Bucs do when shoved into the band saw known as the New Orleans Saints!
As always, tune in live RIGHT HERE and get your feedback, question and predictive MVP’s to questions AT WhatTheBuc DOT Net!