Patriots Big Favorites Over Winless Bucs

NFL News - October 19th, 2009 - Written by John

After an unremarkable start to the 2009 season, whispers began swirling around the league that Tom Brady had lost a bit of his flair.

Those rumors were erased at a near-super sonic rate after setting an NFL record with five touchdown passes in one quarter and an absolute domination of the Tennessee Titans' defense. Brady recorded a near-perfect 152.8 passer rating and threw six touchdowns overall in the 59-0 route and those stats will likely only get better when the New England Patriots travel to Tampa Bay this week.

They are the largest favorites in the league this week, favored by 14 points, according to BetUS. Beware, however. The Patriots are 2-11 in their previous 13 games as a double-digit favorite. The over/under is 45, but to get there, they will likely need to put up another offensive show.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have only scored more than 14 points once in their last four games, and that was last week. They laid eggs against the Giants, Redskins and Eagles and are still struggling to pin down the quarterbacking spot.

Josh Johnson has been the guy thus far, but has fumbled nine times in two games. Sure, he only lost two of them, but the odds will likely catch up to him. Hot-tempered head coach Raheem Morris has made it clear that he is not afraid to make a switch, releasing a handful of veterans before the season, trading away 2007 first-round pick Gaines Adams and demoting quarterback Byron Leftwich from first-string to third a day after asserting that he wouldn't. His choice to go with Johnson has only led to troubles, and fans are already clamoring for the Josh Freeman era to begin.

The Bucs are one of the four teams still without a win, ranking 24th in total offense and 27th in total defense. Their problems only extend from there. They are losing the turnover battle and have a higher percentage of first downs via penalty than any other team in the NFC.

New England has been somewhat inconsistent as well, but on a far lesser scale. They lost to Denver, but that loss is becoming more understandable with every passing day. Meanwhile, they have two very good wins over Atlanta and Baltimore and have more first downs and yards than anyone in the league. They finally found a pulse in their running game. Laurence Maroney broke of the longest run of the year last week, taking a handoff 45 yards to the house. As a team, the Patriots rushed for 193 yards.

The Patriots haven't played Tampa Bay since 2005, winning 28-0 at home. They are 0-2 on the road this year, although Denver and New York (A) appear to be more threatening environments. The Bucs are 0-for-their-last-5 at home, although New England will be only the second AFC team they've played this year. For more information on the games and odds for this weekend check out our Week 7 Game Previews

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