We don't have actual NFL football yet -- the start of the regular season is still three weeks away -- but we do have preseason football, and after a four-month lockout that's more than adequate to hold our attention. It also means that there are games in the middle of the week. Take, for example, the Patriots, who travel to Tampa to face the Buccaneers Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
For a team that won 14 games last year, there's still much to be decided in the next three preseason affairs. Shoring up the defense is chief among them, but one of the team's big-name free-agent acquisitions, wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, also has something to prove (particularly in light of rumors that he could be cut).
After spending the first nine years of his career in Cincinnati, where he was routinely the best player on the roster, Ochocinco is trying to reinvent himself in New England where rules and winning are both more prevalent than they ever were with the Bengals.
The Boston Globe's Greg Bedard writes that "Ochocinco has had a bit of a rough time picking up the Patriots offense, which requires much more on-the-fly interpretation from the quarterback and receiver than what he ran with the Bengals. It would help if Tom Brady and Ochocinco start getting on the same page soon."
To that end, against the Bucs, Brady, who didn't play last week, will be under center with the starters. There's also a good chance the rookie left tackle Nate Solder will be protecting Brady's blind side. There was speculation that Solder's presence in the lineup had something to do with Brady staying on the bench versus the Jaguars; with veteran LT Matt Light not yet ready, there was no reason to risk the franchise QB and the season in a meaningless preseason game because of a rookie mistake. Now Solder will get a chance to prove he can be trusted to block for one of the league's best passers.
For some players on the roster it really is just another preseason game. But for many others, it's a chance to prove to Belichick that they deserve to make the team. And that applies to Ochocinco, too. Because if there's one thing Belichick isn't afraid to do, it's cut guys who aren't getting it done. He's cold-hearted and calculating that way. But that philosophy has also helped him become a three-time Super Bowl champion.
