PATRIOTS (1-0) vs. BUCCANEERS (0-1)
Friday, August 16, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. EDT
* Gillette Stadium (68,756)*
For the second consecutive week, the Patriots will conduct joint practice sessions with a preseason opponent in advance of the game. The Patriots will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and conduct joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the contest on Friday night at Gillette Stadium in a nationally televised game on FOX. Those sessions will be open to the public. Last season, the Patriots held joint sessions with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay prior to a preseason game, a 30-28 Buccaneers victory.
Last week, the Patriots traveled to Philadelphia for three days of joint practice sessions prior to the 2013 preseason opener against the Eagles. The Patriots prevailed in the opener, beating Philadelphia 31-22.
It is the third time in the last four years that the Patriots have held joint practices with two of their preseason opponents. In 2010, the Patriots hosted New Orleans and traveled to Atlanta for joint sessions. In 2012, the Patriots hosted New Orleans and then traveled to Tampa Bay for joint sessions.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience by FOX and can be seen in Boston on WFXT-TV Channel 25. Kenny Albert will handle play-by-play duties with Daryl Johnston providing color and Tony Siragusa as the sideline reporter. The game will be produced by Barry Landis and directed by Bryan Lilley.
RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 37 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.
SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and Buccaneers will meet in the preseason for the third straight season and for the 11th time in the preseason overall. The previous two preseason games in 2011 and 2012 were played in Tampa.
Last season, New England lost to Tampa Bay, 30-28, at Raymond James Stadium on Aug, 24, 2012, in the third preseason game of the season.
The Patriots are 2-8 all-time against the Buccaneers in preseason play. The only meeting between the two teams in the preseason that was not played at Tampa Bay was in 2000, when the Bucs beat the Patriots, 31-21, at Foxboro Stadium. In 1990, the two teams played at Jacksonville.
The Patriots are 5-2 against the Buccaneers all-time in the regular-season. The teams last played against each other in the regular season in 2009 when the Patriots won, 35-7, at London's Wembley Stadium.
Head coach Bill Belichick's first game as head coach of the Patriots came against Tampa Bay on Sept. 3, 2000. Tampa Bay claimed a 21-16 victory in that game, but the Patriots have won five of the seven total games in the regular season series, which dates back to 1976, the first year of existence for the Buccaneers franchise. New England won the first three games in the series from 1976-88. Tampa Bay claimed the next two meetings, before a Patriots 28-0 shutout victory in a meeting between the two teams in 2005.
The Patriots beat the Buccaneers in 1988 and then went 17 years before their next win against the Buccaneers in 2005. The 17-year victory gap is the second longest for the Patriots, trailing only a 33-year win drought against the Washington Redskins, which lasted from 1973-2006.Â
SERIES TRENDS
Home Record.............................................................. 2-1
Foxboro Stadium ....................................................... 1-1
Gillette Stadium ......................................................... 1-0
Away Record .............................................................. 3-1
Tampa/Houlihan's Stadium......................................... 2-1
Raymond James Stadium ........................................... 0-0
Played in London's Wembley Stadium ......................... 1-0
Total Points in Regular Season Series ............................ 124-83
Largest Margin of Victory ......... 28 pts (12/17/05 and 10/25/09)
Largest Margin of Defeat .............................. 20 pts (11/16/97)
Longest Win Streak .................................... 3 games (1976-88)
Bill Belichick vs. Tampa Bay ........... 3-1 (2-1 with New England)
CONNECTIONS
**
New England Ties**
- Buccaneers Co-President of the Glazer Family Foundation Darcie Glazer Kassewitz attended Suffolk Law School in Boston, Mass., where she earned her Juris Doctorate in 1993.
- Buccaneers defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was the linebackers coach at the University of Maine from 1987- 1988.
- Buccaneers head strength and conditioning coach Jay Butler was the Director of Speed, Strength and Conditioning at Dartmouth College from 1996-2000.
- Buccaneers linebackers coach Bob Fraser coached the defensive line at Holy Cross from 1992-1995. Fraser also served as the offensive tackles coach, tight ends coach and special teams coordinator during his lone season at Northeastern University in 1996.
- Buccaneers Assistant strength & conditioning coach Bob Gilmartin is a native of Millis, Mass., attended Millis High School and graduated from UMass-Amherst in 1989.
- Buccaneers assistant defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley served as the running backs coach at Worcester Polytechnic University in 2001.
- Buccaneers assistant offensive line coach Steve Loney held the position of assistant head coach and offensive tackles/tight ends coach for one season (1994) at the University of Connecticut.
- Buccaneers defensive assistant Tem Lukabu coached the linebackers at the University of Rhode Island from 2008- 2009.
- Buccaneers quarterbacks coach John McNulty coached wide receivers for three seasons (1994-1997) at the University of Connecticut.
- Buccaneers QB Dan Orlovsky is a native of Shelton, Conn., and played football at the University of Connecticut from 2001-2004.
Former Patriots
Buccaneers pass rush specialist coach Bryan Cox played one season with the Patriots, earning a Super Bowl ring with the club in 2001. * Buccaneers defensive line coach Randy Melvin served as the Patriots defensive line coach under Bill Belichick from 2000-2001 and won a Super Bowl with the club in 2001. * Buccaneers senior offensive assistant Jimmy Raye spent one season as the Patriots offensive coordinator (1990). * Buccaneers RB Jeff Demps spent the 2012 season on Injured Reserve after the Patriots signed him on Aug. 17 as a rookie free agent. The Patriots traded Demps and a seventh-round pick to the Buccaneers on April 27, 2013 in return for Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount. * Buccaneers FB Spencer Larsen joined the Patriots on March 22, 2012, and spent the 2012 season on injured reserve before being released from the team on March 4, 2013. * Buccaneers C Ted Larsen was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was released during final cuts on September 4. * Tampa Bay WRTiquan Underwood signed with the Patriots on August 29, 2011 and played in six games with the club before being released.
Former Buccaneers
- CB Kyle Arrington spent the final 14 weeks of the 2008 season on the Buccaneers practice squad. Arrington was signed to the 53-man roster early in the 2009 season and appeared in one game for Tampa Bay before he was waived and subsequently claimed by New England.
- Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount was claimed off waivers by the Buccaneers on September 6, 2010 and spent three seasons with the club before being traded to the Patriots during the 2013 NFL Draft. Blount rushed for 1,939 yards and 13 TDs in three seasons with Tampa Bay, including a 1,007-yard, 6-TD campaign during his rookie year in 2010.
- Patriots TE Daniel Fells spent just over a month on the Tampa Bay practice squad from September 1, 2008 to October 5, 2008 before joining the St. Louis Rams' 53- man roster on October 6.
- Patriots LB Niko Koutouvides signed with the Buccaneers on March 2, 2009 and was a key contributor on special teams for two seasons before joining the Patriots on August 14, 2011.
- Patriots CBAqib Talib spent three-plus seasons with the Buccaneers from 2008-2012 after the club took him with the 20th pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Talib amassed 159 tackles and 18 interceptions in three and a half seasons with Tampa Bay before being traded to the Patriots on Nov. 1, 2012. RELATED LINKS: Download Game Release | Game Center | Pre-Game Social | Listen Live
