The Patriots had a pregame walkthrough for the game on Thursday at Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers.  It saw the first team offense get a bunch of reps meaning the Tom Brady, Chad Ochocinco, Wes Welker and the other starters will probably see some playing time this week.

The defense used a lot of 4-man fronts in practice with Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love playing the defensive tackle spots.

Meanwhile the jobs at safety appear anything but safe. They recently brought free agents Dashon Goldson and Darren Sharper to Foxboro for workouts.  They reportedly offered Goldson a contract but he decided to resign with San Francisco.

The Patriots worked out the other safeties because according to league sources they are not happy with Brandon Meriweather, despite the fact he made his second Pro Bowl last season, they felt his play was suspect.

The general depth at safety is also kind of thin right now with James Sanders only having participated in four practices, so with the injuries and how they feel about Meriweather, former Notre Dame defensive back Sergio Brown is seeing a lot of reps with starter Patrick Chung.

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The team announced this afternoon that they have released veteran OT Mark LeVoir today.  LeVoir, who signed with Chicago in 2006 as an undrafted free agent and was later claimed by New England off waivers from St. Louis has been with the team since 2008.  Last season he played in 6 of the 16 regular season games, he was inactive (did not dress) 10 times.

The New York Jets have reportedly signed DE/OLB Aaron Maybin the former Buffalo Bills first round draft pick.  It appears to be a low risk, high reward deal for the Jets.

The Patriots announced that the team Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. at the Hall at Patriots Place on September 17^th.  Former Pats players Jon Morris and Drew Bledsoe will be the 17^th and 18^th members of the Patriots Hall of Fame.  The only non-player is former owner, Billy Sullivan.

Rubin Carter, the father of Patriots DL Andre Carter, played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos.  He is now a coach with the University of New Mexico and talked a little bit about his son.

Andre “has always been committed to whatever he decided to do, that’s where it starts.  Then just having a great work ethic, he always worked hard to develop his skills.”  The elder Carter should know, he took was an undersized defensive line player who made good with a long pro career and now his son is following successfully in his footsteps.

The NFL fined Jacksonville Jaguars DB Mike Lockley $20,000 for his hit on Patriots WR Taylor Price in the game last Thursday.  Since then Lockley has been cut and because he is no longer in the NFL  the league can not collect the fine.

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New England Patriots DT Vince Wilfork has had no comment on the “U” situation involving former Hurricane’s booster Nevin Shapiro since it broke yesterday.  That’s been mostly due to the fact that there was no media access to the Patriots players today before or after the walkthrough. 

When asked for an interview on Tuesday, Wilfork declined to talk.  He spent most of the Wednesday walkthrough talking to fellow Miami alum Brandon Meriweather.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Shapiro allegedly spent millions of dollars on 72 current or former Miami players over eight years on cash gifts, dinners, rides on his yacht, in game bounties and hookers among other things.

He allegedly paid Wilfork $50,000 in his junior season to ensure that Wilfork would sign with Access Sports, Shapiro’s sports agency who ended up negotiating Wilfork’s first pro contract.

Wilfork is also alleged to have accepted thousands of dollars in gifts, $1250 in bounty money, a washer and dryer set as well as VIP access at several clubs in South Beach.

Update: Wilfork released this statement via his Twitter account in three separate tweets earlier.

“I am aware of the report that has claims that involve me while at the U. While the NCAA and the U conduct their investigations @Mrs75 and I believe that it is not appropriate for us to comment. Thanks for your continued support and confidence in me.”

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Photo credit: Getty Images

The defense attorney for New England Patriots DT Albert Haynesworth, A. Scott Bolden, has filed a motion seeking to force the prosecution to turnover statements and/or evidence that will help the defense.  They reportedly are seeking a copy of a written statement and affidavit from prosecution witness, W Hotel security guard Ramon Davis.

In an affidavit, Davis said that Haynesworth asked the waitress if he could place the credit card in her shirt or bra because her hands were full.  She reportedly said yes initially actually appearing “playful” before telling him to “stop, for real.”

He added that he never saw Haynesworth fondle the woman’s breast.

Davis says in the affidavit that he was approached in April by the waitress and a man in a suit claiming to be her attorney, he then offered Davis $50,000 to help her with his testimony against Haynesworth.

The guard said he “was shocked and ignored the man’s offer”.  He says he never asked him for a card or contact information and he has not seen him or heard from him since the initial offer.

Haynesworth’s misdemeanor sexual assault trial is scheduled to start in Washington D.C. next Tuesday.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

This Week

The New England Patriots visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The Patriots are 1-0 in the preseason.  The Buccaneers are 1-0 in the preseason.

Here are the rosters for the Patriots and the Buccaneers.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots plus 2.  The over under is 37.

My Prediction is Buccaneers 28, Patriots, 17.  Give the points (Buccaneers) and take the over.

To continue reading the New England Patriots @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason game two preview, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

The Patriots Preseason Television Network is televising the game through out New England and parts of Canada.

Longtime national play by play announcer Don Criqui and former NFL Pro Bowl offensive lineman Randy Cross will call the game with help from WBZ sports anchor Steve Burton on the sidelines.

Stations in the Patriots Preseason TV Network include:

• WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston MA
• WNAC-TV Channel 64 in Providence RI
• WMUR-TV Channel 9 in Manchester NH
• WMTW-TV Channel 8 in Portland ME
• WCTX-TV Channel 9 in Hartford/New Haven CT
• WWLP-TV Channel 22 in Springfield MA
• WVII-TV Channel 7 or WFVX-TV Channel 22 in Bangor ME
• WVNY-TV Channel 22 in Burlington VT
• Canadian Maritimes on Rogers Sports Net

NFL broadcast regulations require that games be sold out 72 hours in advance of kickoff for the game to appear on local television.  Because the game is not sold out it will be blacked out in the Tampa Bay television market and it will be seen later in tape delay.

Chris Myers does play by play with John Lynch providing the analysis on the Buccaneers Broadcast.  You can see the game on:

• WTSP-TV 10 in Tampa FL will show the game at 11:30 p.m. (Thursday)
• WFTV-TV 9 in Orlando FL will show the game at 1:05 a.m. (Friday)

Check your local listings for your station.  In the Tampa market the game will be shown two other times per the contract between WTSP and the Buccaneers.

There is NO DirecTV designation.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston MA.  Gil Santos handles the play by play while former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color commentary.

All NFL Games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio.  The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Sirius Channel 94.  The Buccaneers Radio Network has Gene Deckerhoff calling play by play and Dave Moore provides the color via their flagship station WDAE-FM.  Their call is available on Sirius Channel 93.  XM Satellite Radio also carries all the NFL games under a special additional package.  The Buccaneers feed is available on XM Channel 225; the Patriots feed is on XM Channel 227.

Last Week

The Patriots beat the Jaguars, 47-12 at the Razor, while the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs, 25-0 at Arrowhead Stadium.

Next Week

The Patriots visit the Detroit Lions on Saturday.  Kick off is at 8 p.m. on CBS.

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