1. Drew Brees and Michael Thomas will have huge days

Brees didn’t hide his frustration after a poor showing by the offense against Atlanta last week. When Brees gets angry, he almost always uses it productively the next time out. Look out Tampa Bay. After cutting veteran Vernon Hargreaves on Tuesday it appears the Bucs will start rookie cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting. The rookies face a huge challenge not only in Brees, but in Thomas, who is looking for his third straight game with at least 10 catches and 100 receiving yards. In his previous outing against the Bucs, Thomas had 11 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns.

Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.