Even with Wes Welker now in Denver, the Patriots have a pair of quick and elusive receivers who can work the middle of the field out of the slot in Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman. The Buccaneers are still trying to determine who will start at right cornerback and who will play nickel back, and with Danny Gorrer likely to miss the week of practice with a groin injury, that means extra reps at nickel for such young corners as Melvin, Anthony Gaitor and Deveron Carr.

Patriots DT Vince Wilfork is a sizeable individual. Listed at 325, he appears even bigger and it's what he can do with that mass that has made him one of the NFL's most consistently outstanding interior defensive linemen for the past decade. Larsen and the rest of the Bucs' interior offensive linemen will definitely get a test of strength this week as they try to keep Wilfork from shutting down the inside running lanes.

Says Bowers of heading up to the Pats' practice fields: "Practicing against the best and competing against the best is the only way to be the best." Bowers is trying to solidify his hold on the Bucs' starting left end job, and he'll get a chance this week to show what he can do against right tackle Sebastian Vollmer. A second-team All-Pro choice in 2010, the 6-8, 320-pound Vollmer was re-signed by the Patriots this season to a lucrative new four-year deal. The Patriot blocker is a solid pro and a very useful challenge for the ascending Bowers.

Starting at left cornerback for the Patriots: former Buccaneer first-rounder Aqib Talib. Talib is an athletic corner with good size (6-1, 205), and there's a good chance he'll have some extra motivation this week as he goes against his first NFL team. Buccaneer receivers like Vincent Jackson, a difficult challenge in his own right for all of the Patriots' defensive backs, may have a little added dose of enthusiasm for this matchup, too.

To the delight of fantasy football owners who did a little late-round speculation last summer, New England RB Stevan Ridley emerged as a big-time producer in 2012. The former fifth-round pick out of LSU ran for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he did a lot of through rugged running up the middle. That should put him in middle linebacker Mason Foster's sights, both during the week and in Friday night's game.

A pair of All-Pros with razor-sharp football minds, Goldson and Patriots QB Tom Brady will be matching wits all week in Foxboro. Obviously, Brady is one of the NFL's most serious challenges for any defensive back, a two-time NFL MVP and eight-time Pro Bowl selection whose 34 touchdown passes and 98.7 passer rating in 2012 were actually his lowest marks in three years. Brady will also be directing an offense that Goldson hasn't had weeks to get used to on the practice field.

The Patriots imported a new kickoff returner for the 2013 season, and he's a dangerous one: former Jet and Seahawk RB Leon Washington. Washington is tied with Josh Cribbs for the most career kickoff return touchdowns in NFL history, with eight, one of which came just last season for Seattle. Kickoff and punt returns aren't frequently played out much past the initial point of supposed contact on the practice field, but Washington should still have some slick moves with which to test the Bucs' cover men.

Last season, the New England defense ranked ninth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game and sixth in yards allowed per carry. In addition to that massive interior front of Wilfork and Tommy Kelly, the Patriots also have a two-time Pro Bowler at linebacker in Jerod Mayo, who has already racke dup 648 tackles in just five NFL seasons. Should Martin get a seam through Wilfork's territory, he'll also have to deal with the very active Mayo on the second level.

Of course, not every snap in practice or in Friday's games is going to feature front-liners doing battle. Each team will be distributing reps among 80 or so players, trying to figure out their eventual depth charts, as the Bucs are attempting to do at tight end. Behind starting safeties Steve Gregory and Devin McCourty, the Patriots have an interesting tandem in Adrian Wilson, the longtime Cardinal standout now in his first year in New England, and Tavon Wilson, a 2012 second-round draft pick. That could create some good matchups for such reserve Buc tight ends as Wright, Zach Miller, Nate Byham and Danny Noble.

In the same vein, the Patriots have some very interesting running back depth with the likes of Washington, Shane Vereen and former Buccaneer LeGarrette Blount. Washington is small and quick, Vereen is an outstanding pass-catcher out of the backfield and Blount is a huge back known to hurdle right over would-be tacklers. That means that as the Buccaneers cycle through their own depth at linebacker, the second and third-string players will still get plenty of valuable reps against strong backs, which is a great situation for Goode, currently listed second behind Foster at MLB.