Week 3 Thursday Night Football open thread: Buccaneers at Falcons

Week 3 of the 2014 season starts off with some familiar faces for fans of the Chicago Bears, as Lovie Smith's Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2, coming off a 19-17 loss to the St Louis Rams) travel to the Atlanta Falcons (1-1, lost 24-10 to the Cincinnati Bengals) in an all-NFC South clash.

Apart from Lovie himself, quarterback Josh McCown will be a focal part of the game for Tampa Bay, of course.  It's probably fair to say that the McCown signing hasn't worked as well as hoped, with the team fielding the second worst passing attack in the league, one that's averaging 168.5 yards per game through the air.  McCown himself has a passer rating so far of 75.2, slightly below his career average, and has thrown three picks.

It's a small sample size for a new offense with rookie pass-catchers Mike Evans and Austin Seferian-Jenkins that's taking time to gel; the unit could get a boost tonight as they face a Falcons defense that's last in yards, and that has yet to register a sack.

The Falcons also have a couple of former Bears on the team, with Devin Hester operating at returner and occasional wide receiver (after an impressive 5-99 game against the Saints, he followed it up with 1 reception for 2 yards against the Bengals) and Gabe Carimi.  After a week 1 statline of allowing one sack, four hurries, and being flagged for three penalties while filling in for Jake Matthews at left turnstile tackle turnstile, will the one-time "Bear Jew" be pumped up by facing the team and former head coach who released him?

As you watch, it's worth remembering that we travel to Atlanta in week 6, and we host the Buccaneers in game 11.

Have fun and, as our own Steven Schweickert would say, open thread responsibly!