This season must have felt like 4 different seasons for Buccaneers fans. They started 1-3, after losing their last 10 to finish 2011, and it looked like more of the same. However, after the bye, they ripped off wins in 5 of 6 games and looked like a potential playoff team. They lost a close [...]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-9) at Atlanta Falcons (13-2) I can’t handicap week 17 games like I do other games (maybe that’s a good thing because I’ve had a rough few weeks), because one of the things I do is look for upcoming distractions and dynamic changes on their schedule. In week 17, I can’t do [...]
Last week: 20 (-3) Record: 6-9 Net points per drive: -0.07 (18th) DVOA: -8.3% (21st) Weighted DVOA: -10.6% (23rd) Studs LT Donald Penn: Did not allow a pressure on 61 pass block snaps, run blocked for 5 yards on 2 attempts RG Jamon Meredith: Allowed 1 sack on 61 pass block snaps, run blocked for [...]
St. Louis Rams (6-7-1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8) The Buccaneers got destroyed in New Orleans last week, losing 41-0. I generally like taking teams off a blowout loss. Teams in this situation tend to be overlooked, undervalued, and embarrassed. The most recent case of this was the Cardinals’ blowing out the Lions as huge home [...]
Last week: 15 (-5) Record: 6-8 Net points per drive: -0.02 (16th) DVOA: -6.1% (21st) Weighted DVOA: -7.0% (21st) The Buccaneers hadn’t lost a single game by more than 8 points all season this year, before getting blown out 41-0 against a sub .500 Saints team last week. They quit down the stretch last season [...]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) at New Orleans Saints (5-8) The Buccaneers lost last week as big home favorites against the Eagles, essentially eliminating themselves from playoff contention, but they are still better than their record. They haven’t lost a single game by more than 8 points, but 4 of their 6 wins have come by [...]
Last week: 15 (-4) Record: 6-7 Net points per drive: 0.25 (11th) DVOA: 1.1% (14th) Weighted DVOA: 0.4% (15th) A home loss to the Eagles effectively eliminates them from the playoffs. They would have had to win in New Orleans and Atlanta to make it anyway, but I thought they could, easily since the Falcons [...]
Philadelphia Eagles (3-9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) All of the trends say the Eagles are in a good spot this week and should cover. Road dogs off a road loss are 85-48 ATS since 2008 and the Eagles are dogs here in Tampa Bay after losing in Dallas last week. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are [...]
Last week: 11 (+0) Record: 6-6 Net points per drive: 0.29 (11th) DVOA: 2.7% (13th) Weighted DVOA: 2.9% (12th) Studs C Ted Larsen: Allowed 1 quarterback hit on 45 pass block snaps, run blocked for 42 yards on 8 attempts WR Mike Williams: Caught 6 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts [...]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5) at Denver Broncos (8-3) The Buccaneers lost last week, snapping a 4 game winning streak, but it was once again a close game. The Buccaneers are still 5-2 since the bye and they’ve really looked like a different team since then. Josh Freeman is 134 of 220 for 1971 yards, 16 [...]
Last week: 8 (-3) Record: 6-5 Net points per drive: 0.35 (10th) DVOA: 2.9% (13th) Weighted DVOA: 4.1% (12th) Tier 4: Young teams that could make the playoffs, but won’t do much once they get there Studs QB Josh Freeman: 19 of 30 for 256 yards, 1 throw away, 3 drops, 105.4 adjusted QB rating, [...]
Atlanta Falcons (9-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) The Falcons may be 9-1 and the Buccaneers may be 6-4, but the Buccaneers are playing better football right now. They’ve had 5 wins by a touchdown or less against sub .500 teams, including 4 at home. Denver is the only team better than .500 they beat [...]
Last week: 11 (+3) Record: 6-4 In order to go on a run, you have to be able to win ugly and win a game that you probably weren’t supposed to win. They have now won 5 of 6 since the bye and this close win wasn’t a fluke. It actually only improved their record [...]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-4) at Carolina Panthers (2-7) The Buccaneers have really turned it around lately and are now road favorites in Carolina, pretty crazy considering they were road dogs in Oakland a couple weeks ago, 6 point dogs in Minnesota the week before that, home dogs for the Saints the week before that, and [...]
Last week: 11 (+0) Record: 5-4 If you showed me tape of this team before the bye, I wouldn’t recognize them. Josh Freeman is 90 of 154 for 1467 yards, 13 touchdowns, and an interception in his last 5 games, going 4-1, with the only loss being a winnable one that went down to the [...]
San Diego Chargers (4-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4) The Buccaneers are surging thanks to Doug Martin’s improved play and the improved chemistry between Josh Freeman and new free agent deep threat acquisition Vincent Jackson. Josh Freeman has a cannon for an arm, but he wasn’t using it last year, throwing 20 yards downfield or [...]
Last week: 11 (+8) Record: 4-4 The Buccaneers are surging thanks to Doug Martin’s improved play and the improved chemistry between Josh Freeman and new free agent acquisition Vincent Jackson. They’ve won 3 of 4 and sit at 4-4 with a +41 points differential that ranks 6th in the loaded NFC (for reference, it’d be [...]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) at Oakland Raiders (3-4) After unimpressive wins over the Jaguars and Chiefs, the Raiders now sit at 3-4 and are somehow in the AFC playoff mix. However, they still aren’t very good. They have a point differential of -42. They got blown out in Oakland and in Miami and they weren’t [...]
Trade for Patriots: I absolutely love this trade for the Patriots. They desperately need cornerback help. They have a few young cornerbacks, but none of them are playing well. Tom Brady is 35 so their Super Bowl window is closing. They need a short term solution so they don’t have to rely on developmental cornerbacks [...]
Last week: 19 (+6) Record: 3-4 A preseason underrated team of mine, the Buccaneers are now 3-4 with a +31 points differential and they have yet to lose by more than a touchdown all year. Josh Freeman is 82 of 143 (57.3%) for 1309 yards (9.2 YPA), 10 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in his last [...]
Last week: 24 (-4) Record: 3-4 I thoroughly enjoyed last week’s Bills/Titans game between the two worst defenses in the league. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Hasselbeck looked like franchise quarterbacks. Chris Johnson looked like it was 2009. I thought the Bills lost the game in the first half when they settled for a field goal [...]
Last week: 25 (-1) Record: 2-4 So apparently you can shove a receiver out of bounds and that’s not PI, but if he comes back in bounds and catching a game tying touchdown, that’s a penalty. I picked the Buccaneers last week, so obviously I was pissed about that. That and Vincent Jackson going for [...]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) at Minnesota Vikings (5-2) As I like to mention every week, the rule of thumb on Thursday Night is to take the home team. Home teams are 68-49 ATS in the history of Thursday Night football. It makes sense. On a short week, all the time to prepare, practice, and rest [...]
New Orleans Saints (1-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3) The Saints got their first win 2 weeks ago at home on Sunday Night Football over the Chargers, but their problems are far from solved. They still have a horrific defense, which is a contributing factor to them ranking 26th in the league in yards per [...]
Last week: 29 (+5) Record: 2-3 I had the Buccaneers as a preseason underrated team for reasons I’ll repeat in a minute, but I had them overrated and picked against them last week because they ranked dead last in the league in yards per play differential. Now, after just one week, they rank 22nd because [...]