Schedule Standouts
April 17th, 2012
Looking at the Buccaneers schedule below, a few things stand out to Joe.
In no particular order:
*Sensibility has returned with the Bucs playing 4:15 home games in September — Panthers on opening day followed by the Redskins on Sept. 30. It’s brainless to play 1 o’clock games in Florida in September. Maybe, just maybe, this will help Bucs attendance a bit.
*Unfortunately, the Bucs didn’t get the Saints early; their first meeting is Week 7. There’s going to be some suspensions and various disarray with the Saints early, but the Bucs won’t catch it.
*Only one national night game, Thursday, Oct. 25, against the Vikings on NFL Network. Adrian Peterson should be back 100 percent by then, which is probably why the NFL paired the Bucs and Vikings, so the fantasy geeks with Peterson will drive ratings for a likely low-demand game.
*At the Broncos and Peyton Manning on Dec. 2. Ugh. Anything in December in Denver is not a pretty picture.
*Michael Vick and the Eagles on Dec. 9 in Tampa. Has Vick ever played before a non-soldout stadium?
*The bye in Week 5 is a good thing. The Bucs and Greg Schiano get four games under their belt and time off to kick more ass re-evaluate. Hopefully, the Bucs are sitting on at least a 2-2 record.
April 17th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
The Saints bye week is week 6 so at the very least the Bucs will play them the week before Vitt and I think Loomis come off suspension. Heres to hoping Vilma, Harper and Smith have at least 6 game suspensions!
April 17th, 2012 at 7:32 pm
I agree with Joe, if we can be sitting 2-2 come week 5 we will be in a good position.
April 17th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
It certainly means I’ll be at the stadium in September.
April 17th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
The Bye, is NOT a good thing. It’s about injuries, no the new coaching staff, and kicking ass.
Luckily, Carolina’s schedule is not cake, Saints have it pretty darn tough throughout, …..Atlanta, clearly got it the easiest…….IMO.
7-9 ????
April 17th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
This is gonna get ugly.
April 17th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Draft picks, and their role, in 2013, maybe??
April 17th, 2012 at 8:12 pm
GO BUCS
April 17th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
I am just excited to get that bad taste of 2011 out of my system. I’m already booking my trip to Tampa for the Falcons game, then going to stay on the mainland to go to Denver the next week. It can’t be any worse than the 2 games I went to last year (at SF and at Atlanta). Marshall Faulk predicted us to win the NFC South, FYI.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
I’m very pissed that we got left off of SNF and MNF…..AGAIN. But yet the f’king Jags and Redskins always seem to get a few of those games every year?
Yeah…….how do you explain that?!
April 17th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
ANOTHER THING JOE
It’s the first time in years our home opener is the first game of the season.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Personally, I think Cam is going to struggle and our Claiborne and Wright led secondary will pick him apart in the air. And I suspect the element of surprise will be us stopping the run.
Of course, it’s before the draft and training camp, so any real predictions are poop atm.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
@Patrick – the Redskins are one of the most popular teams in the NFL, they’ll always have primetime games.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
@Pete Dutcher,
Actually we’ve had our home opener be the first game of the season for the last 3 years. cowboys in 2009, Browns in 2010, Lions in 2011.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
“*At the Broncos and Peyton Manning on Dec. 2. Ugh. Anything in December in Denver is not a pretty picture.”
.
I might actually take the trip for that one.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Hey Pete, This will be the 4th season in a row that the Bucs open the season at home. The longest such streak in team history. Last year Detroit, 2010 was Cleveland, 2009 was Dallas. All home opening day games. 2009 was last time we opened on the road. It was in New Orleans.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
I don’t like opening up vs Carolina. I have watched newton train at my work and I have a bad feeling he is going to shred the bucs D again….
April 17th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
I think opening up against Carolina is great, before GMC gets hurt and B. Price hopefully healthy. Great test for d-line early,
April 17th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
I would sure as hell rather open at home against Carolina than open on the road in New York. We are not a good enough team where any game is going to be easy. Every week we are going to be playing against a team more than capable of beating us. I doubt we will be favored for too many games. That’s all okay, because it is a lot easier to surprise teams when you are off the radar.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:43 pm
2-2 at the bye in week 5? You bet I’d take it.
I like the season opener at home against a division rival.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
I’m sure Vick played many home games in ATL to a non sold out crowd.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Can someone please tell me why have a week 5 bye is “disrespectful”?
April 17th, 2012 at 10:36 pm
*having
April 17th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Could Ryan Grant be coming to Tampa? IF he does…remember where you heard it first.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:46 pm
@peter dutcher Are you saying that on a curious just though of it note or a you heard a rumor note?
April 17th, 2012 at 10:59 pm
The question of has Michael Vick played in front of non-sold out crowds. The answer is yes. Oakland in 2009 is one example. And yes, the Falcons did have blackouts during Vick’s time there but only his first season.
April 17th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
why do we have such a hard schedule after having a touch one last year and going 4-12?
April 17th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
I was wondering the same thing myself canadianbuc.
April 17th, 2012 at 11:31 pm
@Canadianbuc,
The NFL schedule rotates every year, and is very fair. Obviously 6 of your 16 games are against your division rivals. You play one AFC conference every year (this year its the AFC West), and it rotates every year (so you play each AFC team every 4 years). You also play one division in the NFC (this year is the NFC East), which also rotates every year. Lastly, the final 2 games are against one team from the other 2 divisions in the NFC, against the team that finished the same place in their division as we did in the NFC South (which is last place, which gives us St. Louis and Minnesota). Those last 2 games are the only ones that differ from the Panthers, Saints, and Falcons. The NFL scheduling is very fair, so we have nothing to complain about.
April 17th, 2012 at 11:31 pm
In the 3 hour schedule release show on NFL network I dont think any of them said Bucs once……….Yay back to irrelevant team!
April 17th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
@canadianbuc
Yeah man! Irrelevant and NO attention! That’s why I didn’t watch one minute of the other schedule release show on ESPN.
April 18th, 2012 at 12:05 am
Actually, they did talk about us (Marshall Faulk and Michael Irvin). They talked about our offseason moves, and about Greg Schiano. Faulk was much more optimistic than Irvin. Irvin said we needed another WR to eat up the middle of the field, and that we needed a RB. Faulk predicted us to win the NFC South, and Irvin said if we got Blackmon, he would agree. I was shocked, but a little disappointed, because that is usually the kiss of death. But in fairness, they did give us some air time.
April 18th, 2012 at 2:46 am
Can’t wait for that December 2nd game here in Denver guess I will need to wear my 47 throwback for that one
April 18th, 2012 at 4:51 am
EVEN WITH ALL THE CHANGES… STILL NO NATIONAL LOVE!!!!!
April 18th, 2012 at 7:24 am
We’ll be damned lucky if we’re NOT 0-4 come the bye week!
April 18th, 2012 at 7:54 am
Not much faith there JB! My money is going to be on the fact that poor coaching and a non existant system were more to blame for last year than the overall talent on this team. We’ll see though! 8-8 would be a nice start to the new regime.
April 18th, 2012 at 7:56 am
Yeah Hawiian- Blackmon( a need) not Richardson( we don’t need).
Richardson will be a great back. So what.
Great Wrs win the games in today’s NFL
It’s about QBs. Not RBs.
April 18th, 2012 at 8:23 am
I’m thinking 9-7. Schiano will have 11 guys on each side of the ball playing as a ‘team’. That will make all the difference in the world.
April 18th, 2012 at 10:10 am
10-6
April 18th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
canadianbuc Says:
April 17th, 2012 at 10:46 pm
@peter dutcher Are you saying that on a curious just though of it note or a you heard a rumor note?
.
Just a wild prediction.