Bucs Remain NFC South Bottom-feeders
April 22nd, 2015
Joe isn’t much for predicting the outcomes of games before the draft even takes place much less before a training camp has opened.
Who will be drafted? Who will be hurt?
For example, the Dixie Chicks had their offensive line decimated by injuries last fall. They became desperate and turned to beggars off the street to block for Matty Ice. You can’t tell Joe that wasn’t a factor why the Dixie Chicks sunk.
Well, the correspondents of ESPN’s NFL blog, “NFL Nation,” decided to do a break down how teams will fare this season based on the release of last night’s schedule. And while the Bucs will be much improved, it seems the team is expected to remain in the NFC South basement, tied with the Dixie Chicks.
8-8. The Bucs have the nucleus to have a very good defense, led by defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and linebacker Lavonte David. If they can get some offensive production from a rookie quarterback (Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota), they should be much more competitive than last year and be one of the league’s most improved teams. — Pat Yasinskas
8-8. The Falcons and new coach Dan Quinn will benefit from playing eight teams that finished below .500 last season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things will be easy. A season-opening Monday Night Football matchup against Chip Kelly and the quick-strike Philadelphia Eagles will be a test of how quickly Quinn can improve the defense, though the Falcons should benefit from playing in front of a fired-up Georgia Dome crowd in Week 1. The Falcons should be able to finish above .500 in the NFC South, particularly if Tampa Bay goes with a rookie quarterback such as Jameis Winston. — Vaughn McClure
Frankly, an 8-8 season would be considered a rousing success. Any time you can double the number of wins from a previous season is doing damned good. But four times the number of wins from a previous season? That is progress.
If that happens with the Bucs, it is a good bet Jameis Winston is making Josh McCown seem like the neverbeen everyone (but Bucs coach Lovie Smith) thought he was prior to last season.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Wow last year nobody was above 500 and this year nobody will be below? Seems awful generous for the pitiful NFC South
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:12 pm
Honestly, I think that a turn around like that would say a lot more for just how important having an offensive coordinator in place is. Might even go a long way to say how much improved the defense is after an off season where not every player is trying to figure out where to be and when.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:12 pm
now these are things you can easily ignore….8-8 is the easiest safest pick to make…finishing tied with falcons is sort of a success but falcons have one of the complimentary schedules in the nfc south. so here it is again someone is picking the saints even though the defense sucks and they’ll be adding a bunch of rookies and lost their number 1 target lol ooooh k.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:16 pm
I was once considered a bottomfeeder by my friends because I used to take down all the fat bitche$…… ONCE!……. In the end I didn’t make out that bad.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:18 pm
That might win the division.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:18 pm
So according to those predictions, there will only be 3 teams with losing records in the NFC, the NFC South will go from worst division in the league to the best, and the combined overall record of all teams will be a literally impossible 25 games over .500.
Goddamn it ESPN.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:20 pm
We really cant afford to miss on this. But our 1st round history is just as crappy as our win/loss record over the years:
2014 – Evans, so far so good, looks like a hit
2013 – Wasted in the Revis trade
2012 – Wasted on Barron
2011 – Clayborn, wasted
2010 – GMC, hit on that one
2009 – Freeman, uhg!
2008 – Talib, another waste
2007- Adams, looked promising at first, but traded for a 2nd, both 2nds that year ended up a waste
So we’re 2 for the last 8
The odds are in our favor that we hit on this one with Winston. But we NEED OLINE after that! Years of not drafting QB and O line talent is why we are where we are.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Buc’s schedule is so very soft that 8-8 is a real possibility
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:38 pm
I would stress, to my fellow Bucs fans, that we do NOT sleep on the Panthers next season. They are IMHO, the class of our division.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:40 pm
We got pounded by the Panthers’ backups last season. We can’t sleep on anyone. Until they show us that last year’s bad play was an anomaly, I’m not counting any games as wins until the clock runs out and we’re ahead.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Sadly, 8-8 sounds fabulous to me.
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:48 pm
@ Joe,
check the link, Jameis talking on stealing crab legs with Harbaugh convo on BSPN tonight.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2439155-jameis-winston-discusses-crab-leg-incident-with-jim-harbaugh-on-espn?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial
April 22nd, 2015 at 1:53 pm
We’ll probably win 9 or 10 as long as we draft Jameis and get him some O line protection. Most of the games we lost last year (against a tougher schedule), were close. I think MG8 can help win us the first 2!
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:05 pm
I believe 8-8 is about the very best we can hope for. Anytime you add so many new players on defense, it will take time for them to jell and get this defense down together. On offense, same thing goes for a rebuilt offensive line and a new young QB, (as good as he is) getting through rookie mistakes and learning on the go.
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:19 pm
how a 7-9 saints team that is even worse than last year is supposed to win 10 games is beyond me.
jeez
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:20 pm
they should be much more competitive than last year and be one of the league’s most improved teams. – Pat Yasinskas
What does competitive mean anyway? I thought it meant having a real chance to win the game. A chance at the end to make a play and either steal a win or preserve one.
We clearly missed EVERY opportunity we had to make a single play!!! Whether it’s the TE fumbling a completion in OT setting up and easy FG and loss…a DB dropping an easy interception to preserve a win, or lacking the ability to count the number of players on the field we found many sad ways to miss making a play and winning.
If competitive means having a chance to win…well then we lost nine games by a TD or less..a single score…two in OT…several against teams we outplayed.
This means we were competitive in 11 of 16 games last year!!!
I guess Yasinkas means we’ll be competitive in more than just 11 games this year. Who knows if we could start making a play or two when it counts we could win 10 games. Our schedule is soft, our division sucks and none of the NFC South teams appear to be all that improved.
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:23 pm
Nope. The Bucs are in the basement of the NFC Central and the NFL until they do something to climb out of the pit.
9-7 or better: Ecstatic
8-8: Happy Camper
7-9: A step in the right direction
6-10: A Start
5-11 or worse: Paper or Plastic bags over your head?
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:27 pm
Agree with u joe on josh mccown comment. Looks like only lovie thought this guy could do anything.
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Everyone seems to be saying, ” show me first” before they give the Bucs any credit.
Can you blame them. Our history lately is not that good. Odds are against us.
However every year someone comes off the basement list and shocks the NFL.
Wish the BUCs could be that team.
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:43 pm
“And while the Bucs will be much improved…” – Joe
Please. Explain how this is so at this point. Because I have seen zero improvement except for our new offensive coordinator.
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Amazing how many “mockers” are already putting out their 2016 mock drafts and they ALL have the Bucs picking in the top 5. Maybe that will change after they see this easy schedule for next year
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:47 pm
I want to think the defense will be improved…but I doubt it. We are down two safties and a middle linebacker, AND 1-2 defensive ends.
On offense we need 1 guard, 1 tackle (maybe 2), a center worth spit and a quarterback. Some think we need a WR as well.
On special teams we need a punter worth spit and a returner (which is actually the least important need but still a need.
And although some depth has been addressed, not all of it has.
This year is going to suck, and if we end up firing Lovie, so will the next year…because these constant changes in head coaches got us where we are now.
April 22nd, 2015 at 2:49 pm
@Bogeyking
We don’t have an easy schedule. We were the worst in the league, that makes every game hard.
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:01 pm
You all want a good laugh? Google ‘black boy stealing crab legs’.
#DP #HGH #PEDs #BrainDeadRetard
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Watching the Bucs organization can be like watching a slow train wreck in slow motion….painful. Ya know your team has a long way to go when playing .500 ball is a success. Please dont get embarrassed again by ATL….my family up there still talking about it. lol
IF the Bucs do decide to select JW, I will put my MM MOB club card away in the drawer. I am not so sure the JW rabid fans on here (>>>1987<<<) have the strength and poise needed to do the same thing if MM is selected. 🙂
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:18 pm
I think you’re underestimating what having a good QB can do for your team.
Raymond Jameis Stadium
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Last year everyone said 10+ wins and we ended up with 2, so now that we’re lucky to have 8 wins, 12-4 is happening right?
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Trade for Rivers and Peterson, get a few good guys on the o-line and easily win the division. Put all of that cap space to good use
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:36 pm
The Panthers should still be a strong team, at least strong enough to be the team to beat in the division.
The Saints could go either way. Their salary cap problems made it tough for them to fix the problem areas. They’ve lost some talent and still have problems with their defense.
The Falcons are a wild card. They could go either way too. They have a decent QB and some good skill position players on offense but a first year HC.
The Bucs should be much improved, although might not be playoff bound just yet. The defense should be improved and the addition of Koetter will make a difference. The downside is going through the growing pains of a rookie QB. If the Bucs can fix the O-line and produce a good running game, they could be a difficult team to beat. Fixing the O-line is key.
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:38 pm
Statically based on the performance last year and the individual team scheduals in the NFC South in 2015. We are all starting off pretty close to equal. Winstons performance will be a factor, offensive line picks for the Bucs will be a factor, but the Bucs defense should pick up some slack. Remember no NFC South team excelled last year and Buc killers like Graham are gone. I think as far as our division, all four teams are fairly equal (bar injuries .)
April 22nd, 2015 at 3:43 pm
I don’t understand the headline or the point of this article. When you suck stinkhole at 2-14 by definition you are a bottom feeder.
Thanks Lovie
April 22nd, 2015 at 4:00 pm
I hated Chris Berman’s old constant ridicule of the Bucs. I agree that the Bucs are NFC South bottom feeders. The team will have to swim harder and higher to eat any of the other NFL teams Sunday lunch. For the Bucs, this schedule is not easy.
April 22nd, 2015 at 4:10 pm
with the current bucs 0-line they will never go 8-8.
the defense still needs speed off the edge. I think that is why lovie brought in dante fowler jr.of the gators for a visit several weeks back. dante is forcast to be picked either #1,2 or 3 in the draft. yes he is worthy to be picked that high
April 22nd, 2015 at 4:13 pm
Our D played well in the 2nd half of the season. We’ve had some players replaced but that is clearly because they weren’t cutting it. So D should be as good as last year – finger crossed. With ASJ coming back, hopefully better play from the QB position and some serious focus on o-line help, we should be much improved. 8-8 seems fair and may put us in the run for division title.
April 22nd, 2015 at 4:19 pm
Our D played “well” in the 2nd half of the year when they played poorer competition. The two games against good QBs they played in the second half of the year (Detroit and Green Bay), they got torched. So did they improve or did the competition get worse?
April 22nd, 2015 at 4:24 pm
How anyone can count any game the Bucs play as a sure win when they were luck to not go 0 – 16 last year is hilarious. I could see if the team had addressed all the holes it had last year but the Bucs still don’t have a pass rusher nor did they upgrade the offensive line. This team is relying on rookies and waiver wire pick ups to fill starting roles and excel which is unlikely to happen. Maybe L&L have a plan that I can’t see yet but it looks like other than hiring an OC the Bucs are not substantially better than they were last year.
April 22nd, 2015 at 5:52 pm
The bottom feeders are the constant haters…
April 22nd, 2015 at 7:11 pm
I agree 8 wins would look good. Then in his first off season Winston reverts back to his past and is suspended for the season. If we draft Winston 2016 win prediction 4!
April 22nd, 2015 at 8:02 pm
I would argue that bottom feeders are any adults that use the word hater when confronted with opinions that differ from their own.
April 22nd, 2015 at 8:09 pm
Hey DallasBuc
At last we agree!!! Yes!
bottom feeders are any adults that use the word hater when confronted with opinions that differ from their own.
April 22nd, 2015 at 8:30 pm
StPete- you would be surprised by how much we probably do agree on as it relates to this team. I read most of your takes and tend to agree with a lot mainly because it is well thought out and doesn’t include calling people that disagree with you an “idiot” or “hater”!
April 22nd, 2015 at 8:46 pm
I looked down the street a few times and didn’t see any smoke. Must be a false alarm
April 22nd, 2015 at 8:58 pm
“I looked down the street a few times and didn’t see any smoke. Must be a false alarm.”
Oops…too many windows open.
April 22nd, 2015 at 10:57 pm
It’s not the opinions that differ as much as the relentless negativity and absolute certainty that your negative assessment is reality. Given the overall tone of your attitude towards pretty much everything L&L related, I think “hater” is dead-on accurate. Most of your posts are kinda hateful and dismissive. That’s what a hater is.
April 22nd, 2015 at 10:58 pm
And being relentlessly critical really IS the mentality of a bottom feeder.