Victory Calls Pouring In For Bucs
September 11th, 2015
Five big names like the Bucs on Sunday
Five astute NFL analysts, including three former players, see a victory coming for Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Brady Quinn, former Bucs defensive end Steve White, Bucs icon Derrick Brooks, prickly Pete Prisco and former Jets personnel chief and current SiriusXM NFL radio host Pat Kirwan all give a thumbs up to a Bucs victory against Tennessee.
White said on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday that he envisions both offenses struggling and the decisive edge goes to the Bucs defense in a tight game. Brooks also said on WDAE that he feels good about the evolution of the Lovie Smith regime and the Bucs defending the home turf, something they didn’t do last year.
Speaking in the CBS Sports video below, Kirwan is leery of Jameis taking one sack in every eight pass attempts this preseason, and how Titans defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will refuse to let Jameis be comfortable in the pocket.
Quinn isn’t sure the Titans have the running game to beat the Bucs. And Prisco is afraid of the Bucs’ offensive line but predicts a one-point victory. All three agree that they would have picked the Titans if the game was in Tennessee.
(Enjoy the CBS breakdown below)
September 11th, 2015 at 10:08 am
It should be a fascinating game. Probably the first time that two Heisman QBs debuted as starters in the same game. I have predicted (in Joe’s contest) a winning season for the Bucs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they lose this game. Reason: Mariota may be even better than advertised. Hope our D can befuddle him, though. Should be fun.
September 11th, 2015 at 10:10 am
Um…really, they said it could go either way. They just said homefield gives a slight advantage.
September 11th, 2015 at 10:29 am
Prisco is 0-1 on picks having picked Pittsburgh last night. It shows how hard these games are to pick.
September 11th, 2015 at 10:38 am
That is some lazy ass analysis. Bucs 17 – Titans 14 thanks to a comeback performance from the Muscle Hamster
September 11th, 2015 at 10:41 am
LETS GET OUT TO RJS AND MAAAAAAKEEEE SOOOMMMEEE NOOOOOIIIIIIIIISEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“It’s as simple as that” – Lovie Smith aka “everything and the kitchen sink!”
September 11th, 2015 at 10:44 am
Hey at least we should have a homefield advantage with a sellout crowd.
That will great for the Bucs as long as they perform but this crowd will turn on them in a N.Y. minute if they lay an egg in the first quarter.
Given JW’s rep as a slow starter and the Bucs propensity for starting slowly that frightens me.
My only other major concern is special teams. We haven’t seen good special teams play in quite awhile and certainly PS didn’t ease our fears. If we give up TD’s or field position leading to cheap TD’s that will be hard to overcome.
September 11th, 2015 at 10:47 am
So they are all taking a home team in a matchup of 2 teams that tanked their way to 2-14 last season; not surprising… With Evans being questionable I have seen the money line trend in the Titans favor; hopefully that will just be another in a long line of examples of fools being separated from their coin but the Bucs always seem to have bad luck with key players missing key games; I just hope Evans plays Sunday and of course that the Bucs get the W without any ****ing theatrics or any of the numerous meltdowns on offense, special teams and D that we were forced to endure last season…. This is a winnable game: so to quote the late great Tom McEwan when he used to pick the Bucs over an equally bad Pack team back in the pre-Favre ’80s: “Well if you are going to pick the Bucs to win one, this is it gentlemen”….. Bucs win 20-17….
September 11th, 2015 at 10:52 am
This game will be won by whoever commits the least amount of penalties. I see a sloppy undisciplined game this Sunday from both teams, lots of flags flying.
September 11th, 2015 at 11:01 am
Don’t think either team is going to put it into their rookie QB hands expect to see a lot of run plays and short passes.
September 11th, 2015 at 11:16 am
Defense rules this game IMO. The new QBs will have to adjust to the REAL game speed for 4 qtrs.
My players of the game:
Martin 126yds. rushing 1 TD of 64 yds.
Alexander 2 sacks & causes a fumble
Brindza 3 field goals
Bucs 16
Titans 9
Winston 1st TD pass will be to ASJ
This will be the 1st victory out of 8 for this year.
Go Bucs!!!
September 11th, 2015 at 11:19 am
Bucs by 10+. Tennessee is no match for us and Mariota is not going to make the difference. Our D will keep him in check and Jameis is going to play well against a terrible Tennessee defense. 1-0 Book it!
September 11th, 2015 at 11:25 am
There we go @Pickgrin you SEXY MUTHAF!@!@%!!!!
September 11th, 2015 at 11:26 am
If you check the various Vegas “smart money” lines the Buc are three point favorites although if you shop I think as a Bucs fan you might find -2.5.
3 points is allotted to any home field advantage and so the sharks in Vegas believe this is a pick em game.
Bottom line is that these two teams are so different from last year, and especially at the most important position, that nobody knows who is going to win.
BTW I agree with that assessment if I was a betting man…so no money on it for me. But I am a Bucs fan and I think we’ve made improvements so I expect a W Sunday.
A question for all of our negative nellies. What part of our team this year is worse than last year? Is there any unit that is actually worse than last year?
If you say special teams…perhaps. Any other positions? Would you feel better with Mason Foster over Kwon Alexander? The “experienced veteran” McCown over rookie JW?
September 11th, 2015 at 11:28 am
OneLove – Challenge Accepted!
September 11th, 2015 at 11:42 am
StPeteBucsFan Says:
“A question for all of our negative nellies. What part of our team this year is worse than last year? Is there any unit that is actually worse than last year?”
Can’t judge anything yet. They need to take the field in regular season play.
September 11th, 2015 at 11:55 am
I think both teams have highly suspect Olines, which favors the team with a more mobile QB. However, my pewter glasses say Bucs by 6.
September 11th, 2015 at 12:31 pm
Well we know one former NFL Network personality, who you could usually count on picking the Bucs win, is our very own Warren Sapp. That show will miss him, but it’s his own doing, he probably would’ve been a lone wolf on the pick
September 11th, 2015 at 1:13 pm
Rrsrq
I’ve been one of the biggest Sapp bashers on this site. No doubt about his talent, his motor, and his heart on the field. He was just such a major jerk that he deserved all that has happened to him…Karma is a beotch!
Having said that I believe in second chances. I’d love to see Warren look in the mirror…admit his manifest faults..and then get a chance from the Bucs.
Let him have a big press conference to clear the air…say many mea culpas and then quietly join the Bucs like Hardy did for the LBs. I’d love to see Warren working with our DL…if he is even interested in coaching. IMO it’s his only chance to get back into football and if he can admit the error of his ways I’m for giving him a chance. It’s America and we love redemption.
September 11th, 2015 at 2:03 pm
Sapp picked the Bucs to make the playoffs last year…
It was kinda nice to have one of the former Bucs who are now an analyst be a homer.
September 11th, 2015 at 2:23 pm
StPeteBucsFan Says
“A question for all of our negative nellies. What part of our team this year is worse than last year? Is there any unit that is actually worse than last year?”
I’ll answer that with another question. Is there any position that may not be improved over last year?
Center? Just as bad. Defensive End? Lateral move, just cheaper. Johnson is average at best.
But the MAIN REASONS that the team will not even reach .500 this year? Because rookies do NOT come out of college and excel in their rookie year. At least not usually. And to expect 4 rookies to do so is an impossible expectation (Winston, Smith, Marpet and Kwon).
You don’t expect an offensive line with three new players to gel from the start of the season.
You don’t expect a defense plugged with injury-prone veterans to stay healthy.
That’s not negativity…that’s realism. Sure, you can hope that 2-4 defensive veterans stay healthy. Usually, maybe half that do when histories are involved.
BUT…we have 22+ new players on this team, and MOST of them are the injury prone guys. Some are even in starting roles.
September 11th, 2015 at 2:24 pm
That isn’t to say things won’t get better.
I believe the offensive line will be improved and gelling by mid season. I believe we will plug holes on defense in the next draft. Give those rookies time to develop and we’ll have a killer team.
September 11th, 2015 at 4:39 pm
@BucBonzai
I accept all your points. They are valid! I don’t think we’re that far apart actually. We just disagree on timing. I agree with your final conclusion. You simply believe I’m over optimistic…as does 99% of this board! LMAO
I enjoy being a contrarian and since I’m calling for optimism I’m not getting too much grief.
I’ll be happy if we can simply go 2-2 through the first four which obviously means a win on Sunday. While I concede your points as accurate it’s not just us to consider..there are other teams..our competition.
If we go 2-2 in the first 1/4 of the season the second 1/4 is full of softies.
The 3rd 1/4 is brutal…the only real teeth in our schedule..I’m hoping by that time we may be improved enough to steal a game in that horrid 3 game stretch.
Then it’s just a strong finish and 10-6 baby! 🙂