“Long Shot” But Possible
September 16th, 2016
Can Mike Smith craft a gameplan to contain Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona offense?
Can the young Bucs match up with one of the giants of the NFC? It may be a bit too much and a bit too early (by a year?) to expect the Bucs to punk the Cardinals in their own birdcage.
One guy who isn’t sold that Arizona will automatically put the Bucs back in their place is Mike Sando of BSPN. In a panel discussion of sorts about games this weekend, he believes the Bucs are just “dangerous” enough to put on upset alert.
The Buccaneers have the weapons to exploit the Cardinals’ coverage deficiencies. They also have a fearless quarterback in Jameis Winston. That makes Tampa Bay dangerous even as a 7.5-point underdog. It’s a long shot, but so were the Patriots at Arizona last week.
Arizona’s defense doesn’t scare the hell out of Joe. What does scare Joe is Arizona’s offense vs. the Bucs defense. While the Bucs did shut down an underrated Dixie Chicks offense for much of the game, the Bucs let Atlanta off the mat in the fourth quarter. Not good.
Arizona likely has better weapons. The trick here is to take advantage of Arizona’s beat up offensive line and get to old man Carson Palmer, who does not handle pressure very well.
September 16th, 2016 at 12:08 pm
The Defense and especially the leaders showed up when they were needed !
So I’m not feeling as distressed as I would have been last year for this kind of game.
Yes, I think the Bucs can defeat the Cardinals.
And Yes I think our defense can step up !
September 16th, 2016 at 12:08 pm
I see the Bucs winning. AZ didn’t look good in preseason or regular season.
September 16th, 2016 at 12:17 pm
they need to hit Palmer every chance they get. bucs 31-17 palmer does not finish game and they hold larry fitzgerald scoreless. he makes a catch or two but they keep him out of end zone.
September 16th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Gnome, look up their record.
On topic, these media guys are talking big this week, but if we lose they will turn on us instantly.
September 16th, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Here’s the game plan for our opponents in the NFC south. The Stinking Panthers and The AINTS are starting rookie cornerbacks so if we don’t go DUNKANEERS on them we deserve to LOSE! The best corners in the division are on the Bucs and Trufant. That’s it! We own Atlanta.
The Cards got a rookie CB starting take advantage of him. Send every TE at the honeybagger. Throw to run the ball. The weakness in the Cards D is the SS. Buchanon can be dunked on he to short. Pull Ali and run left. Pat.P can be beat. tell Mike to watch game tape of Julio and Pat.P last year. The Greenbay TE MOSSED him in the playoffs. We better go alley oop on’em!
September 16th, 2016 at 12:24 pm
No predictions here except the Bucs will give the game one hell of an effort. That’s a given.
September 16th, 2016 at 12:29 pm
Our defense is similar to last year’s defense. 2nd against the run and 26th against the pass. We have to do a much better job in pass defense, moving forward. Our pass defense is the key to our success as a team, we have to stop the pass. Last week we struggle against guys like Tevin Coleman and Mohamed Sanu, that shouldn’t happen.
September 16th, 2016 at 12:31 pm
This game is a toss up to me and it might come down to a turnover at a critical point in the game from either team. I see a another shootout though.
I ain’t predicting this one.
Go Bucs!
September 16th, 2016 at 12:40 pm
Really this is on the Bucs offense to control the ball and tempo. So critical to convert third downs, turn red zone attempts into TDs, and then keep the Zona defense off the field as much as possible. The weapons are there and need to execute. Defense has to pressure Palmer and get the Cards off the field. This will be a test to see how much the team has truly grown. Go Bucs!
September 16th, 2016 at 12:57 pm
Punch him in the face!!!! Punch’em all in their tenders Kickem back shovem back waaaaay back. Wait what is happening?
September 16th, 2016 at 1:36 pm
I think the X factor in this game will be Adam I think AZ will forget about him cause no 11 had a sneaky good game against the falcons and while the cards focus on v-jax,Evans & sims he could mess around and have a 2 touchdown game
September 16th, 2016 at 1:46 pm
I…. (I….) I BELIEVE…. (I BELIEVE….) I BELIEVE THAT… (I BELIEVE THAT…) I BELIEVE THAT WE… (I BELIEVE THAT WE…) I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN! I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN! I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN! I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN! I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
September 16th, 2016 at 2:02 pm
@ sb demon
What do you mean “keep the Zona defense off the field as much as possible?” That would mean our offense is off the field as much as possible too, right? I think we need to keep OUR defense off the field to keep them fresh, so they put pressure on Palmer ALL day. Hope we play as good as we did last week on offense and play better than we did on defense. I think the game will be close though, like 27-24, and maybe go to overtime. Let’s Go BUCS!
September 16th, 2016 at 2:17 pm
I feel optimistic about this game when comparing the talent on the field.
This game is going to come down to coaching. If the Buccaneers lose it’ll be OK because most of the fans expect it (I don’t). If the Bucs win on Sunday we will all look back at this win as the moment the Buccaners finally turned things around. If they win it’ll be arguably the most important and significant win since the Super Bowl.
September 16th, 2016 at 2:27 pm
As a critic of my team, I do not think this game against the AZ cards is a long shot. But a lot of focus gotta take place. This is probably the most hostile territory the Bucs will be in this season. The crowd noise is..deaf defying.
And If we do not get pressure on Palmer, he will have a..field day. Fitz don’t miss much thrown his way. Defense will win this game guys. Yes, we will score. We just gotta stop palmer and company from scoring a lot. Because they can become a machine once pumped. But yes, we got a shot. This will be a prime test for our Bucs. Win this game, and the league sees us as serious!
September 16th, 2016 at 3:11 pm
Exactly JOE.
Consistent pressure, a few sacks, some hits … They win. Palmer has always turned the ball over and gets rattled when under pressure the whole game.
They need to bring it
September 16th, 2016 at 5:18 pm
@BigStinky meant Zona offense not D. Was distracted with work …
September 16th, 2016 at 5:48 pm
Its very simple Buccs win..
September 16th, 2016 at 7:13 pm
It would be nice Dougie gives Palmer a flashback to his days in Oaktown when he burned them for 250 yards and 4 tds. With the run game going strong like that Jameis would have a field day .
September 16th, 2016 at 7:38 pm
Bucs win on our way to 12-4.
September 16th, 2016 at 11:45 pm
Keep it clean and close till the 4th Q – Palmer is not the same QB
Let the cards fall – I like the Bucs this weeks
September 17th, 2016 at 11:44 am
The win last week was great, yet I was puzzled as to why they weren’t any of the stunts and twists up front with the D-line. All preseason long, they were running games up front, and not one time did they attempt to do so against Atlanta. Ryan walked into two of the three sacks the Bucs had. Very concerned about the lack of consistent pressure from the edge. Hopefully that changes against Arizona. GO BUCS!!!
September 17th, 2016 at 5:46 pm
That should be the goal every week get opposing qb to the ground! Wins will quickly follow