“Realistic Threats For Double-Digit Wins”
June 6th, 2018
The Bucs are not an under-the-radar team this year. High grades and expectations exist in many prominent circles.
The NFL-obsessed Around The League crew at NFL.com knows the deal, and their leader, Gregg Rosenthal, spelled it out in a recent look at the power in every division.
He ranked the NFC South as clearly toughest division in football, in part because of Tampa Bay.
Great divisions are competitive from top to bottom, and the Bucs’ stirring comeback win over the Saints in Week 17 of last season was a reminder that there are no easy games here. It was also a window into Tampa’s potential, which should be more fully realized now that the Bucs have bolstered their defensive line this offseason.
This is the only division where all four teams are realistic threats for double-digit wins, which comes back to their quarterbacks. Productive passing games are more consistent from year to year than strong defenses, and this is a division led by quarterbacks: Matt Ryan and Cam Newton have won two of the last three MVPs, while Drew Brees was playing at a championship level last season. The 2017 Bucs finished fifth in drive success rate, according to Football Outsiders, with a fluky dead-last ranking in lost fumbles per drive torpedoing their season. No lead is safe in a division with quarterbacks this good.
Joe agrees that the Bucs are “realistic threats for double-digit wins.” Ten wins likely is an appropriate ceiling for this team in 2018, as Joe sits here on a June morning.
So by that logic, there really is no reason for another losing Bucs campaign.
June 6th, 2018 at 10:14 am
“10 wins??? That Klueless Koetter Koolaid is strong stuff!”
Kobe Faker
June 6th, 2018 at 10:16 am
i believe it when i see it, otherwise sos
June 6th, 2018 at 10:20 am
*blowing raspberries*
Not when the last article was JW trying to hard to win……. And everyone else was doing…… Watching him??? And then make a issue out of him trying to hard to win
No way man. This is a glaring issue. THIS NOT A WINNING TEAM.
June 6th, 2018 at 10:21 am
To many moving parts
6-10
June 6th, 2018 at 10:23 am
i agree….no reason to have another losing season…..and the south is a very tough division…..
but I disagree with Gregg Rosenthal regarding that last game…..we won in spite of dirk…..he wanted to play it safe and put the game into the hands or rather leg of a shaky kicker….Winston ignored him and called his own play…..
that should tell folks that Winston has learned all he can from dirk and he needs someone else to take him to the next level….Winston has plateaued under dirk…..
10 wins and playoffs or go fishin
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….#GO BUCS!!!
June 6th, 2018 at 10:23 am
Here are two questions.
Are the Bucs a better team than last year?
Will the Bucs record be better than last year?
I think the answer to both is absolutely yes….but the real question on both truly is.
How much better?
June 6th, 2018 at 10:23 am
Yep…I think double digit wins are a very real possibility…especially if they kick azz in the first 3 games…. it has never been the coaches/coaching/play calling/ playing too far off/blah…blah..blah….to this point …it has been the talent on the roster….the talent has not been this strong in over a decade….a fast start is key !…catch the league off guard …I still say it’ll realistically be the 2nd half of 2019 when the roster kicks azz on a regular basis…another draft and FA signing period ….hopefully they are ahead of schedule….Jameis playing like a generic QB Brad Johnson/Fitz as examples is the tipping point
June 6th, 2018 at 10:24 am
The Qb can’t have a winning spirit so idk if even 3 wins is reachable at this point. We need dogs on this team. It’s littered with softies
Then we draft man corners to play off with?
June 6th, 2018 at 10:28 am
10 wins should be the floor. Teams have done so much more with less.
June 6th, 2018 at 10:38 am
I am amazed at the continuous negativity from Visitors to this Bucs website… Why do you who talk down on everything the Bucs are doing to improve, Keep coming back?
June 6th, 2018 at 10:39 am
If the DB coaches can develop a sensible new strategy this year, they can do it.
June 6th, 2018 at 10:57 am
Anonymous, my sentiments exactly!
June 6th, 2018 at 11:04 am
Not thinking floor or ceiling really. Don’t get blown out in any games and win more games than you lose is a good floor expectation imo. Year 4 in the same offense. Year 3 in the same defense. Even with just average to below average talent the staff should have this team competing every week; but I believe our talent is better than average at this point.
June 6th, 2018 at 11:07 am
I enjoy the format on joebucsfan and I am a frequent visitor, but I agree Anonymous and Bama Rich.
The writers on joebucsfan and a lot of the comments are so negative it makes it difficult to want to read a lot of the articles on here.
June 6th, 2018 at 11:30 am
Playoffs would be nice…
Anything less than 8 wins would make this season an absolute failure and should likely result in sweeping coaching changes.
Win or be fired. It’s year 3 – no excuses!
I believe that Dirk Koetter is still one of the top offensive minds in the game. I believe that Mike Smith is an excellent coach and that his defense can be very successful given the right components.
The time to prove it is NOW gentlemen…
June 6th, 2018 at 11:46 am
I WOULD LOVE 10 WINS BUT I LIVE IN A REAL WORLD IF ALL THE STARS LINE UP IN A ROW I SEE IT 7-9 MAN I HOPE IM WRONG.
June 6th, 2018 at 12:00 pm
alter
im not buying that lack of talent excuse…..no one said a peek about lack of talent during the 5game winning streak…..no one from the media to joe said, boy, that team is depleted with talent….they sure are overachieving…..
no one said that because our roster was better in 2016 than 2015….we had just gotten smitty, grimes, ayers, spence and VHG……we had a 10win roster in 2016…..
no one said, boy, we beat up the bears with a lousy roster……that didn’t happen…..
the coaches are the reason why we went 5-11…..folks can blame baker, ward and other things if they want but the coaches never made any adjustments or failed to get creative…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
June 6th, 2018 at 12:01 pm
What’s the Bucs win total next year on the over/under ? 6 1/2 ? Time to place your bets ladies and germs. Big money to be made !
June 6th, 2018 at 12:05 pm
What’s the win total odds for the Bucs next year ? 6 1/2 ? Time to place your bets ladies and germs. Big money to be made ! …Except… we play in the toughest division in the NFL. Ouch !
June 6th, 2018 at 12:26 pm
Anonymous
You must be new to being a Bucs fan…
Heard it all before, how much improved we are..blah blah blah. Talk is cheap.
#WALKTHEWALK
June 6th, 2018 at 1:14 pm
Again…if ROJO is the real deal and we have a good not just decent running game with Barber and ROJO….Jameis blows up big time!!!
June 6th, 2018 at 1:18 pm
I would agree with the assessment of being a double digit winning threat!!!!! The roster is getting depth, and the coaches have the ability and shown to cover up weaknesses in the roster!!!!!
The ceiling is being raised!!!!! The question is the floor??? Due to the youth of the roster and all the new free-agents??????
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!
June 6th, 2018 at 2:10 pm
Wow early predictions in early June, time does fly so we actually are on the doorstep of those fuzzy Buc 2018 season guesses. Mine is the Bucs will be very entertaining this year and finish .500 or better.
June 6th, 2018 at 4:03 pm
Here comes the JHIZZ!!!!
Don’t beleive anything about these Bucs..until they do it.
NO EXCUSES..
WIN or Go Fishing Koetter and Smitty!!
June 6th, 2018 at 6:02 pm
Eventually the Bucs will win 10 games in a season again. Unless the Glazers give Licht the Matt Millen treatment, neither Licht nor Koetter will be there to see it.
Vegas doesn’t have the Bucs at 6.5 wins this year because they are expected to be great. For comparison Vegas has the line for the Browns at 5.5 next year.
June 6th, 2018 at 6:36 pm
Joe I’m afraid that Tampa can get 10+ wins this year and that still won’t be enough for the playoffs. It what happens when you play in the best division in the entire NFL.
June 7th, 2018 at 9:49 am
9-7 is the floor.
June 7th, 2018 at 11:23 am
8-8 is the floor, 11-5 is the ceiling