Schedule Relief?
October 8th, 2019
The Bucs have yet to face struggling Matt Ryan and the Falcons
Joe’s no fan of predicting wins of specific games before the season.
Yeah, many media types go game-by-game in April or August and Joe finds it goofy. But in October it’s a different story.
On yesterday’s Ira Kaufman Podcast, presented by Bill Currie Ford, Kaufman talked about how he sees a favorable schedule ahead for the Bucs, so he is confident a win against Carolina in England on Sunday could springboard Tampa Bay to a good season. Kaufman sees it as a must-win.
This made Joe take pause and dive a little deeper into the schedule.
Kaufman said he thinks the Titans are the 20th-best team in the NFL and the Bucs should/could beat them coming out Tampa Bay’s bye week in Tennessee. Sure, the Bucs can beat anyone, Joe believes, but that’s a very tough matchup. The Titans haven’t allowed more than 20 points in a game this season. That’s a truly special defense. Marcus Mariota is just an average quarterback, but he hasn’t thrown an interception all season and nothing will come easy there for the Bucs.
The Bucs then go to Seattle. Brutal matchup.
But then the final eight games are as follows:
Week 10 – ARIZONA, Sunday, Nov. 10, 1 p.m.
Week 11 – SAINTS, Sunday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m.
Week 12 – at Atlanta, Sunday, Nov. 24, 1 p.m.
Week 13 – at Jacksonville, Sunday, Dec. 1, 1 p.m.
Week 14 – INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, Dec. 8, 1 p.m.
Week 15 – at Detroit, Sunday, Dec. 15, 1 p.m.
Week 16 – TEXANS, Sunday, Dec. 21 or Dec. 22 (Saturday or Sunday to be determined)
Week 17 – FALCONS, Sunday, Dec. 28, 1 p.m.
If you quickly pencil in wins against the Cardinals and Falcons twice, then the question is can the Bucs squeeze another two wins against the Saints, Colts and Texans at home, combined with the Jaguars and Lions on the road? Joe’s going to say, yes. Why not? If you can score points like the Bucs can, then you should be able to avoid a losing streak.
Joe will agree with Kaufman that Sunday is a must-win against the Panthers. A 2-4 record likely leads to a 3-5 start, a virtual NFL death sentence.
But even if the Bucs lose Sunday, a strong finish should be in order. If Bruce Arians posts a losing record in the second half of the season, then it’s fair to say the organization is on the wrong path.
October 8th, 2019 at 10:17 am
I hope someone steps up in the secondary as well as I hope JPP comes back asap asap
October 8th, 2019 at 10:22 am
10-6
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 8th, 2019 at 10:33 am
Teams that have been 3-5 have historically (1990-2013) made the playoffs 7% of the time.
It is a death sentence.
October 8th, 2019 at 10:34 am
“pencil in wins against the Cardinals and Falcons twice”???? WTF??? Joe, did you also pencil in wins against the Giants and Niners? To pencil in ANY wins for this team is absolute folly.
October 8th, 2019 at 10:36 am
LOL…schedule does appear to be easier…that is until we actually play the games as in years past. When does 2020 draft talk start?
October 8th, 2019 at 10:42 am
Teams see us on the schedule and think “homecoming week”.
October 8th, 2019 at 11:03 am
I sure hope the coaches do not share your mind-set…
The Rams likely ‘penciled in’ wins against the Bucs and got caught unprepared…
Cardinals QB just might run all over the Bucs to a Win and the Falcons just might right the ship and have the Bucs beat by half time in both games (it happened before)..
October 8th, 2019 at 11:13 am
IMO ,the young Bucs believed all the hype from the Rams win and got their collective arses handed to them.There is too much talent on this team to go 6-10.Get a freakin corner!!!!!
October 8th, 2019 at 11:18 am
loser talk
October 8th, 2019 at 11:24 am
Ira, Mariota and company put up almost 50 on Cleveland week 1, how much you bet the other team they do that to could be the Bucs? Arizona did beat a Cincy team on the road that probably thought they had their first W vs the Cards. The ATL could probably be Ws or they could be the 2 Sundays that the Matty Ice connects to Jones for 4 TDs on their way to a 3-13 record. Simply said, the Bucs will win a few more games but none of these games on the schedule are a guaranteed win as this team occasionally plays well enough to win vs a good opponent (Rams), will occasionally catch a team with issues for a cheap win (Carolina with cam) and more often than not play down to the level of a bad team and manage to lose (Giants). Bucco Bruce allegedly demands accountability but what has he done that previous regimes have not? Koetter was 2 dash 3 in all 3 of his seasons as head coach as was Lovey in Jameis’ first season so until I see other wise I expect losses on a lot of Sundays sprinkled with the occasional win that gives us fans temporary hope and right now if Bucco Bruce can get the Bucs to 7 or 8 wins and in a fight with Carolina for 2nd in division I would consider that a job well done (even a miracle perhaps) given the holes on this roster which are now getting exposed by both the bad teams (Giants) and the better teams like the Aints….. I guess a good start after this cojonne kicking loss would be for the Bucs to lay down a trap game and upset the Panthers for their first win in London and then take advantage of the bye week and do not get blasted by the Titans.
October 8th, 2019 at 11:57 am
Nothing is soft for the bucs…..but the bas news is…that nothing WILL be soft for the bucs…..We are a volatile team and there is no evidence things are going to change……..
October 8th, 2019 at 12:22 pm
“Matty Ice will drop +45 pts on our burnt biscuits
The blueprint is set on our team
If BL/BA keeps the TEs blocking, defenses will double both ME and Godwin
4-12”
Son of Kobe Faker
October 8th, 2019 at 12:31 pm
Nothing will cure what ails the FalCones more than The Licht Weight approved Bucs secondary. Matt Ryan will get untracked and Arthur Blank Check will assume things are fixed on his end…not unlike the Bucs secondary being fixed.
October 8th, 2019 at 1:06 pm
Marcus Mediocre and the Titans will fold . Go Bucs
October 8th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
10-6 is California Dreaming……
If the Bucs lose in week 11-12, season is OVER! If you dont beat teams in your division, you wont see the playoffs. Yes, its that simple.
Prior to the season, I stated this is a 6 win team. I am still at 6 wins. I like most thought the Rams game was an anomaly and the Bucs are proving it to be true. They got out-coached and out-played v Saints on both sides of line. As I stated before the Saints game, Winston has a 3 game max on good/clean QB play games. JW proved that true too on Sunday. If he does not lift his game up and get more consistent, he may not be here for 2020. Yes, receivers did not have good separation last week but the great QBs find a way.
October 8th, 2019 at 1:10 pm
Sadly we’re looking at 6 -10 or 7 – 9 at best.
Our secondary is atrocious and will get lit up be everyone. The only QB they’ve been able to stop is a hobbled, injured Cam Newton.
Think about that for a second.
Also, Bucs have never won a game in London. You think that’s about to change now? Sorry fans, but we’ll be discussing the draft again in a few weeks.
October 8th, 2019 at 1:11 pm
@donuts – are ‘great’ QBs required to score over 32 points every single week just to have a chance at winning?
October 8th, 2019 at 1:24 pm
6 or 7 wins is the Bucs way
Just good enough to miss out on elite talent in the top 10
Stuck in the abyss of never making the playoffs
October 8th, 2019 at 1:46 pm
NO. The great QBs keep their team in it DURING the game rather than letting it get out of control. Keeping drives alive even if you do not score is important too as it dictates field position. The DEF also needs a rest. First 3 Buc drives (11 plays total) were punts. The first 2 drives of 4Q were punts. That is not franchise level QB play.
Do you think Winston played great last week? 15-27 says otherwise. 1 INT was turned over by penalty. I assume you forgot about the Panthers game (14pts); I get it…it didn’t fit your narrative so it was removed from thought.
October 8th, 2019 at 1:53 pm
@Kobe – burnt biscuits, lol! No risk it = burnt biscuits
October 8th, 2019 at 2:21 pm
LOL donuts you are illustrating my point perfectly.
Panthers game was the ONLY game we held an opponent to less than 31 points.
So I guess in your opinion a “great” QB should also play defense? Maybe he should also block for himself and not allow 6 sacks, 8 QB hits, 8 TFL….
Go look up Drew Brees record when they Saints give up over 31 points. Or Aaron Rodgers. Or Tom Brady. And yes, those guys are all superior quarterbacks to Jameis. But the point remains the same.
Did he have a great game on Sunday? No. Is he the reason we lost? Absolutely not.
October 8th, 2019 at 2:22 pm
I am with Morgus on this… don’t pencil in anything.
Each game will be a serious challenge, especially with our offensive line getting ravaged by injuries. This Carolina game is less a “done deal” than you think. If we go into London with the mindset that we have already won, we have a good chance of coming out with a big “L” instead.
October 8th, 2019 at 2:43 pm
We will likely be the cure for what ails the Falcons. Pencil in 2 wins vs them…folly.1
October 8th, 2019 at 3:34 pm
What if the Falcons fire Dan Quinn and Dirk Koetter or Raheem Morris takes over? What’s our record against interim head coaches?