More Good Signs For Bucs Against Vikings On Opening Day
May 22nd, 2023
Joe doesn’t have to run, sweat and lift in spring practices at One Buc Palace, so Joe is busy studying all things Vikings in preparation for opening day on Sept. 10.
First, Joe likes that the Vikings are a team in transition. They’ve got a new defensive coordinator in Brian Flores, hired because their defense was miserable last season. There’s also chaos surrounding the Dalvin Cook contract nightmare; the Pro Bowl running back may be traded after June 1. And there’s also iconic Vikings receiver Adam Theilen (70 catches for 716 yards and 6 touchdowns last season) moving on to the Panthers in free agency.
Yes, Joe realizes the hiring of Flores has Vikings fans excited, but Joe likes that Flores defenses start slowly.
For three seasons, Flores was head coach of the Dolphins (2019-2021), his first time in charge of a defense. On opening day of 2019, the new Flores defense allowed 59 points to the Ravens. Through the first four games of three consecutive seasons (12 games), offenses averaged more than 30 points per game against the Flores defense.
That tells Joe that Flores’ system has a learning curve.
Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber is now a Vikings sideline reporter and analyst in the Minneapolis area. He was on SiriusXM NFL Radio last week emphasizing how brutal the Vikings’ defense has been.
“Our guys don’t stop the run and have not stopped the run consistently for the last three years,” he said.
Yes, the Vikings are a good and talented team. But with each passing week, Joe likes this opening day matchup for the Bucs. If nothing else, this might be the best schedule date to catch Minnesota.
May 22nd, 2023 at 1:34 pm
Joe, I agree 100%.
This looks very winnable.
May 22nd, 2023 at 1:37 pm
The Bears game looks winnable too.
May 22nd, 2023 at 1:55 pm
They are all winnable. 17-0 Baby!
Go Bucs!!!
May 22nd, 2023 at 1:56 pm
One good thing about a running offense is that there is no learning curve to implement it. We should come out of the blocks pounding defenses with our running attack! Once their d-line is exhausted, we will kill them with the play action. What could possibly go wrong???
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Bowles has a to earn the players and fans back. He needs early wins.
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:14 pm
Davis & Dean vs. Jefferson & Addison should be a super exciting matchup to watch opening weekend. Vikings were terrible against the run and I think close to the bottom, and a week after that game we play the Bears who was one of the worst pass defenses in all the NFL last season. We also still owe Kirk Cousins for that “you like that” BS all those years ago.
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:16 pm
Everything always looks winnable at the start of each season. Let’s see how the team plays in preseason and who the QB is going to be. We don’t even know if our kicker can make an extra point or a FG yet. Could be a very long season if we can’t score more than 17 points a game .
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:18 pm
The Bucs went on the road last year to open the season and beat the Cowboys.
It was all downhill from there.
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:36 pm
Yes, it appears we are gearing up to be Tennessee…oops…I mean Minnesota Ready for 10 Sep 23. Book it!!!!
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:51 pm
I agree with the analysis that it will take a while for the defense to get used to a new defensive coordinator’s system.
It takes just as long to get used to a new offensive coordinator’s system, so that seems a wash to me.
We have good offensive line coaches, so I expect there to be some more cohesion as the season continues with our offensive line, but I expect there to be a transition period.
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:55 pm
So we’ll have to postpone our “Collapse for Caleb” for at least one game?
May 22nd, 2023 at 3:04 pm
Hoping Jensen is good to go, and that plans are being made to feed ME13 early and often. Test that new defense, and lets stop making our best playmaker into a decoy. Every game is winnable in May. Lets see if we can score points in July and August first. Would love to see some ugly wins early in the season though.
May 22nd, 2023 at 3:33 pm
2-15 baby Whooooo!
May 22nd, 2023 at 3:48 pm
2-15 is a bit overly pessimistic I’d say. I’m holding at 3-14. We can do it! You see they’re gonna be a couple of mercy victories towards the years end…as teams jocky for the following draft.
May 22nd, 2023 at 4:02 pm
Not buying in. Not with this Bucs roster of 2 back-up QB’s. Feel good all you like.
I’ll feel good ONLY with Winning results. Every NFL team is 17-0 right now and talkin trash. Then after them 1st 3 or 4 games? Them tunes change. Prove it Bucs.
May 22nd, 2023 at 4:07 pm
The 2023 can easily go either way…
We have plenty of winnable games on the schedule.
– The NFC South is still a weak conference – (6) winnable games.
– Chicago
– Indy
– Green Bay
– Minn
– Detroit
– Houston
– Tenn.
– Jacksonville
These are all mediocre (at best) teams maybe with Detroit and Jacksonville being the best of the bunch…
The Eagles and Bills are going to be the toughest games on the schedule and to be honest I believe they are both also winnable games.
May 22nd, 2023 at 4:14 pm
The Vikings loss of Adam Theilen is gonna hurt because he was Kurt Cousins favorite target.
If they lose Cook too, those 2 losses are going to cripple their Offense.
I agree, this might be a winnable game for us!
May 22nd, 2023 at 4:19 pm
I hope the Bucs D sacks Cousins like 10 times in the opening game!
Go Bucs!
May 22nd, 2023 at 4:27 pm
As much as I want an important win on the road it smells rotten. I have seen this scenario before and until it is a win for us I don’t buy it. I think Minnesota is on a downward spiral but hopefully it is cemented with us. It would be a fantastic upset. Who knows, maybe by then Dalvin might be wearing Pewter.
May 22nd, 2023 at 5:08 pm
Only time will tell, but Kirk Cousins may very well emerge as our starting quarterback in 2024.
May 22nd, 2023 at 5:12 pm
Only time will tell, but Kirk Cousins may very well emerge as our starting quarterback in 2024.
May 22nd, 2023 at 6:01 pm
While I’m very down on this team, I will say if they can open with a win @Minnesota, it could be a 2005 like season. That team was also supposed to be bad, went on the road to open the year at Minnesota and ended up 11-5.
While I do not believe this team will be good, if the Bucs got an opening day win, and lets say Mayfield went from the worst QB in the NFL over the last two years, to merely average, and White is a superstar (like I think he is), then yeah, maybe you can win a bunch of a ugly games and end up like 10-7. I’d put all my money on the 6.5-win under, but who knows, anything is possible.
May 22nd, 2023 at 6:59 pm
I don’t get the noise, about the Vikings. They are serial under-achievers.
Every year they are supposed to be good. They haven’t been good since Bud Grant was Head Coach, lol
May 22nd, 2023 at 7:08 pm
Lol joe you do know that the Vikings are looking at the bucs game as “winnable” too right? As is every other team that plays us
May 22nd, 2023 at 8:10 pm
I think that the BUCS will be lucky 😺 if the Vikings only score Forty. Vikings win 42-17
May 22nd, 2023 at 8:12 pm
Look at the Vikings record at home. Enough said, BUCS lose by double digits.
May 23rd, 2023 at 12:10 am
34-16 vikings. Stop kidding yourselves guys this isn’t going to be a good year.
May 23rd, 2023 at 12:24 am
Somebody..lited The Jags as a winnable game here. You kiddin me? Have you NOT been paying attention to this blond headed dude at QB? He is a winner. Mark my words, Yes. I said it. They are much closer than we are.
May 23rd, 2023 at 10:45 am
Devin White for Dalvin Cook?? The salary numbers should work!!
May 23rd, 2023 at 5:24 pm
“That tells Joe that Flores’ system has a learning curve.”
And that tells My Momma that our shiney new offensive system has a learning curve too.