Bucs Projected To Miss Playoffs
May 1st, 2024
“Joel, nobody’s paying attention.“
Here’s a new one for Jason Licht’s naughty basket.
The Buccaneers Ring of Honor General Manager keeps receipts and is happy to throw well-timed darts at media that scoffs at his team.
The national outlet TheAthletic.com, which died a slow and steady death during the years it had reporters dedicated to Tampa Bay teams, issued new power rankings following last weekend’s NFL Draft.
They’ve got the Bucs as the eighth-best team in the NFC, misssing out on that final playoff spot to … wait for it … the Bears.
Power ranking: No. 15
Post-free agency rank: 12
Brugler’s draft ranking: 22
Yes, this is the same Bucs team that was two plays from forcing overtime in Round 2 of the playoffs 3 1/2 months ago.
Very disrespectful.
May 1st, 2024 at 11:44 am
Want respect.. earn it on the field
May 1st, 2024 at 11:49 am
Weren’t we projected to pick in the top 5 in this year’s draft? Go out and prove the doubters wrong.
May 1st, 2024 at 11:52 am
Barring injury, the Bucs will win this garbage division again.
F the Saints.
At least we won’t have to hear that “Watch out for the Saints, they got Michael Thomas back,” Bullspit ever again.
May 1st, 2024 at 12:04 pm
I´ve seen this story a couple of times….Even last year….
I like it ……Way better being an underdog………
Chip on the shoulder for everyone……
remember Peter King? Also remember what Mr Florio said?
May 1st, 2024 at 12:13 pm
We’re going to be terrible – just like last year – right?!
Keeping receipts
May 1st, 2024 at 12:14 pm
Bucs Chump Says:
Want respect.. earn it on the field
^^^^^
Isn’t that the issue? Super Bowl > 3x NFCS Champs > Beat Defending NFC Champs in Playoffs (31-9!) > Resigned FA > Great Draft
Atlanta hasn’t won the division in SEVEN years. They had a terrible draft, new HC, and signed an old QB with a blown-out Achillies and 1 playoff victory.
How have they “earned respect”?
The old saying goes: You want to be the champs, you got to beat the champs.
May 1st, 2024 at 12:14 pm
super bowl or bust year
May 1st, 2024 at 12:15 pm
I just can’t figure out the media, I’m surprised we are not picking first every year, SMH
May 1st, 2024 at 12:17 pm
We were 4-7 and in the verge of a total collapse. The only thing that saved us was the sorry teams we played at the end of the year.9-0 vs Carolina and a imploding Philly team to advance to Detroit. We have brutal schedule and I can see us finishing 8-9.
May 1st, 2024 at 12:17 pm
Honestly this happens every year even with Tom Brady with us mf will never respect Tampa but I really think we thrive off it they talk real bad about us super disrespectful and all we do is whoop arsees and take names our Gm said it’s our culture now underdogs ready to bite no bark we prove it on the field
May 1st, 2024 at 12:21 pm
If this offensive line shows any sign of being respectable I see the Bucs sweeping the division. That’s right I said it.
May 1st, 2024 at 12:21 pm
Excited for the upgrades:
1. Run Game – Upgrade on O-Line plus Bucky to complement for the Run and White showed bigger game last year as the year progressed.
2. Pass Rush – Upgrade with Braswell but also 2nd Year for Diaby & Kancey.
3. Secondary – Getting Whitehead back is an upgrade as well. Sure we lost Davis but he misses a lot of games due to injury.
Let’s Go!!!
May 1st, 2024 at 12:22 pm
I certainly think we’ll make the playoffs, but it will be a fight. Atlanta will be better and New Orleans is always tough. I wouldn’t sleep on Chicago. They could be this year’s Texans.
May 1st, 2024 at 12:22 pm
that be … tackling fuel
May 1st, 2024 at 12:27 pm
We are in better shape to win the division this year than last. An improved o-line, a good #3 receiver, an up and coming edge rusher, a highly regarded rookie safety. Plus the Saints are spiraling down, a rookie head coach in Carolina with a possible draft bust at QB, and last but not least Rah Rah in Atlanta. With all that being said a 11 win season is very possible.
May 1st, 2024 at 12:27 pm
we had a great draft and seem to have filled needs. the big question is oaching and schemes.
I am confident the players can get us there, but very pessimistic on the coaching and schemes. i.e. todd, his bad clock management, lackzidazical attitude, playing DB’s 10 yards deep and leaving the middle wide open.
You could have an all MVP roster and not get past those cluster fk coaching decisions.
not optimistic….but should be a competitive team with a clueless coach. just have to watch each week and see if jekyl or hyde shows up
May 1st, 2024 at 12:28 pm
we had a great draft and seem to have filled needs. the big question is coaching and schemes.
I am confident the players can get us there, but very pessimistic on the coaching and schemes. i.e. todd, his bad clock management, lackzidazical attitude, playing DB’s 10 yards deep and leaving the middle wide open.
You could have an all MVP roster and not get past those cluster coaching decisions.
May 1st, 2024 at 12:33 pm
The Bears! I am guessing they are saying that because of Caleb Williams. Gee whiz, we haven’t even gotten close to the season and the media is already spewing winners and losers. Ugh!
May 1st, 2024 at 12:43 pm
I would be more concerned if the Bucs were projected to have a great season. These guys are better with a chip on their shoulder. Having been a Bucs fan since 1976, this is my comfort zone. Go Bucs!
May 1st, 2024 at 12:48 pm
I say still play the season
May 1st, 2024 at 12:52 pm
Great comments. Orlando Buc, LetsBucinggo, Boss… I agree with all of that. I don’t know how the coaching changes affect ATL but I assume the Falcons are a much bigger threat this season. I don’t think Cousins is great but he is head and shoulders above what they had at QB last year. Penix probably is to. Can’t believe Raheem is worse than Silverspoon Smith.
Bowles continues to be a concern for me but once again the talent is here to win the division and be able to play with anyone. I think we got better on both sides of the ball as those above have pointed out in more detail. Ugh. Now we wait. Go Bucs!
May 1st, 2024 at 12:53 pm
10-7 will be their final record.
Is that good enough to win the division? Prolly so.
May 1st, 2024 at 1:27 pm
Who cares? Project away. Call me back in the fall.
May 1st, 2024 at 1:32 pm
IDK why nobody is scared of the Panthers. They have our playbook. They have at least three of our caches and even one of our players, I think. They came very close to beating us last year. Why is no one (but me, it seems) worried about them?
May 1st, 2024 at 1:33 pm
coaches not caches
May 1st, 2024 at 1:42 pm
If we miss the playoffs, it is because of one of there reasons:
Injuries
Baker Mayfield (injury or regression)
A division rival surprises us and turns out to be good
May 1st, 2024 at 2:24 pm
I think anytime a team is turning over coordinator positions it’s fair to question the continuity of success. Coen hopefully meshes well with the HC, Assistant Coaches, players. And we can hope his 1st stint calling his own offense goes well. If it does, you have to laud the organization for making the right coaching picks and good resiliency. If they make the playoffs this yr with ANOTHER new OC and a HC who doesn’t really have an Offense scheme he developed, then it’s a helluva story.
May 1st, 2024 at 2:31 pm
If Cousins doesn’t come out of the gate absolutely smokin hot the Falcons will be under intense pressure to put Penix in.
Can’t wait to see the final schedule.
May 1st, 2024 at 2:41 pm
Dewey & Boss have it right. The end of last season was something of a mirage. The terrible game against an even worse Carolina team to sneak into the playoffs and a win against an Eagles team that would’ve lost to a JV squad don’t inspire near as much confidence in me as they do for Joe & the rest of you. We played at least 10 weeks of pretty bad football, even tho we won some of those games.
That being said, I am a total believer in our roster being better and us playing better this season. Unfortunately I think our BRUTAL schedule and bowles’ continued coaching & scheme ineptitude will doom us to a worse record than last year (and yes, missing the playoffs). Remember, ATL or NO don’t have to be a better team than us, they just have to have a better record than us. And they have easier schedules. And our roster, while improved, is THIN. Outside of WR and DBs, I feel like we have less depth than we’ve had in years.
May 1st, 2024 at 2:42 pm
This is the same news media picking Biden to win…right? Tampa lost no one and if people want to say Devin White is someone, they need to watch the games and lethargic play from him in 15 of the games last year. We kept the core. We added more. Saints/Panthers are trash. Atlanta showed some promise last year but now have internal issues with a rookie who should be starting QB and 180 Million Dollars that can’t ride the bench who has really done nothing in his career. The schedule is tough. 9-8 wins the division again and we will have at least 9 wins.
May 1st, 2024 at 2:56 pm
Projections are about as useful as used toilet paper. Bucs have a shot at the playoffs with what they have the only thing that’s left is to play the games, can’t wait until the season starts so sick of the off-season already.
May 1st, 2024 at 3:16 pm
Nobody cares. But among the talking head crowd, I guess not that many people think Mayfield can lead the Bucs out of mediocrity.
The Athletic has a fire sale on for subscribers every other week because no one is willing to pay for this tripe. Oh well. I hope Jose is surviving well on his ad revenue.
May 1st, 2024 at 3:27 pm
Yeah. They missed the playoffs last year too. lol
May 1st, 2024 at 3:53 pm
Did the Athletic Foot say we would win the division last year? Pretty much all the media was wrong last year, so why listen to them again? Wasn’t Chris Sims the only national guy who predicted we would win the division last year?
May 1st, 2024 at 4:12 pm
Baker isn’t backing down to anyone, especially not the saints, falcons, or panthers. Bucs run the south until somebody else takes it from them.
May 1st, 2024 at 5:02 pm
Guys here do not remember the great “Four Tops” but they had the hit for this post…”It’s the same old song”.
I’m thrilled at the disrespect! Just fires up the team that much more. Less chance anybody gets the big head from reading clippings…I think that was part of the problem Brady’s last season…guys thought they were better than they were and slacked off just a bit. 1% less performance is an L in the NFL.
I’m also sick of strength of schedule crap. It’s the NFL..on any given Sunday.
The Bucs beat the Pack in their hallowed Lambeau field…the Pack then goes to Dallas and squashed Jerry’s Boys who were the darlings of the league this time last season.
Hopefully the Bucs are always stuck with “the toughest schedule”. It’s happened three years in a row…I pray for the same problem next year as well.
The so called “toughest schedules” go to the Division Winners! Based on last seasons results. The NFL is not a stagnant league…teams change dramatically from one season to the next and even in season depending on injuries etc.
I LOVE that the Bucs are viewed by #teamnegative.
May 1st, 2024 at 5:21 pm
The Bucs were also two miracle plays from Winfield from going 7-10. Some think they were the Vikings of 2022.
Nothing to be upset about. All this whining about disrespect is a bit dubious. We went 10-9 last year.
Was it luck, as many think, or an underachievement? The latter being portrayed by many here but in few other places.
Only time will tell.
May 1st, 2024 at 7:00 pm
Shocker!! Lol!!
May 1st, 2024 at 7:08 pm
Yes, we are disrespected without a thought by the “outsiders”.
I want the NFC South to be a dogfight. When we win it after our schedule this year we will end up as playoff ready. A win-win situation.
Go Bucs!!!
May 1st, 2024 at 7:14 pm
That’s what they projected for us last year, to miss the playoffs,and look how it turned out. Last year we were projected to be 3rd or 4th in the division.
May 1st, 2024 at 7:19 pm
After last season my opinion about Bowles as a head coach was turned around. I am optimistic about his tenure. We have some stability now. I hope Coen is the answer for our offence.
May 1st, 2024 at 7:20 pm
NBC way to early 2025 mock draft has us selecting at #12 and Atlanta #22…what a joke…the national media lost all credibility years ago
May 1st, 2024 at 7:30 pm
We were 3 plays away from tying the Lions. First and most unlikely was the lions missing a chip shot field goal, Then going 70 yards in less than a min without a timeout to score a TD and then converting the 2 pt con.
May 1st, 2024 at 11:41 pm
The Bears have a LOADED Offense & a pretty good Defense. I can see their Division being THE Strongest Division in football, along with the AFC Central. They’re going to beat each other to a PULP, but I can see Bears easily, making The Playoffs with both Detroit AND Green Bay. I see the Cowboys completely, missing out, with only the Eagles winning the East. San Fran will win the West & then it’ll be a dog fight with The Rams, Bucs, & Falcons. If, Stafford (&/or) Kupp miss any amount of significant time, then it’s a WRAP. Both, TB & ATL are in. New Coaches in both ATL and Seattle. I’m tellin’ ya, I’m really starting to like the Bucs chances… Just as long as Bowels can learn how to manage timeouts, the ending and ‘middle-8’ of ballgames, & if Cohen can run an Offense that is MUCH BETTER than DEAD LAST in the League in ‘number of plays’ per game (like he was at Kentucky), with us staying mostly ‘healthy’ & get good play from Baker. It’ll be a fun season.
May 2nd, 2024 at 2:37 am
Yeah we suckk….all good, just the way we like it … lol
May 2nd, 2024 at 7:42 am
Well, with last year’s easy schedule we miss the playoffs if not for our kicker scoring all 9 points in game 17, so there’s that.
May 2nd, 2024 at 8:57 am
haha no kidding
May 2nd, 2024 at 10:55 am
JUAN Says:
May 2nd, 2024 at 7:42 am
Well, with last year’s easy schedule we miss the playoffs if not for our kicker scoring all 9 points in game 17, so there’s that
???…. we’ve won the NFC South 3 years running….what easy schedule…???
Baker played injured and wasn’t asked to do much
May 2nd, 2024 at 11:06 am
THESE PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY WOULDN’T KNOW THEIR A** FROM A HOLE IN THE GROUND ! GO BUC”S ! ! !
May 2nd, 2024 at 4:44 pm
Well, at this time of year everybody is tied for first place, or last, guesses mean nothing.