Contender
December 7th, 2016
Contender or pretender? (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)
There are those non-believers (like Peter King, who dearly loves his NFC East squads) who believe the Bucs are a cute story but when January hits, the Bucs will be scoping scantily-clad chicks on some Caribbean beach while nursing one of those fruity drinks with an umbrella sticking out of it.
Jeffri Chadiha is not among the non-believers. He has researched each team with a winning record deeply, and he has determined which teams are pretenders and which teams are contenders.
In short, Chadiha likes the Bucs’ chances.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5, tied for first in NFC South): The Buccaneers are peaking at the right time, as they would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Tampa Bay’s success has plenty to do with strong defense and the growth of quarterback Jameis Winston. He’s thrown 15 touchdown passes and just four interceptions over his last eight games (six of which the Bucs have won). Tampa Bay also has displayed some impressive mental toughness over their last three wins. They beat the Chiefs in Kansas City, held the Seahawks to five points and then traveled to San Diego to beat a dangerous Chargers team this past Sunday. Victories like those make it easy to want to believe in the Bucs, but there’s a critical Sunday night game awaiting them in Dallas on Dec. 18. The Bucs can afford to lose that contest if they can handle New Orleans (twice) and Carolina in the season finale. If they can beat the Chiefs and Seahawks, they can deal with that task. FINAL VERDICT: CONTENDER.
Joe has a hunch that when Peter King picked his playoff teams Sunday night, he didn’t do much scheduling research.
Two injuries scare Joe right now and could be huge factors in whether the Bucs can beat the Saints or not Sunday.
First is, of course, Adam Humphries’ condition after suffering a concussion. It is unlikely we will know today when the first injury report is released whether he can go. It wouldn’t shock Joe if he missed the game.
Then there is the foot issue with Will Gholston, who was spotted by Jenna Laine of ESPN wearing a boot in the locker room. Joe did not see the boot but at the time, Joe was interviewing Gerald McCoy. To get to his locker, Gholston heavily limped past Joe coming from the shower, and he had a difficult time just walking on his own power and was being helped by a Bucs staffer.
December 7th, 2016 at 5:12 am
It’s good to see the nation taking notice of the Bucs. I actually seen one ranking where they said the cowboys will see exactly why they don’t want anything to do with the Bucs in the playoffs in 2 weeks. Makes being a Bucs fan that much more sweet
December 7th, 2016 at 5:39 am
It’s a relief to finally see the Bucs play to thier potential…Let’s keep this momentum going all the way to the Super Bowl..Why not us?…
“Speak softly and carry a big Muther F N stick”…GoBuCs!
December 7th, 2016 at 5:52 am
I see 9-7, and missing the playoffs by a game. That Rams game will haunt these players all off season. Sure hope I’m wrong as these last few weeks have been fun.
Beating Brees twice is a huge task. Yeah their d sucks but our offense is too inconsistent to be counted on to match them score for score
December 7th, 2016 at 6:09 am
One game at a time!
December 7th, 2016 at 6:13 am
I don’t see Washington or giants winning out so there is still plenty of hope even if we are 9-7 but I want us to run the table and until we lose I’ll keep expecting that
December 7th, 2016 at 6:14 am
@Chadika … “there’s a critical Sunday night game awaiting them in Dallas on Dec. 18.” Now I’m getting scared. The key is always ‘One game at a time.’ No exceptions. Look past any team … like New Orleans … and they’ll take you to the cleaners and destroy your season.
The injury bug crucified the Bucs earlier in the season. Too many starters injured. Even though there’s a boatload of Bucs on IR, Koetter & Smitty have made it work by using some really innovative schemes. For instance, since our loss to the Falcons, Bucs have only been using 3 LBs about 1/3 of the time it looks like (Darryl Smith’s snaps keep shrinking … only played on 18% of the defensive snaps last week as opposed to 82% against the Falcons). Strange for a 4-3 defense? Bucs roster is ‘thin’ right now (Stocker only got 1 snap against the Chargers, Humphries is now banged up as is Doug, we’ve lost Cecil Shorts, Ironman Will Gholston is limping, Conte is still out, etc). Predicted the last 4 wins on JBF, but right now don’t feel all that good about the Saints game. Would feel a LOT better if Humphries, Gholston, Stocker & Sims suit up and play.
December 7th, 2016 at 6:40 am
Gholston being hurt is huge. When ever the Bucs defense is dominating, you always see Gholston slamming runningbacks. We are going to need him against the Saints. Speaking of the Saints, anyone remember the Saints were the Bucs first win? I’ll never forget that day, after going 0-26, the Bucs finally get a win against Archie Manning and Hank Stram. Hank Stram got fired a few days later. Great history between these two teams.
December 7th, 2016 at 6:44 am
As for the Bucs being a contender, beating Dallas next week is far less important to our playoff chances than beating New Orleans this week and two weeks from now. If we win Sunday, gone is ATLs division win lead over us. I hope the Buccaneer players are not overlooking this weeks game as much as the media and most of the fans on JBF yesterday. Who cares about Dallas. The most important game is on Sunday.
December 7th, 2016 at 6:45 am
These injuries are part of the game but frustrating. I agree that the gholston scares the crap out of me with having to play the saints twice. Have to believe the cowboys game will be a pipe dream if they win; however anything is possible. After all, the Vikings gave them a run.
December 7th, 2016 at 7:14 am
They better not be overlooking this saints game. Last year i drove out to st.louis and was very disappointed by the thursday night performance. First time ever in the Tampa Bay area. Hope we come out with a win. GO BUCCANEERS!!
December 7th, 2016 at 7:57 am
I see 9-7, and missing the playoffs by a game. That Rams game will haunt these players all off season. Sure hope I’m wrong as these last few weeks have been fun.
Beating Brees twice is a huge task. Yeah their d sucks but our offense is too inconsistent to be counted on to match them score for score
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I know the Rams game had NFC complications but we could say the same about the Raiders game, But you could also say we could have lost the Panthers game as well. It goes both ways. Buccaneers will be fine as long they keep winning.
December 7th, 2016 at 8:07 am
Skepticism is totally fair when you a team go 3-5 in the first 8 games that needs to go at least 7-1 in the final 8 games. That doesn’t mean we as Bucs fans shouldn’t expect them to win out and be in the playoffs. That is exactly what I expect but the skepticism is completely understandable.
December 7th, 2016 at 8:10 am
@feelthepewterpower … “Buccaneers will be fine as long as they keep winning.” The REAL bottom line to all this … I love it. Of course, if Bucs keep winning we’ll be SB champs this year. Just sayin’. As an aside, Tom Jones (not my favorite sports writer) did pen an excellent article in this morning’s paper passing on mega-kudos to Dirk Koetter and his staff for their outstanding coaching job during this most recent streak. This coaching staff has done a fantastic job of getting the absolute most out of our available players and of keeping the opposing teams off-balance. Wow, talk about a breath of fresh air!
December 7th, 2016 at 9:25 am
Scotty…me too. One game at a time.
No predictions for me the rest of the season.
December 7th, 2016 at 9:41 am
Darn, I thought Eeyore, I mean Tampa Tony, was thru on this board after the dressing down ’87 gave him,while exposing his true colors. Persistent little fella.
December 7th, 2016 at 9:46 am
Personally I think the Washington redskins are overrated I looked at the teams they beat & TBH they did not beat anyone that’s better than them or on the same level as the head me out the beat the giants week 3 which is a good win I’ll admit but they also beat a Vikings team who was on a losing streak a packers team on a losing streak I believe they will lose to the eagles reason there defense looks like our defense last year so just watch and the panthers will jump on them and the NY will get there revenge so as cousins says YOU LIKE THAT
December 7th, 2016 at 11:53 am
There’s obviously still a lot of football to be played, but it looks like it’s going to be a barn-burner between the Bucs and Falcons for the NFC South title. As of the moment, the teams are tied with 7-5 overall records and 5-3 records within the conference. If the tie on those two records holds true at the end of the season, things get very interesting with the tiebreakers.
TO BREAK A TIE WITHIN A DIVISION
If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined.
Two Clubs
Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Strength of victory.
Strength of schedule.
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best net points in common games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games.
Coin toss
December 7th, 2016 at 12:35 pm
I’m not worried
December 7th, 2016 at 2:09 pm
gilhealy …lol fans remember stuff I said days and days ago. I sometimes drop stuff down and forget I even dropped it. Thanks for the memory. lol I think I was drunk that night.
Ahhh hell everyone on JBF knows I’m Winston’s BIGGEST fan. Yet I’ve dealt with many fans like Tony Bologna when it comes to J to the a to the m to the e to the i to the s.
In short if someone wants to drop some bs about JW or the O, considering what he’s working with, then it’s Donkey Kong time.
December 7th, 2016 at 2:57 pm
Man..you guys are a trip. Bucs are 7-5 and contenders? There are 4 more games left people. If you think Drew Brees is going to fold his tents and run..you are crazy. He can play/win with the best of’em. And Dallas and Carolina are no easy games. Do yourselves a favor..Hope for the best but expect anything ..OK? You get what you deserve in this league. Theres no faking or cheating. If the Bucs deserve to be in the playoffs..they will get there. The chips will fall where they are suppose to. The Defense cannot afford to let up one bit. In fact, they need to pick up the pace. PLAY BALL!!