The NFL Should Be Scared Of The Bucs
July 13th, 2021
Fired up!
Over the weekend, Joe wrote a story about how the majority of gamblers wagering on who will win the next Super Bowl are dropping cash on the Bucs.
This may be a very smart move, and not just because the Bucs are defending champions.
Yesterday was preview release day meaning noted handicapper Warren Sharp and Joe’s good friends over at Football Outsiders released their respective 2021 NFL previews, the Sharp Football Analysis 2021 Preview and Football Outsiders 2021 Almanac.
Joe has already highlighted a couple of Bucs excerpts from the Football Outsiders 2021 Almanac. So yesterday Joe dove in to read Sharp’s publication.
In the very first two paragraphs of Sharp’s chapter about the Bucs, he crystallizes exactly why Bucs fans are jacked for this season. Sharp infers the Bucs had every reason not to win in the playoffs much less the Super Bowl, but they adapted, adjusted and overcame.
In a year with a pandemic, a virtual offseason and no preseason, a 43-year-old quarterback joined a new team and transitioned to a new offense for the first time in 20 years, injured his knee during unorganized offseason [spring] practices — which forced weekly attention during the season — and didn’t grasp the playbook until December. He then led his new team to a Super Bowl championship. That’s the story of the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’s extremely scary knowing that the quarterback, Tom Brady, just had knee surgery to fix his problem, completely understands the playbook and saw his front office do something that never has been done before: all 22 starters on offense and defense that appeared on the Super Bowl LV flip card roster will be on the team for 2021, a first in the NFL’s salary cap era.
You damn right the NFL ought to be scared as hell. Also factor in O.J. Howard returning and Vita Vea (hopefully) staying healthy for a full season, and a full season from Antonio Brown.
Joe cannot remember being so hungry for a season to start. Maybe not since 2003.
For some reason, Joe doesn’t think Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians will oversee a monumental collapse like Chucky did the last time Tampa Bay defended the Lombardi trophy.
July 13th, 2021 at 11:13 am
After the Super Bowl, almost every sports outlet wrote that KC would be the team to beat next year. Now almost every sports outlet are now saying the Bucs are the ones to repeat. Go figure.
July 13th, 2021 at 11:24 am
31-9
Won their last 8 games
Added depth to special teams
Added a pass rusher
Added a pass catching back
2021 Bucs are gonna be fun to watch
July 13th, 2021 at 11:52 am
I like everything you’re saying here Joe, except I’m just not sold on OJ staying healthy for a whole season. “Looks like Tarzan plays like Jane.”
July 13th, 2021 at 11:58 am
Joe – Have been hungry for TB-12’s next game for 20 years.
July 13th, 2021 at 12:21 pm
Scared may not be the word….but certainly nervous….
July 13th, 2021 at 1:52 pm
I think we’re going to get the EA Sports version of the Bucs this season.
July 13th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
Repeating is a different animal. You are the HUNTED!! Like the nature boy says, to be the man you gotta beat the man. Players are drooling, not scared. It’s a chance to test your skills, against the best. You may very well go undefeated. But repeating is much more about luck than anything. I watched Brady attempt to repeat in person 5 times. Every year something bit either Brady or the team in the ass. I hope Brady does it, but Ben is taking the field. I’ve seen the movie a few times
July 13th, 2021 at 3:09 pm
It will all come down the avoid injuries (obviously) AND…
As I’ve said 2,000+ times but it’s always worth repeating…
It will come down to our WEAK SECONDARY of Davis/SMB/Dean.
July 13th, 2021 at 3:17 pm
Ben – the field is the obvious play here.
The Bucs definitely had a ‘cinderella’ run with many things that happened to go their way…
To play a losing record WFT in the first round of the playoffs was fortunate; even though our weak secondary still have up 300+ pass yards to an XFL QB.
We were also very fortunate that the Packers O-Line wasn’t at full strength and lost some starters earlier in the season. That was also a very close game that could have gone either way — imagine the Scotty Miller TD pass going a little long or being dropped. That was definitely the difference in the entire game. Not to mention the Chiefs being without TWO starting tackles, one a Pro Bowler and top LT in the league. There aren’t many teams that could overcome those major losses, especially not 14 days before a Super Bowl.
The Bucs definitely have a lot of POSITIVES going for them as far as playing more together and getting better at the Offensive Playbook. I think our Offense will be great again.
it’s the DEFENSE that’s a major concern, in my book, and what lost us a lot of the games we lost last season. When Shaq and JPP don’t get pressure, and there were many games in a row they were quiet, our weak secondary really gets exposed. Many teams have a strong enough secondary that if without a dominant pass-rush they’re still able to hold teams in check. That’s not the case with our secondary.
July 13th, 2021 at 3:46 pm
Jaelon Darden will be a pleasant shock for Bucs.
July 13th, 2021 at 4:06 pm
Yes dardeon will shock the world.
July 13th, 2021 at 4:08 pm
Yes dardeon will be an addittion know one is talkinn about.