Nerds Expect Bucs To Capture No. 1 NFC Seed
May 22nd, 2022
The Tribe, the Bucs and chess.
As Joe has stated several times, some PFF tribe stats are useful. Some of them. The grades? Joe wouldn’t wipe his backside with them the morning after pounding pints of Big Storm Brewing beers and wolfing down wings at Hooters.
So here is both the good and the bad all rolled up into one with the PFF tribe. Ben Brown ran numbers and thinks if the Bucs keep their head above water after the first four games of the season, it should be smooth sailing to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and home-field advantage through the playoffs.
No one runs better than Tom Brady. The Buccaneers’ schedule is good fortune and the biggest reason why Brady couldn’t stay retired for longer than a month. It sets up so well that Tampa Bay is priced as the favorite to emerge from the NFC despite being fourth in these power rankings. They are the most likely team to receive home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Their opening sequence of games allows for hiccups, as the rest of the schedule lacks little punch.
That sounds cool if not a bit eye-opening. The final 13 games are a cakewalk? Hhhmmm.
But here is where everything goes sideways. The tribe is basing the Bucs opponents’ ranking of No. 31 out of 32 on chess stats. Yes, chess stats! What the hell chess has to do with football is beyond Joe.
And this is what gets the stats nerds to have their briefs all bunched up on them. Football is played by human beings. Flesh and blood. They get hurt, they get sick, they get overpowered sometimes, they get hungover, they have good days and bad days, they think and may be wrong from time to time. Stamina can be an issue. Football players, humans, are not chess pieces made of plastic or wood or glass that do not change one bit unless your dog gnaws on one of the pieces. Humans are not inanimate objects.
So strength of opponents is now measured with chess stats? Well, Joe has to give the tribe a tip of the cap for being creative.
May 22nd, 2022 at 2:39 am
We’ve got Tom Brady. The ultimate chess piece.
Let your dog chew on that for a while.
LFG!
May 22nd, 2022 at 2:42 am
We will be in NFC champions. Let’s see what r the AFC has to throw at us.
May 22nd, 2022 at 3:32 am
Whoever these PFFers are, they’re lost in space. The most un-cakewalk in the NFL. With a roster that is unsettled at best on D, regressed and depleted at worst.
May 22nd, 2022 at 6:28 am
We are about to see what life is like without AB….this is going to be a downward spiraling season! Without AB, the GOAT turns SHEEP!
May 22nd, 2022 at 6:41 am
Oh Joe, I love that pic (hope it represents The Tribe & not the Bucs BTW). Reminds me of Clyde from Clint Eastwood’s flick ‘Every Which Way But Loose’. Clyde had class.
May 22nd, 2022 at 6:48 am
Brady said it best “We have unfinished business”
May 22nd, 2022 at 7:11 am
“Right turn, Clyde”
May 22nd, 2022 at 7:28 am
We may have to change the name “tribe”…..and probably come up with another name for the “king”…..and the “queen” is probably offensive and “pawns” are demeaning……can’t find much fault with the “knights” and “rooks” …..but the “bishops” …..that must change.
May 22nd, 2022 at 7:29 am
Clyde could also strip a car faster than a route run by Scott Miller! Gulp a big storm beer almost as fast as brady carves up defenses! Clyde could have been the best left tackle tom brady ever had if it weren’t for bar’s and a woman
May 22nd, 2022 at 7:29 am
Suh. He’s the castle made of bricks. Though the rook is on the edge, so maybe that doesn’t make sense. In any case…
Suh.
May 22nd, 2022 at 8:04 am
Oh by the way, chess pieces are not prone to injury. I hate to break the obvious but we are one hard Quarterback sack away from disaster, can anyone spell the last name Mayfield.
May 22nd, 2022 at 11:44 am
These comparison’s and schedule guessing make me nervous so I generally do not get worked up.
FAR too many variables. So we have the 7th best rest…another team has some other kind of advantage.
I think LUCK is still a huge part of it. Luck determined primarily by injuries but also how an opponent and your team are playing at the given point of the season they meet. Teams that are hard at one point may be easier at another.
The Bucs were not feared the first half of that SB season but by the end of the jelling of the team that took place the second half it was clear the Bucs were a legitimate SB threat despite the challenging schedule.
If our team is as healthy as it was our SB year I like our chances.
May 22nd, 2022 at 12:00 pm
I think that green bay will have the best record since their division is even more pathetic than ours. I give the pff nerds credit as well for hoodwinking idiots into giving them their hard earned cash for worthless gibberish.
May 22nd, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Brag all you like. We should win the NFC. But you cannot say that. The football Gods will have their say. And they say, injuries will play a key part. Remember, Brady is only one big hit away from a retirement home. And then who we got?
May 22nd, 2022 at 12:38 pm
Wow. There is NO WAY we should be “expected” to be No 1 seed with all our changes. GOAT at QB or not. We may edge the Saints by only one or maybe 2 games for the division with our schedule. Especially when the Meat of the tough games are early on WITHOUT Godwin. So not only will be forming a completely new identity under Bowles, we are traditionally a slow starting team. I have no doubt we win the division and will of course be mentioned as a top “3” team but anything else is purely speculation and need some luck to dodge injuries etc.
May 22nd, 2022 at 12:51 pm
I would like to think the Bucs can work up enough guts and anger to kick the ever loving snot out of the Saints. If losing 7 in a row doesn’t pizz you off, nothing can.
May 22nd, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Brady owned the Saints when he was a Patriots. 1,433 yards with an 11-3 TD/Int rate. with the bucs, 1,236 yards with 8 TDs and 8 ints. These numbers are confusing, because Brady, like most QBs, is better inside vs. out. It’s not just the fact that the saints can pressure with 4. They have been able to play airtight coverage as well.
I don’t think much will change this year. The saints still have a ferocious front, and have vastly improved the secondary. I think the best the bucs can hope for, is a split against NO. Better win those tie breakers, and hope the saints suck against NFC opponents