NFL analyst makes prediction Buccaneers fans are guaranteed to love
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently 2-2 for the first time in the Tom Brady era after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. That's obviously not a situation Super Bowl contenders want to be in. What makes the situation even more frustrating is both losses are easily attributed to one side […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently 2-2 for the first time in the Tom Brady era after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
That's obviously not a situation Super Bowl contenders want to be in. What makes the situation even more frustrating is both losses are easily attributed to one side of the ball: The Buccaneers offense couldn't get anything going in the 14-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers and the defense couldn't stop the Chiefs in the 41-31 loss.
So, naturally, it's understandable if fans are slightly worried, right now. Especially with all the injuries the team has dealt with and the ones that are bound to come in the future.
But, one NFL analyst in Marcus Spears says "don't worry" and explained his reasoning on ESPN's latest edition of Get Up.
"I have cause to pause when it comes to worrying about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becase of 1) I don't think they're going to give up another 40-piece this entire season," Spears said Tuesday. "And the other point is, I haven't lived in a world since I've been covering the NFL, or playing in the NFL, where Tom Brady and his offenses haven't gotten better throughout the course of a season."
"I just haven't lived in that world."
He has an excellent point. The Buccaneers defense had one bad game against arguably the best quarterback in the NFL and a top-5 offense. Who cares what happened to the Chiefs against the Colts? The Colts -along with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley- have shown in the past they can contain the Chiefs. The same goes with Brandon Staley and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Buccaneers schedule also favors their defense in a big way. As it currently stands, matchups against the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, and Cincinnati Bengals are the only three games that could give the defense trouble. Outside of those, the Buccaneers have four matchups between the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, along with another matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
The Kenny Pickett-led Pittsburgh Steelers, the dysfunctional Los Angeles Rams, Deshaun Watson-less Cleveland Browns, and inconsistent Jimmy Garoppolo-led San Francisco 49ers round out the rest of the schedule.
And for the offense, what else is there to say? As long as the receivers stay healthy (which, yes, is a big challenge in its own right), things will be just fine. Rookie left guard Luke Goedeke and second-year center Robert Hainsey should continue to improve as the year goes on, which will also be a big help.
Spears has had some pretty ridiculous takes before, but he's pretty spot-on with this one. There's still plenty to look forward to when it comes to the Buccaneers' 2022 prospects, even if the team hasn't played its best over the last two weeks.
Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
