A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday during the Bucs regular season. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: What is your record prediction for the 2022 Bucs?
Scott Reynolds: Bucs Might Be Better Despite An 11-6 Record
The Bucs have a chance to be better than ever in 2022. After going 11-5 en route to winning Super Bowl LV in 2020, Tampa Bay posted the best record in franchise history. The 2021 Bucs went 13-4, overcoming an injury-ravaged secondary before losing to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Rams in the playoffs. But a much more difficult schedule in 2022 will prove to be challenging. Especially for a Bucs team that has already been decimated along the interior of the offensive line before the season even started.
Bucs C Ryan Jensen and LG Ali Marpet – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Losing Pro Bowl guard Ali Marpet to a sudden retirement and Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen to injury will be felt this year. Rookie left guard Luke Goedeke and first-year starter Robert Hainsey, Jensen’s replacement, will go through some growing pains. Like all quarterbacks, Tom Brady can get rattled with pressure up the middle. And this will be a problem for the Bucs early in the season until Goedeke and Hainsey get some much-needed experience. Tampa Bay might struggle to put up 30 points per game again – even with new weapons like Julio Jones and Russell Gage. Still, Brady and the Bucs offense will be potent.
I’m not sold on the team’s talent and depth at cornerback behind Carlton Davis III. Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean haven’t impressed in the preseason or in camp. Antoine Winfield, Jr. is a Pro Bowl talent, but he’s learning how to play slot corner on the fly. He’ll make some plays, but take some early lumps in man coverage, too. The addition of Akiem Hicks and Logan Hall up front should help Todd Bowles’ pass rush generate more sacks and pressure. Devin White and Lavonte David should have a sensational year inside. The Bucs split with the Saints, but lose to the Rams (again). And Tampa Bay will struggle against teams with good defensive line play like Pittsburgh. The Bucs win the NFC South and have a chance to win the Super Bowl, but finish 11-6.
Matt Matera: Bucs Going 12-5 Will Be Just Fine
There’s a lot to be excited about with the Bucs and yet there’s also some cause for concern. Offensively, they’re relying heavily on Luke Goedeke to play well at left guard and have continuity with Robert Hainsey at center. There might be some growing pains in that situation. And while Tom Brady looked sharp in his return, the chemistry might not be fully present with Russell Gage, as he’s been out for weeks. And Chris Godwin might not be ready yet. The defense is going to be much better this year with a healthy secondary and Antoine Winfield, Jr. moving to the slot. Plus Joe Tryon-Shoyinka starting full time, and key additions like Akiem Hicks, Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal really helping out.
Bucs WR Julio Jones – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The first month of the season will be most crucial for the Bucs. Realistically, they have to split between the Cowboys, Saints, Packers and Chiefs. They win the season opener and home opener to set themselves up for a great stretch during October. The Bucs will win three in a row after that, with their next loss coming at home against the Ravens, who many are overlooking after one bad season. Also on the schedule are a couple of revenge games this year.
Of course the Saints game is one of them, but so is Rams game. While the Bucs take care of the Saints at home, unfortunately the Bucs don’t have the Rams’ number just yet. But by midseason the offense is all figured out and we see the emergence of Julio Jones after his reps are limited to stay healthy. The Bucs have a rough stretch in December with the Saints, two games out west in three weeks and facing the Bengals. They’ll only drop one of the games out west and then pummel up on the Panthers and Falcons to get ready for the postseason.
J.C. Allen: At 12-5 The Bucs Stay Alive For A Top Seed In NFC
The Bucs’ schedule is brutal there is no denying that. But as coaches and players have said, those opponents need to worry about Tampa Bay as well. Historically, seven teams that make the playoffs the previous year miss out the next year. And there have been some sizable loss to each of the Bucs’ opponents this season. Yet the Bucs are also facing some pretty tough losses along the interior offensive line. Ryan Jensen is out for most of the year – if he can come back at all. And Pro Bowl left guard Ali Marpet has retired.
Bucs C Robert Hainsey and LG Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Rookie guard Luke Goedeke and second-year center Robert Hainsey man the middle now. They will have some growing pains as they get accustomed to their new roles. That could lead to some early struggles in the first half of the season. The Bucs defense has added some strong pieces to an already loaded roster in Akiem Hicks, Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal and a capable cast of rookies. The first four games will be tough with wins against Dallas and Green Bay and losses against the Saints and Chiefs. The Bucs start the season 2-2.
From there the Bucs have a bit of a break with victories against the Falcons, Steelers, Panthers. A Thursday night loss to the Ravens comes before the vaunted Rams come to town. However, the Bucs finally conquer Goliath at home with a close triumph. At the point the Bucs are sitting pretty at 6-2 headed to Germany for an ugly win against the Seahawks. A victory against the Deshaun Watson-less Browns comes before a heated rematch against the Saints at home. Tampa Bay gets some needed revenge and finally beats New Orleans in the regular season. After losses to San Francisco and Cincinnati, Tampa Bay gets three wins against Arizona, Carolina and Atlanta. The 12-5 Bucs are NFC South champions and on their ways to the playoffs.
Josh Queipo: Bucs Claim Division Title With 12 Wins
There is a lot of dead money on the books for the Bucs in 2023. The likelihood Tom Brady is the team’s signal-caller next year is slim. The secondary is currently set to only have two players return. Team superstar Lavonte David is not under contract. Look, all I am saying is “There’s a lot of shit going on.” And so, it makes sense that when Brady returned the team pushed all of their chips in on 2022.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The schedule-makers did this team no favors this season. The Bucs face opponents that had winning records last year in 10 of their 17 matchups. Add the Ravens and Browns, who both have very talented rosters, and the Bucs are facing a gauntlet of a schedule. So, if they go 12-5 and win the NFC South it should be seen as a victory that allows the team to go into the playoffs battle-tested.
Looking through this schedule I feel the team will get out of the gate at 2-2 as the offensive line tries to gel. Then as they hit a “lull” in their schedule they rattle off three straight victories against Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Carolina. They split the next two against tough opponents in the Ravens and Rams before winning their next three. At 9-3 going into the final stretch of the season the Bucs lose to San Francisco and Cincinnati in consecutive weeks before Brady texts the entire team “We aren’t losing another game.” What follows is the third three-game win streak of the season, leading the team into the playoffs on a high note.
Bailey Adams: Bucs Match Their 2021 Win Total
It’s been an unbelievably wild offseason for the Bucs. And I think what’s about to follow is a fascinating 2022 season. Tampa Bay has to be thanking its lucky stars that Tom Brady is back for another year because with Brady under center, it’s Super Bowl or bust. The Bucs have a roster designed to go for it and win a second Lombardi Trophy in three years. But trying to predict how the regular season will go is particularly interesting this year.
Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The Bucs look like a better, deeper team than they were in 2021. They have the best quartet of receivers in the NFL, with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage and Julio Jones creating matchup nightmares for opposing secondaries. Leonard Fournette and rookie Rachaad White are a formidable duo in the backfield. The offensive line needs to navigate some injury issues, but the team feels good about its group. Defensively, the Bucs have a stacked front, impressive pass rushing depth and a duo of inside linebackers in Lavonte David and Devin White that measure up against anyone in the NFL. The secondary is being questioned a lot heading into the season, but the unit has plenty to work with.
The fascinating thing is that the Bucs can be better and deeper this year and still fail to match — or better — the franchise-record 13 wins they had a year ago. But going through the schedule, my tune changed. I feel confident they’ll sweep Atlanta and Carolina again. They should also beat Pittsburgh, Seattle and Cleveland. That’s seven wins, which means they need to go 6-4 in their 10 other games to reach 13 wins again. That’s more than doable. So, give me 13-4 once again for Tampa Bay, which should put Todd Bowles’ team in the conversation for one of the NFC’s top seeds come playoff time.
