Outside media tends to look at things in a very simplistic matter when the NFCS is truly wide open.
Carolina: Starting a rookie QB with a new head coach. I think their defense is going to be very, very good with Evero as he had the Broncos playing as a SB caliber defense and the Panthers have a lot of untapped defensive talent.
New Orleans: Carr brings the ability to help move the chains in the short and intermediate areas of the field for the Saints. But Carr has a propensity to not pass downfield given his arm talent. So I am not sure how much Carr will take advantage of the speed the Saints have at WR on the boundary.
Falcons: I think they are flying under the radar defensively because they have quietly put together a unit that can compete with the other teams in the NFCS. The offense has the potential to be the best in the division though but Ridder is a big question mark. However, having Heinecke in the wings gives them an ace in the hole for the Falcons to make a late season push if the offense stalls with Ridder.
Bucs: Big question mark at QB and new OC with a reshuffled OL. However, the Bucs are returning most of their starters on defense and added players to augment a veteran defensive unit that could be even better than last season.
So, it looks like to me that the NFCS will have four pretty good defensive teams. And because of that I think the team that has the best offense to compliment the defensive efforts will win the division.
On paper that I think it is going to be either the Saints or the Bucs right now with the Falcons close by. The Panthers could have a sneaky good offense but a rookie QB against veteran defensive units like the Saints, and Bucs may encounter difficulty. And if the Falcons can actually generate pass rush to compliment their highly talented secondary a rookie QB like Bryce Young will struggle.
Who's talking about the pundits? I'm certainly not... I was referring to the gloom and doom of this board.
Derek Carr is in fact the tallest midget. But he isn't THAT much better than Baker. He's better, but Carr is a tier 3 qb. Baker is tier 4.
The division is a toss up.
And aside from QB play, we have arguably the best defense (maybe Saints but their stars are getting old), best WRs and it isn't close, and arguably the best offensive line.
I can understand why PUNDITS think Saints are winning it but I can't for the life of me understand what this board thinks we can't compete is a shit division with a new offensive coordinator.
Brady's lack of mobility was a problem that was compounded by Lefty.
Both of those problems have been addressed.
We can win this division... it's doable.
Bucs have 40mil in dead cap. It means they haven't replaced depth pieces with mature players. They're relying on young kids in the majority of the depth chart.
RB Rachaad White
TE Cade Otton
RG Cody Mauch
RT Goedeke
IDL Kancey
DE Hall
Edge Tryon
Edge Diaby??
CB Zyon
The secondary has no depth. One injury away from Zyon playing on elite WR's or Nolan Turner starting. Zyon being the 3rd CB is a possible disaster. Goedeke at RT is possible disaster.
No one has mentioned the realistic possibility Shaq doesn't return after the horrible thing that happened to him which means Diaby would need to step up also.
Brady to Mayfield is one of the many worries. Brady limped this team to at least 3-4 wins with comebacks that they had otherwise little shot of winning.
Then you get to the last point. Bowles is still our coach. The worst coach in the league...so yeah. 6 wins is a realistic goal.
It is true the Bucs don't have a lot of depth but that is also true for the other NFCS teams as well. I like the depth the Panthers have in the secondary but their front seven is not that deep in terms of talent like Evero requires to really make his defensive system hum. Panthers WR situation is similar to the Bucs in that they have a top three and then a bunch of average players competing. The Falcons have a bunch of 4s, 5s much higher on their depth chart at WR, so their depth at WR is razor thin compared to the Bucs or Panthers. Saints depth is pretty ordinary at WR too.
Other NFCS teams are deeper at RB than the Bucs but the Bucs have more depth along the interior OL compared to the rest of the NFCS. While the Panthers and Saints have superior depth at the tackle spots while the Bucs have only Wirfs as a known quantity at the moment.
There isn't a team in the NFCS that jumps out on paper in terms of depth.
Outside media tends to look at things in a very simplistic matter when the NFCS is truly wide open.
It's really impossible to predict the future, and yet they have to do it. It's their job. I don't begrudge them that. My problem with the projections is that the "pundits" are oversimplifying the past. What sticks in my craw goes back to the argument we had on this board about the impression people have that this team would have been 4-13 without Brady, and that it was only because of Brady that we even won 8 games. I don't believe it. I think this team has a lot of talent on it. I'm not saying Superbowl level, but there is enough talent to be a winning team.
They are taking this simple minded approach that this team was 8-9 with Brady, and now you have a similar team and you take away Brady so they'll be terrible. I don't think they look any further at it than that. You can't see into the future, but you have 20-20 vision to the past. It's understandable that casual fans see it that way, but these media people have full time jobs covering the NFL. They should be better than that. They should be able to analyze the team and the season more in depth than that.
Show me one of these "pundits" who has really tried to understand the dynamics of the 2022 Bucs and what went on last year. That's something that no Red Boarders are privy too. I think SR knows more than he's let on about it. Then when that happens maybe they can make a solid prediction for this year.
Outside media tends to look at things in a very simplistic matter when the NFCS is truly wide open.
It's really impossible to predict the future, and yet they have to do it. It's their job. I don't begrudge them that. My problem with the projections is that the "pundits" are oversimplifying the past. What sticks in my craw goes back to the argument we had on this board about the impression people have that this team would have been 4-13 without Brady, and that it was only because of Brady that we even won 8 games. I don't believe it. I think this team has a lot of talent on it. I'm not saying Superbowl level, but there is enough talent to be a winning team.
They are taking this simple minded approach that this team was 8-9 with Brady, and now you have a similar team and you take away Brady so they'll be terrible. I don't think they look any further at it than that. You can't see into the future, but you have 20-20 vision to the past. It's understandable that casual fans see it that way, but these media people have full time jobs covering the NFL. They should be better than that. They should be able to analyze the team and the season more in depth than that.
Show me one of these "pundits" who has really tried to understand the dynamics of the 2022 Bucs and what went on last year. That's something that no Red Boarders are privy too. I think SR knows more than he's let on about it. Then when that happens maybe they can make a solid prediction for this year.
This was a .500 team before Brady came in so they assume the Bucs will be one of the worst teams in the league.
I don't think people realize that this Bucs team has competed before with a lot less talent pre Brady but that is why they play the games.
Honestly the only deep and overall talented team in the NFC is the Eagles. But their depth this year is not as good as it was last season.
You could argue the Lions are talented across the board now and deep however the Lions have a lot of question marks given they have changed a lot of personnel on offense while hoping the defensive upgrades are enough to avoid another +/- .500 finish.
From Bleacher Report: "With Tom Brady retired and Leonard Fournette, Donovan Smith, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Ryan Succop out, there’s no doubting that the Buccaneers will regress in 2023."
OK but what are they losing with that bunch from 2022? We've argued ad nauseum about Brady, but no matter how you stack it up he wasn't the Tom Brady of old, the GOAT Brady. Smith was terrible last year, Fournette was a workmanlike back (but if he's that good why hasn't he signed anywhere yet?), Nunez-Roches was not a full-time starter. Murphy Bunting was good, and Succop is a kicker who couldn't kick the long FGs. These guys were key players in the past, but put the Brady argument aside, if you look at the rest of that bunch there's no reason we can't have full replacement value with the guys we are bringing in this year.
And I don't discount the possibility is there for a total melt down disaster of a season 2-15 first pick of the draft. That could happen. I'm not trying to say it couldn't. We all know the score, and it could be a bad score. But a lot will depend on the confidence level and determination by the players to prove the naysayers wrong and go out and win. We have the talent, but what is the mindset going to be? That's the real question. We have the leadership with guys like Evans, Wirfs, Winfield, Vea and David, but will those leaders be able to get through to the younger players to have a seriousness and winning approach on the practice fields, in the meeting rooms as well as on game day? This isn't Brady's team anymore. Who's team is it?
The media is looking at it all wrong. The talent level for the Bucs is more than enough to win the division again. Todd Bowles as a HC has to step up.
Brady wasn't great last year. He was part of the problem AND he was the solution with his late game heroics.
I think everyone is discounting Brady's regression last year. He was 100% unwilling to stand in and deliver a throw with a defender in his face. He had zero desire, and I can't say I blame him... the line was banged up.
Getting Shaq and Jensen back + Godwin healthy is pretty huge.
The schedule is also easier IMO.
The division is still bad...
Baker showed signs of life at the end of the season with the Rams who btw, had their wr1 as Van Jefferson.
I'm not trying to argue that the pundits are wrong to pick the saints. That's the ACTUAL strawman.
I'm saying the gloom and doom on THIS BOARD from our fan base is misguided.
We have in my mind a huge range of potential wins. Anywhere between 2 and 10.
How we start the season will be huge, but I refuse to throw in the towel just because Brady retired. We are 2x division champs, and winning it 3x in a row is something I would cherish.
Brady wasn't great last year. He was part of the problem AND he was the solution with his late game heroics.
I think everyone is discounting Brady's regression last year. He was 100% unwilling to stand in and deliver a throw with a defender in his face. He had zero desire, and I can't say I blame him... the line was banged up.
Getting Shaq and Jensen back + Godwin healthy is pretty huge.
The schedule is also easier IMO.
The division is still bad...
Baker showed signs of life at the end of the season with the Rams who btw, had their wr1 as Van Jefferson.
I'm not trying to argue that the pundits are wrong to pick the saints. That's the ACTUAL strawman.
I'm saying the gloom and doom on THIS BOARD from our fan base is misguided.
We have in my mind a huge range of potential wins. Anywhere between 2 and 10.
How we start the season will be huge, but I refuse to throw in the towel just because Brady retired. We are 2x division champs, and winning it 3x in a row is something I would cherish.
Good post. I like your posts on the Red Board a lot more than your posts on the Off Topic Board 😉
And fuck Dona...
Kidding.
Enjoy the weekend, guy
