so while Vegas isn't always right
Usually Vegas is way off
so you have any of those teams making the playoffs?
Not the playoffs but certainly more competitive. How many wins do you think the Bucs have this upcoming season??
Is Bain the guy to push us to a place of defensive relevancy?? Will him and Scott have the UM telpathy carry over to the pros?
Will Trotter show up early and make big time NFL plays. Will Anzalone be able to cover a TE/RB
Is Gainwell an upgrade over White? (he is)
Tampa is in good shape but like every squad, we have questions.
I am putting the Bucs at an optimistic 9-8 and winning the division but the same old story - hot start, mid season losing skid, prime time struggles and a first round playoff exit. I think we will feel more confident in them at the end of the year then we did the 2022 and 2025 Bucs whom we knew had no shot in playoffs but I dont think they will be as formidable as the 2023 (won a game!) or 2024 Bucs.
I have high hopes for Bain and it was a great pick. Could he turn out to be another impact guy like Wirfs was when he fell far enough for us to trade up and pick him? I hope so but hard for me to opine on the issue. He is only one guy though and much like you see with super stars in Garrett and Crosby on their respective bottom dweller teams, can't imagine Bain will have this defense being dominate on his back alone.
In terms of the rest of the defense, we ranked 19th overall in YPG and 20 overall in PPG. I like some of the additions with Robinson, Anzalone, etc as well as Bain and a hopefully returning healthy form injury Kancey. Believe the team is talented enough to improve a bit but still dont see them much higher than middle of the pack. Hard to envision them as a top 10 defense. Vita Vea getting up their in age. Is this the year father time gets him?
More concerning than our back-up running back is Bucky Irving status. One would think we have talented enough backfield with Bucky, Gainwell, and Tucker but will depend on how offensive line performs.
and while i know Bucs are the most talented team in the NFC South, we can't ignore that 2-7 slide after the bye week. The team looked to have gotten Bowles fatigue and quit on him. Yet, somehow Bowles is still the head coach. You can't dismiss that. So my 9-8 assumes Bucs play to their potential given the tough schedule and how they performed typically under Bowles as head coach SO i am putting less weight into the collapse when coming up with that 9 wins. If they play like the collapse then the team could be picking in the top 5 but the wheels would have had to fallen off.