Just to clarify my op on this was that small market teams operate at a deficit, ie they are starting from behind.
The Sapp/Brooks era Bucs got plenty of respect as do most teams when they are dominant.
Your example is a THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM NOW. A team that can actually claim to be a DYNASTY at the moment, importantly with the PREMIER PLAYMAKING QB. KC isnt a big market (33rd DMA), but the team is at its ZENITH with arguably the most-hyped player. Mahomes is sort of the FACE of the NFL, MVP, top jersey sales etc.
A team like the Cowboys is often HYPED as a contender because of its history and market (largest global fan base) and influence of its owner. The league itself has a VESTED INTEREST in the Cowboys being good because of the fan base, market etc. Parsons and Prescott top selling jerseys. Prescott is a 4th round QB whose narrative to date is mostly an INABILITY to win when it matters, fairly or NOT. BUT, he is the QB for . . .AMERICA's TEAM. None of that is true of the Buccaneers.
To draw a parallel, the Cowboys are sort of the Manchester United of the NFL, not quite living up to the hype lately BUT HUGE fan base. The Glazers actually hoped to turn the Buccaneers into aversion of ManU . . ie to be more like AMERICA's TEAM
For the sake of transparency, I most certainly wasn't singling you out.
If anything, I was referring to the talking points you'll read on here and social media in general.
That being said, you bring up some good points across the board.
Anyone who thinks the NFCS is weaker than than the NFCE - is delusional.
We limped into the playoffs by barely beating the worst team in the NFL. We then beat a team in the middle of one of the worst internal collapses of recent memory, who had an injured Qb and missing their #1 offensive weapon.
I agree with your overall point that respect is earned.
My comment here is just about what I think makes the NFL great, at the moment and it supports your position
Your characterization of the Bucs 2023 could also fairly point out that the BUCS completely DISMANTLED the Packers with near perfect player from Mayfield. The Packers t then COMPLETELY DISMANTLED the Cowboys .. with 2 or 3 INTs from Prescott.
***
All the hype doesn't matter, still have to win the games, particularly the ones that matter
I most certainly wasn't singling you out.
oh, didnt think so at all but thanks.
As is often the case on the Red Board there are two different discussions taking place. One was my overall comment about respect and the other is the specifics of the divisions/cowboys etc.
I should be disqualified from posting about the Cowboys. Not a fan lol
RankMetropolitan Market Regions / Areas1New York2Los Angeles3Chicago4Philadelphia5Dallas-Ft. Worth6San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose7Boston8Atlanta9Washington, DC10Houston11Detroit12Phoenix13Tampa-St. Petersburg14Seattle-Tacoma15Minneapolis-St. Paul16Miami-Ft.Lauderdale17Cleveland-Akron18Denver19Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne20Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto
Tampa Bay is the 13th ranked market, larger than markets that aren't considered small such as Cleveland, Denver and Twin Cities. IMO the lack of respect comes from the fact that they didn't beat winning teams. They split against 9-8 Saints. They beat 9-8 Jaguars and beat the 11-6 Eagles in the playoffs, but they were a team in freefall losing 6 of their last 7.
The Bucs are rightfully seen as a middle of the road team who can beat bad teams but can't beat good teams. They've earned the reputation they have IMO. They need to beat a couple of good teams this year.
Even the good teams lose games, and the Bucs should be able to beat a couple. Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs, 49ers, Cowboys. Maybe the Broncos. Those are the games that appear to be the good teams at this point. The Bucs need to win two of those and the Broncos. The Broncos will be a good early season test.
The Bucs are rightfully seen as a middle of the road team who can beat bad teams but can't beat good teams. They've earned the reputation they have IMO. They need to beat a couple of good teams this year.
I agree with this, but just to point out why the reputation thing can be a little absurd . . the 2022 Bucs were expected to be "middle of the road" or worse with Brady retired. He un-retired, they were immediately SB contenders even though they proved to be very "middle of the road." The 2023 Bucs were mostly expected to be a disaster, rebuilding etc. The exceeded those expectation with less talent than 2022 (at the KEY position, no less).
Every season, you get what you earn. Bring on 2024!
(on the market issue that I raised DFW is the 5th DMA, but the Cowboys are a true international brand. They have the NFL's largest global fan base even though they've only played limited regular season games abroad and haven't won a Super Bowl in decades. The Cowboys have TWO players in the top 10 in jersey sales. Mayfieldf is probably our best seller? . . maybe top 40 or 50 ?. . POINT: the NFL itself is always behind the Cowboys, not the Bucs. The NFL is behind the Bucs when they win. )
Teams the NFL always ignores/downplay:
Bucs
titans
jags
bengals
teans the NFL overhypes and promotes:
cowboys
steelers
packers
Anyone who thinks the NFCS is weaker than than the NFCE - is delusional.
Please enlighten us how the NFCS is stronger.
Win and you get talked about is definitely true for small market teams however that can be short lived depending on the market you better be consistent. Didn't take long for them to shit on us again. We weren't as strong as a team as we were in the super bowl run obviously but we were a decent contender last year. Some luck needed to go on our side but I'd say we could have had some things go our way and we could have challenged some of those teams in front of us. I think the continuity from last year and previous years does deserve praise and they have a little bit. But again it's a business they will only talk about us when they have to. Standards are different and I think that's the point being made.
Before patty Mahomes were the chiefs talked about? No? Now they have a marketable talent in him and he wins so they talk about them a lot for sure. They are trending the way of the new England pats tho so they are a outlier.
The Cowboys and rest of nfc east always gets hyped up every season regardless of how good they are. Turn on nfl talk shows are predominantly talking about those teams. They are all big markets. There's an easy way for people to be biased for that in general since they've heard about them all these years!! Again hype. Do you buy into it? Your only human. Talk enough about something you can naturally have a bias for it. Or want to or have a tendency to talk about it as well.
I don't think the nfc south is better by any means it's probably pretty close but your blind if you think they're talked about evenly. It will always be that way. Again it's a business and it's their job to get you thinking about those teams cause they make them most money. Even when we win they hated talking about us.
Light has turned the reality discussed here into a rallying cry.
Mayfield too
The NFC East has 2 teams worth a damn the last 3-4 years in Dallas and Philadelphia. They are likely to be double digit win teams
the only NFC south team worth a damn amount that same time period has been then Bucs and they did it with a .500 record the last 2 years
Giants and Washington will be dog shit this year as will Carolina
Saints will do their normal 7 to 10 wins, nothing more or less
Atlanta is the wild card who is likely the favorite in the south this year but I wouldn’t rank them ahead of Dallas or Philadelphia
and while the eagles are our bitch in the playoffs, from a roster perspective, we rank 3rd or 4th if we stack those divisions
the only division possibly worse than the nfc south is the afc south and id still say nfc south is worse. Hard to predict this season
Which NFCE teams do you favor over the Bucs, Saints, or your Falcons in heads up competition, this season?Anyone who thinks the NFCS is weaker than than the NFCE - is delusional.
Please enlighten us how the NFCS is stronger.
Again...
Please enlighten us how the NFCS is stronger.
the only division possibly worse than the nfc south is the afc south and id still say nfc south is worse.
And, the AFCS was a better division than ours last year as well.
Again, enlighten me on which NFCE teams you favor versus the Bucs, Saints, and your Falcons, this season.Which NFCE teams do you favor over the Bucs, Saints, or your Falcons in heads up competition, this season?Anyone who thinks the NFCS is weaker than than the NFCE - is delusional.
Please enlighten us how the NFCS is stronger.
Again...
Please enlighten us how the NFCS is stronger.
The answer is in that assessment.
