Man, that schedule! Wow.
The only team in the NFC that is head and shoulders more talented than us is the San Francisco 49ers.
Lol.
The only team in the NFC that is head and shoulders more talented than us is the San Francisco 49ers.
Lol.
said another way, our roster couldn’t match up with them on any given Sunday
teams like Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, etc have more talented rosters but feel the gap is manageable if that makes sense
said another way, our roster couldn’t match up with them on any given Sunday
Couldn't with Detroit either. That was proven not once, but twice, last year.
teams like Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, etc have more talented rosters but feel the gap is manageable if that makes sense
Now this is more reasonable.
San Fran, Detroit, Dallas, and Philly have more talented rosters (especially on offense). You could make an argument that GB and LAR do as well (especially on offense).
Yes.From the end of last season, through now, the Bucs, as well as the Saints and Falcons, were/are not weaker than the NFCE
Always hard to predict the future in the NFL, but this is a fair point BECAUSE the Bucs went further than those higher winning percentage NFCE teams and so the point is that the Bucs finished their season ASCENDING. The two best NFCE teams spent their offseason wondering what went wrong. The Bucs spent their offseason trying to BUILD on (unexpected) success.
The Falcons were already a good team too and got better, so just comparing the trajectory of those two NFCS team to the good NFCE teams from 2023. and, as you say, thats not even accounting for the Saints (whose 'winning percentage" was, I think, roughly the same as the team that DESTROYED the Cowboys in the playoff game)
Again, who knows, but definitely NOT an unreasonable position.
For the Bucs, so much comes down to Mayfield and whether we actually caught him in a new stage of his career or whether he struggles now that there is more film and now (the bigger one to me) that he has way more power and control over the offense.
I am excited to see it play out!
Mayfield is somewhere between 15th & 20th ranked QB. That is already better than the crapshoot of drafting a QB in the first round who turns out to be Fameous.
The offense added some key pieces that should assist in improvement. The offensive line, is improved, the offensive concepts and play calling are an unknown but should be better (and not unlike the rest of our conference), the run game, shiuld be improved and we added an another good receiver (maybe two).
All good things for us, and reason for excitement!
Roster smoother … lol.
The loaded Cowboys got crushed WHEN IT MATTERED by a 9-8 team the lowly Bucs totally dismantled. Those same Bucs were a competent defensive performance from the NFC Championship.
the NFL is so competitive that things like MOMENTUM and confidence and coaching matter. Even circumstances. Superior NFL rosters lose to inferior roster when the outcome matters less to the superior roster. lol. It’s very tough to sweep division opponents, even with lopsided rosters etc
A competent QB who can push the ball downfield when needed, is something we haven’t had in awhile (outside of the GOAT).
A stellar defense would be the next step for this team. We’re close - would be something if Braswell does as well as Diaby last season…while Diaby takes another step…
Those same Bucs were a competent defensive performance from the NFC Championship.
You mean the same competent defense that held the Eagles to 9 points the week before?
The same competent defense that ranked #7 overall in points allowed for the entire season (versus the offense that was ranked #20th in points scored)?
We had a chance to tie it up, and Baker threw a god-awful pass for a pick.
Point being, if we're going to take the next step, we don't need a "stellar defense". We need an offense that can actually be in the top-half of the league in scoring.
Better interior protection expands the running game, which keeps opposing defenses honest.
‘Stellar defense’ coupled with competent offense has previously shown some super results.
Game has changed somewhat, but not the basis. If one side of the ball is stellar, the other side needs to be at least competent.
Odly, we have a defensive-minded head coach.
At this point, it looks pretty exciting.
Yep.
Just need the offense to catch up with the defense.
And, based on the actual results, there's still a ways to go.
Hopefully, we see the gap close this year.
Those same Bucs were a competent defensive performance from the NFC Championship.
You mean the same competent defense that held the Eagles to 9 points the week before?
The same competent defense that ranked #7 overall in points allowed for the entire season (versus the offense that was ranked #20th in points scored)?
We had a chance to tie it up, and Baker threw a god-awful pass for a pick.
Point being, if we're going to take the next step, we don't need a "stellar defense". We need an offense that can actually be in the top-half of the league in scoring.
no I meant the defense that gave up 3 tds in a row against the Lions I think they were each 60-70 yd drives
Defend plays better we could have gone to NFC Championship
The offense has a lot of young players that showed growth last year but they are not really a top tier unit yet. Maybe Coen can squeeze that out of them.
Defensively I think they might be better than last year because they are adding more talent while the existing younger talent has a chance to improve drastically.
The offense has a lot of young players that showed growth last year but they are not really a top tier unit yet. Maybe Coen can squeeze that out of them.
Defensively I think they might be better than last year because they are adding more talent while the existing younger talent has a chance to improve drastically.
agreed
So much depends on how the games play out week to week, particularly early on. A big part of that is Mayfield. Does he come out effective and under control or does the new expanded role see him sink an otherwise competitive team.
Those same Bucs were a competent defensive performance from the NFC Championship.
You mean the same competent defense that held the Eagles to 9 points the week before?
The same competent defense that ranked #7 overall in points allowed for the entire season (versus the offense that was ranked #20th in points scored)?
We had a chance to tie it up, and Baker threw a god-awful pass for a pick.
Point being, if we're going to take the next step, we don't need a "stellar defense". We need an offense that can actually be in the top-half of the league in scoring.
no I meant the defense that gave up 3 tds in a row against the Lions I think they were each 60-70 yd drives
Defend plays better we could have gone to NFC Championship
yeah if I remember correctly a handful of our defensive stops that game were Detroit dropping the ball
we were out matched and it showed in 4th quarter
don’t think we did much to improve pressuring the QB this offseason as placing a lot of faith in a rookie, second year guy and whatever the hell you make of JTR.
also concerned with cornerback depth
on offense, no doubt inconsistent throughout the season but they were pretty formidable and much improved in their 6-2 finish to the season including playoffs
but they were pretty formidable and much improved in their 6-2 finish to the season including playoffs
As was the defense, including holding opponents to 18 points or less in 50% of those aforementioned games, including a few holding teams to less than 10 points twice and a complete shutout.
