As fair as it can be evaluated ahead of the season. They still have to play the games.ESPN’s Seth Walder
"Tampa Bay was given the 17th-best playoff odds, coming in at 47.3%, largely due to a 41.2% chance of winning the NFC South. Those numbers are a lot higher than the Falcons (33.7%, 27.4%), Saints (23.8%, 19.3%), and Panthers (15.8%, 12.2%). That drives home the expectation that the Bucs are not viewed as one of the NFL’s best teams, but rather the best team in the NFC South."
pretty fair, right?
I get what you are saying, Alldaway, but applying that same kind of logic could also imply that Tampa Bay would be in the Super Bowl perennially and they aren't. I think every season is different. What happened last year or the year before that, or so on and so forth means absolutely nothing.I think there is far too much "homerism" going on with this fan base. Atlanta is going to be better than anyone here is thinking.I think the whole division continues to be well behind the other divisions in the NFC as everyone indicates here. I do think some things differently than a lot of people do though. I think the division shakes out like this:
1. Atlanta
2. Tampa Bay
3. Carolina
4. New OrleansThe reason I go with this is because I think Tampa's ceiling for wins with Bowles is still about 8 wins and I am thinking 6 this season (hope I am wrong). I think some people forget that Raheehaw had the Falcons at 4-0 the last quarter of the season last year and in the hunt for the South before he was shown the door (and I am no Raheehaw apologist). 2 of those 4 wins came against Tampa Bay and LA Rams. I think Carolina gets bitten by a tougher schedule and I was never sold on Canales. New Orleans is rebuilding/retooling but not that far behind as some might think. I also think there aren't that many games between 1st and last in the division. I think it will be within 2 games top to bottom. That is my prediction.
Falcons got worse over the offseason. They added a good coach.
Tua is going to get destroyed, he has no mobility.
No depth being Robinson.
Overpaid for an ok WR.
Defense will be swiss cheese.
Falcons 4th or 3rd in the division
Agreed.
I have it as TB and NOLA battling for the top spot.
I'll agree with evans-is-my-daddy & disagree with both of you and say that Atlanta will finish above New Orleans. Obviously the QB spot is the question mark, but I think they are more talented overall. And their coaching staff is pretty damn good, from Stefanski to Ulbright to Callahan to Rees to Van Pelt to Toney. They have quite a bit of experience on their staff.
Atlanta may be better by default because of a better HC and OC.
But Atlanta has had a lot of talent the last few years, but they can't put it together as they finish with below average records. I just think the Panthers leap frogged the Falcons and Bucs which is why this off season the Panthers are in the driver seat for the division. For me it is obvious because they gave the best DC in the division Evero more defensive weapons like Lloyd, Phillips, Hunter, Wheatley, and Lee II. Evero can have that Panthers defense playing Super Bowl caliber in a flash and that spells doom for the rest of the division and NFC if the Panther rise into tier 1 of teams.
For the Bucs their only edge with coaching is Danny Smith but that may not be enough.
The Panthers didn't become complacent despite winning the NFCS thought Dan Morgan went out and picked up Lloyd and Phillips to ensure the Panthers defense is more lethal. They shored up tackle position due to injury situation and still managed to upgrade WR and defensive depth.
The NFCS is going to come down to which team has their young talent step up or even may come down to coaching. Licht's job is to stack as much talent as possible to not have it come down to coaching matchups. Bucs can still win the NFCS if they become aggressive and add more talent to this squad along with the 2026 rookies and Mayfield magic. But if Licht and the Bucs FO are going to play it safe then don't be surprised if the more aggressive NFCS division rivals challenge or pass up the Bucs...again.
Licht's job is to stack as much talent as possible to not have it come down to coaching matchups.
Yeah, the GM’s job is to collect the most talent for both this season and future seasons.
This is why Licht really needs to up his game and I hope he doesn't become complacent with the roster like he did with 2025.
Licht with a little "us against the world"
"We have a lot of good young players from the last four drafts that we’re very excited about. We didn’t win enough games last year for various reasons," Licht said, per JoeBucsFan. "We’ll never hide behind injuries, but that was a factor. Here in Tampa, Lavonte David never got enough credit. There are a lot of players that have been here in the past that didn’t get their due for what they were. It is what it is, I’m not complaining about it. If we have a chance to win more games, there will be more players that people realize how good they are."
CBS
There's a reality where the Buccaneers shake off what happened in 2025 and take their rightful place atop the NFC South once again, or there's a legitimate changing of the guard that will become clear in the coming months.
Baker Mayfield looked like an MVP favorite early in the year, throwing 12 touchdowns and just one interception in the first six games, but he finished throwing 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in the final 11 games. His 217.2 passing yards per game and 26 passing touchdowns ranked the fewest since joining the Bucs in 2023. Now, he's going through his fourth offensive coordinator change in as many years and has lost his trusted No. 1 wideout, Mike Evans. The Bucs have gone 4-8 without Evans over the last two seasons.
The Buccaneers defense hasn't finished in the top half of the league in three straight years now, and they lost legendary linebacker Lavonte David and cornerback Jamel Dean. I'm not exactly bullish on the Bucs entering 2026, and I find it fascinating that Vegas isn't either. Tampa Bay is plus money to finish with a winning record!
former Panthers general manager Marty Hurney -
“It just feels like the Buccaneers have reached a point where they’re going to start to plateau,” Hurney said. “And if they get off to a slow start, now they’re going to have to deal with all the rhetoric, all the talk about, ‘Is Todd on the hot seat?’ and all that. It’s going to be interesting but it does feel like the Bucs should take a step back this year.”
