Allegiances to friends can turn loyalty into an albatross. No one knows that better than Bucs coach Dirk Koetter, who said after Tampa’s 48-10 thrashing at the hands of the Chicago Bears and, when the topic turned to their defense, or lack thereof, replied, “We fire Mike Smith. Okay, then what?” After a bye week and plenty of time for Smith to prepare for Matt Ryan and the Falcons, Koetter answered his own question after the Bucs were again scorched for 34 points and subsequently tapped linebackers coach Mark Duffner as his new defensive coordinator.
There was nothing bittersweet about the parting for Koetter, it was all bitter, as it was Smith who hired him to be his offensive coordinator when he took the reins in Atlanta a few years ago before being ousted. Koetter was all too happy to return the favor the very same day he was given the Bucs head coaching position. But on a sinking ship, tough choices have to be made and Smith was tossed overboard. However, the move sparked a solid effort from a defense that had been dormant all season, in the team’s first game of the post-Smith era. It wasn’t a spectacular victory, but their 26-23 overtime win over the Browns was the second-lowest point production generated by an opposing offense this season since a 27-21 win over Philadelphia in Week 2.
Anytime a new coach takes over, optimism reigns supreme and the early reports are that Duffner is as youthful a 65-year-old as you’ll see. Running sprints with the linemen, preaching but not admonishing, and fastidiously sticking fast to the details. Although it’s impossible to completely overhaul the Bucs defense midstream, there are adjustments that can be made and if the Bucs’ defensive efforts in his first week at the helm are any indication then expect an uptick in all those categories in which Tampa Bay resides in the basement.
Beating the Browns at home is one thing but delivering a win over the Bengals on their home turf is an entirely different animal. Duffner’s defense will be tested by the Andy Dalton-to-A.J. Green connection, and to make matters worse, the Bucs will have to do it without their Pro Bowl linebacker Kwon Alexander, who tore his ACL just before the half in last week’s game against Cleveland. He will be lost for the season.
Speaking of next week’s game, anytime we want to see what the professional oddsmakers are dealing we turn to Sportsbook Review, where they feature all the latest lines from the most trusted online sportsbooks in the business. In that realm there is no more dependable and respected sportsbook than Sportsbetting.ag according to its review. As of this midweek writing we see that the Bucs are four-point underdogs in the Queen City. The opening number on this game was Cincinnati -6 so there is an influx of money streaming in on our beloved Bucs.
In order to keep pace with the Bengals, Jameis Winston will have to exploit a Bengals defense that was ripped for 45 points by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs last week. Dalton was held to only 148 yards passing by a Kansas City pass defense that shares space in the basement with Tampa Bay in terms of passing yards allowed. That gives hope to those that have witnessed the Bucs’ defensive malaise right up until last week.
Nevertheless, if you want to see which way this line moves throughout the week then check out the lines being offered by Sportsbetting.ag. If things break just right, maybe there will be some buy-back on the Bengals which will see the line rising back up where we can get the Bucs north of +5 or even back to the original +6 if we’re lucky. If the Bucs can right their ship under Duffner, things could get very interesting moving forward.
