Opinions are like… well, we all know the saying.

Football predictions can be even more off the wall. Just a couple days after an NFL writer forecast the Bucs would be in the Super Bowl in 2017, ESPN’s analytic formula – their Power Index – thinks the Bucs will bring up the rear in the NFC South this season, finishing with a worse record than they had in 2016, despite the additions they made in the offseason.

Just as fans can’t get caught up in the “Bucs to the Super Bowl” hype, neither should they put much stock in a computer formula that is run almost two months before teams even open training camp.

Injuries will have a bearing, players overachieving, or underperforming will also factor in, and then of course there is a big heaping pile of luck that is involved. Still, it is kind of surprising that this analytical formula would predict the Bucs to have one less win than they did in 2016, especially after the general consensus around the country is the Buccaneers are a team on the rise.

Will they reach the Super Bowl? I am not a betting man, but if I was, I wouldn’t be parting with any of my hard earned cash in Vegas laying odds on it happening. However, barring any major injuries I would take the over on 8 wins. And I believe most who have seen the transformation of this football team closeup, would do the same.