When you’re the top dog you become the hunted.

The Bucs found that out in 2003 following their Super Bowl win over the Raiders as they finished that season 7-9.

As great of a quarterback as Tom Brady is, and despite winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots during his 20 seasons in New England, he was only able to win them back-to-back once.

Bucs QB Tom Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft – Photo by: USA Today

The NFL is a copycat league and teams try to copy a winning formula for their own success. The NFL is also set up to devalue dynasties and would prefer to see parity among the 32 teams. It is hard for a team to be drafting at the end of the first round year after year and maintain supremacy. That is what made New England’s successful run so incredible when you look back on it.

And the teams in your own division are all drafting higher – sometimes in the Top 10 or 15 – as the Falcons and Panthers have done the last two seasons. When you hit on a couple top 15 picks teams can – combined with a few other factors –  make a significant jump in the win column. Just look at the Buccaneers, who only two years ago drafted linebacker Devin White with the No. 5 pick in the draft and the year before traded back to select Vita Vea 12th overall. Those are two crucial pieces to the defensive turnaround that helped Tampa Bay win last year’s Super Bowl over the Chiefs.

The NFL wants bad teams to get good.

And the Bucs bad rival teams in the NFC South – particularly the Falcons – while not ready to challenge Tampa Bay quite yet, are making strides.

The good news is for Bucs fans is, their team is still the cream of the crop in the division.

The Falcons are a better football team today than they were a week ago and most certainly from a year ago. Adding tight end Kyle Pitts in the draft gives them another weapon on an already loaded offense. We talk about the weapons the Bucs have offensively, but the Falcons can make a case they have just as many. Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage, Hayden Hurst and now Pitts looks to be on par with Mike Evan, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski and O.J. Howard.

And while Matt Ryan is no Tom Brady, he’s no slouch at quarterback. The Falcons were fifth in the NFL is passing yards in 2020, just three spots behind the Buccaneers, averaging 272 yards per game compared to the Bucs 289. That is only a difference of 17 yards per game. Or one completion a game to Kyle Pitts.

However, the Buccaneers have a superior offensive line and their ability to protect Brady was one of the differences in the Buccaneers winning 11 regular season games and the Falcons wining just four in 2020.

QB Matt Ryan and QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

But as mentioned previously, the NFL is a copycat league and the Falcons saw the Buccaneers emphasis on improving their offensive line last year with the addition of Tristan Wirfs. While Atlanta didn’t take a tackle with their first round pick, they did grab Jalen Mayfield in the third round and likely new starting center Drew Dalman in the fourth.

But the copy-catting didn’t stop there. The Buccaneers added outstanding safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in the second round last season and the confident rookie bolstered the backend of the Bucs defense with his play. The Falcons, who struggled at safety over the last few years with injuries and inconsistent play like the Bucs prior to Winfield, also went safety in Round 2, selecting Richie Grant out of UCF with the 40th pick in the draft.

Add in a handful of free agent signings like Mike Davis at running back, Barkevious Mingo at linebacker, Fabian Moreau at cornerback and pass rusher Brandon Copeland, now all of a sudden the Falcons are a much better football team than a year ago.

Ready to challenge the Buccaneers for NFC South supremacy? No, not yet. But they are better.

How long will the Buccaneers be the top dog in the NFC South? As long as Tom Brady chooses to go under center at Raymond James Stadium, things likely won’t change a whole lot in the near future. Of course injuries, bad luck, and off the field distractions can ruin a season in a hurry, but if Tampa Bay can avoid those things for the most part, they should take the NFC South title again with relative ease.

But the Panthers, Saints and the Falcons aren’t going to just sit idly by and hand the trophy to the Buccaneers year after year. The hunters become the hunted and the target is clearly on the backs of the Buccaneers in 2021 and beyond.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Cannon Blast

• A week ago head coach Bruce Arians and Jason Licht could do no wrong in the eyes of Bucs fans. They won the Super Bowl, they re-signed the entire starting 22 back for another year and hit on a lot more draft picks than they missed over the last two years.

It was basically a loved fest. A Tampa Bay version of Woodstock. Flowers and parades and love spread around the city.

Groovy, man. Peace and love.

QB Tom Brady and HC Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And then last Friday night, for many, it came to a screeching halt.

“With the 64th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers select Kyle Trask, quarterback, University of Florida.” 

Twitter exploded with the arm chair social media GMs ripping the organization for taking Trask. All of a sudden Arians and Licht became Leeman Bennett and Phil Kruger.

I have no idea if Trask pans out. No one does.

But who saw Tom Brady panning out back in 2000?

Who thought Drew Brees would be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he was drafted a year after Brady in 2001? What about Russell Wilson?

I mean Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold and Josh Allen were all taken in the Top 10 in the same draft three years ago. So far one of the three has had playoff success. And heck, Lamar Jackson might end up being the best of the class and he wasn’t taken until the 32nd pick.

My point is, saying a player is a bad pick minutes after he is drafted is ludicrous. And maybe Trask never sees the field and is a footnote in the lack of second round draft success the Bucs have had over the last decade.

No offense Twitter scouts and nerds, but I am rolling with Bruce Arians on this one. You know the guy who has worked with and succeeded with some of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.

They don’t call him the “Quarterback Whisperer’ for nothing

Last Laugh

Looks about right for Duval County.

Trevor Lawrence after spending 72 hours in Florida pic.twitter.com/Opi71HwL10

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) May 5, 2021