Seemingly to everyone’s surprise, even mine, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took one of the youngest and most loaded rosters in the league and dunked it right into a bus station toilet in 2017. Even though he earned a good canning. Dirk Koetter is back in 2018 so don’t be shocked to see more of the same.
Another year and another offseason where people are talking up Tampa Bay. The oddsmakers at BetDSI Sportsbook aren’t too pumped. They’re working on the assumption that the Bucs will improve this season, but aren’t banking on a playoff appearance. Take a look at the odds.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2018-19 Regular Season Win Total
Over 7.5 (-130)
Under 7.5 (+100)
There are 22 reasons to like the Buccaneers entering this season. Like the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars last year, this is a team loaded with talent that can’t put a competent coaching staff on the field. Two years ago they ejected Lovie Smith from the building and plugged in Koetter as head coach. After a 9-7 rookie campaign in 2016 that looked promising, he shit the bed thoroughly in 2017. He’s obviously not the right man for the job, so needless to say the Glazer family didn’t use that opportunity to hit the trap door button.
If the Bucs don’t make the playoffs this season, Koetter is done no matter how poorly the Glazers run the team.
#Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter talking about running a little more read-option with QB Jameis Winston in 2018: pic.twitter.com/zx78udDHut
— PewterReport (@PewterReport) June 7, 2018
Here’s what Koetter is working with on offense. Jameis Winston is coming off his most efficient season as a professional quarterback, in spite of his 3-10 overall record. Hew completed a career high 63.8 percent of his passes for 3,504 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. This has also been a relatively quiet offseason for Winston, who seems to have learned from last year and hunkered down in his bunker playing X-Box. That’s good.
Winston has all the weapons around him on offense he needs to be successful. Mike Evans is one of the best wide receivers in the league and DeSean Jackson is a constant danger to blow the lid off a defense. Adam Humphries is an underrated slot wideout. O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate are due for a break out season as a tandem at tight end.
Tampa’s offensive line is solid and they added one of the best running backs in the NCAA, Ronald Jones out of USC, in the second round of April’s draft.
Bucs OTA Thursday: Jameis Winston draws Gerald McCoy offsides with a hard count. New D-Line Coach Brentson Buckner gives McCoy and the D line group a stern lecture- the tone is being set for the 2018 season. #Buccaneers #Fox13 pic.twitter.com/Hx7b2FySw5
— Jeff Tewksbury (@JeffTewksFox13) June 7, 2018
Speaking of the draft, the Buccaneers built up what was already a strong defensive unit by adding Vita Vea out of Washington to their defensive tackle rotation. Jason Pierre-Paul came over from the New York Giants in a trade and they already had Noah Spence, Gerald McCoy and Vinny Curry in the rotation. They have a young and talented set of cornerbacks in Ryan Smith, Brent Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves.
The biggest problem outside of Koetter’s inability to coach is their division. The NFC South is loaded with the conference’s top teams and they all have significant advantages over the Bucs. There are three chances for a team to make the playoffs; win the division or post a good enough record to grab one of the two Wild Card spots. Last year in the NFC three 9-7 teams missed the playoffs and no one won a division with less than an 11-5 record. All of those teams have just gotten better in 2018.
The math isn’t there for the Bucs to win eight or more games. The under is the safest bet here.
