2014 Tampa Bay Season Predictions
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2014 season a vastly different team than the one that mailed it in last year and finished 4-12. Changes were needed and change is what Bucs fans got!
Into the fold are respected Head Coach Lovie Smith and veteran quarterback Josh McCown who will attempt to guide what was an awful offense last year out of the basement of the NFL stats category.
Bucs
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Lines to win the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX 66/1
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Lines to win the 2015 NFC Conference 33/1
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Lines to Win the 2014 NFC South +550
Tampa Bay still has a lot of work to do in order to be a contender again but there is little doubt that this team is moving in the right direction! What does it all mean as we head into the 2014-2015 season? Let’s take a look.
This biggest and perhaps the most necessary change for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is with the culture – the antiquated techniques of Greg Schiano had to go. Well respected and successful Head Coach Lovie Smith comes in to take over a team that has some pieces particularly on defense. Josh McCown was also brought over to take over from quarterback Mike Glennon who led the worst passing team in the NFL last year and the worst offense in the league – just 277 yards per game.
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Simply put – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers promise to be a much better team in 2014.
McCown brings experience and a decent pedigree with him from Chicago where he had a 13-to-1 TD to Interception ratio last year and a very respectable 66.5 percent completion percentage in relief of Jay Cutler in Chicago. McCown will have some weapons at his disposal – Vincent Jackson is still a terrific receiving option and will play on the other side of 2014 draft choice Mike Evans who caught 69 passes at Texas A&M last year for 1,394 yards. Washington Huskies Tight End Austin Seferian-Jenkins was also drafted and will give McCown a nice outlet.
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We can’t forget about the Bucs running game that was forced to platoon a host of average backs last year. Third-year back Doug Martin returns from injury after missing 10 games last year – he went for 1,454 yards and 11 TDs in 2012 and was sorely missed by the club last year.
All told, thing set up pretty well for Tampa Bay offensively. They will surely be improved on last year’s miserable season – the disappointing offensive line was a focal point in free agency this past offseason and should provide more time for McCown and Martin to operate in 2014.
Defensively the Buccaneers have some playmakers suiting up this year. Elite pass rusher Gerald McCoy will be joined by Michael Johnson whom the Bucs signed to a lucrative contract in the offseason. Former Titans defensive back Alterraun Verner will bolster a secondary that also has underachieving Dashon Goldson who should be better a year after he signed a lucrative contract with the Bucs. Goldson is healthy and should be part of a decent, not great secondary. The loss of Darrelle Revis is a blow but not as much as it could have been.
The line backing corp. will be led by the terrific Lavonte Davis who really made a name for himself last season. Outside of Davis however, the Bucs don’t have a ton of depth – the linebacking corp. is potentially the one glaring weakness Tampa Bay has on defense.
Super Bowl Betting Prediction:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a relatively tough schedule in 2014 but the changes they made in the offseason makes them competitive right off the bat. While I can’t see them challenging for any title this upcoming season, I do like them to go Over the 7 win total that Vegas has set out.
A .500 season is on the horizon for Tampa – good enough for third place in the NFC South.
With training camps nearly over the NFL betting season is here at Cappers Picks. NFL Football handicappers have been hard at work putting out the team by team Football Predictions and NFL Season Previews for those of us who can’t wait.
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