Week 1: Panthers vs Bucs Prediction
NFL Week 1 betting action sees the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Florida. Stay tuned to Cappers Picks as we provide free NFL handicapping tips all season long.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in Week 1 of the NFL season. The Panthers won the NFC South division a year ago and were one of the top teams in the NFC, but now it is the Buccaneers who are hoping to fill that role as they look to make major strides under first-year head coach Lovie Smith.
NFL Odds
Who: Carolina Panthers (0-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)
Date: Sunday, September 7, 2014
Time: 4:25 pm ET
Venue: Raymond James Stadium
City: Tampa, Florida
NFL O/U Betting Lines: 39.5
NFL Point Spread: Tampa Bay -2.5
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The Panthers enter the year with a target on their back for the first time in a long while. They also enter the year with a number of concerns surrounding the current state of their offense.
Quarterback Cam Newton enters the season with a rib injury he suffered during the preseason. Newton was going to be called upon to be one of the team’s top playmakers, with both of the team’s starting wide receivers moving on during the offseason.
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Newton will now have a new group of pass catchers to throw the ball to, and while the talent level may have gone up, the team’s top target is unproven. Florida State product Kelvin Benjamin will be Newton’s new go-to guy out wide, and while he has all the physical tools to be an elite wide receiver, he is unpolished, and has a lot to work on if his talents are to translate to the next level.
Old reliable is still around, as Greg Olsen will continue to see a slew of targets at tight end, but this team will rely on its backfield once again. The trio of DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, and Mike Tolbert combine to form one of the most expensive backfield committees in football, and they’ll be lead on heavily.
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A healthy Jonathan Stewart figures to make some noise, while Williams and Tolbert refuse to go quietly into the night.
They’ll have a tough go of it in Week 1 though against a stout Buccaneer defense.
The Buccaneers looked like they would be the team that would surprise people in the NFC South instead of the Panthers, but instead the team seemingly quit on head coach Greg Schiano, and the year was lost.
This time around, the team’s offense added some weapons through the draft, gets back a healthy Doug Martin, and has added left guard Logan Mankins to the fold to create space up front.
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On defense, the Buccaneers have a litany of talented players who can catapult this unit into the upper-echelon of defenses in football if they come together under Coach Smith, and one has to figure they will, now that Schiano isn’t around to provide them with excuses.
Free Tampa Bay vs. Carolina Pick:
The Panthers haven’t fared well in opening week, and they get a tough matchup this time around with a Buccaneers squad that has something to prove.
The Panthers are 0-5 ATS in their last five games played in Week 1, and they are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games played in the month of September.
The 4* NFL Play: Tampa Bay -2.5
Check out our Updated NFL Week 1 Odds.
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