With the 2015-16 NFL preseason starting on this coming Sunday the 9th of August at 8 PM ET at the Hall of Fame Game, it’s time we preview some NFL teams and we start with the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay with 2nd year coach L. Smith at the reign.
This season the head coach has some new additions, and most famous is the 2015 1st round draft pick in QB J. Winston out of FSU. A very controversial QB and can he prevails in his rookie year, or will there just be more questions.
During the last season the Buccaneers happened to be the absolute worst team in their league with 2 wins and 14 losses, so they were the biggest losers, then come into 2015 with the biggest winners by getting the 1st overall pick in the NFL Draft for 2015, as the choose rookie QB Winston of Florida State.
On their roster they some good receivers on 2nd year rookie M. Evans a candidate for Rookie of the year in 2014, as well as V. Jackson a 11th year pro in the NFL. But what concerns most is the Buccaneers offensive line, a unit that permitted 53 sacks in 2014, and in the league that was the 3rd most allowed. The odds are not exactly in Winston’s favor either, as the Tampa Bay team for 2015 Super Bowl 50 is long shot odds at +10,000 not exactly favorites.
In this past draft season the Tampa Bay management used the draft to build up their QB Winston by drafting tackle D. Smith and guard Marpet in the 2nd round, expecting them to compete with 2nd year players K. Pamphile and K. Edwards. They also increased their WR’s by drafting K. Bell in the 5th round and K. Clay in the 6th round, with Bell from Nebraska who in senior season caught 181 passes for some 2.690 yards, and Clay was 1st team All- American selection as well as 2014 All-Pac team member. To top it all they hired D. Koetter as their OC who last season as OC for the Atlanta Falcons beat the Bucs by some 52 points in 2014.
There is no question who is the most important player in 2015 for the Buccaneers and that is none other than QB Winston the former 2013 Heisman winner and QB of the 2013 National Champion Florida State, already listed as the starter for the 1st game of the season. If he can mature as a person in the pros, then he has the ability to be a great QB, as he ended his career at FSU with 26 wins and 1 loss, passing for some 65 TD’s and 7,965 yards with on 27 interceptions in his career there.
The most important game for the Buccaneers this season will be their 4th game of the season with arch rival Panthers of Carolina whom last season were victorious with the NFC Title. Yet last season the 2 games the Bucs lost to the Panthers was by a combined 8 points. If the Bucs can win at home against the Panthers, that would give them a big lift towards becoming the NFC South’s competition. The Bucks are at +600 to win the NFC South in 2015-16 seasons.
The best outcome we see for the Buccaneers this season, is that Winston becomes the franchise QB the Buc’s have been seeking, and with his tall QR in Jackson and Evans they come up in the ranks and end the season and 3rd in their division in the NFC South.
Looking at the worst possible scenarios would be for QB Winston to fall under the pressure, and lose it in off field issues, thus the Buck give the ball to back-up QB Glennon and the again end the season at the bottom of the pile.
For those that Bet on NFL at SBG Global, let it be known that I predict, that Winston will have some success and Tampa Bay amongst some growing pains, and he leads them to 5 wins and 11 losses, and appears they have a promising future after the 2015-16 seasons.