Buccaneers: What to Watch for in Sunday’s Game
Big Effort
Unfortunately for the Bucs their week 17 game against the Carolina Panthers will almost certainly be their final game of the season barring some epic miracle. The most important thing that I’ll be watching for against the Panthers is effort. With no reasonable shot at the playoffs, will the Bucs still play hard?
You’ll no doubt see some teams push the quit button this weekend in games that have no playoff bearings and in past years the Bucs have been guilty of this very thing (like the game that got them the first overall pick). The Bucs need to prove that they’re no longer one of these teams infiltrated by quitters and this final game could be a good gauge of which role players are worth bringing back next season.
While this game isn’t a “must win”, it would be a large disappointment to see a five game winning streak morph into a three game losing streak to end the season. Wins don’t translate from season to season, but for a team that’s trying to turn that’s continuing to install a winning mentality, every W counts.