Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Reaction to Las Vegas’ win prediction

Today the odds for the 2019 NFL season for wins and losses were released and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fall about where they were expected to.

Six and a half wins is not the total the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping for when this season rolls around. After winning just five games last year and not really making any changes to the roster, the expectations are that Bruce Arians, Byron Leftwich, and Todd Bowles can make a substantial difference in the success of the team. This concept is not unheard of, as in some cases all that it takes is a change in the coaching staff to bring out the full potential of a team (see 2017 Los Angeles Rams and 2018 Cleveland Browns).

While Bruce Arians is a great coach and will likely work wonders for quarterback Jameis Winston, the schedule the Buccaneers are playing is a difficult one. Their games versus the AFC South will likely all be a dogfight this year.

Three of those teams were in the playoff race all the way until the end of last season and that was with the Tennessee Titans finding their step in the last month of play. The not to be forgotten Jacksonville Jaguars also added Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles at quarterback and will look to build upon what is already one of the most dominant defenses in the league. All four of these teams have skilled quarterbacks and defenses that produce turnovers which does not bode well for the Buccaneers and their current flaws.

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The games against the NFC West could be more manageable, but still pose some concerns. The Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers both had worse 2018 seasons than the Bucs but have made a number of moves in the offseason and are looking for revenge in 2019. In addition to these more beatable teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Rams will both be rather large speed bumps to overcome.

With the quality of teams set aside, the Buccaneers schedule itself is also unique in its difficulty of travel. The Bucs will play five games away from Tampa in a row, which would even be impressive in the NBA or the NHL despite their significantly higher number of games. This road trip will prove very difficult for the Bucs and their new coaching staff, and the game in London won’t help either even though it is listed as a “home” game.

The final contributor to the number of wins was likely the mediocre draft the Bucs had on paper. Their draft has some very solid players, but the Bucs did not go after positions of need as hard as they should have. One cant help but think that if the Buccaneers drafted Josh Allen at a position they still desperately need, had not drafted two corners back to back, and taken a kicker in the fifth round that they would have had a more complete roster that would have been better situated for the upcoming season.

The draft does pose a lot of questions for the coaches and the level of turnover that will occur this offseason, which also plays a roll in the overall confidence of the team. Taking three secondary players in one round after doing something similar the year before shows that the Buccaneers are not letting their young players develop, and some of these high round picks will either be cut or underutilized.

Fortunately for the Buccaneers, games are won and lost on the field and not in a computer simulation. Despite the difficult schedule, the Buccaneers have several new rookies who will be called upon to play large roles on the team and will hopefully have breakout years. Devin White is definitely a positive and will be an anchor on the team alongside fellow linebacker Lavonte David. If Devin White and the other playmakers have anything to say about it, the Bucs will be winning way more than six and a half games this season.