NFL Analyst says Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t even make the playoffs
One NFL Analyst doesn’t believe in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the hottest team in the league heading into the 2020 season.
The Buccaneers signed QB Tom Brady to a two-year deal worth $50 million and followed that up with a successful draft and a trade for TE Rob Gronkowski.
All of those moves, as well as the decisions to bring back key pieces of the front-seven, have the Buccaneers listed as one of the favorites to earn a playoff berth and to even compete for a Super Bowl. At this point, the Buccaneers are considered to have +800 odds to win the NFC Championship, which is tied with the Philadelphia Eagles and only behind the San Francisco 49ers (+325), New Orleans Saints (+550) and Dallas Cowboys (+600).
Despite the overarching belief that Tampa Bay can be a legitimate competitor in the NFC, one NFL Analyst doesn’t believe the Bucs will even make the postseason.
NFL insider Mike Garafolo said that he isn’t sold on Tampa’s offense with Brady at the helm and believes things will be much more difficult than many understand from the outside-looking in.
"“I’m gonna say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do not make the playoffs,” Garafolo said via NESN. “I mean, here we are talking about Tom Brady going to Tampa and them being Super Bowl contenders. Look, there’s a lot of change with him coming in. Yes, they’ve had their time separately, but not together as a team, so I think that’s a detriment to them. I also understand that maybe people are exaggerating how much he’s going to have to hold the football in Bruce Arians’ scheme, but there is going to be an element of that. So I think that’s a possibility, that he might get banged up at some point, maybe worn down. There’s just too much here. I’m having a tough time putting them in as one of the seven playoff teams. Bucs aren’t making the playoffs.”"
The Buccaneers have questions, sure, but there’s a reason they’re receiving hype
Yes, we all understand that Tom Brady to Tampa Bay could fall flat on its face. We all get that Brady may have struggles and that he could get banged up having to run that vertical offensive scheme.
That being said, it doesn’t seem that’s the most likely scenario.
The Buccaneers have a much better defense than most understand and they’re only going to get better having a quarterback on the other side that they rely upon to get the job done.
People also don’t realize how close Tampa was to making the playoffs last season despite the massive amount of turnovers the offense was suffering. If you cut down on those turnovers- which Brady will- and you change a few of those interceptions to touchdowns, there’s no reason to believe this team can’t make the playoffs.
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Tampa Bay can get the job done. They should be favored to get the job done- at least in terms of making the playoffs- and that’s what I believe we’ll see play out before it’s all over.