Buccaneers need to worry about emerging issue in NFC South

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Despite the fact that the Saints have a new head coach and a quarterback coming off an injury, the Buccaneers might have cause for worry.

Buccaneers fans are not going to want to accept this truth: the Saints are most likely going to be a good football team in 2022. Gasp.

This is a tough truth to accept because 1. no one wants to give a division rival credit, and 2. a team like the Saints shouldn’t be good in 2022.

New Orleans just lost one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, the starting quarterback is coming off a major injury, and the team lost several key free agents, including one of the best tackles in the NFL.

This all seems like a recipe for disaster on a regular team. The Saints are no regular team.

Contrary to what you might think from looking at the situation in pewter-colored glasses, Jameis Winston was a good quarterback when he took the field last season. There were still some mental lapses, but what he did with no receivers that would make the roster in Tampa was impressive.

Giving Winston the second-best receiver trio in the NFC South in 2022, a quality rookie offensive lineman, and a running back room that has decent hands is going to make this offense difficult for a team like the Bucs to stop. We’ve all seen it. If Trevor Siemian and Taysom Hill can carve this defense up, so can Winston with those weapons.

To make matters worse, the defense that held Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to zero points in a game just got better. New Orleans has a quality secondary and a pass-rush that has a knack for getting to Brady. This game is even tough for the Bucs even on offense.

Unfortunately, the team that owns the Buccaneers in the regular season like no other has gotten better over the past few years outside of coaching.

This is not the game or opponent for the Buccaneers to ever rule out. Flipping the script on the history of this game is not out of the question, but let’s not pretend that this has shifted in Tampa’s favor yet either.

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