The Buccaneers head to Cleveland this weekend to face off against a Browns team that has sneakily been quite good this season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl (37) with a number one ranked defense (Buccaneers) facing a number one ranked offense (Raiders) and the first NFL team to win a Super Bowl (55) at their home stadium! The original worst-to-first team (1979) Bucs team. Now, our Tampa Bay Buccaneers have become the first NFL team to win a game in Germany!
Rachaad White has really come on strong in the past three weeks. White helped the Bucs close out the Seahawks in Germany with some big runs for first downs. Fournette is the starter, but the Bucs need to complement him with another running back. White appears to be capable to fill the role of a dual-threat backfield.
Julio Jones and Chris Godwin appear to be healthy and are making plays against opposing defenses. I hope the Bucs can use a 60% pass-40% running scheme going forward. The offensive line is starting to open up running lanes against opposing defenses that honestly weren’t there at the start of the season.
The biggest problem I see is the number of points the Bucs are putting up through 10 games. 20 points a game is an average I’m seeing. It needs to get to 30 to have a chance to bring home the Lombardi. Mixing in more runs with the passing attack should help, but the Bucs will have to control the line of scrimmage at the start of games.
Defensively, the unit doesn’t need much change scheme-wise. Tampa Bays’ defense has been a closer in the five wins this season. The defense is giving up over a hundred yards per game on average through ten games. If the Bucs can get that number under a hundred yards, it should translate to more time of possession on offense, and lead to Bucs victories!
The outlook for the season is optimistic. The Bucs are leading the NFC South by at least one game and if the Bucs can win the NFC south that guarantees at least one game at Raymond James. It’s important to come out of the bye week strong and with a dominant play style in all three phases. Cleveland is fighting for their postseason with one-half of the season gone and sitting at 3-7.
There are no easy wins in the NFL, it’s any given Sunday. I hope the Bucs can put up 30+ points on offense using a mix of rushes and passes to methodically move the ball, control time of possession, and put up touchdowns on long drives. Especially in the red zone. On defense, I want to see our Bucs’ defense hold a potent Cleveland dual-threat backfield to under 90 yards rushing.
The game is at 1:00 PM and is on FOX. Have a great holiday weekend and go Bucs!
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