Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were already nervous for this weekend's game against the 7-2 New England Patriots, who look like an entirely new squad under Mike Vrabel. Things only got worse when the Bucs were picked to win the game and praised heavily by ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky.
Orlovsky picked Tampa to win this weekend because he thinks this will be Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's toughest task in his entire NFL career.
“This will be the biggest challenge Drake Maye has faced in his NFL career. This defense, No. 1, very good against the run. Then 2, it makes you constantly think. They’re constantly changing the question on you – pre-snap to post-snap. ‘This pressure is coming from here. This guy is dropping from here. This coverage is rotating that way.’ He hasn’t really seen that."
While it's obviously nice that Orlovsky views the Buccaneers as such a threat to Maye and the red-hot Patriots, it's hard not to be uneasy about all of this. Never mind that Maye and the Patriots went into Buffalo not long ago and beat them, taking control of the AFC East early in the season and not relinquishing that lead to this point. No, it'll be against the Bucs, and at home for New England, that will be Maye's toughest task yet.
Bucs fans don't really care too much about that angle but rather the whole getting picked to win a big game thing. This is a team that, while obviously crazy talented, tends to crap the bed when they're favored in or expected to win a big game.
Bucs fans will be uneasy after Dan Orlovsky picks them to win vs. Patriots
Anytime the consensus is "Hey, the Bucs can cement themselves as Super Bowl contenders with a win" against any Super Bowl-caliber opponent, they tend to come up short. It happens time and time again, with some examples being last year against the 49ers, Chiefs, and Ravens. The Bucs had an opportunity to show that they should be taken seriously but went on to lose all of those games.
The hope is that the Bucs come out swinging in this one and knock off a team that appears to be a strong contender this year. Not many people expected the Patriots to be this good but they're looking to be the real deal and a win against them would prove that Tampa is right in the thick of things when it comes to Super Bowl contenders.