By: Andy Davies

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have endured a torrid start to the 2022 NFL season.

Not one person, whether they are members of the media or just your regular fan down the street, would have predicted the Buccaneers to start the season 3-5.

Shock losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers, who both had one win prior to beating the Buccaneers, were then followed by a loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens.

This is the first time in Tom Brady’s career that he has lost three games in a row. With a division that appears wide open, there is every chance that the Buccaneers end up making the playoffs and all is well again. However, there is also the possibility that a team that has won a Super Bowl and narrowly lost in the Divisional Round during the last season, could miss the playoffs entirely this season. Here are three reasons why this could happen.

A Tough Schedule

It does not get any easier for Brady and the Bucs when looking at their schedule. Their next game is against current Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams. Whilst they are also coming off the back of a loss and have a 3-4 record, this is not exactly a game that head coach Todd Bowles will want even with an extra few days’ rest. 

After the Rams game, they face the 5-3 Seattle Seahawks in the first ever regular season game to be played in Germany. They will not want to play a team in form, let alone in a neutral venue with jetlag. 

After their Week Eleven bye, the rest of their schedule features games against the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons. 

This is not an easy ride, so expect the Bucs to be challenged right the way until the end. 

With four teams ahead of them in the race for the Wildcard spots, and two of those with three more wins, the Bucs better turn things around quickly, otherwise they will be watching the playoffs from their living rooms. 

Tom Brady’s Personal Life

Brady’s personal life has been the subject of much media coverage of late, with Brady addressing the rumours on Instagram, confirming their divorce. 

This is bound to have played some part in Brady’s slump in form. 

Lack Of Protection And Receiving Help

Brady lost his good friend Rob Gronkowski and the drama of Antonio Brown meant that Tampa Bay went from four elite pass catchers to just two. 

Mike Evans has still been excellent as ever, if you exclude the dropped catch against the Panthers, ranked as having the eighth-most receiving yards (577) and Godwin (368) has done well considering the comeback from injury. Running back Leonard Fournette (273) is their next best receiver, which shows the issues at hand. 

Russell Gage and Julio Jones both came in during the offseason in attempts to give Brady as much help as possible, but Gage has just 231 receiving yards and Jones has been non-existent with just 97 yards from 11 targets and six receptions. Cole Beasley came and went in the space of a couple of weeks.

Whilst Brady is second in the league for passing yards, he is tied for 17^th in passing touchdowns. This shows the struggles Brady and the team have had in getting it down the end zone. According to FantasyPros.com, Brady is eighth in the league for passing yards in the red zone and eleventh for passing touchdowns. This also shows the issues Brady has had, a lot like Aaron Rodgers this season, with receiver help.

Brady has already been sacked thirteen times this year, which means he is projected to finish the season with just under 30 sacks. This would be the eighth-highest total of his career. To put it in perspective, he was sacked ten times at this stage in 2020, and twelve times at this point last season. The loss of Ali Marpet to retirement has been huge, even with the addition of former teammate Shaq Mason. Ryan Jenson’s injury has had a big impact also, with Robert Hainsey and Luke Goeseke seemingly failing to deliver in their absence.

There is still plenty of time to go, but the Buccaneers certainly have cause for concern at this present time.

The post Three reasons why the Buccaneers could miss the playoffs appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala and Charlie Vakassian

The Tom Brady-led Buccaneers won the NFC South in 2021. Goliath (Buccaneers) were swept by David (New Orleans Saints), but they won their division with four more victories than the closest team (Saints). 

Brady is out of the wild NFC South in 2022, so it’s clear that the Bucs aren’t the runaway NFC South favorite next season. So, who will win the Brady-less NFC South in the 2022-2023 season? Here are our favorites to win the league’s most mysterious division in the 2022 season.

New Orleans Saints (Jake): 

The New Orleans Saints have won the NFC South in four of the past five seasons. Yes, you read that correctly. They may not have Sean Payton, but they still have the Kobe Bryant-inspired Michael Thomas and likely Jameis Winston returning from injuries. They will be joining a juggernaut roster that is still in the Big Easy. Thomas was a nightmare for opposing defenses when Taysom Hill was filling in for the injured Drew Brees in 2020. 

I trust that Thomas and likely Jameis Winston will seek vengeance in 2022. If the Dennis Allen squad loses Pro Bowl LT Terron Armstead and the talented, young FS Marcus Williams in the 2022 free agency, I still don’t believe their overall talent will noticeably dip this offseason. The Saints have Andrus Peat, who can play LT. If Williams leaves, they still have Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Malcolm Jenkins at the safety position. Armstead also has been injured often for the Saints, as he’s missed 24 games in the past five seasons. They are very familiar with replacing him at the LT position.

The Saints were 5-2 with Jameis Winston (and without Cantguardmike) last season with wins over the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and the Seattle Seahawks. It’s clear their floor with Jaboo is special. Allen’s team will also have their kicker Will Lutz returning and their 2021 first-round pick Turner returning to their stacked defensive front.

I still believe the Saints chokehold on the Bucs is a vital difference in the grand scheme of things. I will assume the Bucs don’t win 11+ games with Kyle Trask at QB next season. I believe the head-to-head matchups between the Bucs and the Saints will be important. I still know the Saints match up incredibly well against the Bucs. The Saints can rush the passer with their front four (Cam Jordan/Davenport/Onymeta/a healthy Payton Turner) and they have the elite Marshon Lattimore to always blanket Mike Evans. We witnessed the 49ers give the Rams serious issues for the past few seasons. I feel comfortable saying that the Saints are due to give Bruce Arian’s team fits for yet another season. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Charles):

The Buccaneers have certainly undergone some stark changes this offseason, with Tom Brady announcing his retirement, and several key free agents who may or may not return to the team. Rob Gronkowski is likely to join Brady in retirement. Chris Godwin, Ryan Jensen, Leonard Fournette, and Carlton Davis will all test the free-agent waters. With all that being said, Tampa Bay still has the best core out of all the NFC South Team. The defense is still incredibly rock-solid, with playmakers at each level, led by Shaq Barrett, Devin White, Antoine Winfield, and Lavonte David. Mike Evans is still as dependable as ever, and Cameron Brate is an underrated tight end. Tristan Wirfs and Ali Marpet are excellent on the offensive line. 

There are admittedly some question marks about this team, mainly what they will do at quarterback. Kyle Trask was a 2nd round pick last season and hasn’t seen enough action to make any type of judgment on him. Tampa Bay has been linked to several quarterbacks via trade this offseason, including Jimmy Garoppolo, Aaron Rodgers. Carson Wentz, and Deshaun Watson. Any one of those would immediately make the Bucs a division contender.

Matt Ryan is the best quarterback in the division right now, but is getting up there in age (36) and has no weapons outside of Kyle Pitts, and a weak offensive line. The Panthers are an unmitigated disaster at QB, with the albatross contract of Sam Darnold. They will likely be starting a rookie under center in Week 1. And who knows what the Saints will be doing under center. Taysom Hill is uninspiring at best, and Jameis Winston is mediocre to the core. Alvin Kamara is facing suspension, and Michael Thomas has not been able to stay on the field. Garoppolo is the name most connected to Tampa right now, and he would immediately be the second-best QB in the NFC South.

As for cap space, Tampa admittedly has very little, but with restructures to the contracts of Mike Evans, Shaw Barrett, and Donovan Smith, the Bucs save $31M against the cap for 2022. This leaves them with plenty of room to bring back some of their own free agents, as well as pursue some upgrades at positions of need. The Bucs also pick at 27 in Round 1 of the NFL Draft and can add an immediate difference-maker to the locker room. A top WR like Garrett Wilson would put fear into the other CBs of the division, or a lockdown corner like Kaiir Elam would shut down D.J Moore and fair well against the other top wideouts in the NFC South. 

Tampa already has arguably one of the better defenses in the whole NFC, and with even just an OK quarterback, they would rise to the top of this division. A front seven with Shaq Barrett, Vita Vea, Lavonte David, and Devin White is tough to beat. That doesn’t even include promising rookie Joe Tryon, who flashed pass-rushing upside in his first season. Give me Tampa to repeat in the South.

The post Who will win the NFC South in 2022? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The professional football league showcases many elite groups of weapons and more talent is undoubtedly being displayed on the field in 2021 than in any previous time period. Bill Barnwell, who is an iconic staff writer for ESPN, recently put out a list of the 32 groups of NFL offensive weapons. At the very top of the list, he marked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers skill group as the utmost best unit in the league. 

I believe the defending Super Bowl champions carry players with elite talent and prominent depth all around, but I believe it’s far-fetched to put them at number one. In my opinion, the true number one group is clear. The top offensive skill group is none other than the Minnesota Vikings. To further state my case, I will give three reasons why the Vikings and not the Bucs display the top weaponry in the NFL. 

• Vikings have a stronger WR duo 

The stories and myths surrounding Vikings WR Adam Thielen may have started to slowly fade, but he can still operate at a high playing level. The Bucs number one WR in Mike Evans may have hauled in a whopping 13 touchdowns last season, but the Vikings number two WR unveiled 14 receiving touchdowns on the table. Thielen’s career-high touchdown count and 926 yards clearly show he’s one of, if not the best WR2 in the league.

Chris Godwin may have been a stat machine in the days of Jameis Winston leading the league in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and then interceptions, but he hasn’t shown to be a dominant force of late. Godwin had 840 yards and likely would have been floating around 1,000 yards if he stayed healthy for the long season, but his touchdown count was just half (7) of what the freakish Thielen was showing. It’s fair to say that Thielen’s resume and talent is a step ahead of Godwin and he’s been playing in a far less explosive passing attack. As far as the number one WR spot between the Bucs and Vikings, the honors actually go to Vikings Justin Jefferson. 

Jefferson was fourth in the whole NFL last season in receiving yards (1,400). The Vikings WR was just a rookie last season and didn’t get into sync until a short period into the season. Going into year two, Jefferson could realistically show he’s the best WR in the NFL. Evans screams consistent high-level play, but he’s not quite rubber-like when it comes to route running, nor can he take the top off a defense as the second-year Vikings WR can. Buccaneers Antonio Brown is a very quality number three WR, but I believe the Vikings WR duo can take over games individually. Thielen’s clutch ability and Jefferson’s explosion with any route concept deep down the field make them very reliable and hard to cover with one or two defenders.

• Dalvin Cook is significantly more impressive than the Bucs running game

The Bucs have an admirable duo with all-purpose back Ronald Jones and 2021 playoff hero Leonard Fournette, but both of them combined don’t match Dalvin Cook’s playmaking ability. Dalvin Cook was second in the league in rushing yards (1,416) and rushing touchdowns (16). It’s worth noting that Cook put this damage on defenses despite missing two games. Leonard Fournette compiled 367 rushing yards and six touchdowns during the span of the 16 game season, while Ronald Jones captured a stout of 978 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. The Bucs RB duo is a nice assist to Tom Brady’s passing game, but they don’t stack up to the production that Cook lays out with even a combined effort. 

All in all, the Buccaneers should be labeled as a Top 5 offensive group of weapons. Yet, I believe an overrated factor of the defending Super Bowl title on their nameplate combined with the fact that these slightly dissolving household players like Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette just happened to make their biggest plays in the most recent game (Super Bowl), helped them garner the number one spot. The Vikings may have been a 7-9 squad with no impressive number three wideout, but I believe the talent is above and beyond to earn them the first place standing.

The post Why the Vikings and not the Buccaneers have the best skill players appeared first on Pro Football Mania.