By: Jake Rajala

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers witnessed a resurrection from Tom Brady this off-season. The Brady bunch is certainly confident that they can still be a juggernaut team, despite lots of hype surrounding the likes of Buffalo and Los Angeles. With that enunicated, I’m going to simply untwine the ups, downs, and overall record of the Buccaneers in 2022.

Week 1: at the Cowboys

The Bucs were able to witness TB12 have an amazing comeback against the Boys in 2021. Perhaps Brady and a healthy Gronk Chris Godwin have more spark than Dak for the second time in a row. I believe the Bucs will edge out the Boys in a close game by a score of 35-28.

Week 2: at Saints

The Saints have been able to make life a living hell for Brady for the past two seasons. I expect the improved 2022 Saints to continue to dominate the Bucs and win their first battle by a score of 38-24.

Week 3: vs Packers

The Bucs should feel motivated and confident against a Green Bay Packers team that has struggled against the Bucs over their past few showdowns. I don’t believe A-Rod will take a noticeable decline with Davante Adams, but I believe Brady is more geared to win a likely shootout. I forsee the Bucs winning 38-28.

Week 4: vs the Chiefs

The Tyreek Hill-less Chiefs are still a very good football team and I believe KC will win a close game by a score of 35-28.

Week 5: vs the Falcons

The Falcons could make splash plays against the Bucs, but they are certainly a few years away from reaching the playoffs. I expect the Bucs to win 35-17.

Week 6: at the Steelers

The Bucs should be able to have high-end success against the Steelers CB group not featuring Joe Haden. I forsee the Bucs winning 35-21.

Week 7: at the Panthers

Christian McCaffrey will have a hard time running against the Bucs stingy front seven and It will be near impossible for Sam Darnold to keep pace with TB12. I expect the Bucs to win 35-21.

Week 8: vs the Ravens

Brady may have almost passed the torch to Lamar Jackson, but he will surely focus on squashing the Jackson-led squad next season. It will be hard for Brady to drop 40+ points on the Ravens scary secondary, but I expect the Bucs to win 28-21.

Week 9: vs the Rams

I trust that Brady will play his heart out against the Rams, but I don’t trust the Bucs defense to slow down Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson. I believe the Rams will win 38-31.

Week 10: vs the Seahawks

Let’s be honest – the Seahawks aren’t going to have a strong fight against the Bucs. I believe the Bucs will win 35-17.

Week 12: at the Browns

I believe the Browns with Deshaun Watson are a strong Super Bowl contender. I also love the Browns pass rush with Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney against Lamar Jackson Brady. I predict the Browns will win a close contest against the Bucs at home by a score 35-28.

Week 13: vs the Saints

I am not convinced that the Saints or the football gods will allow the Bucs to win this contest. I believe the Saints with a potential hotter offense will beat the Bucs 28-14.

Week 14: at the 49ers

The Bucs should absolutely bounce back and beat the 49ers in Week 13. I expect the Bucs have a lot of success against the 49ers young QB and average secondary – as they proceed to win 35-21.

Week 15: vs the Bengals

The Bengals may be the kryptonite against the Bucs, but I believe the Bucs can exploit the Bengals pass defense and win this contest by a score of 35-28.

Week 16: at the Cardinals

The Bucs could have a serious challenge against the Cardinals with DeAndre Hopkins, but I’m still believing in Brady to throw away Kyler Murray by the end of the fourth quarter. I believe the Bucs win 35-28.

Week 17: vs the Panthers

The Bucs will still have a ton of success against the potential Matt Corral-led Panthers and I believe they win this game by a score of 35-14.

Week 18: at the Falcons

The Bucs will most likely keep the gas on the pedal in their last game for a chance at the number one seed. I believe they mop the floor against the Falcons by a score of 42-17.

Final record: 12-5

The post Projecting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers record in 2022 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers witnessed their bionic quarterback Tom Brady return for his last ride in 2022. TB12 and the rest of the Brady Bunch will surely aim to win their second Super Bowl in three seasons. With that said, the Buccaneers squad that will miss many faces from their Super Bowl LV could certainly benefit from ascending x-factors. Hence, I’m going to simply untwine three breakout candidates on the Buccaneers.

Joe Tryon

The tides are turning for the Buccaneers defense and they must replace old magic with young faces. The Bucs will most likely not bring back JPP and Ndamukong Suh. Tryon should nicely fill in for JPP, who fell off a cliff in 2021 (2.5 sacks). It was also noted that Tryon stayed in Tampa Bay this off-season to focus on improving his craft. Per, NBC Sports, the ILB/Pass-Game Coordinator Larry Foote stated that he’s impressed by his off-season and that “We’re expecting big things from him”.

Russell Gage

Russell Gage’s fantasy ceiling is quite exceptional, to say the least. The Bucs new WR will permanently replace AB and aspire to crack 1,000+ yards in 2022 (770 yds in 2021 and 786 yds in 2020). According to FanNation, he was the best under-the-radar FA signing this off-season. I fully expect Scotty Miller Gage to have a career season in the Byron Leftwich throw it around the yard offense.

Rachaad White

The Bucs nicely replaced Ronald Jones with the 2022 third-round pick Rachaad White this off-season. In fact, it should be expressed that White is a far more talented receiving back than the former Bucs veteran RB. The former ASU RB with 1,456 all-purpose yards (456 receiving yds) in 2021 should have a firm role as a sturdy all-purpose RB alongside the power-back Playoff Lenny. James White was the x-factor in Super Bowl LI and Rachaad White may be the x-factor for Brady in his next potential SB show-down.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t only have a mythical character playing quarterback, but they also have a football god at WR named Mike Evans. The Bucs long-time WR has been phenomenal, consistent, and a clutch performer. Here is a closer look at Evans’s resume thus far:

• 9,301 career receiving yds
• 75 career receiving tds
• 606 receptions
• Four Pro Bowl selections
• Super Bowl LV champion

It’s obvious that Evans has been one of the NFL’s top WRs since he was drafted in 2014. A fascinating, unearthly question arises around Evans: is he on pace to wear a gold jacket in his first season of eligibility? Evans will certainly be a HOF WR, but it would be a serious challenge for Evans to be a first-ballot HOF.

For example, Chris Carter was not a first-ballot HOF. Yet, he was a freakish talent at the WR in his career. He made eight Pro Bowl selections, two All-Pro teams, recorded 13,899 career yards, and 130 career touchdowns. Although, he wasn’t quite able to garner that ever-elusive Super Bowl ring.

Evans will be 29 in the 2022-2023 season, so he is an aging play-maker. Luckily, his Top-3 QB returned for the 2022 season, so Evans will still look to unleash career numbers with the GOAT. Realistically, I believe that Brady will play 1-2 more seasons and Evans will be a 1,000+ yd and 7+ touchdown WR in each season until Brady retires. Most importantly, Evans will have an opportunity to chase his second SB ring with TB12.

I believe that Evans will need to win a second Super Bowl ring and make two-three more Pro Bowl selections to have a strong chance to be a first-ballot HOF. If he doesn’t have two SB rings, I would be shocked if he made it into Canton as a first-ballot HOF. Nonetheless, it appears that the Bucs have a gifted QB-WR combination and they both have an optimistic aim to improve their legacies in 2022.

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By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints have won the NFC South in four of the past five seasons. They have also won the division with Tom Brady as a divisional foe (2020). The Saints were faced with the El Capitan mountain last season, but they impressively finished with a 9-8 record. I believe the non-Sean Payton-led Saints shouldn’t quietly be NFC South favorites in 2022.

The Saints were 5-2 last season with a healthy Jameis Winston. They were in first place in the NFC South and they also edged out the “alpha” Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 (Winston’s last game in 2021). Their two losses with Winston came against the Panthers coach-less fiasco, where the Panthers were utterly blitz-happy, and against the underdog New York Giants squad in overtime.

In 2022, the NFC South has a different and potentially more fragile outlook. The Atlanta Falcons lost Matt Ryan, the Panthers will likely start Sam Darnold at QB, and the Buccaneers will lose a few veterans this offseason. The Bucs will still have TB12, but they will likely not have Ndamukong Suh (6 sacks last season), Jason Pierre-Paul, AB, and Gronk may retire this offseason. According to Sports Illustrated, Gronkowski is really undecided on the 2022 season.

It’s clear that the Saints haven’t only beaten Brady in each of the last four playoff contests, but the Bucs could have less juice to edge out the Saints in 2022. I also don’t foresee the Saints going 2-2 against the Falcons and Panthers for the second straight season. The Panthers also had a very fluky victory against the Saints in their first contest last season, while the Falcons had an incredible comeback victory against NO led by Matt Ryan in the first half of 2021. The Saints should be able to beat the Panthers with coaches next season and I like their chances to edge out the Falcons without Ryan.

The Saints should be a tougher team beat outside of the division next season. The return of Michael Thomas can’t be underestimated. Up until Week 8, Jameis Winston was efficient and the Saints defense was elite in numerous categories, but the 32nd ranked passing attack will largely benefit from MT. The Saints will also have an underrated improvement in special teams, as Will Lutz will return healthy. Dennis Allen’s squad doesn’t have to play musical chairs at the kicker position with free agents.

The Saints would have most likely beaten the Tennessee Titans with Trevor Sieman and an average kicking performance. Yet, Brian Johnson (Lutz’s replacement) missed two extra points against the Titans and the Saints lost 23-21 against the Titans. The Saints were forced to attempt a game-tying two-point conversion against the Titans with 1:16 left in the game, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts.

I fully expect the Saints to surprise the NFL world in the Brees/Payton-less era. Thomas may often be unpopular on Twitter, but he can certainly be an elite wideout with the speed-demon Deonte Harris for Winston. I expect the Saints to grow from their early 2021 version and potentially be a Top 3 NFC seed next season. The Saints finished 12-4 in 2020, while the Brady bunch finished 11-5 in the same season. I expect the 2020 outcome from the two NFC South heavyweights to be similar next season.

The post Why the Saints can really win the NFC South in 2022 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South last season and clearly stood out in the NFC with a 13-4 record. It won’t be an easy task for the Brady-less Bucs to repeat NFC dominance in 2022. Rest assured, that is the truth.

The Bucs will still look to retool and not rebuild without TB12 moving forward. Arians knows he has talent on the roster (Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Shaq Barrett) and the competition in the NFC South won’t be daunting as a whole. Nonetheless, Arians’s squad will still face challenges in 2022. With that said, here are the three biggest obstacles for the Bucs next season.

• Loss of Tom Brady

Let’s swiftly cut through the obvious hurdle for the Bucs in 2022: The loss of Brady. Tom Brady didn’t only throw the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in the NFL last season, but he’s also been an important leader for the team. It will be hard for Kyle Trask to come close to matching his swag and consistent fire in the locker room.

Trask will have to figure out how he can be productive and potentially unique for the Bucs. Perhaps, his athletic ability can make him more dangerous than Brady against the Saints, as the Saints are accustomed to teeing off on Brady.

• WR3 production

When the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl against the Chiefs, they were really counting on AB and Playoff Lenny with their outstanding matchups. They were clearly missing AB and Chris Godwin in their game against the Rams. I still am not convinced they will be set with Godwin and without a quality WR3 moving forward, especially since they were compelled to add Brown “with Tom Brady”. The Bucs will also likely miss the production from Gronk in 2022, as he seems interested in playing with Joe Burrow.

It will be hard for the Bucs to match points with the Rams or Packers without three prominent pass-catching options in my opinion. Trask will also need all the help he can get in year one. I’d love to see the Bucs grab a veteran WR like Jamison Crowder or reunite with Desean Jackson for one season at least.

• Defensive Line

The Bucs have been known to display a brick wall with their defensive line over the past few seasons. Although, it will be hard for them to replay their elite DL that demolished Patrick Mahomes in their recent Super Bowl. They will likely be missing JPP and Suh’s on-field presence next season.

Joe Tryon will be a force in the shoes of Pierre-Paul, but his depth was great for a third defensive end. The big loss will be Suh, who was a quality run stuffer and pass rusher with six sacks in 2021 and six sacks in 2020. I’d like to see the Bucs bring in a talented pass-rushing DT to join the mammoth Vita Vea this offseason.

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By: Ladarius Brown

For one reason or another, many of us have been doubted if we can succeed in our respective fields for numerous reasons. Overall, it is about silencing the said doubters or proving to yourself that you can make it. In some cases, it is both since, according to an NCAA study, there are 73,712 college football players. Of those, 16,380 are eligible for the NFL Draft and 254 will be drafted. In all, just 1.6% will make the transition from the NCAA to the NFL. The point: it is one of the toughest professions to enter. One player who knows the journey all too well is Tom Brady.  

Brady was a sixth round (199th overall pick) in the 2000 NFL Draft of the New England Patriots out of Michigan. In that draft, six quarterbacks were taken ahead of him:   

• Chad Pennington   
• Giovanni Carmazzi    
• Chris Redman   
• Tee Martin  
• Marc Bulger  
• Spergon Wynn  

Some of these names may not exactly roll off the tongue yet, for Brady, he still remembers these names, aptly called the Brady 6. Entering his 22nd season, this is what keeps Thomas Edward Patrick Brady motivated. Given his resume, he was a 1st ballot Hall of Famer years ago. However, the mere fact that 30 NFL franchises (excluding the Texans who became a franchise in 2002) passed on him drives him still. Throw in that this was his scouting report: “Poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature and strength, and gets knocked down easily.”  

The money means next to nothing because he gave up nearly $60 million while with the Patriots in his 20 years there. He has always been team first. In his mind, he needs successful players to be a success himself. Brady feels as though he does not deserve the accolades. The term is called “imposter syndrome.”  

Conceived by clinical psychologists Dr. Pauline Rose Clance & Suzanne Imes, they allude to the term as:  

“High-achieving individuals marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Despite external evidence of their competence, [they] are convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be.”  

In Brady’s mind, he cannot process arguably one of these best resumes not just in NFL history; but all of the sports because he feels that he will be somehow “exposed” as a fraud who does not belong. He continues to play the games to prove that he belongs. It sounds odd but when we think of the most driven of individuals, this is nothing new. His deep disproval has created insane habits.

Those exterior of Brady’s mind sees the continuous work to be the best, demanding it out those around him. We have seen him become a 7x SB Champ, 14x Pro Bowler, 3x All-Pro, and 3x MVP. For him, it is about the game within the game. Football to him is a reminder that many people did not think he could play it. Every day he wakes up, he was to be better than the next day. We can all sit here and say that he needs to retire because there is nothing more for him to achieve.   

For Brady, he plays to win like all great competitors. Yet, there will always be that one more thing to achieve, something not reflected in trophies or rings. Brady wants to proves in his mind he is better than Chad Pennington, Giovanni Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, Marc Bulger, and Spergon Wynn. As we speak, he still wants to prove every team wrong 21 years later. 

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