The Buccaneers got this one, right?
Now, on paper, I would say the Bucs can easily handle a team that is 1-10. However, real life is not like paper, the piece of shit that it is. Instead, we have to consider the Panthers as being able to stomp out the Bucs playoff hopes. Yes, I know I said last week was do or die, but somehow we are still alive. Just, on life support.
Unfortunately, this will be an uphill battle considering the injuries the Bucs are dealing with. That early bye week has absolutely come back to bite the team. Jamel Dean, Devin White, Lavonte David are all out. Alright, so that’s both our starting LBs out. Not great, but hey, SirVocea Dennis looked promising. He’s extremely doubtful to start. Better load up on whiskey.
Alright, so now lets get to the real X-factor of this game. The fact that they are facing an interim coach for the first time. If you’re having a PTSD attack, that is because they did this to us last year. Fortunately, they didn’t have one of the best offensive weapons to trade away. Because I don’t think I could’ve handled that again. This may seem like a joke, but there is legit a case that interim coaches start off very hot. Going back to 2010-2021, interim head coaches are 14-9 in their first game. And this doesn’t even take into account Rich Bisaccia Jeff Saturday, Steve Wilks, Antonio Pierce, you get the picture. The Bucs need to overcome this energy if they want to win.
I’m going to ignore the offense of the Panthers, because, in all honesty, the Panthers are going to have to win on defense. Their offense has looked absolutely terrible. O-line is bad, QB is bad, WRs outside 80-year-old Adam Thielen, RBs are bad. Maybe their TEs will beat us through the air. If the Buccaneers can’t handle this offense, I think it’s time to pack it in. Vita Vea just has to say boo and Bryce Young will be sacked.
However, the Panthers still have a decent defense. Jaycee Horn is coming back and they still have a pretty good d-line. With Chris Godwin likely out, this will be the Mike Evans show. I hope. Last time Mike Evans played them, we know what happened. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. But because this team can’t target Mike Evans every single play (or can they?), their other WRs need to step up. Payne Durham needs to moss everyone and Trey Palmer can’t drop easy completions. Baker Mayfield also can’t target someone who is triple covered. That’s my hot take for the day.
I still have hope for this team. Crazy I know. If there was any opponent for most of the team to be injured, it is this one. Whether or not they get out coached is a different story entirely. But I can never determine that.
Make sure you check out Devin’s blog at cannoncrunch.wordpress.com.
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