Buccaneers See Familiarity Between Divisional Foes

Every year division opponents represent a team that fans recognize, understand better than others, and loath. The NFC South is no stranger to some rivalry within it’s own ranks. Weather it’s Carolina, the Falcons, or Saints, Buccaneers fans despise these teams. Well this season boasts quite a bit of familiarity for the Buccaneers that exceeds any other season to date, especially for two opponents.

Playing teams twice a season a season always makes things interesting. But this year with Carolina feels different. Dave Canales abandoned ship after last year to take a head coaching job to become the head coach of the Panthers. Now Todd Bowles and crew, after practicing against them for a full off season and regular season will face off against Canales and his new crew. Does this provide a leg up for Bowles?

To an extent it does. Canales is not armed with a savvy vet like Baker Mayfield anymore. instead he’ll enter the season wit second year pro Bryce Young. His struggles last season were well documented. Canales will be tasked with turning around an offense that was dead last in total yards and points scored. Additions include a pair of, what I can only best describe as overpaid guards through free agency and a wide receiver and running back in the draft.

Now Canales does have the same experience with the Buccaneers defense but this squad is far more equipped than that offense.

 Crowned one of the off season champions the Flacons went through a bunch of changes. Raheem Morris comes in as head coach and brings defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake in to be one of his coaches. On the defensive side of the ball there will be a scheme change that the Buccaneers may be more prepared for than what some people may know or understand. Enter Liam Coen. As coaches move around they cross each others paths multiple times. In Coen’s case he was the offensive coordinator while Raheem Morris was the defensive coordinator for the Rams in 2022. Though he didn’t call plays he game planned and coached the quarterbacks. He was able to play against a Raheem Morris defense that season, a season when the Rams touted a top notch offense on the way to a Super Bowl run.

This could pay dividends this season as Coen watched what Morris wanted out of his defense and how he managed them. What Morris didn’t get to see was the play calling of Coen, Sean McVay had those responsibilities. So could the lack of practicing against Coen be detrimental to the Falcons?

Further insight on the defense could be had among the Buccaneers players. The Falcons added Jimmy Lake as defensive coordinator. He found himself in Washington as the Huskies defensive coordinator and head coach till 2021. During that time he coached the likes of both Vita Vea and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Could they relay some of the nuances of this new defense in Atlanta? Possibly?

With both games going to the wire last season this familiarity could boost the Buccaneers.

These games are almost always close and very tuff. The NFC South may be one of the closest contested divisions year in and year out. But this is a game of inches so any insight that the Buccaneers can leverage could provide just enough for them to get a win over these two foes. So this season, watch for that extra rivalry aspect going into these games.