The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be traveling to Atlanta for their first game of the season. Atlanta has plenty of talent to make the game interesting, but the real question is how their new parts will mesh together. Both teams are missing key pieces, especially on the o-line.
For Atlanta, I expect them to lean on Bijan Robinson more than the aerial attack. Though the Bucs secondary is young and they have plenty of receiving talent, I’m not sure if they want to fully lean on Michael Penix. He’s still a relatively untested NFL starter. The key for them will be protecting him as they lost their blindside blocker much like the Bucs have. With that said, the Bucs secondary is already down pieces, so they will have to watch out for the likes of Drake London and Kyle Pitts. Yes, Kyle Pitts. He almost always seems to do well against the Bucs. The Bucs run defense will have to be sharp today. Thankfully, it seems like Vita Vea will be playing (even though it will likely be on a pitch count).
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For the Bucs’ offense, it will be an attack on all fronts. Though the Falcons have a pretty good secondary, the Bucs have plenty of weapons to challenge them. Even with Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan out, they still have Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka, and Tez Johnson (or whoever the hell is WR3 this game). Baker Mayfield should be able to sling it. With that said, the Bucs still have Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.
The Falcons d-line is incredibly young. They finally addressed the pass rush after what felt like a decade, but this will be the first time they see true NFL action. It will be a very interesting match-up. Jalon Walker/James Pearce will be going up against Charlie Heck on the left side at some point. Luke Goedeke should be able to keep his own, but Heck is a question mark.
I just don’t think we will be coming away from this game being super impressed with either defense. Even with subtractions on offense for both teams, they are too talented to really be slowed down by either side. Todd Bowles has struggled against Zac Robinson, so we will see if he can address that in the first game. The key for the Bucs is to keep up with Atlanta’s offense and hope they can slow them down at some point. This feels like one of those games that’s lost by the team who makes the first mistake. The Bucs have won every season opener under Bowles. Whether that streak will keep up remains to be seen.
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