Buccaneers Right Where Most Fans Thought They Would Be

 
by Douglas O'Connor
follow @Ren_Daxt

  When the Buccaneers NFL season schedule was released to the public some fans initial reactions was one of dread. The divisional rotation had the Bucs playing NFC West this year. No small hill to climb with the Seahawks and Cardinals being recent annual playoff contenders and the newly moved LA Rams owning a 4 year 4 game winning streak against us. Toss in back to back games against the 2 teams that played in the most recent Super Bowl and Buc fans were left scratching their heads wondering where the 9th easiest schedule was.

    When you breakdown an NFL schedule most of us look at in quarters, 4 mini seasons. Since the Bucs bye week is scheduled for week 6 it was natural to include the 5th game when predicting how the home team would come out of the gate. Below is a look at what the majority of  fans thought would happen and what actually did happen.

Atlanta Falcons Neither fan base could feel confident that their team would get a W in this week one match up. The Buccaneers finished last season losing their last 4 games. Totally overhauled their coaching staff and brought in 4 free agents and drafted 3 rookies that were inserted as starters. Atlanta also finished last year in a tailspin, after starting 6-1, the Falcons ended with a 8-8 record, including 2 losses to the Bucs.
Fan Expectations: Fingers crossed
Fans Reaction: We've turned the corner. Playoffs here we come.
Record: 1-0

Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals are a popular pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, but had a bad week 1 loss. The Buccaneers are riding high off of their big road win.
Fan Expectations: We'll probably lose but we could sneak out with a victory.
Fans Reaction: That was ugly! No offense! No Defense! Koetter's an Idiot!
Record: 1-1

LA Rams Home opener for the Bucs. Rams haven't scored a touchdown yet but somehow they have a win.
Fan Expectations: This one's in the bag. We need this one with Denver then Carolina on the horizon.
Fans Reaction: Same ole Bucs. Lovie's defense wasn't this bad! Call an ef'en TIMEOUT!!!!
Record: 1-2

Denver Broncos Time to circle the wagons for the Bucs. Leagues best defense coming to town. Denver hasn't missed a beat undefeated and flying high.
Fan Expectations: This could get ugly. We need to run and protect the ball. C'mon D get some pressure.
Fans Reaction: Once again we made a inexperienced QB look like a Hall of Famer. Jameis is regressing! Why don't you go eat some crab legs!
Record: 1-3

Carolina Panthers Head Coach Dirk Koetter tells the media that he is very worried about Jameis turnover problems. Injuries have decimated the Bucs defensive line and running back positions. Carolina is shelled shocked about how the season has went. Just gave up 300 receiving yards to Julio Jones, also league MVP Cam Newton is on the bench in with a concussion.
Fan Expectations: I'd love to beat the Panthers at home on Monday night, but we always let no name quarterbacks beat us. Defense is in shambles. Season my already be over.
Fans Reaction: He made the kick! He made the KICK! He make the FRICKING KICK!
Record: 2-3

     So we swap out the Rams loss with the Panthers win and here the Bucs are at 2-3 just as you thought it would be and that's okay with me.

     The Buccaneers have a very winnable 4 game stretch coming up after this weeks bye. What do you think the Bucs record will be? Biggest surprise in the next 4 weeks? Please feel free to put your thoughts and comments in the space provided below. Also if  you like what you read give the blog a follow, makes it easier to find when we put up new content.

     As always thank you for reading and Go Bucs!



   

Pressure is on Arizona

The Bucs are going to try to become 2-0 for the first time since 2010 and would be the 5th team to do it on the road to start the season. The Cardinals are desperate to get their first victory as they lost a winnable game against the Patriots last week. The Pressure is on Arizona as they can't go 0-2 to start the season as they are coming off a NFC championship game appearance. If the Cardinals lose their first two at home, panic and frustration could set in for their fan base.

I think this is an advantage for the Bucs this weekend, as I suspect the team will be loose and go have fun. In contrast, the Cardinals could be a little tight as they really need this game so that pressure could be overwhelming. I think the Bucs should just play aggressive and just focus on executing the game plan. I think this team has a chip on their shoulder and will play with some juice, trying to get to 2-0. Dirk Koetter and Jameis Winston has this team buying in and is ready to start winning games. Big opportunity against Arizona to show the nation that this team is ready to get back to being relevant again.

Formidable Foe

The Bucs did their job in week 1 by beating a team in which they should beat in the Atlanta Falcons. However, week 2 presents a more formidable foe in the Arizona Cardinals who will be hungry for their first win after losing to a short handed Patriots team last Sunday. The Cardinals have many big named players across their roster and have quality depth throughout their team. They have a great coaching staff led by Bruce Arians and an very good GM in Steve Keim who has done a great job in the draft. Here is a quick breakdown of their offense, defense, and special teams units.

Offense

The offense is led by their skill guys in Rb David Johnson and Wr Larry Fitzgerald who both are dangerous in open space. In addition to those two, they have Mike Floyd, John Brown, and Jermaine Gresham who present size and speed making the Cardinals offense tough to stop. Leading the offense is veteran Qb Carson Palmer who is very accurate and loves to take shots down the field. His weakness though is his mobility as he won't scramble but will stand in the pocket and deliver the ball with timing. The weakness on the offense is the O-line especially on the right side with DJ Humphries who is suspect. The left side is decent with Veldheer and Iupati who are better run blockers then they are pass protectors. Overall, the offense is capable of putting up points quickly.

Defense

The defense is very skilled and athletic starting with their all pro corner in Patrick Peterson who just makes plays every Sunday. Their defensive line is big and physical starting with DE Calias Campbell, DT Corey Peters, and star pass rusher in Chandler Jones. The Cardinals play a mix of 3-4 and 4-3 fronts in which they do a great job of mixing their personnel and love to bring pressures off the edge. Their linebackers are quick and athletic led by Deone Bucannon who is an hybrid as he is a former safety so is an excellent open field tackler already. In addition to Bucannon, they have Kevin Minter and Markus Golden who are both athletic and physical, Golden is one of their better pass rushers of the edge. Their secondary is led by Patrick Peterson who is a lock down corner as well as Tyrann Mathieu who flys around the field. Safeties Tony Jefferson, Tyvon Branch, and DJ Swearinger all rotate in and play their share of snaps. Jefferson is really good against the run, suspect vs the pass though.

Special Teams

Their special teams is solid with Chandler Catanzaro who is an above average kicker. Their punter Drew Butler is very good at directional punting and does a good job of pinning teams back inside the 20. Their return teams is dangerous with Rb Andre Ellington back there as he can make defenders miss and he is someone the Bucs have to account for.

Overall, this is a much stronger team than the team the Bucs just beat so it's going to be a great challenge come this Sunday.

Is Dirk Koetter the Next Bruce Arians?

Could Dirk Koetter be the next Bruce Arians? Absolutely, but the bigger question is will he, I say he will but not right away.  Koetter and Arians are both very simalar in coaching style and background as they are both straight shooters and love to be aggresive in their attack.  Like Koetter, Arians has been a college head coach and long time offensive assistant for mulitple NFL teams before becoming the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in which he has them in the NFC championship game for the first time since 2009.

Gm Jason Licht was part of the coaching search when Arizona hired coach Arians, and I think he believes Koetter can have the same magic that Arians has had so far.

Licht sees Koetter in that same light like Arians, a guy who has had success everywhere he's been and there is no reason that success shouldn't continue as head coach of the Buccaneers. Is Dirk Koetter the next Bruce Arians, we will find out soon enough.