My post on Tampa Bay being garbage has gotten a lot of response questioning my sanity so here is how I look at that team.
Brad Johnson is an upgrade over Shaun King but he is very immobile. He gets hit a lot and he has had injury problems throughout his career. While he has had moderate success leading both Minnesota and Washington to the playoffs, he has never got past the divisional round.
When is Brad Johnson effective? Johnson is effective with a strong running game to enable his play action and to keep the pass rush neutralized. Tampa simply lacks that. Warrick Dunn is a super situational back but he is not an every down guy. He is just too small. Maybe he will prove me wrong but I challenge anyone to name me an every down back as small as Dunn who led his team to success. Even Joe Morris was much bigger compared to the general size of players in his day.
They start a rookie at left tackle. Good luck. Maybe he will be unlike nearly every other left tackle to enter the NFL in history, but in almost every case, rookie left tackles struggle. The reads and footwork are just so much more complex in the NFL that Walker is almost sure to struggle.
Who the heck is gonna go deep at wideout? Keyshawn is a great receiver but Jaquez Green is not the deep threat needed to keep coverages off Keyshawn on intermediate routes.
Last year the defense faded late in games and that trend should continue. They are a small, speedy defense. That is great for highlight reels of spectacular sacks and picks, but late in games when Ahman Green, James Stewart, Michael Bennett, James Allen or Anthony Thomas is pounding the crap out of them, it won't help them much. They added Simeon Rice, who does less than nothing to stop the run. All four teams in their division have reputable rushing attacks. Their undersized linebackers usually do a good job early in games but they will continue their pattern of fading late.
Let's look at their non-divsional schedule. Dallas and Cincy are weak teams. Pittsburgh may be a weak team as well. Once you get past those three, you have St. Louis, New Orleans, Philly, Baltimore and Tennessee. I would argue that all five of those teams are better, at least on paper, than Tampa. Maybe not Baltimore without Lewis, but certainly the other four.
Look, I may end up being dead wrong about this, but I see no better than 8-8 from this team. They simply do not have the weapons on offense or the size on defense to compete with teams like Minnesota or Green Bay.
Brad Johnson is an upgrade over Shaun King but he is very immobile. He gets hit a lot and he has had injury problems throughout his career. While he has had moderate success leading both Minnesota and Washington to the playoffs, he has never got past the divisional round.
When is Brad Johnson effective? Johnson is effective with a strong running game to enable his play action and to keep the pass rush neutralized. Tampa simply lacks that. Warrick Dunn is a super situational back but he is not an every down guy. He is just too small. Maybe he will prove me wrong but I challenge anyone to name me an every down back as small as Dunn who led his team to success. Even Joe Morris was much bigger compared to the general size of players in his day.
They start a rookie at left tackle. Good luck. Maybe he will be unlike nearly every other left tackle to enter the NFL in history, but in almost every case, rookie left tackles struggle. The reads and footwork are just so much more complex in the NFL that Walker is almost sure to struggle.
Who the heck is gonna go deep at wideout? Keyshawn is a great receiver but Jaquez Green is not the deep threat needed to keep coverages off Keyshawn on intermediate routes.
Last year the defense faded late in games and that trend should continue. They are a small, speedy defense. That is great for highlight reels of spectacular sacks and picks, but late in games when Ahman Green, James Stewart, Michael Bennett, James Allen or Anthony Thomas is pounding the crap out of them, it won't help them much. They added Simeon Rice, who does less than nothing to stop the run. All four teams in their division have reputable rushing attacks. Their undersized linebackers usually do a good job early in games but they will continue their pattern of fading late.
Let's look at their non-divsional schedule. Dallas and Cincy are weak teams. Pittsburgh may be a weak team as well. Once you get past those three, you have St. Louis, New Orleans, Philly, Baltimore and Tennessee. I would argue that all five of those teams are better, at least on paper, than Tampa. Maybe not Baltimore without Lewis, but certainly the other four.
Look, I may end up being dead wrong about this, but I see no better than 8-8 from this team. They simply do not have the weapons on offense or the size on defense to compete with teams like Minnesota or Green Bay.
