WORST to FIRST: What team (or teams) that finished LAST in their division in 2017 will finish FIRST in 2018?

[VanS]

3 hours ago, AlNFL19 said:

No, it doesn't only seem unlikely to me because of what happened last season. I just don't believe that this roster, led by Ryan Fitzpatrick, can win 2 of 3 against three more talented rosters coached by better coaches.

That's arguable.  The Bucs have a very talented roster.  There's a reason going into last season they were the trendy team many were picking to win the NFC South while nobody gave New Orleans a chance.

I'm not saying the Bucs are more talented than those 3 other teams.  I'm just saying they are just as talented as those 3.

Tampa Bay is a LOADED football team when it comes to talent.

[Jimmy Austin]

42 minutes ago, VanS said:

That's arguable.  The Bucs have a very talented roster.  There's a reason going into last season they were the trendy team many were picking to win the NFC South while nobody gave New Orleans a chance.

I'm not saying the Bucs are more talented than those 3 other teams.  I'm just saying they are just as talented as those 3.

Tampa Bay is a LOADED football team when it comes to talent.

The only positions that concern me are FS and LT. Everywhere else I think they can at least be solid. 

The one thing that really concerns me about TB is the coaching. They have the talent, but do these coaches no how to use these players? We will soon find out about that. Vernon Hargreaves is a prime example. His best position is slot corner, but Mike Smith nor the DB coaches can't see that. 

 

 

[Crickett]

23 minutes ago, Jimmy Austin said:

The only positions that concern me are FS and LT. Everywhere else I think they can at least be solid. 

The one thing that really concerns me about TB is the coaching. They have the talent, but do these coaches no how to use these players? We will soon find out about that. Vernon Hargreaves is a prime example. His best position is slot corner, but Mike Smith nor the DB coaches can't see that. 

 

Wait, so Hargreaves and Grimes are going to be the Bucs starting outside corners even after drafting Carlton Davis in the second round?  

[Jimmy Austin]

14 hours ago, Crickett said:

Wait, so Hargreaves and Grimes are going to be the Bucs starting outside corners even after drafting Carlton Davis in the second round?  

As of right now they are but things could change especially if Davis and Stewart blow away the preseason. 

[VanS]

On 8/4/2018 at 2:51 PM, KhanYouDigIt said:

Bucs are starting 0-3. They won’t recover from that, especially in that division.

I will say the Texans have the best shot. 

 

On 8/4/2018 at 1:45 PM, AlNFL19 said:

I don't like the Bucs' chances. They're basically 0-3 in their first three and they play in a stacked division.

 

And the Jets won't win the East. I hope. 

 

I voted Houston because if Jacksonville falls off they'll be right there.

On 8/4/2018 at 10:36 PM, Thomas5737 said:

You're entitled to your opinion. Yeah, they beat the Jets and Dolphins last year with Fitz but that isn't the same as beating the Saints (0-2 with Winston and Winston/Fitzpatrick) Eagles and Steelers. Everyone counted out the Browns last year and guess what? They were right. I'll sig bet you that they don't start 2-1 and if you win I'll sig anything you want and if I win you don't have to do anything.

I hate to say I told you so, but this is why you shouldn't place so much emphasis on what happened the previous year when trying to project what will happen in a new NFL season.  This is the beauty of this league.  That teams can go from last to first and first to last in just one off-season.

Tampa Bay is gonna be a playoff team in 2018.

[VanS]

On 8/5/2018 at 11:50 AM, AlNFL19 said:

Not usually. People counted out NYJ and CLE last year, both sucked. People tend to count teams out for a reason. Sure, a couple will surprise people, but most are being counted out for a reason. We're not talking about the Patriots starting 1-1 and the world collapsing or whatever, this is the Buccaneers with a 35 year old Ryan Fitzpatrick against three teams that finished at least 11-5 last season. 2-1 for them seems highly unlikely to me.

Well they got the hardest one out of the way.  Now all they gotta do is win one of the next 2 home games against teams that were less than inspiring in Week 1 (Eagles and Steelers).

[Thomas5737]

59 minutes ago, VanS said:

 

I hate to say I told you so, but this is why you shouldn't place so much emphasis on what happened the previous year when trying to project what will happen in a new NFL season.  This is the beauty of this league.  That teams can go from last to first and first to last in just one off-season.

Tampa Bay is gonna be a playoff team in 2018.

So we can't use last year but you can use 1 game this year?

[VanS]

1 hour ago, Thomas5737 said:

So we can't use last year but you can use 1 game this year?

Our argument was whether they could start 2-1.  You argued it was basically impossible using what happened last year as your basis.  And to be fair, most people think this way.  They think because a team was bad last year, they'll be bad this year.  Or if they were good the year before, they'll be good this year.

All I said was it was possible the Bucs could start 2-1.  Why?  Because every season is different and the Bucs are a team with a lot of talent.   I never said for sure I knew what would happen this season.  The 2-1 start was just my best guess.  Yall are the ones that were acting like a 2-1 start was impossible.

[Thomas5737]

2 minutes ago, VanS said:

Our argument was whether they could start 2-1.  You argued it was basically impossible using what happened last year as your basis.  And just to be fair, this, wasn't just you.  Most people think this way.  They think because a team was bad last year, they'll be bad this year.  Or if they were good the year before, they'll be good this year.

All I said was it was possible the Bucs could start 2-1.  And considering the road game against New Orleans was their stiffest test, I would say 2-1 looks more likely than not right.

If Fitz has two more career games the next two weeks they may even be 3-0. Odds are still that they will be 1-2 going into week 4. They just aren't as good as the Saints, Eagles and Steelers. The Browns aren't as good as the Steelers either even though they just played to a stalemate.

[VanS]

1 hour ago, Thomas5737 said:

If Fitz has two more career games the next two weeks they may even be 3-0. Odds are still that they will be 1-2 going into week 4. They just aren't as good as the Saints, Eagles and Steelers. The Browns aren't as good as the Steelers either even though they just played to a stalemate.

I disagree.  I don't think the Saints are as good this year as they were last year.  I've been anticipating that all off-season.  It just doesn't feel like their year.  You can keep dismissing Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the Bucs do have a lot of talent around him.  And we've seen talented teams carry subpar QBs before.  Nothing the Eagles did in Week 1 impressed me.  And Nick Foles historically hasn't been that much better than Fitzpatrick.  I can easily see the Bucs beating the Eagles next week. 

I will agree with you on the point about Pittsburgh and Cleveland.  The Steelers are better and should show that as the season progresses.  But don't sleep on Cleveland.  They have a lot of talent.  I'm not a big fan of Hue Jackson, so I think his subpar coaching will keep them from reaching their potential.  But the Browns have talent for the first time in a long time.  They should be able to win 5-6 games this year.

[Nabbs4u]

14 minutes ago, VanS said:

I disagree.  I don't think the Saints are as good this year as they were last year.  I've been anticipating that all off-season.  It just doesn't feel like their year.  You can keep dismissing Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the Bucs do have a lot of talent around him.  And we've seen talented teams carry subpar QBs before.  Nothing the Eagles did in Week 1 impressed me.  And Nick Foles historically hasn't been that much better than Fitzpatrick.  I can "easily" see the Bucs beating the Eagles next week. 

Puff puff give, puff puff give! Let's see if Fitz has all day to throw vs the Eagles front 7 next week. Easy? 

Probably as good as chance of Myles Garrett winning DPOY. Possible, but unlikely.

[AlNFL19]

16 hours ago, VanS said:

 

I hate to say I told you so, but this is why you shouldn't place so much emphasis on what happened the previous year when trying to project what will happen in a new NFL season.  This is the beauty of this league.  That teams can go from last to first and first to last in just one off-season.

Tampa Bay is gonna be a playoff team in 2018.

You shouldn't place so much emphasis on one game, especially week one, when trying to project what will happen in an NFL season. This is the beauty of this league. Teams can be great in one week and poor the next. 

[VanS]

22 minutes ago, AlNFL19 said:

You shouldn't place so much emphasis on one game, especially week one, when trying to project what will happen in an NFL season. This is the beauty of this league. Teams can be great in one week and poor the next. 

Touche.

I guess the only thing I can do is call out those who thought a 2-1 start by the Bucs this year was impossible.  You are right, I can't really say they'll win the division after one game. 

[Jimmy Austin]

I like the enthusiasm Van, but the last 2 years we started out with impressive wins that were followed up by 2 Rosie O'Donnells. So we will see what happens this Sunday. I do like our chances BTW. 

I also want to say that I do not want to take anything away from Fitz but the O-line played well yesterday and credit to the receiving corpse of Desean Jackson, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, OJ Howard, and Cameron Brate. The run game could be a bit better, however. 

[Buc Ball]

12 hours ago, Nabbs4u said:

Puff puff give, puff puff give! Let's see if Fitz has all day to throw vs the Eagles front 7 next week. Easy? 

Probably as good as chance of Myles Garrett winning DPOY. Possible, but unlikely.

“Easy” in the sense that it’s not hard to think the Bucs have a shot at winning based on how we played yesterday. Certainly not the circle win everyone predicted for the Eagles when the schedule came out.

A terrible defence will be our undoing this season. We’ll see if they respond next week and we’ll see what we’ve got offensively against one of the best front 7s in the league.