Someone is going to have to fill Joe in. Maybe it’s the influence of fantasy football where names and perceptions mean more than results and facts.
You’ve heard it; Joe’s heard it. The non-believers in Baker Mayfield think the Bucs will be bad this year because of Mayfield. Yeah, sounds weird but that’s what many prognosticators try to push.
Veteran NFL writer Vic Tafur of The Athletic doesn’t seem sure it’s a good thing for the short-term or long-term of the Bucs that Mayfield had a career-year last year.
Read between the lines with that and you can sense Tafur thought the Bucs should have been in the spring quarterback sweepstakes. But Tafur — in typing that he thinks the Bucs are an under-bet on the season-win totals of 7.5 (meaning Tafur would bet that the Bucs lose at least 10 games this fall) — has more reasons to pile on the Bucs than Mayfield.
I also see a defense that lost Shaquil Barrett, Devin White and Carlton Davis.
OK, Joe thinks Tafur has a point with Carlton Davis. Yeah, Joe is in the minority here. Davis was still the Bucs’ best corner. Until he can replaced, that’s a hole. Can Zyon McCollum do that? We shall see.
But the remarks about Shaq Barrett and Devin White, really? First with Shaq. Joe thinks the world of the guy but he had exactly a half-sack in his last nine games as a Bucs pass rusher, including the two playoff games.
A half-sack in the final nine games is embarrassing. What exactly are the Bucs losing other than a name there?
Devin White? Dude was benched! Does Tafur not know this? When is the last time a team was picked to have a losing season, in part, because a backup left? A backup!
White had 83 tackles last year, 40th for all linebackers. When is the last time a team was expected to have a losing season since they lost a guy who ranked No. 40 among linebackers in regular season tackles?
Almost sounds to Joe like someone got all of his Bucs information from the Red Zone Channel.
