I predict 9-7 AT WORSE with the possibility of winning 11 now with Manning gone from Indy

I say that because I see 3 losses: ATL, NO, Packers (colts used to be here) as well

I see these games as toss ups: Houston, Detroit, Colts, Cowboys

Everything else is a win. That is 9-7 if they loose every toss up game.

They win some of the toss up games you are looking at 10-11 wins

Wins:
Carolina, Carolina, ATL, NO, Chicago, Minn, SF, Tenn, Jax

Thomas 2.2, Fake ATTY says
I think that they will be prohibitive underdogs and lose the remaining 4 games

See now, that’s where you are wrong. It’s reasonable to think that the Bucs defense will slowly improve from game-to-game. That means there’s a good chance that they finish strong, given our offense as well.

I think we’ll beat the Panthers 2x, the Saints 1x and the Falcons 0x-1x.

If we can go 5-3 in the first half of the season, we can still hit 10-6 for the year. We could even do so if we start 4-4 as well, though it would be much harder.

I’m sticking to my 10-6 prediction from an earlier article. And if you want to see the game breakdowns, look up that article where I posted…I’m not doing it again.

King said the Bucs have “no dynamic playmakers to beat some of these opponents.”

On this, Shaun is certainly wrong.

We have Josh Freeman, of course. But our other playmakers are:
Mike Williams
L. Blount
Sammie Stroughter
Michael Spurlock (he will end up doing the returns eventually, and he is a playmaker there, not to mention he has soft hands)
Ronde Barber
Aqib Talib
Kellen Winslow

And then you have the players that should be taking a step forward this year:
A. Benn
GMC
Miller
Okam
Biggers
Black

And then you have the unknowns…the rookies:
Foster
Bowers
Clayborn

And King went on to say the Bucs’ defense is not ready to hold up at a winning standard.

Shaun is right about this one. The offense is going to have to keep this team winning in the beginning. It’s just unrealistic to expect such a young and inexperienced defense to do well out of the gates.

It will likely take 5-8 games for the defense to “start” improving. So in the meantime, the offense needs to step up. In previous years, there was no chance of this. Things have changed now.

Of course…we have a lot of guys on defense that are full of energy and eager to prove themselves. There is a chance they can excel from the beginning, but it’s a slim one. Expect less from them at the start, and rejoice if they prove you wrong.

And make no mistake. Right now, the Bucs are ALL offense.

With only a 24% chance of making the playoffs if they lose against the Lions, the Bucs will need a win this week. And to have a good offense this year, the offensive line will have to play better than in the preseason.

In reality, the Bucs will live or die by our offensive line this year…at least in the first half of the season.

Remember as well…the Bucs tend to run low on energy in the second half of the first few games each year. This is because rookies don’t realize how fast live game action is and how much energy it uses up. They’ll need to adjust.

raphael Says:
nobody cares what shawn thinks..dude seems bitter…and he was half the QB #5 is ………..10-6 all day

I don’t agree with Shawn either, however…he had one good year as a starter. Technically, that’s all Josh Freeman has had too.

Mind you, I’m not saying Freeman won’t have the better career…but just that your statement isn’t completely accurate RIGHT NOW.

http://mobile.prideofdetroit.com/2011/9/7/2408903/tampa-bay-buccaneers-offense#comments