Week 12
Dixie Chicks at Bucs
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: Blacked out in the Tampa and Orlando TV markets. Outside of those markets, the game can be seen on Locally, WTVT-TV Channel 13. DirecTV Channel 706.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 139.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, it will be a bit nippy, but otherwise a glorious day. The entire game will be played under a sun-splashed sky with a kickoff temperature of 68. The temperature will edge just a bit higher but the game is expected to end right where it kicked off: 68 degrees.
Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs +1.5
Outlook: Quite simply, this comes down to Matty Ice and the Bucs secondary. As of late Saturday night, it seemed dicey at best if dinged up Bucs cornerback Eric Wright would start. So your Bucs starting corners will be a rotation of E.J. Biggers, Leonard Johnson and LeQuan Lewis with — Joe hopes you are sitting down — Myron Lewis as the nickel back. Thus far this season Matty Ice has been shredding opposing secondaries, and the Bucs just happen to have a league-worst pass defense. Matty Ice is a statue behind the line of scrimmage so getting heat on him with the defensive line sure would help. It may be too much to ask for the Bucs to control Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez. Joe does know that safety Mark Barron has to start to show improvement in pass protection and turning that corner with Gonzalez roaming the field will be a task. There really is no other element of the Dixie Chicks that the Bucs should struggle to handle. The Dixie Chicks run game will be taken care of by the Bucs and the Dixie Chicks defense isn’t scaring Joe. Matty Ice is scaring Joe.