ESPN: Bucs, NFC South Are Garbage
May 14th, 2024
“Something’s wrong, Mr. Glazer.”
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht now has dozens more people to hate.
Licht admits his team’s DNA includes fighting against Big Media that continues to discredit, discount and disrespect his team, which happens to be riding a streak of three consecutive division titles after winning the Super Bowl. That combination is uncommon in NFL history; Joe’s done the research.
So ESPN, a proud paid partner of the NFL, put together what they called a “power panel of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities” to rank every NFL team. The results comprise the latest ESPN “power rankings.”
And where to the Bucs rank? The experts say Tampa Bay is the 19th best team in the NFL out of the playoff group (top-7) in the NFC. Somehow, the Eagles are No. 5. That’s the team the Bucs hammered in the playoffs a year ago.
Fun times.
Even more fun is the Bucs falling two spots in the power rankings after the NFL Draft.
At least ESPN put the Bucs atop the NFC South. Atlanta was ranked No. 20 overall and the Slimy Saints checked in at No. 24 with Carolina at rock bottom.
May 14th, 2024 at 2:36 pm
The Bucs will prove them all to be worthless fools
May 14th, 2024 at 2:47 pm
That’s a fair placement for Tampa. We were 8-9 last season, lost some key starters and captain(s), and vastly overpaid for an at best above avg NFL QB. Last time we played the Saints we got smashed. Last time we played the Panthers and falcons, Baker had like a 40% completion rating in both games and we only put 9 pts on Carolina lol…
We can hate on Eagles being listed much higher than us, but they added Saquan Barkley to an already pretty impressive roster. Who’d we add?
May 14th, 2024 at 2:52 pm
The NFC South was trash last year, and the Bucs got extremely lucky to face a bunch of teams on bad slides when the Bucs played them – that includes the Eagles who were terrible at the end of the year.
In any case, you can only play who is on the schedule, so that’s no disrespect to the Bucs, but I don’t get how people think this is one of the best teams in the NFC. You have a middling QB, and that’s middling coming off a career year, if there is any backwards slide, you have a bad QB. On defense, you lost three starters and you’re counting on rookies, or depth players, to replace them.
Still, the team did get to the second round of the playoffs, and if Baker doesn’t choke on the last series in Detroit, who knows what happens.
Personally my expectations or low, but I’ll be hoping they exceed them. For me, I’d much rather be happy when my team overperforms, rather than crown them as Super Bowl champs and then want to cut my wrists when they start out 0-2. But that’s just me, to each their own.
May 14th, 2024 at 2:52 pm
Only a slight diss with a 9-8 record. 13 other teams had a better regular season than the Bucs last season. If they were in a different division they wouldn’t have made the playoffs. Would still rank them four spots higher at 15.
May 14th, 2024 at 2:58 pm
Last year, this 19th Best Team in the NFL beat the defending NFC Champions in the playoffs 31-9.
May 14th, 2024 at 2:59 pm
Okay, I get it. We play in a bad division, therefore beating those teams doesn’t show out how good you are. Detroit got within a hair of the Super Bowl and we almost beat Detroit, I would take from that that we were a lot better team at the end of the year than we’re in the beginning, and can compete with anyone at this point
May 14th, 2024 at 3:04 pm
OK…
Fine with that ranking of a team that was 9 and 8 last year.
Eagles clearly rated too high. What do people think that Barkley is an improvement over Swift.
May 14th, 2024 at 3:07 pm
without Brady the bucs are still just the bucs.
er yucks which ever you prefer
they are scrappier now. so now, they are a scrappier, more boastful team with little actual championship leaders.
they rode the brady train and learned nothing. pathetic
May 14th, 2024 at 3:09 pm
IDC about the “bad division” talk, truth is we take care of business against other NFL teams we get a shot at the postseason which is a shot at an opportunity to win a title, that’s all that matters. Don’t care if the team we play is over, at, or below .500 they’re in our way and need to be handled accordingly.
May 14th, 2024 at 3:12 pm
They always over-hype the NFC East.
Cowboys at #9 and in their very same write up it says they have major questions at running back, offensive line, defensive line and wide receiver and in the secondary.
lol that’s like every position but QB & LB.
In general last year was a big year of change in the NFL landscape and this year will be similar. Lots of new QB’s everywhere and I could see a lot of change from prior year results, but we should be a better team this year for sure and the continuity should help in a year where most everyone else is going through major changes.
May 14th, 2024 at 3:30 pm
LOL I love predictions.
May 14th, 2024 at 3:30 pm
Meaningless drivel from the makers of meaningless drivel BSPN
May 14th, 2024 at 3:31 pm
These people just look at head coach Dr. Complexity and realize that repeated busting of assignments leads to losses.
May 14th, 2024 at 3:31 pm
Boss Says:
May 14th, 2024 at 3:07 pm
without Brady the bucs are still just the bucs.
er yucks which ever you prefer
they are scrappier now. so now, they are a scrappier, more boastful team with little actual championship leaders.
they rode the brady train and learned nothing. pathetic
^^^^^^^^
What are you talking about?
May 14th, 2024 at 3:41 pm
@joe
common sense……hard to interpret I know…..
May 14th, 2024 at 3:41 pm
Big Red! What leaders and captains were lost? You can’t mean backup LB Devin White!? We added Whitehead, IOL depth and edge depth. What did we lose? We will fall somewhere between 10-20 when it’s all said and done, so they might not be wrong.
Eagles could be dangerous again but they lost Kelce and IOL depth. Likely improved their secondary like us and Barkley should be great but we don’t know the impact of Kelce yet. Their OL possibly got worse and ours much better. Dallas is a joke. No contracts for their 2 best players, no RB, lost OL players, lost their DC. Mike McCarthy is awful! I won’t be surprised to see them as a .500 ball club at best this year. The Packer love is a little strong for my liking. Gotta see Love do it again, they have a nice offense though and a good coach. Bucs been spanking them since 2020 though. Bears who knows. Niners Lions will be good again. Falcons might be good as well. Falcons and Bears the big ?’s in NFC.
May 14th, 2024 at 3:43 pm
Muncher
Great post! I’m not being snarky. I disagree but you laid it all out there and we can all bookmark May 14th in the JBF files to come back at the end of the season to see just how accurate you are.
As for the past however…”You have a middling QB, and that’s middling coming off a career year,”
I’m just curious as to how you defend your bias? You can respond to some facts if you wish if not I understand. LMAO
Middling? Career year?
“Mayfield set the NFL rookie quarterback record for passing touchdowns during his first season, along with ending a 19-game winless streak for the Browns in his debut.”
“His most successful season was in 2020 when he led the Browns to their first playoff appearance since 2002 and first playoff victory since 1994.”
“On the annual Top 100 Players list for 2019, Mayfield’s peers named him the 50th best player in the league, one spot behind teammate Myles Garrett.”
Note that was a vote of his peers not blog keyboard warriors like you and me.
His FELLOW NFL players indeed agreed with you Muncher. They placed him right in the middle of the TOP 100. Of course there are 1,696 players to be in the middle of….
The PLAYERS VOTED Baker ahead of Cam Newton, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, and DeShaun Watson…they voted 8 QBS ahead of Mayfield. That means according to the players Baker was in the top 25%…perhaps we disagree on “middling”.
IMHO “middling” means the 50% mark not the top Quarter.
Google is your friend as am I. I appreciate your passion, and conviction. I suspect you have yet to figure hyperbole is not your friend.
An OBJECTIVE analysis would acknowledge Bakers success along with his failures, his strengths along with his weakness. He has a history of throwing too many INT’s…he cleaned that up in LA and did well last season.
Nobody is saying he is Mahomes but some of us believe he’s still about 8th.
SOME of us on #teampositive are not predicting with your authority but simply hoping Baker’s career will mirror that of Rich Gannon who was far worse his first 12 years before exploding in his 13th season. We base this not just on LAST year but two of the seasons with the Browns and the fact while you focus on the
LUCK…some of us see the challenges. Canales a rookie OC…no running game…the malaise left by the messy way the GOAT left the team his final season.
I’m not predicting anything. Just sayin’ there are reasons to be optimistic but I don’t wish to take away from #teamnegative!
May 14th, 2024 at 4:06 pm
Love it when the experts are wrong.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:07 pm
MAY NFL power ranking are as informative as AUG preseason Top25 in college football…It’s all a beauty pageant fluff for fan base click bait.
Frankly, there’s 5 teams in each league with legit shots at hoisting a SB trophy in FEB 2025. (AFC: KC, BUF, BAL, MIA & HOU….NFC: SF, DET, LAR, DAL or PHI)…I honestly don’t see TB making the NFC Championship, but hope I’m wrong!
May 14th, 2024 at 4:10 pm
Boss,
Did you start drinking early today?
Signed,
A concerned fan
May 14th, 2024 at 4:15 pm
I think most Buc fans do not care what ESPN thinks. They are more interested in politics then they are sports.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:20 pm
lol @ Schiano…..
this is me sober.
when I drink I blindly believe the Bucs can win it all.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:23 pm
stpetebucfan – When people talk stats or facts about players, and they’re not just reciting bumper stickers, I’m always respectful, maybe with a jab here or there, but I always enjoy talking football.
As for the team I hope you’re right, and I’d love to be proved wrong – I’m again not rooting against the team at all, just giving my expectations. Also, for the record, my predictions from 2015-2021 were dead on in terms of wins and losses, then in 2022 I was only off by one game, and last year I even did game by game predictions and had them at 4-7. So I’m not way out there in terms of doom and gloom, or being overly excited – I try to keep everything realisitic.
As for Mayfield, the talk all of last year was about him having a career year – but yes, clearly in 2020 he had a better year. Still not as good as Winston had in his best year in Tampa, but still good. Last year Baker was 18th in QBR, 20th in scoring, and one of 9 QBs to start all 17 games. Out of those 9 QBs who started all their games, he was last in yards and scoring. Also, Winston had a better QBR in 4 of his 5 years here, compared to what Baker had last year – just as a frame of reference for how I judge Baker. He was very inconsistent last year, with some great games, and a lot of very bad games.
The biggest concern I have with Baker is if he has any sort of slide backwards, he’s going to be well into the bottom third of passers and that’s going to be tough to win with. While I will say things to trigger the Baker Bois, I don’t actually hate him. But man, what a free ride he gets. People would be complaining about a 2nd quarter INT in week 3 vs Atlanta for literally the entire season, and Baker has one of the biggest chokes ever and people pretend like it never happened.
As for the optimistic take on Baker… well, if he’s simply more consistent, that would go a very very long ways towards fixing a lot of problems I have with him, and being on the same team, knowing the guys around him, presumably with a better run game and better blocking, if that happens, then hopefully that results in less of those very poor games. And that is certainly not unreasonable.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:27 pm
The Bucs beat the NFC North except for Detroit. That included the Vikings with Cousins healthy, the Bears, and destroyed the Packers. We also beat the Jags and their underachieving QB Lawrence. The Jags, Bears, and Packers are rated ahead of the Bucs at #13, #16, and #10. ESPN must think the draft doesn’t improve your team unless you drafted a QB or WR in rd1. Ultimately the Bucs need to dominate the division and have some splash wins elsewhere.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:29 pm
Vegas still has ATL to win division. Got +300 for TB to win division and also + money to reach the playoffs.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:33 pm
Boss Says:
May 14th, 2024 at 3:41 pm
@joe
common sense……hard to interpret I know….
^^^^^^^^
Are you the queen of passive aggressive behavior?
May 14th, 2024 at 4:34 pm
ESPN will be claiming transvestites should be playing in the NFL shortly so who gives a $hit what they think.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:36 pm
Boss: The Bucs made the playoffs with the new guy, too. I know that’s hard for you to accept. Hahaha
May 14th, 2024 at 4:37 pm
Well, pfft. Baker has a poor QBR
May 14th, 2024 at 4:43 pm
Our offense got some significant help with this draft……Strengthened interior Oline, WR3 & RB 1A…..
Liam Coen may be an upgrade from Canales……stay healthy and we should be much stronger.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:43 pm
Maybe baker need to do more insurance commercials again like that muppet baby pat mahomes bring in wirfs Mike and Todd Bowles
May 14th, 2024 at 4:57 pm
Don’t remember who said it, but love a post that’s concise.
“Tards gonna tard.”
Thank you.
May 14th, 2024 at 4:58 pm
10-7
May 14th, 2024 at 5:18 pm
Dave Pear – You’re welcome.
May 14th, 2024 at 5:27 pm
Thanks Rod!
May 14th, 2024 at 5:27 pm
The highest QBR ever recorded was by Charlie Batch against the Bucs in 2010. His stat line:
12/17, 186 yards, 10.9 AVG, 3 TD, 2 INT
QBR is about as useless as PFF stats.
May 14th, 2024 at 5:33 pm
Joe can you please post the list of the 80 media types that contributed to these rankings so we can point out the errors of their ways at the end of the season?
May 14th, 2024 at 5:38 pm
n 80 writers, editors and TV personalities”
Seems it’s not just ex players still in concussion protocol.
May 14th, 2024 at 5:45 pm
I think a lot of teams are pretty even in talent. Comes down to staying healthy and a little luck. I do think we can be better but Baker can’t regress and Bowles has to be better with game/ clock management in tight games.
Go Bucs!
May 14th, 2024 at 6:35 pm
The nonsense begins early with experts like Munch knowing more about Mayfield than the esteemed Jason Licht, Coach Todd Bowles, countless ex Buccaneers like Rondee Barber and more. Baker’s floor was last year and with an improved O line, new OC, and improved running game he will have a sensational Year 2 with Tampa. Munch has a lot of his ego invested in endless negativity toward Baker. Must have been tough seeing Baker perform beautifully in the playoffs? Meanwhile every batted pass, INT, sack, and fumble will be some sort of weird Munch vindication. We will add it all up at the end of year and Mayfield will be easily in the top 6 of all NFL QB’s. That is going to be tough for Munch to take but the rest of us will enjoy the ride.
May 14th, 2024 at 6:44 pm
The Garbage divisision.
May 14th, 2024 at 6:48 pm
Who cares!!
May 14th, 2024 at 7:00 pm
What’s with the weirdo mentioning transvestites? He’s probably at a Costco wearing his mom’s pantyhose beneath his jeans.
May 14th, 2024 at 7:04 pm
@Rod…btw I mean no disrespect with “Muncher”. Carpet Munching has always been one of my favorite activities and I suspect a man’s man like you also enjoys it.
At any rate thanks for an excellent response!!! Truly well done. I’m not sure whether Dave Pear was ripping you or me but it’s not like he has the intellect to post as you just did.
I’m impressed…truly…and btw I will certainly give you props as a Buc’s FAN. I’ve never found you to post anti Buc stuff and even when you view the “challenges” you at least add you hope your wrong.
That post made my evening! As you can tell I like posters who can express more than a two line rant. Very well thought out!
May 14th, 2024 at 7:14 pm
Thanks ESPN!
Sports media continues to be a significant impetus in helping to motivate our organization. The coaches and players love this stuff — and then proving it wrong.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, I see the Bucs going deep into the playoffs this year, ultimately making a run for the trophy.
Like the media, I encourage the naysayers in this forum to continue their contrarian critique. I would just encourage them to keep a copy of their negative opinions until Jan-Feb ’25. Then we’ll compare notes!
Go Bucs in ’24!!
May 14th, 2024 at 7:33 pm
Joe: Your website blocked me again — thanks. Please look into this as my post did not contain any offensive statements or words(?!).
May 14th, 2024 at 7:39 pm
Aaron … ‘I think a lot of teams are pretty even in talent. Comes down to staying healthy and a little luck. I do think we can be better but Baker can’t regress and Bowles has to be better with game/ clock management in tight games.’
Nice summary Aaron. None of us have a clue in May how this 2024 season will really turn out. Lots of emotion sneaks in among media & fans, but that’s not what really wins football games. Staying healthy is huge, because most NFL teams (us included) can’t afford to stock ourselves with only high round draft picks & expensive FAs to fill the holes. And yes, Lady Luck does play a role in every game.
Baker is who he is IMO. He’s shown himself to be a very good leader, and a ‘competent QB’. What’s most important is that we can win with him at QB, as long as he’s supported reasonably well by his Oline, his weapons, and our defense & S/Ts. And as far as Todd Bowles goes, this is his team; our players support him 100%, and he’s grown a bunch over these past 2 years. That’s all I really care about. Looking forward to a winning 2024 season.
May 14th, 2024 at 8:15 pm
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, F*ck ESPN.
May 14th, 2024 at 8:46 pm
Completely meaningless. The genius of the NFL is the playoff format. Right now, every team is in contention and every team has holes. There are only about 4 teams you could truly rule out of Super Bowl contention. And unlike college, where maybe 7 schools even start the season with a chance, voting and media don’t count.
May 14th, 2024 at 8:52 pm
Stpetebucsfan this is not a book signing or a total ass kiss site make u r stupid little point & move on& rod munchkin is a joker
May 14th, 2024 at 8:56 pm
Stpetbuc& rod munchkin get a room sounds like lbgtq+crap to me
May 14th, 2024 at 9:03 pm
Thanks Gipper…nicely said
Rod Muncher and his qbr propaganda only serve to show his pure hatred of Mayfield….damn couldn’t have asked for a better first year in Tampa and all I ever hear from Rod Muncher and his crew is negative derogatory and sometimes outright lies about Baker.
We get it…you don’t like him…move on.
May 14th, 2024 at 9:26 pm
Dave Pear and Rod Munch are now friends.
We can call THEM “Pear Muncher”!!!
May 14th, 2024 at 9:59 pm
@Big Red.
Overpaid? You just lost all credibility with that ridiculous statement.
May 14th, 2024 at 9:59 pm
i agree with Big Red.
It aint like we added Saquan Barkley or a Shut Down Corner. Most of this offseason involved overpaying our own guys.
we also traded our top corner to a playoff team that just beat us in Detroit.
the jury is still out on Baker Mayfield.
We didnt get more explosive on offense. we also lost Devin White to the Eagles.
May 14th, 2024 at 11:04 pm
I DO believe the Bucs are going to be better overall. I’m still a little skeptical of Mayfield, but I do feel better about him than I did last year.
To me though, he still needs to prove a lot…he had a horrible stretch during the middle of last season…but then he suddenly got immensely better…all the way until the end of the second playoff game, where he WAS the reason for that loss.
But still…with an upgraded offensive line, I believe he has all he needs to prove himself, and I hope he does!
And if he happens to get injured, I hope Trask does as well.
Because that can only mean good things for us fans.
May 14th, 2024 at 11:49 pm
Bucs “fans” Big Red and Boss were mad when the Bucs won the SB, bc they are not actual Bucs fans, or they just can’t stand when things go right..
May 15th, 2024 at 3:25 am
That is the most ridiculous thing ever put out by these guys.
Just when I thought BSPN could not possibly get any more lame and unprofessional…
Sports Journalism is dead.
Go Bucs!
May 15th, 2024 at 6:09 am
@jarrett
Then you as well have zero clue. Carlton Davis is always injured and gets burned more times than not when he is in. Devin White is a diva who is nothing more than a Blitzer with minimal coverage skills. The defense played significantly better when Britt was inserted and white was regulated to a rotational player. As for Evans, we didn’t overpay a dime, in fact, Tampa got him at the perfect price, same with Baker Mayfield, whom people continue to doubt because of two lost seasons by two of the most poorly ran organizations in football in Cleveland and Carolina. Compared to all the money shelled out to other QBs, baker’s contract is a fantastic bargain. And Shaq Barkley was never in the card as yes, resigning our own was the most important thing to do. AWJ got what he deserved. Evans got what he deserved. Baker got what he deserved. And wirfs will get what he deserves. On top of that, Licht and company crushed this draft plus, added some incredible udrfa to the class such as deloach and wisdom. This team got better this off season. Just because you and red can’t see it doesn’t matter. Those who understand football, can.
May 15th, 2024 at 10:24 am
I hope the Panthers beat the Chiefs if they play them
May 15th, 2024 at 2:13 pm
“Saskbucs Says:
May 14th, 2024 at 3:41 pm
Big Red! What leaders and captains were lost? You can’t mean backup LB Devin White!? We added Whitehead, IOL depth and edge depth. What did we lose? We will fall somewhere between 10-20 when it’s all said and done, so they might not be wrong.
Eagles could be dangerous again but they lost Kelce and IOL depth. Likely improved their secondary like us and Barkley should be great but we don’t know the impact of Kelce yet. Their OL possibly got worse and ours much better. Dallas is a joke. No contracts for their 2 best players, no RB, lost OL players, lost their DC. Mike McCarthy is awful! I won’t be surprised to see them as a .500 ball club at best this year. The Packer love is a little strong for my liking. Gotta see Love do it again, they have a nice offense though and a good coach. Bucs been spanking them since 2020 though. Bears who knows. Niners Lions will be good again. Falcons might be good as well. Falcons and Bears the big ?’s in NFC.”
You are a little stupid aren’t you?
May 15th, 2024 at 2:19 pm
at bucsfan 1988
I just hold my Team to a high standard. Looking for superbowl number 3.
Its super bowl or bust this season.
When you look at it from that lense, the Bucs didnt do much but overpay our own guys and we had to let go Devin White, Shaq Barrett and Carlton Davis.
the NFL is a business, you cant pay everybody. So we decided to keep Baker, Mike Evans, Lavonte David and Antoine Winfield Jr and we tried to reload through the draft.
its a bucs life. hopefully Bryce Hall from the Jets has a great season at Corner, but other than that very slow free agent off season.
We didnt get any big name free agents
May 15th, 2024 at 7:40 pm
oLe Timey locker room material