Executives Poll Places Bucs Fourth-Best In NFC
September 3rd, 2025
Joe loves the anonymous but legitimate surveys of NFL team power players and the results that follow.
Mike Sando of TheAthletic.com, the former longtime ESPN insider, is one of the masters of compiling this data.
He’s got a new release that features eight NFL executives ranking the NFC teams by order of finish and offering commentary. The Bucs ranked fourth and there was little range in their placement. The Bucs’ got one sixth-place vote and the rest were threes, fours and fives.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Votes: 4-3-5-4-4-6-3-5 | Avg: 4.4 | Median: 4 |
One year ago, when the Buccaneers were coming off a third consecutive NFC South title, execs ranked Tampa Bay between seventh and 11th in the NFC on all ballots. Winning a fourth division title in a row, led by the NFL’s fourth-ranked offense by EPA per play, has made believers, with all eight execs ranking the Buccaneers between third and sixth entering 2025.
“I think their only weakness is the secondary,” one of the execs slotting Tampa Bay fourth in the NFC said.
Having a first-time offensive coordinator for a third consecutive season would be scarier if newbies Dave Canales and Liam Coen hadn’t parlayed one-year stints into head-coaching jobs.
“What’s new?” another exec said. “They are running the same offense.”
“My Rookie of the Year non-quarterback is the receiver they took, (Emeka) Egbuka,” another exec said. “They’ll get (Chris) Godwin back at some point. They’ll get healthier on the offensive line.”
Joe was intrigued to see the Falcons ranked 11th in the NFC. That’s a lot of non-believers. Not one of the eight executives ranked Atlanta better than the Bucs, and only one of eight had them has high as No. 7.
September 3rd, 2025 at 8:47 pm
Glad when football starts so we can get rid of this guess work! Go Bucs!
September 3rd, 2025 at 8:55 pm
Wow….An NFL executive said; “ Their only weakness is in their secondary.”
That guy needs to listen to the posters here who want to put Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum on the All Pro team. Kirk Cousins carved up Bucs secondary last year for nearly 900 yards and 8-9 TD’s in 2 games. Maybe the NFL executive knows what he is talking about?
September 3rd, 2025 at 9:01 pm
Wow good info here Joe! Interesting about Atlanta, thought they were all in on Penix. We need our players to be available on game day, concerned about Vea now that he is on the injury report.
September 3rd, 2025 at 9:04 pm
Sounds about right, as long as the team is relatively healthy this season. The only teams that would be indisputably higher are the Eagles & Lions. Packers with Parsons probably about level pegging, Vikings unclear, Rams unclear (Stafford health), 49ers unclear (lot of mainstays left in the offseason)
September 3rd, 2025 at 9:23 pm
They’ve been biting our style for years now. Look at every SB ring after SBLV, lol copy cat league
September 3rd, 2025 at 9:31 pm
Every PFT contributor picked us to win the south. One or maybe two had us finishing with the third seed with the rest as #4. Every single one of them had us losing first round.
Most had the packers advancing to the SB.
I guess parsons makes that difference to them.
September 3rd, 2025 at 9:49 pm
if you count Britt’s spot as secondary I guess. not the DBs fault usually imo.
September 3rd, 2025 at 10:04 pm
In all honesty, the ‘weakness’ in our secondary isn’t really a personnel issue.
It’s more of a playcalling/scheme issue with Bowles calling Zone Defense a majority of the time.
Chsnge that playcalling to Man coverage, and our weak secondary becomes a strength.
September 3rd, 2025 at 10:08 pm
4 seed here we come? Not much of a stretch considering we’ve been the 4 seed 3 years running and have improved win totals each year.
September 3rd, 2025 at 10:31 pm
So all these execs expect us to make the playoffs – yet only 1 of them picked the Falcons to make it as a 7 seed…..
September 3rd, 2025 at 10:51 pm
I can sit here and guess too. I’m not so much a hard number guy. I’d say top 3 or 4. Maybe I’m not smart enough to actually predict the future. Maybe I need some Previgen. Lacking such superpowers I’m just gonna watch a few football games. Yeah. Believe it or not they actually still do that. My buddies will be watching with me. Ask us long about Halloween.
September 3rd, 2025 at 11:18 pm
A real head coach would be able to pound Penix. He’d have a full time DC and make sure all the players knew all their assignments.
We have our PhD in Metaphysics, who assumes his players know what they’re supposed to do by the blank, catatonic stares they give back upon reviewing the gameplan and selected play calls.
September 4th, 2025 at 3:03 pm
Time for the team to show the NFL what’s what!!! Get it done Sunday, get it done!!
September 5th, 2025 at 1:00 am
My ex used to pick winners on our company football pool…. by how cute they looked in those tight pants. She won more than some of us male experts.
Poles, particularly anonymous ones? No use for any of them.
Go Bucs!