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2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Predictions, Odds and Betting Picks

by Matt McGee

2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Predictions, Odds and Betting Picks

By: Doc’s Sports – 8/15/10

Safe to say 2009′s 3-13 record was the beginning of the rebuilding process in Tampa Bay. But the scary part is that the Bucs will be even younger in 2010, so a .500 record, much less a playoff spot, is a pipe dream and has to be at least a mini dream for fans and backers alike.

This is now second-year QB Josh Freeman’s team, and he’s going to be sharing the field with a lot of guys even younger than he is. That’s because the Bucs chose defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price as well as receivers Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn – all four guys are expected to start from Day 1. McCoy and Price will help to vastly improve a horrible run defense that can’t get much worse than what was on the filed last season. The defense got much better last year when head coach Raheem Morris took it over and returned it to the one-gap, cover two scheme. The Bucs allowed just 17 points a game over the final six games, so that alone will be a big talking point to continue momentum, albeit a new season.

The offense has to feel good about the fact that Josh Freeman earned some valuable experience last year, and now he can take another step forward. He definitely needs to cut down on the turnovers after throwing 18 picks in ten starts during the ’09 season and fumbling nine times to boot. But wins at Seattle and over New Orleans at the tail end of last year. Has given his team confidence he can be the man going forward. The trio of Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham will still be touching the ball a lot and really that running game should be his best friend. And all five starters return on a solid offensive line. Look for tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. to have a very productive season as Freeman’s safety valve if the Miami ‘Cane can stay healthy.

Tampa Bay has a NFL win totals of 5.5 on Betus. And one can’t look past the performance of Josh Freedom when trying to decide which play suits this team. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson has decided to implement a more traditional West Coast offense to limit his quarterback’s mistakes. Olson was thrown into the fire last year when offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski was shockingly fired a little more than a week before the season after having jumped on board instead of continuing in college with Boston College.

Lets look at the 2010 Tampa Bay buccaneers Schedule and some NFL Power Rankings

Week 1: Sunday, Sep. 12, Cleveland, 1:00 PM
Week 2: Sunday, Sep. 19, at Carolina, 1:00 PM
Week 3: Sunday, Sep. 26, Pittsburgh, 1:00 PM
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 10, at Cincinnati, 1:00 PM
Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 17, New Orleans, 1:00 PM
Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 24, St. Louis, 1:00 PM
Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 31, at Arizona, 4:15 PM
Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 7, at Atlanta, 1:00 PM
Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 14, Carolina, 1:00 PM
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 21, at San Francisco, 4:05 PM
Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 28, at Baltimore, 1:00 PM
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 5, Atlanta, 1:00 PM
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 12, at Washington, 1:00 PM
Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 19, Detroit, 1:00 PM
Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 26, Seattle, 1:00 PM
Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 2, at New Orleans, 1:00 PM

This ranks as the eighth-easiest schedule in the NFL, with an opponents’ 2009 winning percentage of .480 (123-133). Five times with Tampa Bay clash with teams that made the playoffs last season.

The Bucs could very easily win two of their first three games and then get a Pittsburgh team that won’t have Ben Roethlisberger and will be playing in the unfamiliar Florida humidity that early. The Steelers likely will be starting Byron Leftwich, who was traded by Tampa Bay during the offseason. It’s hard to see the Bucs winning at Carolina, which has owned this series in recent years (11 of past 14). But the Bucs have won in Charlotte three times since the NFC South was formed – lastly in 2007.

Tampa Bay has won eight of the last 13 meetings against New Orleans and five of the last seven against St. Louis.  So not only do they know their divisional opponents well but the results have come too. The Bucs could very easily be 3-3 entering their toughest stretch of the schedule starting on Halloween as it has four of five games on the road and both two-game trips start with a visit to the West Coast, with visits to Arizona and San Fran. That looks like a 1-4 stretch at best and anything else will be a bonus for this young team.

If Tampa Bay can just hold its own in October and November, then the final full month of the season sets up well for them.  At New Orleans in the season finale is their toughest game and might just be their most important too if things come together like some assume they could. Before that meeting on January 2, the Bucs get three of four home games and all four are against non-playoff sides from 2009. It’s still ambitious to expect a possible playoff birth, but who knows if further improvement comes sooner than expected.

They can and will reach six wins, so my NFL pick is that I’d take the ‘over’. Anything else will be nice but likely that every win will be vital to reach this plateau.

My predictions for week 7 of the 2009 NFL season
Video Rating: 4 / 5