Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2007 NFL Projection:
Coming into last season, we were quick to point out the incredibly difficult strength of
schedule facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
in 2006...
And strength of schedule certainly had a role in dropping the Bucs to (4-12).
Of course the injury bug
also played a role, most notably Chris Simms and Simeon Rice...
In 2007, Tampa's schedule certainly looks easier compared to the previous season,
as seven of the Buccaneers' games in 2007 are versus
teams that finished below .500 in 2006, including;
at Detroit, Arizona, at Atlanta, Washington, at Houston, Atlanta, and at San Francisco...
Of course Tampa fans know the Bucs lost last time they played at San Francisco (2005), not to mention
getting swept by the Falcons (7-9) last season.
On the flip side, the schedule has its dark side too, with the first five games lining up as;
Heck that could be five losses right there (even though the Rams aren't known for playing that well on the road),
so the Buccaneers have to come out steaming in 2007.
Additionally, later in the season the Bucs draw Jacksonville, and of course second meetings with the Saints and Panthers.
However, it's not like the Bucs aren't capable of competing... After all, last season in the "almost" category;
Tampa Bay lost to Carolina by 2 points, lost at New Orleans by 3 points, and lost at Chicago by 3 points.
Not to mention beating Philadelphia and Cincinnati.
Of course the Bucs also were blown out a few times, most notably week 1 versus Baltimore, and on Thanksgiving in Dallas...
But in all fairness, when Tony Romo lit up the Bucs
for 5 touchdown passes, the Bucs were playing their third game in 11 days... A preposterous situation for any NFL
team to be in. Not to mention the Bucs were (3-7) coming in with not a lot to play for in their moment of exhaustion.
At any rate, the Buccaneers' defense was clearly a shadow of its former self in 2006, surrendering
353 points overall.
So who are these 2007 Buccaneers?
The 07 Bucs are a team that looks to be turning to Jeff Garcia (coming off a great fill-in campaign
for Donovan McNabb) at QB. However,
in Tampa Bay, Garcia will find an offensive
line that didn't exactly light it up in 2006. Although the line adds Luke Petitgout in 2007.
Furthermore, the depth at receiver is questionable with the erratic play of Michael Clayton.
It would appear the Bucs will have to rely on their defense to get the job done in 2007.
But after last season's performance, it's tough to give the Bucs' defense too much credence when
making predictions for 2007.
Tampa Bay certainly has enough games against sub .500 teams to potentially get a fair number of wins in 2007.
But there are also a plethora of games versus playoff caliber teams such as
Indianapolis, New Orleans twice, Carolina twice, Seattle, and Jacksonville- likely to keep the
Bucs' record in check in 2007.
Overall we're predicting a (5-11) campaign for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2007.
See the week by week, free football predictions for the 2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers below.
NFL Predictions:
In the grid below are FootballLOCKS.com's preseason made straight up, non point spread NFL
projections for the 2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, displayed as predictions of which
games are likely to be won and lost. Note these are preseason NFL predictions
made before the regular season.
Before moving on to these free NFL game picks for 2007 viewable in the NFL schedule grid below, keep in mind
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Free NFL Predictions Note:
Additionally, when reading the various NFL previews and then checking out the corresponding projected outcome for each game in the 2007 NFL schedule grid below, consider that
these pro football predictions were made
during the preseason before getting a true glimpse of what each team might have been
holding back or keeping secret during preseason games. Much can change throughout the course of the regular
season that can affect
FootballLOCKS.com's opinion of these early football picks and NFL season previews.
So beware of using the below selections or any given NFL preview to make large NFL bets during the preseason... FootballLOCKS.com makes up to date
NFL point spread picks throughout the season.
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A major goal of these 2007 NFL prognostications
is to create a guide for assessing or betting on
2007 NFL season win totals listed by Las Vegas NFL odds makers during the preseason.
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