The Buccaneers with the signing of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski over the off-season have suddenly put themselves into the talk of a Super Bowl appearance.
The Super Bowl will be played in Tampa this year, and no team has ever played in the Super Bowl in their home stadium.
The Bucs have a chance to make history and be the first team to accomplish that feat.
The prognosticators from NFL Network, ESPN, and other media sources have the Bucs finishing second in the division behind the New Orleans Saints.
The overall consensus is that the Bucs will finish anywhere from 10-6 to 12-4 good for second place in the division.
The Vegas oddsmaker has the Bucs odds at making the Super Bowl all over the place.
BetMGM Sportsbook has the Bucs at 12/1 to win the Super Bowl this season.
Their favorite is the Kansas City Chiefs who are 6/1 favorites, followed by the Baltimore Ravens at 7.5/1 and the San Francisco 49ers at 9/1.
The Bucs are tied with the Saints at 12/1 odds. I’ve seen a lot of early predictions that have the Saints beating the Bucs in the NFC championship game.
Here are some other gambling site odds for the Buccaneers reaching Super Bowl 55.
BetOnline 12-1
Bovada 10-1
Sports betting.ag 12-1
MyBookie.ag 9-1
Almost everyone is talking about the Bucs as a legitimate Super Bowl Contender. Here’s why.
The offense on paper is shaping up to be one of the best in the history of the Buccaneers.
With Tom Brady under center, he will have three potential Hall Of Fame receivers to throw to. I’m including tight end Rob Gronkowski in that mix.
Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Gronkowski will get the attention of opposing defenses. We haven’t even talked about what OJ Howard or the rookie from Minnesota Tyler Johnson will add to the mix.
Ronald Jones is poised to have a breakout year. Brady has had a solid running game in New England going as far back as Corey Dillon. Le’Veon Bell, James White, and now Sony Michael have been solid backs for the Patriots the last few seasons.
With the Bucs adding Ke’Shawn Vaughan to pair with Jones, I’m ok to go into the season with those two guys at running back.
The Bucs improved their offensive line with the drafting of Tristan Wirfs from Iowa at tackle.
This offensive line with Wirfs, Cappa, Jensen, Marpet, and Donavan Smith is much better than anything Brady had to work with, in the last couple of seasons.
Defensively, all the main pieces are back. The Bucs re-signed defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and linebacker Shaq Barrett who led the NFL in sacks last year.
Linebacker Jason Pierre Paul is back for another year, and we should see improvement from last year’s rookie linebacker Devin White.
The Bucs added another key piece in the secondary drafting Antoine Winfield Jr. from Minnesota in the second round.
The Bucs defense made huge strides in the second half of last season. The turning point came in late October when Jason Pierre-Paul returned from his neck injury.
If not for the turnover problem, the Bucs would have a shot at 10-6 and possibly one of the last playoff spots in Bruce Arian’s first year.
On paper, this team is built to win now.
Brady and Gronkowski will hold the guys accountable on the offensive side of the ball, While Pierre-Paul and Lavonte David will do the same in the defensive room.
I’m not ready yet to put this team in the Super Bowl, but I do know this is going to be the most fun team to watch we have had in Tampa in a long time.
-Team facilities will open on Tuesday but only for, employees of the organization, and players rehabbing their injuries.
No coaches or players will be allowed into the facility until further notice. So all the learning and coaching will continue to be done virtually.
