2014 Record: 2-14
2015 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 6.0
Lovie Smith is a great guy and a good coach. He has a proven system and has had a lot of success in the NFL. I want to like the Bucs this season, and I'd like to see Lovie succeed. But it is blatantly obvious that Tampa Bay won't be much better this season, and the reason boils down to two words: Jameis Winston.
Jameis Winston is a loser. And I'm not even making a judgment based on his horrific character. I don't think that Winston will be much of an NFL quarterback, and I think his skill set is some combination of equal parts Kerry Collins, JaMarcus Russell and Byron Leftwich. Can he develop into a mediocre starter in this league? Probably. And his college track record and draft pedigree will buy him a lot of chances. But the Bucs have condemned their franchise by trying to build around a guy that's supersaturated with red flags and bad karma.
It is a shame, because the Bucs have some serious skill position talent. Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson are as good as any one-two wide receiver combination in the NFL. They have a good young tight end, and Doug Martin has shown flashes of brilliance in his young career. Unfortunately, those skill players are shackled with one of the three weakest offensive lines in football and a quarterback that doesn't know which end is up.
Defensively, Smith is still clinging to his prized Cover-2 system. But the Cover-2 is dead. And unless you have a defense loaded with top-end talent, well schooled in this method of play, the Cover-2 is going to be susceptible to getting lit up by accurate quarterbacks. That was certainly the case last year when they gave up 410 points.
The Bucs were outscored by 133 points per game last year. But they actually have a ton of other statistical measures that suggest that they should've been better last year, and they could be primed for a bounce-back season. Poor injury luck, playing without an offensive coordinator, an easier schedule, and an inordinate number of close losses last season (they had eight losses by six points or less) all suggest they could surprise some people this year. But they won't win seven games. I'd play this one 'under'.
WEEK |
DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME (ET) |
Location |
Result |
Pre |
Sat, Aug 15th, 2015 |
atMinnesota |
08:00 PM |
TCF Bank Stadium |
|
Pre |
Mon, Aug 24th, 2015 |
Cincinnati |
08:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
Pre |
Sat, Aug 29th, 2015 |
Cleveland |
07:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
Pre |
Thu, Sep 3rd, 2015 |
atMiami |
07:00 PM |
Sun Life Stadium |
|
1 |
Sun, Sep 13th, 2015 |
Tennessee |
04:25 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
2 |
Sun, Sep 20th, 2015 |
atNew_Orleans |
01:00 PM |
Superdome |
|
3 |
Sun, Sep 27th, 2015 |
atHouston |
01:00 PM |
NRG Stadium |
|
4 |
Sun, Oct 4th, 2015 |
Carolina |
01:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
5 |
Sun, Oct 11th, 2015 |
Jacksonville |
01:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
6 |
Bye |
||||
7 |
Sun, Oct 25th, 2015 |
atWashington |
01:00 PM |
FedEx Field |
|
8 |
Sun, Nov 1st, 2015 |
atAtlanta |
01:00 PM |
Georgia Dome |
|
9 |
Sun, Nov 8th, 2015 |
NY_Giants |
04:05 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
10 |
Sun, Nov 15th, 2015 |
Dallas |
01:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
11 |
Sun, Nov 22nd, 2015 |
atPhiladelphia |
01:00 PM |
Lincoln Financial Field |
|
12 |
Sun, Nov 29th, 2015 |
atIndianapolis |
01:00 PM |
Lucas Oil Stadium |
|
13 |
Sun, Dec 6th, 2015 |
Atlanta |
01:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
14 |
Sun, Dec 13th, 2015 |
New_Orleans |
01:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
15 |
Thu, Dec 17th, 2015 |
atSt._Louis |
08:25 PM |
Edward Jones Dome |
|
16 |
Sun, Dec 27th, 2015 |
Chicago |
01:00 PM |
Raymond James Stadium |
|
17 |
Sun, Jan 3rd, 2016 |
atCarolina |
01:00 PM |
Bank of America Stadium |
All Times EST
Robert Ferringo has been the top football handicapper in the country the past two years, earning nearly $13,000 in total football profit with back-to-back winning seasons. Robert has tallied over $20,000 in football profit the last four years and in 2013 he hit 62.1 percent for the entire NFL season (95-58). Robert has produced an incredible 12 of 16 winning football months. Going back further he has churned out 35 of 51 winning football months, four of five winning overall seasons, seven of eight winning preseasons and he is at nearly 60 percent winners over his last 600 football picks. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System has posted two of three winning seasons and is 101-71 over the last two years (58.7 percent).
We are offering new clients $60 in free college football picks for Robert's picks or any Advisory Board handicapper of your choosing. Get your free college football picks now!
Read more articles by Robert Ferringo
Most Recent NFL Handicapping
- Best NFL Teaser Bets Week 15: Basic Strategy Teasers
- Week 16 NFL Odds - Lookahead Lines - Picks & Best Bet Predictions
- Team to Finish with NFL Worst Record? Odds and Predictions
- NFL Betting Predictions: Week 15 Opening Line Report and Picks
- Six Times Smack Talk Backfired in the NFL
- NFL Conference Championships Best Bets and Odds for AFC and NFC
- Week 15 NFL Odds - Lookahead Lines - Picks & Best Bet Predictions
- NFL Betting Predictions: Week 14 Opening Line Report and Picks
- Seven NFL Teams That Went from Champs to Chumps in One Season
- Week 14 NFL Odds - Lookahead Lines - Picks & Best Bet Predictions