The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) will have a very good shot at getting their second win of the year as they take on the Carolina Panthers (4-7).  They will still be the underdogs, but the Panthers are starting Matt Moore at quarterback as Jake Delhomme is out with a broken finger.  Moore has not started a game since 2007 and in 9 games that season he had QB rating of only 67.0.  He apparantly has a very strong arm and the deep ball is one of his few strengths, so the Bucs can’t get beat deep.  The Bucs are giving up 160 rushing yards per game, and with an inexperienced quarterback starting for the Panthers they will most likely hand the ball off a ton.  The good news for the Bucs is that both of the Panthers’ main backs, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart, are injured and are game-time decisions.

Although the Panthers are not a very good football team, they do defend the pass pretty well.  They only give up 181 passing yards per game, so Josh Freeman is probably going to struggle.  That means Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward are going to need to have big games.  The Panthers do give up 132 rushing yards per game, so there is reason to believe that Williams and Ward can have success.  Without a passing game though, the Bucs will have a hard time getting into the endzone, so I am going with the Panthers in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10, Carolina Panther 21

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-9) are heading to the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons (5-5) Sunday.  The Falcons are a much better team at home (4-0) than they are on the road (1-5), so the Buccaneers need to be prepared to play a solid football team.  The Bucs’ defense has been giving up way too many rushing yards all season (169 yards per game), something the Falcons are going to try and take advantage of.  Good news for the Bucs is that the Falcons’ star running back Michael Turner probably wont play in this one and is listed as questionable due to an ankle sprain.  Even if Turner does play, he wont be as effective without his ankle 100%.  Jason Snelling will likely get the bulk of the carries for the Falcons, and although he is a back-up he is a very capable back.  He has had some good games for the Falcons and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry this season.  Although I expect the Falcons to run the ball a lot, the Bucs defense cannot forget about quarterback Matt Ryan.  Ryan has been having a “sophomore slump” this season, but he is coming off one of his best games of the season.

Josh Freeman will stay the starter for the Bucs’ at quarterback, despite having 11 turnovers in his three starts.  The Falcons don’t have a very good pass-defense though, so I would expect some improvement from Freeman compared to last week where he threw three interceptions.  The Falcons also give up 126 rushing yards per game so Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward could have their first good game in weeks.  I don’t think the Bucs’ offense will be able to keep up with Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ offense, so it looks like the Bucs will get their tenth loss of the season.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, Atlanta Falcons 27

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6) get to show American Football off to London, England this Sunday, but unfortunately they are playing the New England Patriots (4-2).  The Patriots put on a clinic against the Tennessee Titans last week, with a 59-0 demoralizing defeat.  The Titans, like the Bucs, have not won a game and are not on the same level as the Patriots.  Tom Brady got out of the funk he has been in every since returning from knee surgery, as he had a record-breaking five touchdowns in the second quarter.  Brady and the offense looked like the 2007 Patriots who did not lose a regular season game.

The Buccaneers are completely in over their heads in this match-up and it could get ugly.  They really need Josh Johnson to have the game of his life if they want a chance in this one.  Johnson, who replaced Byron Leftwich in week three, has not been much better then Leftwich.  He has thrown five interceptions in three starts and looks lost out their at times.  He is athletic, and should use his scrambling ability as much as possible against the Patriots.  They will also need a big game out of Cadillac Williams, who has yet to have a 100 yard game and has three games where he failed to get into double digit rushing yards.  This is going to be a very rough game for the Bucs and hopefully for their sake they can put up a better performance then the Titans did last week against the Patriots.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, New England Patriots 35

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4) are on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) this week and are looking to make it four straight wins against the Eagles.  That is not likely though, as the Bucs have yet to get a win this year and the Eagles are getting their starting quarterback Donovan McNabb back from a rib injury.  McNabb wont have to do much against the Bucs though, as the running game will do plenty of damage agains the Bucs’ defense.  The Buccaneers are giving up a 172 rushing yards per game, so the Eagles’ running duo of LeSean McCoy and Brian Westbrook will run all over them as they average 4.4 yards per carry.

The Buccaneers quarterback situation has not been very good.  Byron Leftwich is now the third string QB for the Bucs, and Josh Johnson will continue to be the starter.  The 23-year-old Johnson threw 106 yards on 13 of 22 passes and had one touchdown and one interception in the first start of his career last week.  He will have his hands full in only his second start, as the Eagles defense will attack the inexperienced QB.  Their defense is only giving up 156 passing yards per game, so it looks like the Bucs offense is in big trouble.  They will need a huge game from Cadillac Williams if they want a chance in this one, as the running back is averaging 5.0 yards per carry and has been a threat as a receiver too.  The Eagles are just way too much for the Bucs to handles though, and they should not have any problem winning this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10, Philadelphia Eagles 34

I don’t see where the Buccaneers have gotten better in the off season while the Saints and Panthers have reloaded.  With that in mind I have to take the under with the Bucs.  Everything would have to go right for the Bucs to win the NFC South again in 2008 and I just don’t see it in the cards.

This just isn’t going to happen.  The Bucs should be better than last season but they would need Jeff Garcia to play like a Pro Bowler all season to win more than 7 games this season.  The Bucs did improve the defense in the draft and free agency so they could surprise.  But, I would bet on the under.

The over/under for Buccaneers wins is 8.  The Bucs are 30-1 to win the Super Bowl and 15-1 to win the NFC.

I suggest a play on the under because of the tough schedule that includes cold December games.  Also, I’m not sold on Chris Simms as a QB.

The Bucs have been a thorn in the Falcons side as of late.  The Bucs have covered five of the last six times they’ve traveled to the Georgia Dome.  The Bucs just dare Vick to run and make him pay when he tries.  The Bucs will win this game on the road and make a statement early in the season.