Bucs 2006 Season Predictions - 2nd Quarter

This is the continuation of my Preseason picks. In this post I will discuss the 2nd quarter of games on the Bucs' schedule.

NOTE: I posted this without checking some things, including their record after the predicted wins/losses, DOH! Please forgive me. I have corrected the errors.

Vs. Cincinnati:

The Bucs come home for game 5 to face a tough Bengals team that looks poised to do some damage in the league. They come with an improved defense and a high powered offense with Palmer throwing the ball around to guys like WR Chad Johnson. One thing you can expect is that the Bengals will move the ball and they will score often. This early in the season, I think the key will be how well the Bucs' offense can get it going. I think it will be a little too early in the season for the Bucs' offense to hang with the Bengals. While the Bucs' defense will do a decent job of slowing the Bengals down, I don't think it will be quite enough to win this game. This is a toss-up, in my mind, but I think our offense just needs a little more seasoning before they can win games like this.

Bengals 27-24

Vs. Philadelphia:

After a poor season last year when everything went wrong for the Eagles, they are poised to try and recapture some of their lost glory, and try to make another run at the playoffs, minus T.O. Offensively, however, they aren't as talented as they were during prior contests against the Bucs' defense, and I think this year we'll see McNabb having to run around a lot and trying to make plays on the run. Without the supporting cast, however, it will be more difficult for him to make plays. I fully expect to see Rice shine in this game and take it to McNabb. Defensively, the Eagles have lost a lot of talent over the last 3-4 years. Their defense is still good, but it's not the same one that stymied the Bucs two straight years in the playoffs. As such, I expect the Bucs to have better success on offense than they have previously. Caddy will be a big part of this game, as he must be able to force the Eagles to either respect the run or sell-out blitzing all the time, where the Bucs can hit a quick pass for a big gain (think Jurevicious - NFC Championship). The Bucs offense will finally start gelling by this game, and we should start seeing explosive plays with more frequency. In the end, the Bucs will win a regular season game against the Eagles for only the second time in 10 years.

Bucs 27-13

At New York Giants:

The Bucs will take another rare trip to the Meadowlands to face the Giants, where they have had little success. The Giants, who looked poised to do some damage last year, but fell just short, will be back with a solid offense, headed by QB Elie Manning, RB Tiki Barber, and TE Jeremy Shockley. The Giants offense is the type that will power over the Bucs defense at times, and be stymied at other times. Hit and miss is the best way to look at it, and the results will likely be just a couple of scores from them. The Giants defense, which features DE Michael Strahan, will come after Simms and try to force the Bucs to beat them passing the ball. The Bucs weapons will be tough for the Giants to suppress, but the swirling winds of the Meadowlands have an affect on opposing teams. This battle looks to go down to the wire in a defensive slug fest. And while this game can go either way, and though I believe the Bucs would win more easily here at Ray Jay, I think the Giants will eek it out due to the home field advantage.

Giants 13-10

Vs. New Orleans:

Finishing up the first half of the season, the Bucs get to host the Saints. As with the first game, the Bucs should still enjoy the same advantages, only, the offense will be much improved by then, but then, so will the Saints' offense. This game could turn into a bit of a shootout, but the Bucs should prevail at home and sweep the Saints, especially with them coming off the Bye week.

Bucs 28-21

With the second quarter over, along with the first half of the season, the Bucs should be sporting a 5-3 record which will bode well for them going into the critical 3rd quarter of the season, where they will likely need to go 3-1 again to be reasonably safe that they can make it into the playoffs, as the 4th quarter will be brutal with 2 road games in the middle of December, and the final regular season game against the Seahawks. All in all, 5-3 would be a good start to a really tough schedule. Anything less, and the Bucs could be in trouble. Stay tuned for post #3 later tonight or early tomorrow, followed by the final post.