The All-Bucs Bulletin Team is different from your usual, run of the mill preseason NFL all-star teams. I could have written another article talking about how Peyton Manning is going to throw 50 TD's or that AP is going to run for 2,000 yards but that would just be plain boring. So for the All-Bucs Bulletin Team we put together a team of NFL players that were injured last season or coming off down year in 2013 but will return to prominence and dominate in 2014.
Quarterback
Joe Flacco- 2013 was a down year for Flacco and the Ravens after winning it all the previous season, posting three more interceptions then touchdown passes. He threw twelve more interceptions in 2013 then he did in 2012, jumping from 10 to 22. Trading away Anquan Boldin and losing Dennis Pitta for most of the season really hindered Flacco's ability to make plays downfield. Which lead to him being sacked 48 times last year, second highest in the league behind Ryan Tannehill. The addition of Steve Smith, new Offensive Coordinator, Gary Kubiak, and Pitta's return to good health will help take pressure off Flacco and allow Torrey Smith to stretch the field like he did so well in 2012.
Matthew Stafford- Although Stafford threw for a ton of yards (4,650) and 29 TD passes in 2013, there's still room to improve if he wants to take the Lions to the level of "serious contender". He ranked 25th in the league in QB Rating while throwing 19 INT's and losing 6 fumbles, which helped gift wrap games for Lions opponents specially against the Buccaneers. The Lions already have the NFL's best receiver in Calvin Johnson and they added more offensive weapons this off-season by signing Golden Tate away from Seattle and drafting TE Eric Ebron in the 1st round of this years draft. If new Head Coach Jim Caldwell can help Stafford cut down on the turnovers this team will compete with anyone in the NFC.
Tom Brady- It feels almost sacrilegious to include Brady on this list but last season he posted his lowest QB rating since 2003 and lowest TD passes since 2006. The Pats offense seemed to be in shambles at times last year, yet they were a win away from playing for another Super Bowl. Gronk was hurt, along with Shane Vereen, Danny Amendola, and Aaron Dobson all missing time it was impressive what the Patriots where able to do with a patch work offense. Now that all these guys are healthy (fingers crossed), the Patriots offense should return to it's old high scoring ways. I'm predicting a big statistical year for Brady, 35+ TD passes this season.
Running Back
Maurice Jones-Drew- A few years back MOJO seemed like he was destined to be a HOF running back, amassing 6,854 rushing yards and 72 total TD's in the first six seasons of his career. His yards per carry average was just 3.4 last season, which was the lowest of his career and part of the reason that the Jaguars decided to let him walk in free agency. Last years low yards per average could be attributed to a weak offensive line or lack of quality play at QB in Jacksonville. Jones-Drew is now in Oakland and the situation at QB doesn't appear to be much better but at least he's healthy again for the first time since early in the 2012 season. He went from one bad team to another but he's a special talent and Oakland has had major hole at RB since drafting the ever injured Darren McFadden, MJD has already seized the starting job in preseason and I don't see him relinquishing it.
Stevan Ridley- Theres only one word to describe his season in 2013, shaky. Fumbles were an issue for Ridley last year and that put him in Bill Belichick's doghouse for parts of last season, with number of carries declining by more than 100 from the previous season. Ball security wasn't his only issue, besides losing four fumbles Ridley can't catch a cold, only snagging 19 passes in his four year career. With the departure of his main competition, Lagarrette Blount to Pittsburgh the stars are aligning for Ridley to return to his 2012 form where he ran for 12 TD's and over 1,200 yards. Ridley says he's lost fifteen pounds in the off-season and has made a commitment to improved ball security, the Pats play their cards close to the vest so it's hard to be sure, but with Shane Vereen as their main back in the passing game it would only make sense for Ridley to retain his role as their between the tackles runner.
Doug Martin- 2013 was a disaster for the Buccaneers and Doug Martin alike, coaching issues, terrible QB and offensive line play, and a shoulder injury derailed Martin's sophomore season in the NFL. He saw his yards per carry average drop from 4.6 to 3.6 from rookie to second year, but after a complete makeover on offense and with a new coaching staff in place the pieces are in place for Martin to have a big bounce back season in 2014. Early season injuries to the other Buccaneers running backs Charles Sims and Mike James have it looking like Doug will once again be the Bucs bell cow at RB and will carry the load until everyone can get healthy. As a rookie Martin nearly had 2,000 all-purpose yards and scored 12 TD's, with the new acquisitions on the offensive line, at quarterback, and receiver, he will have every opportunity of returning to his rookie form.
C.J. Spiller- This guy has to talent to be an absolute superstar in the league, but has struggled to stay healthy thus far in his young career. He saw his yards per carry drop a staggering 1.4 yards from the previous season where he averaged 6.0 YPC (yards per carry). Even though he's often injured, Spiller manages to play most of the time but it has hampered him from developing into a All-Pro RB. In 2013 he had five games where recorded less than 25 yards rushing and in two games versus the Jets he only managed to accumulate 26 total yards, yes thats an average of 13 yards per game against the Jets. With all of that being said, he played on a bum ankle, with a rookie at QB, on a bad team, and still managed over 1,000 total yards. If Spiller can improve his consistency, game in and game out, there will be less "splitting" carries with veteran Fred Jackson.
Wide Receiver
Steve Smith Sr.- Steve Smith is mad, he called out his old team, he's fighting his new teammates in practice, and people are doubting that he can still be an effective starting WR at 36 years old. After 13 years Carolina decided to let him go this off-season, and Smith has come into Ravens camp extremely motivated to prove his doubters and specifically the Panthers wrong. Smith is exactly what Joe Flacco missed last year after the Ravens traded Anquan Boldin to San Francisco prior to last season. He's looked very sharp in preseason and will give the Ravens a possession receiver who can take 5-yard curl and turn it into a 60-yard TD. Smith has always been a league leader in YAC (yards after the catch) and I don't expect anything to change with his new team, if he's healthy all year the Ravens will be back in the playoffs.
Roddy White- He spent last season snake bit by nagging ankle and hamstring injuries, yet still managed to tough it out, playing in 13 games. He only had 711 receiving yards and caught just 65 passes both being his lowest totals in seven years, he also managed a career low in yards per catch at 11.3. He finally managed to get healthy near the end of last year and returned to his old form with big games against the 49ers and Panthers tallying 20 catches for 232 yards and 2 TD's over that last two weeks of the season. He might be getting older but he's been so consistent since Matt Ryan arrived in Atlanta, it's not hard to see him returning to his usual form this year. If his wingman Julio Jones can stay healthy in 2014 expect Roddy to put up 1,500 yards and 10 TD's for a Falcons team who's defense might force them to throw the ball a lot this year.
Hakeem Nicks- In his first three years in the NFL Nicks racked up over 3,000 receiving yards and 24 TD's along with a Super Bowl ring. He seemed to be one of the leagues bright young stars at receiver, over that last two seasons Nicks has struggled to stay healthy and his numbers have declined massively. In 2013 struggled to get on the same page with Eli Manning and only had 896 yards in 15 games with 0 TD's after scoring 11 TD's in 2010. That rapid decline in his production lead the Giants to sign Victor Cruz to a long-term contract and let Nicks walk in free agency this off-season. Hakeem landed with the Colts and star QB Andrew Luck, Nicks appears to be healthy for the first time since 2011. He joins a Indy WR core that already has future HOF'er Reggie Wayne, along with the electrifying T.Y. Hilton, the addition of a healthy Nicks could make the Colts a contender in the AFC.
Michael Crabtree- Crab has been referred to as a "mediocre receiver" by one Richard Sherman, good ole Rich isn't quite giving his counter part the credit he deserves. After tearing his Achilles in May 2013, he rehabbed from an injury that usually takes a year to recover from in just seven months and managed to play eight games for the Niners last year (5 regular season, 3 playoff). He gained 487 yards in his eight games last year which is impressive after suffering such a serious injury only four months prior to the start of the season. Crabtree only reached the end zone one time in 2013 after scoring 9 TD's the previous season, and was instrumental in San Francisco's Super Bowl run in 2012. This season Crabtree will once again stake his claim as the 49ers number one receiver and Colin Kaepernick's favorite target.
Tight End
Heath Miller- Heeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaatttttthhhhhh! as he's known in Pittsburgh was still recovering from a torn ACL going into last season, but he still managed to play in 14 of 16 games for the Steelers. He only reached pay dirt one time last year posting his lowest TD total of his career and lowest YPR (yards per reception), that's sure to change in 2014. He's healthier coming into this season and with the departure of Emmanuel Sanders to Denver, and a young receiving core outside of Antonio Brown it looks like Heath is sure to see more targets from Big Ben in 2014.
Ladarius Green- This isn't a guy who necessarily belongs on the "bounce back" list since he was only a rookie last year, but I see a breakout coming season for Ladarius Green. Last season he only had 17 receptions but he averaged over 22 yards per catch, he led the entire NFL in average yards per reception for players who caught 15 or more passes, not bad for a rookie. His QB Phillip Rivers is known for targeting the TE and he along with Antonio Gates, Keenan Allen, Eddie Royal, and a returning Malcolm Floyd will looking to create mismatches all season long for defending secondaries.
ESPN and Advanced Football Analytics are showing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers absolutely no respect with their preseason predictions. As you can see from the image, AFA predicts that the Bucs will finish 5-11, only giving us one more win than last season while posting the same division record of 1-5 as 2013. Last season was an absolute disaster in Tampa and the "experts" aren't seeing much improvement. While they predict the Bucs to finish with the same division record in 2014, my prediction is that the Bucs will at least go 3-3 in the NFC South. The Buccaneers are in a good position to start the season 3-0 as they face a banged up Cam Newton and the Panthers in Week 1, they do have an elite defense but also an offense with a lot of new faces on the OL and at WR along with an already injured QB. Raymond James will be rockin' for this division battle to start the season, my prediction is a Bucs win 24-10 over the Panthers. In Week 2 another team with an elite defense will come into Tampa, while the Rams are not a team to take lightly even though they will be starting backup QB Shaun Hill after losing starter Sam Bradford to a another torn ACL in the preseason. My prediction is Bucs win in a close, low scoring, defensive battle, 14-10 over St. Louis. In Week 3 the team will travel to Atlanta for another division matchup with the Falcons, who's defense looks to still be in shambles much like it was in 2013 so it should be a competitive divisional game on a Thursday night national broadcast. Be sure to check us out on Twitter @BucsBulletin for news and analysis regarding the Buccaneers!
