A Buccin’ View From Afar: OLD School NFC Central PTSD

For all the old school Buccaneer fans we all remember being the whipping boys of the old NFC Central, the NFL brain trust must have really thought that those teams Chicago, Minnesota, Detroit, and Green Bay needed a mini-vacation in the sun to get away from the winters up north when they realigned the NFL within Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers back 1976 — The days of northern team’s fans flooding the Big Sombrero in December was a staple of the footballing calendar.

Those were dark days in Buccaneers’ history — from the mid-1980s till the mid-1990s. Chicago ran that division, with Walter Payton in the backfield for a lot of those years, a good defense, and an angry Mike Ditka roaming the sidelines. My first game in old Tampa Stadium was against the Bears in the early 1990s, and we were beaten soundly. Neal Anderson ran all over us, and the ineptitude of the offense was glaring on Tampa’s side.

The beating we took in those years has left a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for a lot of Buccaneer fans and even the team itself. Chicago has always been a tough game for us, even when in times when the team should wipe the floor with them. Point in case, last year in Chicago, with Nick Foles under center. Throughout the years, constantly Chicago has been tough sometimes, taking magic moments like the Jameis Winston wonder-chuck after evading the whole defense to get the W, or we just fall back into that little brother mode and beat ourselves. It seems as though the Monsters of the Midway always show up when the opponent is Tampa Bay.

Will it change this year? Once again, the old division rival is back on our doorstep. Chicago is, once again, breaking in a new quarterback with Justin Fields — the Bears 2021 first-round pick — taking the reigns over from Andy Dalton a few weeks ago. Matt Nagy has realized that maybe just, maybe; he isn’t the best guy to be calling the offensive plays and has ceded them to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Watching the Bears versus the Green Bay Packers last week, they had a more cohesive feel to play-calling, but still loads of space to improve. Justin Fields looks like a rookie quarterback. WR1 Allen Robinson still seems to be an afterthought in the offense, with Darnell Mooney being Fields’ wide receiver of choice. The defense is still led by Khalil Mack and a good pass rush, but also not the strongest it has been in recent years. Even with all the instability and newness of Quarterback, plus injuries to the starting running backs, Chicago will still put up a stronger fight than most of us fans would like.

Now for the Buccaneers: The biggest question this week will be whether Tom Brady can remember the down after last year’s meme-able offense in Soldier Field. I kid, but seriously. Rather, for the Buccaneers this year, the big question will be; can the team avoid losing another starter to injury for the first time this year? Antoine Winfield Jr. should be back from concussion protocol, yet the Buccaneers are still missing Carlton Davis Sean Murphy-Bunting and signing Richard Sherman at cornerback. With the absence of team leader Lavonte David, the defense looks thin on paper. Against the odds, the Buccaneers’ defense has been able to hold recent opponents to 22 points — which is really good considering the circumstances. One plus is for the defense is that the pass rush has woken up. Shaq Barrett, with his first multi-sack game last week leading the charge. Barrett, JPP, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka can wreak havoc on Justin Fields’s efforts to steer the Chicago offense. With the defensive line being healthy, the possibility is high, regardless of the mobility of Fields.

Offensively, the biggest question I see is if second-year tackle Tristan Wirfs will repay Khalil Mack for the shoulder toss last year. Wirfs has yet to give up a sack this season; will that still be true come Monday? If the offensive line can hold its form this week and give Tom Brady time in the pocket and open holes for a reborn Leonard Fournette, Sunday afternoon in Tampa will be a long one for the Bears defense. OJ Howard rounding back into game shape will negate a bit of the continued loss of Rob Gronkowski, who is still nursing his broken ribs. Give a GOAT too many weapons, and it should be like shooting fish in a barrel. I had a thought to call the offense “Hurricane Tampa” just because, at its best, you are getting hit from all sides, with a constant barrage, and the core of the storm is calm.

On paper, the game this week should be straightforward — not a complete blowout as there are very few total blowouts in the NFL these days. Still in the back of the mind of a lot of Bucs’ fans is the old PTSD of the olden days when big brother used to beat our ass twice a year. Chicago itself, even though the names and coaches have changed, will come in with some swagger as they hold a 20-game advantage all-time over the Buccaneers. Can “Hurricane Tampa” blow the siding off the Chicago Bears this weekend? Will big brother of the past get a spanking? Can we please erase the memory of last year’s game permanently from our collective memories? PTSD is a fickle thing and can rear its head in odd moments — this week with this Buccaneers’ team, it shouldn’t.

Joshua Garner, @chefgarner1