My take on the 2024 season

Got it right in 2023

Last season, I predicted our Bucs to finish 8-9 to 9-8 in the regular season. 9-8 is just what they did. I think the team was better than that record when the playoff run ended. In the end, it all ended up with the team only winning one more than it lost. That’s why, to me, it was hard to jump onto the Baker Mayfield Party Train. Don’t get me wrong, I believe Mayfield is a great leader by example. He’s the kind of player that is very easy to root for. It’s all a great story of an improbable turnaround. It’s a story that all football fans love. It’s why “Rudy” grabbed us all by the heartstrings. I’m not comparing Mayfield to “Rudy” it’s the underdog story that I allude to. Everybody loves an underdog to some degree. It’s no secret that a 9-8 record rarely gets an NFL Team into the playoffs, much less is good enough to win their division. Mayfield was in a great situation to become the hero in Tampa last season. Can you name any other quarterbacks given such a huge raise in pay after winning just one more game than they lost?

Another blank canvas for Mayfield in 2024

It’s all set up for Baker Mayfield to take the next step. A blank canvas to create a masterpiece. The surrounding team is better. Where the Bucs were weak in 2023, they are stronger in 2024. He has been given more to work with, thanks to another great draft in 2024 by Jason Licht. Please show me a better GM in the league. A few are on the same level, but none superior. Can the Bucs again prove the critics wrong? Will they reveal the national media to be clowns again? I believe they surely will. Unless Mayfield crashes and burns in 2024, the Bucs should again be the team to beat in the South Division. This season, I see the Bucs finishing at 10-7 to 11-6. Even if Mayfield goes down with an injury, I still predict the same finish. Trask is the real deal and will show it if called upon. The Bucs should split with the Falcons and beat the Saints both times. If they don’t do those two things, it could all go south for them. I see them as able to do both. I believe they will lose to the Eagles and to a team that they are favored over, possibly the Giants. The main thing, though, is the overall season record. The wins and losses to which teams are less sure than the final win/loss record. What do you say the final numbers will be? Go Bucs!!