I’m pleased to be joined by Nicholas Houllis who covers the Bucs on Buc Stop. You can also follow him on twitter @Bucstopcom.
Questions for Nick
1. I know it’s early, but what’s your assessment about the 2015 Tampa bay team?
We felt we were going to have to live with Jameis’ mistakes for the first half of the season but we would have a defense that would take over after last season where it left off. I remember a Patriots team that lost to Buffalo first game of the year then won the super bowl, so its still too early, its only one game….but after this Sundayy, that could be a different story.We noticed some strange personal groups..like the first TD, why was Chris Conte on the field, he played not a down this preseason!! That was a mistake. Players were sucked in by play action fakes, they are going to have to be more disciplined.
2. What are some favorable match ups against the Saints?
Our passing game, with Big guys like Mike Evans, Vjax and ASJenkins, if given time we should be able to move the ball on you guys. Score? That’s another question.
3. What concerns you facing the Saints?
Your offense…Since 2006 Its just been a challenge to compete with you guys and Drew Brees, best Free Agency pickup of all time maybe!! To be honest I don’t even remember him as a Charger anymore!! He is getting older now, still good for 350 yards a game no doubt, but more of a 2TD 2 INT rather than the 3TD 1INT days of the past.
4. Who do you think will be the mvp for the Bucs this Sunday?
I think the Bucs will feed Doug Martin for 20 carries and about 110 yards. Martin is back to form and this young O line can actually run block pretty decent.
5. Give us a prediction of how the game will turn out?
Drew Brees will move the ball well enough, like I said, 350 yards no problem, and one TD, maybe 2. But I think the bucs defense will tighten up after last weeks debacle and as long as we don’t turn the ball over like a machine, we could end up alright..
Questions for Patrick
After seeing the Bucs get the snot beat out of them by Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans, How do you feel about these three things…
1) Do you think the Bucs got it right by drafting Winston over Mariotta? Did your opinion change after Sunday?
Yes. I think Winston has more upside and can have a longer career. Pocket passers are becoming hard to come by. Once he gets a better offensive line and sees the field better he’ll be very tough to deal with. Mariotta might have early success, but you don’t draft a quarterback #1 overall for year one.
2) Name a Bucs player on offense you’d like to have and why?Probably Mike Evans. He has the size and really underrated speed. Patrick Peterson pretty much shut Brandin Cooks down for most of the day and no one else stepped up. Evans is a red zone asset, where we struggled last Sunday.
3) Name a Bucs player on Defense you’d like to have any why?
Gerold McCoy without a doubt. He’s one of the best at his position, and we’re in dire need of interior pressure.
About the Saints…
1) How do you and/or other saints fans feel about Drew Brees at this particular point in his career?
The general consensus is that he’s still an elite quarterback. He played well in Sunday, but as I mentioned earlier, Brandin Cooks was shut down, and that allowed the defense to drop more guys into coverage , forcing Brees to settle for underneath stuff.
They did bring back Joe Morgan this week, and he’ll add some much needed speed. The sooner Spiller can play the better.
Brees is still very good, but that Arizona defense is tough to matchup against.
2) After the result of last weeks loss to Arizona, is the NFC South still obtainable for the Saints? Did that change since before the last game?
Most certainly. If you remember in 2013 the Saints started out 6-0 before eventually losing the division to the Panthers. In 2011, they lost their season opener and then went on to win the division. Point being it’s too early to tell, and while Atlanta looked good, they could have easily been 0-1 as well.
The only thing I think has change is we have less room for error, but winning in Arizona was going to be tough regardless. We had our chances, and I would feel better if we went for it instead of punting.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
