Saints Nation: Who Knew Tampa Was Any Good?

With the Saints scheduled to play their second game tonight, I was shocked to witness yesterday that they’ll be chasing Tampa for a 1st place tie in the NFC South. How on earth are the Bucs 2-0?? Atlanta played very well and they look like the real deal, as we expected, at 1-1, and Carolina looked horrendous again, and at 0-2 we can pretty much already write them off. Before we start labeling Tampa is the surprise team of the year, they only beat Cleveland and Carolina so far (who both look extremely bad), but pesky teams that find a way to win the games they are supposed to win can be an annoyance all season long. That said, Tampa is actually very lucky to be 2-0. Their QB, Josh Freeman, has a very average QB rating so far. They’ve run the ball with a lesser average than their opponents. They’ve yet to register a sack in 2 games. They’re +3 in the turnover ratio through two games, so that’s been the major reason they’ve won so far. It’s not going to be like that every game, though. Their offense still looks pretty pedestrian, and their defense has looked good against terrible opponents. So while Tampa is worth keeping an eye on, don’t let this early 2-0 record fool you. They’re still young and pretty limited offensively. Still, winning breeds confidence and I can tell you that while most people would say that Carolina was better than Tampa going into this season, Tampa is currently playing with a lot more confidence. Sometimes that’s enough to keep you in some football games you have no business being in. I still think Atlanta represents the main competition for the Saints in the NFC South, but they would be well served to take notice of Tampa and not take them lightly… like say the time they came in the Dome last year and beat them. The reason for that loss was simple: the Saints had no respect for them. I don’t think Tampa is a playoff team, but through two games they have proven they deserve to be noticed. I think we can all agree the Saints will be ready to play them next time.