Not so long ago, people had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as one of the teams to beat – if not the team to beat – in the NFC.
That’s the type of effect Tom Brady can have on a team.
But even after Brady retired – this time for good – the Bucs have stayed competitive.
That’s why former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum believes they could be a sneaky Super Bowl contender right now.
Talking on ESPN, Tannenbaum argued that Todd Bowles’ team should be considered one of the best in the NFC:
“I’ll put [the Buccaneers] right up there with Detroit, Philly, Washington, and the Rams. If you look head-to-head with the Rams and start at the quarterback position, Baker Mayfield thoroughly outplayed Matt Stafford, who’s had obviously a Hall of Fame career [and a] Super Bowl winner. But if we just look at the way Baker Mayfield is playing in Tampa, hey, there’s a reason Liam Coen is a head coach, like Baker Mayfield has worked his way back into the top 10 conversation,” Tannenbaum said.
Truth be told, it’s hard to argue with that statement.
Baker Mayfield has posted pretty similar numbers to Brady’s, and they have one of the most stacked offenses in the game.
Of course, a lot of the narrative against this team might come from the quarterback position, but Mayfield has turned a page since he arrived in Florida, posting MVP-caliber numbers and finally looking like the No. 1 pick.
It takes a lot for a team to go the distance, but the Bucs have kept the NFC South Division in a chokehold for years now, and they should be the odds-on favorites to do so again this season.
Other teams might look more stacked or may have bigger names at some positions.
But it’s time we give credit where it’s due, and judging by what we’ve seen in the past couple of years, the Buccaneers aren’t that far from Super Bowl contention as some might want to make it seem.
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