Two points to get out of the way.
First, 10-7 is a strong record befitting of strong teams. Besides Lovie Smith’s 2012 Bears, 10-win teams in NFL history are nearly always very good. (Those Bears opened 7-1 and imploded; then the Bucs hired Lovie.)
Second, Sage of Tampa Bay Sports Ira Kaufman, the venerable JoeBucsFan.com columnist, says the Bucs are an 11-win team. “And I’m not budging!” Kaufman barked. “This team is damn good.”
Joe realizes 71.5 percent of fans polled here last week believe the Bucs will have 11 or more wins.
About 41 percent called 11 wins (the most popular answer) and another 30 percent chose either 12 or “13 or more wins.” About 18 percent went the 10-win route.
So Joe aligned with the majority of Bucs fans. Joe would love to be there, but getting to 11 was tough for Joe considering Josh Grizzard is a first-time playcaller, the Bucs are scary thin at inside linebacker, the Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin injuries, and the Bucs are relying heavily on three critical cogs who are old for their respective positions: Mike Evans, Lavonte David and Vita Vea.
Still, Joe is very confident in the Bucs being able to be a better 10-7 team than they were last year.
Yeah, you are what your record says you are, but Joe thinks the Bucs will/should play more consistent football this season. No more ‘oh, sh\*\*, we’re 4-6 and need to climb our way out of this.’
No more struggling terribly against garbage clubs in December (at Carolina) and January (New Orleans at home).
This year, Joe expects to see a 2025 Bucs team that looks very ready for the postseason before it starts. And that’s really all that matters.