mrpickem
SDQL Badass Stat Boss
Damn glad to see another season begin tonight, even if NFL is super tough to win at, it's easily the most entertaining for me to watch.
Buccaneers -8.5
Buccaneers open at home against the Cowboys. Dak didnt play preseason as he was nursing the shoulder injury. Zack Martin wont play for the Cowboys and Jordan Whitehead has been ruled out for the Buccaneers. Buccaneers brought back most of the starters and they get OJ Howard back from injury. Cowboys return key pieces this year and will hope to stay healthy. Buccaneers look like the more dominate team on both sides of the ball, on paper.
X-Factors
Buccaneers -8.5
Buccaneers open at home against the Cowboys. Dak didnt play preseason as he was nursing the shoulder injury. Zack Martin wont play for the Cowboys and Jordan Whitehead has been ruled out for the Buccaneers. Buccaneers brought back most of the starters and they get OJ Howard back from injury. Cowboys return key pieces this year and will hope to stay healthy. Buccaneers look like the more dominate team on both sides of the ball, on paper.
X-Factors
- Zeke/Cowboys run game. The best way to keep Brady off the field is ball control/time of possession. The big focus will be on Dak and has shoulder, but Zeke plays a big role in this game. Cowboys don't want Dak throwing the ball a pot this early and want to establish the run. Problem for them, is they get the Buccaneers Front 7. If they Cowboys can establish Zeke to balance their offense, Cowboys have a good chance to cover. Dak and his 3 stud WRs will make their plays. Its Zeke that'll decide if they can capitalize on the balance offense/open up the playbook.
- Cowboys defense. The Cowboys defense was terrible last year. They reworked the defense by signing Neal from the Falcons, drafting Parsons, and other players. The strength in the Cowboys defense is the LB spot. The problem is the Edge depth and secondary is still a big question mark. The Buccaneers have a ton of talent on offense and will put up points. Cowboys defense doesn't need to be shutdown, but they need to show better resistance than a broken sink faucet.
- Offensive Lines. This applies more to the Cowboys, but the Buccaneers can be impacted here. Both teams on paper have good OLs. Cowboys OL will face a huge task of protecting Dak against Buccaneers Front 7. No Zack Martin is a concern, but the Cowboys IOL does have depth to fill the hole with some talent. If they Cowboys can keep Dak from getting attacked early on, that'll be a huge boost. For the Buccaneers, not sleeping in the Cowboys Front 7 is key. Like I said, the LB core is strong to play both run and pass coverage. If the Buccaneers take the Cowboys Front 7 for granted, the Cowboys could get some impact defense plays on Brady/Buccaneers run game.
