Titans vs Buccaneers: What The Experts Are Saying
By Les Bailey
The one thing you do if you are and NFL blogger, is spend a lot of time reading what the experts have to say about all of the teams in general and what they have to say about your team in particular.
More at Titan Sized: Who Is A Go For The Titans On Sunday
The key point about the week one matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans seems to be that if it were not for featuring the league’s number one and two draft picks, it would have been totally forgotten by the national media.
It’s not the first time in history that the first two quarterbacks taken one and two in the draft have matched up in their first season but it is the first time in history that they have been matched up in game one.
It’s hard to believe that anyone has watched these two teams during training camps and preseason games, because the public perception as we prepare for the regular season opener is the same as it was on April 30th(draft night).
Jameis Winston is the more pro-ready quarterback, Marcus Mariota comes out of a spread offense and will take time to adjust to the NFL…yada…yada…yawn!
With all that being said, let’s get down to what the experts have to say about this game on Sunday afternoon.
ESPN Insider Dave Tuley has broken down the betting line on this game, and it’s not good news for Tennessee Titans fans.
The Titans are a three point dog in this game with 51% of the money leaning to a Buccaneer win. Although teams usually get three points for being at home, the experts are saying that Jameis Winston has a better supporting cast than Marcus Mariota.
Tuley’s Take: Both teams were play-against teams last season as the Titans were a league-worst 3-13 ATS and the Bucs were 6-10 ATS. I’ll just be watching to see whether these teams will be worth playing as underdogs in the coming weeks.
Tuley is also saying you should pass on this game, but in a pool, take the Bucs.
ESPN Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky in The NFL Nation is picking the Titans 20-17 over the Bucs, citing a mistake-free game from Marcus Mariota and a Perrish Cox interception as a basis for his prediction.
God Bless Paul, I think he is the only person at ESPN picking the Titans to win this game!
His NFL Nation cohort, Pat Yasinskas is picking the Bucs 24-13 and saying “Winston’s college track record shows he can turn the Buccaneers into a winner quickly.
Both writers had to pick their teams….right?
Elliott Harrison over on NFL.com is picking the Bucs over the Titans 30-14 and citing the Bucs have a better supporting cast as well.
Like many of the other analysts, he thinks the running game is the key to victory in this matchup, and to the man, no one has much faith in Bishop Sankey being able to carry this team on his back.
"Both will need their running games, and no one is quite sure if either player will get it. Tennessee is still looking for that breakout game from Bishop Sankey, whereas Doug Martin can be Tiki Barber 2.0 for the Bucs — if he gets the blocking. We’ve seen it before with Martin. So I trust him more at this point, as well as the Tampa defense. Lavonte David‘s assault on J.J. Watt‘s Defensive Player of the Year award begins Sunday."
Tiki Barber 2.0….really Elliott!
Luke Easterling at The Bleacher Report is looking for Jameis Winston to make a few more plays than Marcus Mariota and has predicted a 24-20 Buccaneers win at home on Sunday afternoon.
Other than a prime-time game on November 19th against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, this will be the only chance for the Titans to play in front of a National audience is a 4:00 Sunday game, and I think they will take advantage and win this one.
I feel like this is the most important game of the year for both franchises. A win here will set the tone for the entire season.
I think the Tennessee Titans go into Tampa and get the running game going, and Marcus Mariota dispels the notion that he is not an NFL-ready quarterback.
Titans win this one 27-14
Next: Titans look to continue dominance of the Bucs