Are They For Real?

Posted Sep 24, 2010 by Darin Shaw

Updated Sep 24, 2010 at 09:16 AM

In Pewter We Trust ~

It seems that the rest of the NFL world doesn’t buy the 2010 Bucs.  There’s scarcely a mention on the national talk circuit after our 2-0 start.  They’re talking about Chicago’s, Miami’s and Kansas City’s 2-0 start—not ours.  Shoot, they’re talking about Buffalo’s 0-2 start more than the Bucs.  I say, let ‘em all remain unconvinced!  The Steelers are coming to town.  They have a great defense and a beast of an offense.  Of course, when we beat them on Sunday people will point to the fact that they’re down to their fourth string QB. 

News this week that a quarter of our secondary went up in smoke.  In the last year of his deal, on the eve of what people are saying could be an uncapped horizon—Tanard’s future may have just gone up in smoke, too.  Word to Tanard: Stay away from the stadium the rest of the season, even if Aqib Talib offers you a plush seat in his stadium box!

In Buccaneer spin, all the talk has been on the running game’s lack of production.  Am I concerned?  Not really.  We ran the ball pretty effectively against Cleveland.  We didn’t pile up the yardage against Carolina, but they tend to be a tough defense to run on.  Now the Steelers come to town with their top-tier defense.  I don’t look for the yard-per-carry average to jump this week.  That said, I think we’ll be okay.  As the passing game continues to grow in effectiveness, our opponents will give us less eight-in-the-box looks.  It’ll pick up.  The key will be perseverence.

It’s an NFL world ~

The Toronto Argonauts (aka Buffalo Bills) are starting a new QB.  Wait.  Didn’t they take all offseason to decide that Trent Edwards was THE MAN?  Apparently two games was enough to decide Ryan Fitzpatrick is THE MAN.  Is Chan Gailey’s house on the market yet?

Braylon Edwards will play, but won’t start for the Jets on Sunday.  That’s the word from Head Coach Rex Ryan.  Of course, those weren’t the only words from Rex—there was a fair amount of profanity in there.  I have a completely different take.  Sure it’s bad that he was arrested for DUI and he should be disciplined.  But I think they ought to suspend him four games for that horrible looking beard he’s wearing!  With that beard, Homeland Security and TSA might stop him from getting on a plane for the trip to Miami, thinking they’ve caught an Al Qaeda operative.

The real wait-and-see of the week is playing out in Texas.  If the Texans send the Cowboys to 0-3, I’m guessing all hoopla breaks loose. This weekend, a couple of 0-fers will get the egg out of the win column and a couple of perfects will get dinged.  Vikings fans, take heart.  Nothing spells remedy better than a game against the Lions, eh?  The Cowboys are wondering why they can’t play the Lions.

You want to know how it’s going to go down?  I’m here to tell you.  The Preacher is a respectable 22-10 on the season so far.  Try these on for size: 49ers over Chiefs; Vikings over Lions; Patriots over Bills; Saints over Falcons; Giants over Titans; Original Browns over Replacement Browns; Texans over Cowboys; Bucs over Steelers (and that’s not a pick with my heart—that’s a bonifide belief in an upset!); Bengals over Panthers; Eagles over Jaguars; R’skins over Rams; Colts over Broncos; Raiders over Cardinals; Seahawks over Chargers; Dolphins over Jets; Packers over Bears.