Eagles vs. Buccaneers 2013 game preview: Can Tampa Bay slow down the Philadelphia offense?
Both the Bucs and Eagles are looking to improve their lowly records in Week 6.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles will clash in Week 6 for an NFC battle in Tampa Bay on Sunday. Both squads will feature relatively new starting quarterbacks and talented running backs. The difference in the two squads is their talent, as Tampa Bay has a good defense but a horrible offense, while Philadelphia has the opposite situation. The turnover battle will likely decide this likely close contest in the sunshine of Florida.
Let’s take a closer look at both teams below:
Meet the Buccaneers
The Buccaneers have yet to win a game this season and are coming off a bye week. The Tampa Bay defense has played well, but the issues for the Buccaneers have been on offense. The Bucs released veteran quarterback Josh Freeman in Week 5 and are now starting rookie Mike Glennon. The rookie passer's debut against the Cardinals in Week 4 was pretty mediocre, as he only threw for one touchdown and had two interceptions and a fumble. He will try to get wide receivers Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson involved early and often on Sunday. Running back Doug Martin will also have to do well for Tampa Bay to secure its first win of the season.
Meet the Eagles
The Eagles are coming off an impressive win over the Giants in Week 5. The game showed improvement from both their offense and their defense, as well as the first major playing time for second-year quarterback Nick Foles. Incumbent starter Michael Vick was knocked out of the game shortly before halftime with a hamstring injury and Foles led the Eagles on four scoring drives in relief. He made use of all his receivers with multiple passes to DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek, LeSean McCoy and Jason Avant. McCoy currently leads the league in both rushing yards and yards from scrimmage. He should be active on Sunday with the Buccaneers' secondary likely taking away some options in the passing game.
Local Takes: Buccaneers
Sander Philipse of Bucs Nation believes the Buccaneers should be able to handle the Eagles’ passing game with their new secondary:
This year, the Bucs defense should be much better equipped to handle the Eagles' passing game, as the Bucs appear to have one of the best defenses in the NFL after the addition of Darrelle Revis, Johnthan Banks and Dashon Goldson this offseason. Fittingly, the Tampa Bay passing game has now declined and with rookie Mike Glennon getting his second career start it may not be getting any better.
Local Takes: Eagles
Bleeding Green Nation’s Mark Saltveit believes the difference between starting Vick and Foles will show up in the red zone:
You think Reggie Bush is having a good year running for Detroit? Vick is doing better, with 9 more yards (307 to 298) on barely half as many carries (33 vs. 61). His 9.3 yards per carry is best in the NFL. But in the red zone, the Vick-led Eagles suck. Their 41.18% touchdown percentage is 30th in the league. Only Jacksonville and -- get this, New England -- are worse. More specific to the quarterback, the Eagles are collectively 23rd in red zone QB rating.
Nick Foles, however, has done very well inside the twenty, admittedly in limited playing time. He scored a TD on his only drive against Denver (in garbage time), then converted two of Philadelphia's interceptions against the Giants into quick touchdowns.
Follow the Fun
Be sure to check out SB Nation’s team blogs, Bucs Nation and Bleeding Green Nation, for more analysis and highlights from the game.
Add these fine follows to your Twitter timeline:
Eagles fans would love to add Mark Barron to their team, if they had to choose one player http://t.co/hcAuFL6rmu
— Sander Philipse (@Bucs_Nation) October 10, 2013
Eagles could be on "Hard Knocks" next year if they don't continue to produce wins http://t.co/piEuwUwP9r
— BleedingGreenNation (@BleedingGreen) October 10, 2013
Listen to my new episode Episode 6: Bucs First Quarter Report Card at http://t.co/0T3pV0haMy. #BlogTalkRadio
— JC De La Torre (@jcdelatorre) October 9, 2013
Revis or V-Jax for me RT @BleedingGreen Which Tampa Bay Buccaneers players would Eagles fans take? http://t.co/YUoctC3n7F
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) October 10, 2013
Eagles defensive line must finish against the Buccaneers in Week 6 http://t.co/VtQk4uRtMs
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) October 9, 2013
Prediction
From the Week 6 picks:
Schiano said in an interview Wednesday that it made him “mad” when it looked like Kelly had taken the Bucs job. And that, in turn, motivated him to take the job in Tampa, despite leaning toward staying at Rutgers initially. So there you go, Bucs fans, you can thank Chip Kelly for giving you Greg Schiano.
The pick: Eagles
Odds
The Eagles are 1-point favorites on the road against the Buccaneers, according to Odds Shark.
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