On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks will play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC clash.
Buccaneers vs. Seahawks 2013 game preview: This could get ugly
Tampa Bay has quite the task ahead of it in search of its first win of 2013.
The two teams could not be going in more opposite directions. Seattle is 7-1 and looking to keep pace with the New Orleans Saints in the race for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. With only a one-game lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West, the Seahawks have to win each and every week.
Tampa Bay on the other hand simply wants to win once at 0-7. The Buccaneers went 0-14 as an expansion team in 1976, and while it is likely they break this streak at some point, their fans probably don’t enjoy the thought of becoming the first team to have two winless campaigns.
Meet the Buccaneers
This has been beyond a rough year for Tampa Bay, who can not get anything to break its way. The Buccaneers came in with all kinds of promise but everything has fallen apart, with many people pointing the finger of blame at head coach Greg Schiano. Schiano -- who came in with no prior NFL experience -- is going to need divine intervention to keep his job after this debacle.
The Buccaneers came into the season with Josh Freeman at quarterback. After he was cut, the Bucs rolled and are rolling with rookie Mike Glennon, The former North Carolina State star has thrown for 997 yards and six touchdowns against three interceptions, if nothing else stabilizing the position. Glennon still has to do more, and now with less, as Mike Williams was placed on injured reserve with a torn hamstring this week.
One bright spot on the season has been linebacker Lavonte David, who has a team-leading 60 tackles and five sacks. At this pace, David should be strongly considered for a Pro Bowl nomination. For comparison's sack, no other player on the Buccaneers has more than 44 tackles or three sacks.
Meet the Seahawks
Seattle is one of the most old-school teams in the NFL. This is a group that doesn't have a bunch of flash, but moreso a consistency to them. Russell Wilson is excellent but only ranks 20th in passing yards with 1,628. Still, Wilson had thrown 13 touchdowns and more importantly, only four interceptions. He understands how not to beat himself.
The players around him are about to change. Sidney Rice is now out for the season with a torn ACL, but Percy Harvin could be back for this game after missing the prior eight with a hip injury. Marshawn Lynch is the focal point of this unit regardless, fourth in the league with 601 rushing yards. Considering the offensive line has been a mess with tackles Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini out.
Defensively, there are few teams better. The passing defense ranks third, only allowing 184.1 yards per game against with Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner shutting down the corners and Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor roaming the secondary. Up front, Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are leading the way with 4.5 and four sacks respectively.
Local take: Tampa Bay
Over at Bucs Nation, Sander Philipse discusses Tampa’s biggest point spread since 1996 and what it means:
To illustrate just how horrible this is, the Bucs faced only one point spread of 10 points or more during Raheem Morris’ ten-game losing streak to end his tenure, and they were never more than 9-point underdogs from week 10 of the 1996 season through week 9 of the 2006 season.
Local take: Seattle
Kenneth Arthur of Field Gulls writes the Seahawks proved how good they are in their ugly win over the Rams:
Pete Carroll has completely changed the dynamic of expectations. Thanks to having a very talented roster, Seattle is able to overcome having the worst line in football and luckily it’s something that they can improve on as the year goes on. They’re going to get Harvin back very soon and hopefully Okung comes back in three weeks and can pick up where he left off as a Pro Bowl tackle a year ago.
Follow the Fun
Be sure to check out SB Nation’s team blogs, Bucs Nation and Field Gulls, for more analysis and highlights from the game.
Add these fine follows to your Twitter timeline:
Panthers vs. Buccaneers Snap Counts: Tim Wright gets a more prominent role #Bucs http://t.co/2fBmHO1xDa
— Sander Philipse (@Bucs_Nation) October 29, 2013
Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Wednesday http://t.co/Vb2XC7XSZZ
— Danny Kelly (@FieldGulls) October 30, 2013
Prediction
Let’s face it, this game would have need a minor miracle for the Buccaneers to win. There is perhaps no venue tougher for an opponent to win in than CenturyLink Field, against one of the best defenses in the NFL and a potent offense. Currently, Tampa Bay is having a tough time doing anything right, let alone beating a team of Seattle’s quality in its own building.
Pick: Seahawks 30, Buccaneers 10
Odds
The Seahawks are favored by 18 points at home against the Buccaneers, according to Oddsshark.com.
Next week
Seattle is at the Atlanta Falcons while Tampa Bay hosts the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.
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