The St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some ... issues at the quarterback position. The Rams started Shaun Hill against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 and then played Austin Davis when Hill went down with an injury. Neither player is similar to Sam Bradford in playing style, so it makes sense for the Rams to have struggled on offense. The Buccaneers, however, chose to go with Josh McCown and not address the position further before the regular season came along.
Rams vs. Buccaneers 2014 picks and predictions: Tampa Bay heavily favored by experts
The Buccaneers and Rams both lost in Week 1, but experts are nearly unanimous in picking the Buccaners to win their Week 2 matchup.
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Neither team is doing well with their situations. The Rams were dominated by the Vikings and the Buccaneers squandered what might have been their best opportunity to beat the rival Carolina Panthers, given that Carolina was without quarterback Cam Newton. Instead, Derek Anderson orchestrated a victory for the Panthers, and now both teams are winless.
Of course, the Buccaneers also had to face Carolina’s stout defense, which was unaffected by Newton’s absence. They struggled big-time as expected, but the Rams have no such excuse -- the Vikings aren’t currently known for having an especially tough defense. As such, it’s the Buccaneers who looked like the more impressive team, which is why they’re favored by just about everyone.
The experts over at CBS Sports are unanimous in picking the Buccaneers to win this one, with guys like Jason La Canfora and Will Brinson among the eight. It’s the same situation at ESPN, with all 13 of their experts picking the Buccaneers as well. Both of the experts at Yahoo! Sports are going the same way.
How do the SB Nation expert picks compare? About the same:
| Week 2 | Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | PFT Commenter | Matt Ufford |
| STL vs. TB | TB | TB | TB | TB | TB | STL | TB |
Discerning readers will note that six of the seven experts picked the Buccaneers, and that the lone dissenter is PFT Commenter -- so take that as you will. Vegas tends to agree with the experts, as the Buccaneers opened as 4.5-point favorites. That line increased to -6 on at least one book, according to OddsShark.
You can find SB Nation’s full Week 2 picks here.
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