Last year after a 1-3 start, the Carolina Panthers rallied behind quarterback Cam Newton and head coach "Riverboat" Ron Rivera to end the season 12-4. That record proved the best in the NFC South, a division including the always dangerous New Orleans Saints.
Panthers vs. Buccaneers 2014: Picks and predictions for Week 1
The NFC South’s reigning division champ and bottom feeder meet up to kick off the NFL regular season.
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The year was less rewarding for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that saw its playoff hopes sink around volatile head coach Greg Schiano. In the process, Tampa Bay shed starting quarterback Josh Freeman with both Schiano and top cornerback Darrelle Revis exiting in the offseason. The venerable Lovie Smith was hired as head coach, and once again the Buccaneers are trendy sleeper picks in the NFC. As such its the Bucs and not the defending NFC South champions who are the popular pick to win according to SB Nation's experts.
| Week 1 | Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | Matt Ufford | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | PFT Commenter |
| TB | TB | CAR | TB | TB | CAR | TB |
Tampa Bay has the advantage of playing at home and there are some questions surround Cam Newton and how healthy he really is. Still the Bucs are a bit of an unknown heading into the year. The talent is there, but it may need time to gel and we’ll still have to see how Josh McCown fares as the starting quarterback.
It isn’t just SB Nation’s NFL experts picking Tampa Bay. Seven of the eight experts at CBS Sports also picked the Bucs. Both experts at Yahoo! Sports picked the Bucs as did three of the four NFL experts at Fox Sports. Tampa Bay at home is certainly the popular pick.
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