Inside the NFL Film Room: Could the Bucs Be Sneaky Good?

With a reinvigorated running game led by Doug Martin, could Tampa Bay be a spoiler in the NFC?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Look, I don't want to jinx Florida teams coming off wins (my piece on the Dolphins' new offensive and defensive schemes came just days before the Dolphins were throttled by New England), but Tampa Bay may not totally stink.

Seriously.

While they are in last place in the NFC South, the Buccaneers are 3-4 with a young and talented team that is improving and discovering its strengths each week. This may not be a playoff team this year, but if rookie quarterback Jameis Winston can continue to develop, Tampa Bay could mess up things for a bunch of teams left on its schedule.

Let's take a look at what the Bucs are starting to do right.

The Return of the Muscle Hamster

After a fantastic rookie campaign in 2012 that saw Doug Martin rush for over 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns, the Tampa Bay running back formerly known as Muscle Hamster fell off a bit the last two seasons.

Part of that was health. Martin played in just 17 combined games in 2013 and 2014, but Martin and Tampa Bay's woes on the ground went deeper than that. Averaging just 3.7 yards per carry over that span, Martin saw his production sink to just 45 yards per game in 11 starts last season, a far cry from the 91 yards per game he churned out as a rookie, and way down from the 4.6 yards per carry he averaged in 2012.

But now Martin is back, though he doesn't want us to call him Muscle Hamster anymore (too bad, because that's the best nickname ever). Martin is again averaging 4.6 yards per carry in 2015, and rushing for 87.5 yards per game in seven starts. He's on pace for 1,400 yards this season, but how has Martin gotten back on track?

Joe & Daphne's Preview: The NFC South

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) and Daphne Parello (@DaphnePup)

Daphne and I return to discuss the NFC South, a division that was among the worst in league history last year.

Reigning champion Carolina captured the division crown with just seven wins in 2014, and perennial contender New Orleans enters full rebuild mode next to inconsistent Atlanta and the hard-luck Bucs of Tampa.

Can anybody in this division actually make some noise in 2015? Daphne and I investigate.

The Poor Decision NFL Mock Draft

Mistakes will be made on draft night

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every year at least one team in the NFL Draft makes an epically poor decision. Whether it's the Jets selecting forgettable tight end Kyle Brady over future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp, the Redskins mortgaging the franchise to move up and select Robert Griffin III, the Dolphins trading up to select Dion Jordan, or pretty much everything the Raiders have done since the turn of the millennium.

But what if every team made a mistake during tonight's first round? Well then, you'd get our Poor Decision NFL Mock Draft. These next picks/trades aren't all what I'd call likely, but some of them could happen, and they would probably be bad news for your favorite team if they came to fruition.

What We Learned from the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine

Georgia receiver Chris Conley jumps very high and makes a funny face at the Combine.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The NFL Scouting Combine has come and gone, but NFL Draft season is just kicking in.

With 40 times, vertical leaps and bench press numbers for (most of) the biggest prospects, NFL teams, particularly those at the top of the draft board, now have two months to digest all that information and combine it with game film to decide which player is the next big thing.

History, however, has shown that finding a future Hall of Famer on NFL Draft day is more about luck than skill, but that won't stop analysts and bloggers alike from claiming the future greatness of some college standout today.

So, if they can do it, why can't I? Without further ado, here is everything we learned from the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine.

College Football's Final Four: Did the Committee Get it Right?

Ohio State grabbed the fourth and final spot in the College Football Playoff over Big 12 co-champions Baylor and TCU. Were the Buckeyes the right choice?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The newly formed College Football Playoff committee announced the first four semifinalists in Division I FBS college football history Sunday, and the predictable outrage followed.

Nobody was praising the new system for allowing us to avoid an Alabama beat down of Florida State. Oh, don't kid yourselves, if this were a two-team gig, FSU would be No. 1 or 2. It's always an undefeated major conference champ against a 1-loss SEC champ. SEC teams get to lose a game when nobody else does because… SEC! SEC! SEC!

Anyways, instead of celebrating the fact that we're getting No.1 Alabama vs No. 4 Ohio State, featuring a match up of arguably the two best coaches of this generation in Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, people were arguing whether the Buckeyes belonged in the playoff at all.

Instead of getting giddy about a quarterback duel between last year's Heisman winner, FSU's Jameis Winston, and this year's eventual winner, Oregon's Marcus Mariota, the masses were mourning bloody Sunday for the Big 12.

Seriously, does nobody understand that under a system in place as recently as last year, Oregon would be playing Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, Baylor would be in Arizona while TCU would likely be headed to either Miami or New Orleans for some pointless exhibition?


Does nobody understand that there was NO wrong answer for picking the fourth playoff team, because all three teams were deserving, and at least the new system gives one of them a shot to win it all, unlike previous years?

NCAA Football Weekend Wrap: Ranked Teams and Records Falling

Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon had the greatest rushing day in FBS history Saturday... And he sat out the fourth quarter of the Badgers' big game against Nebraska.

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

It was a weekend of shakeup in the College Football Playoff standings, epic comebacks and record-breaking performances. We've got a lot to cover, so let's get right to the biggest games and performances from the weekend that was.

No. 1 Mississippi State at No. 5 Alabama

Week 12 featured five games between ranked teams, including a massive showdown between No. 1 Mississippi State and No. 5 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Alabama’s world-class defense forced three interceptions of Dak Prescott and held him to 3.7 yards per carry with no touchdowns on the ground.

Alabama’s Amari Cooper demonstrated yet again that he is one of the most talented receivers in the country with 8 catches, 88 yards and an athletic touchdown catch. The Crimson Tide should rank first in the new College Football Playoff rankings after handing Mississippi State its first loss of the year.

NCAA Football Weekend Primer: The Game of the Century (of the Week)

Just like their classic 1993 clash, Florida State and Notre Dame's game this weekend will have plenty of Heisman and national title implications.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In the annals of college football, many games have been dubbed "The Game of the Century."

2006's Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus comes to mind, and the 2011 Alabama-LSU game in Tuscaloosa is another recent example (there are plenty of others from both centuries), but the big one I remember, from when I was too young to fully understand coaches polls and bowl games, was when No. 1 Florida State traveled to South Bend to face No. 2 Notre Dame in 1993.

The Irish were the biggest name in college football, boasting a huge home field advantage, while the Seminoles were the hottest program in the land under Bobby Bowden, but still hadn't won a national title.

The Irish built a 31-17 lead and held on like crazy to defeat eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward and the Noles 31-24. Oddly enough, an upset loss to rival BC caused Notre Dame to lose the top spot in the polls just a week later, and it was Florida State that played new No. 2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for a national title, beating the Huskers on a last-second field goal.

After losing the game of the century, Florida State captured it's first national championship and became a national brand.

NCAA Football Weekend Primer: Catch Your Breath This Weekend

Ty Montgomery and Stanford traveling to Washington is one of the week's few fascinating games.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The college football season has already delivered some big upsets (Indiana over Missouri), shocking finishes (Arizona over Cal) and embarrassing blowouts (everybody over Michigan), but this week you get a bit of a break.

The weekend only features one matchup of ranked teams, Thursday night's Pac 12 tilt between No. 11 UCLA and No. 15 Arizona State, and there are plenty of early-conference season mismatches to choose from.

Next week will bring critical games between Alabama and Ole Miss, Arizona State and USC, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, LSU and Auburn, Stanford and Notre Dame, Baylor and Texas and Nebraska and Michigan State, among others. This week…

Well, let's just  take a breezy look across the college football landscape.

NCAA Football Weekend Primer: Jameis Football?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

A year after following in Johnny Manziel's footsteps as a redshirt freshman Heisman Trophy winner, the beginning of Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston's sophomore campaign is looking eerily similar to Johnny Football's.

The only difference is, Winston is worse.

While Johnny spent the summer after his Heisman season trolling folks on the internet, partying around the country and pulling all the co-eds he wanted, Jameis was accused of rape and, on a MUCH lighter note, written a citation for stealing crab legs from a Tallahassee grocery store.

The rape allegation ultimately yielded no charges, and the crab leg fiasco made for better internet jokes than actual outrage, but Winston came back louder, more boisterous and more confident that ever at ACC media day. Not exactly what most people wanted to see from the outspoken signal caller.

Now Winston has gotten himself suspended for the first half of this Saturday night's home game against Clemson. What did the reigning Heisman Trophy winner do?

I cover high school sports, so I will leave the coverage of loud and lewd statements to the good fellas over at Deadspin. You can read all about Winston's moronic, and not actually funny, antics here.

Now, onto football.

Long and Suite Preview: The College Football Playoff and Heisman Race

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota will chase a national championship and Heisman Trophy in 2014.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) with a cameo from Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

I've written enough introductions, so let's jump right into things. You can find all of my conference previews, along with my "Group of Five" and Independents preview, below.

Pac-12

Big XII

Big Ten

ACC and Notre Dame

SEC

Group of Five/Independents

Now, let's get to our national outlook.

Long and Suite Preview: The ACC/Notre Dame

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

When you think of the ACC this year, chances are the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles, led by reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, are the first team to pop into your mind.

But the conference is far more than just the repeat-minded Noles, as Miami, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Clemson and Louisville all bring back talented squads that hope to ruin FSU's run to the College Football Playoff.

Here's what to expect from the ACC in 2014. Oh yeah, and Notre Dame is annoyingly still not in a conference, but now playing a quasi-ACC schedule. We'll look at the Irish as well.