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.

Long And Suite Preview: The NFC South

The hopes of the Carolina Panthers rest squarely on the shoulders of Cam Newton

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The NFC South has been in flux as much as any division in football, as it's had three different division winners in the last three years - only the NFC East can match that. Last season, the two teams at the top of the division got there by improving their record by four (New Orleans) and five (Carolina) wins. As the late, great William Costigan once said, "families are always rising and falling in America." To re-appropriate the turn of phrase, teams are always rising and falling in the NFC South.

The NFC South was probably the second-best division in football last season (it's a decent argument between the NFC South and AFC West). The Falcons and Buccaneers did both go 4-12, but both sported the point differential of teams at least a win better - the Falcons would have expected to win 5.9 games, the Bucs 5.3. And at the top of the division, the Panthers and Saints were both convincingly top-5 teams in the league. They just had the misfortune of running into the NFC West buzz-saw in the playoffs.

And again, the division is in flux. After being ravaged by injuries in 2013, the Falcons should storm back towards playoff contention. After winning the division on the strength of their defense and opportune play-calling, the Panthers might take a step back after losing their two best wide receivers from a year ago (Steve Smith and Brandon LaFell) and re-vamping their secondary. The Buccaneers have climbed out from under the Josh Freeman saga, picked up a new head coach, and should have star running back Doug Martin back to 2012 form, when he was 3rd in the league in yards from scrimmage. And the Saints, well, they're still the Saints.

Tony Dungy Should Just Own His Homophobia Already

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In the least shocking incident of the NFL off-season, football moral compass and former Bucs/Colts head coach Tony Dungy publicly stated that he wouldn't have selected Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the history of the NFL Draft.

I say least shocking because, if you know anything about Tony Dungy, you know he is a devout Christian who has spoken out in favor of a Gay Marriage ban in Indiana, and taken President Barack Obama to task, albeit briefly, on Twitter for "veering from the Biblical interpretation" of marriage.

Here is Dungy's exact quote on Sam.

“I wouldn’t have taken him,’’ Dungy told the Tampa Tribune. “Not because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it. It’s not going to be totally smooth . . . things will happen.’’

That's all fine and dandy. The former Super Bowl winning coach is entitled to his faith and his views. This is America, after all.

My issue is that a man who used to occupy what is essentially a hiring position (NFL head coach) outright said he wouldn't hire someone because they are a minority… And we take that as a "stance."

Breaking Down the Semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jerome Bettis made a career out of running over people, but can he break through and make the Hall of Fame on his 4th try?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has released its list of the 25 men that have qualified as semifinalists for induction.

Among them are 20 players, three coaches, a former executive and a now disgraced owner. So, let's take a look at each semifinalist (and one notable omission) to gauge their chances of making it.

Weekend Football Roundup: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Drew Brees has his sights set on the NFC Playoffs. (flickr)

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every Tuesday during football season, editors Jeremy and Joe will bring you the good, the bad and the ugly from the pro and college football weekend.

The Good

Derek Mason

As the first line of his Wikipedia page says, this man is not to be confused with former NFL receiver Derrick Mason. Unlike the former Titans/Ravens star, this Mason has made a living keeping the ball out of the end zone as the defensive coordinator at Stanford the last three years. While the Cardinal struggled with offensive juggernaut Oregon in Mason's first year as associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator, Stanford has held the Ducks' prolific offense in check the last two seasons.

How in check? In Stanford's last two wins over Oregon, the first of those coming in Eugene, the Cardinal have held the Ducks to a combined 34 points. To put that into context, Oregon had scored at least 34 points in THE FIRST HALF of five of their eight wins coming in.

Weekend Football Roundup: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Talk about an OFFENSIVE lineman, AMIRITE? But seriously, this is no laughing matter.

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every Tuesday during football season, editors Jeremy and Joe will bring you the good, the bad and the ugly from the college and pro football weekend that was.

The Good

The Patriots Offense

Where did this come from?

In their last two games, the Patriots had gained just 295 yards in a loss to the Jets and 252 yards in a win over Miami. Then they explode for 610 yards against Pittsburgh, scoring 55 points in the process, the most points scored by any team this season.

The key for the turnaround was health, plain and simple. For the first time all season, the Patriots had Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski at 100% effectiveness, and they were able to take advantage of it.

NFL Week 9 Primer - Another Poor Slate

The Packers and Bears square off in the "best" game this week. But how good is it, really?

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

There's something about this season that is leading to a jarring lack of marquee matchups. The best game last week featured 4-3 Detroit and 4-3 Dallas. The only other matchup between two winning teams last week was a 40-point Cincinnati blowout over the Jets. Week 7 saw a miserable slate outside of the Sunday Night game between Indianapolis and Denver.

This is purely by chance. The NFL schedule is 100% pre-set, effectively years in advance. Each division plays within their division twice and against a rotation of one division from each conference (for example, the NFC North plays the AFC North and NFC East this year). These rotations are established years in advance - plus two additional games against the teams from their conference that finished in the same standing in their respective division (for example, last year's NFC North runner-up, Minnesota, in addition to playing the entire NFC East, plays Carolina, 2nd in the NFC South last year, and Seattle, 2nd in the NFC West).

In other words, it's not like the poor schedule is set up by the league trying to create interesting matchups. The rotation is established and known years in advance - we already know that in 2019, the AFC East will play the NFC East and AFC South. So it's purely bad luck that we've had a number of weeks in a row with a disappointing slate.

Tampa Bay Cuts Benched Quarterback - Josh Freeman Now Free Man

Josh Freeman's days in Tampa Bay are over, but he could find a new home quickly. (Flickr)

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the hilarious decision to release Josh Freeman on Thursday, making him available to sign with any team he chooses. According to ESPN sources, the Bucs contacted each of the 31 other teams but were unable to find a taker for Freeman (or, more accurately, Freeman's $6.2 million cap hit).

Freeman is now three years removed from a particularly strong 2010 season, when he threw for 25 touchdowns against just six interceptions, and finished 6th in the league in passer rating. His 2011 season was undoubtedly disappointing (regression was not kind to Freeman - his interception rate spiked from 1.3% to 4.0%), but he bounced back with an respectable 2012, throwing for over 4000 yards and finishing 18th in Total QBR among 39 qualified candidates.

NFL Week 4 Primer - The Death of "NFC Over AFC" (With Picks)

Cincinnati's big win over Green Bay is just one of the many reasons blindly picking the NFC over AFC was a silly idea.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

"NFC over AFC" is dead.

Long live "AFC over NFC."

I, Jeremy (hi!) came into the season with a steadfast belief that the NFC was better than the AFC. I thought the good-to-great teams in the NFC (Green Bay, Atlanta, San Francisco, etc) were better than good-to-great teams in the AFC (New England, Houston, Cincinnati, etc). I also thought the mid-level teams in the NFC (Dallas, New York, Tampa Bay) were better than those in the AFC (Indianapolis, Miami, Kansas City), and the worst teams in the NFC (Arizona, St. Louis) were better than their AFC counterparts (Jacksonville, Oakland).

As it turns out, other than Jacksonville being hellaciously bad, I was wrong. Like, incredibly, mind-blowingly wrong. Through two weeks, the AFC was 5-1 straight up against the NFC and 4-1-1 against the spread. Last week, I decided I was going to ride it out and potentially go down with the ship - I took all eight NFC teams over their AFC opponents in the Week 3 Picks.

It did not go well.

Catching Up With Bob Lobel: Is Boston a Baseball Town Again?

This week on the "Catching Up With Bob Lobel" podcast, host Joe Parello and legendary sportscaster Bob Lobel discuss the end of a remarkable regular season for the Boston Red Sox. Why is it so important that Boston clinch the best record in the American League, and which team DON'T the Sox want to face in the first round?

Plus, the Patriots go for 3-0 against Tampa Bay, and why Bob never watched footage of himself on the air throughout his career. All that, and more, on this edition of "Catching Up With Bob Lobel."

Listen To Sports Internet Radio Stations with RF Sports Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Long and Suite Preview: The NFC South

There are four great quarterbacks in the NFC South, but Matt Ryan is poised to be the best. (Flickr)

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Depending on how liberally one defines "arguably," there are four divisions in the league that can claim to be "arguably" the best top-to-bottom division in the NFL. Somehow, all four of them are in the NFC. We already covered the other three. In the NFC West, even the last-place Arizona Cardinals had wins over Seattle and New England, and have vastly improved their quarterback situation. In the NFC North, all four teams have won 10+ games in one of the last two seasons. And the NFC East has seen more parity than any other division in football over the last handful of seasons, with four different division winners in the last four years.