Buccaneers vs. Panthers Week 2
PredictionsTwo teams destined for the bottom of the NFC South will face off on Sunday afternoon with the Tampa Bay Bucs looking to go 2-0 and the Carolina Panthers attempting to avoid falling to 0-2. Of course the fact that Tampa posted a win last week is somehow undercut when you consider that their win came against one of the worst teams in the National Football League over the last decade.
Bet on the Panthers’s at one of the top NFL Betting Site’s for Week2:
Against the Cleveland Browns, the Bucs were far from unbeatable, scoring just 17 points and actually having to rally from a 14-3 deficit. Second year quarterback Josh Freeman is still being shackled to a point but he was effective in the second half and finished the game completing 17 of 28 passes for 182 yards, two touchdowns and just one interception.
Freeman was also effective on the ground (the only Buccaneer who can claim that) by running for 34 yards on two carries. The rest of Tampa’s offense was stymied for the most part. Despite 22 carries, Carnell Williams only managed 75 yards and his backup, Earnest Graham managed just 10 yards on six carries. Despite the win the Buccaneers were actually out-gained by Cleveland 340 to 288 yards.
Perhaps that is why the Panthers are actually three point favorites according to lines you can find bettingsitesonline.net and the sites they work with like Bodog and Bookmaker. Against the New York Giants the new Carolina quarterback Matt Moore looked like he should go back to being a backup. Moore inherited the job after former Panther Jake Delhomme (who quarterbacked his new Cleveland team to a loss against the Bucs) and took his first opening day start and dragged it through the mud.
Moore completed a paltry 14 of 33 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown while throwing three interceptions. Like Freeman, Moore was able to do a little with his feet, rushing twice for 15 yards but unlike Freeman his running did little to actually help the team. Moore was actually so bad that he was lifted at the end of the game for rookie backup Jimmy Claussen who couldn’t hook up with anyone on either of his two passes. While the Panthers’ were able to stay within shouting distance of the Giants for most of their 31-18 loss that was thanks only to an almost equally inept Eli Manning who had three interceptions of his own.
In looking at the matchup with a bettor’s eye, the trends seem to favor the Panthers. Most notably, Carolina tends to play up to its competition, posting a 7-0 record against the spread in their last seven games against teams with winning records. Moore’s team is also an impressive 5-0 in their last five against the spread against their own division. On the opposite side, the Buccaneers are just 4-9 against teams with a losing record and are an awful 5-16 in their last 21 on natural grass. Despite the poor play, take the Panthers in this matchup of also rans.
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