Chatting with a Bucs beat writer ahead of the Eagles’ Week 2 game

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers shook up the sports world in Week 1, dropping 48 points on the New Orleans Saints with veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm. Trevor Sikkema of Pewter Report joined me to try and explain what happened.

While Sikkema didn’t foresee the offensive bonanza that the Buccaneers had on Sunday (who did?), he did give credit to Dirk Koetter for handing over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Todd Monken. From his recent Cover 3 article:

“I never thought Koetter would give up play calling. I never thought Fitzpatrick still had that kind of game in him. And I sure as hell never thought the Buccaneers were going to out-score Brees and the Saints on a day where they put up 40 points at home.

But what the hell do I know, right?”

Fitzpatrick’s 417 yards and 4 touchdowns was enough to stave off the explosive Saints in a thrilling 48-40 win, but consistency issues have plagued his career. Making matters worse is the potential loss of DeSean Jackson, who suffered a concussion in the win.

Additionally, a Buccaneers secondary which already lacked proven, quality depth is beat up. Vernon Hargreaves was placed on injured reserve today and veteran cornerback Brent Grimes has been dealing with a groin injury.

Still, given how they performed with zero expectations in Week 1, sleeping on the Buccaneers would be a mistake. The Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles will have to deal with a red hot offensive coordinator in Monken and star wide receiver Mike Evans. Their white-hot offense gave Sikkema the confidence to pick the Buccaneers to cover as 3-point underdogs at home.

We talked about all of this and more on episode 9 of The Kist & Solak Sikkema Show. Stream it on the media player below or click here if it doesn’t load.

There are more previews to come from both The Kist & Solak Show and BGN Radio so make sure you’re subscribed and don’t miss a thing! Fly Eagles Fly!