Interview with the Enemy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The New Orleans Saints will head to Raymond James Stadium to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18 for their season finale as their 2024 campaign is nearing its end. Evan Wanish of Bucs Nation joins us to preview Sundayās matchup as the Bucsā look to clinch a division title and a trip to the playoffs.
NJ: The long-running saga between former Saints CB Marshon Lattimore and Bucs WR Mike Evans has officially come to an end. That said, which positional matchup are you most looking forward to this time around?
EW: Iām very curious to see how this Tampa Bay pass rush looks against a New Orleans offensive line that has struggled in the past. The Bucs have not been able to generate a consistent pass rush with four guys all season and with Shaq Barrett potentially suiting up in this one, I wonder if he can give them a bit of a boost.
NJ: Speaking of Mike Evans, do you expect him to reach 85 receiving yards and extend his NFL record streak of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to 11?
EW: I do fully expect Evans to get the record. The Bucs, Baker Mayfield and Liam Coen are all well aware of how close Evans is to history and I donāt think they want to take that away from him. That being said, I donāt think they just force feed him the ball and damage their chances to win the ball game.
Winning is the number one priority, but getting Evans his 1,000 yards and keeping the streak alive isnāt too far behind.
NJ: What is Tampa Bayās most glaring offseason need, and who do you expect them to target in the upcoming NFL Draft?
EW: This answer could change depending on who you ask, but I believe their number one need in the offseason regardless of how this season may end is finding another impact edge rusher. Whether that be through free agency, trade or the draft, Tampa Bay needs to find a way to pressure the quarterback with just four guys much more than they have.
Really though you could pick a plethora of different options along the defense. Iād expect the Bucs 1st round pick to be someone along that side of the ball as they are in need of a bit of a re-tool there.
NJ: If New Orleans were to interview Tampa Bay OC Liam Coen for the teamās open head coach position this offseason, should Saints fans be intrigued? How would you grade him as a candidate in terms of play-calling and leadership?
EW: If the Saints interview Liam Coen, Saints fans should hope heās the hire. Sure there are other good candidates out there and Iām not going to act like Coen is the only good one because heās not, but what he is is someone whoās an up and comer in this league and has Tampa Bayās offense playing at an insanely high level. Even when the Bucs were without both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for a portion of the season, Coen found a way to work around it and scheme things up for other players.
Being a leader of men is something we arenāt quite sure about as we arenāt in the meetings and the locker room but from all accounts, heās well liked and respected by the players.
Coen will be a hot name in the head coaching conversation this offseason and the Bucs are hoping to keep him. I think they do whatever it takes in order for him to stick around but time will tell.
NJ: According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Buccaneers (-850) are currently 13.5-point favorites over the Saints (+590) in Sundayās matchup; what is your final score prediction?
EW: Since these questions were submitted Iāve seen the line jump up to 14 in some places. My natural instinct is to be a bit careful with this game and situation. New Orleans has won 5 out of the last 6 meetings between these teams in Raymond James Stadium and while their season is over, Iām sure they wouldnāt mind sticking it to Tampa Bay to close out the year.
However, Iām just not sure New Orleans has the horses to run with a motivated Bucs team. I could see a world where the first half is close, but I think Tampa Bay buckles down in the second half and clinches their franchise record fourth straight NFC South title on Sunday afternoon. Give me the Bucs 31-17.
Thank you again to Evan Wanish for joining us this week and helping us wrap up āInterview with the Enemyāā2024 edition! You can check out the rest of his work here.
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