NFL
How Concerned Should We Be About the Buccaneers Passing Attack?
Tampa Bay hasn't been able to generate much offensively, but are things about to change?

Two games into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season, and the Lovie Smith era is already off to a very rocky start. To be fair, facing NFL stars like still indicate that Vincent Jackson will be a top 15 player at his position, the same optimism cannot be said for McCown, Evans or any of the other members of the Tampa Bay passing attack.

For owners expecting Jackson to emerge as a more consistent player than he has been in the past, the reality that he's the same player today that he has always been is starting to sink in. While explosive games will happen at times this season, this simply isn't an offense designed for fantasy consistency. At least not yet.

Based on his performance and metrics, Josh McCown doesn't need to be rostered in 10- and 12-team leagues. While he hasn't reached the same level of incompetence as Derek Carr or Chad Henne, his -3.73 Passing NEP hardly instills confidence. With his team facing an 0-3 start in large part due to his inconsistency, it shouldn't surprise anyone if the team turns to Mike Glennon sooner rather than later. It simply doesn't make sense to lose with an aging, journeyman at the helm instead of at least seeing if the young guy has something worth building from.

Mike Evans should be rostered across the board, and offers decent value as the fifth or sixth receiver on your team. His talent exceeds his fantasy ceiling at this point, but a top-40 finish is still not out of the question, and he's a player who will have value. It just might be impossible to predict when he will produce.

The Buccaneers are a team that has an opportunity to prove the critics and the metrics wrong on national television tonight, but another subpar passing performance against Atlanta would easily convince me that this is an offense that is going nowhere in 2014. The Falcons boast the fourth-worst pass defense so far this year according to our defensive metrics, and their lack of a pass rush should afford the Buccaneers with an opportunity to get things right.

Or perhaps this is a team just destined for a bottom five finish. They sure seem capable of it. Marcus Mariota in 2015?

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