By: Jordan Sharp
One of the least desirable preseason games will be between the two horrible Florida teams, the Tampa Bay Bucanners and Miami Dolphins. The NFL odds come in favoring the home Dolphins by -2 ½. Which one of these teams will come out on top, both in this preseason game?
NFL preseason picks; Bucs vs. Dolphins
One of the least desirable preseason games will be between the two horrible Florida teams. Both teams have brand new head coaches and coordinators, so the strategy of betting against these teams can not hold. The NFL odds come in favoring the home Dolphins by -2 ½. Which one of these teams will come out on top, both in this preseason game, and in total wins for 2012?
New faces
Debating which one of these teams will have more wins by the end of the season is probably a lost cause. The Dolphins will most likely be starting a rookie quarterback, while the Bucs will be starting a third year quarterback who slumped big time last season, and a rookie running back.
On top of the key rookies, these teams are implementing new schemes after disastrous seasons in 2011. The Bucs will be headed by Greg Schiano, while the Dolphins lead man is now Joe Philbin.
In a regular season game, I would be all over Miami in this one. Despite them having a rookie quarterback, they have the more experienced team and much better defense. Even though I don’t expect him to play much, rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill will probably play a little longer than other starting favorites in the NFL. The Bucs on the other hand, won’t be taking any chances with their third year man, Josh Freeman.
Building on the bad
For these teams with new faces and new coaches, it normally means they had a less than exciting season in 2011. The Bucs went a shocking 4-12 after a 2010 where they went 10-6. The Dolphins had a 6-10 2011, in which very few things went right other than the career season of Reggie Bush.
So, both of these head coaches will probably want to win this game, even though it doesn’t mean anything. I would suspect on the Dolphins’ side, that they will play their new quarterback a little more than normal, even if Matt Moore gets the start over him in preseason, quarterback battles always lend to a little easier to predict preseason.
The Sharp Pick
Despite having a pretty good 2011, Matt Moore has come into training camp seemingly as the Dolphins second choice for the starting job behind Tannehill. For a guy who played in 13 games last season for Miami, throwing for almost 2500 yards and 16 touchdowns in that span, I would suspect he isn’t quite ready to step down as the starter.
With that being said, I’m siding with the home favorites in this one. I’ve never been much of a Bucs fan, and much like last season, four to five wins is all I see for them. The Dolphins on the other hand have a much deeper roster, and they have a quarterback battle going, which will mean that first stringers might see a few extra snaps. After looking at the odds, I’m going to watch this game just to see how both Moore and Tannehill play.
My Pick: Dolphins -2 ½ ---
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