OK, let’s not get carried away.
While there’s understandably a ton of hype surrounding the Buccaneers in wake of Tom Brady joining the team in free agency this offseason, it’s probably too early to declare Tampa Bay the favorite to win Super Bowl LV.
Still, that didn’t stop one fired-up fan from making the case as part of a question NFL insider Jay Glazer answered this week in his mailbag for The Athletic.
The fan — identified as “Sam D.” — asked Glazer: “The Buccaneers have to be Super Bowl favorites with Bruce Arians at the helm with Tom Brady, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard, Scotty Miller, Ronald Jones at offense. And they’re the best front seven in football. Right?”
Here’s how Glazer responded:
Pump the brakes. Super Bowl favorites? Let’s not say that yet. However, one of the most closely watched teams? By far. It’s funny, I had Bruce Arians on my show on FOX the other day, he told me it will take Tom Brady two days to pick up the offense, two days. I asked him who is the best quarterback he has had between Manning, Luck, Roethlisberger, Brady. He said Brady because he has him now. He’s funny. He worked with Bear Bryant early in his career and Tom Brady to finish his career, you’ve got to be kidding me. If someone came to you with a Hollywood script like this they would get laughed out of the room. He understands that. All eyes are going to be on the Bucs this year, no doubt about it. They are going to be a fun team to watch.
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Glazer’s response isn’t groundbreaking. He doesn’t go out on a limb and predict championship glory for Brady and the Bucs. Nor does he suggest Tampa Bay will crash and burn in TB12’s first season at the helm.
Instead, Glazer took the safe route, offering a rational take that dumps cold water on the early “Super Bowl” nonsense while also acknowledging the obvious intrigue surrounding Brady’s arrival in Tampa Bay after 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.
For what it’s worth, the Buccaneers (+1600) own the fifth-best odds to win Super Bowl LV, according to BetOnline.Ag, trailing the Kansas City Chiefs (+600), Baltimore Ravens (+700), San Francisco 49ers (+1100) and New Orleans Saints (+1500).
The Patriots (+2500) join the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks with the sixth-best odds.
