Welcome into our twenty twenty five schedule reaction show presented by Ticketmaster. Come into You from the Bucks Studio presented by Ticketmaster. Casey Phillips here with Senior writer and editor Scott Smith. Another year, another exciting schedule. I love how we all just get really excited to see it come out. We already know who we're playing, but you never know the win and the exactly the timing, the order, all of that.
In the way.
And we love to predict, right even though every year everyone's wrong about it. Or we love to predict what parts of the schedule are going to be harder or more interesting, or you know, the storylines that are going to be there, and we always know we're going to be wrong about a bunch of things, but it's still
fun to do exactly. We love a mock draft, We love a schedule breakdown show, and so we decided we were going to go through some different segments what stands out to us about different parts of the schedule for the Buccaneers. Before we get into that, though, any kind of initial just thoughts about when you look at it as a whole.
Well, this is the fiftiest schedule we've ever had.
I like it.
The home part of it, at least strikes me as something that coaches would like because every single game, the first six home games are all at one pm on Sunday, and coaches love it. First of all, they love a routine that's the same every time, but they also love one o'clock games on Sunday waiting around.
Yeah.
Yeah, so they're all first six or all one pm on Sunday until you get to Atlanta on the Thursday night game, and then the time for the final game in Carolina hasn't been determined yet, but that could be a one pm game too, So yeah, I was.
Like looking at if there are primetime games or challenging road trips, some of the things that are out of the norm of what especially around it happens, And you know, I do like that at least, you know, a Monday night game is kind of early in the season, and that there's not some crazy trip or something afterward that
makes it more challenging than normal. Same thing with the you know, the Monday against Detroit, I mean, you know that there's not maybe as big of a difference of getting to still travel at New Orleans a little later game the next week. Again, not as brutal as some things might be after that, but then you know, to be able to be going at Buffalo and then have to turn around and go all the way to la and it'd be a Sunday night game for the West Coast.
That's the game that I'm like, that's gonna be tough of you are not landing until the next day into the morning, the wee morning hours, so that's always a challenging one. But yeah, and the same thing after a Thursday night game that you get a little extra rest going into what could be a very important division game later that there isn't the normal things where you look at maybe primetime games and or travel stuff and look
around and go, oh man, that's gonna be brutal. It feels kind of fair in a lot of the ways of where there weren't any areas where you just go that is gonna be brutal, which is nice.
That's true.
There's a couple of tough stretches there, and then we'll talk about it later. But what really jumps out to me is the way this schedule ends as the Bucks try for their record breaking fifth straight NC South title.
Get that right, we'll get that at the end. Okay, So let's look at this segment one games one through four, and of course on the side of the screen you'll see it kind of cycling through some of the different segments of the schedule, so you can be reminded of what we're talking about. But segment one, tell me what stands out to you about this first set of games?
Well, why the home games are road games are in white and home games are in red in that display there so you can see, right, the Buccaneers have to start the season with two games on the road, and the Bucks have won two straight they started for the last four years two and oh, which has no small part of how they've been able to pull out the division each year. If they're gonna do that, they're gonna have to go two and o on the road, and which they also did in twenty twenty two, by the way,
so it can be done. And then right after that you get your game against the defending champions, and you also have your first primetime game in that block.
Yeah, and I also wouldn't be surprised of having a couple of road games at the beginning. Was also to help with the whole sharing a road and park area with Steinbrenner Field. That that's kind of nice to know at least those first couple of games you're not having to worry about any of the other I think there's a big concert that plays into it as well. Yep.
So yeah, and looking at these four games, obviously, the one that stands out is Philadelphia. They're fresh off a really dominant win over Kansas City and Super Bowl fifty nine.
I believe it was, and so they're coming in.
This is actually the third year in a row that Philly's going to be here in the first month of the season, and you know, the Buccaneers have had some nice games against them. It's been a pretty good rivalry in recent years, and that obviously goes back to the first Super Bowl era where it was a huge rivalry.
Right.
But I mean, this team, this Philadelphia team that's going to come in is loaded, and they just won the Super Bowl obviously, But I think most answer would say they have the most complete roster in the league, especially after adding Saquon Barklay, and you see Jalen Hurts there with all those weapons around him. On defense, they have Jalen Carter maybe the most dominant or one of the
most dominant interior linemen in the league. And then of course last year they really rebuilt their secondary with Quinnon Mitchell and Cooper De john And of course they have the touch push play, which the Buccaneers have stopped once or twice, but it's pretty hard to stop and as of now, we don't know if that's going to be a legal play yet, but they'll bring it here if they can. Also, I guess there's a couple of other interesting games there that you might be interested in.
Atlanta.
Yeah, I'm really intrigued to see the Atlanta game Week one, knowing that this will be Michael Pennix's first season to be getting that Week one starting role. We saw him do some good things towards the end of last season, and I think that that's going to be an interesting thing to start off. Just anytime there's a new quarterback, even though he has gotten a little bit of reps
this last season. First year at the Helm Week one, I always think that's interesting to watch how they respond to that, how they handle that pressure, the jitters that come with that. So I think that's going to be a game that I'm excited.
And then I'll sung Todd Bowles against the Jets. It's the first time he'll play the team he used to be a head coach for since he became the Bucks head coach.
Oh, very cool.
I like that staut All right, segment two, Let's go into this next group, which man already you just see at at at all right.
Yeah, so we called this part road Warriors. The Buccaneers have three of four in the ROUW and this is kind of a tough stretch.
The one.
You got your another primetime game in Detroit you see up there, and then you have the long trip to Seattle, and I just was going to highlight that Detroit game. You know, that's another one of these kind of recent decent rivalries. You know, you had the Buccaneers lose to Detroit in that really tight NFC Divisional game in Baker.
Mayfield his first year here.
Yeah, and then Detroit came down or we went back to Detroit in Week two of last season. Got a little bit of revenge up there. I think it's a nice matchup. You got two for one former first overall draft picks playing quarterback in Baker and Jared Goff. I mean that Lion's team last year seemed like a team of destiny.
So many injuries.
Yeah, and we saw what Aiden Hutchinson could do in that Week two game and shortly after that or maybe I think maybe six games in he got hurt, but by that point.
He already had like eight or nine sacks.
So he's back that really good young player, Brian Branch that they can move all over their defense.
He can play nickel, it can play safety.
I think their defense, they made a couple other changes, brought in a new quarterback and just to read, and I think they have the opportunity to be pretty good if they can get a lot of guys back, and then of course on offense, you've got Jamir Gibbs. Especially after David Montgomery went down last year, he showed he could handle the load by all by himself. But now you have Montgomery back and they love to run the ball. So that's a pretty complete team all around. And it's gonna be a tough game.
Yeah, that's a tough stretch to me. And now this is always what's funny when you talk about the schedule and you say where you think a tough stretches, and it can mean travel or it can mean just what you think the quality of the opponents are going to be. That's where we have no idea how a season is going to pan out, Who's going to be injured, who's not.
But you know, on paper, coming off of course the Eagles game at the end of that first segment and having to go on the road for a couple of big games and teams that look like they could be pretty talented, we have no idea what the Seahawks are going to look like the Sam Darnold and then I just like, now, this is my theme of one time on all these is just the quarterback situations of all these teams of you know, Michael Pennock's there, and then yeah,
what is Seattle going to look like under him? And then of course the Saints, we are fresh off the Derek Carr announcement and there is a lot of up in the air uncertainty when it comes to that position. We know that they drafted a quarterback and how do they feel about him? And I just think that's going to be really interesting to watch of after so many years of Drew Brees. And then now you know the Derek Carr time has passed and what is this next who's he passing the torch to and what is that.
Going to look like?
Yeah, maybe Tyler shuck. Their second round pick will be entrenched by that point because your a games, or maybe they'll still be trying to figure it out and you'll be looking at Spencer Ratler or Jake Hayner. It might be a week to week kind of thing. So even in week eight, that could be a situation very interesting.
Okay, then there's a much earned bye week, which you know that's always a big part of it. Look at just smack dab in the middle of the season there, which is nice. You always wanted to maybe be a little later, but at least it's not in that first bit where you're like, oh my gosh, we've just started this thing. We don't need a buy quite yet. So whenever the buye comes we always say very needed, very helpful. But it looks like it being just smack dab in
the middle. There is guess that's kind of what you ask for, kind of nice. So there's the bye week. So then now next grouping of teams. What stands out to you?
Well, in the middle of that, I think you see two really prime contenders in each conference and it's back to back road trips at Buffalo and at the Los Angeles Rams. Obviously Buffalo and since Josh Allen's second or third season when he really turned the corner, have been a prime Super Bowl contender every year, just can't seem to get past the Chiefs for the most part. And then Detroit. I mean, I'm sorry the Rams. I think they.
Surprise everybody a little bit. Last year.
The people thought they might be in a rebuilding mode, but they really turned around. So both of those teams are defending division champions right there, and I think both of them are gonna be very much in the runnings in their respective conferences. And I just wanted to highlight the Rams game because Matthew Stafford chose to stay.
There was a little bit.
Of a I think he always was gonna stay, but there was a little bit of wonder if he was gonna move on and then they would really probably be in a rebuilding stage. But he's back, and he got
pukin Akua. They don't no longer have Cooper Cup, but pokin Acua had kind of become the number one there anyway, and they added DeVante Adams, who I mean, it may seem like DeVante Adams is maybe past his prime or something that you know, last year with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets was nothing special, but he still had great numbers.
And this is.
I wonder doesn't DeVante were seventeen too. I wonder what they're gonna do with the Rams with PU seventeen there. I just thought about that. But you know, that's still those two together. And then last year they really rebuilt that defensive front starting with Jared Verse and uh so, again it's a team that's solid on both sides of the ball. And then there's a couple other interesting matchups in that segment.
Yeah, I think that is going to be a really interesting setting. And of course, as we talk about going to Buffalo, great place to play, a lot of great fan energy, and that's a big one. And like you said, that's a time yere where now you're getting into late, you know, the mid to late November of when all the playoff races are really heating up, and that's going to be a game that I think could be really
significant for both teams. Even though it's not a you know, division game, it's not a conference game, it just feels like that time of year, knowing that these are two teams that are going to be really trying to make that playoff push. I think that could be a lot of fun energy and not a team that the Bucks get to face all that often, so we've only gone to them, I think once a couple of times in my time here, you know, so I think that's going to be a lot of fun.
I mean, you could follow up your young quarterback theme there too. With the New England Patriots and Drake May. It's really had an outstanding rookie season and they've done a lot to put pieces around him.
I love in every section we do, we have a team that we're just like, hmm, that'll be interesting to watch what they're doing with their quarterback area. All right, let's go to our final section here. This is where the whole NFC South, all the kitt kaboodles feel like they're gonna kill one. Yeah.
Yeah.
And since the seventeenth game, this doesn't work out as nice mathematically there's five games in this segment, not four, but that allows us actually to include the Saints in Week fourteen. So if you look at that schedule for there, the last five weeks are at home against New Orleans at a home, against Atlanta at Carolina at Miami, and then Carolina at home. So four of your six NFC South games in the last five weeks. And if you notice, I didn't know. It took me a while to notice this.
All three of our home games against our NFC South opponents are all in that stretch there, and that seems like if this is close, that seems like an advantage to me. I mean, the Raymond James daven crowd could make a difference in how this division title race shakes out.
At the end.
I think this is your dream, right because sometimes teams always are still trying to figure themselves out early in the season, and sometimes it's kind of rough if you end up having a front loaded division part of your schedule when later in the season you end up being like, oh, man,
I wish we were facing them now. Yeah, And I think that to know that by then, I mean you are hopefully humming, you know what your team is about that with a new offensive coordinator and that kind of thing, that by then you should be hitting your stride, your sweet spot to be able to face not only so many of those division teams, but again, like you said so many at home. That's got to be if you were to build the schedule, I have to imagine that's how you'd want it to pay.
For that early on with a couple of stretches, tough stretches on their own. But yeah, if you're in the running there at the end, I think it's an advantage. And if we're going to highlight a team in this last segment, I think it has to be Carolina because you played them twice and including two of the last three weeks.
So the Panthers could.
Be the ones standing there between the Bucks and a fifth straight division title.
It's very possible.
And we saw that team really come together in the second half last season when Bryce Young got back in the lineup. That was their first year under Dave Canalis.
Now that program's had a little more time to develop, and not only did Bryce Young look a lot better in the second half of last year, but now he has Ted McMillan as his number one target, which is something they really needed there that can win jump balls for him and just get open and get those you know, third and seven conversions that he needs, and then you know, you get Derek Brown on the defensive side, back from injury.
Their defense set a record for most points allowed last year, so they had a lot of work to do there. But they brought in a lot of veterans, and then you got Derek Brown coming back from injury and JC Horn finally getting to play long stretches without being injured.
They'll probably take a big step forward.
This Panthers team is one that a lot of analysts think is going to take a step forward this year. So giving them all season, you were talking about us having all season to get sort of gel Giving them all that time, that's what they might be at their peak, right, then it's going to be interesting.
All right, that's going to do it for us. On this schedule release show, we hope you guys are all going in there to get your tickets figuring out which games you are going to check out. This is going to be an incredible season with a lot of really fun games, especially like we said, those at home. You are going to want to be there helping that team out as the season wraps up against all those NFC South opponents. So go snatch up those tickets and go bocks