Tampa Bay Bucs 2009 Odds Hurt by Injuries

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open Week 1 of the 2009 NFL as a +4 ½ underdog at BetUS.com.  Their odds of winning anything in 2009 seem to be dwindling with players going down due to injury and suspension.

The folks at BetUS.com are well aware of these issues and have posted a line accordingly.
Tim Furious of BetUS.com:

"Tampa's secondary has already lost starting safety Tanard Jackson to a substance abuses suspension. A decision for Aqib Talib after battery charges emerged is pending. Now they've lost Angelo Crowell for the season, after he signed over from the Buffalo Bills, to a torn bicep. The defense is getting decimated by injuries and idiot decisions. The offense is still waiting to see whether Antonio Bryant will be ready for Week 1 NFL betting after hurting his knee."

ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas writes:

"Take a look at any preseason magazine or watch any television show. The verdict is unanimous.  Everybody's got the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked to finish fourth in the NFC South. If you want to know where they're projected in the whole league, look somewhere between No. 25 and No. 32.
"When you've got a new coach, a new general manager, uncertainty at quarterback and part ways with some of the biggest names in franchise history, you're going to be anointed as one of the NFL's worst teams."

Now add suspensions and injury to the list and you're looking at closer to No. 32.  Sorry Bucs fans!

Granted, the offense doesn't look all that bad when you look beyond the quarterback situation. 

"We've got a nice core group of players,'' Middle Linebacker, Barrett Ruud said. "We've got a really good offensive line. We've got four or five really good running backs. We've got two quarterbacks that are really hungry and they're battling to be the starter. And we've got a defense that kind of had our pride taken away at the end of last year and we're trying to get back to where a Tampa Bay defense is supposed to be.''

The defense needs some work, but the Bucs have players like Ruud, cornerback Ronde Barber and safety Tanard Jackson to build around, Yasinskas points out.

So maybe the Bucs won't be so bad....but it's going to be a tough 2009 season for them to be certain. 

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Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com