Mike Glennon Tries to Make His Statement as Bucs Face Jags
By Charles Jay
Two struggling teams from the Sunshine State will make their NFL pre-season debut on Friday night when the Jacksonville Jaguars play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at EverBank Field in NFL betting action that is slated to kick off at 7:30 PM ET.
The Bucs went through a rocky season last year under Greg Schiano, and they made the move to hire Lovie Smith, when then reached out and acquired quarterback Josh McCown, who was so effective last year when stepping in for Jay Cutler in Chicago. The Jaguars may have a new quarterback at some point during the season; for now, they will use journeyman Chad Henne. But rookie Blake Bortles will take his first snaps against a live opponent.
In the NFL betting odds that have been established at Chinese Bookie, the Jags are a very slight favorite:
Jacksonville Jaguars -1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1
Over 37 Points -110
Under 37 Points -110
It may have surprised some people that the Bucs went out and got another quarterback after what was not a bad rookie season for Mike Glennon. In fact, it could be argued that he was the best rookie under center in the NFL. That was not expected, as he was considered to be a “project.” His 19 TD’s and nine interceptions demonstrated a certain consistency that was beyond his years. Schiano had a lot of faith in him, but that faith may not be shared by Smith, despite his insistence that Glennon is the quarterback of the future. After all, he literally handed the job to McCown immediately upon making the transaction.
Chinese Bookie customers will be keeping an eye on this to see if anything changes. Smith brought in the former Cal head coach, Jeff Tedford, to be the offensive coordinator. So there will be some adjustment to be made. McCown is a veteran hand at the controls, as he showed when he completed 67% of his throws, with thirteen touchdowns and just one interception. His passer rating was actually third-best in the league.
NFL bettors who are wise to what often happens in the pre-season are aware of what this means, which is that they are likely to see a very determined Glennon when he gets his opportunity. It is going to be a big job for McCown to light a fire under this offense, which ranked last in the league in 2013. Wide receiver Mike Williams was traded off to the Buffalo Bills, but the Bucs made up for that by drafting another big receiver in Mike Evans, who was Johnny Manziel’s favorite target at Texas A&M.
The Bucs should be able to move the ball on the ground, with Doug Martin coming back and Bobby Rainey having been impressive when given his chance.
The balance is something this team needs. Depth won’t hurt either. Inasmuch as McCown is 35, and never showed the ability to be a standout until last season, Glennon might be someone the Bucs will be lucky to keep around.
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