Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Spread

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Division rivals Carolina and Tampa Bay will meet for a second and final time this season when they throw down in the big pirate ship Sunday.

Tampa Bay won the first meeting 20-7, and NFL odds makers expect it to pull off the season sweep. The books have listed the Buccaneers as a 6.5-point favorite with the total set at 36.

It’s been a nightmare season for Carolina, which had high hopes after closing out its 2009 campaign with three straight wins.

The Panthers were expecting to have one of the best running attacks in the league, and they were hopeful that Matt Moore would be their quarterback of the future.  That’s not how the cookie crumbled.

Carolina ranks 26th in the league in rushing offense, averaging only 90.8 yards per game on the ground. Running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, which both gained more than 1,000 yards on the ground in 2009, have only combined for 569 yards this season.

There is a chance both running backs could miss this week’s game. Williams is listed as questionable with a sprained foot and Stewart is listed as questionable with a concussion.

Moore saw his terrible season come to an end when he endured a shoulder injury in last week’s loss to the Saints. Now, it will be up to Jimmy Clausen or Tony Pike.

While Tampa Bay figures to get plenty of betting attention this week, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that the Panthers are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven meetings at Tampa Bay. In addition, the Buccaneers are a lousy 0-7 against the number in their last seven home games versus a team with a losing road record.

The key to Tampa Bay’s Week 2 win over Carolina was very solid quarterback play from Josh Freeman. The young signal caller threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns in that contest.

Freeman has thrown for 1,722 yards and 10 touchdowns with five interceptions on the season. Two of those interceptions came in last week’s loss to the Falcons. He can’t afford to give this reeling Carolina team any hope by handing them a couple easy picks. If he plays like he did in the season’s first meeting, the Bucs should come out on top.

The Bucs are just 2-2 at home, compared to 3-1 on the road, and defense is a big reason why. The Bucs have allowed an average of 25.0 points at home this season. They have been torched on the ground in those games, allowing an average of 169.0 rushing yards on 5.7 yards per carry.

If I’m Tampa Bay, I make sure I take care of Carolina’s running game. I can live with it if a rookie quarterback is able to beat me.

Tampa Bay backers will like to know that Carolina may not be the biggest bounce back threat this week. In fact, the Panthers are only 2-6 against the spread in their last eight games following a loss of more than 14 points.

About the Author: Jimmy Boyd is known for his consistency. He's a proven winner in college and pro football, college and pro basketball and pro baseball. He finished as the No. 1 ranked MLB handicapper in 2007 by earning $1,000/game bettors $50,050. He also finished as the No. 1 ranked basketball handicapper in the 2008-09 season, profiting $1,000/game bettors 38,530. His basketball plays have banked $1,000/game bettors nearly $80,000 the last five years. Check out Jimmy's premium picks for tonight!
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