TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS @ TENNESSEE TITANS 
Vegas Line: Buccaneers + 3
Rob’s Line: Buccaneers + 4.5
Tennessee is hanging on to the coat tails of the Houston Texans in the AFC South, but they’re a team that I find it difficult to love and that’s even with having one of my sporting heroes running its offense. Matt Hasselbeck will forever remain a Seahawk and he’s having a decent enough season considering he’s had to do without stud receiver Kenny Britt ever since he went down in Week 3 against Denver.
Nate Washington, Jared Cook and Damian Williams are reliable enough receivers, but running back Chris Johnson is second on the team in receptions, which tells you all you need to know about how much this team needs Britt. It’s good news that Johnson is at least proving a reliable receiver out of the backfield because the mammoth contract he was given to do what he used to do best, namely run with the ball, is looking like a waste of money on the part of the Tennessee front office and they must feel a little duped right now. His 3.2 yards per carry is pathetic and I wonder how much of that contract they’d need to pay him should they decide he’s not worth keeping for 2012 because a good running back isn’t that difficult to find compared to the other skill positions and they also lurk in the mid-rounds of the Draft each and every year.
Tampa played hard in Green Bay last week, something that wasn’t foreseeable after their embarrassment at home to Houston two weeks ago so they enter this one with renewed vigour, one would hope. Quarterback Josh Freeman has regressed remarkably this season and I do put it down somewhat to increased expectations. He threw for 25 TDs and just 6 INTs last season so his 15 picks this season is alarming and with the Bucs playing in the brutal NFC South, even a wildcard berth looks beyond them now, especially with games against Carolina (twice), Dallas and Atlanta on the horizon. Is Tampa looking ahead to next season already…? Not that anybody would ever admit it, but I think they have to be.
I initially liked the Bucs with the points here, but don’t quite agree with Vegas purely because Tampa’s defense is horrible right now. They’re missing defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, their best run stuffer, but up against the Titans boasting Johnson at running back, will that be a hugely determining factor? I’ll probably end up eating my words, but I have no faith in him at all.
Hasselbeck shouldn’t have too much difficulty moving the chains against the Bucs’ 29th ranked pass defense, but they played well enough against Aaron Rodgers last week and that’s fresh in the memory when considering where to put your money. However, I do believe that the Packers had one eye on their Thanksgiving Day date in Detroit on Thursday and kept something back for the Lions.
For a team I’m finding it difficult to love, my heart beats fast enough for them this week to side with them to cover the spread. Over to you, Matthew Hasselbeck.
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