Friday, 4 a.m.
Are they healed? Now that the Tampa Bay Bucs have won two straight games, including one in which they beat Seattle fairly soundly, are they right again? Are they fixed?
Or will the Bucs' offense continue to play uphill?
We may get a few extra clues Sunday when the Bucs play a pedestrian Cleveland team. The Browns aren't very good, but neither were Carolina and Pittsburgh, and both of them ended up with Bucs beneath their cleats.
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So will the Bucs continue to struggle to run block? Will the Bucs continue to wade through the swamp? Will the defensive line sputter? Will the secondary cover?
And can this be the start of a successful stretch run?
Hey, I expect the Bucs to win (I did against the Panthers and Steelers, too). But I think they'll spend some time spinning their wheels along the way.
Simply put, this team continues to have flaws. I'm not sure they'll be able to run as well as they did against Seattle, and they may be slow to realize it. I see a game being close for a half before the Bucs' receivers give Tampa Bay a comfortable lead.
Frankly, I want to see this team prove they're good again.
Prediction: Tampa Bay 23, Cleveland 20.
In other NFL games:
Tennessee 24, Cincinnati 21.
Atlanta 19, Washington 16 .
San Francisco 21, New Orleans 18.
Green Bay 24, Philadelphia 20.
Kansas City 31, Miami 28.
And in the colleges:
FSU 28, Florida 17.
UCF 40, USF 20.
Alabama 35, Auburn 14.
Ohio State 28, Michigan 26.
Clemson 34, South Carolina 20.