Have your expectations for the season changed?

Mine have completely changed for a couple of reasons.

I have lost complete faith that the offense will be anything but a frustrating mess the entire season. I was hopeful that the first couple of weeks were just rust but now it’s clear that Carr is average, at best and the offense is too stale and predictable to challenge even average defenses.

Also, I assumed the Bucs would be bad without Brady and coming off two sub-mediocre seasons. I think they look better than they did for Brady’s final 2 seasons. Baker Mayfield is finally in a place that can play to his strengths (roll out timing routes and occasional run/pass options). Also their defense is playing at a fairly high level. I think the division isn’t as open as I was expecting it to be before the season.

I am developing a sense of apathy that I have not felt since the Ditka years. I no longer feel like the people in charge know how to or have the guts to make the drastic changes that need to be made.

I’m now quite pessimistic about things.

It’s a real bummer to feel that way in early October.