Where do the Buccaneers fit into ESPN's Week 10 power rankings?
The Bucs are coming off a much needed Bye Week for the team to rest up and recover after a tough first half of the season. While they are 6-2 and atop the NFC South, the team needed the Bye Week to hopefully bring back some names like running back Bucky Irving and offensive tackle Luke Goedeke for the second half.
One of the things we like to look at, apart from their record, is where the Bucs land in power rankings. ESPN's team power rankings show where the Bucs land, and despite being on a bye, they actually rose up the rankings. ESPN's power rankings heading into Week 10 have the Bucs in the 4th spot, after being 5th last week. The rest of the NFC South shapes to have the Carolina Panthers ranked 16th, the Atlanta Falcons at 25th, and the New Orleans Saints near the bottom at 30th.
They always include a unique angle to their power rankings, and in this one, they had beat writers discuss each team's best acquisition heading into this season. Jenna Laine wrote about the team's matchup with the Carolina Panthers in Week 16. She writes, "We don't know how the Buccaneers will respond to being without wide receiver Mike Evans (broken collarbone) for an extended period. We also don't know when Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin Jr., Luke Goedeke or Jalen McMillan will return. But we do know that four out of their final five games are against divisional opponents, which do count toward tiebreakers. The Bucs have made a huge point of emphasis on avoiding the midseason slumps they've experienced the past two seasons. But should they need a late-season surge, that road game against Carolina is smack dab in the middle of it."
Week 10 will have the team with a tough matchup as well, despite them not earning the selection. The two-loss New England Patriots will face off with the Bucs with a new focus in 2025, and their franchise quarterback, Drake Maye, is playing at an MVP level.
Lots of tough matchups ahead for the captains of the NFC South.
Browns Give Emphatic Answer on Critical Dillon Gabriel Flaw
On Wednesday at Browns practice there was, no question, a reporter on hand who had an agenda–asking everyone in the orange-and-brown just how it is playing with a quarterback who is undersize. And coming out of college, that was the big flaw most scouts latched onto when it comes to Dillon Gabriel–he is just 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds and a wingspan of 73 inches.
Here’s what Pro Football Focus wrote coming out of the Combine last spring: “Gabriel’s measurables — height, weight, wingspan, hand size, etc. — are all in the 35th percentile or lower among quarterbacks. That’s quite a barrier to developing into a successful NFL signal-caller. He’ll be at a significant disadvantage, and some teams may even be scared off from drafting him.”
It’s only been four NFL games, but some of the concerns about Gabriel before the draft are clearly at play now that he is suiting up for the Browns. Basically, that the guy’s too short.
Browns ‘Would Not Characterize’ Dillon Gabriel Height as a Flaw
Of the three quarterbacks who were used, before the draft, in defense of Gabriel–Bryce Young, Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray, who are also under 6-feet in height–only Young still has his job. So it’s probably fair to wonder whether Gabriel’s just too short for this business.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked whether the problem of Gabriel’s height is showing up on game film. Stefasnki said no, but mostly dodged the issue.
“I understand the question, Tony (Grossi), but I would not characterize it that way,” he said. “We need to play better as an offense. Certainly, there’s areas to improve for a young quarterback, but it’s really on all of us to improve.”
Browns Jerry Jeudy Emphatic in Defense
The Browns can’t force Gabriel to grow three or four inches, of course. But it is impossible to say his height is not hindering him, even if the Browns refuse to acknowledge that. Scouts criticized Gabriel’s lack of deep-throw risks in college and attributed that to his height, and here in the NFL, he has thrown just six balls of 20-plus yards in four starts. There’s been only one completion, and one interception.
At Pro Football Focus, Gabriel has a grade of 46.5, which ranks No. 37 out of 37 graded QBs.
But it was clear that Browns players do not want to get into the business of criticizing Gabriel, even his height. Star receiver Jerry Jeudy was asked whether Gabriel can see his receivers well enough down the field, but Jeudy responded, flatly, “Yes.”
Dillon Gabriel: Deep Balls ‘Got to Happen’
Gabriel was not flatly asked about his height–he was asked that plenty of times before and after the Browns drafted him. But he was asked about the notion of being afraid to throw downfield, which some have directly linked to his lack of size and ability to see deep receivers.
The 1-for-6 number speaks for itself.
“I think there’s just a mixture of things that have to come together to make that happen, that’s myself included,” Gabriel said. “But you know, like we’ve talked about before, explosives, they got to happen. There’s certain categories within a game that you have to win and explosives and you know, being really good on first and second down so that you’re in some third-and-manageables and moving the chain, sustaining drives.
“So that’ll all contribute to that, but no uncomfortability like that’s something that we work on and want to continue to emphasize.”
