The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't very highly thought of in Las Vegas, despite Bucs fans' optimism on the hire of Lovie Smith and his coaching staff. The Bucs are facing 50/1 odds to make the Super Bowl, according to the Bovada sports book. Vegas is, of course, largely unbiased -- but it also reflects an equilibrium of betting balances, rather than a strict prediction of next season.
Still, the limited positivity regarding a talented but poorly-coached 4-12 team is understandable. After all, Mike Glennon is largely a question mark, the Bucs have a few holes on the defensive and offensive line and don't have overwhelming talent on offense. They're not talent-poor by any means, and they have one of the most talented defenses in the NFL, but there are a lot of very talented teams in the NFL -- and three NFC South teams with high-quality quarterbacks.
That's a lot to overcome, but the Buccaneers also have a lot of talent on their roster. If things go their way, if Glennon turns out to be better than he looked, if they find an edge rush, if they can correct their interior line issues -- if all of those things happen, the Bucs should have a good chance of doing some damage in the postseason. Or at least reaching it for the first time since 2007.
But it's no guarantee, and the Bucs could just as easily be heading for yet another disappointing season. After all, Vegas apparently sees them as being on a par with the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, and only slightly better than the Cleveland Browns, of all teams.