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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to have improved over the past two weeks. They've added seven new starters, a group of good backup players and said goodbye to a few old, declining players -- and Darrelle Revis. The latter is a bit of a loss, but that's still enough to say they look a lot better than they did a month ago.
Not so, according to Las Vegas. According to Cantor Gaming all of that maneuvering gained the Bucs exactly half an expected win, from 6.5 wins to 7, per the National Football Post.
That's...surprising. NFL odds aren't exact projections of season wins, as they're positions created to optimize betting incomes and minimize risk exposure, but they are at least unbiased looks at a team's prospects -- and the Bucs are not favored to do well. Despite the addition of Lovie Smith. Despite the addition of Josh McCown. Despite the hope felt by most Tampa Bay fans.
Maybe this will change after the draft. Or maybe all of this will look very, very foolish at the end of the season. But it may be smart to temper the optimism just a little.