The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the NFL's biggest gainers in major power rankings after a surprise upset win over the Carolina Panthers. Over at the SB Nation mothership, Joel Thorman thought the debut of the Greg Schiano era looked so impressive that he pushed Tampa up from No. 25 to No. 19:
I wondered last week if ranking Tampa Bay 25th was too low. After one week it appears it was. It avoided the basement in the NFC South, beating Cam Newton and the Panthers.
Meanwhile, NFL.com has the Bucs up seven spots to a suddenly respectable No. 18 ranking:
The "Doesn't Look Anything Like 2011" award goes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who entered this season with a 10-game losing streak, only to come out and completely handle the Panthers. (The same team that beat Tampa by a combined score of 86-35 last year.) Great job, Greg Schiano.
ESPN isn't quite as bullish, but still likes Tampa's win enough to jump them four spots to No. 21, thanks to their defense:
The Bucs averaged 8.6 yards per catch and 3.6 per carry, and still won their opener.
Tampa didn't move up a single spot in former Ravens head coach Brian Billick's rankings at Fox Sports, but that's because he was high on Schiano's makeover before the season even started, placing them a No. 19:
The Bucs looked decent in Greg Schiano's debut as head coach, but after getting off to an early 10-0 start on Sunday, I would have liked to see them put away the game a little more easily. Josh Freeman completed 16 passes, but for only 138 yards
For more on the Tampa Bay Bucs, check out Bucs Nation and SB Nation's NFL page.