ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears gives passionate plea to Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 ESPN's "First Take" tackled this Sunday's Los Angeles Rams-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and analyst Marcus Spears gave a passionate defense of his position that the game is much more of a must-win for Tampa Bay than Los Angeles.

"They don't even look like they want to be at the game most of the time," said Spears. 

He added, "Brady going through what he went through," referring to the dissolution of his marriage to Giselle Bündchen, and the fact "they can't play defense no more" as reasons why the team looks unfocused.

"They have lost their souls," he exclaimed.

Analyst Ryan Clark laughed as Spears gave his fiery monologue. Spears poked at their LSU background -- attempting to get Clark to have as much sympathy for the Buccaneers as he does.

"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need us right now and I'mma be there for 'em. We need to raise up ... we got friends on this team, RC. [Linebacker] Devin White went to LSU. We got true friends on the Tampa Bay Bucs team."

His argument didn't seem to land with Clark, who just shook his head and continued to laugh. 

Los Angeles (3-4) and Tampa Bay (3-5) met in a thrilling NFC divisional round game a season ago, which the Rams won 30-27. Neither team looks close to going that far in the playoffs this year and both are in danger of missing the playoffs entirely.

It would appear Clark is right in his assessment that the Rams need this victory more than the Bucs. The NFC South, after all, is led by a 4-4 Atlanta team that many expect to fade as the season progresses.

The NFC West, on the other hand, is led by the overachieving 5-3 Seattle Seahawks, but the biggest threat is the San Francisco 49ers, who are 4-4 currently but trending upwards after the Christian McCaffrey trade.

A loss for Tampa Bay will put them at 3-6, but in a bad division, they won't be out of the race. A loss for Los Angeles would put the Rams at 3-5, and with no more games remaining against the 49ers after being swept in two October games, it would be a shock for them to win their division.

Spears' argument is more of a psychological one for the Bucs, a team whose vibes are decidedly not good. A win on Sunday, Spears suggests, would change that.

As frustrated as Brady and the Bucs have looked this year, those poor Microsoft Surface tablets could use the win most of all.