NFL Preview: Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Cheers: For as long as anyone can remember, they’ve had a good defense. With mainstays such as Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, they’ve always had some pieces to make them a dominating group. They’re aging a bit and they’ve lost some guys over the years, but they’ve always managed to be solid. They have a young-ish O-Line that’s developing, and they can always count on Matt Bryant to pull a long field goal out of his ass.

Jeers: They can’t pass the ball and they have a tough time running it. Jeff Garcia isn’t the answer, Jake Plummer isn’t the answer and no one else Gruden brought in or attempted or bring in would be either. Gruden pulled a rabbit out of his hat once with Brad Johnson, and I don’t think he can do it again with any of these guys. Cadillac Williams really struggled in his sophomore year, but his technically sound game should lead him to a little more success. Joey Galloway can’t keep it up and Mike Clayton forgot how to play football.

On second thought… it’ll be more of the same for the Bucs in 2007. They just don’t have any standout area on the team that you can hang your hat on. Their offense has potential to be mediocre and that’s it. Their defense will be alright, but they’re not the group they used to be. The NFC South isn’t the competitive division it’s cracked up to be, so they still might have a shot to win a few games against their rivals.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Jeff Garcia. If this guy is being counted on to get the Bucs back to the playoffs, there are going to be some pretty disappointed people. He’s good in the WCO, but the talent isn’t there like it was in Philadelphia. He could really lean on Westbrook and he had some good receivers to throw to, and those luxuries aren’t in Tampa. He’s going to be counted on to make plays, and he can’t do that anymore. That’s of course if he wins the starting job.

New guy who will meet expectations: Cato June. What a great fit for TB. They had a hole at Linebacker, and they went out and got a guy who’s played his entire NFL career in the system they run and succeeded at it. He may be small, but in the Tampa 2, he can fly around and make plays. He was one of the best players on Indy’s defense, and even though that doesn’t say much, he’ll be athleticism and experience the Bucs could use.