The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of the biggest surprises of last season. After finishing just 3-13 in 2009, the Buccaneers came within a tie-breaker of making the postseason with a 10-6 regular-season mark. They ended up finishing third in the NFC South, which goes to show you how hard it is to win in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. While the Buccaneers best years are ahead of them, they have a legit shot at making the playoffs in 2011.

Current NFL odds have the Buccaneers listed at +400 to win the NFL South.

Key Additions: None

2011 Draft Picks: Adrian Clayborn (DE), Da’Quan Bowers (DE), Mason Foster (LB), Luke Stocker (TE), Ahmad Black (S), Allen Bradford (RB), Anthony Gaitor (S), Daniel Hardy (TE)

Notable Losses: Barrett Rudd (LB)

Offense:

Josh Freeman really impressed in his first full season as a starter, throwing for 25 touchdowns to just six interceptions. What really has the organization excited about this young star is the way he kept leading this team to wins when trailing late in the game.

Freeman pulled off all his magic with two rookie wideouts starting for most of the season. It looks like the Buccaneers got a steal with fourth-round wideout Mike Williams, who finished his rookie season with 65 catches for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns. Fellow rookie Arrellious Benn didn’t have quite the impact with just 25 catches for 395 yards, but he should be a much bigger part of the offense in 2011.

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Tampa Bay also has a great receiving threat in tight end Kellen Winslow, who had a team-high 66 catches for 730 yards and five scores. They are also excited about last year’s late-season pick up of wideout Dezmon Briscoe and rookie tight end Luke Stocker.

Not many people thought much of the Buccaneers pickup of running back LaGarrette Blount off waivers when it happened, but it turned out to be a huge move. Blount eventually took over the starting role, leading the team with 1,007 yards and six touchdowns. With Cadillac Williams out of the picture, Blount should be one of the top backs in the NFL this season.

Defense:

The Buccaneers used their first two picks in the draft on two highly regarded defensive ends in Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers. Clayborn figures to start right away opposite of Michael Bennett, but expect to see plenty of Bowers if he can stay healthy. Tampa Bay returns the starting defensive tackle duo of Roy Miller and Gerald McCoy, but they also have a couple of solid young backups in Brian Price and Frank Okam.

At linebacker, Tampa Bay was unable to bring back starting middle linebacker Barrett Rudd, who led the team in tackles for a fourth consecutive season. Washington rookie linebacker Mason Foster has shown enough in a short period to earn the starting spot. He will be sandwiched between starting outside linebackers Quincy Black and Geno Hayes.

Veteran starting corner Ronde Barber is back for his 15^th NFL season, and he has shown little signs of decline. He finished second on the team with three interceptions last year and was third on the team in tackles. He leads a young and talented secondary that features talented corner Aqib Talib and two solid safeties in Sean Jones and Cody Grimm. They also like what they see in second-year corner Myron Lewis, who figures to be the starter once Barber calls it quits.

2011 Predictions:  T-2nd in the NFC South, 10-6 Overall Record

No one expected the Buccaneers to make that kind of jump from 2009 to 2010. There is no doubt that this is a very talented young team led by third-year head coach Raheem Morris. The problem is they play in the loaded NFC South that features two very good teams in Atlanta and New Orleans. I have them picked to finish tied with the Falcons at 10-6 for second in the division, putting them right in the thick of things in the NFC playoff picture.