Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009: One Fans Expectations May Not Be Anothers

I recently wrote an article about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009 campaign, and received a rebuttal from a probable long time fan.

I was asked what Kool-Aid I was drinking, to have such little hope in the upcoming season for the Bucs.

Well, reading CBS Sportline.com, it seems Pete Prisco, an NFL expert journalist, had the same thoughts just a couple days after my article.

Prisco gave his power ratings and Tampa Bay was in the bottom 10 out of the 32 NFL teams.

He questioned who would play quarterback, commented on the defense being slow and old, and how the coach will have a hell of a season, and not in a good way. He mirrored my comments 100 percent.

Every preseason, fans think they have a Super Bowl contender. They are like blind roses that bloom in the spring and die in the fall, like teams and their fans.

Every year this happens to fans and occasionally they have a great season.

Sports writers like to grade how teams do in the draft, but the draft is only a small part of the equation.

It's what the coaching staff does with the players.

Using the Steelers as an example, last years draft was rated A- to B+, but not one rookie accomplished much, and still they won the Super Bowl.

Watch those rookies this upcoming season and next. The rookie who won best rookie last season for Pittsburgh was a special teams player who was not drafted by the Steelers.

Remember for every Ben Rothlisberger, Joe Flacco, or Matt Ryan, there is a Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf, David Carr, or Joey Harrington who were first round busts.

Tampa Bay has many holes to fill, new schemes to learn, key coaching changes, and much trial and error coming up.

Even a .500 season is highly unlikely, and they must get on the proverbial rebuilding horse, and plan strong for the future.

It may be painful to watch for Tampa Bay fans this season, but you have to crawl before you can walk. Enjoy the good plays and hope for many more in the next couple of seasons.