5 Reasons Bucs Fans Shouldn't Be Concerned with Preseason Results

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wrapped up their 2013 preseason on Thursday night with a 30-12 loss to the visiting Washington Redskins, dropping their record to 1-3 and, for some fans, raising concerns on the prospects of the upcoming season.

Sure, for most of the preseason the Bucs were far from perfect, even struggling at points to maintain respectability.

But fret not. This team is not nearly as bad as the results would suggest. Better yet, there are even reasons to feel pretty optimistic about their chances in 2013—yes, even in spite of their lackluster preseason performance.

No, the sky isn't falling, and the season isn't over before it even started. And for goodness sakes, stop suggesting Mike Glennon is their best option at quarterback, because he isn't—and won't be—for some time.

So, why exactly do I feel as upbeat about Tampa Bay's outlook for 2013 when so many want to sound the alarm?

Let's take a closer look.

Doug Martin

There is no mistake who the Bucs are counting on to serve as their catalyst on offense: second-year running back Doug Martin. 

After all, the former Boise State star accounted for nearly 2,000 total yards of offense and 12 touchdowns as a rookie in 2012, touching the ball nearly 400 times and solidifying himself as a legitimate fantasy football stud in the process.

However, Martin was nearly nonexistent during the preseason, carrying the ball just three times for four yards, which surely explains a lot as to why the first-team offense as a whole looked out of sync and struggled to get into any sort of rhythm.

That said, once the regular season begins in a little more than a week, you can rest assured that Martin will once again carry the offensive load and that all should be back to normal for the rest of this high-octane unit.

Offensive Line

While the absence of Martin may have contributed to the offensive woes, the offensive line certainly didn't help either, allowing its quarterbacks to be under constant duress for most of the preseason. 

But it's important for fans to remember that, much like most of last season, the line has been without their two starting guards.

Carl Nicks, entering his second season with the club, has missed a considerable amount of time while dealing with a lingering issue with a toe that, according to a recent announcement, is being treated for an MRSA infection.

Although no there's no timetable for Nicks' return, Davin Joseph is healthy and fully recovered from a season-ending knee injury he suffered in last year's preseason.

How does that impact the offensive line?

Simply put, missing two Pro Bowl guards would impact any line, let alone one with as little depth as the Bucs have. They've experimented with a cadre of players, including Jamon Meredith, Ted Larsen and Gabe Carimi in their absence, but let's be honest, none of the above are Nicks or Joseph.

With that in mind, assuming the Bucs can get Nicks back by, say, Week 4 or 5, and barring an injury early in the season, the Bucs would then finally have the five starters up front that they've been anxious to see on the field together for some time.

And that would do wonders for Martin and Co.

Darrelle Revis

Much of the offseason attention from Bucs faithful has centered around the addition of All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis, whom the Bucs acquired in a trade with the New York Jets.

Landing the services of Revis was expected to fix a lot of what ailed the Bucs defense last season when they allowed nearly 300 passing yards per game and finished league's worst-ranked pass defense.

The caveat with Revis has been, and will be, the uncertainty of his long-term health following the season-ending knee injury he suffered in Week 3 last year. The Bucs were clearly confident enough that Revis would not only return from the injury, but pick up where he left off when he was arguably the best defensive back in the NFL.

All of which explains why the Bucs have been deliberately cautious with Revis during training camp and the preseason, limiting his exposure and minimizing the risk of having a setback of his surgically repaired knee.

With all signs pointing towards a full return Week 1 against, of all teams, the Jets, the presence of Revis, along with fellow newcomers Dashon Goldson (free agency) and Johnthan Banks (draft) should go a long way toward improving an otherwise porous defense.

Play-Calling Will Improve

While much has been made about how poorly quarterback Josh Freeman and the offense looked during the preseason, it's important to remember that many coaches purposely limit their play-calling—both offensively and defensively—to just a number of plays or formations.

The main reason, of course, is to minimize what teams on their regular season schedule can learn about new plays, schemes or offensive formations.

Think of it this way: the Bucs faced both the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins during preseason, but they also face the Pats and 'Fins during the regular season this year. Looking back at those two games in particular, how much, if any, of the playbook do you think the Bucs' coaching staff rolled out?

In other words, the play-calling was intentionally vanilla. The Bucs likely didn't want to show their hand and tip off anything that could be used against them during the course of their regular season matchups.

Sure, it's frustrating to see the offense stagnate and the defense get picked apart, but be mindful of the fact that the coaching staff likely isn't as upset about the team's performance as are the fans.

And once the season kicks off, I'm confident a lot of what we saw will be a distant afterthought.

Talent Level

Quite frankly, this is the most talented team the Bucs have fielded in quite a while. They have Pro Bowl-caliber players at quarterback, running back, receiver and at positions along the offensive line. The same can be said along the defensive line, linebacking group and secondary.

Mind you, looking good on paper and looking good once the games start to count are two totally different things—I realize that. But how drastically improved this team is from, say, the one the Bucs fielded just two seasons ago—or even a year ago, for that matter—shouldn't be overlooked by anyone.

The talent level is impressive, as is the mentality and ability of the coaching staff.

And if the two can combine as well as I think they will, 2013 will turn out to be a memorable season for all the right reasons.

J.J. can be reached via email at [e-mail]

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