Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Offense 2008

No team in the NFC South (since its 2002 inception) has gone back-to-back with division title wins. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden has failed in 2002 (Super Bowl hangover, see Johnson, Keyshawn) and 2005 (see Shepherd, Edell). But, with a slew of veterans and leaders with a real mix of youth, could this be the year to break the "curse" of the NFC South?

OFFENSE

The team has its best offensive line since the Super Bowl year. So it should be, as it includes the most expensive centre in the league in Jeff Faine, adding some much needed aggression and awareness lacked by his predecessor, John Wade.

Arron Sears, 2007 second-round pick, was a revelation at left guard, whilst 2006's first-rounder Davin Joseph continued to be dominant in the run game, though not quite the finished article against the pass-rush.

On his right, Jeremy Trueblood, a 6'8" tackle from 2006's second-round continued to be as powerful and nasty as ever, though he was schooled by Michael Strahan in January.

However, such experiences will only make him a better player. Over on the other side, left tackle was surprisingly good with relative unknown Donald Penn, who got his chance after free agent Luke Petitgout went down for the season.

Penn looks good enough to start this season. Penn, Sears, Faine, Joseph and Trueblood are a youthful and strong outfit, both athletic and powerful. There is a certain degree of optimism about this group, particularly as it should only get better with age.

With another good year from the offensive line, Tampa's experienced stable of running backs should be successful once more.

The group includes Earnest Graham, who had just under 900 yards and 10 touchdowns last year; along with old Tampa favourite Warrick Dunn, now 33, but a shifty back with over 10,000 career yards and excellent hands; Michael Bennett, adding real speed as a change of pace back; full-back B.J Askew excelled as a blocker and pass-catching threat, and will only improve in 2008; not to mention the wild-card return of Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, a former No. 5 overall pick with a few records himself, could really spark the running game.

Williams is not expected to feature, and with Graham and Dunn to cover the rehab of his torn patella tendon, there is no rush for the one-time feature back to return.

Williams himself has said that he will return this year, and to expect him to be better than ever when he does, according to reports out of One Buc Place. A tough, versatile unit, the most consistent facet of the offense.

At tight end, things have changed a bit. Anthony Becht is gone. Alex Smith is still the starter, and has progressed nicely in his three seasons, with eight TD's and over 1,000 yards in his career. More is wanted from him, though he plays with intensity and effort.

Jerramy Stevens made some nice plays down the stretch last year, and he was resigned (despite the Seattle Times list of supposed felonies to his name despite the fact they are from quite some years ago).

There was some outrage at his resigning by some fans, but this will be a non-factor if he remains the target he was last year. 

John Gilmore was signed from Chicago, primarily as a blocker. Ben Troupe has arrived from Tennessee, having played college ball in Florida, he is expected to compete as a pass-catching threat. A solid, if unspectacular group.

The most apparent "weakness" about this offense is the uncertainty surrounding the wide receiver position. The immortal Joey Galloway went over 1,000 yards for the third consecutive season last year, and is one of the less recognised offensive threats in the NFL, with top end speed and excellent hands.

The problem arises with this unit is that they have no receiver to complement Galloway, who is entrenched as the starter at flanker. If a situation where Galloway is injured arises (i.e.—versus the New York Giants in January, when they needed him most) there is no obvious player who carries the same threat for the Buccaneers.

Ike Hillard had something of a comeback season as the number two last year, but lacks deep-threat speed, or big-play ability, despite his veteran cunning and excellent consistency, for which he should be applauded.

Michael Clayton remains an enigma, having never reached the heights of his rookie 2004 campaign (1,193 yards, seven TDs) again, gaining over 1,000 more yards of the next three seasons.

Reports out of mini-camp suggest he is ready to reclaim the starter's role, no rid of turf toe and ankle problems which have plagued him, coupled with a loss of confidence when the ball was ever thrown to him. However, the team desperately wants the 2004 first-round pick to succeed, and it seems Jon Gruden is ready to give him a fair shot.

He will face competition from a man who is even more of a mystery, a certain Antonio Bryant, formerly of Dallas, Cleveland and San Francisco, having managed to fall out with each coach at some stage during his time there, and being suspended for all of last season.

However, he has shown deep-threat ability during his career, who could be something of a poor man's Terrell Owens in Tampa, using both strength and speed to succeed. Reports on him during mini-camp were also impressive.

Throw in special-teams tackling machine Maurice Stovall to the mix, who has size and hands but seems to lack the speed to find real separation against defensive backs, and don't rule out speed demon Dexter Jackson out of Appalachian State making a few appearances either, though more likely as a punt/kick-off returner.

With these five in Disney, there is a real red hot competition in training camp, the number two wide receiver spot being wide open. There is much room for improvement among this group from everyone minus Joey Galloway, this is something of a question area heading into the season. They may yet surprise us.

Sorry to have dragged on, as we now reach the last position on the tour—quarterback.

A position the Bucs have struggled to fill since Brad Johnson in 2002, Jon Gruden has gone through a number of quarterbacks. Bruce Gradkowski is gone. Lets move on.

Brian Griese, the man Johnson was benched for, has returned after his 2005, 5-1 start, going down with a cruciate ligament injury against the Miami Dolphins. Interestingly, the man Griese was cut for to be hailed the future of the franchise, Chris Simms, is still here too.

He was lucky to be given a new contract after 2006 (bleeding internally and losing his spleen against the Panthers, going 0-3 as a starter) he has publicly claimed his relationship with Gruden as beyond repair.

Though the offensive line wasn't exactly the best that season (the Bucs went 4-12) neither was the defense, so the bad start wasn't entirely his fault. However, he threw seven interceptions in three games, so he is on his way out of Tampa.

How and when are a mystery, as the Bucs turned down some trade offers, yet are refusing to cut him. His status is unknown, though he will be at camp. He should be gone by opening day.

The new guy for the future is the "other" McCown, Luke.

He made a cameo appearance last season, starting three games, finishing with a 91.7 passer rating, and rushing 117 yards. He threw five TDs, including a crucial last-gasp one against New Orleans; but was also picked off three times, losing two fumbles and was sacked 15 times in the process.

Clearly, his decision-making needs to improve, but he has the tools (and the arm) to start in the future. Hopefully, that's not too far away.

Josh Johnson is a rookie out of division 1-AA, but he is mobile, accurate and understands the West Coast Offense. He has excellent stats, but he will not feature this year as he learns the system.

Entrenched at starter is number seven, Jeff Garcia, who threw 13 TDs and only four picks with a 94.6 passer rating in 2007. He was a Pro Bowl alternate in Hawaii, throwing scores to old nemesis Terrell Owens.

Garcia gave the kind of knowledge, leadership and ability that the Buccaneers have sorely lacked at the quarterback position for sometime. His veteran cunning, coupled with his quick feet and sound vision, led to a real command of Gruden's offense which should only improve after his full year in the system.

The strike against Garcia is his age (38) and his ability to remain injury free, taking 19 sacks last year. In addition to this, Garcia has something of a contract gripe, a year into his relatively small deal.

However, Garcia lacks leverage due to the problems already mentioned. He will not hold out of camp, so barring injury, Garcia will be the man under centre come September. A deep group (expect four signal-callers on the roster) with a Pro Bowler at the helm, this is a good unit for the Buccaneers.

If Garcia goes down, the Bucs aren't the same threat offensively (Griese is game-manager, whilst McCown is somewhat mistake-prone) so there are reports linking Brett Favre to Tampa Bay.

Should he arrive, the Bucs offense would be more widely respected in the league, but flying under the radar is how Jon Gruden will like his 2008 offense.

More "explosiveness" is needed to become a true playoff contender, but there are players capable of such a step, which is a must if the Bucs are to hold off the challenge of the New Orleans Saints.