Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Young Bucs Look To Build Off Last Year's Success

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of the youngest teams in the NFL, finished the 2010 season with a overall record of 10-6. But big things appear on the horizon for these "Young Bucs."

Josh Freeman was one of the biggest surprises last year as the second-year quarterback threw for over 3,400 yards. More impressively, Freeman threw 25 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

Josh Freeman has a young but deadly arsenal at his disposal with receivers. Mike Williams, who had a brilliant rookie campaign with 64 receptions, 964 yards and 11 touchdowns could have a Pro-Bowl kind of year. Fellow rookie receiver Arrelious Benn had an up-and-down season, but showed strong signs of potential throughout. He should play a bigger role in the offense in 2011. Tight end Kellen Winslow, who was second on the team in receiving yards to Mike Williams, will once again be another favorite Freeman  target too.

As for the running backs, it's clear who the go-to guy is—but who would have thought that he would have been an undrafted free agent? Whatever the case, the Bucs got a steal with running back LeGarrette Blount, who managed a thousand-yard season despite not playing in three games. If Blount can become a better pass blocker, he could become one of the top running backs in the league next year. That bodes well for a passing game poised to be great.

The defense is the main question mark coming into the 2011 season. Tampa Bay's pass defense, despite losing starting safety Tenard Jackson the entire 2010 season, ranked seventh in the league. The problem for the Buccaneers was stopping opposing teams' ground games, as the Bucs were ranked 28th in the league—giving up over 130 yards per game. Ouch. The defensive front must be better at stopping running backs at the point of attack, and not letting them go untouched into the secondary—a reoccurring problem in 2010.

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have shortcomings on defense, they can address those deficiencies in this year's draft.

In the 2011 draft, look for Tampa Bay to draft another pass rusher on the end in the first round, maybe Ryan Kerrigan from Purdue to upgrade the front line. In the second round, Bruce Carter from North Carolina would provide help to the outside line backing position. If these picks fall into place, it'll make the Bucs that much better on defense.

The knock on Tampa Bay was that they didn't win enough games against teams with winning records, most notably division rival Atlanta. I see that changing in 2011. In both losses to the Falcons, the Bucs were in it late—and lost both games only by a combined 10 points. In those games, Tampa Bay made some rookie mistakes: that's what cost them wins. Look for a more experienced Bucs team to pull those close games out, and prove they are one of the league's top 10.

It will be fun to watch the young talent on the Buccaneers go to work every Sunday, and even more fun if they can get to the postseason, where Tampa Bay have not been since 2007.