The NFL is back, and Sportsnet is breaking down everything you need to know about each of the 32 teams—including why you should or shouldn’t be rooting for them this season—in the month leading up to kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 8. Today, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Last year’s record: 6-10
Head coach: Dirk Koetter
Core players: Jameis Winston (QB), Lavonte David (LB), Gerald McCoy (DT), Doug Martin (RB), Mike Evans (WR)
2016 is about… Taking the next step. The Bucs were abysmal in 2014. It got them the top pick in the 2015 draft, though, and they made marked improvements aided by that top pick, Jameis Winston, who is surrounded by a number of solid pieces they hope to ride to success in 2016. The Bucs haven’t had a plus-.500 record since 2010 and will likely go as far as their QB takes them this year.
They lost… Lovie Smith. He was fired in January after just two seasons as the team’s head coach. The Bucs were 2-14 in Smith’s first year and tripled their win total last season. They were 6-6 and still in the playoff conversation prior to losing the final four games of 2016. Smith was popular and not all the players took the news well. Lavonte David even publicly ripped the team’s decision to let Smith go in a series of tweets he eventually deleted:
“This is stupid, we can’t even have a consistent coach, 3 coaches in 5 yrs…Outside looking in, y’all wouldn’t understand how great of a coach/person he is…I guess y’all got what you been asking for smh.”
They lost defensive back Sterling Moore, linebacker Bruce Carter and D-lineman Henry Melton, but a bigger impact than those three could be the potential lingering effects from the coaching change.
But they got… A new head coach in Dirk Koetter. He was the offensive coordinator with the Bucs last season after eight years split between the Falcons and Jaguars. The last time he was a head coach was with Arizona State, where he went 40–34 between 2001 and 2006.
Cornerback Brent Grimes is still capable of making incredible plays on the ball like we saw from him in Miami and during his first training camp in Tampa.
On the flipside, at age 33 and standing just 5-foot-10, he’s also susceptible to getting burned on deep balls like we saw when he was made to look foolish several times by Josh Gordon in the pre-season.
Perhaps the best off-season addition was drafting Vernon Hargreaves 11th overall. He’ll play opposite Grimes on the corner. Every team in the NFC South has a potent passing attack, which means Hargreaves will have his hands full in his rookie year. He played high school football in Tampa so he could become the face of the defence in the next four years.
The addition of offensive guard J.R. Sweezy was meant to bolster a subpar offensive line, and it could be a prosperous long-term move, but the former Seahawk will miss at least the first five games of 2016 with a back injury.
Defensive end Robert Ayers improves the pass rush, as will rookie Noah Spence, and this should take some pressure off Gerald McCoy, but the front seven is a definite weakness. They spent a second-round pick on kicker Roberto Aguayo. He better be good, otherwise that’s going to look bad.
Growing from within… Winston gave Bucs fans something to look forward to after a quality, albeit up-and-down, rookie campaign. He’s not yet in the same league as Ben Roethlisberger or Cam Newton, but he has that type of potential in terms of physical tools and coaches rave about his football IQ. Having a No. 1 target like Mike Evans, selected seventh overall by the Bucs in 2014, only helps. Although he had nine fewer touchdown receptions in 2015 than he did in his rookie year, Evans set new career highs in receptions and yards last season.
Why this team? Like a lot of young teams in the league, their offence should be exciting with an improved Winston plus playmakers like Evans and Doug Martin to work with. Plus, only the Denver Broncos allowed fewer yards per rushing attempt last season.
Why not this team? That promising offence could stall behind an offensive line that has some big holes—and not the good kind that running backs like going through. The left side of their o-line is a concern heading into the season and the pass defence leaves much to be desired.
How much hope? 5.9/10: They took major strides last year but it’s going to be far more difficult to take that next step and be in the wild-card hunt late in the season.
