LAST SEASON: 9-7, lost to Eagles in wild-card game
PROJECTION: 1st in NFC South
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| Give him the damn ball! |
For Jon Gruden, the Bucs gave up four picks and enough cash to keep Al Davis in sweat suits for 10 lifetimes. It'll be worth it when Tampa wins 11 games and the NFC South.
STRONG SIDE
WR: Keyshawn Johnson puts any receiving corps among the league's elite. Throw in FA pickup Keenan McCardell (93 catches, 1,110 yards, 6 TDs with the Jaguars), and suddenly Tampa has the NFL's best WR duo. Bet on McCardell's presence helping Johnson, who caught an NFC-best 106 balls for 1,266 yards, get into the end zone more than the one time he managed last season. Add FAs Joe Jurevicius, a big target at 6'5", 230, who can go over the middle, and TE Ken Dilger (32 catches, 343 yards for Indy), and Tampa's pass-catchers have all the ingredients Gruden needs for his West Coast offense to flourish.
WEAK SIDE
LB: The Bucs LBs have been clobbered by injuries and free agency. Derrick Brooks is recovering from foot surgery, and speed is what made him special. OLB Jamie Duncan bolted for St. Louis. His replacement, Nate Webster, made only one start the last two seasons. Shelton Quarles is moving to the inside, where he's never played, and his OLB replacement, Alshermond Singleton, has rarely played at all.
OTHER UNITS
QB: Brad Johnson (60.8% completion rate) is the starter, even though he's not mobile enough for Gruden's offense. Shaun King is mobile enough, but lacks arm strength. Then there's Buffalo transplant Rob Johnson. He's got the most raw talent -- but his head isn't always in the game.
RB: FB Mike Alstott thought the featured back job was his when Warrick Dunn bolted to Atlanta, but Michael Pittman's arrival from Arizona changes everything. Pittman's a double-threat (846 yards rushing, 42 catches in 2001) who will add life to the 30th-ranked rushing attack (just 85.7 ypg).
OL: Pro Bowl C Jeff Christy could wear a paper bag and find someone to block. And second-year RT Kenyatta Walker started every game as a rookie. They're the only O-linemen Gruden liked enough to keep as starters. Gruden brought in solid run-blockers Roman Oben (Browns) and Kerry Jenkins (Jets).
DL: Warren Sapp needs to start playing and stop talking. He can be a double-digit sacker who makes everyone around him better. Considering how well DE Simeon Rice (11 sacks) and NT Anthony McFarland played when Sapp stunk, they'll really be something special if he's on.
DB: Ronde Barber picked off 10 passes on his way to the Pro Bowl. John Lynch can still play the run, but FS Dexter Jackson needs to show he can defend the pass. The biggest question is whether CB Brian Kelly can replace Bucs all-time picks leader Donnie Abraham, who left for the Jets.
ST: Martin Gramática is still automatica. Not so Mark Royals, who was released after averaging just 40.7 yards per punt. Then again, replacement Tom Tupa averaged a career-low 38.4 for the Jets.
This article appears in the September 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
