Bucs Prepare to Defend
(August 26, 2003)

All the celebrating should be over. Training camp is wrapping up. It is now time for the Bucs to defend the Super Bowl championship. How successful will they be? History shows it is difficult to repeat. All the key players return, but that is not always enough. Will the team be as motivated to win a second Super Bowl, as it was to win the first? We will now begin to find out.

When you put all the partying aside, it was not an extremely active off-season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A few players made the headlines for the wrong reasons. Since they had most of their key players under contract, the team was not especially busy in the free agent market.

The Bucs defense was ranked number one in the NFL last season and should not miss a beat this year. The most notable defection was Super Bowl MVP defensive back Dexter Jackson, who signed with Arizona. The biggest name free agent signing was linebacker Dwayne Rudd who is a six year veteran with Minnesota and Cleveland. The team's top draft pick, Louisville's Dewayne White, could develop into a fine defensive end. The defense has had a good training camp and predictions that it may be better this year could be right.

The offense was expected to be better this year as well, however, that unit has not shown much in training camp. Off-season losses on the offense included backup quarterback Rob Johnson and starting center Jeff Christy. The Bucs strengthened the suspect offensive line by signing center John Wade, who was with Jacksonville for five years, and guard Jason Whittle, who spent five seasons with the New York Giants. A trade sent wide receiver Marquise Walker to Arizona for Thomas Jones. A three year veteran running back, Jones was the seventh overall pick in the 2000 draft and has looked good this preseason. The Bucs picked up quarterback Jim Miller, who is a nine year veteran with Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Atlanta and Chicago, however, injuries caused him to miss the entire training camp. Jacquez Green returned to the team as a free agent, but has not had a good camp and may not make the final cut. Third round draft pick Chris Simms has had a good preseason and the former University of Texas quarterback may be the Bucs QB of the future.

While the NFC South does not have some of the tradition of other divisions, it proved to be the strongest division in the conference last year. This season figures to be no different. Last year, Atlanta ended the Packers postseason winning streak at Lambeau Field and were picked by many to win the division this year. The injury to quarterback Michael Vick may cause a slow start, but the Falcons have plenty of good young players and will be a contender. New Orleans played great for most of last year, and defeated the Bucs twice, before a late season collapse ended the Saints playoff hopes. If New Orleans can improved defensively, they will be hard to beat. Carolina had one of the best defenses in the league last year and were competing for the playoffs. While the Panthers still need help on offense, their defense should make them contenders in this tough division.

The Buccaneers have the fourth most difficult schedule in the league. Highlights include the Monday night season opener at Philadelphia, on September 8, which is the first game at the Eagles new stadium. Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts come to Tampa for a Monday night game on October 6. On October 12, the Bucs travel to Washington to play Steve Spurrier's Redskins. There is a Sunday night game at Jacksonville on November 30. Atlanta comes to town for Saturday game on December 20.

How will the Bucs fare as defending champions? Some prognosticators are predicting a repeat and The Sporting News predicted the Bucs would not even make the playoffs. Atlanta, before the Michael injury, was a popular pick to win the NFC South and Carolina is being named by many as a surprise playoff team. The Bucs certainly have the players and coaching win it all again. The negatives would be a tough schedule and division, along with the continuing questions on offense. The positives would be a great defense and a coach that should not allow his team to become complacent.

Hope you're ready. It should be an exciting season.