Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the way back. After a tumultuous Jon Gruden era that included one glorious Super Bowl win, the Bucs decided to rebuild with a youth movement, making Raheem Morris the youngest head coach in the NFL. Morris started with a disastrous 3-13 season in 2009, but the Bucs went 10-6 in 2010 on the back of young quarterback Josh Freeman. For the first time since Doug Williams left for the USFL, the Buccaneers have a franchise quarterback. Freeman was helped in no small way by rookie standouts RB Legarrette Blount and WR Mike Williams. With that trio of players, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a potent young offense for perhaps the first time ever.

Unfortunately, the Bucs have not been so fortunate on the other side of the ball. The run defense and pass rush have been particular areas of concern, as the Bucs gave up 4.7 yards per carry to opposing running backs, second worst in the NFL. In the 2011 NFL draft the Bucs decided to address these concerns, selecting defensive ends Adrian Clayborn and Da'Quan Bowers in the first two rounds. The two college standouts are expected to start immediately, and should boost both the run defense and the pass rush. Third-round linebacker Mason Foster can start at any of the three linebacker spots, his versatility will be much needed with starting LBs Quincy Black and Barrett Ruud scheduled to be free agents.

The Bucs used the 2011 NFL Draft to fill a number of holes on the team, but neglected to improve a weak offensive line. That's not the only problem standing in the way of the Young Bucs, though. Star cornerback Aqib Talib has managed to get into legal trouble once again, this time being indicted of Felony Assault With a Deadly Weapon after a shooting incident involving his sister and her allegedly abusive boyfriend. If that wasn't bad enough, the NFL lockout is shortening the offseason, which could prove to be a major hurdle for these Buccaneers to overcome.

One of the youngest teams in the NFL, they could use every minute of offseason coaching they could get and right now they're not getting any. Josh Freeman has been leading offseason workouts which should help the Buccaneers stay on track, but pad- and coach-less workouts only go so far. The Bucs are on the way up, but 2011 may not be their year - yet.