We think that the Buccaneers overachieved in winning the division last year, and while this squad should finish second in the NFC South this season, we do not expect a repeat playoff appearance.

Granted Tampa Bay returns 21 of its 22 starters, but other than running back Cadillac Williams, we do not expect much improvement from the rest of the team. In fact we look for many of the starters to regress, which is not good news for an offense that ranked 23 rd in the NFL in total yards last year. This could put added pressure on Williams to put up elite numbers in just his second season. We are simply not sold on Chris Simms as an NFL quarterback, and the receiving corps is just mediocre unless Michael Clayton could rebound from a disappointing 2005. Finally we are not convinced that Tampa Bay did a good job of strengthening the offensive line in the draft, as tackle Jeremy Trueblood seems like a huge reach as a second round selection.

Now the Bucs did have the top ranked defense in the NFL last season, and all of the Tampa Bay victories this year will be keyed by this unit. This team was equally adept at stopping the run (6 th) and he pass (6 th), and the only concern this season is that some of the stalwart veterans may have already reached their peak. Still, this is one of the best units in the league and will keep the Buccaneers in the wild card hunt. However we feel that the shortcomings of the offense, particularly in the passing game, will be their Achilles Heel.

2006 Prediction: 2 nd Place NFC South