There\u2019s a new man in charge of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bruce Arians has come to Tampa to turn around the Buccaneers, but he knows he has an uphill battle ahead of him. Tampa Bay has not made the postseason since 2007, and the franchise hasn\u2019t won a playoff game since winning Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Buccaneers have finished dead last in the NFC South in seven of the last eight seasons. Four different coaches have tried and failed to lead this franchise to success since Jon Gruden left at the end of the 2008 campaign, and Arians will look to succeed where his colleagues have fallen short. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not easy to compete in the NFC South. The other three franchises in the division have all made it to the Super Bowl this decade, and all three teams have a franchise quarterback. Subsequently, Tampa Bay has the longest NFL betting odds to win the Super Bowl in the division. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is this the year that Jameis Winston finally figures it out? Winston was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, but he hasn\u2019t lived up to his billing since entering the league. He has been criticized repeatedly for his immaturity off the field, and he is too much of a risk taker on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winston has thrown 58 interceptions in his first four seasons in the NFL. He fell into some bad habits during his final season at Florida State, and he has been unable to break those since coming into the league. That will be the main area of emphasis for Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although his first four seasons have been mediocre, Winston has flashed enough talent for Tampa to continue to hope that he can put it all together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tampa does have two nice weapons in Mike Evans and OJ Howard. Evans had the best season of his career last year, finishing with over 1500 receiving yards and averaging 11 yards per target. He became the WR1 that organizations covet, but there is no solid second or third option at wideout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Howard is poised to have a big season. Winston loves throwing the ball to tight ends, and many analysts are calling for Howard to have a breakout 2019 campaign. The big tight end missed the last six games of last year with an injury, but he showed his big play ability by averaging 16.6 yards per reception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this offense to take another step, the Buccaneers must make opponents at least respect their ground game. Peyton Barber was unable to have much success on the ground, and second-round draft pick Ronald Jones II tried to bounce outside way too much when the ball was in his hands. Arians brought in one of his old Arizona players in Andre Ellington, so don\u2019t be surprised if Ellington sees significant action in lieu of Barber and Jones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Todd Bowles should immediately make this defense better. Bowles is one of the sharpest defensive minds in the league, and he had a lot of success under Arians when the two worked together in Arizona. While his tenure as the head coach of the New York Jets was lackluster, he got a lot out of a defense that wasn\u2019t very talented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bowles will need to do the same thing with the Bucs. Tampa Bay parted ways with perennial Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy, leaving a massive gap in the defensive line. The Buccaneers brought in Ndamukong Suh to partially fill that void, and he proved he can make plays in a 3-4 defense with the Rams last season. Keep an eye on seventh round draft pick Terry Beckner Jr. If he can stay healthy, he can make an impact as a rookie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First-round pick Devin White will be the motor in a revamped linebackers corps. White showed a lot of promise during his time at LSU, and Bowles will find a way to get his best athlete in a position to make plays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The secondary figures to be a mess once more though, and that\u2019s a major problem when Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and Cam Newton are the quarterbacks in your division. Vernon Hargreaves III has not lived up to his potential as a number one pick, and Tampa Bay decided to overhaul the defensive backs in the draft. The Bucs selected three defensive backs in the first three rounds of this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are some pretty big if\u2019s when it comes to betting Tampa Bay to win the Super Bowl. The defense doesn\u2019t have a lot of talent, the running game isn\u2019t strong, and Jameis Winston has not been a good decision maker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s unlikely that the Buccaneers will make the postseason, but it\u2019s not unwise to be a little optimistic. Provided Bowles has the same impact he did with the Jets and Winston improves under Arians\u2019 tutelage, this team could be surprisingly competitive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n