Jon Gruden helped lead the Buccaneers to a surprise 9-7 record last season which was good enough to win the weak NFC South.  But, the Bucs then got stomped 24-14 at home by the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.  The Saints and Panthers both appear to be better on paper so the Bucs need to stay healthy and focused to possibly hold them off in the division.  Gruden has now been the Bucs head coach for six years now and he has compiled a 48-48 record (50%) during the regular season.  He is also 3-2 in the post season including a Super Bowl Championship in 2002 over his old team the Oakland Raiders.  Gruden has been a solid coach in his NFL career despite his need to collect QBs and TEs.  It will be interesting to see if he can get the Bucs to play over their heads again in 2008 which is what it will likely take to get them back to the playoffs.  Gruden has now been a NFL head coach for 10 years and he has compiled a 86-74 record (53.8%) during the regular season and he is 5-4 (55.6%) in the post season.

The Bucs were very efficient on both sides of the ball defeating the horrible Miami Dolphins last Saturday Night.  Luke McCown got the start and he was effective completing 9 of 15 passes for 70 yards.  Brian Griese was the most impressive QB of the night for the Bucs as he completed 10 of 14 passes for 59 yards with a 3-yard TD pass with WR Brian Clark.  Chris Simms was also pretty good on Saturday Night with a lot of scouts in attendance as he completed 8 of 10 passes for 60 yards.  Rookie Josh Johnson completed his only pass attempt in his NFL debut for 15 yards.  Michael Bennett was a workhorse for the Bucs against the Dolphins carrying the football 19 times for 74 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run (1-yarder).  He also caught 4 passes for 16 yards against the Fins.  Clifton Smith was also busy carrying the ball 9 times for 28 yards (3.1 ypc).  Kenneth Darby pitched in with 12 yards on 5 carries (2.4 ypc) on Saturday.  TE John Gilmore caught 3 passes for 25 yards (8.3 avg) as he was one of 14 different receivers to catch a pass for the Bucs in this game.  The Buccaneers finished up with 114 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.5 ypc).  They also completed 28 of 40 passes for 181 yards as they held onto the football for a stunning 36:11 on Saturday Night.

The defense was awesome for the Bucs on Saturday Night in Miami.  Safety Will Allen led the way for the Bucs with 4 tackles.  CB Ronde Barber also was very effective with 3 tackles and a sack.  The Dolphins finished up with only 64 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.0 ypc).  The Bucs only allowed 134 yards passing as the Fins completed 15 of 27 passes.  This was a nice win to start the preseason for the Bucs but they were likely playing the worst team in the NFL so I wouldn’t get too excited about it.

33-year old Matt Bryant has turned into one of the best kickers in the NFL in Tampa after kicking around a few teams without much luck.  Bryant played in all 16 games for the Buccaneers last season and he connected on 28 of 33 field goals (84.8%).  He also made all 34 of his extra points last year.  Look for Bryant to possibly make a run for a Pro Bowl appearance if the Bucs’ offense gets him a lot of field goal attempts in 2008.  Bryant has now played in 78 games in his NFL career and he has connected on 106 of 130 field goals (81.5%).  He also has nailed 146 of 149 extra points (98%) in hs career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A

Jon Gruden appears to love collecting TEs like QBs as he has four decent ones.  26-year old Alex Smith is the best of the TE bunch for 2008.  He played in 14 games for the Bucs last season and he caught 32 passes for 385 yards (12.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Bucs would like to use Smith more in the offense but he needs to step up and win the starting job outright.  Smith has now played in 44 games in his NFL career and he has caught 108 passes for 1,002 yards (9.3 avg) with 8 TD grabs.

6′4″, 270 pound Ben Troupe has always been very highly touted but he has never been the big time player many expected of him.  He played in all 16 games last season for the Titans and he caught only 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg).  Look for Troupe to catch more passes than he did last season but he still won’t make a huge impact.  Troupe has now played in 55 games in his NFL career and he has caught 106 passes for 1,056 yards (10.0 avg) with 7 TD grabs.

28-year old John Gilmore was brought in as a free agent and his game is blocking for the run.  He played in 15 games for the Bears last season and he caught 3 passes for 14 yards (4.7 avg).  Don’t expect him to catch more than 5 passes in 2008 for the Bucs but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to help the team win with his blocking.  Gilmore has now played in 86 games in his NFL career and he has caught 21 passes for 194 yards (9.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

The Bucs have re-signed Jerramy Stevens despite his off field issues.  He played in 15 games for the Bucs last season and he caught 18 passes for 189 yards (10.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Stevens has the most talent of any of the Bucs’ tight ends on the roster but he never seems to be focused on the job at hand as he drops too many passes.  Stevens has now played in 86 games in his NFL career and he has caught 148 passes for 1,647 yards (11.1 avg) with 19 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C

The Buccaneers have the same look at WR as they did in 2007 and I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.  Hopefully, this won’t be the season that Joey Galloway starts to act his age.  The 36-year old Galloway is a freak of nature as he’s still lightning fast and can get down the field.  He played in 15 games for the Bucs last season and he caught 57 passes for 1,014 yards (17.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Look for Galloway to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving again this season as long as he can keep in one piece.  Galloway has now played in 176 games in his NFL career and he has caught 669 passes for 10,572 yards (15.8 avg) with 77 TD grabs.  He also has carried the football 63 times for 496 yards (7.9 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.

32-year old Ike Hilliard is a possession receiver who just keeps catching a lot of footballs.  Hilliard played in 15 games for the Bucs last season and he caught 62 passes for 722 yards (11.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for Hilliard to have another solid season for the Bucs in 2008.  Hilliard has now played in 145 games in his NFL career and he has caught 499 passes for 5,973 yards (12.0 avg) with 31 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 15 times for 126 yards (8.4 ypc) in his career.

25-year old Michael Clayton has never come near his rookie production and the Bucs are starting to lose some faith in him.  Clayton played in 14 games for the Buccaneers last season and he caught 22 passes for 301 yards (13.7 avg) without a TD grab.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 22 yards (4.4 ypc) last year.  I have a hunch that Clayton is going to have a solid 2008 season in which he might wind up with the second most catches on the team to Galloway.  Clayton has now played in 56 games in his NFL career and he has caught 167 passes for 2,222 yards (13.3 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He also has carried the football 16 times for 95 yards (5.9 ypc) in his career.

23-year old Maurice Stovall has nice size at 6′5″, 220 pounds but he has never really stepped up in Tampa.  Stovall played in 15 games last season for the Bucs and he caught 10 passes for 86 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for Stovall to have a hard time holding onto his job unless he starts to play better.  Stovall has now played in 24 games in his NFL career and he has caught 17 passes for 188 yards (11.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 29 yards (14.5 ypc) in his career.

The Bucs like taking chances on talented players who have had off field issues and they have done it again with 27-year old Antonio Bryant.  Bryant did not play last season but no one can deny that he has big time talent.  Bryant has played in 77 games in his NFL career and he has caught 250 passes for 3,837 yards (15.3 avg) with 19 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 9 times for 43 yards (4.8 ypc) in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C