35-year old head coach Raheem Morris is still the youngest coach in the NFL and he’s working with one of the youngest rosters in the NFL.  That being said, he took advantage of a soft schedule last year in which the Bucs were 9-1 against teams with losing records and 1-5 against teams with winning records.  Morris looked overwhelmed as a rookie head coach in 2009, but in 2010 he looked pretty good.  The Bucs were 10-6 last year, and they are 13-19 (40.6%) in Morris’ first two years in charge.  This will be the year to really start judging Morris on.

23-year old QB Josh Freeman had a true breakout season in 2010 for the Bucs.  They are hoping that it was just a small glimpse of things to come.  Freeman played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bucs last year and he completed 291 of 474 passes (61.4%) for 3,451 yards with 25 TD passes and 6 INTs (95.9 QB Rating).  Freeman also carried the ball 30 times for 161 yards (5.4 ypc) for the Buccaneers last year.  Freeman has it all as he has a strong arm and good mobility.  He also protected the football really well as he only had 6 INTs last year.  Freeman has now played in 26 games (25 starts) in his first two years with the Bucs and he has completed 449 of 764 passes (58.8%) for 5,306 yards with 35 TD passes and 24 INTs (82.2 QB Rating).  Freeman also has carried the ball 98 times for 525 yards (5.4 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  Freeman is now 13-12 (52%) as the starting QB for the Buccaneers so far.

25-year old Joe Johnson will once again be the #2 QB for the Buccaneers in 2011.  Johnson played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bucs last year and he completed 14 of 16 passes (87.5%) for 111 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (95.6 QB Rating).  Johnson also carried the ball 4 times for 39 yards (9.8 ypc) last year.  Johnson has now played in 17 games (4 starts) for the Bucs in his first two years with the team and he has completed 77 of 141 passes (54.6%) for 796 yards with 4 TD passes and 8 INTs (56.9 QB Rating).  Johnson also has carried the ball 26 times for 187 yards (7.2 ypc) so far.  Johnson is 0-4 as the Buccaneers starting QB so far in his career.

25-year old Rudy Carpenter was the #3 QB for the Bucs last year but he will have to hold off 24-year old Jonathan Crompton in training camp to keep the job.  Neither of these guys have played in a regular season game yet in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCCANEERS QBS IN 2011:  A-

25-year old RB Clifton Smith and 24-year old WR Sammie Stroughter will duke it out for the starting kickoff return job in training camp.  Smith has had concussion problems in the past but he’s a go for this year.  Smith played in 11 games for the Bucs last season and he returned 31 kickoffs for 902 yards (29.1 avg).  He has now played in 20 games for the Bucs and he has returned 67 kickoffs for 1,894 yards (28.3 avg) with 1 TD return.  Smith is a excellent return man and I think he will get his old job back if healthy.

Sammie Stroughter stepped in for Smith when he got injured.  Stroughter played in 13 games as a rookie for the Bucs last season and he returned 11 kickoffs for 324 yards 29.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  Despite his success returning kicks he might be more important to the Bucs on offense in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR  THE BUCCANEERS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  A

LT Donald Penn is a improving player as he’s a decent pass and run blocker.  LG Jeremy Zuttah also brings a lot of power in the running game but he could improve a tad in pass blocking.  Center Jeff Faine is one of the better technicians at center in the league.  But he can also get blown up and knocked backwards by big time power players in the middle.  RG Davin Joseph is by far the best run blocker on the Bucs as he plays with a very nasty attitude.  RT Jeremy Trueblood is a high strung player who commits too many penalties but he still has a nice upside.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCCANEERS O-LINE in 2010:  B

The Buccaneers have claimed 25-year old TE Martin Rucker off waivers from the Eagles.  He did not get into any games last season.  Rucker played in 5 games (1 start) as a rookie for the Browns in 2008 and he caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Rucker has the reputation of being a solid receiver but he hasn’t shown it in the NFL as of yet.  He will have a very hard time making the Bucs who have a lot of depth at TE.

UPDATE:  Martin Rucker failed his physical today so the Bucs waived him.  No loss here.

33-year old head coach Raheem Morris got a baptism by fire last season as a rookie coach.  He fired a lot of coaches before the season even started which was a very bad sign as the Buccaneers finished 3-13 (18.8%).  But the Bucs were 3-6 after the bye week and the wins they had were over the Packers (home), Seahawks (away) and Saints (away).  So maybe the light clicked on for both Morris and the Bucs in the second half of the year.  It will be interesting to see what the Bucs do this season because they have not improved much on the offensive side of the ball…..but the defense could be a lot better in 2010.

24-year old Connor Barth will face competition from undrafted rookie Hunter Lawrence out of Texas if he wants to keep his job as the Bucs’ placekicker.  Barth played in 9 games for the Buccaneers last season and he connected on 14 of 19 field goals (73.7%) and 12 of 12 extra points good for 54 points.  He has now played in 19 games in his NFL career and he has made 24 of 31 field goals (77.4%) and all 36 of his extra points good for 108 points.  It will be interesting to see if Barth (who has a edge heading into training camp) can hold off Lawrence for the starting job at kicker.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCCANEERS KICKERS in 2010:  C-

2nd round pick Arrelious Benn and 4th round pick Mike Williams were the talk of the OTAs for the Bucs.  Benn is a big guy at 6’2″, 220 pounds and he reminds a lot of scouts of Hines Ward.  The Bucs would certainly be happy if he can play like Ward.  Williams is also a big guy at 6’2″, 212 pounds and he’s fast.  The Bucs just hope he keeps his head on straight as he got into a lot of trouble at Syracuse.  I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys wind up being the Bucs’ top two WRs at some point in 2010.

29-year old Reggie Brown played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Eagles last season and he caught 9 passes for 155 yards (17.2 avg).  Brown has now played in 72 games (45 starts) in his five years with the Eagles and he has caught 177 passes for 2,574 yards (14.5 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  Brown also has carried the ball 11 times for 68 yards (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  Brown was in the Dog House in Philly the last couple of years but he’s a talented football player so don’t be shocked if he wins a starting job from Day #1.

24-year old Sammie Stoughter really played well for the Bucs last season.  He played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Buccaneers last season and he caught 31 passes for 334 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Stroughter is a slot type WR because of his lack of size but he’s more than fast enough to get downfield.

25-year old Maurice Stovall played in 15 games (7 starts) for the Buccaneers last season and he caught 24 passes for 366 yards (15.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 44 games (10 starts) in his four years with the Bucs and he has caught 44 passes for 579 yards (13.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Stovall has also carried the ball 2 times for 29 yards (14.5 ypc) in his NFL career.  Stovall needs to step up soon if he ever wants to be a starter in the NFL.

27-year old Michael Clayton is still around.  He played in 13 games (11 starts) for the Bucs last season and he caught 16 passes for 230 yards (14.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Clayton has now played in 84 games (56 starts) in his six years with the Buccaneers and he has caught 221 passes for 2,936 yards (13.3 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 100 yards (5.6 ypc) in his career.  Clayton has never been the same since his stellar rookie season.  I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Bucs cut Clayton if he doesn’t start showing something soon.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCCANEERS WRs in 2010:  D

The Buccaneers boast nice depth at TE but 26-year old Kellen Winslow is the main man as he is the best receiver the Bucs have.  Winslow played in 16 games (14 starts) last season for the Buccaneers in which he caught 77 passes for 884 yards (11.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has now played in 60 games (54 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 296 passes for 3,343 yards (11.3 avg) with 16 TD grabs.  The Bucs really need Winslow to stay healthy like he did last season.

30-year old Jerramy Stevens is a solid backup for Winslow.  Stevens played in 16 games (8 starts) for the Bucs last season and he caught 15 passes for 130 yards (8.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 116 games (40 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 199 passes of 2,174 yards (10.9 avg) with 22 TD grabs.

30-year old John Gilmore makes his money blocking in the running game.  Gilmore played in 13 games (2 starts) for the Buccaneers last season in which he caught 3 passes for 23 yards (7.7 avg).  He has now played in 115 games (22 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 39 passes for 364 yards (9.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCCANEERS TEs in 2010:  B+

The Buccaneers plan on using 30-year old Earnest Graham as the fullback this season.  He is only 5’9″, 215 pounds but it makes sense for the Bucs to get him onto the field because he’s a good football player.  Graham played in 13 games (6 starts) for the Bucs last season and he carried the ball 14 times for 66 yards (4.7 ypc).  He also caught 14 passes for 109 yards (7.8 avg) last season.  Graham has now played in 79 games (26 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 420 times for 1,742 yards (4.1 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  He has also caught 87 passes for 611 yards (7.0 avg) in his career.  I might be in the minority here but I think Graham is the best RB on the Bucs’ roster.

23-year old Chris Pressley has nice size at 5’11″, 257 pounds but I don’t think he’ll get on the field much except in short yardage situations.  Pressley played in 7 games (3 starts) for the Bucs as a rookie last season and he carried the ball 1 time for 0 yards (0.0 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 2 yards last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCCANEERS FBs in 2010:  B