TGS 2015 Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Between now and the end of August, TGS will offer up a quick snapshot of every NFL team heading into the 2015 regular season. Today, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

2014 in a nutshell: The Josh McCown experiment backfires as the Browns win just two games in Lovie Smith’s first season. Despite a decent amount of talent on both sides of the ball, the struggle to score and struggle to stop opponents. It’s just bad.

Why 2015 could be different: Smith went 5-11 in his first year with the Bears but went 11-5 in Year 2, they’ve got the top pick in the draft in Jameis Winston, young stud receiver Mike Evans should be even better and they’ve added George Johnson and Donovan Smith via free agency and the draft.

Major additions: Winston at quarterback, Johnson, who should be an upgrade at defensive end, and Smith, who should protect Winston’s blind side for years to come.

Major losses: McCown, defensive ends Adrian Clayborn and Michael Johnson, expensive tackle Anthony Collins and safety Chris Conte.

Breakout watch: They need a big step-up season from 2014 second-round tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, but he’s apparently having drop issues.

Position to watch: Offensive tackle — Collins was supposed to do big things at left tackle but is gone after one year, and the rookie second-round pick Smith will now try to protect Winston. And at right tackle, they may have a battle brewing between veterans Gosder Cherilus, Demar Dotson and Patrick Omameh.

Prediction: The NFC South is wide open and the Bucs have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball. They won’t make a playoff run with a rookie quarterback but should be able to win six or seven games.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com (covering Super Bowls XLIV, XLV and XLVI), a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Bloguin, but his day gig has him covering all things NFC East for Bleacher Report.

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