Almost time for football season and every one thinks their team is going to do good (except for hopefully 49er fans) my question is what does everyone think about the Buccaneers this season?

The O is very, very young save for Joey G, but it has talent. The D is old and is approaching that area where age may start to become an issue. I'm excited about the team, mainly because I really think the season can go in a lot of directions.

i think im most excited about the possibilities of the young offense, especialy Chris Simms and Cadillac. I think if these 2 players can play well then its a very strong possibility that the Bucs will be back in the playoffs, providing of course that the O-Line plays decent. The D is old, but still good enough to play every game tough, especially Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber. I'm hoping to see a team that plays like the 02 team.

Unrealistic expectations will sink Simms this year. He'll have an alright season, but when his TD-INT ratio is about even halfway through, people will doubt, as they always do. Galloway will probably take a step back in production, Alex Smith still isn't quite "there" yet and Michael Clayton is still a wild card. There is a lot of potential there, but it all has to fall in place just right. If Clayton and Caddy can stay healthy they're a threat every week, but who knows if they can.

I like the Bucs to win at least 8 or 9 games this year on the back of the defense, but in their division and with all of their question marks, I don't see them getting to the playoffs this year. Their play against Washington in the playoffs last year was a disgrace, and I say that as someone rooting as fervently for them as humanly possible.

And can we keep this discussion to the NFL Off-season thread please? The board is being cluttered by all these individual team threads.

Cadillac is good but we don't know how durable yet. Solid at WR but not great.

Thier defense is still very good but aging, depth and injuries might be a problem.

Chris Simms is overrated, bad defenses and a good running back made him seem a lot better last season. That and the defense and a little luck bailed him out.

I hate Tampa with a passion, but I think they could make 10-6 or 9-7. If everything goes well they may get to 11-5 and win the division, it just depends on what other teams do. The NFC South is tough.

He needs a back-up that can help take some of the hits. His only healthy season at Auburn was his senior year sharing carries with Ronnie Brown. He is a talented back, but he will not stay healthy all year with 20-30 carries a game.

That's kind of what I thought. The guy is a fantastic running back, but if he could get 15 -18 carries and not 28 I think it would serve him better in the long run. After all he did have Ronnie Brown at Auburn.

Pittman's a decent running-back but he's more suited for passing plays/3rd downs because of his blocking. If Pittman can run the ball better in a normal down situation then it will feel a lot better with him backing up Cadillac. Also Earnest Gram has been playing good and could be the 3rd RB this season.

One of the biggest reasons for Tampa Bay's success last year was because they pretty much had the same group of guys starting on the offensive line all season long due to very little injury along the line. The chances of that happening again are slim. This could mean bad things for Simms and Williams, mostly Simms. Thier schedule is very difficult as well. The D is definatley aging but as long as Kiffin is coaching the D they'll be fine. I expect 9-7.