Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season Preview With The Pewter Plank

Which player(s) on the roster is the most underrated?

I mentioned Leonard Johnson earlier, and he’s definitely one of them. The other is Josh Freeman, who I am a public doubter of, but I feel like the hate has gone too far. There are quarterback rankings that have Freeman amongst the bottom 5 or 10 in the NFL at the position, alongside names like Blaine Gabbert and Mark Sanchez. Freeman had an extremely productive year last year, and struggled a bit for a 3 or 4 week stretch near the end of the season, and that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Had those bad games been more spread out, I doubt Freeman would be under the same scrutiny.

Josh has the talent needed to be a franchise quarterback. And in his second season in a new system, with a young star at running back and two well-paid receivers who can go up and catch the football, I think Freeman is poised to surprise many of his doubters, including myself.

Prediction for the season?

I believe the Buccaneers will be a disappointment should they fail to get to 9 wins. I believe 9 or 10 wins is the goal for this team, independent of a playoff berth. The goal is to continue to build a winning culture after the debacle at the end of the 2011 season, and therefore finishing 7-9 or 8-8 wouldn’t represent enough of a step forward. My official prediction as of right now is 9-7, but I feel that number will go up once I am sure Darrelle Revis is 100% back to his old self.