Buccaneers: Time to set the goal for next season and start the dream

Could the Buccaneers be better next year?

That phrase is something that the rest of the NFL should live in fear of. At the end of the season, it was like no one could stop the Bucs. Sure, they tried, sure they had some small successes here and there, but in the end, an “L” just wasn’t going to happen to the Bucs. Not this year, not this time.

And, as the team heads into the 2021 season, one has to believe two things. One, the Buccaneers squad is still loaded with talent. Two, can any team really think they are better than the one that sent Kansas City home alone?

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No and no. And, it’s not just some pipe dream, either. Had Jameis Winston been a slight bit more consistent, it could have been him hoisting the trophy. But, Jameis didn’t learn that playing wisely sometimes means throwing the ball away, and it sometimes means eating a sack. At Florida State, he was able to bring the team back from deficits like he was Joe Montana in the Cotton Bowl. But in the NFL, there are no slouch players to pick on, and once you dig a hole, the other teams are only too happy to keep handing you shovels.

We all blush and say of course they can. But in reality, deep down in the intestines, do you really think that? If you don’t, you’re reading stuff on the wrong website.

There are so-called “weak spots” on every team. Tampa Bay has them too. But the Bucs are a good enough team now to overcome the bad things that hit every team. Last season, there were times when things looked pretty bleak, like that first game against the Green Bay Packers. But the Bucs provided some evidence of what was to come in the final three-quarters of that game. Fans had a sniff of things to come.

Be honest now, how close were you to turning off the television? “Oh, the same old Buccaneers” many fans were saying to themselves during the first 15 minutes. That didn’t last long.

So, what needs to happen to repeat? Pick up from where the team ended the season. Let the coaches develop the offensive and defensive plans and put the team on the field fully prepared.
And now, that gut check doesn’t seem quite as rumbly, does it? Brady will take the team through the season and into the playoffs. And, once in the playoffs, the players will respond to the challenge and set the tone for a repeat. Sure, they may not win it, they may not even get there, but at this point in the new season, that can’t be a thought rattling your skull.

Of course, there are some BFINOs out there (Bucs fans in name only). But there are those among the crowd who not only believe it possible, but also believe that this roster is fully capable of doing the job, again. Just remember those six little words, “We will be better next year.”

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