Question mark.
Joe cannot sit in the JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters, looking at all the empty pizza boxes, dead soldiers (dried up beer bottles) and Ira’s check stubs and type with a good conscious that the Bucs had a “big year” last year.
The Bucs had a good year, marred by a preventable ending in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucs had way too many injuries to swallow, including a devastatingly destroyed foot of Chris Godwin, and sit here and type that the Bucs had a “big year.”
A good year in that they won the division and played in the playoffs? Sure. “Big?” Seemed rather small to Joe.
But Mason Cameron of the PFF tribe seems to think last year was big for the Bucs. And so too will this season.
What needs to go right: The Buccaneers’ offense [top-three] during the regular season, powered by a career year from Baker Mayfield. Although they head into 2025 without Liam Coen calling the offense, the unit retains all of its key contributors, including Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Bucky Irving and a surging offensive line. With the sixth-easiest strength of schedule, Tampa Bay is poised for another big year.
The Bucs should have a big year. They hired the next-best guy to replace Liam Coen, and that was Coen’s right-hand man to run the offense.
And the Bucs built up in free agency and the draft, where they needed bodies. Cornerbacks, edge rushers, and yes, a receiver.
For Joe, for the Bucs to have a “big year,” offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard cannot let the job be too big for him. If the Bucs are top-ten in offense, that should be enough.
So for Joe, there are two questions: Is Grizzard, who has never called plays before, up to the task? Also, can Sirvocea Dennis stay on the field for 15 games? If those two questions are answered in the affirmative, the Bucs could have a big season.
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