5 Reasons to get excited about Tampa Bay Buccaneers football in 2010

Last season was anything but exciting. Sure some of us diehards were content to watch some of the exciting new players get their feet wet as they immersed themselves in the biggest growing pain season since 1976 itself! But 2010 brings new hope and optimism in the form of not only players, but coaches too. So here is a short list, of things that should have the blood pumping when we talk about them for the next 100 days. 1) Myron Lewis- He comes from Vandy, where some middle linebacker named Quarles and a few others have ventured from on this team in the past. Vanderbilt was founded under proud measures, and continues that excellence to this day. You wont find bigger character traits than a grad from there, and Lewis is no exception. He was a model football player, and will be yet another example maker on these new Bucs. He is tall, athletic, and gifted just like Talib. The future Buccaneers cornerback tandem looks more promising than even Barber/Kelly. 2) Jimmy Lake- He was only an assistant defensive backs coach once, in 2006-07, but then again so was our Head Coach. And much like Raheem Morris excelled at his position, Lake did the same. He was taken to Detroit to be the DB coach but the Bucs had a problem bringing back TWO defensive coaches from a team that went winless in the modern era. So he had to wait a bit. This year, the Bucs got their man back, and the successor to Raheem Morris is back on the job. Just like when Morris returned, the Bucs defensive backs had an immediate change of direction. They weren’t the achilies heel of the Bucs last year, but they will be its strength in 2010. 3)Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams- Get used to saying those names, but perhaps in reverse order. Its more likely that Williams with a chip on his shoulder is going to turn out to be the dominant Wide Receiver the Bucs havnt drafted since Mark Carrier or Kevin House in the 80s. Not only do they have all the tools, but they have number 4 on our list to help make them special. They will all grow together a la Marvin Harrison/Peyton Manning, or perhaps Bradshaw/Swann. 4)Josh Freeman- I laugh hard when I read ANYONE say anything negative about Josh Freeman. His interceptions. His Accuracy. The man is barely legal to purchase a Beer much less play with the sharpness expected of a veteran. What he does do veteran-like is he plays with poise. Throw 3 picks? He shrugs it off and winds up again. Everything exciting you saw last year, was based on the foundation of dirt and sand; Freeman had no offseason to speak of. Luke McCown and Byron Leftwich were getting all of the QB Reps during the OTAs as Freeman wasn’t expected to even take the field until this season. He didn’t start to get any reps until Josh Johnson was named the starter and Leftwich was demoted all the way down to 3rd; which gives the 2nd string guy a small percentage of reps. This season, Raheem Morris has commented several times that “You cant get Josh out of the Building”! Freeman is spending his offseason at One Buc Place working hard, watching film, learning from his mistakes. There are no guarantees in life, but the maturity this 22 year old is exhibiting has me pumped up for his sophmore year as Bucs QB. 5) New reason to cheer the defense on again- The Glazers/Bucs are absolutely right in that Buccaneer fans have not had any stars to identify with lately. We had Sapp, Brooks, Alsott, Barber, and Lynch to cheer on, wear their jerseys, and scream for when they are on the field. Thats a different level of scream when its a favorite player out there instead of just anyone facing 3rd and 2 from the opposing team’s offense. When the fans are wearing more jersey numbers of retired players than those on the field, there is a problem. Well problem solved; Meet two numbers to get excited about; 92 and 93- Brian Price and Gerald McCoy. These two men are going to give Bucs fans a reason to get excited again. No they may not make all the plays; they are rookies and rookies do not usually have that much impact in their first year. But they will be fan favorites, and when they make plays, we will cheer them on harder as we watch them learn and grow before us like the pride we have in our own. Because these are our own; These are not the castoffs from some other team. These are not Jeff Garcias, they are Doug Williams. They arn’t Michael Pittmans, they are Warrick Dunns. And they arnt Chris Hovans, but instead Warren Sapps. They are ours, we will buy their jerseys, and cheer them on until they fill us up with so many memories, they will make us forget all about 3-13 last year. And thats why with 2010 approaching, its getting time to start getting excited about Bucs football; either for the first time, or all over again!