by Chris Harry

Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South, FanHouse Previews, NFL Predictions, NFL Analysis

FanHouse’s 2010 NFL Season Preview features division-by-division predictions based on our tried and true “Heat Index” formula. Each team is graded on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest) in five key categories: Offense, Defense, Special Teams, Coaching and Intangibles. The higher the score, the better we think the team will be this season. Coming Sept. 8: NFC West. Coming Sept. 7: AFC West

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be — and should be — a much better team than they were in 2009 when they went 3-13, the club’s worst record in nearly two decades. In the second year since the purge of head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen, the youth movement under the direction of coach Raheem Morris and GM Mark Dominik appears to have yielded a second solid draft class.

A better roster, however, won’t necessarily translate to a much better record for the Bucs. That’s how low the starting point was for Morris and Dominik — and how far this club has to go to be contenders in a division with two teams worthy of a Super Bowl march.