'Young, Dynamic' Buccaneers Already Looking Forward to 2011 Season

TAMPA, Fla. -- Race to 10.

That was the theme the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and energetic young coach Raheem Morris adopted heading into the 2010 season. Win 10, Morris said, and the Bucs would be in the playoffs.

So they went on the road for the season finale Sunday and upset the defending world champion New Orleans Saints 23-13 at the silenced Superdome. The victory gave the Bucs a 10-6 record, but they lost the tiebreaker for the sixth and final NFC playoff spot to the Green Bay Packers.

Now what?

"Guess next year will be a Race to 11," rookie wide receiver Mike Williams said.

The notion of already thinking about next year mere hours after coming so close this year probably is a little easier in Tampa than in any of the other 20 NFL locker rooms that were packing up Monday. That's because the future for the youngest team in the NFL -- the team's average age is 25 years, 175 days -- looks so incredibly bright.

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Just ask the coach.

"We're young, we're dynamic and we're not afraid to say it," Morris said Monday during his season-wrap news conference. "We want to go out and be great."

It all starts with the quarterback.

"You guys always talk about comparing him to (Matthew) Stafford and (Mark) Sanchez. But Josh Freeman wants to be compared to Tom Brady."
- Raheem Morris Josh Freeman wasn't the No. 1 overall pick in his 2009 draft class like Matthew Stafford. He didn't go directly to Broadway and start for a playoff contender like Mark Sanchez. But Freeman, who the Bucs traded up four spots to select, just finished a season when he completed 61.4 percent of his throws for 3,451 yards, 25 touchdowns, just six interceptions and a passer rating of 95.9 that placed sixth in the league.

"You guys always talk about comparing him to Stafford and Sanchez," Morris said Monday of Freeman, who played near-flawlessly the last quarter of the season. "But Josh Freeman wants to be compared to Tom Brady."

OK. Brady, the 10-year veteran who figures to win a second MVP Award in a landslide next week, threw for 36 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season. In his last four games, Brady hit 62 percent of his throws for 871 yards, nine TDs and no picks. Freeman over his last four completed nearly 72 percent for 1,009 yards, nine TDs, no picks.

Just sayin'.

And he's just 22.

The 6-foot-6, 248-pound Freeman is starting to look like a non-knucklehead version of Ben Roethlisberger; a guy who makes big plays, many of which he improvises by running through and around a pass rush; even better, someone who has immersed himself into the job to become not only a leader but the first quarterback to double as the face of the franchise in Tampa Bay's 35-year history.

"There's no reason to talk about him being on the verge or that this guy is coming on -- he is a franchise quarterback," Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said. "The kid is a great quarterback. He really is. We want to continue to build around him.''

Now, throw in tailback LeGarrette Blount, just the second undrafted player since the NFL-AFL merger to rush for a 1,000 yards in his rookie season. And Williams, the rookie wideout, who fell 36 yards shy of becoming just the second player in 45 years to debut his pro career with at least 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

"We certainly started something this year," Morris said.

The Bucs won 10 after going 3-13 in '09 and did it despite losing eight starters to season-ending injuries, including three of their previous four first-round draft picks in guard Davin Joseph, cornerback Aqib Talib and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. They navigated through an injury-riddled season because Dominik has a keen eye for talent that oftentimes is working with another team's practice squad or castoffs (See Blount).

Example: Sunday's roster included 12 players who joined the team in the last two months, including wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe, who caught a touchdown pass, and safety Larry Asante, who picked off a Drew Brees pass in the end zone.

The Bucs and the Giants became the first NFC teams since 1991 to win 10 games and not qualify for the playoffs, but Tampa Bay became the first since the merger to win 10 games and start 10 rookies. All told, 25 rookies played for the Bucs this season, the lot of which figure to be at training camp next summer.

"We're already hungry for next year," veteran tight end Kellen Winslow said.

No one knows what will come of the NFL's labor issues this season, but if the league and the union agree to return to a salary-cap structure Tampa Bay will be in great shape to maybe grab a free agent or two to help fortify a defense that finished 17th overall (but had 27 takeaways). Plus, Dominik has shown he knows what he's doing on his two draft days.

"It's going to be a really competitive environment," Morris said. "We've stockpiled this building with a bunch of guys who can play."

A lot of people were laughing at the Bucs this time a year ago.

"Were you one of those who was laughing?" Dominik asked a reporter after the game Sunday.

Hey, who can remember that far back, anyway?

One thing's for certain: no one will be laughing at them next season. In fact, Tampa Bay will be one of the sexy preseason picks to do big things in the NFC.

"We all see where this ship is headed," Dominik said.

The Race to 10 may not have ended with any medals, but the Race to '11 -- as in next season -- will be highly anticipated in Tampa Bay. And beyond.

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