The Tampa Bay Buccaneers likely will not be playoff contenders this season, but second-year head coach Raheem Morris is building a strong, young team focused on becoming a force again in the NFC someday in the future.  The Bucs would certainly like to think first-round draft pick Gerald McCoy will develop into another All-Pro DT like former Super Bowl champ Warren Sapp, who has spent some time with the rookie recently in order teach him a few things about how to grow into a dominant force in the NFL.  McCoy definitely has that type of potential and could be part of something special in Tampa if second-year QB Josh Freeman becomes the player Morris envisioned when he was drafted a year ago.  Freeman needs RB Cadillac Williams to stay healthy and form a bond with rookie receivers Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn, who might become a dangerous tandem down the road in complementing TE Kellen Winslow Jr.

Odds to win NFC South Division: +1500

Odds to win the NFC Conference: 70/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Odds to win Super Bowl XLV: 150/1

Regular Season Wins Total Line: 5.5

*all odds quoted from Bodog*

Here’s what this year’s schedule looks like for the Bucs:

Week 1             Sunday, September 12, 2010    vs. Cleveland Browns

Analysis: The Bucs look to pick up where they left off last season when they closed out the year by winning two of their last three games and have the perfect opponent to make that happen.

Week 2             Sunday, September 19, 2010    @ Carolina Panthers

Analysis: Tampa Bay struggled in a 16-6 loss at Carolina last year despite seeing then-rookie QB Freeman throw for a career-high 321 yards.

Week 3             Sunday, September 26, 2010    vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Analysis: It would not be shocking to see the Bucs have a shot at a 3-0 record against the Steelers sans Ben Roethlisberger – and pull it off.

Week 4             — BYE WEEK —

Week 5             Sunday, October 10, 2010         @ Cincinnati Bengals

Analysis: Tampa Bay begins a tough stretch of playing three playoff teams from last year in the next four weeks at Cincinnati.

Week 6             Sunday, October 17, 2010         vs. New Orleans Saints

Analysis: The Bucs handed the Saints their second straight loss last season in Week 16 when K Connor Barth connected on a 47-yard game-winning field goal in overtime.

Week 7             Sunday, October 24, 2010         vs. St. Louis Rams

Analysis: Tampa Bay will have a great opportunity to bounce back from potential losses to the Bengals and Saints here against the Rams before playing four of the next five games on the road.

Week 8             Sunday, October 31, 2010         @ Arizona Cardinals

Analysis: The Cardinals host the Bucs in between road games at Seattle and Minnesota.

Week 9             Sunday, November 7, 2010       @ Atlanta Falcons

Analysis: The Falcons will be coming off their bye week and have a difficult home game on deck against Baltimore on Thursday Night Football.

Week 10           Sunday, November 14, 2010     vs. Carolina Panthers

Analysis: The Panthers visit Tampa Bay in between home games against Super Bowl contenders New Orleans and Baltimore.

Week 11           Sunday, November 21, 2010     @ San Francisco 49ers

Analysis: The 49ers play the third of three straight winnable home games against the Bucs before visiting Arizona and Green Bay the next two weeks.

Week 12           Sunday, November 28, 2010     @ Baltimore Ravens

Analysis: The Ravens will be coming off back-to-back road games at Atlanta and Carolina before facing AFC North rival Pittsburgh the following week.

Week 13           Sunday, December 5, 2010       vs. Atlanta Falcons

Analysis: The Falcons struggled a bit offensively against Tampa Bay last year despite winning both meetings, failing to score more than two touchdowns in either game.

Week 14           Sunday, December 12, 2010     @ Washington Redskins

Analysis: The Redskins host the Bucs after visiting the Giants and with another NFC East road game next week at Dallas.

Week 15           Sunday, December 19, 2010     vs. Detroit Lions

Analysis: Tampa Bay will have a chance to finish the season strong again but must improve on a dismal 1-7 home record.

Week 16           Sunday, December 26, 2010     vs. Seattle Seahawks

Analysis: Both teams would like to finish the season on a positive note, and the Bucs will be playing their home finale here against Seattle.

Week 17           Sunday, January 2, 2011          @ New Orleans Saints

Analysis: The only good thing about playing the defending Super Bowl champs in this spot is that they probably will have a playoff berth already wrapped up and will likely be resting their starters.