Football is back!

Before I get into this Bucs blog, let me just say THANK GOODNESS for the Rays' success this season because if it wasn't for this team playing such great baseball, the Bay Area would have been a VERY BORING place around here sports-wise. Yeah we had the Final Four, but the Rays are a godsend.

Now to the celebration in Celebration...

The Bucs kick off Camp Gruden this weekend. Coaches report on Thursday and the players show up on Friday. Al Keck and Tom Korun will be live bringing you all the ins-and-outs from camp. Some storylines to look out for:

1. Jeff Garcia still doesn't have a new contract. He wants one. Will he get one? You have to imagine that Garcia's contract status will be question number one for GM Bruce Allen Thursday when the coaches report, just like it was ALL offseason long. And there is word that Garcia will be excused from the open of camp...no, he isn't holding out in hopes of more money. He is attending a reunion for a community college he played for and his dad coached at.

2. Training camp stinks for everybody but at least the veterans have been there before. The rookies have NO IDEA what they are in for. The Bucs will be in camp from July 24th to August 14th with a game at Miami mixed in there on August 9th. This will be the most demanding stretch of football these guys have ever played....how will Aqib Talib, Dexter Jackson, Dre Moore, Geno Hayes and the rest of the newbies react? The ones that handle the pressure the best tend to pan out on the field.

3. Michael Clayton and company need to step it up this season to get some pressure off of Joey Galloway. You saw what happened to the Bucs offense when Gallaway got hurt for the playoff game against the Giants. When the Bucs can't stretch the field with Gallaway, opposing defenses concentrate on shutting down the run, and I don't care if you put Emmitt Smith back there, nobody can beat seven in the box all by themselves. Who will step up? It's gotta be Ike Hilliard or Maurice Stovall because you can't rely on Dexter Jackson as a rookie. Maybe Paris Warren will bounce back from an awful ankle injury he suffered last preseason against Houston.

This is an important camp for the Bucs. If they want to repeat as division champs, it's going to take some work.

New Orleans is much better with the recent addition of Jeremy Shockey. Reggie Bush is still lightning quick and Drew Brees is one of the best passers in the league. The Bucs get a shot at the new look Saints in Week 1 on the road and then again at home in Week 13.

The Panthers had a down year last year are still a team with talent on both sides of the ball. Jake Delhomme's injury buried that team last season. Steve Smith is a top-10 receiver in the NFL and Julius Peppers is a Pro Bowl force. The Bucs get them in Weeks 6 and 14.

The Falcons are still in a tail-spin from the Michael Vick situation last summer. They finished 4-12 last season and looked worse than that. Will they win more than four this year? Unlikely with a rookie QB at the reins. Look for the Bucs to romp the Falcons in Week 2 and 15.

Camp starts this week! Do you think the Bucs will win the division AGAIN this year? Leave your comments and let us know what you think? How many wins will the Bucs finish with this season?

My guess?

9-7 (3-3 vs NFC South)

>Bobby Lewis