The 2013 season was anything but successful and joyous for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as a 4-12 season was nothing good. The team suffered many close games where they actually had the lead and some games where they didn’t show up at all. At the end of the season, Head Coach Greg Schiano and General Manager Mark Dominik were fired and replaced by Lovie Smith and Jason Licht.

This was not the only change. On February 20^th, the Bucs released their new logo, which is a drastic difference. “I like the new look, it looks menacing,” said Robert Mitchell, 10^th grader and also a lifelong Bucs fan. “The logo is bigger, the colors are more vibrant, and the skull is scarier,” said Robert, who tries to make it to at least 2 games a year.

Last season featured more failure than triumph for the Bucs. They lost their first 2 games each in the last 20 seconds to the Jets and Saints. With no one to blame, they blamed their then-starting quarterback Josh Freeman, who was later released and signed by the Minnesota Vikings. “Freeman was a product of bad coaching,” said Robert, who doesn’t believe Mike Glennon is the right guy to be starting quarterback. Robert said that the Bucs should take Derek Carr at the NFL draft. Carr was the starting quarterback at Fresno State who is expected to be a top 10 pick.

With a new head coach, the Bucs will probably have a different philosophy heading into this season. Lovie Smith has been known throughout the league as a defensive minded coach. “The Bucs will be built back on defense, and defense wins championships, as we saw this year with the Seahawks,” said Robert. A main piece in the Bucs defense is pro-bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis, who had somewhat of a down year for a player of his caliber. “As long as they don’t trade him, he’ll have a bounce back year,” said Robert.

Even with all of the changes made, it will be tough for the Bucs to compete next season in the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and the Atlanta Falcons. “I think Carolina will win the division, but the Bucs can get the wild card and the Saints are strong too,” said Robert. The NFL draft begins on May 8^th and the Bucs have the 6^th overall pick.