With one of the youngest and least certain rosters in football, the preason will be a critical time for the Buccaneers and head coach Raheem Morris.
Offensively, the Bucs need to see continued development from second-year quarterback Josh Freeman, which won't be easy given how thin the team is at receiver and on the offensive line. At wideout, Tampa Bay needs a rookie like Arrelious Benn (2nd Round, Illinois) or Mike Williams (4th Round, Syracuse) to navigate the sharp learning curve - they may be carrying quite a bit of the load.
In addition, there are big question marks are on defense, which Morris himself will coordinate this season. The NFL's worst run-stopping team of a year ago needs immediate contributions from tackles Gerald McCoy (1st Round, Oklahoma) and Brian Price (2nd Round, UCLA), must have a player like Tim Crowder or Kyle Moore prove worthy of a starting job at a depleted end position, and would like to see secondary newcomers like safety Sean Jones and third-round corner Myron Lewis (Vanderbilt) make an impact.