There could be more competition coming in the NFL’s most competitive division.
 
Bruce Arians is the new head coach in Tampa Bay. The Bucs, who compete with the Saints, Falcons and Panthers in the NFC South, have failed to make the playoffs for the last decade.
 
Among other projects, Arians is working on improving the play of the Bucs’ franchise QB, Jameis Winston. Winston has incredible stats in passing yards and TDs, but he has also thrown 58 interceptions and lost 18 fumbles in his 56-game career.
 
Arians has named as his offensive coordinator former Jaguars QB Byron Leftwich. Leftwich and Arians, along with Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen, think that improving Winston's mechanics will pay dividends.
 
That is quite an interesting idea, because - even with Winston’s miscues - the Bucs ranked #1 in passing in the NFL and #3 in total offense last season! Yes, you read that right.
 
               Passing                  YPG  
1.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers    320
2.  Pittsburgh Steelers           313
3.  Kansas City Chiefs           310
4.  Atlanta Falcons                 291
5.  Los Angeles Rams            282
 
             Total Offense            YPG
1.  Kansas City Chiefs            426
2.  Los Angeles Rams            421
3.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers    416
4.  Pittsburgh Steelers            403
5.  New England Patriots        393
 
How in the world did his happen? Troubles at the QB position would seem to negate a team's chances of having a great passing game. Well, it really helps when you have one of the league’s top targets. WR Mike Evans ranked #3 in receiving yards.  Here are the top 5 receivers of 2018.
 
1. Julio Jones                        ATL     1,677
2. DeAndre Hopkins              HOU   1,572
3. Mike Evans                        TB      1,524
4. Tyreek Hill                         KC      1,479
5. JuJu Smith-Schuster         PIT     1,426
 
The Bucs have not made the playoffs in a decade, while their division rivals have all made the playoffs many times – and all three have won an NFC championship.  Meanwhile, the Bucs have become a revolving door for coaches. Now, Arians takes a crack at it.
 
The Bucs have been stellar on offense but have had many woes on defense, explaining their playoff misses.  But in this offense-crazed era of the NFL, a crazy-good passing attack can carry a team a long way – as the Kansas City Chiefs showed.

I'm sure a lot of Bucs fans would be thrilled if their team just made the playoffs for a change. So, it will be interesting to see if the Bucs' coaches can actually make improvements to what is already one of the top passing attacks in recent NFL history.