From our friends at JoeBucsFan.com...
There's been a lot of chatter from coach Raheem Morris and Bucs players about next season, but two games remain on the Bucs schedule that will reveal a lot about the team and the direction it might take for 2012.
Saturday afternoon's matchup in Carolina and the season ender in Atlanta (Jan 1) are division games, which take particular importance in assessing how the Bucs must upgrade to compete against its rivals going forward.
Frankly, it was rather odd to hear players and coaches, usually overly focused on the next game and not looking ahead, talking about the future.
A common these among them has been how the Bucs will benefit greatly from a full offseason, one denied them in 2011 because the NFL lockout kept players disconnected from coaches until late July.
Veteran leader Donald Penn and Davin Joseph in radio interviews this week both talked about the team coming together next spring.
Fans, however, would like to see the Bucs (4-10) start competing Saturday and end their heinous eight game losing streak. The Bucs suffered their third consecutive blowout last week against the cowboys, and stopping the bleeding Saturday would be a welcome holiday gift.
Carolina (5-9), a team with a rookie QB, a young roster and a first year coaching staff, has shaken its early season struggles and shows no effected of limited offseason work. (Kind of what Bucs fans were hoping for).
The Panthers have won three of their last four games, including a blowout of the Bucs in Tampa. Their big-time running game features two backs, Jonathan Stewart and De'Angelo Williams, plus qb Cam Newton, who has set some QB rushing records already.
For Bucs fans, there's almost no use in breaking down what the Bucs need to do to win Saturday. The Bucs haven't been competitive in weeks, but if they can find a way to simply give a 60-minute effort, then this is probably a close game between teams with similar talent levels.