Tampa Bay Buccaneers Feel Like They Can Win the NFC South Division

While the national media has all but written off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season, this team is still loaded with talent. Sure it's a younger team now that Tom Brady and other older veterans have departed, but it's a faster and hungrier team as well.

For the last three years, it's been Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. And while the veterans on the team are grateful for the "Brady years" they are ready to carve out a name for themselves. The easiest way to do that is to prove the doubters wrong and win the NFC South division.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles knows that this might not be a team full of recognizable veterans but believes his team still has what it takes to win the division.

“We feel comfortable with the guys we’ve got," Bowles said. "We have guys on the team that can play ball. Just because their names are not known doesn’t mean they can’t play. They’re just unknown at the time, but they’ll be known pretty soon. It’s up to us to get them ready and it’s up to them to play, and we feel confident in that.”

Count general manager Jason Licht among those who think the Bucs can compete against anyone in the league as well.

“Well, I wouldn’t count any of the teams out," Licht said. "They’re all very talented. Everybody got better this offseason. I can just speak on our team. I just know I like the vibe that our team has right now, I like the energy and I like how far we’ve gotten in the offseason as a team. I can’t make any predictions – I just feel like our team has the DNA to want to compete against anybody.”

Quarterback Baker Mayfield has a lot riding on this season with perhaps his last chance to remain a starter in the NFL. The NFC South has been labeled as possibly the worst division in the league, but Mayfield sees improvement in each of the teams. However, he's ready to compete for a third straight division title for the Buccaneers.

"Obviously, the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl, but you’ve got to start by winning your division first," Mayfield said. "Everybody is writing off the NFC South, but I think it’s going to be a lot better than people think. A lot of new faces in the division, so we’re ready to compete in that division and win it again."

The Buccaneers' schedule has its fair share of challenges, but will also face a number of rookie, second-year, and first-time starting quarterbacks. If the team can stay healthy this season and see improvement from their younger players they should be in firm contention to win the NFC South.

You can follow JC Allen on Twitter @JCAllenNFL.

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout Training Camp.

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook