Having looked at the players to watch on offense, we can move on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. As jarldg explained, the Bucs have their work cut out for them. The Chiefs had one of the best rushing offenses in the league last season, even while limiting the carries of their best running backs. Meanwhile the Bucs had one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL. Even worse, perhaps, it seems like Brian Price and Gerald McCoy won't play much, which will likely make this even worse. At least the Bucs should be competitive as a pass defense. And, of course, the actual result won't matter anyway.
So, which players am I going to watch?
1. Adrian Clayborn:
I have few concerns about the Bucs' first round draft pick's ability to stop the run, but I am still a little concerned about his ability to get after the quarterback. He'll be going against Branden Albert - a pretty average left tackle, at least as a pass protector. Clayborn is still a rookie, so a failure to do much here wouldn't be a surprise. If he does show up, though, that could be very good news.
2. Da'Quan Bowers:
This won't be a great game to judge Bowers as a player, because he will be going against the Chiefs' second-string unit. Still, looking at his workload and explosiveness will give us some information on how far he has to go before being ready to take over as a starter.
3. Myron Lewis:
The second-year cornerback showed a lot of promise but also a lot of problems last year. Lewis has a lot of talent, but also very raw technique. I haven't heard much on him during training camp so far, but that doesn't necessarily need to be a bad thing. I'll be watching closely to see if he has improved.
4. Mason Foster
There won't be much to see on the rookie for now, as he figures to play only on running downs. Still, we should be able to see whether he puts himself in the right position, how quick he looks compared to the rest of the players on the field, and how he does as a physical player.
5. Ahmad Black
Black is an intriguing player who will figure out a way to get on the field this season. I'll be watching to see how the Bucs decide to use him - whether they use him generally as a deep safety, or an in-the-box-safety, or even a nickelback.
Who will you be watching?