1999 record: 11-5, first place in NFC Central.

Last five years: 42-38.

Coach: Tony Dungy (37-31 in four years with Tampa Bay).

Playoff past: The Buccaneers are 3-5 in postseason play since the merger, and have twice lost in the NFC Championship Game. The second of those two defeats came last year at St. Louis, an emotional 11-6 loss to a Rams team that went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV. What a lot of people forget, though, is the Bucs advanced to the conference title game in 1979, only the fourth season of the franchise's existence. That feat is easy to overlook given the deplorable start of the franchise and the fact that Tampa Bay later established a league record with 12 consecutive seasons (1983-94) of 10 or more losses.

Outlook

Despite a defense that suffocated opponents in 1999, and in some games didn't even allow a penetration to its side of the 50-yard line, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't advance to Super Bowl XXXIV because of an offense that barely registered a pulse at times.

So enter the NFL's odd couple -- former Marine boot camp sergeant Les Steckel as coordinator and wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, a guy who would be labeled 4-F because he couldn't shut up long enough to take the armed forces physical exam -- as the guys who will attempt to breathe life into a unit that last season averaged an anemic 16.9 points.

Early in training camp, his teammates have taken to calling the former New York Jets wideout "The Key." But that handle might more accurately fit Steckel, whose offensive design was good enough in '99 to take the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl. Criticized at times in Tennessee for not permitting quarterback Steve McNair to gun the ball up the field more, Steckel might not have as many tools with which to work in Tampa Bay. What he does have, however, is the confidence of head coach Tony Dungy, the attention of second-year quarterback Shaun King, and a mandate to make things better.

Second-year Bucs QB Shaun King has a new toy with the addition of Keyshawn Johnson.(AP)

"I love what we're doing," said King, the former second-round draft pick who led Tulane to an undefeated season in 1998 and nearly took the Bucs to the Super Bowl a year later. "We're going to make people respect the deep pass more. Last year, there were times we threw deep just to say we did it, to try to keep the defense honest. This year, there's a purpose to it. There are going to be times when the cornerbacks start backpedaling as soon as we break the huddle."

The ebullient King might be getting a bit carried away, as would any youngster with a new play toy. The staple of the Tampa Bay offense still figures to be Mike Alstott, perhaps the best one-back guy in the league but too often miscast as a fullback, doing his smashmouth routine off-tackle. The bag of offensive tricks, which was more akin to a sandwich sack in the past, might be a gunny sack filled with some cunning married to the running in 2000.

Early results indicate the Buccaneers will be far more diverse than the predictable bunch they always seemed to be under Mike Shula, the deposed and occasionally despised offensive boss. In the preseason, everyone keeps the wraps on the offense, especially the teams that are undergoing a dramatic refurbishing. Tampa Bay is no different, as evidenced by the fact the first pass of the first preseason game was a 5-yard hitch to Johnson in the slot. But it's easy to tell there is change in the air just from the excitement of the players.

Even the Tampa Bay defenders, a group that, with takeaways, set up exactly half of the 18 scores the Bucs had after King replaced the injured Trent Dilfer late last season, seemed mesmerized by the various offensive options now at King's disposal.

Said defensive tackle Warren Sapp: "There have been a few times in camp where even we haven't stopped them cold, you know?"

Johnson is not the classic burner, but his aggressiveness in going after every ball is contagious and he will allow other receivers like Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green to work more against single coverage now. An improved offensive line, provided the Bucs can find a left tackle who can stay healthy, should afford King a better comfort zone. And the brainy Steckel has promised to reintroduce versatile tailback Warrick Dunn to the attack, perhaps using him more outside the tackles to stretch defenses horizontally before going deep and vertical on them.

If the approach is successful, it would be no stretch to imagine the Bucs becoming the first team in league history to host a Super Bowl game in its own stadium. And the offense that didn't have a pulse in 1999 would find its collective heart beating pretty good then, King allowed.

"We would be so jacked," he said, "there's no way someone could come in here and beat us."

Schedule preview: Circle the Oct. 1 game at Washington and the home matchup against St. Louis on Dec. 18, since either could offer an early preview of the NFC championship contest. Those might be the most daunting games in a schedule that is relatively nondescript outside the division. Only once do the Bucs have consecutive road games, although they will finish up with two of their last three games away from Raymond James Stadium. The home field has become a rowdy one and provides the Bucs a real boost. If they gain homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, they could be an even more difficult team to beat. The "bye" week comes Oct. 15, after the first six games have been played.

1999 offensive ranking: No. 28 overall, No. 15 rushing, No. 30 passing.

1999 defensive ranking: No. 3 overall, No. 5 vs. the rush, No. 2 vs. the pass.

Key players lost from 1999: LB Hardy Nickerson (Jacksonville), QB Trent Dilfer (Baltimore), WR Bert Emanuel (released), OG Jorge Diaz (Dallas).

Key additions for 2000: WR Keyshawn Johnson (Jets), OG Randall McDaniel (Vikings), C Jeff Christy (Vikings), WR Andre Hastings (Saints), RB Jerry Ellison (Patriots).

Rookies to watch: That the Buccaneers are poised to make a Super Bowl run was signified when the team sent a pair of first-round draft choices to the New York Jets for Johnson, a man they feel immediately upgrades the passing attack. Still, that didn't leave the draft cupboard quite bare. Tampa Bay got a bargain when Tennessee offensive guard Cosey Coleman inexplicably dropped into the middle of the second round, where the Bucs became his safety net. Coleman should be a starter within a year and could even line up some at right tackle this season. Third-round middle linebacker Nate Webster of Miami is undersized but a huge hitter, a guy who loves to blow up every play run between the tackles. At the least, he figures to be a special teams kamikaze as a rookie. Fifth-round tight end James Whalen can't play in-line, but should become in time an intriguing H-back candidate.

Offensive line: Tampa Bay spent a lot of time and money upgrading the unit, bringing in a pair of Pro Bowl performers, guard Randall McDaniel and center Jeff Christy, from the division rival Minnesota Vikings. There's no doubt the pair make the Bucs better, tougher, meaner. But unless someone steps up at left tackle, all the plotting might be for naught. Former right tackle Jason Odom is penciled in as the starter, replacing all-time Bucs star Paul Gruber, but he has been out of action with a bad back that required surgery late last year. The position is a concern for Tampa Bay, which goes into a season filled with Super Bowl aspirations but a quarterback who has just five regular-season starts on his resume. If Odom can't play through back pain and Gruber can't come back from a broken leg suffered last January, the Bucs may have to go with the unproven and usually overweight George Hegamin or journeyman Pete Pierson. The team also is getting a little tired of waiting for right guard Frank Middleton to reach his potential.

Wide receivers/tight ends: Everything about Johnson, from his courage to his very physical blocking in the running game, figures to make the Bucs a more explosive team. About the only element that could keep that from happening is if Johnson doesn't get the ball enough early in the season. In which case the whole deal could blow up in everyone's face. That isn't likely to happen on a Tony Dungy-coached team. What, you think amateur shrink Dungy didn't get a full head-job report on Johnson before making the megaswap? For the last few years, the Bucs have fielded a lineup that included complementary receivers, but no "go-to" guy. Well, they don't have that problem anymore.

The attention paid to Johnson by secondaries will free up Anthony and Green to get open a lot easier and both are superb runners after the catch. Karl Williams seems to make a lot of tough catches. Tampa Bay likes a two-tight end offense and, while Dave Moore won't win many footraces, he knows how to locate the open spots in a zone.

Running backs: Calling the Mike Alstott-Warrick Dunn pairing a tandem is a misnomer with the way the Bucs have aligned the past couple seasons. Alstott is becoming an annual Pro Bowl pick at fullback but has always been miscast as such. He is a pure one-back runner, a back who does not block particularly well either in a lead- or pass-protection situation. But he is a powerful force running between the tackles, has a little more niftiness than defenders think, and catches the ball well. His only weakness -- it's a big one -- is a propensity for fumbling.

Dunn became more of a third-down back in 1999 and his rushes were reduced, but the new offensive scheme should help to change that trend. The little guy rarely takes a big hit, so he'll log more carries under Les Steckel. Look for him to still come close to the team-high 64 catches he had in '99 but for Dunn to run the ball more outside the tackles. Former tight end Patrick Hape is a solid blocker and an adequate receiver as a fullback.

Quarterbacks: Second-year veteran King is fond of reminding people that he checked in at just over 6 feet during the predraft combine session in 1999 and that he hasn't shrunk any. That may be the case, but the youngster still is at his best when he is on the move, rolling the pocket a half-turn to the right or left and improving his line of vision downfield. Make no mistake, King is a winner, a player capable of rallying the troops. He might never, even in the new system that has been installed by Steckel, be a terribly precise passer. In fact, Steckel, whose goal is to have his quarterback complete 28 of 32 passes every game, might go a little buggy at the scatterarmed streaks into which King can fall. But the quarterback is fairly accurate on intermediate routes and Steckel will be smart enough to emphasize those.

Eric Zeier is a career backup who has the right mentality for the job and is like having another coach around. This is an offense in which the total is bigger than the individual parts, which in a sense minimalizes the quarterback position, and that can win even when the passer is having an average day.

Defensive line: The star of the show, and a guy who loves to hog the spotlight, is tackle Warren Sapp. But his brilliance and ability to flat-out dominate a game for long stretches overshadows the fact the other members of the unit are excellent players, too.

Tackle Brad Culpepper, a very active interior defender who always plays with heart, is a nifty complement to Sapp. While he is quick through the gaps and can blister upfield, Culpepper also is smart enough to stay at home when Sapp is freelancing, and to cover for his partner. Left end Chidi Ahanotu is a good all-around player who has developed several nice counter moves on the pass rush. Right end Steve White is hardly the upfield rusher most teams want at the position and he could give way to former first-round pick Marcus Jones, for years miscast as a tackle.

Jones is beginning to play up to his potential now and is becoming a sack threat. The depth is provided by 1999 first-round tackle Anthony McFarland, who looks much improved in camp this year, and by versatile Tyoka Jackson, who doesn't get lots of snaps but always seems to make something happen.

Linebackers: All eyes are on third-year pro Jamie Duncan, who inherits the middle linebacker spot held by the departed Hardy Nickerson, and who will call the defensive alignments. Back in 1998, when Nickerson missed the second half of the season with a heart ailment, Duncan stepped in and delivered. Now he has to do it full-time. Duncan is a bit more active than Nickerson was, and might be able to stay on the field for third down.

The debate about the best weak-side 'backer in the game begins and ends with Tampa Bay star Derrick Brooks. Incredibly instinctive, and a guy who no longer overruns plays in his haste to get to the ball, Brooks might not be the most physical hitter in the game, but he is a sure, wrap-up tackler now. The bonus is he drops so well into pass coverage. Strong-side linebacker Shelton Quarles seems nondescript until coaches look at the film and he turns up in a lot of frames. That said, he might soon be pushed by the more athletic Al Singleton.

Secondary: Few teams play as much zone and "combo" coverage as the Bucs and no teams do it any better. This is not, by any means, a quick secondary. The only burner is cornerback Donnie Abraham, and the coaches often just stick him one-on-one with the opposition's best receiver and have everyone else zone up. Abraham has quick feet and good catchup ability, plus he's got the hands of a wideout and doesn't drop many interception chances.

The other Pro Bowl caliber player is strong safety John Lynch, who can be a liability in some coverages, but he hits like a linebacker. The Bucs will "walk down" Lynch toward the line of scrimmage, play eight "in the box," and dare opponents to throw. Assistant Herman Edwards, who designs most of the cover schemes, is doing a nice job of developing young corner Ronde Barber and also free safety Damien Robinson. But look for Barber to be challenged by former second-round pick Brian Kelly and for Dexter Jackson to make a run for a spot in the "nickel" package.

Special teams: In his rookie campaign, excitable kicker Martin Gramatica nailed 27 of 32 field goals and has a strong and accurate leg. Gramatica is oblivious to pressure and that's good, given the Bucs play so many close contests. Punter Mark Royals is coming off an excellent season in which he averaged 37.4 yards net. The coverage units are above average, but the return game could use a lift. There were times last year when Green simply disappeared.