Arians putting title in rearview: This year's team 'hasn't done crap'
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are returning all their starters after winning Super Bowl LV last season, but head coach Bruce Arians still thinks his players have a lot to prove ahead of the 2021 campaign.
"I'm going to have to be harder. Make sure that we stay the hunter, not the hunted," Arians recently said. "We've relaxed a lot over this spring, teams are getting ahead of us right now, but I think we can catch up quickly.
"In training camp, we know what it takes to come to work every day. I think our players know the level of competition at practice every day. I don't think I'm going to say much about it, except we're nowhere near where we were last year. Just knocking them down to pay and making sure this team doesn't think they are last year's team. Because last year's team won the Super Bowl. This team hasn't done crap."
The Buccaneers were one of the league's busiest teams this offseason. Tampa Bay was able to keep all its key pending free agents, including linebackers Lavonte David and Shaquil Barrett, tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Leonard Fournette, and wide receivers Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin.
The organization also extended superstar quarterback Tom Brady for another year and added backfield depth with running back Giovani Bernard's signing.
Brady led the Bucs to their first playoff appearance since 2007 in his first year with the squad, en route to winning the franchise's second Super Bowl.
The Brady-led New England Patriots were the last NFL team to win back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004.