Bucs insist they're headed in the right direction

That 3-13 record reveals an ugly tale of the tape, but the 2009 Buccaneers are proud of the way they fought down the stretch.

Tampa Bay was 1-12 before posting impressive wins at Seattle and New Orleans as rumors swirled that the Glazers had made inquiries to gauge Bill Cowher's interest in replacing Raheem Morris as head coach next year.

Even Sunday's drab 20-10 home loss to Atlanta hasn't dampened optimism that next season will be far different.

"The outlook for us has to be pointing in the right direction - it's got to be positive,'' tight end John Gilmore said Monday as Buc players emptied their lockers. "We didn't finish the season like a 3-13 team. We finished like we were going to the playoffs. We fought hard - and I'm sure that's what they (ownership) wanted to see. It says a lot about this football team.

"It's hard to do that, when you're in our situation, to still go out there and put your best foot forward and you see that kind of effort on tape. That's something to be proud of. The things we needed to fix weren't going to get fixed in the middle of the season.''

Left tackle Donald Penn, who played well for most of the year until struggling against the Falcons, said the Bucs never stopped playing hard.

"That shows a lot about our character and it shows what the coach asks out of us every week,'' Penn said. "I saw other some other teams around the league that looked like they gave up ... we weren't one of those teams. Hopefully, we'll be able to continue to build as a group.''

Right tackle Jeremy Trueblood said the inconsistency of Tampa Bay's offensive line is frustrating.

"One thing we have around here is a bunch of guys who love to play football,'' Trueblood said. "We'll get it right, we'll right the ship. We still have a prideful group up front. I feel we have a pretty good unit. We have a lot of talent in this room and we're ready to go out and prove it next year.''

One question that remains regarding an underachieving offensive line is the status of Arron Sears, the third-year guard who missed the entire season due to personal issues. Jeremy Zuttah replaced Sears, who rejoined the club in November but was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.

"He was gone all year and Arron's a heck of a player,'' Trueblood said. "We would welcome him back, but Zuttah certainly earned his spot, too. It'll be a nice little competition, I guess.''