Fighting hard to the end Despite a 3-13 record, the 2009 Buccaneers are proud of the way they competed 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 season. 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," TE John Gilmore said Monday as Buc players emptied their lockers and said goodbyes. "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." Woes up front Jeremy Trueblood said the inconsistency of the offensive line remains 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 LG 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." Veteran backup If QB Byron Leftwich returns, he knows it will be as Josh Freeman's backup. Leftwich signed a two-year deal with Tampa Bay and beat out Luke McCown as the starter coming out of training camp. "Right now, I love being a part of this organization," Leftwich said Monday. "I love playing for Raheem. Right now, this ain't the time to answer that (if he wants to come back). Right now, it's the time for everybody to go in here, catch their breath. This was not really a good year for anybody - players or coaches. I don't think it's fair for any of us to be talking about 2010 because there is a lot of stuff that can happen between here and March." March is significant for Leftwich because he is due a $3.5 million roster bonus. Man in the middle According to the Bucs, MLB Barrett Ruud matched his career-high with 20 tackles against Atlanta. Team statistics had Ruud finishing the season with 205 tackles, marking the first time a Buc defender surpassed the 200-tackle plateau since LB Hardy Nickerson had 214 in 1993. The official league stats credited Ruud with 142 stops this season. I'll be back Veteran P Josh Bidwell, who missed the entire year after a right hip injury suffered during training camp, declared himself 100 percent. "I feel good," said Bidwell, who had gone nine consecutive seasons in Green Bay and Tampa without missing a game. "I don't have any of the residual day-to-day pain that I had." Ira Kaufman, Anwar Richardson The Tampa Tribune 5 January 2010