MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 19: Justin Evans #21 and Kwon Alexander #58 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 19, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

One of the most glaring problems on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season was the defense. Now, it sounds like they’re starting to come together more than this time last year.

It’s hard to win football games when you don’t have a defense that can get off the field on third downs. It’s hard to win football games when there is no pressure from the defensive line on opposing quarterbacks. Most importantly, it’s hard to win football games when there isn’t any chemistry among the players. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers certainly had problems with the first two. The third could be debated, but no one outside the walls of One Buc Place is going to know for sure.

With the overhaul to the team that Jason Licht has made, predominately on the defensive line, there are going to be some growing pains. Hopefully, these are worked out in OTAs and training camp, but a team doesn’t just gel overnight. It takes time, it takes work, it takes trust.

Second year safety Justin Evans has already noticed a little bit of a difference from last year to this year. It seems as though the chemistry is beginning to build early on in the off-season;

“This is more of a bond. Like I said earlier, Coach is trying to work on being a complete team so we’re doing different things. We went in the indoor and had a big team day. He’s just trying to make everybody bond together and that’s what it takes to become a better team because everyone has talent so you just have to put that talent together.”

It’s going to be vital for this team to come together and improve on last season. If not, there are going to be a lot of questions regarding the future of some players as well as the futures of head coach Dirk Koetter and general manager Jason Licht.

2018 is a make or break season for this team. Building chemistry is going to play a major role in their success or failure. It appears as though they’re headed in the right direction.