Really only one team ends the NFL season happy. We’ll know who that is in a month or so when Roger Goodell hands the Vince Lombardi Trophy to whoever wins the Super Bowl in Dallas.

But despite missing the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers certainly have to feel good about the direction this franchise is heading.

The folks at FanHouse beat me to the punch on this topic, but it bears repeating: Tampa has a young nucleus of skill players on offense they can build around. They are young. And they are going to be good for a while.

Watching the Bucs manhandle the Saints on Sunday I was struck, again, by the poise shown by Josh Freeman, a second year quarterback who has developed — yes, he is still young and there may be fine tuning to be done, but his play and his numbers indicate he has already developed — into a top-notch player already. His nearly 3500 yards passing and 25 touchdowns against just six interceptions should have fans giddy.

Rookie receivers Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn both showed signs of stardom. And who would have figured LeGarrette Blount would find regular playing time as a rookie, coming off the transgressions of his final season at Oregon. Instead, the Bucs claim him off the Titans’ practice squad and the guy immediately repays the team by busting off a 1,000 yard season.

There is a lot to be excited about in Tampa. And to think, this team was maybe one loss away from seeing head coach Raheem Morris canned last year during a disastrous 3-13 season, a year in which no wide receiver produced more than 600 yards through the air and Cadillac Williams produced a team-leading 823 yards rushing while looking old and tired.

After starting that season 1-12, the Bucs have won 12 of their last 19 games. Cadillac seems reborn as an exciting role player, the depth chart at wide receiver is young and a franchise is rejuvenated with plenty of reason to be excited in the year ahead. There are still holes to fill. The offensive line could use several pieces and the defense isn’t nearly as dominant as during the Dungy/Gruden eras.

Plus they have the misfortune of playing in a strong division where New Orleans and Atlanta are good enough to be in the mix for the next few years as well. But this will be a fun bunch to watch in the seasons to come — and it happened much, much faster than I ever would have expected.