Throughout the off-season Mike Carlson will give nfluk.com readers a rundown of all 32 teams in the NFL - the story of their 2009 season and their needs heading into a new campaign. In this week's column Mike takes a look at two of 2009's most disappointing teams - Detroit and Tampa Bay.

It's odd how the NFC produced not only the Super Bowl champions this year, but the three worst records in the NFL, and the teams making the first four picks in the 2010 draft. So after disposing of the Muttons dressed as Rams last week, Coast to Coast hits the next two losers as we double-dip to visit Detroit and then swing south to sunny Tampa.

Both teams, like the Rams, had new coaches last year, but they faced different challenges. For Detroit's Jim Schwartz, there was literally nowhere to go but up, following Rod Marinelli's epochal 0-16 season, while in Tampa, Raheem Morris inherited a winning but fading team, which had contended but disappointed in the immediate past. Both teams built their futures on quarterbacks drafted in round one last year, which means, unlike the Rams, they can ignore the temptation to over-draft a QB and concentrate on more immediate needs. Unfortunately, they would probably like to split A Boy Named Suh and The Real McCoy between them, but the Rams are likely to have something to say about that. If St Louis is really serious about drafting Sam Bradford, they ought to be able to trade down at least to three, but they may actually have to take one of the tackles first before anyone will believe that they'll pass on the QB. If they did, he'd likely drop no further than number four, where no matter what he says about Jason Campbell, Mike Shanahan is likely not to pass on a potential QB of the future.

DETROIT (2-14)

DRAFT NEEDS: D line, O line, RB, DB

The Lions' signing of Kyle Vanden Bosch, who played for Schwartz in Tennessee, indicates to me that they intend to add a rookie tackle. VBD was noticeably less effective with the departure of Albert Haynesworth (who wouldn't be?) and is likely entering the downside of his career, but the presence of a quick pass-rushing tackle could make him look very good again. Don't be fooled by their trading a fifth round pick for Corey Williams (and a seventh rounder) into thinking they'll go with the offensive line, though a long-term successor to Jeff Backus would be nice. Williams is no longer the difference-maker he was in Green Bay, and with the possibility of picking up a tackle further down in the draft, and especially when you consider the way those Titan teams Schwartz was DC with were built, I think they'll grab an impact defender.

Offensively, the Lions became the second team to overpay wildly for Nate Burleson, who seems to appear on the free agent market whenever there's a dearth of wide receivers. A complementary receiver to the great Calvin Johnson is a good idea, but the most pressing need the Lions have is for a reliable running back, and the free agent market offers a number of prospects, including the sometimes unreliable Larry Johnson and the oft-injured Brian Westbrook and LaDainian Tomlinson. Kevin Smith would be the answer, but he's been unable to stay on the field. Aaron Brown showed some promise last year, but Maurice 'Morris' Morris is better as a change of pace back than a starter, as is DeDe Dorsey, MVP of the very first UFL championship game last year. Bringing in another runner is not out of the question. But a big part of the problem is that they are running behind a Matt Millen designed line which is slow and aging. Jeff Backus and Jon Jansen played together at Michigan in the last century, and Jansen was starting at LG by season's end. Melvin Fowler and Gosder Cherilus were starting on the right side, and Cherilus has had problems adjusting to the speed of the NFL. Dominic Raiola remains at center, small but scrappy. They tendered huge guard Manny Ramirez and veteran backup Dylan Gandy at the fourth-round level, and Roy Scheuning might be able to help somewhere.

It's hard to figure out exactly what sort of offense Scott Linehan is trying to build, but whatever it is they need to protect better, if Matthew Stafford is going to make the transition to NFL starter. Stafford showed flashes before injuries cut his season short; it was always a risky move to throw him in at day one, rather than go to Daunte Culpepper. Drew Stanton remains the only QB signed right now, but the odds are another veteran will be signed as insurance. Even Culpepper, who probably won't attract much interest around the league. Burleson upgrades the receiving corps, and will help when Calvin Johnson is getting double-teamed to death, but like Bryant Westbrook, he's not going to scare anyone. Dennis Northcutt was mostly used as a punt returner, without great results. Third-round pick Derrick Williams, hobbled by hamstring injuries, didn't do anything as a rookie, and Bryan Clark's been brought in to compete. The pass game will benefit if TE Brandon Pettigrew bounces back from injury after a good start to his rookie season. Will Heller's been resigned and between Michael Matthews, Jake Nordin, and Dan Gronkowski they have options for the third spot.

Defensively, Cliff Avril and a rookie DT ought to combine with Williams and VDB to give them an effective front four, and I'd expect to see more aggression out of Gunter Cunningham's schemes. Sammy Lee Hill was a pleasant surprise last year and will benefit from splitting time with Williams, who's versatile enough to give them flexibility. They tendered ex-Packer Jason Hunter at a second-round level; I've always thought he would've made a 3-4 OLB, but he's bulked up into a 4-3 end and is a decent third option. Turk McBride is better suited for spot duty as the under tackle, and Joe Cohen and Terrance Taylor ought to provide depth. The situation's less clear at LB, where Larry Foote and Julian Petersen didn't make the impact they'd hoped. Foote's gone, and Ernie Sims might be as he's in the last year of his contract and DeAndre Levy could slide into the middle. Jordan Dizon and special teams ace Vinny Ciurciu provide some depth.

In the secondary, they're set only at the safety position manned by last year's rookie Louis Delmas, who was outstanding, and sometimes their best player. At corner, they traded a sixth-round pick to Atlanta for Chris Houston, and signed Jonathan Wade after the Rams released him. Being cut by the worst team in the NFL is not necessarily a ringing endorsement. Eric King starts on one side, and between Brian Witherspoon, who showed some promis as a kick returner, Jhari Word-Daniels, and DeAngelo Smith there's some unfulfilled promise. Across from Delmas, they've tendered Daniel Bullocks at round two and Ko Simpson at round four, and veteran Kelvin Pearson and Marvin White are in the mix, but don't rule out drafting a corner or a corner/safety tweener.

The kicking game is set with 39-year-old Jason Hanson and punter Nick Harris. Schwartz may be able to get this defense to turn the corner and start making plays, but they still need help behind the front four. Offensively, it's just the opposite: they need their front five to play better and keep their play-makers healthy.

TAMPA BAY (3-13)

DRAFT NEEDS: D Line, DB, LB, WR, OL

The Bucs, as anyone who saw them at Wembley knows, were awful for most of the season. Raheem Morris, originally hired as defensive coordinator, seemed over his head as a head coach, firing his offensive coordinator ten days before the season started, and playing three-card monte with Byron Leftwich, Josh Johnson, and rookie Josh Freeman at QB. But after a 1-12 start, Morris surprisingly canned defensive coordinator Jim Bates, took over the defensive play-calling himself, and the Bucs won two of their last three games to finish ahead of the Rams and Lions and create a draft-day dilemma for Mark Dominik, who showed that he understands the team is in a rebuilding mode. Dominik was a good hire, unusual for the Bucs, whose brain trust involves the owner Malcolm Glazer, and three co-chairman found after extensive nationwide searching, all of whom happened to be named Glazer too.

Morris will run more of a classic Tampa 2 defense than Bates did, and the opportunity to fill the under tackle spot with a playmaker like Suh or McCoy will be very tempting. In the Tampa 2 the four key positions are under tackle, weak side linebacker, strong safety, and middle backer, and the Bucs are really set at only one of those (MLB with Barrett Ruud, their best player last year) and maybe weakside, where Geno Hayes can play but not at the Derrick Brooks level. You can survive without a Warren Sapp at under tackle, but if you have one demanding double teams it opens things up for the rest of the defense. Should the Rams and Lions grab the two tackles (and the Rams may be willing to trade down to 3 to take Sam Bradford), the Bucs would then face a dilemma. Safety Eric Berry is a playmaker, but not a perfect fit for the John Lynch role. Russel Okung might upgrade their offensive line immediately. Dez Bryant would mean they didn't have to throw away Antonio Bryant's name tag.

One thing for sure is that Freeman, whom Morris knew from his year at Kansas State, is the QB of the present as well as the future. He showed remarkable maturity in a tough situation, and should only get better. Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson return, along with project Rudy Carpenter; there are teams where Johnson would be a better fit than Tampa, and he might be trade bait.

They tendered Cadillac Williams, who had a good year, at the first round level, and RB remains a strength with Earnest Graham and Derrick Ward; but Ward, as predicted, had nothing like the impact with the Bucs he did with the Giants (though his loss made Brandon Jacobs less effective too). Jon Gruden had put together a decent offensive line, and it remains OK, though tackles Donald Penn (tendered at the top, first and third pick level) and Jeremy Trueblood both seemed to regress, which may be a factor of the change in coaching. The inside is solid with Jeff Faine, their best lineman, Arron Sears, Davin Joseph, and Jeremy Zuttah. Shawn Murphy might develop into a decent reserve too. But there will be the temptation to upgrade at tackle, thinking Penn might even move to the right side in the long term, or be let go as his contract gets bigger.

They traded for Downtown Reggie Brown from Philly; he will not replace Bryant, but isn't bad for a sixth-round pick. Michael Clayton returns and Maurice Stovall was tendered at the third-round level. Sammie Stroughter can be a threat in the slot, and Terrence Nunn looked good in preseason for the Pats two years in a row, but could never get on the regular season field. Mario Urrutia is a big possession receiver they drafted last year, but didn't seem to have a Joe Jurevicius type role for. Kellen Winslow played better than he had in Cleveland, and John Gilmore and Jerramy 'Whoops' Stevens return at TE. I thought Ryan Purvis showed promise in limited action; he's not a powerful blocker though. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson needs to liven things up, oddly, he's got Steve Logan as running backs coach, but Logan's track record with bringing along young QBs was excellent at both East Carolina and in NFL Europe; Alex Van Pelt is the QB coach.

Morris will again coordinate the defense himself. The Bucs tanked from the moment Monte Kiffin announced he was leaving with four games to go in the 2008 season; this year linebackers coach Joe Barry suddenly departed to join the Kiffins at USC, and he will be a loss. Rookie Roy Miller was a pleasant surprise as an over tackle, but the addition of a stud under tackle would make Chris Hovan and Ryan Sims more useful as spot players. It would also improve the ends, as none of Stylez & Profilez White, Tim Crowder, and Maurice Evans are useful against the double-team. There is a school of thought that the Buvs might reach for Jason Pierre-Paul, who's got a lot of potential as a rusher, but I wouldn't want to bet on potential in their position. With Ruud and Hayes they're set at two LB spots; Ruud continues the MLB tradition of Hardy Nickerson and Sheldon Quarles. Jermaine Phillips couldn't transition to WLB, couldn't return to safety and has been cut. They might consider adding a linebacker, as Quincy Black, Nico Koutivides, Adam Heyward, and Lee Robinson all seem better suited as backups.

n the secondary, Ronde Barber will be 35, and is visibly slowing down. The scheme doesn't leave corners on an island too often, so he can get by, but they might consider an upgrade there as well. Aqib Talib mans the other side, Elbert Mack is the likely nickle corner, but there's no quality depth. As Indy has shown, you can get servicable corners for the Tampa 2 at all levels of the draft (and even undrafted) but Berry might be tempting because he could play corner for them if he doesn't work out as a safety. Tanard Jackson is one safety, but Sabby Piscatelli has never grown into the John Lynch role. I loved Corey Lynch coming out of college, but he's a bit lacking in the measurables. Emmanuel Cook is in the mix.

The Bucs kicking game fell apart after they released Matt Bryant, but right now Connor Barth is the kicker and, with Dirk Johnson and Josh Bidwell both cut, Sam Paulescu is the punter. Look for more bodies to fly into Florida. Clifton Smith, Michael Spurlock, and even Stroughter means they should have a solid return game. But the Bucs still seem a few steps from a return to their level of greatness in the early part of the past decade. This year will at least show if Morris can take them in the right direction. Otherwise, Manchester United beckons.