 |
| Image Courtesy of Bing |
In the early days of the Tampa Bay franchise, there was
more entertainment to be had from the criticism of the team by head coach, John
McKay than there was to be found on the field.
The franchise did eventually improve and actually won Super Bowl XXXVII. The Bucs have had some good, but not great
skill position players and QB in particular hasn’t been a position of
strength. This list is dominated by
players on the defensive side of the ball.
And here we go:
10.
Jimmie Giles: Giles
played tight end for the Bucs for nine seasons and was named to three Pro
Bowls. Giles caught 279 passes for 4,300
yards and 34 TDs. Jimmie’s season high
in catches was only was only 45, but that was more a function of the Buccaneers
offense than Giles’ skill. Jimmie averaged
a very nice 15.4 ypr and was good for 17-18 yards per catch at his peak. Giles is one of only two offensive players on
this list.
9.
Simeon Rice: Rice
was a pass rusher of note during his six seasons in Tampa. Simeon racked up 69.5 sacks while there, with
a high of 15.5 during the 2002 season.
That was the season Rice was named to the Pro Bowl and All Pro
team. More importantly, it was the year
the Bucs won the Super Bowl. Rice was
also named to the Pro Bowl the following season. Some other numbers on Rice: he forced 19 fumbles, recovered one and
intercepted four passes for the Buccaneers.
Rice was one of a number of defensive playmakers the Bucs had in the
early 200s.
8.
Hardy Nickerson: In
seven seasons in Tampa, Hardy was credited with 924 tackles. That includes the 214 he was credited with in
his career season of 1993. Those 214
tackles led the NFL that season and resulted in Hardy being named to both the
Pro Bowl and All Pro team. In 1997
Nickerson won both of the awards again.
In 1998 he was again named to the Pro Bowl. Nickerson picked off seven passes, forced 13
fumbles and recovered nine while manning the middle of the Tampa Bay
defense. He also threw in nine
sacks. Hardy had a very nice career as a
Buc.
7. Gerald
McCoy: McCoy
has been a staple in the Tampa Bay defensive line from 2010-2018. During that time he was a Pro Bowler six
times and named All Pro once. McCoy has
piled up 54.5 sacks during that time.
Not bad for an interior lineman. McCoy
comes in at number seven on this list.
6.
Mike Alstott: Mike
has an unusual set of stats. He was
named to the Pro Bowl six times and All
Pro three times. He did that and
averaged “only” 3.7 yards per carry in 11 seasons with the Bucs. He was, however, a beast in short yardage
situations. Tackling Alstott was like
tackling an anvil. Alstott’s numbers
really don’t tell the whole story. Mike
ran for 58 TDs with the Bucs and caught passes for another 13. Alstott was an outstanding back, it’s just
that we don’t see his type very often.
5. John
Lynch: Do
you like hard hitting safeties? Then you
would have loved John Lynch. Lynch spent
11 seasons with the Bucs and went to the Pro Bowl five times. He was also named All Pro twice. John wasn’t a huge interception guy, picking
off 23 passes while in Tampa. He also
forced seven fumbles and recovered eight.
He also recorded six sacks.
Ultimately, what Lynch was mist noted for was his hitting.
4.
Ronde Barber: Ronde
was another outstanding Bucs defender from the 2000s. He started his career with the Bucs in 1997
and it extended through 2012. Barber was
named to five Pro Bowls and three All Pro teams. Barber intercepted 47 passes and recovered 12
fumbles. Ronde was a scoring threat on
defense. He returned eight interceptions
for TDs and also returned four fumbles for scores. In addition, he forced 15 fumbles and managed
to sack opposing QBs 23 times. Barber
led the NFL in interceptions with 10 in 2001.
Barber was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football
Reference All 2000s first team. Ronde
played in nine playoff games, picking up another two interceptions, returning
one for a TD. And finally, he even
returned a punt for a touchdown.
3.
Lee Roy Selmon: The early Buccaneers teams were horrendous,
but Lee Roy Selmon provided a ray of respectability. Selmon spent nine seasons in Tampa. He was selected to the Pro Bowl from 1979-84
and was named All Pro in 1979. Lee Roy
was named the NFL Defensive Player of
the Year in 1979. Unofficially Lee Roy recorded
78.5 sacks while with the Bucs. Selmon
would have no doubt added to his legacy if a back injury hadn’t led to his
retirement after the 1984 season. Selmon
was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All 1980s second team.
2.
Warren Sapp: From
1995 through 2003 Sapp manned the interior of the Buccaneers defensive
line. From 1997-2003 he was a dominant force. Sapp was named to the Pro Bowl each season from
1997-2003. He was named All Pro from
1999-2002. Sapp sacked opposing QBs 77
times with the Bucs. His career high was
16.5 in 2000. Warren also picked off
three passes, returning one for a TD. He
also forced 15 fumbles and recovered nine.
Sapp piled up a boatload of awards during his career. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
second team All 1990s team. In addition,
he was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Reference All
2000s team. He was also named to the NFL’s
All Rookie team in 1995. Like some
others on this list, Sapp was a key part of the Bucs 2002 championship team.
1.
Derrick Brooks: While
the Buccaneers have had some great defensive players, Derrick Brooks ranks as
number one. In a 14 year career with the
Bucs, Brooks was named to 11 Pro Bowls and was named All Pro five times. He too, was a member of the Bucs 2002 Super
Bowl winner. Brooks was named the NFL’s
2002 Defensive Player of the Year.
Derrick led NFL in solo tackles three times. He also intercepted 25
passes and returned six of them for TDs.
He also forced 24 fumbles and recovered four, returning one for a
TD. Derrick wasn’t a big blitzer,
picking up 13.5 sacks. Brooks led the
NFL in tackles three times. He was just
an excellent all around linebacker.
You might also like my tee shirts:
No comments:
Post a Comment