Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Friday, 23 October 2009 - administrator

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an American professional football team located in Tampa Florida. The Buccaneers joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1976. They are currently a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, 48-21 against the Oakland Raiders.

History

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are well known for their poor start when joining the NFL in 1976. The Buccaneers lost their first 26 games, before defeating the New Orleans Saints near the end of the 1977 season. Success began in 1979 with quarterback Doug Williams, running back Ricky Bell, and defensive player Lee Roy Selmon leading the team to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The 1979 Buccaneers finished their season (10-6), the first time the Buccaneers had a winning record, and won their first playoff game ever, against the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-17. That year, the Buccaneers played the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football Conference (NFC) championship game, and lost 9-0.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the 80’s -90’s

Tampa Bay made it back to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history in 1981 and then a third time in 1982. Both times, the Buccaneers were eliminated from the playoffs in the divisional round by the Dallas Cowboys. In 1996, Tampa Bay hired Tony Dungy to be head coach. The Dungy era proved to be a successful period for the Buccaneers. During his tenure, Dungy and his fellow coaches, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and linebackers coach Lovie Smith designed the famous Tampa 2 defense. The Buccaneer defense became one of the best in the NFL. Pro Bowl defensive players on Tampa Bay included defensive lineman Warren Sapp, safety John Lynch, and linebackers Hardy Nickerson, and Derrick Brooks. In 1999, the Buccaneers finished the season (11-5) and reached the NFC championship game to lose to the St. Louis Rams, 11-6.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2002 Super Bowl Season

The 2002 football season began with a spending spree in order to sign new head coach Jon Gruden. The Buccaneers traded away their first and second round pick in 2002, their first round pick in 2003, and the second round pick in 2004, to hire Jon Gruden from the Oakland Raiders. As Jon Gruden came into his first year at head coach, the National Football League (NFL) realigned the divisions placing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons in the National Football Conference (NFC) South division. That year, Tampa Bay had their best season in franchise history (12-4) and won the South division. The Buccaneers went on to win Super Bowl XXXVII against Jon Gruden’s former tram and employer, Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders.

2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2009 is another revamping year for Tampa Bay. Old coach Jon Gruden was fired in the beginning of 2009 and replaced by new head coach Raheem Morris. A number of veteran acquisitions were also made during the offseason. For two undisclosed draft picks, the Buccaneers received Tight end Kellen Winslow from the Cleveland Browns. They also signed former New York Giants running back Derrick Ward to a large contract to bolster the backfield. Currently, the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay is Josh Johnson, and the starting running back is Carnell Williams.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009 Draft Picks

*Round 1 Josh Freeman, quarterback -Kansas State
*Round 3 Roy Miller, defensive tackle -Texas
*Round 4 Kyle Moore, defensive end -Southern Cal
*Round 5 Xavier Fulton, offensive tackle -Illinois
*Round 7 E.J. Biggers, defensive back -Western Michigan
*Round 7 Sammie Stroughter wide receiver -Oregon State