Meet the Buccaneers T here is an old saying in football that defense wins championships Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t argue with that The Bucs have always been at their best when their defense leads the way Their most famous players are known for hard tackles key interceptions and timely sacks Playing tough defense requires just as much skill and teamwork as scoring points on offense In fact often it takes even more The Buccaneers understand this and work hard to make their defense the best in the National Football League NFL This book tells the story of the Buccaneers They became a championship team in 2002 thanks to a defense that gave opponents no room to breathe As that season showed the Bucs win when everyone on the roster makes a contribution Football is a lot of fun to watch when a team plays this way and victory always seems a little sweeter Kellen Winslow Jr gives quarterback Josh Freeman a tap of encouragement The Bucs pull for one another in good times and bad 5
Glory Days F ootball has a proud history in Florida College and high school teams have been popular there for a long time However fans in the Sunshine State were introduced to professional football only a few decades ago The first team to make an impact there was the Miami Dolphins They began in the 1960s By the 1970s football fans on the opposite side of the state wanted their own team In 1976 they got their wish The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were born New teams usually have a hard time winning in the NFL but no team ever had it harder than the Buccaneers They lost all 14 of their games in 1976 and their first 12 in 1977 People started calling them the Yuccaneers and the Bad News Bucs Fortunately Tampa Bay fans had the last laugh In 1979 the Buccaneers won the Central Division of 6
the National Football Conference NFC and nearly reached the Super Bowl Coach John McKay built a rock-solid defense with young stars such as brothers Lee Roy and Dewey Selmon Dave Pear Dave Lewis and Richard Wood Tampa Bay’s leader on offense was Doug Williams a strong-armed quarterback who never backed down from a challenge Running back Ricky Bell and tight end Jimmie Giles were also important contributors After their great 1979 season the Buccaneers returned to the playoffs in 1981 and 1982 In 1983 Williams signed a contract to play in the new United States Football League USFL The Bucs struggled to find a new leader For 14 seasons in a row the team lost more games than it won Many talented players wore the Tampa Bay uniform during this time including James Wilder Mark Carrier Reggie Cobb Steve Young Vinny Testaverde Ricky Reynolds and Errict Rhett Unfortunately the Buccaneers couldn’t find the winning formula In 1996 the team hired coach Tony Dungy He went to work on rebuilding the Tampa Bay defense Dungy assembled a group LEFT Doug Williams made front-page news with the Bucs in the 1970s ABOVE James Wilder led the team in the 1980s 7
