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OldBucsFan
Buc Waterboy
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:46 pm Post subject: NFC South Title Something For Bucs, Fans To Savor |
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TAMPA - In the corner of the locker room, defensive end Kevin Carter removed the hat just long enough to pull a shirt over his head.
Grinning ear to ear, Carter wasted no time sliding the lid back on and displaying its message proudly.
"Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2007 NFC South Division Champions"
"You savor every one of these," said Carter, who needed a minute to recall the three postseason appearances in his previous 12 years. "You appreciate them because you just never know if you'll get back to the playoffs."
The Bucs know they'll be there next month, thanks to Sunday's 37-3 thrashing of the shellshocked Atlanta Falcons before a delighted sellout crowd of 65,133 at Raymond James Stadium.
"From worst to first," tight end Anthony Becht said. "This team is like no other I've ever been a part of."
One year removed from going 4-12, the Bucs (9-5) clinched the NFC South Division title behind a workmanlike offense, smothering defense and history-making special teams.
Unknown Micheal Spurlock's 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown -- the first in the franchise's 32 seasons -- broke the game open in the first quarter and paved the way for a celebration of a sixth division crown.
"To win a division title is hard to do," said Coach Jon Gruden, who also donned new headwear after being doused with the perfunctory championship water bucket at the two-minute warning. "We had a lot of guys step up throughout this year and [Sunday] was another indication of that."
Spurlock's runback stood above Ronde Barber's 29-yard interception return for a touchdown, quarterback Jeff Garcia's return to the starting lineup and Tampa Bay's return to the type of single-game dominance the likes of which hadn't been seen for a long time.
The combination made for a 34-point victory margin that was the club's biggest of Gruden's six seasons and the team's widest since a 41-0 shutout of the Chicago Bears on Sept. 10, 2000, under Tony Dungy.
Defensively, the Bucs yielded just 133 yards, no third-down conversions in nine tries and were on the field for just 36 plays, the fewest ever by a Tampa Bay defense.
As for the Falcons (3-11), just shoot 'em. Their miserable season of controversy (Vick, Michael), quitters (Petrino, Bobby) and interim coaches (Thomas, Emmitt) ran into a buzz saw Sunday.
"They brought it to us," Thomas said.
And delivered something for themselves.
"It's a just a credit to the players on this team," Garcia said.
The 37-year-old Garcia was back under center after missing the last two games (and most of a third) with a badly bruised lower back.
He wasn't particularly sharp -- he hit 15-of-25 passes for 109 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a rating of 66.9 -- but the Bucs didn't need him to do much more than manage the offense, thanks to Spurlock and a defense that hung a 0.0 passer rating on quarterback Chris Redman and forced four turnovers.
"We earned this one," nose tackle Chris Hovan said. "Everyone in this locker room had something to do with this championship."
So goes the running theme of the '07 Bucs. Everybody contributes, including bodies few around the league have ever heard of. Heading into this one, guys like Jovan Haye, Earnest Graham, Greg White, Donald Penn, B.J. Askew, Luke McCown and Tanard Jackson have played prominent, game-changing roles at times during the season.
Then came Spurlock.
Promoted from the practice squad Nov. 1 and playing in his fifth game with Tampa Bay, Spurlock did something none of the previous 139 Bucs return men could do on the previous 1,864 returns.
Worth noting: linebacker and team captain Derrick Brooks approached Spurlock, the second-year pro and undrafted free agent, before the game and said, "Today's the day we make history."
Also worth noting: Brooks had said it every other week, too.
"But it happened," Spurlock said. |
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fan4ever
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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Good read, OBF!
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PWTRPWR
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice read, we clinch NFCS and they all talk about KO return, not that it wasnt big but look at the big picture....
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