Bucs Snubbed Again

First the Pro Bowl and now this. ESPN has made a list of the 13 worst NFL teams since 1978 and the Buccaneers are nowhere to be found. Oh, sure, the 1980 Saints are there and so are the 1991 Colts and the 1990 Patriots, all of whom sucked miles of donkey dick. But to leave off the 1986 Buccaneers is just insulting. That team had more suckage than an open hatch on the space shuttle.

The season started with a draft where the high point for the Bucs was their first round selection telling them that he would not play for them under any circumstances. The offense kicked off the season with Steve DeBerg throwing seven interceptions in a single game. Two of the franchise's best players, Kevin House and Jimmie Giles, were released in the middle of the season. The team had Steve Young as the starting quarterback for most of the year and still wound up 2-14 under the leadership [sic] of Leeman Bennett. Oh, and the defense gave up an average of 30 points per game. And were ranked last in the NFL. And that's just what I remember. Imagine if I dug around a little bit.

The 1986 Buccaneers were the absolute worst Bucs team in franchise history. They may have won two games, but they were still worse than the 1976 Bucs. Leeman Bennett was so bad that Hugh Culverhouse, a man widely know as unbelievably cheap, fired him with three years left on his contract.

No, if ESPN wants to keep the number at 13, they need to drop one of the ones they have on their list and add the 1986 Bucs. Drop the 1989 Cowboys. They were bad, but they had a plan and a core of talent. Yes, the Bucs had James Wilder and Scot Brantley who were both good players, but were past their prime and had been mismanaged so badly that they really no longer resembled themselves when 1986 rolled around. Buccaneer fans had to suffer through the indignity of that season; they should at least be recognized for it.