2007: A Bucs Odyssey

Alas, it has come to this. Instead of cheering on the Bucs in the NFC Championship game, I’ve spent the last two weeks digesting the loss to the Giants. What else can keep me going but the Bucs, the team I love, and the team I follow, for better or for worse. When all else fails, I can look over the season that was, reviewing the good, the bad, the spectacular, the dreadful, the extraordinary, and the malicious. So here is the Buccaneers 2007-2008 season in review:

Game 1: Tampa vs. Seattle, L 20-6
The season didn’t start off with the highest expectations when the Bucs were pounded by the ‘Hawks. New acquisition Jeff Garcia looked good, but didn’t throw a touchdown. Bitter memories of the 2006-07 season started to come to the light, breaking free of the place where they were repressed quickly after that season ended. The Bucs looked ugly, and so did the remainder of the season.

Game 2: Tampa vs. New Orleans, W 31-14
Things began to look up for the Bucs, winning their first game of the season (a divisional matchup), a 31-14 drubbing of the defending NFC South Champions. Jeff Garcia only threw 16 passes, but that was enough to collect 14 points. Cadillac Williams got in on the fun, scoring two touchdowns of his own. The Bucs defense looked more impressive, intercepting Drew Brees and sacking him twice. The Bucs are now 1-0 in their division.

Game 3: Tampa vs. St. Louis, W 24-3
This is the game I believe to be the one that started it all for the Bucs. Jeff Garcia had 0 touchdowns, but Cadillac Williams had one, and Earnest “Mr. August” Graham had two of his own. The defense was the big story, as they sacked Marc Bulger, and picked him off 3 times. This was the game that featured the emergence of Barrett Ruud, a name Bucs fans would become very familiar with by season’s end.

Game 4: Tampa vs. Carolina, W 20-7
Jeff Garcia went without a passing touchdown again, but he did run one in, as did Earnest Graham, in a 20-7 win over their divisional rivals, the Panthers. Despite the good news of the win, there was two bouts of bad news during the game. Cadillac Williams went down with a knee injury, as did Luke Petitgout. Both would be lost for the season. Thus starts the explosion of backups playing as starters. Donald Penn took over for Petitgout, and Michael Pittman took over for Caddy. The Bucs are now 2-0 in their division.

Game 5: Tampa vs. Indianapolis, L 33-14
The Bucs winning streak is snapped at 3 games, as they get beat up by the defending Super Bowl Champion Colts. Jeff Garcia passes were responsible for the 14 points on the board. The injury bug bites again, this time affecting Michael Pittman, forcing the Bucs to go to their third-string running back, Earnest Graham. One good note: 5 games into the season, and Garcia has thrown no interceptions.

Game 6: Tampa vs. Tennessee, W 13-10
The winning starts again, as the Bucs take on a Vince Young-less Titans team, and pick up victory number 4. Garcia has a touchdown, and no picks. Despite another injury, this time to Alex Smith, the Bucs rally, and with 11 seconds left in the game, win on a 43-yard Matt Bryant field goal. He had a game-winning field goal last year as well, that one being a 62-yarder. The Bucs defense collected one interception and had 3 sacks.

Game 7: Tampa vs. Detroit, L 23-16
The winning train is derailed yet again, despite 2 touchdowns and a franchise-record tying 18 straight completions from Jeff Garcia. The Bucs were hindered by injury, losing Michael Clayton and Mark Jones. The Lions matched the Bucs’ two touchdowns, but had more field goals, leading to the difference. Jeff Garcia has now gone 7 games without a pick.

Game 8: Tampa vs. Jacksonville, L 24-23
The Bucs suffer another setback, failing to score at least two points for a victory. The Bucs lost another two players to injuries, Greg Spires and Torrie Cox. Jeff Garcia throws his first interception of the season, and then threw two more for good measure. In Michael Bennett’s first game as a Buc, he rushes for a touchdown.

Game 9: Tampa vs. Arizona, W 17-10
The winning train boards in Tampa again, as the Bucs bounce back from two straight losses. Earnest Graham rushed for a then-career high 124 yards and a touchdown. Jeff Garcia also adds a touchdown pass. The biggest story this game though, was the defense. They held the Cardinals to only 23 yards rushing and 172 yards passing. They also collected a couple of Kurt Warner passes.

Game 10: Tampa vs. Atlanta, W 31-7
Defense was the name of the game in this one, as the Bucs held the Falcons to 0 points until there was a minute left in the game. Jeff Garcia threw two touchdowns, Earnest Graham ran one in, as did Ronde Barber, who took a fumble back 41 yards for the score. Their defense had 3 sacks and 2 picks. The Bucs are now 3-0 in their division.

Game 11: Tampa vs. Washington, W 19-13
Even though the Bucs gave up over 300 yards passing, they still pulled out a victory. However, the damn injury bug came back for more. This time, he took Jeff Garcia early in the game. Bruce Gradkowski provided little offense, as 4 Matt Bryant field goals made the difference. Earnest Graham also had a touchdown.

Game 12: Tampa vs. New Orleans, W 27-23
Without Jeff Garcia, the Bucs still managed a victory behind Luke McCown. McCown threw for 2 touchdowns, including the game winner with 14 seconds left in the game. Earnest Graham also had a touchdown. The Bucs are now on a 4-game win streak. The Bucs are now 4-0 in their division.

Game 13: Tampa vs. Houston, L 28-14
Luke McCown couldn’t engineer any more magic, as the Bucs 4-game win streak came to an end. Earnest Graham provided the only points for the Bucs. One big difference in the game was that McCown was sacked 4 times, as opposed to only one sack on Sage Rosenfels.

Game 14: Tampa vs. Atlanta, W 37-3
The return of Jeff Garcia engineered another drubbing of the hapless Falcons. Ronde Barber took an interception back 29 yards for a score, and Jeff Garcia and Earnest Graham added their own as well. In this game, the Bucs officially won the NFC South. Also, this game made Buccaneer history, as Michael Spurlock took a kickoff back for a touchdown for the first time in Bucs history. The Bucs are now 5-0 in their division.

Game 15: Tampa vs. San Francisco, L 21-19
In a game where the starters mainly rested, a fired up 49ers team capitalized. Jeff Garcia and Luke McCown each had a touchdown pass, but a failed two-point conversion cost the Bucs the game. Shaun Hill of the 49ers threw 3 touchdown passes.

Game 16: Tampa vs. Carolina, L 31-23
In a game where the starters rested again, a fired up Panthers team capitalized. Luke McCown had two touchdown passes, and Matt Bryant had a few field goals, as the Bucs lost to a divisional rival for the first time all season. The Bucs end up 5-1 in their division, and finish the season with a 9-7 record.

Wildcard Round: Tampa vs. New York, L 24-14
Even with the starters starting, the Bucs couldn’t hold on. The defense held the Giants to -2 total yards in the first quarter, but it was all Giants from there on out. Eli Manning was superb, as was the Giants defense, which sacked Garcia, and picked him off twice. The season ends with another disappointing early playoff exit.

So there you have it. A season that felt like a roller coaster is over. For the most part, it was a good season, but now we can only look forward to 2008. The 9-7 record can’t be categorized as failure, especially when they were 4-12 a season ago. Without wasting anyone else’s time, I just want to say, Go Bucs! See you in ‘08.