From The Yucks To The Bucs and Back Again: How Tampa Bay Lost Its Way

(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

If defense wins championships, then there was no team that could have ever stopped the 2002 Buccaneers.

The team featured five pro bowlers on that side of the ball, and that's not including Ronde Barber, Brian Kelly, Anthony McFarland, Dexter Jackson, and Dwight Smith.

The Steel Curtain, Da Bears, The Bucs. They'll easily go down amongst the best of all-time, with a handful of Hall of Famers.

However, seven years later and they have made the playoffs just twice (0 wins) and won more than nine games just once. And while it seemed the light at the end of the tunnel was always near for Tampa, with four top five finishes on defense in six years, the wheels have finally fallen off.

The Bucs have as many losses this year (seven) as they did last year, and it only took them seven games to get there. And while their offense is bad as usual (28th in the league), their defense has finally caught up (27th in the league.)

So how did the Bucs go back to being the Yucks?

Following that Super Bowl victory, the Bucs turned their attention to an offense that ranked 18th in the league. Brad Johnson was an efficient, but not spectacular, quarterback. Their leading rusher Michael Pittman gained just 718 yards on the ground and leading receiver Keyshawn Johnson managed 1088 yards through the air.

Take an all-time great defense and improve your offense and you've got the makings for one of the great teams ever, right?

Four of the Bucs next five top picks after their Super Bowl victory were spent on offensive players. But whether it was because they failed to live up to early signs of promise (Michael Clayton) or were devastated by injury (Cadillac Williams) the players that the Bucs chose were never able to sustain any kind of success in the NFL.

This is part of the reason the Bucs have not had any kind of stability or consistency on offense.

Over the last seven seasons, including this season, six different quarterbacks have led the team in passing. Only Jeff Garcia managed to hold onto a job for more than one season.

Four different running backs have led the team in rushing over the last six seasons. And five different wide receivers have led the team in yards since 2003.

Legendary players like Bruce Gradkowski, Chris Simms, Earnest Graham, and Michael Clayton have been focal points of this offense.

That's not a good sign.

But it was okay because the defense was always solid. Even last year the Bucs finished 9th in the league in yards allowed and at one point were 9-3 before losing their last four games and falling short of the playoffs.

But years of losing players to free agency and retirement and not replacing them will eventually catch up with you.

When the Bucs sent five players to the pro bowl after becoming world champions, the average age of those players was 29.8. After 2003, Warren Sapp and John Lynch were released and left to go try and help other franchises. Pro Bowl linebacker Shelton Quarles never made another pro bowl roster and retired after the 2006 season. Defensive End Simeon Rice hasn't played in the NFL since 2007 and is now playing in the UFL. Future Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks decided last season would be his final season. (EDIT: Bucs fans really want me to point out that Brooks did not "decide" anything.  He was kicked out.  The fact still remains, he isn't there and he should be happy he got kicked out.)

Maybe he was onto something.

Those legendary names of 2002 have been replaced by names like Sabby Piscitelli, Geno Hayes, Jimmy Wilkerson, and Quincy Black. Ronde Barber still remains, but at 34 he is the oldest player on the team.

All that time spent on trying to improve the offense, meant that they were losing ground on defense.

Their top pick in 2007, defensive end Gaines Adams, was traded away after two disappointing seasons. Currently their defensive is set to build around linebacker Barrett Ruud and cornerback Aqib Talib. But its slim pickings after those two.

On offense, Cadillac Williams tries to revive a once-promising career. However its one thing to lead your team in rushing yards and its another thing when that total is only 305 yards in seven games.

Also on offense, Kellen Winslow Jr. has been a great pickup for a team in need of a player that can actually make catches. Winslow has been the only bright spot on offense though.

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