Bucs No. 45
November 8th, 2019
In these dark times, there is always one thing Bucs fans can look back on with fondness and a smile.
Of course, the NFL is celebrating its 100th season. And there are all sorts of countdowns like 100 best coaches, game-changers, players, plays, you name it.
The countdown for the greatest teams is already underway. And the 2002 Bucs were picked as the No. 45 best team in NFL history.
Of course, that was the year the Bucs won the Super Bowl.
Now before anyone gets hot and bothered, remember, this is best team in 100 years, not the Super Bowl era. The Bucs are the 45th-best team since the first season of professional football in 1920, per this list.
You can see the NFL Network clip honoring the team below.
The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been ranked at No. 4️⃣5️⃣ of the NFL’s greatest teams.#GoBucs | #NFL100 pic.twitter.com/MRAZtVSfsP
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) November 9, 2019
November 8th, 2019 at 9:59 pm
Should be #1.
November 8th, 2019 at 10:07 pm
yea …something to cheer about
November 8th, 2019 at 10:08 pm
Knowing the media they will put one or both of the Eli Manning led Giants teams higher on the list.
November 8th, 2019 at 10:11 pm
Lots of great things are #45
November 8th, 2019 at 10:21 pm
What about the 76 team? lol
November 8th, 2019 at 10:22 pm
Man I remember how all this built and I remember it was either Brooks or Sapp saying when Gruden walked in that door they knew it was their year.
I think this team deserves to be in the Top 30 that team was very good never witnessed the Bears Defense but Bucs defense was kinda same level as 2000 Ravens in their own way. STOPPING THE PASS DOMINATE STYLE
November 8th, 2019 at 10:23 pm
This team shut down every single Qb they went against. I think the average 180 a game. I just wish……
November 8th, 2019 at 10:27 pm
greatest time in my life, good job, had money, ran jobs, good health my kids were young, nice truck and the team i had been following since i was 13 years old was the champions of the world, man i miss them days, i do not know if i will live long enough to see another super bowl winning team in tampa, i sure hope so, it’s amazing how things can change so drastically in a short period of time, older now not in good health, but still pulling for my hometown team, year in and year out, if the good lord willing and the creek don’t rise, i’ll be pulling for them next year also, as always, go bucs
November 8th, 2019 at 10:48 pm
Great piece joe, I forgot about the rock, I followd detroit for the 30 years I lived there but moved here in 1990 and followed the bucs everafter and was all gitty in 2001/2002 man that was great times.. at leat we have that.. poor Lions..
November 8th, 2019 at 11:07 pm
Magical season…only lasted the one year unfortunately. Still feels like some sort of deal was made with the devil. For the love of good bring back those uniforms. The white jersey/pant combo has gotta go.
November 9th, 2019 at 12:00 am
I was there. 🙂
November 9th, 2019 at 12:02 am
James West,
Here’s hoping you heal up soon and get back to good health!
Cheers.
Go Bucs!
November 9th, 2019 at 12:03 am
TampaTown,
Rudy Ruettiger wore #45. We were definitely underdogs that year like we are most years.
November 9th, 2019 at 1:09 am
The highest point of my sports life.
November 9th, 2019 at 1:22 am
Defense won us that championship. DEFENSE. Fix the D.
November 9th, 2019 at 2:11 am
BucsBandit:
Love Rudy ♥️
November 9th, 2019 at 3:15 am
I have only been a fan since I was 13 in 2007, you lucky bastard’s.
November 9th, 2019 at 3:51 am
Bet that 2002 Bucs teams could have beaten at least 20 of the 44 teams ranked in front of them.
That year’s Bucs Defense was top 5 all time IMO.
November 9th, 2019 at 4:27 am
The best game is when Mike Vick came to town and they SHUT HIM DOWN.. nothing fancy, Tampa 2 with great instinctive players who stayed in their zone and kept Mike Vick to the inside never giving up the outside pocket lanes.. DB 55 was unreal in that game chasing down Mike Vick not many LB’s can do that!!
November 9th, 2019 at 6:15 am
All their list are bull s(p)it, to use Joe’s words. That team tore through the playoffs. Top 5 of all time. Only teams with dominate Defense should be in the Top 10.
November 9th, 2019 at 7:11 am
This team has been crap since Gruden left he wasn’t a great coach but he always has been a very good coach. Other than Dungy the best coach the bucs ever had and looks like ever will. Sorry bucs fans these Glazers boys don’t know their ass from 1st base.
November 9th, 2019 at 7:31 am
I am obviously biased, but there are arguments for that being the best defense in NFL history (and backed strongly by statistics) and the offense was actually pretty good that year…
Should have been in the top 20. That was one of the best teams to ever win a SB.
November 9th, 2019 at 7:57 am
That was tweeted and made by the @Buccaneers twitter account. It was copied and pasted for the record. I was just talking to my 19 year old daughter last Sunday when she came home to watch the game with her old man. I told her again that she came home on a Sunday, wearing her Bucs outfit. I also apologized (like it’s my fault) that I raised her liking a team, that she doesn’t ever recall having a winning season or winning any significant playoff games in her 19 years of being alive. Would be nice…. a winning season. Taking her to some more games, when you thought there was a chance the Buccaneers could win the game you’re attending… those were the days.
November 9th, 2019 at 8:29 am
Honestly I’m too lazy to read the list. It’s only opinion…there are no real winners and losers like on the field.
I suspect that teams that had multiple titles or longer runs of success than us were ranked higher.
Where were the Bears and Ravens on the list? I compare that Buc SB team to those guys…three of the greatest defenses ever QB’d by professional but not great QB’s. And like us successful over a pretty limited window of time.
November 9th, 2019 at 8:44 am
That’s the kind of team we should be trying to build. That’s why I don’t care about quarterback the way you guys feel about quarterbacks. Jamies is good enough to win with our true identity is defense and pounding the rock running the ball. But all you guys see is quarterback all you care about is who the quarterback is. I want to build that kind of team and that’s defense defense defense !!!!! Go Bucs….
November 9th, 2019 at 8:48 am
That’s the same kind of team that Lynch have built in San Francisco!!! Why all I hear is Jamies and draft a quarterback. You know the false narrative that you guys believe in now!!!
November 9th, 2019 at 10:14 am
Oneilbucs,
Because it’s about the salary cap, dude. We have too many holes to fill to become a great defense if we pay Winston $25M+ a year. Winston is far underachieving his value at what his salary would command. It’s simple math.
November 9th, 2019 at 10:57 am
Winning the Super Bowl was great for Buc fans. Still I place a tiny asterisk next to that final because Gruden came from and knew that Raider team from top to bottom.
November 9th, 2019 at 11:17 am
@BucsBandit,
Ding, ding, ding!! Exactly! Intston does not deserve an extension and a pay day for what little has been returned. I don’t care if the defense only has 2 guys on the field. The QB is one of the problems and his time has run out. Too many rookie mistakes throughout his career and his salary is unjustified given the gaping holes all over the secondary.
Just give me an average QB who plays within the system consistently with a top 5 defense, and we’ll be playing in the NFC Championship.
Don’t lock your money in a QB who is not Brady, Manning, Brees, Wilson, Rodgers, or even Deshaun Watson.
November 9th, 2019 at 11:25 am
@Buccfan73
I never bought into that excuse that Gruden (and the Bucs) didn’t totally deserve the Super Bowl win because Gruden knew their playbook, etc.
This was all the more reason that the Raiders should have been smarter strategists and used the SAME FORMATIONS and the same ‘looking’ plays that Gruden knew yet did things differently to trick him and take advantage of Gruden (and our Defense) thinking they knew what play was about to be run.
November 9th, 2019 at 11:36 am
love gruden, sapp, brooks, lynch, alstott, miss them all
November 9th, 2019 at 1:22 pm
Bucsbandit. The problem I have is that I think that a no quarterback is worth a 100 million dollar contract so I do agree with you on the Winston money. I also know that ain’t no rookie quarterback is going to help this team win next year. You guys talk about look how the rookies are looking this year. The Panthers quarterback is not asked to do much at all. All he does is hand off the ball to the running back and he throws easy passes because of his coaching staff is creating plays for him but what happened against the 49ers. Daniel Jones looks like a rookie now against other teams. Payton Manning had a supporting cast around him and Brees started winning when they went back to running the ball good and now they’re defense is good. Jamies came in and was asked to win with nothing but receivers and no defense or running game. I say make his fault on why we are losing by giving him a chance to play with a ok defense and running the ball at least 20 or 25 times a game then I will be on the same page with some of you guys!!!! Go Bucs….
November 9th, 2019 at 2:03 pm
Defense was top 5 ever I think. Offense wasn’t anything special that year. Or I think we’d be higher in the ranks.
November 9th, 2019 at 2:11 pm
We won the SB because we had more talent…simple as that.
Again…DA Bears…the Ravens…Bucs….name another defense that belongs in the same sentence as that.
Certainly the Steel Curtain but that almost seems like a different era to me.
November 9th, 2019 at 3:53 pm
One of the best 3 defenses EVER, should be much higher.
November 9th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
The idiotic sports media in the Northeast are a joke and this is not a legitimate list if the Bucs are only number 45. The only teams with a chance in hell to beat the 2002 Bucs in the Superbowl would have been the Niners with Montana and the 85 Bears. Silly a$$ list. 😉
November 9th, 2019 at 9:51 pm
Buczilla is right!
November 9th, 2019 at 11:42 pm
Oneilbucs,
I’ve got news for you, not only is no rookie QB going to come in next season and lead this team to a bunch of wins but NEITHER IS WINSTON. This team has too many holes. That’s all the more reason to move on from Winston and start grooming a young, cheap QB for the future.