1980 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season - Regular Season

Regular Season

The Buccaneers made their Monday Night Football debut in a week 2 game against the Los Angeles Rams. The ABC-TV broadcast crew of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Fran Tarkenton singled out several individual Buccaneers for praise, although the game itself was a struggle of defenses and errors that the crew described as "dumb" and "dull". Injuries became a serious issue almost immediately, with three of the team's defensive starters sidelined after the Rams game. The season-ending injury to Randy Crowder in that game required that the Buccaneers replace him with Dave Logan, a 12th-round draft pick of the previous year who was seen as having great potential but practically no experience. The injuries on defense came at a particularly bad time, as the team needed the defense to compensate for its slumping offense. The offense was hampered by a preseason injury to fullback Johnny Davis, which left McKay concerned about wearing out Ricky Bell by playing him at fullback. After five games, the Buccaneers found themselves averaging 110 rushing yards per game, which was forty yards less per game than in the previous season, and only three yards better than in their winless 1976 season. The Tampa Bay staff was mystified at why this should be, as the replacement of guard Greg Horton with converted defensive lineman Gene Sanders and his greater speed was expected to have improved the team's outside running game. Former starting quarterback Mike Rae, having been displaced by Chuck Fusina during the preseason as Doug Williams' backup, was placed on injured reserve after three games. His roster spot was filled by blocking tight end Conrad Rucker, who was in turn later replaced by Tony Samuels. The team began to show signs of frustration during a week 5 game against the Chicago Bears, with players arguing with officials and opponents and tackling with excessive violence. Bears safety Doug Plank reported that several of the Buccaneers were preoccupied with seeking revenge over Plank's excessive but unpenalized hit on Jimmie Giles, a hit for which Plank was later fined by the NFL. A rash of mental mistakes and overall poor performance by the receivers led to midseason changes in which Larry Mucker was waived, with the intention of replacing him with Gerald Carter, a rookie who had impressed in training camp but had not made the final cut. Although Carter could not clear waivers, being claimed by the Jets, San Francisco 49ers receiver Mike Shumann came available, and promptly contributed reliable play.

After a three-game winless streak marked by uncharacteristic defensive collapses, McKay accused the team of "living in the past". At a press conference, McKay drew a diagram showing how a play had failed because players had not run it the same way they practiced it, and wrote an explanation at the bottom: "Mental Don't Give a Bleep". Injury problems worsened, as by the end of October starting guards Sanders and Greg Roberts were both on injured reserve. League rules allowed teams to activate a maximum of three players per season off of injured reserve, but the Buccaneers had already activated two and intended to save the third for Mike Rae in case of an injury to a quarterback. Although the staff would not publicize players' personal problems, it was later revealed that several players experienced diminished performance due to excessive drug use. David Lewis, Greg Roberts, and Cecil Johnson were identified as being among the half-dozen or so players involved. This became the motivation for a series of surprise trades in the 1982 offseason.

The offense began to improve at midseason, but the defense found it difficult to cope with new rules intended to open up the passing game. It was also alleged that the Buccaneers' first-place schedule was a factor, as the defensive strategy of preventing the big play while allowing small gains was more effective against lower-quality teams that were more mistake-prone and less capable of taking advantage of the opportunities offered them. McKay pointed out a noticeable lack of enthusiasm, saying that players were standing around on the field as though waiting to be interviewed. The season ended with a three-game losing streak, with McKay unable to explain why the season had gone the way it did. Although he still felt confident in the defensive personnel, he called the running backs the worst blockers he'd ever been associated with. He for the first time gave Ricky Bell less than his full support, stating that the team had not gotten their money's worth out of Bell during the season.