Summary
After winning the division in 2005, the Buccaneers suffered through an abysmal 2006 season. The season was plagued by injuries, with starters such as G Dan Buenning, WR Michael Clayton, RB Carnell Williams, DE Simeon Rice, CB Brian Kelly, and QB Chris Simms all being placed on injured reserve at some point in the season. The season also saw a lot of rookies starting for the Bucs, such as QB Bruce Gradkowski, T Jeremy Trueblood, and G Davin Joseph. The league schedule was also unfriendly to the Bucs, scheduling them for 3 games (two of them away games) within 11 days of each other.
There was more to the lost season than just injuries however, as most of the players put on injured reserve had been done so after the team's 0-3 start, and offensive shutouts in the first two games in which no touchdowns were scored by the Buccaneers. The departure of several key defensive coaches and assistants didn't bode well with players, who complained to some in the media of not being able to hear coaches in team meetings.
Inconsistent and unorganized are how some players referred to one of the newcomers, who most players had a hard time making the transition from longtime favorites Rod Marinelli and others. Some believe the problems in 2006 were rooted in recent years mistakes, lack of salary cap room to bring in high impact free agents, lack of top 50 draft picks over the last 5 or 6 years due to trades, and maybe even a failure to properly assess talent resulting in a lack of contribution from second day draft picks in recent history.
The Bucs started off the season 0-3, with QB Chris Simms throwing only 1 touchdown to 7 interceptions. In the third game of the season, a last-minute loss to the Carolina Panthers, Simms's spleen was ruptured, and he was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season. After their bye week, the Bucs elected to start rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, a 6th-round pick from Toledo.
Gradkowski started off performing decently. People who in hindsight claim the Bucs should have started the more experienced Tim Rattay forget the Bucs nearly upset the New Orleans Saints, and then went on to win two narrow victories: one, against the Cincinnati Bengals, winning on an overturned call resulting in a touchdown; and another against the Philadelphia Eagles, thanks to Matt Bryant's 62-yard field goal. After these victories, though, Gradkowski's performance declined. After a 3-17 loss to the New York Giants in heavy winds, the Bucs proceeded to lose 5 of their next 6 games, leading them to a record of 3-10 (0-6 in their division). In the loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Gradkowski was replaced in the 4th quarter by Rattay.
In the first half of the Bucs' next game, against the Chicago Bears, Gradkowski was again replaced by Rattay, who led the team from a 24-3 deficit to a score of 31-31, with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. However, the Bucs then lost the game in overtime, 34-31. Rattay was then named the new starting quarterback for the last two games for the season. The Bucs finished their season with a 4-12 record, tied for third worst in the NFL. The overall defense was ranked in the low 20's, the first time time a Tampa defense was not ranked in the top ten since 1996.
The Bucs sent three players to the 2007 Pro Bowl, cornerback Ronde Barber, tight end/long snapper Dave Moore (A "Need" player according to Saints coach Sean Payton), and late addition outside linebacker Derrick Brooks(as an injury replacement). This would be Brooks's 10th consecutive Pro Bowl and 10th Pro Bowl overall.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season
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