2008 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season
The 2008 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League the 11th playing their home games at Raymond James Stadium, and the seventh and final under head coach Jon Gruden. Though the team finished with a winning record (9–7), they failed to defend their 2007 NFC South championship and did not qualify for the playoffs after finishing the year on a four-game losing streak. Just weeks after the conclusion of the regular season, head coach Jon Gruden was fired, a move that came as a surprise both to sports writers and Gruden himself. General manager Bruce Allen was also fired. It would also be Gruden's last time coaching until 10 years later, when he returned to coach the Oakland Raiders, whom he previously coached from 1998 to 2001. This marked the 24th consecutive year in which the Super Bowl did not include the team in whose region the game was being played, the last team being the 49ers in 1984. Offseason Headlines * On Janu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NFC South
The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The NFC South currently has four member clubs: the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers belonged to the AFC West () and NFC North, NFC Central (–), while the other three teams were part of the geographically inaccurate NFC West. The NFC South is one of two divisions to have each of its teams make a Super Bowl appearance since the 2002 realignment (along with the NFC West): Tampa Bay (2002 NFL season, 2002 and 2020 NFL season, 2020), Atlanta (2016 NFL season, 2016), Carolina (2003 NFL season, 2003 and 2015 NFL season, 2015) and New Orleans (2009 NFL season, 2009). Also since 2002, each team ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Bennett (running Back)
Michael A. Bennett (born August 13, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings 27th overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin. A Pro Bowl selection with the Vikings in 2002, Bennett was also a member of the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers, and Oakland Raiders. Early years Michael Bennett attended Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School. As a senior, Mike was ranked the top football player in the state, and was an All-State selection. College career Michael Bennett attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was a standout in football and in track as a sprinter. Mike spent two years as a backup to Ron Dayne, but, as a junior, Mike rushed for 1,592 yards and scored ten touchdowns, despite missing two games due to injury. Track and field As a junior at the 1997 state t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kalvin Pearson
Kalvin Pearson (born October 22, 1978) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Grambling. Early years Pearson attended Hazlewood High School in Town Creek, Alabama and was a letterman in football. College career Pearson attended Grambling State University after transferring from Morehouse College, lettering in football at Grambling. Professional career Pearson has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford .... External linksDetroit Lions bio Tampa Bay Buccaneers b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Jones (American Football)
Mark Christopher Jones (born November 3, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee. Jones was also a member of the New York Giants, San Diego Chargers and Carolina Panthers. College career After leading Strath Haven High School to two PIAA state championships, Mark Jones played all over the field at the University of Tennessee, seeing action at wide receiver, safety, punt returner, and kick returner. For his career, he caught 36 passes for 556 yards (a 15.4 avg.) and five touchdowns, all during his senior season in 2003. He also rushed seven times for 65 yards. As a defensive back, Jones racked up 116 career tackles, four interceptions, ten defended passes, two forced fumbles, one tackle for a loss, and one recovered fumble. On the special teams side of the ball, he returned 46 punts for 543 yards and one touchdown; he also returned four ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anthony Becht
Anthony G. Becht (born August 8, 1977) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently the head coach of the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. He was drafted by the New York Jets 27th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at West Virginia. He was also a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. Becht was hired by ESPN as a college football analyst in 2013. He is also a co-host of the "Football Fan Shop" on the Home Shopping Network. In 2019, he was the tight ends coach of the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football. Anthony Becht worked as an Analyst for some Sunday night Football games on Westwood One in 2021. Early years Becht, a graduate of Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, was 6'5" and 205 pounds coming out of high school. Becht was an all-city, all-Catholic conference and all-county selection as a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matt Lehr
Matthew Steven Lehr (born April 25, 1979) is a former American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia Tech. Early years Lehr attended Woodbridge High School, where he was a two-way player at offensive guard and defensive end. He was a three-time All-District and All-Northwest selection. As a junior, he received second-team All-state honors. As a senior, he posted 40 tackles and 6 sacks, while being named to the All-state team. He was also an All-State selection in the shot put. College career Lehr accepted a football scholarship from Virginia Tech. He appeared in 4 games as a freshman. The next year, he missed the first 2 games with an ankle injury, and became a starter at guard in the 10th game of the season against Rutgers University, blockin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Wade (American Football)
Robert John Wade (born January 25, 1975) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall. Wade has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his career. Wade is married to Natalie, who also attended Marshall University and was a Cheerleader. Early years While attending Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Wade was a three-year letterman in both football and baseball. In football, he was a first-team All-District and a second-team All-State honoree. In 2006, Harrisonburg High School named their weight room "The Wade Room", after him. Wade attended Marshall University and started 2 years. Professional career Wade, a 12-year professional and perennial starter, split his time in the NFL between the Jacksonville Jaguars (1998–2002) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Flor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian Kelly (cornerback)
Brian Patrick Kelly (born January 14, 1976) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California. Kelly earned a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. He also played for the Detroit Lions. High school career Kelly is a high school graduate from Overland High School in Aurora, Colorado. Overland won the 1993 6A state championship in his senior year. College career Kelly graduated from the University of Southern California in 1997. Professional career Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kelly was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2nd round of the 1998 NFL Draft. In 2002, he helped the Bucs win the Super Bowl, during that same season he had 8 interceptions, which tied for the league lead along with Rod Woodson. On February 15, 2008, he exercised a buyout option in his contract and becam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian Griese
Brian David Griese ( ; born March 18, 1975) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played high school football at Christopher Columbus High School and later college football at Michigan. Griese played three seasons at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship (as recognized by the Associated Press). After being selected in the third round by the Denver Broncos in the 1998 NFL Draft, he earned a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos in his rookie season, as a backup to John Elway in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway retired after the Super Bowl and Griese became the starting quarterback for the Broncos during the 1999 season. Griese was a Pro Bowl selection with the Broncos in 2000. After leaving the Broncos he started at quarterback for the Miami Dolphins (5 games in 2003), Chic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Warrick Dunn
Warrick De'Mon Dunn (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 NFL Draft, after playing college football for the Florida State Seminoles. Dunn was named AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1997 and earned three Pro Bowl selections in his career. After his playing career, Dunn took a minority stake in the Falcons' ownership group led by Arthur Blank. Early years At Catholic High in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dunn played quarterback, cornerback, and running back. During his sophomore year, he helped lead Catholic High to the state 4A championship game for the first time in its history. He was an All-America honorable mention selection by ''USA Today'' as a senior. On January 7, 1993, two days after Dunn's eighteenth birthday, his mother Betty Smothers, a Baton Rouge Police Officer, was murdered whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jake Plummer
Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is a former professional American football player, a quarterback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft, and spent his first six seasons with the Cardinals and the last four with the Denver Broncos. Plummer played college football at Arizona State University. Since retiring from the field, he made career transitionto mushroom farmer aMyCOLove Farmin Fort Lupton, Colorado. In addition, he launcheUMBO a functional mushroom supplement company alongside Former UFC Champion Rashad Evans. His nickname, "Jake The Snake", was given to him as a tribute to professional wrestler, Jake "the Snake" Roberts. Coincidentally, Roberts adopted his nickname as a tribute to his favorite NFL player, former Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler, who was nicknamed "Snake." Early years Born in Boise, Idaho in 1974, Plummer and his two older brothers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jerramy Stevens
Jerramy Ryan Stevens (born November 13, 1979) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Washington and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft. Stevens played for the Seahawks and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With Washington, Stevens was among the team's top receivers in the 1999 and 2000 seasons and won the 2001 Rose Bowl with Washington following an 11–1 season in 2000. In 2005, Stevens became a regular starter at tight end for the Seattle Seahawks and played in Super Bowl XL. High school years Jerramy Stevens attended River Ridge High School of Lacey, Washington. A 1998 graduate, Stevens was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, Stevens originally played quarterback. He passed for 5,000 yards during his high school career, including throwing for 2,000 yards as a junior. As a senior, he earned first-team All-Narrows League and was named to The Olympian's All-Area team as a safety. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |