This is a team of the best Buccaneers ever to play each position. While a few may end up in Canton soon, they were included here because they are not there yet. The rest of the squad is full of excellent players who may never find induction into more than their own team's Ring of Honor. Quarterback : Doug Williams Long before he became known worldwide as the first African-American quarterback to start in and win a Super Bowl, Williams was the Buccaneers first round draft pick in 1978. He started immediately, yet was brought along very slowly in an offense that relied on running back Ricky Bell's legs. He threw just five passes in his debut. In the fourth game, he threw for over 300 yards in a season that saw him miss six games because of injuries in between struggles on a team that won five games. He led them to four of the victories. For a team that started in 1976, then lost their first 26 games, the 1979 season was magical. Tampa Bay won the NFC Central by going 10-6 behind the top rated scoring defense in the league. Though the offense still relied on Bell, who churned out a career best 1,263 yards on the ground, Williams started to develop a repertoire with tight end Jimmie Giles. The Bucs won their first ever playoff game, beating a favored Philadelphia Eagles that went to the Super Bowl the next year, reaching the NFL Championship's before losing to the Los Angeles Rams. Williams next three seasons saw his completion percentage and yards passing per game increase each as his sack totals decreased while leading them to the playoffs twice . After the 1982 season, that was shorted by a players strike, he asked for a pay raise. His wife had just passed away and when his request was spurned, he quickly signed a contract with the Oklahoma Outlaws of the fledgling United States Football League. He did not play for a year, because the team started in 1984. The Tampa Bay fans were irate at the teams ownership, and the Buccaneers would lose at least 10 games in nine of their next 10 years and not return to the playoffs until 1997. After two seasons on a struggling team that had moved to Arizona in their second year, he returned to the NFL in 1985 as a member of the Washington Redskins because of his relationship with Joe Gibbs. Gibbs, a Hall of Fame head coach, was an offensive coordinator in Williams' rookie year. He had a propensity for putting a veteran quarterback on his bench, as he had done with NFL greats like Jim Hart and Steve Bartkowski before. Williams was supposed to help develop young Jay Schroeder in the 1987 season, but found himself coming off the bench for the injured Schroeder on opening day to lead the team to victory. He had to start the next week for the injured youngster, but Washington lost to the Atlanta Falcons on a late touchdown run by future Redskin Gerald Riggs. Schroeder started in the third game and got hurt, forcing Williams to come off the bench and lead the team to victory again. Williams did not see action again until the tenth game, when Schroeder was unable to go. The Redskins lost, and it would be until week 15 that Williams would see action again. He came off the pine to help Washington win. When Washington made the playoffs, Gibbs decided that Williams would start because his 94 rating was better than the 71 Schroeder had. The Redskins would reach Super Bowl XXII, where history would be made in several ways. The Redskins exploded for five touchdowns in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos, and Williams threw for four scores in that quarter. Both are Super Bowl records that still stand, and he was named MVP of the game. What made his game so special was the fact that the day before he had undergone root canal surgery under full anesthesia after losing sleep for several days. Though much is made of the fact that his skin color is different than previous Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, it is more amazing he threw for 340 yards after having dealt with such a health issue. He started 10 games the next year, but eventually gave way to a young Mark Rypien. When Rypien, a future Super Bowl MVP himself, made the Pro Bowl in 1990, Williams retired. Though most of his team records in Tampa Bay have now been surpassed, Doug Williams holds more importance to the franchise over maybe any offensive player in team history. He took a team that only knew losing and led them to three playoff appearances in his five seasons. He did it as both he and the team itself developed, and was a fan favorite of many. He had one of the strongest arms in the league, as one exhibited in the pour rains of Florida one game. He drifted back to pass on his opponents 25-yard line, but slipped and fell. He sat up and fired a perfect strike to the corner of the end zone for a score while still seated. A move very few players in NFL history could attempt to duplicate. When one talks of the Buccaneer greatest quarterback ever, it should start and end with Williams. Brad Johnson, Vinny Testeverde, Trent Dilfer, and Jeff Garcia deserve mention. Fullback : Mike Alstott Alstott was drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 1996 draft, and was put in the starting lineup immediately. Though he did not carry the ball much as a rookie, he did catch 65 passes for 557 yards and three touchdowns. All are career high marks for him. Tampa Bay decided to hand him the ball more often the next year, and he scored ten times while establishing himself as a bruising runner between the tackles. He made the first three consecutive First Team All-Pro nods that year, as well as the first of his six consecutive Pro Bowls. The 1998 Buccaneers loved to run the ball. Led by Warrick Dunn's 1,026 yards, Alstott chipped in an additional 846 yards and eight scores. They used the formula again the next year, and won their division. Alstott led the team with a career best 949 yards rushing, as the Buccaneers reached the NFC Championship before losing to the Rams, now in Saint Louis, again 11-6 on a late touchdown pass by Kurt Warner. After missing three games in 2000, he came back to lead the team with 680 yards and a career best ten rushing touchdowns. Tampa Bay then fired Tony Dungy as head coach, replacing him with Jon Gruden. The move paid off as they won a franchise best 12 games in 2002. They reached Super Bowl XXXVII, where Alstott score the first Super Bowl touchdown in franchise history in their 48-21 win over the Oakland Raiders, the team Gruden had coached the previous season. After suiting up for just four games in 2003, because of a neck injury, Alstott was never quite the same player again. The last three years of his career was spent mostly as a blocker and occasional short-yardage specialist and receiver. He retired after the 2006 season. The Buccaneers have since retired his jersey, an honor only shared by Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon. Alstott is still the only offensive player in team history to earn First Team All-Pro honors, and his six Pro Bowls are tied with Selmon as the third most in team history. He ranks second in team history in rushing and is fourth in receptions, just 16 catches away from second place. There is also a very good chance Alstott could find himself joining Selmon and inducted into Canton as well. His versatility and leadership helped the Bucs enjoy the most successful era in their franchise history so far. William Howard, Ed Williams, and Vince Workman deserve mention. Halfback : James Wilder Wilder was the Bucs second round draft pick in 1981 and was moved to fullback for the first three years of his career. After leading the team in rushing and receiving in his second and third seasons, they moved him to halfback. He led the NFL with 407 carries, a team record, in 1984, gaining 1,544 yards, scoring 13 times, and catching a career best 85 passes. His 2,229 combined yards was second in the league and 15 yards behind Hall of Fame running back Eric twinkyerson. It still is a team record, and it was the sixth best total in NFL history at the time. It still ranks 42nd, and Wilder was named to his only Pro Bowl, the first Buccaneer running back ever to attain this honor, for his efforts. The following season saw him run for 1,300 yards, catch 53 balls, and score ten times. It would be his last 1,000 yard season, because he gained 704 yards and grabbed 43 passes in 1986 after missing four games because of injury. Tampa Bay moved him back to fullback in 1987, and he once again led the team in rushing yards and receptions. After missing nine games the next year due to injuries, Wilder was a backup in 1989. He started the 1990 year with the Washington Redskins, but went unused and was released after one game. The Detroit Lions picked him up, but rarely used him. He retired at the conclusion of the season. Not only are his two 1,000-yard seasons the highest totals in franchise history, he is the Buccaneers all-time leader in rushing attempts and yards. His 430 receptions still is a franchise most, over 100 more than wide receiver Mark Carrier in second place. James Wilder is not only the most productive running back in Buccaneer history, but he is the most versatile. Though he had two exceptional seasons still firmly entrenched in the teams record books, he gave the team nine excellent years where he mostly carried the offense by himself. Ricky Bell, Warrick Dunn, Jerry Eckwood, Errict Rhett, Reggie Cobb, Michael Pittman, Louis Carter, and Gary Anderson deserve mention. Wide Receiver : Kevin House House was drafted in the second round of the 1980 draft by Tampa Bay. He was used as an extra receiver that year, but established himself as a deep threat by averaging 22.1 yards on 24 catches. He was starting the nest year, and exploded on the NFL by grabbing 56 balls at a 21 yards per catch average. His 1,176 yards and nine touchdowns were career high marks, as was an 84-yard reception that was the longest in team history at the time. After 28 receptions in the strike-shortened season of 1982, followed by 47 the next year, he had one of his finest seasons in 1984 by catching a career high 76 passes for 1,005 yards. It was a team record at the time, and remained one for wide receivers until Mark Carrier surpassed it in 1989. After getting 803 yards on 44 catches the next year, House began the 1987 strike-shortened season by averaging 18.7 yards on 11 catches over seven games before he was suddenly released. The Los Angeles Rams grabbed him off the waiver wire. He spent most of his eight games that year backing up Pro Bowler Henry Ellard and Olympic sprinter Ron Brown, he did start three times and averaged 25.4 yards on seven catches. After missing four games due to injury in a season he was seldom used, he retired at the conclusion of the 1988 season. When he left the team in 1986, House was the franchises all-time leader in pass receptions, yards, and touchdowns with 286 for 4,928 and 31 scores when he left the team. He still ranks second in yards and touchdowns, and sixth in receptions. His 84-yard catch is still second longest in team history. Though his career average of 17.3 yards per catch show House was an effective deep threat, he also had excellent hands and was usually the teams only reliable wide receiver. He may be the best wide receiver in team history. Wide Receiver : Mark Carrier Carrier was drafted by Tampa Bay in the third round of the strike-shortened 1987 season. He worked his way into the starting lineup about halfway into the season, and would remain these most of his Buccaneer career. After getting 970 yards on 57 receptions in 1988, he had the best year of his career the next season when he became first Buccaneer wide receiver to make the Pro Bowl. Only two others, Kennan McCardell and Keyshawn Johnson, have attained that honor since then. He had 86 receptions for 1,422 yards and nine scores. All are career best marks, as was a 78-yard reception. After 152 receptions and ten touchdowns over the next three years, he joined the Cleveland Browns in 1993. Carrier was used in a variety of ways in Cleveland. He returned a punt for a score, ran for two more, and had eight more on 72 receptions. He was then drafted by the Carolina Panthers in an expansion draft, where his career was briefly reborn. He led the team with 66 receptions for 1,002 yards in 1995. He also scored three times, one that was the first NFL touchdown in North Carolina. After 58 receptions the next year, he spent the next two years as a reserve until retiring at the conclusion of the 1998 season. The 5,018 receiving yards he had in Tampa Bay is the most in franchise history. His 321 receptions is the second most, yet the most ever by a Buccaneer receiver. He also ranks fourth best in receptions and receiving yards in Panthers franchise history. Carrier was productive and consistent. Not only was he an excellent route runner, he also was enough of a deep threat to average 15.6 yards per catch. His versatility as a player was underrated. Keyshawn Johnson, Joey Galloway, Gerald Carter, Mike Carrier, Bruce Hill, Lawrence Dawsey, Keenan McCardell, Isaac Hagins, and Morris Owens deserve mention. Tight End : Jimmie Giles Giles was drafted in the third round of the 1977 draft by the Houston Oilers. He spent most of the season backing up Mike Barber, and actually almost doubled him in receptions. The Oilers decided to keep Barber and traded Giles to Tampa Bay. It was the rookie year of quarterback Doug Williams, but the two quickly developed a repertoire. After making his first Pro Bowl in 1980, from averaging a career high 18.2 yards on 33 receptions, his best season may have been in 1981. He caught 45 balls for 786 yards, both career best marks, while making his second Pro Bowl. He made the Pro Bowl in the strike shortened season of 1982, then spent the next two years underused and intermittently injured. He then rebounded with his last Pro Bowl year in 1985 after grabbing a career best eight scores on 45 catches. The 1986 Buccaneers won two games. They had a weak-armed quarterback named Steve Young who has a problem getting the ball deep when he wasn't being sacked 47 times. He would be traded at the end of the year to the San Francisco 49ers, where he enjoyed a Hall of Fame career. The head coach, Leeman Bennett, was frustrated by an anemic offense that was near the bottom in many categories. The season was already a failure before they played, because first round draft pick Bo Jackson refused to play with them. Bennett cut Giles and Kevin House, their two best receivers, after the seventh game. His reason was "their collective lack of performance", but some felt it was the owner Culverhouse pinching pennies. Giles was quickly signed by the Detroit Lions and lasted there until the fourth game of the strike shortened 1987 season. He was released and signed by the Philadelphia Eagles for the final eight games. Giles stayed with the Eagles until the end of 1989, when he retired. His 34 touchdown catches with the Bucs are the most in team history. The 4,300 receiving yards he accrued are still third most, and easily to most by a tight end, as is his 279 catches, which ranks eight best overall. Giles was not just a reliable receiver who could catch the ball in crowds over the middle, but he was also an excellent deep threat. He averaged 15.4 yards per catch, which is impressive for a tight end. His 81-yard catch is tied as the second longest in team history. He was an excellent blocker, but underused as a receiver. If Tampa Bay had thrown him the ball more, he could very well be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame right now. This was a sentiment echoed by all those who played with and against him. He is not only the first Buccaneer tight end to go to the Pro Bowl, but he is easily the best they ever had wear their jersey. Jackie Harris, Calvin Magee, Jerry Bell, Dave Moore, Jim Obradovich, Alex Smith, Ken Dilger, and Ron Hall deserve mention. Tackle : Paul Gruber Gruber was the fourth player picked overall in 1988 when the Bucs selected him. They started him at left tackle right away, and he would hold that job the rest of his career. The 1993 season would see him miss the first games of his career, missing six because of injury, and he missed three more in 1996 for the same reasoning. They would be the only games Gruber would not play in. He also played the first five years of his career without missing a snap. When he retired after the 1999 season, Gruber had played in 183 games, starting in each game, over 12 years. This was a franchise record until future Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks broke it in 2006. Yet even Brooks never started in each game he played like Gruber did. Though he was never selected to the Pro Bowl, there were few NFL left tackles in the 1990's more respected than Paul Gruber. He was technically solid, consistent, and reliable. He is also easily the best offensive tackle in Buccaneers history. Tackle : Rob Taylor Taylor was drafted in the 12th round of the 1982 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, but did not make the team. He was out of the NFL for the next four years. He resurfaced with Tampa Bay in 1986, and made the team. He ended up starting in 13 games as well, and would start in every game he played in over the next four seasons. After starting in 25 of the next 41 games he played in, Taylor retired at the end of the 1993 season. He came from virtually nowhere and gave the Bucs 91 starts in 110 games in a career few expected that he would have. Dave Reavis, Charley Hannah, Gene Sanders, Jerry Wunsch, Scott Dill, Kenyatta Walker, and Ron Heller deserve mention. Guard : George Yarno Yarno has this spot until Davin Joseph retires. He was an undrafted player in 1979 who made the Bucs roster, playing in 15 games as a reserve as a rookie. After starting in 10 games in 1980, he went back to being a valuable reserve and spot starter, starting in eight of the teams next 27 games. He then started full time the next three years, missing six due to injury. Yarno also converted the only extra point kick of his career in 1983. He also showed his versatility playing both guard spots and even started at left tackle for the 12 games he played in 1985. He joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1986, starting five games at center, before joining the Houston Oilers the next year and retiring at the conclusion of it. Yarno was a valuable member of the Buccaneers for eight years, and his ability to play several positions was crucial to the teams successes. He is currently a respected offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions. Greg Roberts, Sean Farrell, Arron Sears, and Ray Snell deserve mention. Guard : Ian Beckles Beckles was drafted in the fifth round of the 1990 draft by Tampa Bay and started immediately, not missing a start for two years. His remaining time with the team saw him battle nagging injuries. He missed five games in 1993, starting in just seven. He started in every game he played in from then on, but missed five games over the next four years. Beckles joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in 1997, but played in just nine games that year. After starting all 16 games the next year, he signed a deal with the New York Jets for the 1999 season. The Jets head coach criticized Beckles conditioning and cut him. He tried to sign on with the Denver Broncos the next year, but was cut and forced to retire. Since then, he has been a popular radio host in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay does not have a rich history of great guards. Beckles started in 98 of the 102 games he played with them over seven years, which most likely makes him the best guard who ever played for the franchise over a long period of time. Center : Tony Mayberry Mayberry was a fourth round pick by Tampa Bay in 1990, and he spent his rookie year on the bench learning. He earned the starting job the next year, and would start in 144 consecutive games until he retired after the 1999 season. The fact is that Mayberry is the most accomplished offensive lineman in team history. He became the first Buccaneer blocker to make a Pro Bowl in 1997. It was the first of three consecutive appearances. He is the only Buccaneer offensive lineman with more than one Pro Bowl honor. Not only is he the greatest center the team has ever had, but he may be their best blocker ever. Jeff Christy, Steve Wilson, and Randy Grimes deserve mention. Kicker : Martin Gramatica Gramatica was drafted in the third round of the 1999 draft by Tampa Bay. He rookie year was solid. He missed just five field goal attempts the entire season. The 2000 season saw him become the only placekicker in Buccaneers history to be names to the Pro Bowl. He scored 126 points, made five field goals of over 50 yards, and missed just six field goal attempts. The Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002, as he made five more field goal attempts over 50 yards and led the NFL with 32 field goals made. He also scored a career best 128 points, the last time in his career he would score more than 81 points in a season. Gramatica's accuracy then began to wane. After having never missed an extra point in his career, he missed one in each of his next three years. His field goal accuracy dropped a great deal. After 11 games in 2004, Tampa Bay cut him. The Indianapolis Colts signed him for four games, where all he did was kickoff. After sitting out in 2005, he played eight games in 2006 for both the Colts and Dallas Cowboys. He then played eight games over two seasons for the New Orleans Saints. No Buccaneer has attempted and made more extra points and field goals than Gramatica. His 592 points are also the most in franchise history. His 15 field goals of over 50 yards also is a Buccaneers record. Besides being the only Pro Bowl kicker Tampa Bay ever had, Martin Gramatica is the best kicker the team ever had. Michael Husted, Donald Igwebuike, and Matt Bryant deserve mention. Kick Returner : Clifton Smith Though Smith is still active, he gets this spot because the well known woes Buccaneer kick returners suffered before his arrival as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Tampa Bay had went from 1976 to 2007 without once having a player return a kickoff for a touchdown on their behalf until Michael Spurlock broke the 32-year drought. The proverbial floodgates opened in the ninth week of the 2008 season, his second as a pro, when Smith took one 97 yards for a score, the second in team history. Two weeks later, he took a punt return 70 yards for another score. He is the only Buccaneer to ever score off both a kickoff and punt return in the same season. Despite playing just nine games, he became the first and only Buccaneer return specialist to be named to the Pro Bowl. He had gained a career best 992 yards on a career high 36 kickoff returns, and averaged an excellent 14.1 yards on 23 punt returns. His 2009 season was cut short by a vicious hit that left Smith with a concussion and the culprit ejected in the 11th game of the season. At the time, he was averaging an impressive 29.1 yards on 31 kickoff returns, and had returned 23 punts for 232 yards. Called "Peanut" by his teammates, Tampa Bay decided to cut him a week before the beginning of the 2010 season. He signed with the Miami Dolphins, but was cut after hardly playing over two games. Right now he is the active leader in yards per return average on kickoffs, and he ranks fifth all-time. He may be Tampa Bay's best kickoff return specialist ever. Aaron Stecker, Bobby Joe Edmonds, Michael Morton, Donnie Elder, Gary Anderson, Phil Freeman, Torrie Cox, Michael Spurlock, Sammie Stroughter, and Reidel Anthony deserve mention.
