1982 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1982 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In March, the Bucs traded Ricky Bell and Dewey Selmon to San Diego for
linebacker Jim Laslavic and other considerations. Bell had asked to be traded
due to his reduced playing time, which was a consequence of nagging injuries.
Suffering weight loss, aching muscles and skin problems, Bell would retire
before the start of the 1983 season. His drop off in production, and the
nagging injuries, may have been the first signs of a serious disease Bell had
which effects the skin, muscles and various connective tissues of the body.
Bell succumbed to the illness, of which the cause is unknown, and died of
cardiac arrest on November 29, 1984. John McKay said of Bell's passing, "He
was one of the finest football players I've ever had the pleasure of coaching.
He was an even finer man."
The Buccaneers held the seventeenth overall pick in what would become known as the "Booker Reese draft." As legend has it, the Bucs intended to draft Bethune-Cookman College defensive end Booker Reese with their first round pick, but team's representative at the draft in New York handed in the wrong card. Apparently, an equipment manager had wrote down the name of Penn State offensive guard Sean Farrell by mistake. The Bucs then traded the team's first round pick in the 1983 draft to Chicago and used that early second round selection to obtain Reese. Jerry Golsteyn had been out of the NFL for three years, but he won the backup quarterback job during the preseason.
On September 12, the Buccaneers opened the season by playing in the first NFL game at the Hurbert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Turnovers hurt, as Doug Williams (21 of 38 for 290 yards and a TD) had three interceptions and the Bucs lost a fumble. Jimmie Giles totaled 100 yards in receiving and Bill Capece made a 51 yard field goal, but he also missed on two other long field goal attempts. The Bucs lost 17-10 to the Vikings.
66,187 fans watched the Bucs play the Joe Gibbs coached Washington Redskins in
a rainy home opener. Joe Theismann (12 of 20 for 112 yards) threw a touchdown
pass to Charlie Brown and a Mark Moseley field goal gave Washington a 9-0 lead
after one quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, Doug Williams (14
of 27 for 199 yards) hit Kevin House (105 yards receiving) on a 62 yard TD pass
and it was 9-6. After another Moseley field goal, the Redskins Curtis Jordan
blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. Another
missed extra point later, Washington lead 18-6 at halftime. An early fourth
quarter James Wilder touchdown run pulled the Bucs to within 18-13, then
Moseley's third field goal of the game stretch the lead again. Tampa Bay
sacked the quarterback six times, however, they lost four of eight fumbles.
John Riggins netted 136 yards on the ground in Washington's 21-13 victory.
The game is not the primary concern during this September. The NFL players went on strike September 20 following a Monday night game between the Packers and Giants. After listening to Don Meredith sing "the party's over" from the broadcast booth, the fans had to endure the first ever NFL players strike for 57 days. On Sunday November 21 the players returned to the field, and the league announced a revised playoff schedule for the nine game season with eight teams from each conference making the playoffs.
Tampa Bay's first game after the strike was a re-match of last season's playoff game at Dallas. The Bucs did a lot of things right at Texas Stadium and got off to a 6-0 first half lead on two Bill Capece field goals. Doug Williams had no interceptions and 100 more passing yards than Cowboys quarterback Danny White. The Bucs out-gained Dallas 382 to 185 in total yards, they set a team record by running 31 more plays (77-46) and held the Cowboys to their fewest total yards since 1973. The bad part was that Tampa Bay was inside the Dallas 10 yard line five times and had to settle for three field goals. A third quarter Robert Newhouse touchdown run put the Cowboys out front 14-9. The Bucs had a couple of chances to win it in the final minute, before a fumble at the Dallas 5 yard line ended any possibility of pulling off the upset.
The next game was a Monday night game at Tampa Stadium against Miami. David
Woodley started at quarterback for the 3-0 Dolphins. When he only completed 7
of 13 passes for 40 yards, with an interception, he was replaced in the second
half by Don Strock. Doug Williams and James Wilder scored on short runs in the
second half to give the Bucs the lead. Williams completed only 7 of 19 passes
for 81 yards, however, it was the defense that carried the day for Tampa Bay.
When Mike Washington intercepted a Strock pass at the Buccaneers 2 yard line on
the game's final play, it not only was his second interception of the night,
but the team's fifth of the game. More importantly, it sealed a 23-17 Bucs
victory. This was the Buccaneers first regular season win over the Dolphins
and their first victory on Monday Night Football.
| Jim Gruden was the Buccaneers running backs coach (1982-83) and director of
player personnel (1984-86), before spending 17 years in the 49ers organization.
In 2004, he returned to the Bucs as a personnel consultant.
Before his first professional job with the Bucs, Jim Gruden spent eight years
of high school coaching in the Cleveland area before moving on to the college
ranks. His 15 years of colligate coaching saw him go from Heidelberg (OH) The story of Jim Gruden, as it realates to Tampa Bay football, is really his sons. Jim Jr. is a radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, but Jay was the quarterback of the Storm who lead the team to four Arena Bowl titles and Jon was the head coach of the Buccaneers who won a Super Bowl. When their father was with the team in the 1980s, Jay and Jon would spend a lot of time with the team. The Grudens were bitter when the Bucs fired him in 1987, but Jim and his wife Kathy continued to live in Tampa. Jay was an all- state quarterback at Chamberlain High School |
When the Bucs went to Shea Stadium to play the New York Jets, it was a snowy 23
degree afternoon. An early morning snowstorm helped keep the crowd down to
28,147. The home team took the early lead, as Jets running back Freeman McNeil
ran for two first quarter touchdowns within the span of 64 seconds. James
Wilder became the first Buc to catch eleven passes in a game and finished with
116 yards receiving. Eight Buccaneers fumbles contributed to a 32-17 Buc loss.
The team had fallen to 2-4.
The final three games were all scheduled for Tampa Stadium, starting on December 19 when the Bills came to town. Buffalo's Roosevelt Leaks opened the scoring with an 8 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, however, Efren Herrera missed the extra point. Doug Williams and Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson each threw three interceptions. Buccaneers rookie fullback Melvin Carter, making his first professional start, scored on a 1 yard run and 13 yard pass reception. Late in the final period, Buffalo looked like they were headed for the winning score. With 36 seconds on the clock, Lee Roy Selmon forced a Roosevelt Leaks fumble, which was recovered at the Tampa Bay 18 yard line by Cedric Brown, to preserve a 24-23 Bucs victory.
Next up was Detroit, and when running back Billy Sims scored in the third quarter to give the Lions a 21-6 lead, things looked bleak for Tampa Bay. The Bucs defense turned up the pressure and held Detroit quarterback Gary Danielson to just one second half completion in four attempts for a total of fifteen yards. Doug Williams ran for a 3 yard score and passed for another, as the Bucs pulled to within 21-20 of the Lions. Bill Capece kicked a 27 yard field goal with just 25 seconds left on the clock, as the Bucs won 23-21 to even their record at 4-4. Tampa Bay still needed one victory to secure a playoff spot.
The Chicago Bears and 68,112 fans came to Tampa Stadium on January 2. A loss
to the Bears, playing under new head coach Mike Ditka, would deny the Bucs a
playoff berth. Linebacker Otis Wilson returned an interception for a score,
rookie quarterback Jim McMahon (12 of 30 for 167 yards) threw a touchdown pass
to wide receiver Brain Baschnagel and Walter Payton rushed for 109 yards, as
Chicago built a 17 point lead. Things looked grim when Bob Thomas kicked his
third field goal of the game and the Bears lead 23-6 at the 7:03 mark of the
third quarter. Then Doug Williams (25 of 49 for 367 yards with 2 INTs) hit
Jimmie Giles on two TD passes, Bill Capece kicked a 40 yard field goal with 26
seconds left, and the game headed to overtime. James Wilder's 47 yard run set
up a 33 yard field goal attempt, which Capece hit at the 3:14 mark to set a
team kicking record with 14 points. It was the franchise's first overtime
victory, but more importantly, the 26-23 win secured Tampa Bay's spot in the
playoff tournament with a 5-4 record. The Bucs scored 17 points in the final
22 minutes to make the playoffs for the third time in four years. It was an
exciting run, as Tampa Bay won five of their last six games, with each victory
coming in the final minute. John McKay talked of the victory. "We got another
heart check and another gut check today. We had some funny plays out there. I
believe I am the oldest coach in this league. I was 29 when the season
started."
The Buccaneers again drew Dallas in the first round of the playoffs and headed to Texas Stadium on January 9. Hugh Green returned a Danny White fumble 60 yards for a touchdown and the Bucs held a 10-6 second quarter lead. White (27 of 45 for 312 yards and 2 interceptions) was sacked five times, but his touchdown pass to Ron Springs gave Dallas a 13-10 halftime lead. Doug Williams (8 of 28 for 113 yards and 3 INTs) hit wide receiver Gordon Jones on a 49 yard TD pass to give Tampa Bay the advantage after three quarters 17-16. Early in the fourth quarter, Dallas rookie cornerback Monty Hunter intercepted Williams for the winning touchdown. White threw a touchdown pass to running back Tim Newsome to close out the scoring. Tony Dorsett rushed for 110 yards, the Cowboys ran 92 plays, rushed for 179 yards and rolled up 445 yards in total offense. John McKay said of the 30-17 defeat, "The defense played their tails off. We just didn't have any offense."
The 5-4 record was seventh best in the NFC and it would be a while before the Buccaneers would have another winning season. The defense had another excellent year and lead the NFC in fewest yards allowed. James Wilder had a fine season rushing the ball and also lead the team, and finished second in the NFC, with 53 pass receptions. Bill Capece was second in the conference with 68 points scored. Lee Roy Selmon, Jimmie Giles and Hugh Green were voted as Pro Bowl starters. Safety Neal Colzie was voted the Bucs' Most Valuable Player by the area media.
| Related Links |
| 1982 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Results |
| 1982 NFC Central Division Standings |
| 1982 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft |
| 1982 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Statistics |
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College (1966-68), Dayton (1969-72), Indiana (1973-77) and Notre Dame (1978-
80).