Tampa Bay Football History Network - 1984 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1984 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Since Tampa Bay had traded its number one draft pick to Cincinnati for Jack Thompson, the Buccaneers again sat out the first round of the draft. Cincinnati traded the pick to New England, who drafted Nebraska wide receiver Irving Fryer. The Bucs selected USC linebacker Keith Browner with their second round pick. They also traded a couple of draft picks for former San Francisco and Denver quarterback Steve DeBerg.

The Hall of Fame Game

Each year the NFL kicks off the exhibition season with the Hall of Fame Game from Fawcett Stadium on the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The game which features an AFC-NFC match-up dates back to 1962. The Buccaneers first played in the game on July 28, 1984 and the Seattle Seahawks routed the Bucs 38-0. In the team’s second appearance, Tampa Bay got a measure of revenge when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 on August 1, 1998.

When the Buccaneers opened the season on September 2, it was a warm afternoon in Chicago. Jack Thompson hit wide receiver Gerald Carter on a 74 yard touchdown pass to give the visitors a 7-3 second quarter lead, but it was all downhill from there. The Bucs gave the ball away a team record eight times and the Bears dominated the time of possession 40:44 to 19:16. Thompson was intercepted four times, Steve DeBerg twice, with Chicago defensive back Gary Fencik getting two of the six picks. The Bucs fell 34-14.

At New Orleans, on the Buccaneers first possesson, Jack Thompson (15 of 22 for 175 yards) hit fullback Adger Armstrong on a 2 yard scoring pass. The 80 yard drive went 19 plays, took 10:26 off the clock and the Bucs were up 7-0. Thompson was sacked seven times, still the Bucs lead 13-10 going into the fourth quarter. Saints quarterback Richard Todd (13 of 23 for 213 yards) lead the home team to a late touchdown that gave New Orleans a 17-13 victory.

The Bucs opened at home the next week before 44,560 fans. With the Bucs trailing 14-0, Steve DeBerg replaced Jack Thompson in the second quarter and lead them to a 21-17 victory over Detroit. DeBerg threw two touchdown passes including the game winner to Jimmie Giles with 3:11 left in the game. DeBerg started the remaining thirteen weeks and Thompson ended up being cut after the season. Thompson, who was dubbed the "Overthrowin' Samoan" during his Buccaneers career, never threw another NFL pass and had a 3-13 record as a Tampa Bay starter. James Wilder said of the game, "It's as simple as we wanted to win and Steve came in and took control. That's the kind of leadership this team needs. This win is what we needed to get us back on track."

The following week, the Bucs visited Bill Parcells' New York Giants. Bucs running backs James Wilder (112 yard rushing) and Adger Armstrong each scored on 1 yard runs. Giants QB Phil Simms (17 of 34 for 186 yards) threw two touchdown passes, and Lawrence Taylor recorded four of New York's five sacks, as the Bucs lost 17-14. Taylor called Wilder the "best back I ever played against in my life."

On September 30, the Buccaneers hosted Green Bay. Forrest Gregg had replaced Bart Starr as the Packers head coach. James Wilder carried the ball an NFL record 43 times, breaking the record he set the previous season, for 172 yards in the overtime game. Wilder's 216 total yards were the second highest total in team history. Obed Ariri kicked a 46 yard field goal, at 10:32 of overtime, to seal a 30-27 win over the Packers. The Bucs ran a team record 91 plays in the game.

The Bucs then played host to another team with a new head coach, Minnesota, where Les Steckel had taken over from Bud Grant. Tommy Kramer (27 of 47 with 2 TDs and 2 INTs) passed for 386 yards and the Vikings finished with 543 total yards. Minnesota took a 14-0 lead, then the Bucs used a balanced attack to come back. On the ground, James Wilder ran for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Threw the air, Steve DeBerg (16 of 29 for 212 yards) connected on two scoring passes and Kevin House had 126 yards receiving with a TD catch. The Vikings were called for thirteen penalties and lost three of seven fumbles. Tampa Bay beat Minnesota 35-31 to even the team's record at 3-3. John McKay commented, "Minnesota has a good offense, but we had enough to hang in there and win. The defense made some big turnovers for us."

The next week, a game at Detroit went into overtime with the score knotted at 7-7. The Bucs won the coin toss and drove into Lion territory before James Wilder fumbled at the Detroit 39 yard line. Five plays later, quarterback Gary Danielson tossed a 37 yard TD pass to Leonard Thompson. After the 13-7 loss, John McKay said, "We had plenty of opportunities to win. We moved the ball but didn't score."

Bears Home Game?

The Chicago Bears were the biggest draw at Tampa Stadium. Seven times in nine years, from 1984 to 1992, the Chicago game drew the largest crowd of the season. While the Bucs average attendance over that period was 47,255, the Chicago game drew an average of 64,646.
Transplanted Chicagoans and those planning their vacations around the game were not disappointed, as the Bucs lost seven of the nine games.

Chicago scored on its first three possessions on the way to handing the Bucs the worst home loss in franchise history. Walter Payton scored on two first quarter runs, the Bucs had seven penalties in that quarter, and the Bears lead 14-0 after one period. The Bucs totaled fifteen penalties (104 yards) and the Bears had sixteen infractions (114 yards). Gerald Carter had 109 yards receiving from Steve DeBerg (24 for 39 with 288 yards), however, Bears QB Jim McMahon (12 of 18 for 219 yards and no interceptions) threw three TD passes. Chicago recorded six sacks in a 44-9 victory. Steve DeBerg remarked, "It's just frustrating not scoring the points we should be scoring. I have never given up and I no one on this team will."

On October 28, the team lost its third straight in a game which featured 100 pass attempts at Kansas City. Steve DeBerg found Kevin House on a 7 yard TD pass and the game was tied 7-7 at the half. DeBerg (24 of 54 for 280 yards with 3 interceptions and a TD) hit House on ten passes for 100 yards. K.C. quarterback Bill Kenney (26 of 46 for 332 yards and 2 interceptions) threw three touchdown passes and his favorite target was wide receiver Carlos Carson with 131 yards. The Bucs ran 87 plays, a team record for regulation time, and fell in the aerial circus 24-20.

The following week, the Buccaneers went to Minnesota to play the Vikings. James Wilder had another big afternoon, as he was the only Bucs running back to carry the football, with 146 yards on 30 carriers, and lead the team with 46 yards receiving. The Bucs had lead 14-3 in the second quarter, before trailing late in the game. With 1:03 left, Steve DeBerg hit Kevin House with an 11 yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 24-24. However, Jan Stenerud's 53 yard field goal with just two seconds remaining gave the Vikings a 27-24 win and sent the Bucs home with their fourth straight loss.

The next day, November 5, John McKay announced he would not return to coach the Buccaneers in 1985. McKay said, "Sorry I couldn't get the job done, but we tried." Speaking of the most recent defeat he added, "When Stenerud hit that long field goal, I said, 'That's as much as I can take.'"

The Bucs next played the Giants at Tampa Stadium and the game was tied 3-3 at the half. Phil Simms (21 of 33 for 198 yards and an interception) threw for two second half touchdowns and Steve DeBerg (16 of 28 for 238 yards with 2 interceptions) hit Kevin House on a TD pass. James Wilder ran for a score, and the Bucs scored seventeen points in fifteen minutes, to post a 20-17 victory over New York. David Logan commented, "We know how coach feels and we want to send him out on a winning note. The whole team feels this way. It was important for us to win today. This is the start of something big."

At San Francisco, 49ers running back Roger Craig opened the scoring with a 2 yard TD run in the second quarter and Joe Montana was 19 of 23 for 247 yards with no interceptions. Steve DeBerg (26 of 41 for 316 yards with 2 TDs and a couple of INTs) and Gerald Carter (166 yards receiving and a touchdown) lead the Bucs attack. San Francisco clinched a playoff spot with a 24-17 victory.

A home game against the Los Angeles Rams was a battle of former Trojan coaches, as John Robinson was once the head coach at USC. Steve DeBerg went 27 of 44 for 322 yards with an interception and two touchdown passes, while Rams QB Jeff Kemp was 7 of 10 for 68 yards with no INTs or TDs, but he did run one in for a score. James Wilder had two rushing touchdowns, however, Eric Dickerson rushed for 191 yards and three TDs. Los Angeles won 34-33, in a game the Bucs had lead 26-17 going into the fourth quarter. All John McKay could say was, "We just didn't play well enough to win."

The next game was played on a sloppy field in Green Bay. The scoring opened in the second quarter, when James Wilder threw the only pass of his career. His 16 yard toss to to fullback Adger Armstrong put Tampa Bay up 7-0. Steve DeBerg (22 of 38 for 190 yards with 2 interceptions) hit tight end Jerry Bell on a third quarter TD pass and the Bucs lead 14-0. Lynn Dickey (18 of 32 for 205 yards with 3 interceptions) threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Eddie Lee Ivery ran for two scores, as the Packers pulled out a 27-14 victory.

The team gave John McKay a good send off by winning the last two games of the season, both played at Tampa Stadium. 33,808, at the time the smallest Buccaneers home crowd in history, watched the team play Atlanta on December 9. James Wilder rushed for a TD and 125 yards, becoming just the seventh player in league history to go over 2,000 total yards in a season. Obed Ariri kicked three goals and the Bucs topped the Falcons 23-6. David Logan said afterwards, "I think today is the first time we played a 60 minute game."

The John McKay era came to a close with a 41-21 win over the New York Jets, which were the most points a Buccaneers team had scored. Steve DeBerg (26 of 34 for 290 yards) threw for three touchdowns, twice hitting tight end Jerry Ball. The Jets did sack DeBerg five times with defensive end Mark Gastineau getting to the quarterback twice. The Bucs recorded six sacks, with Lee Roy Selmon, John Cannon and Hugh Green getting two each. Jets quarterback Ken O'Brien was also picked off twice. James Wilder rushed for 103 yards on 31 carries, ran for two scores and also caught nine passes for 60 yards. The Bucs built a 34-7 lead, out gained the Jets 343 to 252 in total yards and coasted to the twenty point victory.

John McKay's last game, played in front of 43,813 Buccaneer faithful, did take on a sense of the bizarre. James Wilder had the best season ever for a Bucs running back. He rushed for a team record 1,544 yards on an NFL record 407 carries, and also caught 85 passes for 685 yards giving him 2,229 total combined net yards for the season. When a Wilder TD run gave Tampa Bay 41-14 lead with 1:21 left in the contest, McKay went for an onside kick to allow Wilder to get the neccessary yardage to break O.J. Simpson's record of 2,243 combined yards in a season. Because of Buccaneers penalties, Obed Ariri made three onside kick attempts before the Jets recovered. In McKay's last game as head coach he ordered his defense to let Jets running back Johnny Hector score, so Wilder would have another shot at the record. While Wilder fell 15 yards short of the record, the "Buc Flop" generated plenty of controversy. Jets players spewed obscenities at McKay after the game. New York head coach Joe Walton was not pleased. "The way it ended was a total embarrassment to the NFL. It set it back twenty years. It was completely uncalled for." McKay was not apologetic. "I'm sorry we didn't get the record for Jimmy, but we tried, and the Jets almost attacked me." On his decision to retire McKay said he had "No second thoughts." He closed his post game press conference with "Adios, gentlemen. God bless you." The league did end up fining McKay the largest amount ever levied against a coach.

The Bucs finished third in the Central Division with a 6-10 record. All six victories came at home, which equaled the best home record at 6-2, but the set a new team record for worst road record at 0-8. The offense set a slew of team records, including most points (335), highest average score (20.94), most touchdowns (40), most rushing touchdowns (17), most total yards (5,321), average total yards per game (332.6), most first downs (344), highest third down percentage (42.9%), total plays (1,046), yards passing (3,907), average passing yards per game (244.2) and most pass completions (334). A team mark was also set for most penalties with 118.

Lee Roy Selmon was voted a starter for the Pro Bowl for the sixth straight year, however, he injured his back during the game. James Wilder, who was voted the Bucs' Most Valuable Player by the local media, went to the Pro Bowl as a reserve. Wilder set all kinds of records during the year. He had an NFL record 407 rushing attempts, a league record 496 combined attempts, a team record thirteen touchdowns (all rushing) and a Bucs record for scoring for non- kickers (78 points). Wilder also equaled a team record with five games where he rushed for at least 100 yards. His 1,544 rushing yards were third best in the league and he finished second in the NFC with 85 receptions. Kevin House was fifth in the conference with 76 receptions. Steve DeBerg threw for 3,554 yards, the second most yardage in Bucs history and set records for completions (308) and completion percentage (60.5%). Obed Ariri set team records for extra points (38) and extra point attempts (40).

During the off season, the Bucs secondary saw defensive backs Cedric Brown and Mike Washington retire. Brown picked off 29 passes with the Bucs and Washington had 28 interceptions. They remain near the top for career leaders in interceptions for the Buccaneers. Linebacker Richard "Batman" Wood signed with the USFL and left as the Bucs career leader with 855 tackles.

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