Tampa Bay Football History Network - 1987 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1987 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers were again looking for a new head coach and once again quickly named a replacement, this time for Leeman Bennett. On a rainy New Year's Eve 1986, Ray Perkins was named the new head coach and Vice President for Football Operations. He was only candidate Hugh Culverhouse interviewed for the job. Culverhouse called Perkins "my Vince Lombardi" and said the Bucs would become the "Team of the Nineties." Perkins had spent four seasons as the coach of the New York Giants and, despite an overall losing record, he is usually credited with building the Giants' championship teams later in the 80's. He had spent the last four years as Paul "Bear" Bryant's hand picked successor to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide. Perkins had been an All-American receiver at Alabama in the 60's, but his 32-15-1 coaching record was not good enough for the Alabama faithful.

Football at UT

The Bucs moved their training camp from One Buc Place to the University of Tampa for the 1987 season. Practices were held at Pepin-Rood Stadium and the players were housed in dorms and ate in the cafeteria.
Other sites were considered, including the Los Angeles Dodgers' complex in Vero Beach, California, but the team did not want to take their camp out of the Tampa Bay area. Head coach Ray Perkins commented, "After a search for a suitable training camp site, we found one right in our backyard."
The Bucs would continue to train at UT until the 2002 season.

The Bucs had the number one overall selection in the first college draft under Ray Perkins. Before the draft, they used that pick to sign the 1986 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Miami, quarterback Vinny Testaverde. After signing Testaverde, the Buccaneers traded Steve Young, who had a 3-16 record as the starting QB, to San Francisco. The Bucs received the 49ers second and fourth round draft picks, along with $500,000 in cash. Ray Perkins said at the time, "I've got a lot of respect for Steve Young. Not that he's a great quarterback. He hasn't proven that yet."

On draft day, Tampa Bay selected Washington State cornerback Ricky Reynolds in the second round. On May 20, the NFL owners met at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego to name the site for Super Bowl XXV. San Diego and Tampa Bay were the finalist for the Silver Anniversary Game, and on the sixth ballot Tampa Bay was selected to host the January 29, 1991 game.

Ray Perkins instituted a training camp that was more like boot camp, including three-a-day practice sessions. Based on his play during the preseason, Perkins tabbed Steve DeBerg as the starting quarterback for the season opener. There was optimism as the new season began, however, it was tempered by labor unrest. As negotiations between players and management failed, the players were threatening to go out on strike after the second week of the season.

On September 13, Atlanta came to Tampa Stadium and it was their first game under head coach Marion Campbell. 51,250 saw the home team score on five of its first six possessions and jump to a 27-3 halftime lead. Steve DeBerg (24 of 34 for 333 yards with an interception) threw a team record five touchdowns in a 48-10 romp over the Falcons. Gerald Carter caught two short scoring passes and rookie Mark Carrier, a third round draft pick from Nicholls State, scored his first pro touchdown. Calvin Magee and wide receiver Phil Freeman also caught touchdown passes. The Bucs scored the most points in team history, the most touchdowns (7), posted their largest margin of victory, set a record with thirty first downs and another team record for third down conversions (14 of 16 for 88 percent). They converted nine straight third downs and finished with a 460-197 advantage in total yards. Donald Igwebuike set team records for extra points made (6) and extra point attempts (7). Ray Perkins said of winning his first game as the Tampa Bay head coach, "I expected to win the game. I didn't have any idea we would win it in the fashion we did." DeBerg looked ahead, "Yeah, we'll go up and beat Chicago, be 2-0, go on strike and make the playoffs that way."

The following week, after Steve DeBerg (18 of 36 for 195 yards with 2 INTs) injured his knee late in the fourth quarter, Vinny Testaverde (1 of 4 for 14 yards) made his professional debut in Chicago. Walter Payton scored his 107th rushing touchdown of his career and caught a Mike Tomczak (15 of 27 for 150 yards with 2 INTs) pass for a TD. Neal Anderson ran for 114 yards and his first pro touchdown. Each team had two fumbles and two interceptions, as the Bears won 20-3.

At this point, the focus turned to labor relations. After the second week of the season, on September 22, the NFL players made good on their threat to go on strike. It was second player's strike in league history and apparently nothing was learned when seven games were lost to labor unrest during the 1982 season. This time the league announced that the third week of the season would be canceled, but the season would continue with replacement players. Hugh Culverhouse, then chairman of the executive committee of the NFL Management Council, had a major role in the decision to use replacements. The teams scrambled to put together players for the games scheduled for the fourth week.

A small percentage of the members of the NFL Players Association did cross the picket lines to play. Players who never played in the league got their chance. Players who were out of football for awhile came back to play. Some teams prepared better for the replacement games than others and some fans supported the make-shift teams stronger than others.

The Bucs replacement team featured fifteen members of the old Tampa Bay Bandits. Quarterback John Reaves threw a touchdown pass, running back Greg Boone carried the ball once for two yards, nose tackle Fred Nordgren recorded a sack, linebacker Fred McCallister had a sack, defensive end Charles Riggins recorded two sacks, and linebacker Sankar Montoute intercepted a pass and recorded a sack. Others who played for the old USFL team included defensive back Jeff George and offensive lineman Chuck Pitcock. Some Bandits were signed by other teams, such as, receiver Willie Gillespie with the Vikings, quarterback Mike Kelley with the Chargers and receiver Eric Truvillion with the Lions. The Buccaneers other replacement quarterbacks were long time Seattle QB Jim Zorn and Mike Hold, who played at the University of South Carolina and became successful in arena football. The Bucs also signed a wide receiver from the University of Miami named Stanley Shakespeare, which may have topped Buffalo's signing of an offensive tackle named Glen Campbell.

The replacement players were generally being called scabs, or scab teams, by the media and the players out on strike. NFL officials did not want the replacement players called scabs, so nicknames like "B Bucs" or "Spare Bears" came into use. Tampa Bay replacement defensive end James Ramey, another former Bandit, came up with the nickname "Scabaneers." Some media members and cynics came out with other names, such as, "Buffalo Counterfeit Bills," "Chicago Bearlys," "Cleveland Clowns," "Los Angeles Masque-Raiders," "Los Angeles Shams," "New Orleans St. Elsewheres" and "San Francisco Phony Niners." Some were calling the weekends of replacement football "Scrub Sundays."

The replacement Bucs first game was at a strong union city, Detroit. Only 4,919 fans watched the replacement Buccaneers play the replacement Lions at the Silverdome. John Reaves (2 of 8 for 16 yards) started for the Bucs and Mike Hold (6 of 15 for 102 yards) came in and threw a 61 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Streater. Detroit quarterback Todd Hons (10 of 26 for 201 yards) was picked off three times, but did toss a TD pass to Eric Truvillion (99 yards receiving). Bucs running back Harold Ricks scored the winning touchdown in a 31-27 victory. "I'm happy for these guys," Ray Perkins said afterwards. "They've worked hard and for this. They took a lot of pride representing this franchise and we won the game."

In the first of two strike games at Tampa Stadium, a crowd of 23,873 watched a game against the replacement Chargers. John Reaves (4 of 8 for 67 yards) hit Eric Streater on a 26 yard TD pass and the Bucs lead 10-0 at the half. Former Bandit Mike Kelley (5 of 11 for 53 yards) started at quarterback for San Diego with Rick Neuheisel (18 of 22 for 217 yards and a TD), another USFL refugee, coming on in the second quarter. Neuheisel directed three scoring drives in a 17-13 Chargers victory.

The Bucs third replacement game was played before 20,850 fans, the smallest crowd to ever watch professional football at Tampa Stadium. At the half the game with Minnesota was tied 3-3. Jim Zorn (20 of 36 for 199 yards with 2 interceptions) played quarterback for the Bucs and found wide receiver Derek Holloway for 107 yards receiving. The defense made the deference for Tampa Bay. Vikings quarterback Tony Adams (20 of 37 for 195 yards and a TD) was intercepted four times and DB Kevin Walker returned an interception 30 yards for a third quarter touchdown. The Bucs had seven sacks and held Minnesota to 23 yards rushing in a 20-10 victory. Ray Perkins joked about a game with six interceptions, nine fumbles and 21 penalties. "This was a hilarious game to me. I tell players to forget their mistakes and just keep on going. I think that's what some of them did today. They forgot everything."

The entire scenario seemed laughable, yet the replacement player idea did work. Some fans felt it was better than no games at all, which was the case in the previous strike. The player's solidarity was tested, as each week more regulars crossed the picket lines. The sad part is the games, that could be called semi-pro, are still considered real league games to this day. It is a disgrace that records set in these sloppy games are still on the books. On October 25, the players returned after three weeks of replacement football. The replacement Bucs went 2-1 and the team stood at 3-2 when the regulars returned.

A sold out Tampa Stadium crowd of 70,747 welcomed the real Bucs back for a game against Chicago. The players may have been a bit out of sync, as the Bucs had eleven penalties and the Bears ten. Steve DeBerg threw touchdown passes to Calvin Magee and fullback Jeff Smith, as the Bucs lead 20-0 after the first quarter and 26-14 at the half. Mike Tomczak (6 of 10 for 45 yards) started at quarterback for the Bears and Jim McMahon, who had not played in eleven months due to a shoulder injury, came off the bench in the second half. In the final six minutes, McMahon (17 of 24 for 195 yards with 1 INT) ran for a touchdown and threw a TD pass to Neal Anderson with 1:28 left to lead the Bears to a 27- 26 victory. Ray Perkins said afterwards, "We're on the incline now. Our football team will continue to move on that incline if we've got the guts, if we've got the corage to learn from this."

The Buccaneers went to Milwaukee County Stadium and lead 3-0 at halftime. In the third quarter, Steve DeBerg (17 of 30 for 197 yards with a TD and an INT) connected on a 17 yard touchdown pass to Gerald Carter and Bucs lead 20-0 going into the final period. Packers QB Don Majkowski (4 of 13 for 43 yards) did run for 51 yards, but after two fumbles he was replaced by Randy Wright. The Packers were penalized thirteen times, but did score two late touchdowns to close the gap. The Bucs held on for 23-17 victory and the team's record improved to 4-3. Steve DeBerg felt, "We learned some things last week. That game taught us we had to make big plays at the end. Actually, that game helped us tremendously."

Tampa Bay traveled to St. Louis and in one fifteen minute period of football, the season unraveled. Steve DeBerg (23 of 37) passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns, as the Bucs built a seemly insurmountable 28-3 lead after three quarters. Quarterback Neil Lomax (25 of 36 for 314 yards with 1 INT) threw three touchdown passes and linebacker Niko Noga returned a fumble 24 yards for a score, as the Bucs surrendered 28 unanswered points in an eleven minute span of the final quarter. A 17 yard touchdown reception by J.T. Smith, his second of the quarter and fourth score of the game, put the Cardinals ahead 31-28 with 2:01 on the clock. The Bucs did move the ball into field goal position, but Donald Igwebuike hit the crossbar from 53 yards out as the final horn sounded. The crowd of 22,449, which at one time was actually cheering for the visitors, witnessed the greatest fourth quarter comeback in NFL history. Ray Perkins was not happy with his team's effort. "We stunk the place out in a lot of areas. We embarrassed ourselves, in my opinion, from the opening whistle to the last. When you talk about playing the game of football, we didn't play it very well in any phase of the game."

While the Bucs ran the ball a team record low nine times for 15 yards at Minnesota, Darrin Nelson ran for 103 yards for the Vikings. Steve DeBerg (22 of 37 for 284 yards) did throw two TD passes, but he fumbled twice, was sacked four times and picked off once. Wade Wilson (8 of 19 for 97 yards) started at quarterback for Minnesota and the home team trailed at the half. Tommy Kramer (4 of 9 for 30 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT) came off the bench and lead Minnesota to a 23-17 victory. Ray Perkins said of the team's ground attack, "We might not run it again all year, so somebody better learn to pass block."

Steve DeBerg (19 of 35 for 206 yards and an interception) tossed a 4 yard touchdown pass to James Wilder to open the scoring at San Francisco and at one point the Bucs lead 10-7. Joe Montana (29 of 45 for 304 yards with an INT) found Jerry Rice (7 catches for 103 yards) on three TD passes and the 49ers won 24-10. "You don't plan for Jerry Rice," Ray Perkins remarked. "He's the best receiver in football."

In Anaheim, Rams quarterback Jim Everett (14 of 19 for 208 yards) threw two touchdown passes and Charles White (137 yards rushing) ran for two TDs. Steve DeBerg (13 of 28 for 124 yards with 1 INT) and Vinny Testaverde (4 of 6 for 33 yards with 1 INT) were sacked four times in a 35-3 defeat. DeBerg commented, "I was looking at this and it seemed like the old Bucs, the ones who could screw up all kinds of good things." Ray Perkins admitted, "Beginning next week, we'll start preparing for next year."

Ray Perkins did start Vinny Testaverde in the final four games, as he wanted to get some experience for the young quarterback. Testaverde started his first game on December 6 at New Orleans. He fumbled away the ball on two of the first four possessions and two Bobby Hebert (16 of 24 for 255 yards) to John Tice touchdown passes gave the Saints a quick 14-0 advantage. Testaverde completed 22 of 47 passes for an NFL rookie single game record of 369 yards with two TD passes and two interceptions. 212 of those yards were to Mark Carrier, which set the team record for receiving yards in one game. The Saints 44-34 victory put them in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Ray Perkins said of the team's effort, "We understand that we can't make some of the mistakes we made early and hope to win. But they can be proud, and I sure am proud, that they fought."

In his first home start, Testaverde (20 of 39 for 262 yards) threw a 28 yard touchdown pass to Bruce Hill. He was also picked off once, sacked four times and the Bucs did not convert on ten third downs. Chuck Long (12 of 23 for 108 yards) threw a touchdown pass for the Lions in a 20-10 Tampa Bay defeat. Ray Perkins stated, "I think it's quite evident that we're playing with some subpar people."

On December 20, a crowd of 32,046 watched the last home game of the year against St. Louis. In the first quarter, the Bucs opened the scoring with a 1 yard touchdown pass from Vinny Testaverde to Ron Hall. Testaverde (16 of 38 for 240 yards) also threw a 26 yard TD pass to Gerald Carter (5 receptions for 116 yards), but he was intercepted twice and was sacked six times. Defensive end Ron Holmes sacked Neil Lomax (22 of 29 for 233 yards with an INT) three times, however, the Cardinals quarterback threw for three touchdowns. Stump Mitchell added 101 yards on the ground in a 31-14 St. Louis victory.

The season finale took place before a Hoosier Dome record crowd of 60,468 with Eric Dickerson rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Vinny Testaverde (8 of 31 for 163 yards) struggled and the Bucs were never inside the Colts 20 yard line. The Colts had a 23-10 advantage in first downs and outgained the Bucs 472-232 in total yards. The 24-6 victory sent Indianapolis to the playoffs for the first time in ten years. Tampa Bay had finished the season with eight straight defeats, but Ray Perkins said "We will win. I'm excited about our future."

Tampa Bay's 4-11 record found them tied for last with Detroit, but finishing fourth on the tiebreakers. Following the season, Steve DeBerg was dealt to Kansas City after starting 34 games for Tampa Bay. DeBerg had lead the league in lowest percentage of passes intercepted and was the fifth rated quarterback in the NFC. He set a team record for quarterback rating (85.3) and was also named the Most Valuable Player by the local media. Frank Garcia, the Bucs career leader in number of punts (379), punting yardage (15,588) and punting average (41.1 yards), also left the team. James Wilder set a team record with a 4.6 yard rushing average per carry.

On January 31, 1988, former Bucs quarterback Doug Williams was named Super Bowl MVP in a 42-10 Washington victory over Denver.

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