The Last Time The Bucs Went 9-3
December 4th, 2021
No. That’s not cornerback Rashard Robinson.
Yes, Joe is jumping a step here as our 8-3 Bucs prepare to take on a woeful Falcons team that’s scored just 24 points over its last three games.
Ira Kaufman Podcast listeners know Joe (and Ira) predicted a Bucs win tomorrow as Tampa Bay is a stout 11-point favorite. So that “W” would bring the Bucs to 9-3, a record they haven’t held since the 2008 season.
What a glorious year ’08 was. JoeBucsFan.com was in its first season, Snoop Dogg albums were hot, Twitter wasn’t annoying people yet and you could still get a killer grouper sandwich all over town.
Chucky’s Bucs jumped out to a 9-3 record behind a very balanced offense and a punishing defense. Tampa Bay had just embarrassed Drew Brees at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway (3 interceptions!) and was heading to Carolina for a Monday night clash.
And then the bottom fell out.
They closed the season at 9-7 and somehow lost their playoff spot by losing to notorious Raiders bust quarterback JaMarcus Russell in Tampa. Joe still can’t believe it. The December collapse will live in infamy!
The year prior, the Bucs clinched the NFC South title with a 9-5 record and Chucky later said he deeply regretted resting starters as the Bucs finished 9-7 and lost in the opening round of the playoffs.
Joe suspects Bucco Bruce Arians will have no issues handling his team when it gets to 9-3, but it’s worth remembering that in the NFL, the bottom can drop out at any time and potentially last for 11 consecutive seasons.
The message here is to enjoy these special times and savor the Bucs (likely) hammering the snot out of the Falcons tomorrow.
Enjoy today’s Ira Kaufman Podcast!
December 4th, 2021 at 6:50 pm
I firmly believe Chucky was fired solely for losing to the biggest QB Bust in the history of the NFL.
December 4th, 2021 at 6:58 pm
I forgot how good we were the first half of 2008. Now that was a crazy crazy season man was that hard..
December 4th, 2021 at 7:05 pm
Remember that game well. Had guys at work busting balls saying raiders were going to win. Told them no way raiders don’t stand a chance. We’ll here comes Monday morning at work. 🤦🏻♂️Sad day it was. Eagles beat the cowboys for thst last spot.
December 4th, 2021 at 7:15 pm
I was at the Panthers game that season. Bryant had the catch of the year and 200 yards receiving. Both Panthers backs (Stewart and Williams) had 125+ rushing. I still think the d collapsed cause monte was going to coach for his son and the game plans were bunk from then on. If I recall, he announced he was leaving right before the slide…
December 4th, 2021 at 7:15 pm
It started when Monte announced he was leaving the Bucs to Coach with his son. Defense got run all over during those 4 games. All they needed was ONE win in their last 4 buy…nope. Joe is right! Enjoy the now.
December 4th, 2021 at 7:17 pm
Is that the year Monte made the horrible decision to announcement his retirement mid season?
December 4th, 2021 at 7:37 pm
Couch fan. Yes. I blame him for the loss more than anyone else. They lost every game after that announcement.
December 4th, 2021 at 7:40 pm
This is the NFL, you should know by now no win is guaranteed. This team has enough areas of concern they should focus on themselves not their record.
Regardless of how this season goes, it’s a team whose star players (most of them) are past their prime, Brady, Gronkowski, A. Brown, L. David, N. Suh, JPP, Sherman. These guys aren’t (and probably shouldn’t) be here much longer–same with Arians and his staff.
Hopefully it can make another run at the SB, because the future looks like a massive rebuilding project.
December 4th, 2021 at 7:55 pm
Reverse jynk double stampie
There we are good
December 4th, 2021 at 8:01 pm
All of the next 3 teams we play are fighing for playoff spots. If we can find a way to win all 3 I love our chances to get a Top playoff seed.
Getting the #1 seed is great but at least if we can get #2 We guarantee 2 home playoff games.
Ill still be thrilled with a NFC South title but I will say #3 seed or worse is a dissapointment for this team with the expectations I had going in.
December 4th, 2021 at 8:13 pm
There is no rest. If they win out there’s a damn good chance they could get the number one seed. Packers & Cardinals both have a few tough games left. The Buccaneers face some tough defenses but should win every one of them.
December 4th, 2021 at 8:15 pm
That 0-4 December collapse was the downfall of Chucky.
That and his complete inability to develop any young players.
December 4th, 2021 at 8:25 pm
A major part of this story is missing though. This was the year Monte Kiffin quit, if I remember correctly. The truth was no one played hard for Chucky. Once Kiffin announced he was done, the team fell apart.
Knowing this truth, it’s no wonder the Glazers ripped Gruden out of the ring of honor.
December 4th, 2021 at 8:28 pm
>You could still get a killer grouper sandwich all over town
This one hurt Joe. I remember how amazing grouper sandwiches used to be. Now you can’t even get a good one at the alleged grouper places.
December 4th, 2021 at 8:34 pm
Geez… can the Chucky Haters give it a rest?
😀
December 4th, 2021 at 8:42 pm
Ill never forget that raiders
Game. I won a car at halftime of that bucs game….and i remeber leaving stadium pissed off because bucs lost
December 4th, 2021 at 9:00 pm
Monte announcing he would leave led to the collapse, it could have prevented him from entering the Ring of Honor, he should have kept quiet until the season played out. His son could have waited, it did not work well for the Kiffens up in Knoxville, did it? Chuckie refusing to develop a QB put the final nail in his coffin.
December 4th, 2021 at 9:07 pm
Izod Says:
“Hopefully it can make another run at the SB, because the future looks like a massive rebuilding project.”
.
.
I’m not on board! We have an excellent core of young players that lichtweight has prepped us with! He has not squandered our draft picks in building this team, and from here on out, I shall refer to him as Licht, because as much fun as my old nickname is to type, he has outgrown it over the past few years.
We are in immensely better shape after this season than we were in 2009.
GO BUCS!
December 4th, 2021 at 9:12 pm
tampabuscsbro Says:
“Now you can’t even get a good [grouper sandwitch] at the alleged grouper places.”
.
.
Curious. Is there any known explanation for this?
December 4th, 2021 at 9:18 pm
What happened to all the “good” grouper? The sandwich’s are definitely different now days.
December of 2008 might have been the most excruciating month of Buc ball ever played. The playoffs were there for the taking, and the team looked strong. Monte announced his departure, and we didn’t win another game. Joe’s lost decade had begun.
December 4th, 2021 at 9:57 pm
Bucs need to keep their pedal on the gas this year, Chucky took his off and the sky fell.
Top seed is still available, so the Bucs need to do what they can to claim it.
The best blackened grouper sandwich, to me, was the Crab Shack, just across the bay. As the Bucs were slowly dying that year, so was their sandwich. Grouper was getting scarce and the FWC closed the commercial catch.
Since then they have put limits on recreational fishermen too. Blackened grouper became Blackened whitefish.
December 4th, 2021 at 10:07 pm
This team is not going to collapse after Brady leaves. It all depends on the QB, right now Trask. But the O line is fairly young, the DBs are all young, granted we need another. Vea, Shaq, Tryon and Devon White aren’t going anywhere.
Over the next 2 years they need one D line, one linebacker, one DB. A Receiver and a tight end. That is very very doable. They will remain in the playoff picture
December 4th, 2021 at 10:26 pm
Craig Says:
“Since then they have put limits on recreational fishermen too. Blackened grouper became Blackened whitefish.”
.
.
I remember reading about people getting busted for selling whitefish as grouper. Are there any other Florida fish species becoming more scarce, or is it just the grouper, for some reason?
December 4th, 2021 at 11:24 pm
Curse
Gota catch it yourself. Always good that way.
December 5th, 2021 at 12:01 am
Dang Joe you’ve had bookend seasons! The worst time on earth to be a Buc’s fan followed by our current best time ever to be a Buc’s fans.
And we’re talking some real extremes here!
December 5th, 2021 at 12:19 am
What team will take AB after he is cut from our BUCCANEERS it seems he needs some head help.
⁷
December 5th, 2021 at 12:23 am
What team will take AB after he is cut from our BUCCANEERS it seems he needs some head help. What a shame for him andp
⁷ us.
December 5th, 2021 at 6:33 am
Any given game any team can be beat ask the playoff teams last year 😉
December 5th, 2021 at 9:17 am
This was year Monte announced he was leaving and spent most of last 4 games helping Lane recruit and defense sucked
December 5th, 2021 at 11:10 am
Yup.
The December Collapse.
The beginning of the Lost Decade.
I remember it too well. The absolute most disappointing season for me as a Bucs fan ever. Even more than the year after our first SB.