Demanding Respect
October 28th, 2016
BY IRA KAUFMAN
No one who was there that day will ever forget.
A gentle 5-mph breeze and 77-degree temperatures greeted the Bucs and Raiders on the afternoon of Dec. 28, 2008, the last time Oakland ventured into Raymond James Stadium.
Tampa Bay was listed as a 10-point favorite to end a three-game losing streak, finish the regular season 10-6 and edge Philadelphia for the final NFC wild-card playoff spot.
Meanwhile, the Raiders were playing out the string at 4-11 with underachieving JaMarcus Russell under center.
JaMarcus Russell and the Raiders ended Jon Gruden’s career
This Sunday, the Raiders return to the Bay area hoping to improve their road record to 5-0. The stakes are high for both teams, but not nearly as high as they were heading into what turned out to be Jon Gruden’s final game on the Buc sidelines.
“I’m sick for our players and our fans, more than anything,” Gruden said after a shocking 31-24 setback.
On the list of all-time regular-season disappointments in franchise history, that 2008 beauty stands alone at No. 1.
“It’s a catastrophe,” said Warrick Dunn, who had a knack for summing things up rather succinctly.
After frittering away a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Bucs would soon make sweeping changes that are still being felt today.
Impatience Launched
Gruden was fired after a seven-season run that included a Super Bowl victory. New GM Mark Dominik and new head coach Raheem Morris would quickly announce a veteran purge that included Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks, Dunn and wide receiver Ike Hilliard.
In the ensuing seven seasons, the Bucs went 36-76 under three head coaches and half-empty stands. Now, it’s Dirk Koetter’s turn to invigorate a forlorn franchise.
Out of Tampa Bay’s 22 starters that fateful day, 21 are out of the NFL. Their pro careers are toast.
The only guy still standing is left tackle Donald Penn, who will open for the Raiders Sunday, charged with protecting Derek Carr’s blindside.
When that ’08 debacle went down, Dirk Koetter was ending his second year as Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator. The Jags finished 5-11, scoring 17 points or less in half their games.
Mike Smith was a first-year head coach in Atlanta, guiding the Falcons to an 11-5 mark before suffering a 30-24 playoff loss at Arizona.
What about Jameis Winston? While the Bucs were yielding 177 rushing yards to Michael Bush, Winston was about to turn 15. He had just finished his freshman season at Hueytown (Ala.) High, throwing for 749 yards and 12 touchdowns as the Golden Gophers went 6-5.
Gerald McCoy was 20, earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore at Oklahoma. Demar Dotson, the longest-tenured Buc, was a nondescript defensive lineman at Southern Miss, signing with Tampa Bay four months later as a free agent who would soon be switched to the offensive line.
Demanding Respect
One key figure in the collapse of 2008 is Monte Kiffin, now an assistant on Jacksonville’s staff. Those Bucs were 9-3 when Kiffin announced he would be leaving at the end of the season to join his son, Lane, at the University of Tennessee.
To say the news didn’t go over well is akin to saying Roger Goodell has had a tough couple of years.
Tampa Bay’s proud defense wilted down the stretch, yielding an average of 29 points and 386 yards during the losing streak.
“What do I say?” Monte asked after the December carnage was complete. “I didn’t write a very good script.”
So much has changed since that day. The Glazers, once known as patient owners, have hired four head coaches since 2009.
Home attendance has been disappointing but understandable considering the quality of the product. Apathy has ruled the day, but a two-game winning streak is restoring hope as Koetter seeks his first home win as an NFL head coach.
The last time the Raiders rolled into town, maverick owner Al Davis was still alive and Tampa Bay was seeking a playoff berth. This time around, Buc fans demand respect, along with a winning record.
Is that really too much to ask?
October 28th, 2016 at 11:23 am
I had to travel a lot back in those days!!!! Needless to say, me and couple of others would see the Defensive Coordinator flying out of TIA early Monday morning to go on recruiting trips all week long while Rah was the acting D-Coordinator!!!!!!!
October 28th, 2016 at 11:54 am
I remember that raiders game in 08.. i was 17 years old. If some one ask me to do an essay about a bucs season it would be that year—🙏
October 28th, 2016 at 12:09 pm
The historic collapse! We were 9-3 and tied for first.
I traveled to San Diego for about 18 days, during which we played 3 games, and lost them all!
Raiders game was the cherry on top. Thanks a lot monte.
Maybe this is the year we finally move past it?!?
October 28th, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Its funny how that game truly marked the passing of the torch from the good Bucs team of old to miserable performances thereafter.
October 28th, 2016 at 1:26 pm
8 years of futility. 8 years of bad decision after bad decision – all tracing back to Monte’s horrible decision to tell his defense he was abandoning ship long before that news should have been revealed. It took the heart and want to out of the whole team and we have been suffering ever since. That winning culture went right out the door with Monte’s and subsequently Gruden’s departure.
Thank you for doing such a great job with our defenses for 13 straight years Monte – it was a truly historic run of defensive excellence. But a big fat F.U. to Monte for the way he left and for the many following years of misery that his actions seemed to serve as a catalyst for.
Nice job Ira – you got me re-living the pain of the last 8 years all over again – LOL
Time to turn the page for good and not look back. J-J-J-Jameis and the Bucs can take a big step in that direction and assist us all in being able to do that. Winning 2 big home games in the next 6 days would go a loooong way towards helping the entire Tampa Bay area let go of the crappy past and truly start to embrace our franchise’s more than promising future
Sunday is a chance for some redemption. A chance to beat a good team and win a rarer than a hen’s tooth home game and solidify our position as a legit playoff contender. A chance to DO SOMETHING in regards to that needed “culture change” that the QB and the HC and everybody has been talking about since Lovie was canned. A losing culture only gets changed one way – by winning and then winning and then winning again. This Sunday is our chance to win 3 games in a row and I can’t even remember when the last time that happened was.
October 28th, 2016 at 2:13 pm
But in those tough couple of years Goodell has had, what has he made, 250 million dollars? I’ll take some of those hard times please.
October 28th, 2016 at 2:18 pm
2008 was bad, but the 1999 wipeout in Oakland was much worse!! Joe wasn’t around back then. Our SB defense was almost totally in place. We went out there and got our collective butts whipped. Even Sapp was spleechless. Respect?? Snort. The collective national sports talking heads had a field day w/that one. They always pooped on Tampa Bay anyway. That’s why a win Sunday at RJS will be very sweet. Go Bucs!!
October 29th, 2016 at 9:12 am
Dunn was long gone at that point. That is a bad miss, no offense intended.
October 29th, 2016 at 9:14 am
I also believe that done quote was from the 1999 game mentioned above… Come on Ira…
October 29th, 2016 at 9:15 am
Dunn, not done. Auto correct…
October 29th, 2016 at 9:21 am
Lol @ Joseph Mama – do you always make random comments that are completely unrelated to an article or posts? Just curious where Goodell came in as your point of interest? One team struggling in the NFL has no bearing on the league as a whole or the commissioner. There always has been and always will be winners and losers. Should the commissioners pay go down if the team in Tampa struggles? SMH!