PRE-SEASON GAMES
11 Aug v Pittsburgh Lost 17-27
19 Aug at NY Jets
26 Aug v Baltimore
1995 Season Review
The previous season had ended on a real high with a four-game winning streak in
November and December. The off-season saw the Glazer family take over as the new
owners of the franchise, and finally, some real stability to the front office organisation.
This was no more evident than on draft day, when GM Rich McKay and the Buccaneers
pulled off some of the finest dealing done in NFL history, let alone that in Tampa. QB
Craig Erickson, scheduled to be a free agent at the end of 1995, was traded to the Colts
for a first round pick in the 1996 draft, thereby ending any quarterback controversy on the
spot.
The Bucs had the seventh overall selection, but traded down with Philadelphia to the 12th
spot for an additional two second round selections. The Eagles took Mike Mamula, the
Bucs took Warren Sapp. Nuff said. Sapp had been projected as one of the top overall
selections going into the draft, but rumours about failed marijuana tests at the University
of Miami scared some teams off picking him. The Bucs just said thank you very much and
watched him become the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1999.
The selection of Sapp would be enough to make any draft, but the Bucs excelled
themselves further. They traded two of their three second round picks with Dallas to move
back into the first round at No.28 and merely chose an undersized linebacker from Florida
State, Derrick Brooks. Two perennial Pro Bowlers in one season – does it get any better
than that?
None of the other selections in the 1995 draft panned out that successful, although Melvin
Johnson started at free safety for a while. The free agency process brought an over-the-
hill Reggie Roby into punt, and then the first in a series of receiver signings that you just
wish they could take back. Alvin Harper had been Michael Irvin’s sidekick in Dallas, but
that was all he was actually good for. Two forgettable seasons in Tampa followed and he
was cut halfway through his four year contract.
When he returned to Tampa for a pre-season game with Washington, he proudly stated to
the gathered press “that I don’t consider I played in Tampa.” “And he’s got the stats to
prove it” replied the Tampa Tribune’s columnist and resident wit David Whitley.
The other major off-season activity was the selection of Lee Roy Selmon into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame. The first Buc so honoured, Selmon was the franchise’s first
selection and its greatest ever player. His brother Dewey, who played five seasons
alongside Lee Roy for the Buccaneers, gave the traditional introductory speech.
1995 was Trent Dilfer’s first full season as starting quarterback and in one of the amazing
stats of our time, only managed to throw four touchdown passes in 16 starts. Two of them
came in the season opener in Philadelphia, and he started to become the fans’ favourite
whipping boy following Vinny’s ear-bashing years from before.
Sam Wyche was getting more extreme in his play-calling and post-game antics, and
when the Bucs somehow upped their record to 5-2 after a lucky overtime win over
Minnesota, he took great delight in crowing to all and sundry about his team’s record and that they were 9-3 in their last 12 games dating
back to 1994. But the offensive problems started to take a toll on his tea, and the Bucs would only win twice in their final nine games, one
an overtime success against the Packers, and the other a one-point squeaker against the expansion Jaguars, thanks to Jacksonville coach
Tom Coughlin going for a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point to send the game to overtime.
Dilfer and Wyche fell out towards the end of the season and Wyche decided to get his own back on the young quarterback by telling back-
up Casey Weldon that he would be replacing Dilfer at the end of the first quarter of the season finale, irrespective of how Dilfer was
playing. Weldon went along and duly took his spot on the field against the Lions while Dilfer went ballistic on the sidelines. It also led to the
two quarterbacks ending up fighting on the golf course the following year as Trent thought Casey should have let him know what was being
planned.
The end of the season thankfully brought an end to Sam Wyche’s coaching stint in Tampa. He may well have been an offensive genius,
but it got to the point where he would rather be known for designing clever offensive plays than actually winning games. No-one shed any
tears when he left. Off the field, Sam was a seriously nice guy who most people liked. On the field, he coached for a decade in the NFL
based on one over-achieving season with the Bengals when he wound up in the Super Bowl.
The big story at the end of 1995, was the future of the franchise at all. A Personal Seat Licence campaign was launched to try and secure
a new stadium in Tampa, but the final total of 32,557 reservations was way short of the 50,000 minimum the Glazers had expected. As Art
Modell announced plans to move the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore, rumours grew about the Bucs deserting Tampa completely.
Thankfully, things were about to change for the better in Buc land on both a stadium and coaching standpoint.
TRADES
22 Apr 95
Traded a 1995 1st and 3rd
round pick to Philadelphia for a 1995 1st round
pick and two 1995 2nd round picks.
22 Apr 95
Traded QB Craig Erickson to
Indianapolis for a 1996 1st round pick.
22 Apr 95
Traded two 1995 2nd round
picks to Dallas for a 1995 1st round pick.
19 May 95
Traded TE Harold Bishop to
Cleveland for a 1996 2nd round pick.
27 Aug 95
Traded WR Charles Wilson and
DT Marc Spindler to the NY Jets for a 1996 4th
round pick.
PLAYERS OUT
TE Harold Bishop (Trade - CLE)
LB Jeff Brady (UFA - MIN)
S Marty Carter (UFA - CHI)
S Tony Covington (UFA - SEA)
QB Craig Erickson (Trade - IND)
FB Rudy Harris
DE Jeff Hunter
T Tim Irwin (Retired)
G Sean Love
FB Anthony McDowell
DT Shawn Price
RB Mazio Royster
P Dan Stryzinki (UFA - ATL)
KR Vernon Turner (UFA - CAR)
WR Charles Wilson (Trade - NYJ)
DE Karl Wilson
RB VInce Workman
PLAYERS IN
S John Booty (UFA - NYG)
DB Tony Bouie
KR Bobby Joe Edmonds
RB Jerry Ellison
S Kenny Gant (UFA - DAL)
WR Alvin Harper (UFA - DAL)
WR Marvin Marshall
QB Todd Philcox
P Reggie Roby (P - WAS)
S Todd Scott (Waivers - NYJ)
LB Darnell Stephens