For many years, Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets were at best an afterthought in Tampa. The team was terrible every season, and no one wanted to go watch the dregs of the NFL lose week in and week out. That all began to change in the 1990’s, however, with the arrival of Tony Dungy, who helped turn the entire culture of this historically-bad franchise around. Management ultimately grew impatient with Dungy, though, and dismissed him after the 2001 season.
In came wunderkind Jon Gruden, who had built the Raiders into a Super Bowl contender. Gruden was seen as the coach who could take the Buccaneers to the next level, and that’s exactly what he did. Gruden led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl championship in his first year with the club, and he was instantly hailed as a hero in Tampa.
The only point that was made in regards to the Super Bowl title, though was that Gruden had won with “Dungy’s players.” This appeared to not sit well with Gruden, so he teamed with his former Raiders colleague Bruce Allen and began to mold the franchise the way he saw fit.
Normally, when a coach wins a Super Bowl, he’s given almost a limitless amount of latitude, especially since Gruden did not come cheaply to the Buccaneers. The Bucs’ ownership gave the Raiders a bevy of draft picks and millions of dollars in cash to bring him to Florida, and their investment appeared to pay off immediately both in terms of glory and in the sales volume of Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets.
However, after a few seasons without any serious runs towards another Super Bowl, questions about Gruden are beginning to surface. Most basically, the question that’s beginning to arise is, “Are the Buccaneers headed in the right direction?” We’ll attempt to answer that below.
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Gruden has always been a big believer in veterans, especially at the quarterback position. He led the Raiders back to prominence with Rich Gannon pulling the trigger on his complicated offense and won the Super Bowl in Tampa with Brad Johnson at the controls. This belief in veterans extends beyond quarterbacks, however, and that belief is shown throughout the Buccaneers’ current roster.
The benefit of playing a veteran team is that these teams are always prepared and make fewer mistakes in general. However, a roster filled with veterans also shortens the championship window, as older players tend to lose their physical edge at unpredictable times, and with the salary cap in place, it’s not easy to have the proper depth in place.
That appears to be what’s happening with the Tampa Bay defense. The Buccaneers’ defense had a run of legendary play, and that unit was as responsible as any not only for the team’s rise under Dungy, but also for their Super Bowl win. That defense is starting to get old, and there aren’t many talented players waiting to replace their core.
The same could be said for their offense, as Gruden has never really put together a dominant, precision-oriented attack for which he’s known. Their starting quarterback going into the season, Chris Simms, was badly injured, and now Gruden is left with a rookie in Bruce Gradkowski. Gradkowski is playing well, but he’s no Rich Gannon or Brad Johnson, at least not yet.
Overall, the team is aging, and they may have to do some rebuilding before long as their core players continue to age. Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets will remain in demand for the foreseeable future, but for how long remains to be seen.
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