Jump to content

1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 65.30.142.113 (talk) at 22:19, 16 April 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
OwnerMalcolm Glazer
General managerRich McKay
Head coachTony Dungy
Home fieldHoulihan's Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place4th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
3
AP All-ProsFB Mike Alstott, MLB Hardy Nickerson
Team MVPMLB Hardy Nickerson
Tampa Bay kicks off while visiting the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium, September 15, 1996

The 1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the team's 21st in the National Football League.

The season began with the team trying to improve on a 7–9 season in 1995. It was the first season for first-time head coach Tony Dungy.

The 1996 Buccaneers season would be a turning point for the franchise, as the team began to acquire the personnel that would lead it into its most successful era.

The 1996 season also marked the debut year the team wore stitched up authentic name and numbers on jersey and the final year the Buccaneers wore their trademark orange and white uniforms.

Offseason

Prior to the season the Buccaneers were still unsure if the team would remain in Tampa Bay or if it would be moved by new ownership family led by Malcolm Glazer and sons, either to Cleveland,[1][2] Los Angeles,[3][4] or the nearby city of Orlando.[5] Eventually, the team's future was determined by a local referendum, which approved funding for a new stadium for the 1998 season.

Rule changes earlier in the decade brought about a salary cap, and a minimum spending cap forced Bucs to spend more on players. With the new ownership, tax disclosures showed the old Culverhouse regime was running a "for-profit" business in which players who were getting good were released before their contracts could get big, all the while claiming poor and trying to get some home games played in Orlando.

NFL Draft

Prior to the 1996 season the team drafted fullback Mike Alstott, who became one of the most popular players in the team's history, as well as defensive back Donnie Abraham. Although Alstott would become one of the Buccaneers’ most popular players of all time, the organization did not target him in the draft: the team had originally wanted tailback Leeland McElroy, who would be taken before the Bucs drafted.

= Pro Bowler [6]
Pick Round Player Position School
12 1 Regan Upshaw Defensive End California
22 1 Marcus Jones Defensive End North Carolina
35 2 Mike Alstott Fullback Purdue
71 3 Donnie Abraham Defensive Back ETSU
96 4 Jason Odom Offensive Tackle Florida
104 4 Eric Austin Defensive Back Jackson State
140 5 Jason Maniecki Defensive Tackle Wisconsin
180 6 Nilo Silvan Wide Receiver Tennessee
221 7 Reggie Rusk Defensive Back Kentucky

Undrafted free agents

1996 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Scott Milanovich Quarterback Maryland

Season Summary

Despite having been 7–7 toward the end of 1995, the 1996 team went 0–5 before getting their first win over Tony Dungy's former team, the Minnesota Vikings. The 24–13 win over Minnesota started another streak few noted at the time, in which the team held opponents to 13 points or less in four consecutive games. Despite this, the Oakland Raiders came to Tampa Bay in Week Eleven facing a 1–8 Buccaneers team. Tampa Bay defeated Oakland 20–17 in overtime, which was the first of five wins over the next seven games.

The following week, Tampa Bay traveled to the west coast, where they historically had trouble winning. Playing an interconference game at San Diego, Tampa Bay quickly found themselves down 14–0. The morning of the game, Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks were in their hotel room watching ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown. Chris Berman referred to the game as the "Superchargers" versus the "Yucs"[7][8] – a derogatory nickname that had stemmed from the Bucs many years of futility. Sapp and Brooks finally took exception to the ridicule they were being subjected to. Tampa Bay would rally in the game with a 25–3 run and won by the score of 25–17. Tampa Bay would win two of the next three, including an emotional win over Chicago 34–19 in which the Bucs returned a punt for a touchdown.

Many fans took encouragement from the team going 5–2 in the final seven games, as well as the emergence of defensive tackle Warren Sapp who had nine sacks on the season, linebacker Derrick Brooks, and fullback Mike Alstott, who along with safety John Lynch and linebacker Hardy Nickerson, were forming the core of what would prove to be a dominant defense.

The offense struggled all season, and was not helped by an ill-advised holdout by running back Errict Rhett, who would have far fewer carries the following year.[9][10]

Personnel

Staff

1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff

Front Office

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

 

Defensive Coaches

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special Teams – Joe Marciano

Strength and Conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Mark Asanovich
  • Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Aaron Komarek

[11]

Roster

1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Regular season
Week Date Opponent Result Kickoff[a] Game site TV TV Announcers Attendance Record
1 September 1, 1996 Green Bay Packers L 3–34 4:00 Houlihan's Stadium FOX Mike Breen & Bill Maas 54,102* 0–1
2 September 8, 1996 at Detroit Lions L 6–21 1:00 Pontiac Silverdome FOX Sam Rosen & Ron Pitts 54,229 0–2
3 September 15, 1996 at Denver Broncos L 23–27 8:00 Mile High Stadium TNT Verne Lundquist & Pat Haden 71,535 0–3
4 September 22, 1996 Seattle Seahawks L 13–17 4:00 Houlihan's Stadium NBC Don Criqui & Beasley Reece 30,212* 0–4
5 September 29, 1996 Detroit Lions L 0–27 1:00 Houlihan's Stadium FOX Sam Rosen & Ron Pitts 34,961* 0–5
6 Bye
7 October 13, 1996 Minnesota Vikings W 24–13 1:00 Houlihan's Stadium FOX Eric Clemons & Scott Case 32,175* 1–5
8 October 20, 1996 at Arizona Cardinals L 9–13 4:00 Sun Devil Stadium FOX Mike Breen & Bill Maas 27,738 1–6
9 October 27, 1996 at Green Bay Packers L 7–13 1:00 Lambeau Field FOX Thom Brennaman & Ron Pitts 60,627 1–7
10 November 3, 1996 at Chicago Bears L 10–13 1:00 Soldier Field FOX Kenny Albert & Tim Green 58,727 1–8
11 November 10, 1996 Oakland Raiders W 20–17 OT 1:00 Houlihan's Stadium NBC Jim Lampley & Bob Golic 45,392* 2–8
12 November 17, 1996 at San Diego Chargers W 25–17 4:00 Jack Murphy Stadium FOX Thom Brennaman & Ron Pitts 57,526 3–8
13 November 24, 1996 New Orleans Saints W 13–7 1:00 Houlihan's Stadium FOX Eric Clemons & Scott Case 40,203* 4–8
14 December 1, 1996 at Carolina Panthers L 0–24 1:00 Ericsson Stadium FOX Thom Brennaman & Ron Pitts 57,623 4–9
15 December 8, 1996 Washington Redskins W 10–24 1:00 Houlihan's Stadium FOX Joe Buck & Bill Maas 44,723* 5–9
16 December 15, 1996 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–21 1:00 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome FOX Joe Buck & Bill Maas 49,302 5–10
17 December 22, 1996 Chicago Bears W 34–19 1:00 Houlihan's Stadium FOX Thom Brennaman & Ron Pitts 51,572* 6–10

Notes:

a All times in North American Eastern Time. (UTC–4 and UTC–5 during Standard Time)
  • = blacked out locally

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Green Bay Packers 13 3 0 .813 456 210 W5
(6) Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 298 315 L1
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 283 305 L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 10 0 .375 221 293 W1
Detroit Lions 5 11 0 .313 302 368 L5

References

  1. ^ "NFL teams shift into move groove: Owners to vote Feb. 8–9 on Browns"; in The Washington Times; January 19, 1996; p.
  2. ^ “Pro Football: Vote Is Delayed on Browns’ Relocation”; in The New York Times; January 18, 1996
  3. ^ "NFL's Games of Musical Chairs Making Football Fans Fell Dizzy"; in Ocala Star-Banner, July 1, 1995; p. 1D
  4. ^ "NFL Owners Spared Tough Agenda Today"; in Charlotte Observer; May 21, 1996
  5. ^ "No. 1 NFL Rule on Relocation Is That There Are No Rules"; in St. Louis Post-Dispatch; November 12, 1995; p. 03F
  6. ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  7. ^ Bianchi, Mike (2004-03-22). "Sapp Earned Tampa Fans' Shrugs". Daily Press. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
  8. ^ "Relentless: the Road to Canton – Warren Sapp": NFL Network
  9. ^ The bulk of Tampa Bay's carries in 1997 would be handled by Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn.
  10. ^ Pro Football Reference.com: Errict Rhett Rhett would have only 31 carries for 96 yards for Tampa in 1997.
  11. ^ 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Media Guide. pp. 44–46. Archived from the original on 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1996_Tampa_Bay_Buccaneers_season&oldid=951386775"