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FAB 1. Comparison: 2020 Bucs vs. Super Bowl Bucs

Newsflash: The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t win Super Bowl XXXVII just because of Hall of Famers like Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks, and Bucs Ring of Honor members like Ronde Barber, John Lynch and Mike Alstott. All five of those Tampa Bay legends were on the 2000 and 2001 playoff teams that got routed in Philadelphia and become one-and-dones in the postseason.

Despite all the star power and a locker room full of pewter Pro Bowlers, the Bucs couldn’t get over the hump and beat the Eagles to get out of the first round of the playoffs in back-to-back years. Not even after adding defensive end Simeon Rice and quarterback Brad Johnson in 2001 could Tampa Bay topple the Eagles in Philadelphia in the postseason.

So what did it take for the Bucs to finally emerge victorious in Philly and win the first Super Bowl in franchise history? It wasn’t so much the play of the superstars as it was the play of semi-stars that put the Bucs over the top in 2002.

It was replacing “C” level players with “B” level players on the roster as much as it was Sapp continuing to raise hell in the middle of the defense, Rice getting 15.5 sacks and Brooks winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.

It was signing Michael Pittman, who rushed for 741 yards in 2002, replacing Warrick Dunn, who ran for just 447 yards and averaged just 2.8 yards per carry in 2001. It was moving left tackle Kenyatta Walker to right tackle to serve as an upgrade there over Jerry Wunsch, and signing Roman Oben to replace Walker at left tackle and serve as an upgrade there. It was signing Kerry Jenkins to replace an aging, 37-year old Randall McDaniel at left guard. It was moving strongside linebacker Shelton Quarles to middle linebacker to replace Jamie Duncan and turn in have a Pro Bowl performance. It was signing Greg Spires to replace an ineffective Marcus Jones at left defensive end.

It was cornerback Brian Kelly recording an NFC-high eight interceptions in 2002 after not getting a single pick the year before. It was nickel cornerback Dwight Smith posting four interceptions after not picking off a pass as a rookie in 2001.

So have the Buccaneers made enough upgrades this season with the additions of veteran Pro Bowlers in Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski and drafting players likes right tackle Tristan Wirfs and safety Antoine Winfield, Jr.?

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Will enough young “C” players like cornerbacks Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean, running back Ronald Jones II and kicker Matt Gay improve to “B” level status in 2020 to make the necessary difference to get the Bucs back in the playoffs?

Are the Bucs legitimate Super Bowl contenders?

Let’s see where things stand heading into 2020 for the Buccaneers, who are coming off a 7-9 season last season, and compare this year’s roster to Tampa Bay’s 2002 Super Bowl roster.

2002 “A” Grade Players – 6

LB Derrick Brooks
DT Warren Sapp
DE Simeon Rice
CB Ronde Barber
SS John Lynch
FB Mike Alstott

Ex-Bucs DT Warren Sapp & FB Mike Alstott – Photo by: Getty Images

Analysis: Five of these Buccaneers made the Pro Bowl in 2002 (Barber was the lone exception), with Sapp and Brooks winding up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lynch, Barber and Rice have Hall of Fame aspirations, but Lynch, Barber and Alstott are in the Bucs Ring of Honor. Don’t be surprised if Rice doesn’t join in them in a year or two. The players on this list were already Bucs legends at the time of them winning Super Bowl XXXVII. Not only did all six of these players have great careers in Tampa Bay, they each played at an elite level during the Bucs’ Super Bowl campaign, delivering some signature moments in key victories during the regular season and the postseason.

2002 “B” Grade Players – 13

QB Brad Johnson
LB Shelton Quarles
CB Brian Kelly
C Jeff Christy
K Martin Gramatica
WR Keyshawn Johnson
WR Keenan McCardell
WR Joe Jurevicius
LT Roman Oben
DE Greg Spires
FS Dexter Jackson
CB Dwight Smith
RB Michael Pittman

Ex-Bucs WRs Keenan McCardell and Keyshawn Johnson – Photo by: Getty Images

Analysis: Brad Johnson and Quarles had Pro Bowl seasons in 2002, while Kelly led the NFC in interceptions with eight, and yet was snubbed for the Pro Bowl. Christy, Gramatica and Keyshawn Johnson, who was Tampa Bay’s lone 1,000-yard receiver in 2002, had previously been to the Pro Bowl as Buccaneers in either 2000 or 2001. McCardell and Jurevicius were upgrades over Jacquez Green and Reidel Anthony, and we’ve already discussed how Oben and Spires were new upgrades as well. Jackson was an emerging free safety and Smith took a massive leap as a playmaker in his second year in replacing Donnie Abraham. The Bucs had six “A” grade players in 2000 and 2001, but didn’t have anywhere near 12 “B” level players on the roster at that time, which held the team back until 2002.

2020 “A” Grade Players – 6

QB Tom Brady
WR Mike Evans
ILB Lavonte David
OLB Shaquil Barrett
WR Chris Godwin
OLB Jason Pierre-Paul

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Analysis: Tampa Bay very well could have seven “A” grade players on its 2020 roster with the addition tight end Rob Gronkowski, provided he returns to his past Pro Bowl form immediately in a new scheme. Even at age 42, Brady is still on top of his game from a mental standpoint, and with the offensive weaponry he has at his disposal in Tampa Bay he still warrants an “A” grade. The Bucs are counting on Brady protecting the ball better than Jameis Winston did and distributing the ball to his playmakers. Evans and David are already Bucs legends with Evans seemingly on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Barrett emerged as a Pro Bowler last year while leading the league with 19.5 sacks and breaking Sapp’s single-season Bucs record of 16.5. Godwin was a first-time Pro Bowler last year and had an even better season than Evans did, while Pierre-Paul returned from a broken neck to play at a very high level with 8.5 sacks in 10 games, including five over the last two games of the season. JPP has averaged 10.5 sacks per year in his two seasons in Tampa Bay.

“B” Grade Players – 6

TE Rob Gronkowski
G Ali Marpet
C Ryan Jensen
NT Vita Vea
DT Ndamukong Suh
ILB Devin White

Bucs C Ryan Jensen and LG Ali Marpet – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Analysis: The amount of “B” grade players will ultimately determine whether or not the Bucs make the playoffs and contend for a Super Bowl or not in 2020. If Gronkowski is healthy he’s a difference-maker at tight end and will essentially serve as the third receiver behind Evans and Godwin. Marpet and Jensen are the team’s best offensive linemen, while the emerging Vea and Suh are also on the “B” level due to their stellar play at stuffing the run and pushing the pocket. White showed enough play-making ability at the end of last year to warrant a “B” grade. Tampa Bay has nearly a dozen other players that I would consider potential “B” players including Davis, Murphy-Bunting, Dean, Gay, Jones, left tackle Donovan Smith and tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate among others. But as of right now, they are “C” players that need to ascend in 2020.

So there is the same number of “A” players between the two Tampa Bay teams with six apiece, but there is a big disparity between the 2002 and the 2020 Buccaneers, especially at the “B” level – 13 to 6 – and that’s significant. But when the 2002 season began, no one would have necessarily thought that the Bucs would have had 13 “B” grade players by the end of the season.

Yet it was those 13 “B” grade Buccaneers that helped get the team past Philadelphia in the playoffs and on to Tampa Bay’s first Super Bowl appearance and victory. It was Brad Johnson connecting with Jurevicius on a key 71-yard pass against the Eagles, and throwing a touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson along with two field goals from Gramatica that were just as important as Alstott’s touchdown or Barber’s pick-six in the 2002 NFC Championship Game.

Ex-Bucs RB Michael Pittman – Photo by: Getty Images

It was Johnson hitting McCardell with two touchdown passes, Jackson’s two interceptions that made him the Super Bowl MVP, Pittman’s 124 yards rushing and Smith’s two pick-sixes that mattered just as much as Alstott’s touchdown, Brooks’ pick-six and Rice’s two sacks and a forced fumble that made Tampa Bay a Super Bowl champion.

For the Buccaneers to make it to the playoffs – and possibly the Super Bowl – in the upcoming 2020 season, they’ll need their stars to shine brightly this year. But Tampa Bay will need an awful lot of shine from its semi-stars, too.

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