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About the Author: Trevor Sikkema

Avatar Of Trevor Sikkema
Trevor Sikkema is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat reporter and NFL Draft analyst for PewterReport.com. Sikkema, an alumnus of the University of Florida, has covered both college and professional football for much of his career. As a native of the Sunshine State, when he's not buried in social media, Sikkema can be found out and active, attempting to be the best athlete he never was. Sikkema can be reached at: [email protected]

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Around the Tampa Bay area, the 2002 Buccaneers players and coaches are legends – you could have seen that for yourself when fullback, Mike Alstott, made an appearance at PewterReport.com’s charity bowling event last week. But, according to Football Outsiders of ESPN, the legend of that team isn’t confined to the Bay; it’s nation wide, and historic.

In a series where ESPN is ranking the Top 30 offenses, defenses, special teams and complete teams over the last 30 years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2002 defense came in as the second best on their defensive list.

https://twitter.com/NFLPlus/status/877307727818752000

Here’s what ESPN had to say about the Buccaneers being as high as they were, and why they weren’t No. 1.

This is the best pass defense in the past 30 years. According to DOVA*, the Bucs were 51.9 more efficient than the baseline during the regular season. They allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 51 percent of passes. They led the league in interceptions with 31, nearly double the league average of 16.5. They were at their best in the most important situations: No. 1 in the red zone, No. 1 in the second half of close games, and No. 3 against the pass on third down. Defensive end, Simeon Rice, defensive tackle, Warren Sapp, and linebacker Derrick Brooke were all selected as first-team All-Pros, with linebacker, Shelton Quarles, and safety, John Lynch, joining them in the Pro Bowl.

Similar to the 2000 Ravens, DOVA penalizes the Bucs for the easiest defensive schedule in the regular season, but they proved themselves further in the playoffs by shutting down two of the top three offenses that year. The Bucs don’t reach the No. 1 spot of all time because they were “only” eighth in DOVA against the run, including a surprising 27th against the run on third downs.

*Football Outsiders’ DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) metric accounts for every aspect of defense: how well teams prevent yardage, how often they get turnovers, and how well they keep points off the board. DVOA measures success on each play, defined using down and distance, then compares it to an NFL average baseline adjusted for situation and opponent. You can read more of the details here — and yes, defensive DVOA adjusts for opposing offenses, not defenses, but we still call it DVOA. The metric is built to balance a measurement of how well a team has played in the past with a forecast of how well a team will play in the future.

While on the topic, the NFL on ESPN Twitter account decided to get a little live vote going between three of the most known defenses in the past 30 years. They gave twitter users the choice between the 1991 Eagles (who were No. 1 on the ESPN list, by the way), the 2002 Buccaneers and the 2000 Ravens.

There were over 500 responses to the question, but one response stood out more than the rest (sorry, common Twitter users) and that was former Super Bowl Champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner, who said that the ’02 Bucs squad was the best he ever faced.

As a team, the Buccaneers came in as the 9th best team to play professional football in the last 30 years. That’s pretty special when you say it like that. That team was pretty unique, too. From the characters of Keyshawn and Sapp, to the duo of Brooks and Quarles, to the dogs of Rice and Pittman, the train of Alstott and the iconic heroes of Jurevicius, Barber and Dwight Smith in the playoffs. That team will never be copied.

Their result will be chased, but their DNA was once in a lifetime.

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