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About the Author: Scott Reynolds
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The year 2020 marks my 25th season covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for you, the loyal PewterReport.com reader. As I begin this milestone season, I’m going to spend the next 25 weeks telling some never-before-told Bucs stories and recalling some of my most memorable moments in my professional journey.
FAB 4. Next 5 For Bucs Ring Of Honor Induction
It was great to see that the last two Buccaneers legends that I’ve publicly campaigned for regarding the Bucs Ring of Honor, cornerback Ronde Barber and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, have been chosen for induction. Barber went in last year and Kiffin will see his name go up on the walls of Raymond James Stadium this fall.
Monte Kiffin and Scott Reynolds – Photo by: Ashley Reynolds/PR
I greatly appreciate the Glazers reading my suggestions over the years on PewterReport.com, but take no credit for getting them in the Bucs Ring of Honor. The accomplishments of Barber, the franchise’s all-time leading interceptor, and Kiffin, who is the all-time winningest coach in Bucs history and engineer of the famed Tampa 2 defense, speak for themselves.
So as I stroll down memory lane and reflect on my 24 years of covering the Buccaneers, I’ve got five more legendary names to offer up to the Glazers for consideration. Let’s start with one of the first Bucs I got to cover when I arrived in Tampa in 1995 – Hardy Nickerson, aka El Dragón.
MLB Hardy Nickerson (1993-99)
Nickerson was a five-time Pro Bowler (1993, 1996-99) and a four-time All-Pro (1993, ’96, ’97 and ’99) in Tampa Bay and was a key fixture in the Tampa 2 defense that helped propel the team to the playoffs in 1997 and again in 1999. Nickerson was the fiery leader of the Bucs defense that helped develop the likes of Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks, as well as Hall of Fame worthy defenders like Barber and John Lynch.
Legendary Bucs MLB Hardy Nickerson – Photo by: Getty Images
Nickerson was a big-time free agent signing in 1993 and greatly helped change the culture at One Buccaneer Place. He made an immediate impact that year with 213 tackles, which is still a single-season team record, and became the first Buccaneer to reach 1,000 career tackles with 1,028, which ranks third in franchise history behind only Barber (1,428) and Brooks (2,198). Nickerson was re-signed in 1996 shortly after Tony Dungy’s arrival, and retaining the team’s stud middle linebacker was an immediate feather in Dungy’s hat.
Nickerson went on to spend a year as the Buccaneers Radio color analyst in 2006 before joining Lovie Smith’s coaching staff as the linebackers coach in Tampa Bay from 2014-15. Nickerson, who won the Byron “Whizzer” White NFL Man of the Year in 1997, was named to the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team and deserves to be the next Tampa Bay legend in the Bucs Ring of Honor.
DE Simeon Rice (2001-06)
Rice should follow Nickerson into the Bucs Ring of Honor, as the only other more feared and ferocious edge rusher in Tampa Bay history was Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon. Rice was a dynamite free agent acquisition in 2001 and a part of four playoff teams in Tampa Bay, including two division champions and the team’s Super Bowl championship in 2002.
Bucs DE Simeon Rice and DT Warren Sapp – Photo by: Getty Images
Rice had a colorful, eccentric personality and teamed with Sapp to form a potent inside-outside pass rush in Tampa Bay. He recorded double-digit sacks in five straight years before a shoulder injury in 2006 limited him to just two sacks, including 15.5 during the 2002 season. Rice would go on to record four more sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in the postseason helping the Bucs win Super Bowl XXXVII.
Rice would record 69.5 sacks in Tampa Bay, which ranks third all-time behind Sapp (77) and Selmon (78.5). Rice was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Bucs (2002-03) and a two-time All-Pro (2002-03).
LB Shelton Quarles (1997-2006)
Sticking with the Bucs’ Tampa 2 defense, Quarles deserves to be included in the Bucs Ring of Honor. Perhaps the least heralded member of Tampa Bay’s defense, Quarles was one of the most important, and if you don’t believe me, I’ll remind you that his likeness is featured in the team’s Super Bowl statue in the front lobby at the AdventHealth Training Center alongside Rice, Brooks, Sapp, Lynch, Barber, fullback Mike Alstott and quarterback Brad Johnson.
Quarles was a part of six Bucs playoff teams, three division titles (1999, 2002, 2005) as well as the Super Bowl championship, mostly as Tampa Bay’s strongside linebacker. In 2002, Quarles was moved to middle linebacker and was the quarterback of the Super Bowl defense, earning his lone Pro Bowl berth that year with 113 tackles, two interceptions, one sack and a defensive score.
Ex-Bucs LBs Shelton Quarles (Photo by: Getty Images)
Quarles had 113 starts in Tampa Bay, which ranks ninth all-time, one ahead of Bucs Ring of Honor tight end Jimmie Giles (112) and four behind Selmon (117). And Quarles is also the Bucs’ fourth all-time leading tackler with 985 stops – just ahead of Lynch (973) and other notable Tampa Bay linebackers like Jeff Davis (662) and Cecil Johnson (645). Quarles’ 98-yard pick-six of Brett Favre in 2001 is the longest defensive play in Bucs history.
Since retiring in 2007, Quarles has served the Bucs organization as a scout and the director of pro scouting, and currently serves as the director of football operations. He’s spent 23 years with the organization, which is the longest span of any player in any capacity – and that should be rewarded.
RB James Wilder (1981-89)
I would be remiss if I didn’t include Wilder in my pitch for the Bucs Ring of Honor. Most of the franchise rushing records he set in the 1980s still stand today, including the most carries (1,575) for the most yards (5,957) in team history. It’s crazy to think that after the likes of Mike Alstott, Warrick Dunn, Cadillac Williams and Doug Martin that Wilder remains atop of Tampa Bay’s all-time rushing chart.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound bruising runner with breakaway speed scored 37 rushing touchdowns (46 total TDs) and had a franchise-record 14 100-yard games in orange and white. Wilder also set an NFL record for the most carries in a single season with 407 during the 1984 season, as he rushed for 1,544 yards, which is still the Bucs’ single-season record for rushing yards. That record number of carries was eventually broken in 1998 when Atlanta’s Jamal Anderson had 410 carries, before being topped by Kansas City’s Larry Johnson’s 416 in 2006.
Former Bucs RB James Wilder – Photo by: Getty Images
Wilder was also an accomplished receiver, as his 430 career receptions in Tampa Bay (for 3,492 yards (8.1 avg.) with nine touchdowns) was also a Bucs record until it was broken by Mike Evans last year. Wilder had three 100-yard receiving games in Tampa Bay and accumulated 9,449 yards of total offense. To put that in perspective, Evans only has 7,260 yards in his illustrious six years in Tampa Bay, and Alstott produced 7,372 yards in his storied 11 years as a Buccaneer.
Wilder made just one Pro Bowl (1984) and didn’t play on a playoff team in Tampa Bay, so he has that working against him, as every member of the current Bucs Ring of Honor has at least been a part of a Bucs team that made it to the postseason. But the sheer number of records that Wilder, whose 75-yard touchdown against Minnesota in 1983 was the longest in team history until Dunn had a 76-yard run in 1997 as a rookie, can’t be ignored. Wilder was one of the Bucs’ ultimate weapons and he should be recognized for his accomplishments – even despite playing on several bad teams in Tampa Bay.
C Tony Mayberry (1990-99)
Mayberry is a long shot at best, which is why I left his candidacy for last. Offensive linemen don’t get much respect to begin with, and the team has only one – left tackle Paul Gruber – in the Bucs Ring of Honor. While it’s universally agreed upon that Gruber was a Pro Bowl-caliber left tackle despite the fact he was never voted to the Pro Bowl, Mayberry was a three-time Pro Bowler for the Bucs from 1997-99, and was the first ever Tampa Bay offensive lineman selected to the Pro Bowl.
Former Bucs C Tony Mayberry – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers
Mayberry was an absolute rock for the Bucs at the center position where he racked up an impressive 145 starts in his career, which is the fourth-highest total in team history ahead of the likes of Lynch (132), Sapp (130) and Selmon (117). Mayberry’s blocking up front was instrumental in helping Trent Dilfer become the first Bucs quarterback to make the Pro Bowl in 1997, in addition to Alstott and Dunn making the Pro Bowl that year too, as Tampa Bay ended its 13-year postseason drought with a wild card playoff berth.
Mayberry ended his illustrious career as Tampa Bay’s most decorated offensive lineman after the Bucs’ loss in the NFC Championship Game in 1999. Bucs Radio Network’s Gene Deckerhoff was famous for his “Alstott up the gut!” catchphrase during the late 1990s as Tampa Bay emerged as a perennial playoff contender, but who do you think was paving the way for those A-Train runs up the middle? It was Mayberry, whose combination of brains and brawn served Tampa Bay well for a full decade.
Stay tuned for another Bucs story from yesteryear in next week’s SR’s Fab 5. And if you missed my previous Bucs memories from the past 24 years of covering the team, click on the links below.
