It was wonderful to win the Super Bowl. But I think we have lost sight of the real reason we won. Jon Gruden just tweaked a great team. We have former coach Tony Dungy and former general manager Rich McKay to thank for the winning team.
We have lost the players most responsible except for Derrick Brooks, Mike Alstott, Joe Jurevicius and a few others. You can't respect a team that keeps a felon like Michael Pittman and lets people like Lynch and Sapp go.
I feel sorry for the Bucs fans who have paid such a high price, money-wise and morally, for this team.
I have lost all respect for the owners and managers. Poor, Monte Kiffin. He probably wishes he had left when he had the chance. I will root for the Bucs' opponents.
-- Barbara Feeney, South Pasadena
I think the Buccaneers lost the game when they put an inexperienced Chris Simms in the game. Jon Gruden said he was looking for a spark. Well, he didn't get one.
Brad Johnson threw an interception, and that was the only mistake he made. Of course, he wasn't given much of a chance to redeem himself.
Simms looked okay until he fumbled the ball inside the Seahawks 5. Then he fumbled on an important third down in the third quarter. Finally in the end, when the game was practically handed to him with three Seahawk defensive penalties, he threw the ball when he was falling down, and it was picked off.
Simms reminded me of Rob Johnson, who would panic and make a mistake. This tells me that the Buccaneers should stick with Johnson and start throwing vertically.
-- Geoffrey Kneen, Dunedin
What do you have when you combine the Bucs offense and James Dean? Answer: Rebel without a clue!
What do Jon Gruden and Stevie Wonder have in common? Answer: They're both blind!
Have any of these offensive plays ever worked in practice? Answer: I sure hope so!
-- Mark Clemons, Clearwater
What?! Down by 7, 4 minutes left in the game and the Bucs on the Seahawks 11 yard line. What's a coach to do? Bring in Grammatica for the field goal! Well, at least Gruden got 3 points. He must have started Grammatica on his fantasy league team!
-- Rick Henry, Spring Hill
If any other NFL team had the Bucs defense - even without Warren Sapp and John Lynch - they'd be headed straight to Jacksonville for the Super Bowl.
The defense makes a few early mistakes and then shuts down the other team. But still, they fail us by not scoring a touchdown on a turnover. We sure can't expect the offense to do it.
Gruden needs to give his Super Bowl ring and weekly paychecks to defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. The Glazers need to erect a big 100-foot statue for Monte in the end zone opposite of the pirate ship.
And they need to put a 50-foot stepladder next to it so every last member of the Bucs offense can climb it and pay tribute with a kiss on the backside.
-- Brent Kailbourn, via e-mail
Jon Gruden should face the fact that the offensive line is terrible, and it may be impossible to fix during the season. If he wants to save the season, then focus on the running game, not the passing game, for with no offensive line, there will be NO passing game. There is only one running back that fits the bill for this situation ,Mike Alstott. He does not necessarily need for the line to open holes for him, he can open them himself. So why is Mike only touching the ball once or twice? I am a fan of Jon Gruden, but it is time for him to realize he is wrong and give the ball to Mike and run, run, run!!! Is it because Mike is from the Tony Dungy era, that Jon won't give him the ball? If not then Why? Let Mike and the defense save this season!Elizabeth Stacy, New Port Richey
The fair weather Buccaneer fans in this town are enough to make me sick! They whined and cried about never getting to the "Big Game" with the beloved saint, Coach Tony Dungy. Well, the Bucs finally jettisoned the stoic Dungy, (probably a couple of seasons too late) and brought in a young, fiery Jon Gruden, and he re-makes the Buccaneers team, assembles a play-making offense and wins us a Super Bowl championship.
Now, fast forward two seasons later and people are not only vilifying Gruden as Satan himself, but then these goobers go totally overboard. Now I'm hearing callers to local radio and seeing comments in the paper to the effect of: "Man, I'd rather have Dungy and Clyde Christianson or Mike Shula back. At least we knew what we were getting!" We knew what we were getting alright. We were getting three runs up the middle and a punt to close every drive. We were getting unimaginative and sickeningly predictable play calling that every opponent in the league as well as every fan in the stands knew what was coming.
-- Bill Filippone, Tampa
[Last modified September 26, 2004, 01:27:21]
