The 2006 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 31st season in the National Football League (NFL), the 9th playing their home games at Raymond James Stadium, and the 5th under head coach Jon Gruden.
The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record in 2005, tumbled to a 4–12 record and missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
Summary After winning their division in 2005, the Buccaneers suffered through an abysmal 2006 season. The season was plagued by injuries, with starters such as guard Dan Buenning, wide receiver Michael Clayton, running back Carnell Williams, defensive end Simeon Rice, cornerback Brian Kelly, and quarterback Chris Simms all being placed on injured reserve at some point in the season. The season also saw a lot of rookies starting for the Buccaneers, such as quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, tackle Jeremy Trueblood, and guard Davin Joseph. The league schedule was also unfriendly to the Buccaneers, scheduling them for 3 games (two of them away games) within 11 days of each other.
There was more to the lost season than just injuries, as most of the players put on injured reserve had been done so after the team's 0–3 start, and offensive shutouts in the first two games in which no touchdowns were scored by the Buccaneers. The departure of several key defensive coaches and assistants didn't bode well with players, who complained to some in the media of not being able to hear coaches in team meetings.
Inconsistent and unorganized are how some players referred to one of the newcomers, who most players had a hard time making the transition from longtime favorites Rod Marinelli and others. Some believe the problems in 2006 were rooted in recent years mistakes, lack of salary cap room to bring in high impact free agents, lack of top 50 draft picks over the last 5 or 6 years due to trades, and maybe even a failure to properly assess talent resulting in a lack of contribution from second day draft picks in recent history.
The Buccaneers started off the season 0–3, with quarterback Chris Simms throwing only 1 touchdown to 7 interceptions. In the third game of the season, a last-minute loss to the Carolina Panthers, Simms's spleen was ruptured, and he was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season. After their bye week, the Bucs elected to start rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, a 6th-round pick from Toledo.
Gradkowski started off performing decently. People who in hindsight claim the Buccaneers should have started the more experienced Tim Rattay forget the Buccaneers nearly upset the New Orleans Saints, and then went on to win two narrow victories: one, against the Cincinnati Bengals, winning on an overturned call resulting in a touchdown; and another against the Philadelphia Eagles, thanks to Matt Bryant’s 62-yard field goal. After these victories, though, Gradkowski's performance declined. After a 17–3 loss to the New York Giants in heavy winds, the Buccaneers proceeded to lose 5 of their next 6 games, leading them to a record of 3–10 (0–6 in their division). In the loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Gradkowski was replaced in the 4th quarter by Rattay.
In the first half of the Buccaneers' next game, against the Chicago Bears, Gradkowski was again replaced by Rattay, who led the team from a 24–3 deficit to a score of 31–31, with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. However, the Buccaneers then lost the game in overtime, 34–31. Rattay was then named the new starting quarterback for the last two games for the season. The Buccaneers finished their season with a 4–12 record, tied for third worst in the NFL. The overall defense was ranked in the low 20s, the first time a Tampa Bay defense was not ranked in the top ten since 1996.
The Buccaneers sent three players to the 2007 Pro Bowl, cornerback Ronde Barber, tight end/long snapper Dave Moore (A "Need" player according to Saints coach Sean Payton), and late addition outside linebacker Derrick Brooks (as an injury replacement). This would be Brooks's 10th consecutive Pro Bowl and 10th Pro Bowl overall.
It was also the final season for longtime fullback Mike Alstott. Although he was on the roster the following season, he was unable to play due to a preseason neck injury against New England.
Offseason In the 2006 NFL draft, the Buccaneers used their first pick on Oklahoma Guard Davin Joseph. They then used their next pick on Boston College offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood. The rest of their picks included Notre Dame wide receiver Maurice Stovall, Penn State cornerback Alan Zemaitis, Stanford defensive end Julian Jenkins, Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, North Carolina State tight end T.J. Williams (who was lost for the upcoming season to injury when he tore his right Achilles tendon the week of June 19), Oregon cornerback Justin Phinisee, Clemson defensive end Charles Bennett, and Michigan tight end Tim Massaquoi.
After a potential season-ending injury to backup quarterback Luke McCown, the Buccaneers signed veteran quarterback Jay Fiedler to back up Chris Simms on June 29. The signing maintains the four-deep status of the backup quarterback position, as Tim Rattay, Jared Allen, and Bruce Gradkowski are still on the roster (as of July 18). Additionally, the team signed two-year veteran tight end Matt Kranchick to replace T.J. Williams, who was lost for the season due to injury, as noted above.
Staff
Roster
Preseason The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played four preseason games. The home team is in capital letters. August 11 BUCCANEERS 16, Jets 3 August 19 Dolphins 13, BUCCANEERS 10 August 26 Jaguars 29, Buccaneers 18 August 31 Texans 16, Buccaneers 13
Schedule In the 2006 regular season, the Bucs’ non-divisional conference opponents were primarily from the NFC East, although they also played the Seattle Seahawks who headed the 2005 NFC West, and the Chicago Bears who had headed the 2005 NFC North. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC North.
Week Date Kickoff (ET) Opponent Results Game Site TV Final score Team record 1 September 10 1:00 pm Baltimore Ravens L 0–27 0–1 Raymond James Stadium CBS 2 September 17 1:00 pm at Atlanta Falcons L 3–14 0–2 Georgia Dome Fox 3 September 24 1:00 pm Carolina Panthers L 24–26 0–3 Raymond James Stadium Fox 4Bye Week 5 October 8 1:00 pm at New Orleans Saints L 21–24 0–4 Louisiana Superdome Fox 6 October 15 1:00 pm Cincinnati Bengals W 14–13 1–4 Raymond James Stadium CBS 7 October 22 1:00 pm Philadelphia Eagles W 23–21 2–4 Raymond James Stadium Fox 8 October 29 1:00 pm at New York Giants L 3–17 2–5 Giants Stadium Fox 9 November 5 1:00 pm New Orleans Saints L 14–31 2–6 Raymond James Stadium Fox 10 November 13 8:00 pmat Carolina Panthers L 10–24 2–7 Bank of America Stadium ESPN 11 November 19 1:00 pm Washington Redskins W 20–17 3–7 Raymond James Stadium Fox 12 November 23 4:15 pmat Dallas Cowboys L 10–38 3–8 Texas Stadium Fox 13 December 3 4:15 pm at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–20 3–9 Heinz Field Fox 14 December 10 1:00 pm Atlanta Falcons L 6–17 3–10 Raymond James Stadium Fox 15 December 17 1:00 pm at Chicago Bears L 31–34 (OT) 3–11 Soldier Field Fox 16 December 24 1:00 pm at Cleveland Browns W 22–7 4–11 Cleveland Browns Stadium Fox 17 December 31 1:00 pm Seattle Seahawks L 7–23 4–12 Raymond James Stadium FoxDivision games are in bold text.
Indicates the Thanksgiving Day game. Indicates game is Monday Night Football.
Standings
Regular season
Week 1: vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Buccaneers opened the regular season at home against the Baltimore Ravens on September 10 by being shutout for the first time since Week 14 of the 2005 season. The game began with the Ravens scoring a touchdown after a clock-killing 80-yard drive, and the Buccaneers were never able to respond. Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms threw three interceptions and many of his passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage, an issue that was present during the pre-season and would continue to plague Simms in the next two games. In addition, second-year running back Carnell Williams struggled with back spasms and was held to just 22 rushing yards on 8 carries.
Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons
The Bucs went to the Georgia Dome for a Week 2 contest against their division rival, Atlanta Falcons. Historically, the Buccaneers had been able to effectively contain Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick, shutting down the Falcons' offense in the process. However, the Buccaneers' performance here had not improved much from Week 1. The defense was unable to stop the running duo of Vick and running back Warrick Dunn, whose combined performance netted 261 yards, and 306 for Atlanta as a team—a new Falcons team record. Also illustrating their sharp fall in performance from their #1 NFL ranking the previous season, the Buccaneers' defense also allowed a 1-yard quarterback touchdown run by Vick and a 4-yard touchdown pass to fullback Fred McCrary. Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms continued to struggle, throwing another three interceptions, while Carnell Williams was held to just 37 yards on 15 carries. The Buccaneers' only points came on a chip-shot 22-yard field goal by kicker Matt Bryant.
Week 3: vs. Carolina Panthers
The Bucs played one of their most heated rivals, the Carolina Panthers, at home. In the first half, it was a rout 20–7 with Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms' first pass intercepted by the Panthers' Chris Gamble. In the second quarter, Tampa Bay finally scored its first touchdown of the season on a short pass from Simms to Joey Galloway, then followed that up in the third quarter with Carnell Williams scoring his first touchdown run of the season. Later that quarter, Simms led a drive that was wrapped up by a 2-yard bootleg by Simms on a fake to Mike Alstott, but Simms was hit hard on the play, and had to leave the game momentarily to let rookie Bruce Gradkowski take over. Simms returned in the fourth quarter to lead another scoring drive which ended with a long field goal by Matt Bryant. Unfortunately for the Bucs, the Panthers' kicker John Kasay hit his fourth field goal of the day, winning the game for the Panthers with only six seconds to spare. After the game, it was learned that Simms had a ruptured spleen and went into emergency surgery to remove it. Originally diagnosed as bruised ribs, it was only discovered shortly after the game ended. If discovery had been delayed any longer, Simms would have died. The injury cost Simms the rest of the season.
Week 4: Open date The Buccaneers bye week was scheduled for week 4.
Week 5: at New Orleans Saints
Coming off their bye week, the Buccaneers were still looking for their first win of the season. The Buccaneers traveled to the Louisiana Superdome for their third divisional match-up in a row—this time, against the New Orleans Saints. The Buccaneers scored first as rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Joey Galloway in the first quarter; the Saints responded with a 21-yard field goal from kicker John Carney. The Saints continued scoring, with a 24-yard touchdown run from running back Deuce McAllister in the second quarter, and a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ernie Conwell in the third quarter. The Buccaneers finally responded with a 1-yard touchdown run from fullback Mike Alstott, and took the lead in the fourth quarter with Gradkowski's 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Alex Smith. Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, a special teams breakdown led to Saints running back Reggie Bush getting his inaugural NFL touchdown on a 65-yard punt return, which sealed the win for the Saints.
Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals