NFC South Trash Talk: Let's Make Fun of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

As the 2015 NFL offseason continues and we are enjoying the highlights of plays made by men in shorts and t-shirts during the OTAs (let's face it, the only highlights that matter are those made by men in tights, during the regular season and the playoffs) we are continuing on our NFC South Trash Talk mini-series. Today, we are taking a look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and we are not trying not to laugh.  The Bucs are hilarious. At times I almost feel a little bad for them and the level of ineptitude they have displayed in recent years, but then I quickly remember that if they lost every game in a season, I wouldn't mind at all. Oh wait, they did that already! Here are three reasons why I'm making fun of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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1. I'll Have Some Losing with that Creamsicle

For a long time, the Buccaneers wore the awful creamsicle uniforms you can see in the picture below. They did so in 1976 when they went winless (0-14) in the entire NFL season. What most people do not actually know or recall is the fact that these Buccaneers went on to lose an NFL record 26 games in a row between the 1976 and 1977 season (which they finished 2-12).

The losing hasn't stopped there. Despite winning the Super Bowl in 2002, as hard as it is to believe, the Bucs haven't made the playoffs since 2007. In the seven seasons since, Tampa Bay is 39-73 (.348). So now they also fire the cannon at Raymond James Stadium for first downs and field goals made, because well...wins have been hard to come by (I made up that last part, they fire cannons only for touchdowns. So they almost never fire it).

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2. Who's Your Quarterback?

Never mind that in 1987 the Buccaneers traded this guy:

And as a replacement they selected this guy as the first overall pick:

For the youngsters out there, these are Steve Young (8) and Vinny Testaverde (14).

For nearly a decade now, the Bucs have been a fun team to watch at quarterback. That's if you're not a Bucs fan. Let's have a little comparison here between the Saints and the Bucs, for the past nine seasons:

Saints Starting Quarterback: 2006-2014

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Buccaneers Starting Quarterback(s): Just 2006

Bruce Gradkowski

Chris Simms

Tim Rattay

Yeah, I'm sure many of you had forgotten about good old Tim Rattay huh?

Now in case you wondered, there were eight more quarterbacks that started at least one game for the Bucs from 2007 until now:

Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Brian Griese, Josh Freeman, Josh Johnson, Byron Leftwich, Mike Glennon, Josh Mc Cown.

Eleven starting quarterbacks in nine years? All I can say is: shiver me timbers!

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3. "King Crab" for the Win!

So of course, after all this quarterback futility, the Buccaneers have finally found their quarterback of the future. Or so they hope.

(Image courtesy of Black Adam Schefter)

Jameis "King Crab" Winston. The man who led the Florida State Seminoles to the College Football National Championship in 2013 and into the College Football Playoffs semifinals in 2014. A talented player, with all the tools to be a winner at the NFL level. Don't believe me? Just watch:

Except this is also guy who has made bad decision after bad decision in college, constantly putting himself in position to be scrutinized. Winston is immensely talented, sure. But he is also a knucklehead, who is just bound to do something really silly before the 2015 season is over.

So if you ask me, Winston is soon going to join the long list of unsuccessful former Buccaneers starting quarterbacks. But while he is in Tampa Bay, please remember to bring (and wave) your crab legs to the Mercedes Benz Superdome when the Buccaneers visit New Orleans in week two of the 2015 season.

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Next week: The Atlanta Falcons. That piece is going to make a lot of (piped in) noise.