Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Photos: Unexpected Bucs Record Holders
A look at five Bucs records that are held by former players who you may not have guessed.
In a game against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 6, 1992, Armstrong caught a pass down the left seam. Known more for his blocking (including his after-the-whistle-blocking) Armstrong was huge and chiseled, and at the moment he caught this pass he was struck on both his left and his right by Rams tacklers. The shots negated each other, the defenders bounced off harmlessly and Armstrong loped down the rest of the field for a touchdown. That 81-yard score remains tied for the longest ever by a Tampa Bay tight end.
We've got a Rams theme going here. On Dec. 11, 1994, Wilson needed just four catches to rack up 176 yards and two touchdowns, scoring on 71 and 44-yard plays in a 24-14 Bucs win. That game would account for 20% of Wilson's entire output as a Buccaneer, and his highest single-game total as an NFL player, other than this outing, was 75 yards.
Go ahead, name the statistical category in question here. Okay, I'll tell you: Fumbles forced. These three are all tied for the most in a single season in franchise history, each hitting seven in their peak years. Most Buccaneer fans would probably guess that record belongs to Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice or Derrick Brooks.
In 1996, Donnie Abraham would tie the Buccaneers' rookie record for interceptions in a single season. Abraham would go on to have a great six-year run in Tampa and, overall, a nine-year NFL career that included 38 interceptions. The man whose record Abraham tied in '96 was David Greenwood, who was a Buccaneer for exactly one year. Greenwood had played in the USFL before joining the Buccaneers late in 1985, and he ended up starting most of the season at safety and picking off five passes. The Bucs cut him the following summer and he ended up playing a total of 11 more games for the Packers and Raiders.
Griese is far from an obscure name, thanks to a Hall of Fame father and a couple really good years with the Broncos. Still, most Buccaneer fans I meet remember Griese for his Matt Schaub-esque propensity for the pick-six. There certainly were a few of those at key moments during his stint as a Buccaneer, but Griese also put up some pretty good numbers at the same time. Most notably, he completed 69.3% of his passes in 2004, threw for 7.8 yards per attempt (nearly a career high) and tossed 20 TDs against 12 picks. That all added up to a 97.5 passer rating that remains the best in team history, even better than Brad Johnson's 2002, Josh Freeman's 2010 and Jeff Garcia's 2007.
