WR Joey Galloway became known for his touchdown flex, a pose he was able to strike 10 times in 2005
The initial stages of the Buccaneers.com Photo of the Year competition are meant to be opaque. That is, it was not part of the plan to reveal the two winning photos of each week until all 10 finalists are announced at the end.
That was the idea. But that was before the A-Plane took off.
So we'll deviate from the original plan just a bit in order to tell you this: In the first stage of voting, fullback Mike Alstott flew over the competition as impressively as he soared over a group of would-be Washington tacklers on November 13. The once-in-a-season photographic capture of Alstott's touchdown dive in the Bucs' 36-35 win over the Redskins during the regular season was the easy winner in Round I of our contest.
Obviously, the image of the man we used to call the A-Train stoked your memories and captured your collective imagination. Indeed, it was the perfect combination for a memorable sports photo: Key moment in the game, incredible individual effort, instinctive photographic timing.
Hopefully, you will find one or more photos in this week's heat to be just as captivating.
**Click here** to launch the slideshow for this week's images.
This is Round II of the Buccaneers.com Photo of the Year contest, in which the fans are whittling 50 candidates down to one. Once again you will be presented with 10 unforgettable images from the Bucs' 2005 division championship season, in a slide-show format. You will be asked to vote for the one you think is the best of the lot, using the poll to the right. The top two vote-getters among those 10 images will eventually appear in the final vote, along with the winners from the other four weeks.
Alstott's dive is already in; that's our hint. The run for second place last week was very tight. Was it the moment Cadillac broke free for his game-clinching run in Minnesota? Was it Coach Gruden taking a Gatorade shower upon the Bucs' clinching of the NFC South? Was it an atmospheric shot, such as the stadium flyover or a pregame huddle?
You'll have to wait for the finals to see. In the meantime, you can continue to choose your favorites, starting with this week's 10 photos. Remember, if there is a photo you were expecting to see, such as Edell Shepherd's touchdown catch in the same Washington game, there are still three more votes to come after this one.
This week's collection is another interesting mix of game-breaking plays and emotional moments from before and after the game. Some of them will take you back to the most crucial moments of the season, such as Dewayne White's block of an Atlanta field goal in overtime on Christmas Eve. Some of them will take you inside the huddle, such as the full-team sideline shot just before the big win at Carolina.
You'll go inside the locker room. You'll see the expressions on Dexter Jackson and Ronde Barber's faces as they figure out who will end up with an interception in Baton Rouge. You'll hover above a sea of waving battle flags.
Check them all out, tell us your favorite and we'll continue on our quest to choose the 2005 Buccaneers.com Photo of the Year.
