- After the big three, which state's high schools have produced the most players on the current Buc roster?
- Who was the most recent pair of AP All-Pros for the Buccaneers before Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy?
- Which player brings the longest active streak of games played as a Buc into the 2014 campaign?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open training camp in exactly one month, on July 25, at One Buccaneer Place…but you knew that already. You also know that Lovie Smith and Jason Licht are now in charge and that they have drastically reshaped the roster with such additions as Josh McCown, Michael Johnson, Alterraun Verner and Mike Evans. You know the Bucs head into camp confident that they can end their six-year playoff drought.
That's all you really need to know in order to be ready for Bucs training camp and the 2014 season. But most fans like to dive a little bit deeper into the stats and the roster, team history and future predictions, unsung heroes and rising stars. Some fans even consider themselves Buccaneer experts. For those – and for anybody looking to kill a few quick minutes and a learn a little bit more about your favorite team – we present this 10-question pre-camp Buccaneer I.Q. Quiz.
Most of the data for the questions and answers below was gleaned from the newly-published NFL Record & Fact Book, NFL.com, Buccaneers.com and Pro-Football-Reference.com. In other words, you could easily look up the answers to most of these questions in a few minutes. But what would be the fun in that? Consider this a closed-book quiz, and if you can refrain from scrolling down the answer key, then we applaud your self-control.
Without further ado, the quiz:
1. Over the past three seasons (2011-13), only three players in the entire NFL have put up more receiving yards than Vincent Jackson. Which of these four players is NOT among those three:
a. A.J. Green
b. Calvin Johnson
c. Brandon Marshall
d. Wes Welker
2. Lovie Smith's teams have always emphasized creating takeaways and scoring on defense, and successfully so. In Tampa, Smith inherits a talented defense that should excel in that same manner. Who is the most recent Buccaneer to have scored on an interception return?
a. Johnthan Banks
b. Lavonte David
c. Mason Foster
d. Leonard Johnson
3. With Donald Penn moving on to the Raiders, who on the current roster enters the 2014 season with the longest active streak of consecutive games played for the Buccaneers?
a. Lavonte David
b. Demar Dotson
c. Michael Koenen
d. Gerald McCoy
4. Both Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy were named to the Associated Press All-Pro First-Team in 2013, earning one of the most exclusive honors an NFL player can receive. Before David and McCoy, what was the last pair of Buccaneer teammates to both get AP First-Team All-Pro honors in the same year?
a. Mike Alstott and John Lynch
b. Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks
c. Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp
d. John Lynch and Simeon Rice
5. The Buccaneers' current 88-man roster includes players who enjoyed high school football in 27 different states. Not surprisingly, the three states represented most often are Florida (16 current Bucs), California (12) and Texas (11). After those big three, what state's high schools have produced the most current Bucs?
a. Georgia
b. Illinois
c. New Jersey
d. South Carolina
6. Few Buccaneer fans will ever forget the 251-yard, four-touchdown performance Doug Martin battered the Oakland Raiders with in 2012. It's the single-greatest rushing performance in franchise history. Against which team does Martin own his second-highest single-game rushing yardage total?
a. Atlanta
b. Carolina
c. Minnesota
d. New Orleans
7. Tampa Bay's 2014 draft produced players from such big college programs as Texas A&M, Washington and West Virginia. However, there are some newcomers on the current roster from decidedly smaller programs. Here are four new Bucs from schools not in the FBS: Kadeem Edwards, Dane Fletcher, Keith Lewis and Alex Tanney. Of the choices below, which is the correct order of schools to match up with Edwards, Fletcher, Lewis and Tanney?
a. Monmouth (IL), Montana State, Tennessee State, Virginia-Lynchburg
b. Virginia-Lynchburg, Monmouth (IL), Tennessee State, Montana State
c. Tennessee State, Montana State, Virginia-Lynchburg, Monmouth (IL)
d. Montana State, Virginia-Lynchburg, Monmouth (IL), Tennessee State
8. Tampa Bay currently has active winning streaks of three or more games against four different teams. They will put three of those streaks on the line this year. Which of the following four 2014 opponents is NOT one of the teams on that list?
a. Cincinnati
b. Cleveland
c. Detroit
d. Minnesota
9. Which of these statements is TRUE?
a. Josh McCown had the lowest INT rate in the NFL among qualifiers in 2013.
b. Connor Barth is the second-most accurate field goal kicker in team history (min. 25 atts.).
c. TB's current secondary crew features six players who made at least eight starts in 2013.
d. Doug Martin has lost just one fumble over his first 507 NFL touches.
10. In which of the following categories did the Buccaneers lead the NFL last year?
a. Punt return average
b. Defensive interception percentage
c. Defensive red zone touchdown percentage
d. Average opponent kickoff drive start
**
So, how did you do? You can find the answers below, along with some additional notes. We'll put the grading scale here in the middle in order to push the answer key a little farther down so you aren't tempted to peak at the answers before you finish the quiz.
# Correct |
Grade |
Comment |
9-10 |
A |
You've still got original creamsicle gear in your closet |
5-8 |
B |
You can spell Alterraun Verner without looking it up |
2-4 |
C |
You're going to draft Mike Evans 3 rds. too high in fantasy |
0-1 |
D |
To you, game day is all about tailgating |
**
Answer Key:
1. (d) Wes Welker
Welker comes in fifth on the list. Here are the top five NFL players in terms of receiving yards over the last three years:
Player |
Team(s) |
Yards |
|
DET |
5,137 |
|
MIA/CHI |
4,017 |
|
CIN |
3,833 |
|
SD/TB |
3,714 |
|
NE/DEN |
3,701 |
**
2. (d) Leonard Johnson
Mason Foster recorded two of the Buccaneers' pick-sixes last year, but Leonard Johnson was the last Buc to find the end zone on a pick, scoring from 48 yards out in Detroit on Nov. 24, 2013. Lavonte David had an incredible five picks last year and has only needed two NFL seasons to tick almost every statistical box, but he has yet to score on an interception. Johnthan Banks, too, will be looking for his first pick-six in 2014.
**
3. (c) Michael Koenen
Tampa Bay actually parted ways with five of the six players with the longest streaks of games played as Buccaneers at the end of the 2013 season, and it's not necessarily the list you would expect. Penn was indeed at the top of that list, with 112 straight games as a Buc, but the next five were Adam Hayward (78), Ted Larsen (59), Michael Koenen (48), Andrew Economos (41) and Jeremy Zuttah (40). Demar Dotson is second behind Koenen at 38, while Lavonte David, Gerald McCoy, Leonard Johnson and Vincent Jackson are all at 32.
**
4. (b) Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks
You might expect that this pairing came from the 2002 Super Bowl season, but in fact Barber was "just" a second-team selection by the AP that year. Barber and Brooks were actually honored together as first-teamers more recently, in 2005. Rice's only first-team selection as a Buccaneer came in 2002, and Lynch was a second-team choice that year while Alstott was not thus honored. Alstott and Lynch were indeed a AP First-Team pairing as Bucs, but back in 1999. The last time Brooks and Sapp got it in the same year as Buccaneers was 2002.
**
5. (b) Illinois
There are five players on the Bucs' current roster who played their high school football in Illinois: TE Cameron Brate, QB Mike Kafka, CB Keith Lewis, CB Rashaan Melvin and QB Alex Tanney. Georgia, Illinois and South Carolina all have four apiece, while Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio all come in at three each.
**
6. (d) New Orleans
All four choices are very close. Martin had 144 yards against New Orleans in Week Two of last season, 142 against Atlanta in the 2012 season finale, 138 against Carolina in Week 11 of 2012 and 135 against Minnesota four weeks prior to that.
**
7. (c) Tennessee State, Montana State, Virginia-Lynchburg, Monmouth (IL).
Tennessee State (Kadeem Edwards) and Montana State (Dane Fletcher) compete in the FCS, while Monmouth College in Illinois (Alex Tanney) is a DIII school in the Midwest Conference and Virginia-Lynchburg (Keith Lewis) is one of 86 small colleges that participate in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
**
8. (c) Detroit
The Bucs have six-game winning streaks going against both Cincinnati and Minnesota, which actually equal their longest runs against any opponent in franchise history (there was also a six-game streak against Atlanta from 1997-2002 and one of the same length against Chicago from 1997-2000). In other words, if the Bucs beat either Cincy or Minny this year, they'll have their longest streak ever against any opponent. The Bucs have also won three in a row against Cleveland, but only have a one-game run going against Detroit.
**
9. (a) Josh McCown had the lowest INT rate in the NFL among qualifiers in 2013.
Philadelphia's Nick Foles was remarkably good at avoiding picks last year, with a 0.6% interception rate, but McCown was a bit better at 0.4%, albeit on a slightly lower total of passes (317 to 224). Barth is actually first on the Bucs' all-time field goal percentage rate chart, just ahead of Matt Bryant. The Bucs' current set of DBs has seven guys, not six, who started at least eight games last year: Alterraun Verner (16), Johnthan Banks (15), Mike Jenkins (15), Major Wright (15), Mark Barron (14), Dashon Goldson (13) and Leonard Johnson (8). And no, Doug Martin has not lost just one fumble in his first 507 touches...he's lost two, so shoot him.
**
10. (d) Average opponent kickoff drive start
Michael Koenen's strong leg and good coverage forced Buccaneer opponents to start drives after kickoffs on an average yard line of the 19.4, best in the NFL and just ahead of Jacksonville (19.6). The Bucs did rank eighth in punt return average, third in defensive interception rate and tied for eighth in red zone defense.