2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season 32 Brief
The 2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the 32nd season for the club in the National Football League. On December 16, 2007, they clinched the NFC South division title, and returned to the playoffs after missing it in 2006.
On December 16, in a game against the Atlanta Falcons, Micheal Spurlock scored the first kickoff return touchdown in franchise history, snapping a streak of 32 seasons, 497 games (at 53 stadiums in 38 cities), 139 individuals, and 1,864 unsuccessful attempts. The play earned Spurlock the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.
The Wildcard game was Jon Gruden's final playoff appearance as head coach of the Buccaneers before being dismissed at the conclusion of next season.
As of the 2016 season, this was the last season that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have qualified for the playoffs, making it 8 straight years that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have missed the playoffs.
Offseason
The 2007 offseason proved to be productive for the Buccaneers. General manager Bruce Allen and head coach Jon Gruden had approximately US$24 million in salary cap space with which to maneuver during free agency. They made a splash on the first day of free agency by signing two quarterbacks: unrestricted free agent Jeff Garcia (Eagles) and Jake Plummer (Broncos) in a trade for a conditional pick in the 2008 draft (believed to be a 4th round selection if Plummer played). Controversy soon followed as Plummer announced his retirement on the same day, citing his health and his lack of a desire to compete for a job and learn a new system. However, he did not complete his retirement paperwork with the league. Many believed that Plummer was simply trying to retire so that he could later unretire and play for the Texans. They are led by his former coach Gary Kubiak, under whom Plummer played his best three years of football. The league reviewed the trade to make sure that Plummer had not retired before the trade (a retired player cannot be traded), but he had not and his rights officially belong to the Buccaneers.
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 NFL Draft took place in Radio City Music Hall on April 28–29, 2007. The Buccaneers were either to pick third or fourth in the draft, to be determined by a coin flip with the Cleveland Browns because the two teams had identical records and strength of schedule. Buccaneers GM Bruce Allen called heads and the coin landed tails. For the first round, the Buccaneers picked fourth. The two teams alternated picking third and fourth in each round. In addition to their given picks, Tampa Bay also holds the Colts' second round pick, the 64th pick overall (because of a midseason trade for Anthony McFarland), but also lost a sixth round pick in a trade for tight end Doug Jolley formerly of the New York Jets. They also received two compensatory picks, awarded for losses during free agency. During the draft, the Buccaneers swapped fourth-rounders with the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for their pick in the sixth round.
| PRESEASON | ||||
| Date | Opponent | Week/Record | Outcome | |
| Friday Aug. 10 |
|
New England Patriots Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
PS - wk 1
1-0 |
Won 13-10 |
| Saturday Aug. 18 |
|
@ Jacksonville Jaguars Jacksonville Municipay Stadium, Jacksonville, FL |
PS - wk 2
1-1 |
Lost 19-31 |
| Saturday Aug. 25 |
|
@ Miami Dolphins Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL |
PS - wk 3
2-1 |
Won 31-28 |
| Thursday Aug. 30 |
|
Houston Texans Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
PS - wk 4
3-1 |
Won 31-24 |
2007 Season ResultsRecord: 9-7, DIV: 5-1 (1st in NFC South) |
||||
| Date | Opponent | Week/Record | Outcome | |
| Sunday Sep. 9 |
|
@ Seattle Seahawks Qwest Field, Seattle, WA |
RS - wk 1
0-1 |
Lost 6-20 |
| Sunday Sep. 16 |
|
New Orleans Saints
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 2
1-1 |
Won 31-14 |
| Sunday Sep. 23 |
|
St. Louis Rams
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 3
2-1 |
Won 24-3 |
| Sunday Sep. 30 |
|
@ Carolina Panthers
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC |
RS - wk 4
3-1 |
Won 20-7 |
| Sunday Oct. 7 |
|
@ Indianapolis Colts
RCA Dome, Indianapolis, IN |
RS - wk 5
3-2 |
Lost 14-33 |
| Sunday Oct. 14 |
|
Tennessee Titans
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 6
4-2 |
Won 13-10 |
| Sunday Oct. 21 |
|
@ Detroit Lions Ford Field, Detroit, MI |
RS - wk 7
4-3 |
Lost 16-23 |
| Sunday Nov. 28 |
|
Jacksonville Jaguars
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 8
4-4 |
Lost 23-24 |
| Sunday Nov. 4 |
|
Arizona Cardinals
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 9
5-4 |
Won 17-10 |
| Sunday Nov. 11 |
BYE | RS - wk 10
5-4 |
||
| Sunday Nov. 18 |
|
@ Atlanta Falcons
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA |
RS - wk 11
6-4 |
Won 31-7 |
| Sunday Nov. 25 |
|
Washington Redskins
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 12
7-4 |
Won 19-13 |
| Sunday Dec. 2 |
|
@ New Orleans Saints
Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA |
RS - wk 13
8-4 |
Won 27-23 |
| Sunday Dec. 9 |
|
@ Houston Texans
Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX |
RS - wk 14
8-5 |
Lost 14-28 |
| Sunday Dec. 16 |
|
Atlanta Falcons
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 15
9-5 |
Won 37-3 |
| Sunday Dec. 23 |
|
@ San Francisco 49ers
Bill Walsh Field at Monster Park, San Francisco, CA |
RS - wk 16
9-6 |
Lost 19-21 |
| Sunday Dec. 30 |
|
Carolina Panthers Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
RS - wk 17
9-7 |
Lost 7-9 |
| PLAYOFFS | ||||
| Date | Opponent | NFC/Superbowl | Outcome | |
| Sunday Jan. 6 |
|
New York Giants
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL |
PO - Wild-Card
9-8 |
Lost 14-24 |
