Ugly, yet interesting stats dug up by noted handicapper turned stathead Warren Sharp this morning are bound to get Bucs fans groaning.
In the post-Chucky era of the Bucs, which Joe commonly refers to as the Lost Decade, only one team was worse than the Bucs in fewest wins at home from (2009-2018). That was the Browns.
So Joe nearly laughed out loud this morning when reading the last time each NFL team returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Per Sharp, the second-longest drought belongs to the Bucs. The last time the Bucs ran back a kick for six was in 2010.
The worst team? The Browns last ran back a kickoff for a score in 2009.
Coincidence that both teams were trash until this decade?
The Bucs have a deep, rich history of having a rotten return game. Born in 1976, the Bucs didn’t return a kickoff back for a touchdown until Micheal Spurlock in December 2007! That’s 31 years. That’s insane!
Joe cannot fully make the connection that no kickoff returns for scores means the Bucs are bad. Notice the Bucs won a Super Bowl before ever returning a kick for a touchdown (!). And while the Bucs haven’t returned a kick for six in 14 years, they have won a Super Bowl since.
Joe has no idea how this new kickoff routine for the 2024 season will play out. But dang, it’s time to snap this 14-year streak of no kickoff returns for a touchdown.
