Editors Note: No folks, your not in a time warp, this post was written BEFORE the Bucs/Chiefs preseason opener, which is why it talks of the game as future tense. Since it happened as I said, the article holds a lot of truth to it now.
Being the Optimist that I am, I have a feeling Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are going to be very happy Friday Night with the Bucs score and result of their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. With the Bucs cohesiveness vs. rest of the NFL and the fact they had an offseason to speak of, I would not be surprised if the Bucs beat the Chiefs by 2 if not 3 touchdowns. And with the Chiefs coming off of an 11-5 record last season, Bucs fans may lose their mind and start talking Super Bowl. I just want to be the calming voice of reminder for those Bucs fans with the following message;
THE GAMES DON’T COUNT!!
Oh don’t get me wrong, that message is applicable no matter if the result is flip-flopped too! Preseason is for coaches to look at film and determine who the best backups are, a way to separate the men from the boys so to speak! Anyone who puts any stock in the results needs to take a closer look at Bucs preseason history!
It wouldn’t be the first time if a Bucs team goes out and has a great preseason, then Bombs when the games start in September, October and November. In 1983 the Bucs finished a perfect 4-0 Preseason, including a lopsided blowout of the New England Patriots in week 4. They only won half of those games when they counted, going 2-14. In 1989 Ray Perkin’s Bucs went 3-1- finished 5-11. Jon Gruden’s Bucs went 3-1 in 2004, but only won 5 games when they counted then too!
Please READ MORE for when results are the opposite!
Sometimes the results are exactly the opposite; Tony Dungy’s Bucs went 1-3 in 1997, but then went 10-6 for the first winning season in 15 years! John McKay’s Bucs went only 2-2 in 1979, yet ended up only 10 points away from a Super Bowl Birth. The next season the Bucs went 3-1 in exhibitions, and went 5-10-1 in winter games. The very NEXT year, a 1-3 Preseason turned into a Central Division Championship season and a 9-7 record.
THE GAMES DON’T COUNT!!! Lifetime, the Bucs are 76-71 in games that do NOT count. When the pencils turn into Pens, the Bucs are so FAR under .500, that Raheem Morris would have to coach the Bucs to 11-5 records every year until 2034; and THEN the Bucs would be .500 lifetime in the regular season. The games do NOT count!
Now and again, well 16 times in 35 years, the results are exactly as predicted. Nine times the Bucs had a losing preseason, and had losing regular seasons to follow.
Leeman Bennett went 1-3 and 0-4 in his two pre-seasons. He won 4 regular season games in two years. That saves you the time to ask why he coached only two years huh? Seven times the opposite held true, with Winning Pre-seasons leading up to a winning record. The Bucs went 4-0 one more time in 1999 and had the 2nd best record in franchise history. The Bucs had dead even 2-2 exhibition records 6 times, wouldn’t you know they had 3 winning and 3 losing seasons afterwards.
So what does it all mean? Well the odds are if the Bucs have a losing Pre-season, they have a……….HELLO! Did you not get the moral of this story?
THE GAMES DON’T COUNT!
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