His agent's statement that "he will either play and do well, or he's not gonna be here" was interpreted to mean that Eckwood would be paid too highly to remain as a backup, but would not feel underpaid should a Bell trade place him in a starting role.
[29] Extra security had to be assigned to Neal Colzie during camp, as his life was being threatened by anonymous phone calls believed to be related to the gangland-style slaying of his two stepsisters in Atlanta.
Mark Cotney was lost for the season with a knee injury, Curtis Jordan suffered a broken collarbone, and Cedric Brown missed some time with a bruised shoulder.
[36][37] Rick Berns, the 1979 third-round draft pick who was a capable runner but ineffective as a blocker and passer and who had never been able to recover from McKay's public criticism the previous season, was released late in camp.
[38] An unexpected shakeup of the receiving corps took place when ex-Steeler Theo Bell and ex-49er James Owens, both among the NFL's leading returners, were brought in with an eye toward improving the special teams.
This resulted in the displacement of former FSU star Mike Shumann and original Buccaneer Isaac Hagins, who were promptly released with the hope that they would still have time to catch on with another team.
[39][40][41] Owens, an Olympic sprinter, came to the team in a late trade, as did Dallas Cowboys starting cornerback Aaron Mitchell, a tough tackler brought in to fill Cotney's role in run support.
[42] Adjustments were made to the team's defensive philosophy, with the secondary moving to a more aggressive style of play intended to cut down on opponents' success in the short passing game.
[45] Coach McKay said, "if we had a high bridge here, I'd jump off it", after an early loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in which the Buccaneers achieved only 12 yards rushing and the special teams "completely collapsed".
[53] Having lost 4 of their last 5 games, there was concern that, about to face a Green Bay Packers team on a three-game win streak, the Buccaneers were about to repeat the late-season slides of the last three seasons.
[54] After breaking their two-game losing streak by routing the Packers, the Buccaneers demonstrated a newfound ability to continue to stick to and execute their game plan when playing with a deficit.
[12][55] A week-14 last-minute victory over the Atlanta Falcons, combined with upset losses by the Lions and Vikings the same day, left the Buccaneers needing to win only one of their last two games to make the playoffs.
Williams was held to 8 completions on 22 attempts for only 108 yards, but was able to lead a 76-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter, after the Vikings had closed to within 7–6 on a pair of Rick Danmeier field goals.
With Tampa Bay holding a 14–13 lead, Neal Colzie sealed the victory by returning his second interception of the day 82 yards for a touchdown, preventing the Vikings' potentially game-winning field goal attempt.
[60][61][62][63] September 13, 1981, at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri A bad snap resulted in punter Tom Blanchard being tackled at the 14-yard line, setting up the Chiefs' only touchdown of the day, an 8-yard Ted McKnight run.
[64][65][66] September 20, 1981, at Soldier Field, Chicago The Buccaneers took an early lead on Mike Washington's 29-yard interception return for a touchdown, after which he left the game with a pulled stomach muscle.
Coming after an Eddie Murray field goal, it produced a 10–0 Lions lead that had the crowd cheering when an airplane carrying a "Throw McKay in the Bay" banner flew overhead shortly afterward.
[51][75] Gordon Jones, Ricky Bell and Lee Roy Selmon all missed the game for the Buccaneers, while Jeff Komlo replaced injured Lions quarterback Gary Danielson.
[77] October 11, 1981, at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Newly acquired Packers receiver John Jefferson fell on his rear end while showing off for the crowd during pregame introductions, a display that inspired the Buccaneer defense.
[78] Green Bay attempted a late rally, as George Cumby's 68-yard return of a James Wilder goal-line fumble set up a field goal to bring the score to 21–10.
After the Buccaneers were forced to punt on the following possession, the Packers drove all the way to the Tampa Bay 7-yard line before Scot Brantley intercepted a Lynn Dickey pass to kill the drive.
[93] A 95-yard second-quarter drive gave the Vikings a 13–0 lead and used up 9:04 worth of clock time, while keeping the ball away from the Buccaneer offense and forcing them to stand on the sideline in the freezing wind.
[102] McKay also allowed the team to practice without pads during the week, while instituting defensive changes designed to cut down on opponents' ability to control the ball through consistent short-yardage gains.
[105] November 29, 1981, at the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans The Saints took an early 14–0 lead on a 6-yard pass from Archie Manning to tight end Larry Hardy and an 8-yard George Rogers run.
Neal Colzie, blinded from an earlier scratch to his eye, missed the coverage on Jeff Groth, who caught Manning's last-second pass that would have gone for a touchdown if not for Norris Thomas' tackle on the 4-yard line.
One of these, a 71-yarder on which he caught Kevin House in single coverage against rookie cornerback Bobby Butler, gave the Buccaneers a 24–23 lead and put Williams past the 10,000-yard career passing mark.
[115] Dave Lewis forced a Cappelletti fumble that gave the Buccaneers an opportunity to score again, but a hit by Glen Edwards caused Jimmie Giles to lose control of a reception, resulting in a Woody Lowe interception that led to Rolf Benirschke's game-winning field goal.
Dave Logan scored the winning points 70 seconds later on a fumble-return touchdown following Lee Roy Selmon's sack of Lions quarterback Eric Hipple.
Two key special teams tackles prevented touchdowns by Lions return man Robbie Martin; on the second of these, he suffered a cartilage tear that left him unable to finish the game.
[2][124] The Dallas front four of Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Harvey Martin, Randy White, and John Dutton dominated the Buccaneers' offensive line, moving them backwards with 59 yards in sacks and forcing two intentional grounding penalties.