We ran a poll yesterday asking fans to vote on who they thought was the best player in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; the results were not close.
Yesterday, we published an article chiseling the Mt. Rushmore of Tampa Bay Buccaneers all-time greats. Afterwards, we ran a poll nominating those four players to see who the fans thought was the greatest Buccaneers of all-time.
The response was overwhelming and the Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks won the poll by a landslide with a whopping 64 percent of the vote, second was Warren Sapp with just 16 percent of the vote. Needless to say, Brooks, the anchor of the historic 2002 defense that carried the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory is a fan favorite.
Brooks may also be one of the best linebackers in NFL history as well as he was known for flying from sideline-to-sideline while racking up the solo tackles and interceptions. Throughout his career, Brooks recorded a massive amount of solo tackles, nearly hitting 1,300; he recorded five seasons of over 100 solo tackles, including leading the league in 1998, 2000, and 2004.
In response to our Mt. Rushmore article, who of them is the best player in franchise history?
— The Pewter Plank (@ThePewterPlank) June 27, 2019
For a linebacker, Brooks was stellar in coverage as well, as he tallied 25 career interceptions, including the Super Bowl year of 2002 where he had five in the regular season. Brooks had a few more interceptions in the postseason that Buccaneers fans still have vivid memories of to this day, including taking a Rich Gannon pass to the house as Tampa Bay tore apart the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl.
Brooks is forever immortalized in Canton, Ohio as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2014 class. A fitting end for a player who appeared in 11 Pro Bowls, was named an All-Pro five times, the 2002 Defensive Player of the year, and the 2000 Walter Peyton Man of the Year award winner.
It is no surprise that Brooks was voted the best player in franchise history over Sapp, Lee Roy Selmon, and Ronde Barber. It may be awhile before anyone even competes for his crown, if ever.