Tag Archives: tampa bay buccaneers

Irwin, Tim

Card: Score 1990
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

6’7″, 300, Tim Irwin was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 3rd round of the 1981 draft. He’d ride the bench while learning the finer points of the craft from legendary offensive tackle Ron Yary, pretty much his whole rookie season. It’d be in 1982 that he’d start a really nice run of 181 consecutive starts playing right tackle for the team. Tim played for the Vikings through the 1993 season.  In 1994 he started 6 games for the Buccaneers before finishing his career with 5 more for the Dolphins.

While still playing for the Vikings in 1990, Irwin went back and finished his law degree at his Alma Mater, Tennessee. He is well rounded in many fields of practice and was appointed a juvenile judge in 2005. Tim also has devoted much of his time to Boys & Girls Club sponsorships, and promoting youth football in Tennessee.

G/Gs 201/187

McCardell, Keenan “Thunder”

ud02 mccardellCards: Upper Deck MVP 2002, Upper Deck Black Diamond 2000 (2003/3000), Bowman 2007, Upper Deck Foundations 2003
Acquired: In Person 5/19, 610 Houston Fan Fest 2013

McCardell is one of the most successful 12th round draft choices in the history of the NFL (with apologies to Karl Mecklenburg). McCardell played for UNLV through 1990, a place that is not exactly a powerhouse school when it comes to football; However, Keenan has gone on to be probably the most prolific football player outside of Randall Cunningham to play for them.

The Redskins took a shot at McCardell in the 12th round of the 1991 draft. This draft was interesting as with the exception of Herman Moore, there were no clear cut starting caliber receivers. Many of these players were projects or one trick ponies. Among the other talent at the position to come off the board before Keenan included: Alvin Harper, Jeff Graham, Ernie Mills, Ed McCaffrey, Mike Pritchard, Randall Hill,Wesley Carroll, Jake Reed, and Johnny Walker. Really pretty much, any receiver was taken before pick 326, when Keenan got the call. McCardell spent the entire season on IR, but he was also buried on the depth chart behind Art Monk, Gary Clark, and Ricky Sanders. He didn’t play a down for the team and was cut after the season.

udblk00 mccardellKeenan was intent to start over, and the Browns made it happen. Back then the Browns weren’t so horrible, and with the transition from Bernie Kosar to Vinny Testaverde underway, McCardell saw his production under a slow but steady increase. Although he could not crack the starting lineup, Keenan’s numbers were not overlooked by other clubs, and after the 1995 season concluded, he signed a free agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It’s with the Jaguars that Keenan is best remembered by fans, paired up with fellow receiver Jimmy Smith. It was also where he piled up numbers, and helped the franchise reach the pinnacle of its current history, culminating in the AFC Championship game in 1999. During Keenan’s time with the franchise catching passes primarily from Mark Brunell he racked up 499 receptions, 6393 yards, and 30 touchdowns.  In the meantime however the Jaguars had begun to slide and they fell into salary cap hell where Keenan was now viewed as expendable.

 

ud04 mccardellGoing down the road, he signed with the Buccaneers in 2002, just in time to help the team win its only Super Bowl. In the big game he snagged 2 touchdowns en route to a 47-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Returning in 2003, he had his final 1000+ yard season of his career, but bogged down in a contract dispute with the team after the season, he’d walk and sign with the San Diego Chargers in 2004. Off to a slow start not really worth mentioning, he’d post his best season with the Chargers the next year with 917 yards on 70 receptions and 9 touchdowns.

After another subpar 2006, McCardell was off to free agency again, signing with the Houston Texans in 2007. The Texans were hoping to capture some of that former magic that he had, and McCardell was looking to come back to his home city, but he’d be cut before the season began. Keenan ended up playing his final season where he started, with the Washington Redskins, retiring after the season.

 

bow07 mccardellI had targeted McCardell early when I heard he was going to be at Fan Fest this year. I gambled that he wouldn’t have that much of a demand because he was always sort of under the radar, – even though his statistics said otherwise. When I asked him about the tragic situation that is Jimmy Smith, he told me, “I don’t know. I don’t know. Things have to get better. Things have to get better.” Hopefully, both he and Jimmy will appear next year. After briefly dabbling in coaching, Keenan moved back to the Houston area, and has gotten into sports radio with 610.

I packed 4 cards of Keenan, but should have brought more, as I got them all signed in one shot when I met him. He loved the Black Diamond Upper Deck and Upper Deck card of him in his Tampa uniform, remarking that he’s only seen the Tampa card once before and keeps many of his own football cards at home. The Black Diamond and the Tampa Upper Deck cards were chosen because I wanted ones that looked good and had great design. The other 2 cards (Upper Deck MVP and the Bowman Houston Texans) were chosen because I felt that his best years were represented inmccardell Jacksonville, and also because I had to get one of him in his brief stay as a member of the Houston Texans, since it was his only one. Sure both of these cards are butt ugly, and I never will consider collecting these sets for the purpose of autographing, but for the sake of posterity it seemed fitting to frame those years of his career.

It’s probably just a matter of time now for Keenan before the Jaguars induct him into their “Ring of Honor”, as he remains a popular player among the Jaguar faithful. He may also be a decent seniors candidate for the Hall and outside of Fred Taylor has the most solid resume for it representing the Jags, but with such a logger jam at receiver being created by the ‘New Modern Era’ passing game, it may only be wishful thinking on my part. Still McCardell’s numbers are pretty good for a guy who was only a 12th round draft choice.

G/Gs  209/169    Rec 883    Yds  11373   Avg 12.9  Td 63   Lg 76t

Gruber, Paul “Groobs”

Cards: Pro Set Power 1993
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

Paul Gruber played offensive tackle at Wisconsin and was the highest rated offensive lineman that came out of the 1988 draft. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that frequently missed badly on its draft choices, really did their homework on Paul, drafting him with the overall #4 pick that year. Paul really graded out well in the rough and tumble NFC Central against some really fine defensive opponents, but played on some really horrible Buccaneer franchises which lessened his impact at the position. One wonders how Gruber would’ve fared if he had traded places with Randall McDaniel in Minnesota? Would we be talking about Gruber in the Hall of Fame instead?  It took only his rookie season before Paul was selected All Pro in 1989. He’d again notch the mark in 1991 and 1992. Still the team suffered through losing seasons, and just couldn’t turn the corner. Despite playing 9 losing season for the Bucs, Gruber re-upped with the team in 1996, thinking that coach Tony Dungy had the Bucs going in the right direction. He wouldn’t have to wait long as Tampa posted its first winning record in 14 seasons in 1997. Paul enjoyed some of his favorite times there over the next two seasons, until a broken leg against Chicago sidelined him for the remainder of the 1999 season. Gruber played in 183 straight games and 4,850 consecutive snaps on offense which were both team records at the time. He retired early in 2000 and was inducted into the Buccaneer Ring of Honor in 2012.

G/Gs 183/183