The Whisperer Remembers ... Jerry Eckwood.

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the NFL in 1976, they registered a grand total of 0 wins. The team was abysmal in every way shape and form. Nothing could go right and everything, I mean everything went wrong. Things started to turn in 1977 with the selection of Ricky Bell, the all-world running back out of USC. He gave the franchise hope with his hard-charging running style that screamed legitimacy both for him and the organization. But it wasn’t until 1979 that the Buccaneers really began to turn the corner which also happens to be the year Bell got this man as his running mate.

He was sturdy, fast, and oh so quick with hands that could catch a dart in pitch black darkness and shoulders that could halt even the strongest defender. Dirty work was his work and when he worked dirty, he did that work well, punching the gridiron clock, working overtime when necessary, doing whatever it took to bring the once beleaguered franchise to a place of respectability.

One step from glory is how to best describe their 1979 campaign as they reached the NFC Championship Game, one win away from a Super Bowl. The cards weren’t in their favor that day, but we will always look favorably upon this man. Whisperer Nation, rise to your feet and give three cheers for the other back, the man who did the other things, ran, blocked, passed, and protected … the incredible … Mr. Jerry Eckwood.