Being as it is preseason, we have to look back at two games, not just one. The Bucs last played the Titans at Raymond James during the 2007 season, when a late Tennessee TD put them in the lead, but left the home town team in pewter with a little too much time on the clock. Jeff Garcia masterfully hit Ike Hilliard for key first downs and got the team in position for a winning Matt Bryant FG.
But that was regular season, and unlike that version, these games don't count. You don't have to go back that long though, 2005 at the Coliseum, the Bucs started the year trying to end back to back losing season for the first time in 7 years. There are actually a couple of amazing similarites between then and now...
- Bucs kicker Matt Bryant was in heavy competition then too. His advisary? Todd France, who kicked some in the second half. Bryant obviously went on to win the competition.
- If the Bucs score enough points Saturday in the early going and prevent the Titans from catching up, then the QB who led the team to victory in both games would be Luke McCown.
We're going to take a look at both games..., First, the 2005 Preseason game, then the Regular season win on 10/14/07.
2005 PreSeason Game 1
2005Pr1 Titans from Niko H on Vimeo.
The Titans tied the game up with a FG only 14 seconds left to go in the game, but then Matt Bryant helped win himself a job as a Kicker in the NFL by nailing the game winner in Overtime. Besides the video coming up, you can check out the entire stat sheet from the 2005 PreSeason Week 1 game, complete with starting rosters, game stats, team stats and more...
You can check out the entire Stat Sheet from the 2005 PreSeason game here:
2005 Preseason Game 1 Titans GAME PDF
Now lets check out the 2007 Regular Season meeting...
2007 6 Tennessee recap from Niko H on Vimeo.
REMEMBER WHEN...
1980 Week 6, Tampa Bay at Houston Oilers
1980 Houston from Niko H on Vimeo.
And now for a real blast from the past...as we know, the Titans franchise was originally the Houston Oilers. So to pay homage to that team, a clasic battle between these two teams. The setting is October 19th, 1980; The Bucs had just come off the hugely successful 1979 campaign, and did not start off 1980 in the same manner. There were a lot of injuries, the schedule was harder, and The Bucs weren't sneaking up on anyone anymore. Earl Campbell was still the sensation he was, the snake was behind the center, and Luv Ya Blue was rocking in the AstroDome!
THE PLAY:
The Bucs prevented getting blown out by scoring on a Doug Williams to Gordon Jones TD with under 2 minutes to go in the first half. That put the score 13-7 at halftime. But the Oilers were dominating this game and continued. They were up 20-7 in the 4th Qtr and driving, when this happened.
RESULT: The Bucs mounted a rally, but it ended when a Doug Williams to Jimmy Giles pass was picked off with just under 2 minutes were left in the game. The loss put the Bucs at 2-4-1, and in bleak shape for the season.
Well There you have it! Complete Coverage on the 1st Week of preseason football: What Kind of game will it be Saturday? Check out more coverage of PreSeason Week 1 on Buc'em.com.