The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received the Tremendous Bowl in 2002 due to a dominant protection. Corridor of Famers Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Warren Sapp made up a formidable squad for opposing offenses, however one different participant on the roster seemingly does not get the respect he deserves.
That may be defensive finish Simeon Rice, who registered two sacks and a pressured fumble throughout the Buccaneers’ Tremendous Bowl win over the Oakland Raiders in Tremendous Bowl XXXVII.
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Rice acquired some well-deserved recognition for his accomplishments Monday, when he was introduced as a member of the Buccaneers’ Ring of Honor. Rice broke down in tears instantly after reaching the rostrum to ship his speech. He spoke about his dad and mom, his teammates and the need to make the Rice identify imply one thing. It was an extremely shifting second.
Whereas making the Buccaneers’ Ring of Honor was clearly significant to Rice, he has but to obtain a name from the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame. Rice was a semifinalist for the 2025 class, however didn’t make the lower as a finalist.
Buccaneers proprietor Bryan Glazer known as that an “oversight” previous to Rice’s induction into the workforce’s Corridor of Fame on Monday. Glazer laid out the case for Rice’s induction into the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame, specializing in the unbelievable stats Rice amassed over the course of his profession.
“From 1996 to 2005, he totaled a league-best 101.5 sacks over these eight years, greater than Corridor of Famers Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor throughout that very same stretch. His mark of eight seasons with double-digit sack totals is the seventh most in NFL historical past. And all six males forward of him on that record are members of the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame.
“Simeon’s credentials for induction into our Ring of Honor are unquestioned, however he is equally certified and deserving of an overdue name from the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame. Notably, he is the one retired gamers with 100 sacks over eight consecutive seasons who does not personal a gold jacket. It is time to rectify that oversight.”
That is fairly the argument. Rice retired from the NFL after the 2007 season with 122 sacks. He racked up 119 of these in his first 10 seasons within the league. Regardless of his excellence, Rice did not obtain many awards throughout his profession. He received the Rookie of the Yr award in 1996, however solely made three Professional Bowls in his 12 seasons. He was a first-team All-Professional simply as soon as.
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That is the argument voters need to face when contemplating Rice’s induction into the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame. He was an awesome participant who put up some wonderful sack totals, however did not fairly get the popularity he deserved throughout his profession.
Rice did need to take care of different elite gamers at his place — together with Strahan and Taylor — over the course of his profession, which doubtless restricted Rice’s capacity to succeed in the Professional Bowl or obtain extra All-Professional alternatives. The voters should decide whether or not that was a large oversight, or if Rice merely does not stack up in opposition to the uber-elite move rushers of his technology.
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