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Return To Glory

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

TAMPA – Oh, by the way ... the Bucs won a division championship Sunday.

Admittedly that little factoid stands a fair chance of getting lost after Micheal Spurlock became the once-and-forever answer to the trivia question: Who ran the first kickoff back for a touchdown in Bucs history?

Well, Spurlock had the answer to one of the most puzzling questions in pro football history. It only took 32 seasons and 1,865 kickoff returns for a Buc to find the end zone, which Spurlock did by covering 90 yards with 6:19 to play in the first quarter.

There was a collective gasp among the faithful at Ray-Jay as Spurlock headed up the middle of the wedge, veered right, and was going, going, gone. Still 50 yards from the end zone, you knew it would take a gremlin tripping him to keep the Bucs away from making history.

But that wasn't going to happen. Not on this day.

No sir.

Oh, by the way ...

Yes, the Bucs wound up routing Atlanta 37-3 – you could hear Bobby Petrino screaming from Arkansas, ''Not my fault! Can't lay that one on me!'' And when the gun sounded and the victory was official, the Bucs were NFC South champs for the second time in the last three years.

We'll get into their playoff chances later; they'll probably wind up hosting the Giants as the No. 4 seed in the NFC. First, though, Jon Gruden and this team deserves to take a bow. Say whatever you want about their schedule or the fact they entered this game with only one win over a team with a winning record, but they beat who they had to and won enough games to be in this position.

Earned Their Way

For those who get their kicks from bashing those of us didn't see this season coming – I've already pled guilty to that mental turnover – take one last swing. That doesn't change the fact, though, that the Bucs are one of the surprise teams in the league.

A pleasant surprise.

They have great locker room camaraderie and have found unexpected heroes in unlikely places – Greg White, Jovan Haye, Earnest Graham, Phillip Buchanon, Tanard Jackson, Jermaine Phillps and, of course, Micheal Spurlock.

Gruden has done a grand job of holding things together through adversity. The loss of a featured running back like Cadillac Williams would derail many teams. Gruden just turned the load over to Graham, who turned out to be much better than anyone – including, no doubt, Gruden – would ever have expected.

I won't lie. Back in July I wasn't sure Gruden would make it past this season. Now I'm wondering if he'll get a contract extension. He was backed against the wall and he answered with a division championship.

There's really nothing else to say.

Except that, did you see Spurlock?

Can Die Now

Former Tribune sports editor Tom McEwen, laughing at halftime (as a lot of people were, shaking their heads in bemusement after Spurlock's return), quipped, ''I can die now. I can croak.''

Well, a lot of us did wonder if we'd ever see it and the timing couldn't have been better. The Bucs can relax now for the next two weeks, knowing those games likely don't mean a thing, and focus on what they have to do.

No one will take them seriously as a threat to make the Super Bowl, but maybe it's better that way. They've been The Little Team That Could all year. They just keep plugging.

Sunday's was their fifth win in their last six games. If they beat Carolina in the regular-season finale, they'll finish 6-0 in the division. They don't scare anyone but they just keep winning. Their defense keeps them in games and their offense does enough to win.

And now, can it be? They have a return game!

They have something else, too.

A division championship.

Oh, by the way.

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