FanHouse MikeAlstott

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers feel they've been around long enough and have had enough success to warrant a Ring-Of-Honor. In 2009, the organization will honor the 30th anniversary of their first NFC Championship game appearance by creating the ring of honor.

Those Bucs went 10-6 in just their fourth NFL season. They won the NFC Central and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in their first playoff game. They would go on to lose the the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game, 9-0.

The franchise's only player in the Hall-Of-Fame, LeRoy Selmon, was on that 1979 team. So was Doug Williams, who may end up in the Ring-Of-Fame as well. Guys like Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch, Mike Alstott, Paul Gruber and Ronde Barber could find themselves in there as well.

But that's not all. Tampa Bay will bring back those ugly cremecicle uniforms that the organization wore from 1976-1997 for at least one game next year. I wonder how thrilled the current Bucs are that they will get to sport those in front of everyone.

We've all known for a while that longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott was calling it a career, even if he waited until today to make the announcement. Nevertheless, he was one of the most popular players in Buc history, in so small part because he could get into a collision with a charging moose without falling down.

So in honor of Alstott's career, here's a highlight reel demonstrating how difficult it was to tackle him. (Hat tip to our old pal MJD for finding it.) We'll miss ya, Mike. Try not to end up like Earl Campbell after all that punishment, okay?

To get you ready for Week 14, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houston Texans preview.

2007 Records:

Tampa Bay: 8-4 (1st in the NFC South-Last Week a Freakish Win Over the Saints)
Houston: 5-7 (4th in the AFC South-Last Week Yet Another Loss to the Titans)

This week, I asked George Billingsley Jr. (aka Crunkbuc4d1) writer and moderator from The Captain's Deck website to give some thoughts on the upcoming Bucs-Texans game, and I did the same for him. Here's our conversation:

What might casual NFL fans not know about the Bucs as of Week 14?

They are resilient. You always hear these so called NFL analysts praise the Colts for their ability to have success despite missing a few injured players. What do they think the Bucs have done? The Buccaneers have been playing shorthanded since before the season began. Do they remember who Mike Alstott is? How about Carnell Williams, Luke Petitgout, or even Chris Simms? This past Sunday in New Orleans, they started their third string quarterback and he was handing the ball off to the original third string running back.

Longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneer running back Mike Alstott is expected to announce his retirement this week. In related news, ESPN's Chris Berman was seen shedding a tear over the fact that he won't be able to make nearly as many mouth explosion noises while doing NFL highlights this year.

Of course, those noises were because of Alstott's run-'em-over style. Throughout his 11-year career, Alstott developed a reputation for running over any would-be tackler and letting nothing deter him from the end zone. He also has a spot in the Fantasy Football Hall of Fame for stealing touchdowns from other running backs. Warrick Dunn might indeed have more career touchdowns if not for this man.

Alstott wanted to play one more year, but like Mike Minter in Carolina, his body told him he couldn't play at a high enough level anymore. Plus, he had fallen out of favor with Jon Gruden and wasn't expected to see much playing time this year. Alstott will retire with 5,088 career rushing yards and 72 TDs. Not too shabby.