Saturday, 3 a.m.

All the Bucs need now is someone to turn back the calendar to 2017. If they can do that, they should be in great shape.

The Bucs are about to make their latest effort to recapture the past. According to sources, they have agreed on a one-year contract with bad boy wide receiver Antonio Brown.

It seems like a fairly safe bet. If Brown, perhaps on his last chance, can return to form, he could ease the pressure on Mike Evans and Chris

Content beyond this point is for members only.

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.

Godwin, who have both battled injuries. And if he acts up, the team can release him with no sweat.

It can be a gamble, signing veterans with fat resumes. It is a young man's league, and by the time most stars get name recognition, their games are already on the downslide.

Still, it is a huddle that can be rich in accomplishment.

Take, for instance, the 2017 season.

That year, quarterback Tom Brady won 13 games and reached the Super Bowl (he lost to the Eagles). He threw 32 touchdowns and just eight interceptions that year and accounted for 4,557 yards.

The same year, tight end Rob Gronkowski caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and scored eight touchdowns.

In Jacksonville, rookie Leonard Fournette rushed for 1,,040 yards and scored nine times.

And in Pittsburgh, Brown caught 101 passes for 1,533 yards and nine touchdowns.

Now they are all Bucs, as are Evans, Godwin, Jason Pierre-Paul, Lavonte David, Ndamukong Suh, Shaq Barrett and Devin White. You can add Ronald Jones II and Carlton Davis III if you wish. Call it the famous names roster. The Bucs appear to be all-in in their efforts.

Will it work? At times this season, as in last week's 38-10 win over Green Bay, it has seemed so. But the offense tends to go into slumps, and the defense still gives up too many big plays, and penalties are a problem. They remain a streaky team.

Against the Raiders, and former coach Jon Gruden, we will again see if the team can play from start to finish. The game is now at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

Prediction: Bucs 23, Raiders 21.

In other picks:

Louisville over FSU.

Miami over Virginia.

Pittsburgh 24, Tennessee 20.

Seattle 30, Arizona 24.

New England 20, San Francisco 17.

Saturday, 2 a.m.

The USF Disaster Tour continues. And, man, what a tough season it is shaping up to be for new coach Jeff Scott.

The Bulls, 1-5, were swamped by Tulsa Friday night in a 42-13 loss. Tulsa had 462 yards and took advantage of three USF turnovers.

The Bulls played three quarterbacks, mostly Noah Johnson. But Tulsa turned a 7-6 first quarter lead into a runaway. USF was two-for-15 on third downs.

Content beyond this point is for members only.

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.

“I think the story in the first half offensively was the two turnovers," Scott said. "I thought the turnover right before halftime going in, that was huge. If you look at coming out in the third quarter, we held them, went down and scored and made it an eight-point game. If we could have punched it in right there before the half, we would have been in a much better position.

" Also, I thought in the first half, again third-down defense, Tulsa executed very well and we did not. I just thought that was kind of the story of the first half. I really challenged our guys in the second half to go stop them and go down and score and get it to a one-possession game. We did that and finally had some momentum, I felt like. Then, it was just a couple plays later, they had the long run and it just kind of went downhill from there.

" It’s obviously very disappointing… I just challenged them and said after the game, ‘Hey, it’s on all of us – coaches and players.’ We’ve got two weeks to get ready for our next game and we’ve got to kind of reexamine, reevaluate what we’re doing. The only way we’re gonna get it corrected is the guys in that locker room – coaches and players. That’s what we’ll do.”

USF does not play next week, but travels to Memphis the following week.

Friday, 4 a.m.

The flavor didn't last. The winning wasn't forever. The scowl wore off.

But there for a while, Jon Gruden was the perfect coach at the perfect time.

For one magical season, he was the perfect supplement to a dynasty. He was filled with energy, and while working with him wasn't the smoothest transition in the world, he set a franchise on edge. He was demanding, and he gave off voltage, and he boosted the Tampa Bay Bucs to the mountain top.

Then he was a champion.

And because of it, Tampa Bay has never forgotten him.

Content beyond this point is for members only.

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.

The Bucs and Gruden cross paths again Sunday night. The franchise that won a Super Bowl, and the coach that drove them to it, face each other in a game in Las Vegas.. It will be the first time Gruden will have coached against the Bucs since he guided the Raiders to a 45-0 victory in 1999.

That 2002 season was magical. After the Super Bowl victory, I suggested that Gruden might have been the best-ever first year coach. How many other rookies have won it all, and remember, Gruden came from the outside. Heck, he mispronounced Mike Alstott's name in his opening press conference.

But he went from not knowing his players to figuring out just how to get the best out of all of them. He retained Monte Kiffin and the defense, but players of that year were quick to sense Gruden's urgency. He made a lot of people uncomfortable, including those in the front office, but there was a different air. Under Tony Dungy, who turned this franchise around, an air of comfort had taken place. Gruden changed that.

Oh, you know the argument. Since that season, fans have argued whether Gruden or Dungy was more responsible for the Super Bowl. It's a silly argument. The truth is that it took both men -- and a lot of others -- to win it. Gruden never won another playoff game. With his offensive staff, it's doubtful Dungy would have won one here. But together, they were the planter and the reaper, and the Bucs harvested a title.

Success didn't stay. The Bucs' defense began to age, and Lynch left, and Sapp, and the Bucs paid for the high cost of obtaining Gruden.

In his later years, I criticized Gruden a lot. Oh, I always thought the guy could coach, but his shortcomings as a general manager kept digging the franchise a hole. He never won another playoff game after that Super Bowl.

In 2006, and I've told this story before, the Bucs started the season 0-4. I wrote on Sunday that it simply wasn't working with Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen, that the losses had started to build. Gruden had a walking-around guy on his staff. In the fifth week, Tampa Bay won a 14-13 game over Cincinnati.

As you know, in the NFL, you earn a lot of forgiveness for winning. So that day, in the locker room, I felt a heavy hand clap me on the back. "I read what you wrote today," the worker said. "Thanks," I said. Suddenly, the guy turned on me. "Lies," he said. "It was all lies! It was bleeping lies!"

For once, I kept my calm. I merely smiled at the guy and said, "Gee. I thought I got the part about being 0-4 right."

Of course, the Bucs didn't exactly improve when Gruden left the building. Raheem Morris replaced him. Greg Schiano came in, then Lovie Smith, then Dirk Koetter. It is only lately that the Bucs have stood upright again.

Was Gruden worth the trouble? Hell, yes. The Bucs won a Super Bowl. Without him, they haven't won any. He was worth his price tag.

That season, Gruden was the trail boss. He prodded that offense. He made them believe that they could win in Philadelphia. He decoded the Raiders in the Super Bowl. Love him or not, blame him for not maintaining Dungy's winning percentage if you win, but his fingerprints were all over that season. They always will be.

For the record, I like Jon Gruden. I find him to be funny and a great interview. I'm sure he didn't like a lot of what I wrote in those days. The Bucs hire their own cheerleaders; they didn't need me to be one.

But if someone from Tampa Bay were to run into him before Sunday night's game, there is just one message from his old homestead.

"Jon...thanks."