“Todd Bowles Is Dead Man Walking”
February 18th, 2023
Is Todd Bowles laughing at a former Buccaneer?
An impartial Bucs observer might say the team was bad this season and will get worse without Tom Brady and free agents the team can’t afford to re-sign, courtesy of their salary cap situation.
Joe gets annoyed by those folks. But what’s more annoying to Joe is the Bucs fan who says all that while convincing him or herself that nearly every team in the Bucs’ division or conference will improve as much as the Bucs might decline.
It’s like those fans are addicted to a loser mentality. (It’s not 2015, snap out of it!)
That brings Joe to former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996). He was ranting on his In The Trenches podcast this week about how the Bucs are nearly cooked for the 2023 season.
“…Todd Bowles is dead man walking. I hope you see that. I hope you see it,” Beckles said.
“Next year, Todd Bowles is going to be missing and losing a lot of football players. And I don’t know if anybody can make this team a good football team next year because you’re going to have to take some of these players away [because of the salary cap].”
Beckles went on to say the Bucs offense last season had no strengths whatsoever.
“Bucs didn’t run the ball well. Bucs didn’t protect well. Bucs didn’t throw the ball well. Bucs didn’t catch the ball well. Bucs, they weren’t physical. The playcalling wasn’t great, [so] what happens? You win eight games,” Beckles said.
He added that he knows of no offensive coordinator with enough magic to right the ship on offense in a hurry.
Joe can’t shovel dirt on the 2023 season. First, and perhaps most obvious, general manager Jason Licht could have a fast-impact draft like he did in 2020. And there’s plenty of talent around the rookies.
Second, if Ryan Jensen is his old self, the running game could go from ranked 32nd to ranked 18th in literally a heartbeat with a better playcaller. That would make a significant difference.
Lastly, the quarterback situation and potential is such a mystery, including if it’s Kyle Trask as the starter. So it’s unfair to paint the Bucs as losers already. Heck, Beckles himself said the Bucs probably would have been better off in their last six games with Trask versus Brady.
Yes, he said it, meant it and explained.
February 18th, 2023 at 9:18 am
I look forward to EVERY season!!
February 18th, 2023 at 9:22 am
I wonder if the only reason Arians is still around is because Todd Bowles is still HC. Could part of the decision of keeping Bowles be that the Buccaneers are concerned Arians would take a powder if Bowles is fired?
February 18th, 2023 at 9:25 am
Todd Bowles received about a 90% no confidence vote on JBF’s poll…
That is amazing to find 90% with the same opinion on anything Bucs.
It’s primarily for that reason fans are so pessimistic about 2023…..no faith whatsoever in the HC.
Add the loss of Brady….cap issues and pending FA losses and……voila!!!….you have a gloomy picture.
At least we got our SB win…..there are 12 NFL teams still looking for their first.
February 18th, 2023 at 9:29 am
Elita@ who cares, Arians caused this mess. Bowles was a dead man walking last season. Is this going to be his next excuse? I didn’t get to pick my own staff, yet he was granted a SB & almost 2nd SB (if not for him) coaching staff. The new excuse is we didn’t have enough cap space to field a winning caliber team. Everything about this man says LOSER!!!
February 18th, 2023 at 9:29 am
We have no quarterback, no pass rush, and a Head Coach with no pulse: any optimism surrounding the 2023 Bucs borders on delusional. The entire division is in rebuild – we are just the last ones to recognize it
February 18th, 2023 at 9:30 am
It’s not a loser mentality, it’s facts
Bowles is a losing HC 4/5 tries
We have 23 free agents and can’t afford any of them
We have 55 mil in the red in cap space
We just are swallowing the spin music
February 18th, 2023 at 9:37 am
i’m so at a loss for words these days i barely comment anymore…
keyword: loss
🙂
February 18th, 2023 at 9:39 am
Total bullspit. Thin analysis. Thanks Joe for withholding judgment. As I’ve said consistently since we last August the Buccaneers were way overrated prior to last season and now they are being way underrated. They will have two Pro Bowl offensive line and, at least one Pro Bowl wide receiver, Vea is a monster, they will find a way to keep Dean, and they have a Pro Bowl safety. We don’t yet know what the QB situation will be. No they will not be a Super of Bowl contender but neither were the Steelers or the Lions this year and b of the had reasonably good seasons that surpassed expectations. Our roster will be much like theirs is Drop to he doom and gloom. Let’s have a little power of positive thinking.
February 18th, 2023 at 9:42 am
This offense last year was bad for 3 reasons.
1) oline. If this team had Jensen and Stienne the oline would have been fine last year. this year they will be fine if healthy and maybe a tweak with no smith
2)Brady. more then the previous 2 years just did not want to stand in the pocket and take a hit to get the ball to the right guy. also his focus was a little off
3)BL. He was just awful. so predictable. Run plays that were called were so basic. he also ran out of the same formations and threw out of a different set of formations 90% of the time. there was no guessing by the opposing defense on if was a run or pass
That being said. we will lose Smith and Fournette and gage but with the new OC, our oline will be better based on health, and a QB willing to take a hit this offense may be decent next year. Not 30 points a game but maybe 27.
Defense needs to be striped for the cap and rebuilt through the draft. defense is going to be bad next year but bowels will make them at least close to average. Also Devin White needs to bulk up and play OLB. let him run after the QB.
February 18th, 2023 at 10:14 am
Hopefully they won’t
February 18th, 2023 at 10:17 am
Hopefully they won’t keep shoving money down the road take the hit this year. Trade some of your high priced player for draft picks and go from there. Start 2024 in good shape.
February 18th, 2023 at 10:23 am
We all want the Bucs to be what they were in 2020 and 2021, but reality is this team is led by a terrible head coach and has no QB. This is a team that is going to win between 2 and 5 games next year.
February 18th, 2023 at 10:25 am
Kendon Hooker
February 18th, 2023 at 10:36 am
Beckles … ‘Todd Bowles is dead man walking. I hope you see that. I hope you see it’.
The only ‘dead man walking’ in Beckles opinion is Beckles himself. He’s wrong far more than he’s right. Listeners saw through his negativity when he was on WDAE & bailed, so he became ‘dead man walking’ and ultimately got canned. Not impressed with anyone who sees the world as either black or white (nothing racial intended BTW).
I like what you said Joe about JL & the draft, about our rookie class, about Jensen & Stinnie (who’s a UFA along with Wells BTW) (for the record, Joe said nothing about Stinnie — Joe), and about our QB situation still being a mystery. Some will always take a negative position, while others will ‘wait and see’ as it all develops. Beckles is obviously in the former group.
February 18th, 2023 at 10:38 am
I wonder if anyone in the Bucs organization reads JoeBucsFan? The more appropriate question might be whether anyone in the organization doesn’t read JoeBucsFan. –Joe
February 18th, 2023 at 10:48 am
Bowles had a team of veteran talent last year, and underperformed. He wants to play a slow game, where the defense keeps it close and there are no mistakes, but this team was mentally weak all season long. At the end of the season, the offense, defense, and special teams had regressed under Bowles watch. He is going to have less talent this season, and somehow the team is supposed to perform better? He should have been thrown out with the bathwater, because now it seems the roster is changing to fit Bowles needs which are ridiculous. How many defensive minded head coaches made it to the playoffs last season? Dont blame the fans for the mentality, blame the loser coach. Wrong guy for this team roster.
February 18th, 2023 at 10:57 am
The first two games the Bucs played terrific. But, as the season progressed, they gradually got worse. Why isn’t that trend a measure of coaching?
February 18th, 2023 at 10:57 am
I’m going to reserve any sweeping judgements or opinions until training camp starts and there is a more clear picture of the team.
So yes, there is hope. I still have hope I can win the lottery, too.
Ask me about week 8 if I still have the same optimism…
In a thin, raspy voice: Go Bucs?
February 18th, 2023 at 11:03 am
We need to have a better running game that being said we still need to remember 10 of 11 of playoff teams had offenses in the top 11.
February 18th, 2023 at 11:05 am
Sometimes I think the new nfl has passed Bowles by. Hes still has the 3 yards and a cloud of dust mentality.
February 18th, 2023 at 11:08 am
As a bucs fan since 99 I am pretty much used to losing. A lot more losing than winning. So I will still be here to watch win or lose. Hopefully after this season we can get rid of Bowles.
February 18th, 2023 at 11:09 am
I dont care
If we
Win 4-5-6 games. I want to see them develope
A young qb and improve the second half
Of season. Get better throughout the season not worse lole the 2022 bucs
February 18th, 2023 at 11:09 am
Way to garner interest in your blog, Joe. Go ahead. Insult your readers some more….
Joe didn’t insult anyone. Joe writes here the way Joe would talk to friends and fellow fans at a tailgate or in a bar. Joe doesn’t tell anyone how to be a fan, and Joe welcomes contrasting views, even when their annoying (as long as they’re not malicious in nature or misrepresenting Joe). Joe is not a fan of writing off a season in February. There’s plenty of time for that around Halloween if it reaches that point. –Joe
February 18th, 2023 at 11:25 am
Atlanta and Carolina will battle for the division crown. Yucs and Aint’s will battle for the bottom of the division honors. BBB Bowles Blundering Bucs.
February 18th, 2023 at 11:47 am
No, he’s not. Unless the offense stinks as bad as last year with no sign of improvement, which is a pretty low bar, he’ll be around for ’24. I don’t think he’ll get graded too harshly on the defensive side of the ball. One, he has earned some creds there, and two, the defense may look alot different due to cap and fa. If we create a false dichotomy and say bowles job is based on just offense and defense production, he gets a mulligan for the defense. It’s tho offense that’s going to be the sniff test for the front office, imo.
That said, I wonder what the plan is with Jensen. He’s tough as nails and is an excellent player but there has to be concern with his age and the number of serious injuries he sustained on that one knee. The dudes a warrior but this is all uncharted territory seeing how he didn’t get surgery to make repairs and opted for other methods including stem cells (according to an article). Will he be able to withstand the constsnt strain and struggle in the trenches for the season and do it effectively. I guess we’ll find out in training camp. Hainsey did a good job but he needs to find an NFL gym this off-season and get stronger.
Todd Bowles and the new OC have their work cut out for themselves for sure.
February 18th, 2023 at 11:52 am
Sorry Joe but Beckles evaluation of this team and Bowles future is spot on. Joe has written many times that Bowles is on thin ice, as would any coach that had a losing season with Tom Brady and a bunch of Pro Bowl talents on the roster. So not sure what you’re talking about. Dead Coach Walking is a lot different adjective than thin ice. –Joe Your just being a homer if you actually believe anything else. We just need to have faith they can build for the future but Bowles and the 2023 season are both throw away.
February 18th, 2023 at 12:06 pm
That guy knows football!
There is reasons why players flock to play for certain caches and avoid playing for others… Most players are competitive and won’t to win so they flock to winning coaches…. Bowels is NOT a winning coach!… He inherited a winning team that not only won a Super Bowl but was on its longest winning streak over 2 seasons AND Todd turned it into Loserville, barely able to score a TD in a single game with TOM BRADY AS THE QB!….
Bowels is a ‘lame duck’- ‘dead man walking’, ‘place holder’- coach that IS getting fired by end of next season…. IF he doesn’t swallow his pride and reply on the ways of winning coaches, Todd will always be a loser in the NFL!
February 18th, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Yeah cuz Canadian bacon was on so many winning teams that he knows what it looks like
February 18th, 2023 at 12:16 pm
Until Bucs solve excessive injuy problem,nothing else matters. It will take trainers,doctors,coachs,players and AI to analyse and fix.
February 18th, 2023 at 12:16 pm
“It’s like those fans are addicted to a loser mentality.”
BOOM! There it is.
February 18th, 2023 at 12:23 pm
Indeed, the Bucs would have been better off if Trask started the last six games. Their season record would have been 5-12 with a last place finish in the division. The benefits of this scenario cannot be understated….
– No playoff embarrassment at home against the ice cold cowboys in the ultimate prime time slot
– Much better draft position position
– Softer 2023 schedule
– No lingering while a Brady ponders his next move as his benching will have assured his departure
– And last but not least…. A Bowels movement would have been a virtual certainty
February 18th, 2023 at 12:28 pm
DEAD MAN WALKING…Licht is right next to him in the walkathon.
Bowels+55 mill over the cap+no QB=LOSING
This isn’t rocket surgery folks.
It’s not like this is some crazy prediction.
8-10 with the GOAT. We are going to have a lot less on the roster.
Why do fans have to FAKE it. Oh my goodness…we are going to win 13 games next year! I see it. I beLIEve it. Bowels is a GREAT coach! Our OC has so much playcalling experience. SB or bust.
Sounds stupid.
February 18th, 2023 at 12:33 pm
Joe, saying some one is annoying and that they have a loser mentality… how are these not insults. Saying a specific take is annoying and calling a person annoying is two different things. But Joe stands behind saying it’s a loser mentality to think the team is a stone cold loser without seeing who the quarterback is and what the roster looks like. It’s not like they signed Josh McCown to start. –Joe
Not to worry. I think most who read this site can handle it. Anyway this is your site and you can write whatever you choose.
February 18th, 2023 at 12:44 pm
If track record means anything, Bowles as a HC is a loser.
After 20922, why would anyone think things will change?
The guy had Tom Freakin’ Brady for cripes sake and STILL couldn’t win.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:07 pm
While I mostly agree with Ian on his 2022 views, I disagree about the offense not being able to be fixed.
All you need is someone who can designs a better run game. That would have alleviated SO MUCH of the problems they had last year. Leftwich couldn’t do it, but maybe Canales can. We’ve still got Mike Evans. We’ve still got Chris Godwin. Gage might actually be healthy next year. Still got Wirfs, Jensen, Mason. D Smith might come back to form. Just need to figure out who is throwing the ball.
The defense on the other hand is much much more concerning.
What I wonder is- will the Glazers give Bowles a pass on 2023, knowing that his defense is completely handcuffed by salary cap and injuries?
February 18th, 2023 at 1:09 pm
My guess is 3 – 6 wins next year. 2024 is the real test for Licht.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:10 pm
The reason why Bowles is pronounced a dead man walking is because we all saw with our own eyes an undisciplined, uninspired team get schooled by the likes of Pittsburg and other middling to poor teams and when they played elite teams like SF or KC they were absolutely taken out behind the woodshed.
The thrashing they got at the hands of Dallas was the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae.
The line was “they got old quick”.
So if they did indeed get old, why isn’t this a dump and rebuild? Wouldn’t you release all the overpriced, past their prime vets, focus on the draft and try to build the next generation of players? Why is management saying they want to “retool” and try to make another run at the division?
I suspect the truth is they need a season to reset the cap and give Trask his playing time intro. Why get a new coach during the reset “soft tank” year? Just let Bowles run this ship straight into the ground and nature will take its course. We’ll come out of it with a handful of decent young players, a top 5 draft pick, a young QB in the mold of Josh Allen and Daniel Jones (who played well last year) who got tutoring from Tom Brady – all together should be able to lure coaching talent to Tampa.
The Bucs are going to be a bad football team in 2023. We should all accept that. Don’t feel bad for Todd Bowles – he got a 5 year deal he had no business getting and is financially set for life.
Its a big ish sandwich we all need to take a bite out of, but we got three years out of the goat and a taste of what its like to have an elite team for two seasons. IMO, it was worth it.
Honestly we should thank Canales for coming here as a placeholder OC. Maybe while he’s here he can help this squad re-establish it’s running game grit.
Here’s a suggestion… Everyone is talking about Bijon Robinson from Texas as the guy on everyone’s draft board. But what about Roshon Johnson?
If you want to be honest about why this team had a terrible running game, yeah look at the injuries on the oline, sure – but Fournette cadillac’d it in 2022. Ate all of mama’s delicious New Orleans cooking, didn’t come into camp in shape, looked washed all year long until finally Brady was calling for the rookie to come in with the game on the line. The fire in Lenny’s heart is out. That’s ok though. He had a great career, the great playoff run – its all good. Problem with Lenny is he’s got a $5M cap hit. So maybe we’re stuck – but if Roshon is available in the 3rd round I’d be tempted to draft him.
White is just not a lead guy IMO, he doesn’t have enough explosiveness. At best he’s clever, shifty runner who can give you some good downs, but not the big time power and speed guy. RJ is the bigger faster guy. He’s the back they need.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:16 pm
I’m still not convinced Bowles is as much of a dinosaur on offense as people have concluded. I’m not saying for sure he’s not. I’m just looking at he evidence. All we know is he wants to run better and run more. If you look at the numbers from the last few years, its hard to argue they wouldn’t benefit from a better running game that could control games at times. Even before Bowles became HC, all the word we were hearing from OBP was that Arians wanted to run the ball better and attempt a little more balance. And Brady was on board with that too.
The point is, I don’t think we can conclude that Bowles wants to run at a rate outside the range of a typical NFL team. Some teams run more and still manage to be explosive — San Francisco comes to mind. There are plenty of ways to run an offense and be successful. But if you have a good running game and can control the clock and score touchdowns on long-ish drives, and play decent defense, you can control games. The point is winning, not posting gaudy passing stats.
Before drawing conclusions, i wanna see what the product looks like with our new offensive coordinator. Canales’ experience is all on the passing side of the game, within a ground-based attack. Seems that could be a recipe for a varied and balanced approach.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:17 pm
If Canales does a good job and Licht has a knockout draft and manages to pull together a decent roster after all the cap gyrations, Bowles could be resurrected.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:25 pm
When comparing someone like Ian Beckles, who might know a little about the game, and played for the Bucs — so he certainly knows losing football — to some roses-and-cotton-candy-pollyanna-hype, my money is on Beckles being right.
Only Todd “Marinelli” Blowes could take a team that was one really horrible call away from competing for the Super Bowl in 2021, ruining the greatest comeback in Bucs history, and turn it into an 8-10 team including a humiliating loss to the Cowboys wherein it was obvious Blowes had his players about as well prepared as they were for Cooper Kupp.
You go from 14-5 to 8-10. Yes injuries, but they were injured in 2021 also. Everyone has injuries. Steelers had bartenders and waitresses in their secondary last season. Could Blowes beat them? No. Bengals were without their starting O-line and pummeled the Bills.
Blowes now has 4 consecutive losing seasons in a row as a head coich, and its arguable that last season was his most egregious fail.
Blowes could make the Super Bowl winning Chiefs go 6-11 with Patrick Mahomes.
This isn’t Buc fan PTSD, this is a results-based condemnation.
Did anyone else see that Eric Bienemy is now the OC of the WFT? Architect of the most entertaining and effective offenses in NFL history. Yes Mahomes, but they even move the ball seemlessly when Chad Henne comes in. Chad Henne!!! But we get Canary or Cannoli are Conundrum or whoever. .
Get ready to party like it’s 2014. That’s what the upcoming season is going to look like, just subtract 6 more wins like Blowes managed to do with Brady as his QB and you arrive at 2-15.
Go Bucs.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Joe always reference Ian Beckles and what Ian thinks, but I never see what percentage of it is correct. Every that post on here will tell you Bowles is a dead man walking after winning the division first year HC.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:31 pm
I’m glad we have commenters who can see the future.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
Alright Goatfarmer, just promise not to post after the Bucs get the 3rd win next season
February 18th, 2023 at 1:46 pm
Mike C Says:
Week 17?
February 18th, 2023 at 1:47 pm
SAS, I don’t claim to see the future!! The best predictor of the future is the past!!! If last season ( or any of Bowles HC seasons) are any indication of where this team is heading, don’t anticipate many wins!!
February 18th, 2023 at 1:51 pm
SOEbuc Says:
In every division of the NFL, outside the NFC South, this team would have finished 3rd or 4th. With Tom Brady.
Winning the division helped the Glazer piggybank, but was a huge fail in every other regard.
February 18th, 2023 at 1:56 pm
Bowles has two paths to survival..
1. A surprisingly effective Canales offense led by a shockingly good Kyle Trask.
2. Proposing a complete tear down to Licht and the Glazers……orchestrating it thus buying him at least another year.
Fighting the inevitable will get him canned.
February 18th, 2023 at 2:12 pm
A$$quatch apparently doesn’t understand reading trends and using them as a predictor of the future. No, extrapolation is not by itself a perfect predictive tool. So lets look at a few variables that can impact the trend line.
First the positive: the players seem to love the Toadster. Leftwurst is gone, although it’s looking like the Toadster simply fired him to save his own loser arse.
The negative: no QB, and the best QB in the universe ever couldn’t lift the Toadster to a winning season. No offensive coordinator, we got a guy who was demoted from running the Seahawks passing game back to position coach, who has never ever called plays in the NFL before. No offensive coaches other than the retained OL coaches. Yeah, boy, we saw the results of their greatness. Half the starters on defense and a significant number of backups won’t be back, and that defense gave it up like a crack whore at 3AM to anyone who was any good at all in 2022. Then there’s Keith Armweak and his short bus squad.
February 18th, 2023 at 2:32 pm
Blows while at the Jets
Pass Run Ratio rounded off
57% 43% 2015
56% 44% 2016
55% 45% 2017
56% 44% 2018
It’s clear he wants a more balanced R/P game. Bucs passed 67.88% in 2022. The problem was Bucs tried but couldn’t run which was caused by bad oline play and bad play calling or scheming.
February 18th, 2023 at 2:33 pm
Quacktch hopes “If Canales does a good job and Licht has a knockout draft and manages to pull together a decent roster after all the cap gyrations, Bowles could be resurrected.”
You’d have a better probability of being right if you simply went to a horse track and bet the trifecta on three long shots. That’s the “if/then” scenario you’re painting.
February 18th, 2023 at 2:34 pm
And Todd Blowes is the jockey on all three horses.
February 18th, 2023 at 2:38 pm
I hope Todd Bowles makes all of his haters here in Buc Nation eats their words. There are lots of you out there. Wouldn’t it be something if he had a winning season next year despite all the hate?
February 18th, 2023 at 2:50 pm
I’ll gladly eat crow all day long
No problem.
February 18th, 2023 at 2:53 pm
It’s funny that you think your variations on sasquatch are clever or funny or that they sting in some way. Pretty much 8th grade stuff. Not surprising.
I’m pretty familiar with the difficulties the team faces with the cap and all the pending free agents and the lack of QB. You’ve never seen me predict a good record. I’ve never even claimed that Bowles is a good HC.
My interest is in watching the process play out, taking an interest in areas where they make changes and improvements, looking forward to the draft, watching players develop, and hoping for the best. I enjoy the process of building a team and seeing it come together over a couple years. We’re stuck with Bowles this year so I’m going to hope for the best. I don’t understand how a “fan” gets any enjoyment from raining sh!t down on Bowles or the new OC for the whole offseason. Sounds miserable. But if always trying to prove yourself right gives you a chub, knock yourself out.
And If things go really poorly for Bowles this year, he’ll be fired. You’ll hear no protests from me.
February 18th, 2023 at 3:06 pm
Sasquack – just following your lead silly girl. Apparently it’s fine for you to use “goatfluffer” or “Goatfu€ker” but somehow take offense at my playfulness regarding your screen name.
Hypocrite much?
February 18th, 2023 at 3:13 pm
Cobraboy
But they are in the NFC South.
Ifs and buts were candy and nuts. Losers that blame refs on their L are the worst. It’s okay during game, but you lost so move on.
This bandwagon needs to focus on positive emotions for Bowles and Bucs.
February 18th, 2023 at 3:29 pm
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahabababahababababahahahahahahahaha
February 18th, 2023 at 3:29 pm
Well, SOE, if you think winning a division with a losing record is fap-worthy, be my guest.
Knowledgeable fans know better. Knowledgeable fans, even the uber-optimistic ones, know a CF when they see one.
The NFL should have a rule that a losing record disqualifies for the playoffs.
February 18th, 2023 at 3:31 pm
@agriculteur de le chèvre,
You are correct. It is hypocritical, but I thought Goatfu€ker was a name I couldn’t resist.
February 18th, 2023 at 3:43 pm
Getting a LG and with Jensen coming back, the O line has a chance to drastically improve. I think R White showed enough to be a very good number one running back.
I do think D Smith and Lenny might be salary cap cuts or trades.
They get SHAQ back. JTS and Logan Hall have another year under their belt.
They are not as far off as people think but they have to clear up cap space. They’ll probably be average this year while they figure that out and the quarterback position.
I really hope they draft one and not go after some high price free agent that couldn’t get it done elsewhere.
Ideally, Kyle Trask will prove many of us wrong but I don’t see it, especially as the league evolves into high-powered offenses that require the quarterback to be able to run some.
February 18th, 2023 at 3:54 pm
Nice that you got the first step over with A$$qrack. Now we need to work on your baseless optimism based on hope, ignoring demonstrated results, trends and degradation of personnel.
February 18th, 2023 at 3:55 pm
Incidentally, a$$krotch, nice work with the french. I like goat cheese.
February 18th, 2023 at 4:12 pm
NEfan … ‘It’s clear he wants a more balanced R/P game. Bucs passed 67.88% in 2022. The problem was Bucs tried but couldn’t run which was caused by bad oline play and bad play calling or scheming.’
I’m (pleasantly) shocked. Excellent analysis of what we saw last season & PROBABLY where Bowles wants to go this season, for good reason IMO. I honestly believe that Bowles stayed hands-off the offense & let BL run it (Bowles doesn’t strike me as being a micro-manager). BL couldn’t get the job done IMO without BA’s oversight, especially given the OLine problems (and Brady’s problems).
None of us can pretend to have any idea if Canales will be any better than Leftwich (hey, he’s never even called plays in the NFL), but I do believe that a more BALANCED offense will be better suited to our 2023 team given the talent that we have left on offense. Like I’ve said many times before, I’m much more concerned about our defense (it’s been gutted thanks to this salary CAP mess). If it ends up being anywhere around a mid-tier defense, I’ll consider Bowles to be a miracle worker. What our record will be in 2023 is anybody’s guess at this point.
February 18th, 2023 at 4:14 pm
@goat,
I’ve said before that it’s not optimism.
I’ll be honest, if they had not canned Lefty, I’d be deep in the negative camp.
They’ve taken steps. I’m just open minded about some changes making a big difference. Big enough to put up a winning record? No. I don’t think so.
I’m more anti-negativity than I am an optimist.
I don’t disagree that there’s a lot of difficult challenges ahead. I’ve never even said I think Bowles can handle the job. It’s out of my hands. Would I have hired him as the HC? No way, except we were kinda stuck with him due to Arians’ late retirement. Anyway, he was their succession plan all along. He would not have been my succession plan.
February 18th, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Yes…playoff game payday for the Glazers….but moved down about 10 picks in the draft in every round. Of course, we have plenty of talent, so who cares. Just fill in holes with talented FA’s and we are set to roll. What? Salary cap what? Man, glad we have that division championship banner. No other three teams in the south were better than we were. That means a lot. SMH.
February 18th, 2023 at 4:23 pm
Cobraboy … ‘The NFL should have a rule that a losing record disqualifies for the playoffs.’
I’ve thought that many times myself.
BTW, everyone gives Tom Brady a pass on last year because … hey, he’s Tom Brady, The GOAT. But given our OLine problems (injuries, inexperience, etc) AND BL’s scheming, play designs & play-calling, he didn’t look anything like the Tom Brady I’ve followed since he came into the league. A lot of that probably had to do with the personal issues he was having to deal with, but surely age played a factor too.
One thing I wish Bowles had done differently last season is left Brady in for all of the last Atlanta game. I do believe that if Brady hadn’t been taken out of the Atlanta game at the end of the 1st half, that we would’ve won that game (we were leading 17-10 at the half, but ended up losing 30-17).
February 18th, 2023 at 4:29 pm
DR, in 2020 Bucs pass 62.9 record 11-5 2021 65.5% 13-5. This is a pass first O. A HC should know his team. If the O was too predictable or basic FIX it, you don’t ride out the season hoping the problems will fix themselves. Definition of insanity. Bowles is clearly insane. If BL was the problem get rid of the problem. BA did it with AB, bad example unfortunately that cost them a SB. HC stands for HEAD COACH not LAME DUCK!!!
February 18th, 2023 at 4:37 pm
Goatfarmer, it’s a new year. Canales just might surprise us in spite of bowlzo. Even if the defence collapses a high scoring offence would at least be fun to watch.
Yeah, I know, poop in one hand and wish in the other and see which one fills first, but HEY! It’s a new year!
Gotta admit tho, you’re fun to read.
February 18th, 2023 at 6:40 pm
NEfan … ‘If BL was the problem get rid of the problem.’
It might surprise you, but I don’t disagree with you at all. Bowles let his loyalty to BA come before his responsibility as a HC to ‘fix what needed fixing’. That’s the primary reason I continue to believe that he was hands-off the offense. BL was in over his head without BA’s guiding hand, and Bowles (and Licht and BA) refused to refused to relieve him of his OC duties.
I have to believe that Bowles discussed exactly that with BA AND Licht, but for whatever reason never pulled the trigger. Loyalty can be a very strong emotion, and apparently Bowles eventually overcame that, albeit too late.
Still, with our other ‘issues’ last season (contrary to what some believe, I don’t think the product we actually put on the field was all that talented), ‘we are where we are’. Pissin & moanin about it won’t change a thing. It’ll be a Herculean task, but with the right ‘moves’ I think we could have an OK year. Time will tell.
February 18th, 2023 at 6:52 pm
NEfan … ‘in 2020 Bucs pass 62.9 record 11-5 2021 65.5% 13-5. This is a pass first O. A HC should know his team.’
Bucs rushed 386 times in 1149 total plays … 33.3% of the time. That means we attempted to pass on 66.7% of our plays … a HIGHER percentage than in 2020 or 2021. Based on those numbers, I’d say that Todd Bowles let BL ‘do what he do’ (ie, pass the living daylights out of the ball). The result was 8-9.
You know as well as I do that last year’s team wasn’t nearly as talented as our 2020 or 2021 teams. No Gronk, no AB, no Marpet, no Jensen, D Smith with all his injuries (and ‘issues’?), the loss of Shaq halfway through the season. Brady had a bunch of issues himself that clearly influenced his performance on the field (heck, look at the weight loss for starters). Add it all together, and the 2022 team wasn’t nearly as talented as the preceding 2 years.
February 18th, 2023 at 7:34 pm
DR, there is a distinct difference between passing to make plays versus passing because you can’t run. It’s called one dimentional. The passing results in 2020 and 2021 were 30+ points/gm, why because the Bucs could still run. I also believe Cappa was hurt in 2020 and Jensen was out with a ankle injury for a few games last year, plus the WR’s in 2021 were questionable all season yet they still had success. Why weren’t adjustments made in 2022? That’s on Bowles.
February 18th, 2023 at 7:48 pm
Anti-negativity, ok. Let’s see, being anti-negative without being positive…..I’m sure there’s a point to make………….I’ll try.
At least the Bucs still have some players who have played well in the past on the roster. The past two rebuilds the Bucs tried averaged 12 years in length. The next one has to be shorter, doesn’t it?
Since Trask hasn’t done anything in public to look like NFL caliber maybe it’s because Bowels is sitting on his Secret Weapon and will spring him on the league in 2023, with Canaries faking out opponents with ground and pound speak when it’s really gonna be the Kyle Trask aerial circus! Hey, I mean, it’s possible.
Just like it’s possible that JL will snag seven starters in the 2023 draft, retool the roster with vet minimum players who play like all-pros, and Canaries is the hidden offensive genius who emerges after being held back by that tyrant, Pete Carroll.
It’s possible.
Cool, this anti-negative stuff is really fun.
February 18th, 2023 at 9:33 pm
I know it’s difficult for you to comprehend but what you’re doing there is still negative cuz it’s all snark. I don’t spend my time prognosticating in either the negative or positive. I’m just waiting to see how it turns out without prejudging. I’m not selling you snake oil and telling you we’ll magically be able to spend on free agents or that Kyle Trask will be the 2nd coming of Tom Brady. It’s going to go however it goes, and b!tching and moaning about it beforehand just isn’t worth my time. I’ll have time to sh!t on it in the fall as performance warrants it.
February 19th, 2023 at 12:43 am
Hey hypocritesquatch — read your posts man. You are just as negative, you just dress it up to (in your mind) to seem somehow more acceptable? (bwaahahah)
STFU.
You bitch and moan, you just do it in code. See your retort to the comments on Ira. Man what a two faced loser.
February 19th, 2023 at 2:38 am
I don’t think it’s true. Bowles will not be a dead man walking because the Glazers understand the situation Bowles is in and it’s of no fault of his own. They will give him lots of rope next season along with Licht. Now 2024 will be a different story.
February 19th, 2023 at 4:38 am
I just re-watched the 2021 divisional playoff game against the Rams.
In spite of Bowels, Brady brought them back and the defense fought hard. Suh and JPP leadership was evident throughout the second half.
The game is tied, 30 seconds left, and Bowels commits the terminable offense.
— He called the stupidest play against Stafford you can call. Blitz the guy most lethal against the blitz at the most critical point in the game. Then
— His captain is a physical phenomenon but a mental midget and doesn’t know how to, or can’t, or fails to communicate the call, compounding the problem. Not only do you have the dumbest call you can make, you have half your guys not knowing what the call is.
He should have been fired. Instead he was promoted. He blamed Leftwurs but his defense is a mirage.
The Glazers understand that Bowels has four consecutive seasons as a losing head coach. He was Arians’ pick, not theirs or Licht’s. Glazers don’t like to lose. They get impatient with losing coaches, well documented.
Blowes wins 7 games or less, he’s gone. Period. And he’ll be lucky to win 4, which is what he would have had without Brady in 2022.
February 19th, 2023 at 7:06 am
These are the facts of the Bucs upcoming 2023 Season.
The Bucs are $50 million over the salary cap according to Spotrac.
The Bucs have numerous free agents who were starters or key rotational guys last year that they will not be able to sign in free agency because of the salary cap situation.
Starters who are Free Agents:
DT in Hicks, Gholston and Nunez, which is one starter and one rotational player.
DE in Nelson.
LB in LVD.
CB, Nickel and Safety in Dean, SMB and Edwards.
That’s at least 5 starters on defense that the Bucs must replace with draft picks, or cheaper contracts for those players with restructuring and kicking the salary cap problem down to future years, and thus making it worse.
Oh, and Todd Bowles is a proven NFL losing head coach who is leading the Bucs.
Those facts cause a logical and reasonable person to have serious doubts about the Bucs upcoming season.
February 19th, 2023 at 10:24 am
When you have a Head coach saying the players will figure it out themselves, that’s when you fire the head coach. The players are not in a position to make decisions that they want to do, that’s why we have coaches. They make decisions on the field but they are geared toward a plan that is made by the coaches. In Bowles idiotic mind, there’s no need for coaches, let the players play and have them figure it out themselves. That’s why we went 8-9. They should of fired Bowles and tried to get Eric Bieniemy as Head coach. But they won’t fire Bowles because of a five year contract. Sounds like trying to save money than win games. Cut your looses with the DUNCE. Why would you give a person a 5 yr contract that hasn’t proven himself at all. Bowles is the reason we lost the Rams game by blitzing and not jamming Cooper Kupp at the line. BOWLES AT HEAD COACH – 2023 – BUCS – 5-12
February 19th, 2023 at 12:36 pm
Bienemy hasn’t proven anything, he’s been in Reuds shadow which makes him a risk. He also has a tainted past, perfect for Washington. They could have saved the season if they grabbed Reich as interim and canned Blows, but that wouldn’t be politically correct.
February 19th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
People are really overreacting to the salary cap. We’re going to lose people but most of them are people they should have replaced anyway. The dumb mistake people are making is acting like the Bucs didn’t know they would be in this situation 1-2 years ago. If not they have no business running a team
February 19th, 2023 at 9:09 pm
I hope the players, Coaches and owners are not reading the comments on this story, So many sitting at home pounding on a keyboard who have never played or coach in the NFL, No team has a winning season every year, look at the Rams. When was the last time a team won back to back Super bowl’s? So many whiners.