“We Gotta Throw A Bomb On This Darn Thing”
March 5th, 2023
A former Buccaneer has a message for GM Jason Licht.
Joe is a little stunned by how deep the negativity runs among a hearty chunk of Bucs fans.
Yes, the Tom Brady party is over. Last call was Jan. 1 against Carolina. But Brady wasn’t playing great football overall last season, and the fired Super Bowl offensive coordinator had a brutal year, one so bad he couldn’t find job interviews.
That combination doesn’t add up to looming disaster for the Tampa Bay offense. The Bucs averaged only four-tenths of a point less per game with Mike Glennon at quarterback in 2013 after Josh Freeman led the club to an 0-3 start.
How much worse can things get minus Leftwich, without declining Brady, and with key players returning to peak health, such as Ryan Jensen and Chris Godwin?
Well, former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) sounds like a man who thinks the Bucs offense is doomed to misery in 2023 — even with a new system under playcaller Dave Canales and a commitment to running the ball, which Beckles loves in an offense.
“I don’t even want to call it a rebuilding year. It’s almost like we gotta throw a bomb on this darn thing,” Beckles told his In The Trenches podcast audience.
“8-10 last year on a downward slope. I’m going to say this: can’t nobody out there listening or watching me today tell me that our offense is going to be better next year. It’s not going to be. And nobody out there can tell me that our defense is going to be better next year. Why? Not because I say it. Because personnel-wise, we’re not going to be better.”
Beckles went on to rant about the Bucs being too far over the salary cap to be successful.
“You can’t possibly think this is going to be a good football year? No way,” he bellowed.
Joe can’t swallow any of that whole. Obviously, the Bucs aren’t a Super Bowl contender on March 5, but there will be too much talent at One Buc Palace for the team to be complete mess. And the Bucs are capable of finding a couple of impact rookies. Teams do that every darn year (see 2020).
Joe is not going to eliminate expectations unless the Bucs do that themselves by, to steal Beckles’ line, “throwing a bomb” on the roster.
The Bucs may be incapable of being great this season, but they’re certainly capable of being pretty good and improving steadily.
March 5th, 2023 at 11:47 am
Beckles wasn’t a good enough player to say that any other is horrible
March 5th, 2023 at 11:51 am
when you force your season ticket holders{4+ years for me}to not get a refund for the money they have gotten for this next year-yeah people are pissed off. Either keep paying or forfeit the money you already paid bad business.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:11 pm
Three to five wins. Best case 6-11 in a bad division.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:16 pm
IF the Bucs have/find a competent QB and the new OC is competent, the offense will probably score more points this year than last.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:17 pm
Maybe a little extreme, but Ian is mostly correct. No reason to believe the D will be better, especially with our best pass rusher questionable coming off a major injury and losses in Free Agency. And the O? Why?
March 5th, 2023 at 12:25 pm
We still got talent, whoever plays QB will have a good chance at success
March 5th, 2023 at 12:25 pm
Predictions are like aholes. Everybody’s got one, and they’re all stinky.
Nobody knows how well the Bucs will play this upcoming season. Remember virtually everyone predicted the Bucs to be a Super Bowl team last season. And Nobody predicted the Bucs would win a Super Bowl in the 2020-2021 season, even with the “declining GOAT” under center.
Nobody predicted the Eagles to win the NFC and barely lose to the Chiefs in the SB. Indeed most of the experts and rank and file commenters predicted a bottom half finish for the Eagles and them running Jalen Hurts out of town.
Again, predictions are like aholes, and they’re all stinky.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Better to look at a disastrous year and do better than to expect good and do poorly…….
We need to get our financial house in order…..focus on a good draft…..take care of younger talent…..don’t worry about the record.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:36 pm
Bowles is a natural born loser. He does it well. Can’t put lipstick on that pig.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Put the bomb in Blowzo’s office. Make sure that Tom Moore isn’t anywhere near.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:52 pm
The offense only scored 17 points per game…
Are you telling me it will be worse than that?
Yikes.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
Anyone that thinks this roster can be duct taped together for success is insane. What talent that still is on the roster is overpaid, old and or injury prone.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Goatfarmer really knows how to take it to the next (unacceptable) level. Stochastic terrorism is alive and well on JBF. Other than insulting one of the JBF writers nothing gets you tossed it seems.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:25 pm
Forreal goat farmer. Not necessary at all. Beckels must not have saw how our offense put up yards and points before Brady n BA. Only thing bad about that offense before Brady was the turnovers and that was mostly on Winston. Yea did the Bucs do a lot of losing before Brady of course but we had a good core of players before Brady came it’s why he chose us over literally every other team in the nfl. He brought 3 players on his side and that’s what took us over the top. Beckels isn’t all there in the head
March 5th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
HC Grover Says:
March 5th, 2023 at 12:36 pm
Bowles is a natural born loser. He does it well. Can’t put lipstick on that pig.
^^^^^^^^
They call this projection/projecting
Projection refers to unconsciously taking unwanted emotions or traits you don’t like about yourself and attributing them to someone else.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
I would be surprised if the offense wasn’t better. 18ppg is awful, we can do better. How much remains to be seen, but we should be less predictable if the information about Canales is correct. Running does not equal predictability. I just fully expect them to do a better job of keeping the D off balance, and if the new QB, whoever it may be, can find Godwin and Evans, we should be okay.
Defense is another story with higher than normal turnover of starters.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:44 pm
Brady wasn’t the problem. To suggest otherwise, ignores facts. If they’d had some semblance of a running game, a smart OC and healthy recievers, things would’ve looked quite different. No, they weren’t winning the superbowl. But, 11 wins was absolutely attainable. It also didn’t help that the defense got punked whenever they faced a legit offense. I miss Brady already.
.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:52 pm
So much talent Evans, Godwin and Wirfs on offense. Winfield and White on defense thats it. The offense is a waste with no one to throw the ball but wait a minute Bowles wants to run the ball so why do we need a good quarterback anyway. So why the negativity two words Todd Bowles.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:59 pm
This Ian Beckles only sees negative – people like him suck – The Bucs will be fine with good coaching and the nocuous of the team is still there.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:04 pm
It’s kind of early to say what the team will be 10 days out from the new league year. We’ll be younger, that I’m convinced of, but how good we’ll be will be determined by the coaching staff and some players I imaging aren’t even on the teams yet. Too early for Chicken Little mode, that’s for sure.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:07 pm
Terrible head coach and no QB typically equals a bad year Joe.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:15 pm
Canadian Bacon is a miserable pile of crap who trash talked the Bucs All the way to both of the superbowls they won. Negative naturally gets more attention, he is just cashing in on being a sour puss
March 5th, 2023 at 2:30 pm
I rarely say this, but Beckles is right.
While the team has some very good top flight players, you don’t have anything if you don’t have a QB, and unless they trade for Rodgers, they’re getting another HOF QB coming through the doors. Derek Carr is garbage, Mayfield is garbage, Jimmy G is garbage. Sure, maybe if everything breaks perfect they win 7 games, maybe.
Also the Bucs head coach stinks. Bowles is a very good DC, but a complete failure at head coach. He was handed a SB caliber team last year and managed to completely screw it up, so why would this year, with a much less talented team, would things change?
Finally, the defense is going to have a lot of holes. You’re not keeping Dean and SMB, you need another safety. On the d-line you’re losing Gholston and Hicks. At LB, are you going to be able to keep David? When will Shaq be healthy, will he be healthy? Overall the defense has ZERO depth. No depth on the d-line, no depth at LB and no depth in the secondary.
All of that means your offense needs to step up, and while Leftwich was terrible, is the new guy, with a huge downgrade at QB going to do any better? Of course not.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:33 pm
IAN BECKLES NEVER WAS A SUPERSTAR SO HIS OPINION ISN’T WORTH BEANS..THIS TEAM IS GOING TO BE MUCH BETTER THAN PEOPLE THINK & WE ARE GOING TO WIN NFC SOUTH A 3RD TIME IN A ROW ! WE’VE BUILT A WINNING ATTITUDE AROUND BUC PALACE & IT’S NOT GOING TO DISAPPEAR ANY TIME SOON..KYLE TRASK & HIS HOPEFUL BACKUP ( BAKER MAYFIELD )WILL CONTINUE ALONG WITH A STRONG YOUNGER DEFENSE TO TAKE US TO THE PLAYOFFS ONCE AGAIN..MARK MY WORDS FELLOW TRUE BUC’S FANS ! ! !
March 5th, 2023 at 2:34 pm
Todd Bowles is the reason Joe. We got a dead man walking at HC.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:48 pm
Joe … ‘Bucs may be incapable of being great this season, but they’re certainly capable of being pretty good and improving steadily’.
Nice ‘bottom line’ Joe. In my eyes, 2023 is a year to ‘right the ship’. LOTS of changes will be coming, and it’ll take time for all of that to mesh. STEADY IMPROVEMENT sounds like a very worthwhile goal right about now.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:50 pm
The Wrench that was thrown into the TD scoring machine that was the Bucs was Bowles… He is still there and still a detriment to the team winning!
Got to remove the problem before it can be fixed..
March 5th, 2023 at 2:59 pm
Rod Munch … ‘Bowles is a very good DC, but a complete failure at head coach. He was handed a SB caliber team last year and managed to completely screw it up’.
That seems to be the prevailing opinion on JoeBucFan Rod, but I think it’s an unfair opinion. The 2022 Bucs were nowhere near as talented as our 2020 & 2021 teams; it’s not even a contest. We lost too much leadership on the field (guys like Jensen, Suh, JPP, etc) & no one really stepped up to fill the gap. Bowles isn’t faultless by any means, but he was literally dealt a hand that he wasn’t gonna win with, regardless of what our record ended up being.
I’m doing my best to keep an open mind on him as our HC for 2023. Same goes for Jason Licht as our GM BTW. The hand Bowles has to play isn’t any better for this year, but he SHOULD have more control this season over how he plays it. All the cards haven’t even been dealt yet, so there’s a lot of ‘wait & see’ still ahead of us. I for one want the Bucs … AND BOWLES … to be successful this season. As a fan, I can’t root for one then root against the other. It just doesn’t work that way.
March 5th, 2023 at 3:20 pm
Just one question. How are you so sure our O will be better? Even an old looking Brady didn’t throw a ton of Ints.. The O line be better? Maybe…depends if Jensen is and can stay healthy. And with a new tackle switch experiment in place. No lenny. No Brate. Will Evans and Godwin stay healthy all year? And will the QB be able to throw in those tight windows needed to hit them.
I hope the O will be better. But I wouldn’t bet on it and really see no superficial reason to believe so. Play calling? Maybe…but we haven’t seen the OC call plays before. Right?
March 5th, 2023 at 3:29 pm
8-9 at best. But probably more like 7-10.
March 5th, 2023 at 3:43 pm
There really should be a warning when these posts quote Ian Beckles. So I can avoid the article.
March 5th, 2023 at 4:10 pm
“ Joe is a little stunned by how deep the negativity runs among a hearty chunk of Bucs fans.”
Buc fans have grown up!
Not gonna accept anything but excellence every step at every level of the organization
Owners need to put their BIG BOY pants on !
This ain’t a bonsai hobby anymore!
5 years of Jameis !
Lovie Smith
Bowles
History is rhyming
Brady and the Rental Lombardi is in the distant PAST
March 5th, 2023 at 4:11 pm
What’s the definition of a “better” offense? In my opinion it can be better by just being more efficient. I’ll consider it better if I actually see some route tree concepts that are designed to get guys open. I’ll consider it better if it’s designed to take advantage of the talent on the roster. I’ll consider it better if it doesnt require old has-been players past their prime to run it.
March 5th, 2023 at 4:12 pm
Here are my thoughts about Ians opinions..
1. He played O line professionally for many years, which means two things… he is relatively brighter than average among football players as a whole, and secondly he knows what he is looking at when seeing a play, blocking and tackling.
2. He is a pretty good judge of O linemen and D linemen, having walked the walk. And he probably knows what they are good at…be it run blocking, pass blocking, pass rush moves, etc..
3. Points one and two make his opinions a cut above most of our opinions, most of the time.
4. We may not like what he says…we may hope he is wrong… we may think he is wrong in some minor aspect of what is going on near the line. But most likely, he likely knows what he sees.
March 5th, 2023 at 4:25 pm
I agree completely with Beckles. Awful head coach. We need to stop making excuses for him. He was a terrible in game coach and made many stupid decisions over the course of the season.
You either have a QB or you’re looking for a QB. If Trask starts, we’ll soon find out which group we’re in. My bet is we’ll be looking for a QB.
We’re also in an awful cap situation. Blow it up and hope for better in 2024.
March 5th, 2023 at 4:43 pm
Ian has stepped into the HUGE journalism void in local sports.
Big Dog is smiling!
March 5th, 2023 at 4:45 pm
Heckles is right. All the ingredients of a tear down/blow up…
Lame duck head coach
No identified QB…unless you’re on the Trask Force…good luck with that
Aging/injured high dollar players…Barrett, D. Smith, Evans potential trade bait
Last 2 1st round picks ( counting Hall ) are big haired boy banders…not ballers
Licht’s lost without Bruce & Brady by his side….won 1/3 of his games w/o them
March 5th, 2023 at 4:49 pm
If all the right strategic moves are made in order to build as quickly for the next run are made this year I can understand and endure this coming season.
If not I will be calling management out.
We don’t even have a quarterback going into this season, nothing more needs to be said after that!
Go young and go boldly and that means cutting or trading players that are not going to be part of the team in 2-3 years.
March 5th, 2023 at 4:50 pm
This guy is a blowhard. It would be hard for this offense to not be better this year. Last year our offense was terrible, including Tom Brady. He did have some nice 4th quarter comebacks which has always been his specialty. But apart from those the whole offense sucked. Trask should be an upgrade in his third season. He has the credentials so now is his time
March 5th, 2023 at 4:52 pm
Hey TOMMY MORDUE,
STOP YELLING! Turn off the friggin’ CAPS LOCK!!!
March 5th, 2023 at 4:53 pm
Is it really going out on a limb though?
Brady gone. Gronk gone. AB gone. Marpet gone. Lenny gone. Suh gone. Arians gone.
Let’s see what FA’s leave this year. Over the cap by $55 mill
Over the course of 2 seasons look at all the talent that has left the team.
Now, some of you think this team will be better than last year?
Come on. Let’s be real here. So much talent has disappeared from 21-22-23
This is not crazy talk or even negativity. This is logic.
March 5th, 2023 at 5:11 pm
I just have to ROTFL laughing at people saying…”it has to be better…it couldn’t be worse”. Trust me… as a Buc fan watching this team over 40 years, it could get worse.
March 5th, 2023 at 6:27 pm
Good coaching? Impact rookies? We’re certainly not talking about our beloved buccaneers!!!!
March 5th, 2023 at 6:42 pm
Hate to say it, but everything Beckles says is likely correct. A lot of the same old slow players, salary cap issues, new QB, new offensive plan. Below average O line and D lines with no money to get a good DT or Edge player. HC is not a leader and makes many in game mistakes. May even end up with a new kicker which could be a huge issue. Think this year won’t be good maybe 6 or 7 wins. Ugh.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:55 pm
Long time Bucs fan, I no longer fall for any off season / preseason hype. It feels like it could very well be a bad bad season. Last year was an utter disappointment, so hopefully the team comes together and shows up at least competitive. Go Bucs!
March 5th, 2023 at 8:56 pm
The toughest thing they’ll have to overcome is being led by one of the worst HC’s in the NFL.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:24 pm
It’s great that Brady didn’t throw many interceptions, but he didn’t score many points either, and points make the difference. Too inconsistent. Yardage is nice , but getting in the end zone is nicer. Brady had more than he could handle, and he lost his focus. A divorce is a hard thing to ignore. In any other year he could win with a team with holes. Trask is no Brady, but a healthy offense around him, and an OC that can’t be any worse than Leftwich, should score more points. We have weapons to work with. The defense is a bigger question to me, but I’m confident the offense will be more productive.
March 5th, 2023 at 10:18 pm
First of all, Ian is just another guy at the bar talking loud.
But more importantly, why does anyone need the Bucs to be great this season. They need to be the 1997 Bucs. They need to be young and rising again. They need to show the coach had a plan and deserves to build a team. They need a young QB again, for better or worse.
A wild card win would be a huge year, but it’s more important to be in every game and be building an eventual champ again.
March 5th, 2023 at 11:38 pm
Thanks for expressing some positive vibes Joe. I agree with the wait and see attitude. Once Brady decided not to retire after the victory to in the 2020 Super Bowl, Trask was never going to see it the field. Nobody knows yet what kind of player he will be. As for Bowles, after Gronkowski retired, and we lost the pro bowl left guard and pro bowl center, what chance did we really have to be a super bowl worthy offense. We didn’t. Fans want blame Bowles, but those were his offensive coaches. Now in his first big personnel decision he hires a very inspirational young coach who appears to be bright and knowledgeable. His job is on the line and I think Canales is going to be a breath of fresh air. Good vibes. Let’s wait and see how the remainder of the off-season goes. This year in contrast to last year expectations are going to be low and we may be in for a pleasant surprise.
March 6th, 2023 at 9:05 am
I’m positive we go 3-14
March 6th, 2023 at 9:29 am
That dude is so emotional lmao go cry in your natty light
March 6th, 2023 at 9:35 am
Beckles also said about last year’s offense that “Mike Evans, you’re just a guy” and that Tom Brady is not a good quarterback any more.
You can’t have it both ways. Either last year’s offense was gifted personnel-wise, or else they had no players. Which is it, Ian?
March 6th, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Lol.
3 absolutely critical positions on a football team. Everyone agrees these are the 3 most important positions on a team
Quarterback, Left Tackle, Pass Rusher
We have no QB. Trask lovers are delusional
We cannot afford our LT, and he appears to be in decline
Our pass rushing specialist is out, with a tough injury to bounce back from.
3 most important positions- worst case, Bucs have noone at any of this spots.
Best case. We have 2 aging players in decline.
Jason has to sell Season tickets.
Last year, the collapse was easy to predict.
This year- its gonna be a train wreck. 4 wins is very possible
All long time Buc fans know, that supporting the Bucs has been a sailing an ocean of crap. We had a brief respite in 2003, but it didnt last long.
Tom Brady was a wonderful respite from losing. But that lil bit of land has sank back into the crap Sea- we dont need anyone to tell us we are adrift again
March 6th, 2023 at 3:46 pm
“Todd Bowles is the reason Joe. We got a dead man walking at HC.” by Mike S.
I agree. Every NFL team assumes the personality of its HC. The personality of a dead man walking is not good. I was surprised Bowles stayed when Leftwich left. The Bucs need a young spark plug at HC, a talented, cocky dude who will not take any nonsense, and will release you from the team in a microsecond. A Buddy Ryan dude, a Mike Vrabel dude, any tough dude with a fiery temper. All is not lost for the Bucs in 2023. Only one team wins it all.
March 8th, 2023 at 1:18 am
Beckles has zero credibility. He is desperate to be relevant and will (like most so called journalists) say anything to stir the pot!