Former GM Says Todd Bowles Has An Available Week 2 Advantage
May 15th, 2023
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
One of the great Bucs myths is that cold-climate teams come to Tampa and struggle mightily under the broiling Florida sun.
The steamy weather, in theory, should give the Bucs a gameday edge. But that’s debatable.
Joe believes opponents sometimes have heat challenges at The Licht House, but Joe can’t call it a true home field advantage. There’s just not enough evidence over the past 25 years of modern football.
Former Bucs general manager Mark Dominik, however, believes the Bucs get a leg up this season in Week 2 against the Bears. It’s a 1 o’clock game on September 17, so think 100-degree heat index or more.
“That is going to be a scorching game, and it’s going to be a chance where [if] Tampa handles their practice correctly, they could take advantage of the heat really well there,” Dominik said.
So how should the Bucs practice before that Bears game? Inside most of the week to not drain themselves but one full day in the swelter to stay acclimated? Joe doesn’t think there’s a perfect answer.
Keep in mind Tampa Bay had great teams long before the Glazer Shed was built for air conditioned practices.
Regardless, Joe will stay optimistic. If the Bucs and Bears are in a tight fourth-quarter game, the Bucs absolutely should be better equipped to physically handle the challenge of 60 minutes in the heat.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:11 pm
Until the Florida sun comes on the field and plays one down of football, I’m not going to count on it for any actual advantage.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:21 pm
Oh no, not this again.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:28 pm
The heat is never an advantage. It hurts us more than anything.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:39 pm
Oh yeah, like making them play in the dark jerseys too – such a huge benefit LOL
The worst thing about being an also ran again are the brutal 1pm starts in Sept and early October. It’s almost inhumane – the stench of cheap bear and BO is literally vomit inducing!!
May 15th, 2023 at 12:39 pm
@ Yucs
It’s not the heat. It’s the humidity that really gets you…
A hot and humid day will zap your energy more rapidly than a hot and dry day.
These teams coming from up north are not going to be able to adjust easily to the change in humidity – similar to when the Bucs have to go and play in Green Bay in mid December when it will be close to zero degrees or so…
May 15th, 2023 at 12:43 pm
So now Dumbnick is a meteorologist….and knows months in advance how hot it will be on that Sunday.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:45 pm
Voice of Truth…lol you typed the truth those early September games are brutal.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
Probably by game two we will have 3 or 4 starters out nursing injuries because of our crackerjack conditioning coaches.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
September 1pm games are torture. You just melt in the stands. See ya there 9/17
May 15th, 2023 at 12:53 pm
How Duminick ever got a job as an NFL GM is a mystery to me. The guy is utterly vacuous.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:56 pm
Never ever been an advantage
I think that as miserable as the heat is for visiting teams they only have to fight through it once where the Buccaneers bodies recognize and unconsciously adapt and that means adjusting and not being able to go all out.
May 15th, 2023 at 12:58 pm
Gee…. I wonder what word in my post ^^^
Triggered the moderation waiting
May 15th, 2023 at 1:02 pm
Well there is a 47 year tally going, and considering the Bucs have had an overall losing record . I can remember as far back as 1976, the inaugural season, and people would say, thjat the Bucs had an advantage because of the heat. No, they would get beat usually, so it was the roster that would nullify any heat advantage.
May 15th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
@ Vlad
Mark Dominik was a glorified secretary who worked for the Glazers for 16 years… No real prior NFL experience. Never played a single down of football…
For some reason they allowed him to be an NFL GM.
And we all know the rest of the story.
May 15th, 2023 at 1:22 pm
Come on Joe!!!
Should we take MD seriously?? This guy has been a joke as a GM and as a commentator or whatever he is……
May 15th, 2023 at 1:26 pm
Bucs luck,
I will probably rain and cancel any advantage in the fourth quarter.
May 15th, 2023 at 1:27 pm
What’s up with stepping on the customers Joe ?
May 15th, 2023 at 1:39 pm
For those so quick to think that Dominic was complete trash as a GM for 5 years, take a look back at Licht’s first five years. If that was the only years we judged him as a GM, fans would not be satisfied with him.
Who knows how Dominick’s picks could have grown with proper coaching. He was handed a head coach with no coordinator experience, and then got left at the alter (Chip Kelly) so they had to settle with Schiano.
If Brady and Arians hadn’t breathed life into these players, they likely wouldn’t be known around the league like they are now.
Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful that we have Licht, but I am equally grateful that we didn’t drop him after his first 5 years.
May 15th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
Regarding the weather, us hosting Chicago in September will bring a lot less Bears fans than if the game was in November or December. It’s still nice in Chicago in September, so there is less reason to head to the Sunshine State.
May 15th, 2023 at 1:54 pm
HEAT HURTS THE BUCS
The Tampa heat advantage is so overblown. I’ve only seen it hurt the team. Preseason practices have traditionally been mired with cancellations and heat exhaustion. The Glazers finally built an indoor facility so they could complete a practice.
May 15th, 2023 at 1:59 pm
Cold weather is definitely a disadvantage for us. I remember, back in the orange jersey days of Bucco Bruce, a game in Green Bay when it was snowing…a lot. There was a shot of the Green Bay sideline…some Packer players were in short sleeves. Then a shot of the Buc sideline…our guys were draped in orange shoulder-to-ankle heavy jackets.
No need to say who won that game.
May 15th, 2023 at 2:20 pm
We all know that Mark Dominick is a good media source for info & opinions. But most of us also remember what an awful GM he was….so his opinions are suspect.
May 15th, 2023 at 2:22 pm
@ SlyPirate
That may have been true in the past – however – the Bucs completed construction of an indoor practice facility in 2018…
“The new facility is roughly 100,000 square feet and houses a full 100 yard football field, with a 90 foot kicking clearance, and the capacity to seat 3,500 fans. “
May 15th, 2023 at 2:39 pm
I crack up every time I see the loser Dumbestnik mentioned in any forum considering his opinion. He’s the biggest single failure in Bucs history, but not for long.
May 15th, 2023 at 3:25 pm
Goatfarmer with a negative post. Shocking
May 15th, 2023 at 4:03 pm
Maybe back in the day but not a chance now
May 15th, 2023 at 4:29 pm
I’ve been hearing about this so called heat advantage for the Bucs since 1976. It didn’t help them win games when they lost 10 games per year for 10 years in a row. In fact I think they that had that losing streak twice in their history or came darn close to it twice. Let’s drop this nonsense “advantage” talk once and for all.
May 15th, 2023 at 4:37 pm
And September is our Rainiest month of the year. Chance of rain? Pretty good. Chance of lightning and thunderstorms? Pretty good. The humidity goes through the roof when sun shines after rain, but rain can cool things off too. If you don’t like the weather in Florida l, wait 15 minutes and it will change. The only true home field advantage is a LARGE & LOUD CROWD!! Period. If Bucs’ fans are plentiful and they yell until they lose their voices, a home field advantage will occur. Both teams play in the same weather no matter where they face off.
May 15th, 2023 at 4:41 pm
So, 74ShmukFan, by your little snipe, it seems you love Mark Doormanik. Brilliant. Explains happiness with a 28-52 trajectory.
May 15th, 2023 at 4:51 pm
The humidity is what my family from Mass. really can’t stand. We have the Dog Days in late August where it’s actually hotter up there than it is in Orlando, but their humidity isn’t anywhere close to what we experience here. You never get used to it.
May 15th, 2023 at 5:13 pm
LOL HC Grover. Exactly.
We’re back to the days of talking about the heat helping us win lol
May 15th, 2023 at 5:16 pm
I don’t think I’ve seen it. Or whoever calling the game say the visitors are burnt out. Usually it’s the Bucs that are burnt out. 😁
May 15th, 2023 at 6:17 pm
No Goathumper everyone here is sick of your negativity.. you are a troll.
Go hang out with your goats and let real fans enjoy our team
May 15th, 2023 at 6:24 pm
Bowles has no advantage but does have a huge disadvantage due to his coaching incompetence. Look what he did with a 13-4 team!
May 15th, 2023 at 6:59 pm
@Joe,
Is it also fair to say that the Den of Depression earned its name during those same 1pm Kickoffs?
If so, who was depressed, the fans or the team? And what factors added in the Den of Depression?
I will tell you from my experience while working for the Bucs as a Game Operations Supervisor. THOUSANDS of people stop by the first add stands or the hospital before heading home DUE TO THIS HEAT ADVANTAGE.
RJS is the worst stadium in the league for 1pm games and it has been that way for 25years. It’s the one thing that made me miss the old Sombrero. Although the sickness is the main reason I quit working for the Bucs. I was on my way out anyways because that Stadium is absolutely BRUTAL for mid-day fan game experience. Never mind working the game.
May 15th, 2023 at 8:03 pm
I’ve been to a few Hell bowls at Tampa Stadium and RJS in my 44 years as a diehard fan. Thank god, the stadiums are grass fields. I saw the Bucs beat the Aints years ago at RJS where heatstroke was a for real hazard. The big worry now is the high humidity and storms. RJS is an outdoor facility. Climate chaos plus sea level rise is for real. September has always been one of the heavy duty times for hurricanes. So, that’s what fans need to pay attention to cos I guarantee the team sure is.
May 15th, 2023 at 9:01 pm
Once there was a fat girl who liked the number 99. She overcame her morbid obesity with a hallucinatory sense of optimism and decided it’s the only way anyone else should be. So she decides to take great offense to posts written in accurate criticism of the red nosed masturmind, instead of ignoring those posts if she doesn’t like them. Fair enough. No one really likes fat girls anyway, many feel sorry for her.
Meanwhile, five in a row, coming soon!
May 15th, 2023 at 9:53 pm
Goathumper you are a bitter old man who can’t find his blue pills.your goats are tired of you. Goat can’t wait to see you out in public so I can introduce myself to you properly!
May 15th, 2023 at 10:03 pm
Whatever they do, make sure they wear white over white color combination and force the Bears to wear their dark home jerseys.
May 16th, 2023 at 3:08 am
🤡 = #99…you should write poetry
May 16th, 2023 at 7:01 am
Vancouver, only for Goathumper
May 16th, 2023 at 12:21 pm
Maybe back in the day when players were not hydrating and were showing up to camp out of shape and overweight. Not these days most players stay in shape year round and are fined if they show up overweight. Trainers are more aware of the Florida heat these days as well.
More concerning to me is Green Bay in December.