Cashing In
November 14th, 2020
“Take the over at Ladbrokes, Mr. Glazer.”
A rarely discussed piece of data is how our beloved Buccaneers spend more money on offensive players than any team in the NFC.
Joe was reminded of this reading Robert Mays’ new piece at TheAthletic.com, in which he looks at Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as a potential head coaching candidate along with Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The two square off on Sunday.
The Panthers have an average offense with average cap spending. The Bucs are pumping $100.5 million of cap cash into their offense, eclipsing Carolina’s by about $20 million, per reliable Spotrac.com.
But what have the Bucs gotten for all that cash?
The data says the Bucs rank 8th in points scored and 22nd in total yards. Of course, the standings put the Bucs at 6-3, which is all that really matters. However, tomorrow would be a great day for the offense to earn its money.
Speaking of cashing in, Mays made a strong case that a Bowles-Bucs victory tomorrow would be a key step in further cementing Bowles as a 2021 head coaching candidate. Mays argues that Bowles is a high-quality “retread” pick ideal for the bungling but talented Lions.
But if Detroit were to hire Bowles, it would already have the sort of defensive personnel in place to run the type of pressure-filled, man-heavy defense Bowles prefers. If the Lions choose to move forward with Matthew Stafford at quarterback, it wouldn’t be quite as important for them to find a play-calling, offensive head coach as it might be for a team trying to mold the career of a young, highly drafted quarterback. If Bowles could find an established offensive coordinator — maybe someone like Norv Turner — to take over the offense and tailor it to Stafford’s strengths, it could work out the same way it has for Flores and Gailey in Miami so far.
If a scenario like that played out, Joe wouldn’t sweat much. The Cardinals and Bucco Bruce Arians had a top-10 defense in each of the three seasons after Bowles left them for the Jets.
Great food, Florida’s best craft beer, great viewing and sound, and indoor and outdoor covered seating. What could be better?
Add Ira Kaufman to the scene and fired up Bucs fans!
Ira broke his no-selfies rule watching the Bucs recently at Big Storm Clearwater. Join Ira on Sunday for the 1 o’clock kickoff. He sits in the sweet covered outdoor area.
November 14th, 2020 at 4:34 pm
Offense is inconsistent……6 points in the 2nd half vs Bears……6 points in the 1st half vs Giants & 3 points in the entire game vs Saints…..
Time for us to get our money’s worth Sunday.
November 14th, 2020 at 5:33 pm
Bowles should pass on that opportunity for sure. The Lions (like the Bucs) are a disaster franchise for head coach candidates. If Bowles departs for Detroit, you can bank on 3 years at about 4-5 wins a year, and then back to the Defensive Coordinator Realm.
If I were Bowles, I’d wait it out until Arians retires and compete with Leftwich for the HC job in Tampa. Even a post-Brady Bucs team is still a more attractive option than Detroit. And although I’d rather have Leftwich step in after Arians, Bowles truly wouldn’t be an awful option.
November 14th, 2020 at 6:12 pm
First Down Tampa Bay Says
“I’d rather have Leftwich step in after Arians”
Based on what qualifications? 2 years as an NFL OC with very mixed results??
Bowles has 20+ years coaching in the NFL including HC experience. He is well known and respected around the league as one of the better defensive minds in the game.
Leftwich has 3 years of NFL coaching experience (with no head coaching experience at ANY level) – and is still obviously trying to find his groove as OC in BA’s system despite having the best QB of all time and perhaps the best collection of receiving options the NFL has ever seen on one team in its 100 year history….
November 14th, 2020 at 6:37 pm
40-50 million of that 100 has to be the line
November 14th, 2020 at 6:47 pm
The great teams have excellent depth at o line players. Can’t win if Tom can’t run the offense cause he’s beat up
November 14th, 2020 at 7:32 pm
It would be a mistake to let Todd Bowles get away. He needs to be the Bucs head coach in 2021 and may already be slated to take over. No one in their right mind wants to coach the Lions much less live in Detroit. City run by corrupt idiots. Half of it in ruins. State Income tax. Cold. Did I mention cold. The Lions are cursed to lose for eternity. Save yourself the headaches and embarrassment. The guy who wrote this article is a moron. Miami can’t be compared to Detroit in any way.
November 14th, 2020 at 7:47 pm
Bowles likes to play zone tho…
November 15th, 2020 at 3:55 am
The lions were heading in the right direction until they ditched Jim Caldwell. Patricia has killed the locker room there.
November 15th, 2020 at 8:09 am
Target ME13 the way you target gronk and you won’t have a half with only 3 points.