Bucs Defense Could Be Decimated By Free Agency
January 21st, 2023
Major challenge this spring.
The Bucs defense was solid this season. In fact, when you look at all of their injuries, the defense was good.
Despite losing its lone dependable pass rusher, Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett, with an Achilles injury midseason, and injuries up and down the secondary, the Bucs had the No. 13 defense in terms of points allowed per game (21.1).
That defense may have a totally new look in 2023.
The Bucs have as many as eight starters and part-time starters on defense entering free agency in March. That’s a massive amount for a team already over the salary cap for next season.
Of course, the two big names in that group are Lavonte David and Jamel Dean, along with Akiem Hicks, Mike Edwards, Will Gholston, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, Anthony Nelson, Logan Ryan, Keanu Neal and Sean Murphy-Bunting.
So yeah, when the free agency dinner bell rings on March 15, the Bucs defense could look drastically different.
January 21st, 2023 at 12:10 am
I hope David and dean are back, edwards, Nelson and murphy~bunting as well
January 21st, 2023 at 12:10 am
It wasnt that good anyway.
January 21st, 2023 at 12:21 am
It seems like it’s going to have to take a miracle to field a competitive team next year. 🙏
January 21st, 2023 at 12:38 am
Lavonte number one. Dean or SMB whichever cheaper. Edwards (?). Anthony Nelson and I don’t know what Nassib deal is cus I’ll resign him.
January 21st, 2023 at 12:56 am
Who cares? Can they be any worse than the Dallas game? Keep David… send the rest on their way and send Carlton Davis with them
January 21st, 2023 at 1:02 am
Aside from game 1 (and maybe Seahawks game although Geno ain’t elite QB) for some reason, in my two honest eyes, defense was never good this year. You have to factor in the level of competition they faced all season long… mostly 3rd or 4th string QB!?! No turnovers for how long!?! And some people say offense struggled as usual and defense played solid in the last Carolina game!!! When Brady put 432 yards on air with no turnover (remember ridiculous field goal block at short range and missed PAT) and defense giving up 24 points to Sam Darnold led offense. Pundits came away lauding about Jake Camarda’s season saving punt (when the special team was horrible the whole game).
This defense was frustrating at best this season. Stats may say otherwise, but come on. When our pathetic offense was producing many 3 & outs, OUR DEFENSE SHOULD’VE MANUFACTURED MORE 3 & outs to return the favor. Last game just proved this point. They were just good for the first 2 awesome 3 & outs and pitched no-show the rest of the way.
I have fresh memory of last year’s Commander game. Our offense just scored TD to get close with momentum on their side WITH 10+ minutes still left in the game. Defense just needed to do anything to get the ball back to offense for an easy victory. What did they do? THEY DRAINED THE WHOLE CLOCK AND ENDED THE GAME RIGHT THERE AND THEN! AGAINST WHAT QB? Never seen anything like that in my life watching football at any level. That kinda carried over to this season as well for the defense.
This defense, never solid, never strength of this team. As bad as Brady & offense played the last game, the defense PLAYED WORSE! Bad bad bad all around. Don’t mention any unit played better than the other this season. Please just don‘t.
Go Bucs!
January 21st, 2023 at 1:12 am
Anyone over 30 on defense, except David and Ryan, let ’em go.
January 21st, 2023 at 1:41 am
let them all go and fill it with draft picks and we will probably be better. this is a very bad team
bodidly said :
Who cares? Can they be any worse than the Dallas game? Keep David… send the rest on their way and send Carlton Davis with them
agree with this–Bucs are bad and we have a very very bad coach
January 21st, 2023 at 1:42 am
How many fuggin 3 and outs offense have on the year? From what I watched every week it was a sh!t load. I’ll give the defense a small break for being on the field all day.
January 21st, 2023 at 1:47 am
I wish that Youtube/Google deal for the NFL Ticket kicked in This yr!!!
We have been kicking the proverbial can down the road for too long.
Doesn’t look good from 36,000 FT..
January 21st, 2023 at 1:48 am
I am with you @SOE.
January 21st, 2023 at 1:53 am
Again the level of competition or QB this defense faced is really bad. Being on the field all day long… yeah inept offense obviously had something to do with it… but ultimately IT FALLS ON DEFENSE’S INCAPABILITY TO GET OFF THE FIELD AGAINST THE WEAK COMPETITION! That could’ve given some much needed boost to offense to enhance that horrendous 3 & outs!?!
Hey, if our defense was even as good as people make out to be, why didn’t they make opponents’ defense stay out on the field longer by coming up with more 3 & out themselves? Doable all considering the kind of pathetic QBs they had fortune to face.
Go Bucs!
January 21st, 2023 at 1:53 am
Anthony Nelson needs to go he is no good. Should not be in the NFL just a joke.
January 21st, 2023 at 2:06 am
Defense was mediocre, inconsistent, and more importantly, folded and downright bad in key games, at key moments. The collapse of the defense vs. the Rams in that infamous Cooper Kupp playoff game was symptomatic of the larger problem, a disease that would persist into this season, unfixed. Both defense and offense are bad, and that buck stops with Mr. Bowles.
Let free agency “decimate” this roster. It will be a healthy reset. So many of the veterans have been consistently inconsistent, poorly disciplined, injured, jaded since winning their Super Bowl rings, and Bowles has allowed an insidious malaise to fester without fix. Time for change, painful as it might be.
Uncertainty adds to reasons that Brady would NOT want to come back. Unless he, too, would prefer change and a crapshoot as a challenge.
January 21st, 2023 at 2:09 am
If anyone values above mentioned players (maybe Lavante is exception for his leadership), people are grossly mistaken. THEY ARE NO GOOD. They had a good game or flashes here and there (again against poorest competition) but THEY SO MUCH LACK CONSISTENCY. Vita Vea, Davis, Edwards, Dean, Devin, … I am not even talking about their long history of not being able to stay healthy on the field.
Last year’s defense (I know they were decimated by injuries in the secondary from the beginning, much like O line this year) was terrible against competent QBs, this year they caught major break by going against incompetent QBs majority of time and enhance their overall stats.
They just had one good (fantastic actually) postseason run in 2020 pandemic year. The management should be smart enough to realize this overall context moving forward when assessing defensive roster.
Go Bucs!
January 21st, 2023 at 4:06 am
Joe … ‘The Bucs defense was solid this season. In fact, when you look at all of their injuries, the defense was good.’
Very good article Joe, thanks. Personally I’d add that the Bucs’ defense was DECEPTIVELY GOOD, mostly because until you look at the season’s RESULTS in various criteria, and compare them to previous years, it’s not at all obvious how Bowles & the defense adjusted to even get to their #13 ranking. A few for instances …
o Pressures (Sacks + Hurries + QB Knockdowns): We were WAY DOWN on pressures this year as compared to 2021 & 2020, forcing some big changes it looks like in how this defense operates.
~~o 2022: 144 Pressures (44 sacks – 38 Hurry – 58 QBKDN)
~~o 2021: 224 Pressures (47 sacks – 95 Hurry – 77 QBKDN)
~~o 2020: 193 Pressures (48 sacks – 73 Hurry – 68 QBKDN)
o Blitzes: Bowles blitzed less than half as much in 2022 as he did in previous years, and ended up with a marginal pass rush (250 blitzes in 2022 versus 532 blitzes in 2021 versus 542 blitzes in 2020).
o Passing TDs Allowed: Despite that marginal pass rush & far less blitzing, Bucs’ defense gave up roughly the same number of passing TDs (29 in 2022 versus 26 in 2021 versus 29 in 2020).
o Completion Percentage Allowed: Seems odd, but our defense actually improved in that area this past year (63.9% Completion % Allowed in 2022 versus 65.4% in 2021 versus 69.0% in 2020). Not that shabby considering all the injuries in our Secondary.
Bucs were also deceptive in rushing defense. Looks to me like they sacrificed some run defense performance to make up for our less effective pass rush. I thought it was horrible because we gave up way too many long runs & our average YPC was terrible, yet the overall end result stacks up pretty well to years past.
~~o 2022: 12 rush TDs Allowed – 2052 yards – 4.5 YPC
~~o 2021: 11 rush TDs Allowed – 1573 yards – 4.3 YPC
~~o 2020: 10 rush TDs Allowed – 1289 yards – 3.6 YPC
Two other areas where this past year’s team did reasonably well in were 1st Downs Allowed and 3rd Down Conversions Allowed.
o 1st Downs Allowed: We actually did considerably better in 2022 than in 2021 in allowing fewer 1st downs (I would’ve guessed exactly the opposite since our defense ranked #5 in 2021 versus #13 in 2022).
~~o 2022: 314 Allowed (186 pass – 103 rush – 25 penalty)
~~o 2021: 344 Allowed (214 pass – 94 rush – 36 penalty)
~~o 2020: 319 Allowed (215 pass – 78 rush – 26 penalty)
o 3rd Down Conversion Rates: Again, we actually did better in this area than in 2021 or 2020 (exactly the opposite of what I thought I saw).
~~o 2022: 36.9% Allowed (236 Attempts – 87 Allowed)
~~o 2021: 38.5% Allowed (226 Attempts – 87 Allowed)
~~o 2020: 40.0% Allowed (205 Attempts – 82 Allowed)
I’m admittedly not all that keen on Todd Bowles as a dual-hatted HC & DC, but he’s done quite well IMO on the defensive side of the ball WITH WHAT HE’S HAD TO WORK WITH. Losing Suh, JPP & Whitehead hurt IMO, largely because of the leadership that they provided, but also because they set the attitude for this defense. We also lack DEPTH & that’ll come back to bite us this year I think when some of our key starters walk in free agency. Only time will tell though …
January 21st, 2023 at 5:01 am
Anyone over 30 needs to go – including David & Barrett.
2023 will be another disaster created by Bowles.
Lets take the beating, clear up cap issues, trade players for picks and look to a new ciaching staff in 2024.
January 21st, 2023 at 5:15 am
I don’t care what the stats say the defense was horrible. The last game this year the cowboys were just playing catch. It was as though no one was on the field but the cowboys. It was a joke…that was not the only game like that, same for the San Fran game, that we is a third string rookie. Let the defense blow up and bring in players that want to win! Way to many players did a lot of talking and not playing well at all, including Devin White.
Previous to his injury Shaw was an absolute joke. Carlton Davis, how many 15 million dollar CBS do you know can’t catch? He has never got into. What good is that?
He did nothing.they all need to stop reading old press clippings about their Super Bowl win and show up.
January 21st, 2023 at 5:54 am
This is one where the stats do fool the eyes
The D is so inconsistent, so up and down from week to week. Weak mentally as well, so many communication breakdowns we can’t even count them – DWhite is immature still – the recent draft pick Dlineman are woefully undersized and not ready for prime time
SMB is slow twitch and can’t play man worth a crap – do not resign him – Dean is light years better
This is why Bowles needs to go, he is supposed to be a D genius but is really just middle of the pack unless he has 7 pro bowlers on the field
Sound familiar Byron????
January 21st, 2023 at 5:54 am
No Worries we still have Plan 9 From Outer Space and Captain Bowels.
January 21st, 2023 at 6:36 am
This is the cap situation we all were willing to sign up for in 2020 and 2021. Time to pay the piper
January 21st, 2023 at 6:39 am
Toad Blowes. He’s no head coach. But we are stuck with him. He personally squandered the last crack of hope by whatever he did to (not) prepare the team to play the Cowboys at home. Or not (as the leader of the team) insisting that there was actually a 21st century offense and they might score more than 14 points a game.
This clown is so pathetic it makes me mad. Sad. As fans, we’ve been had.
Not too early to start drinking.
January 21st, 2023 at 6:49 am
For their leadership and playing ability, keep Lavonte and Dean. For needing to get younger and fixing salary cap, dump the rest.
January 21st, 2023 at 6:57 am
This is why the Bucs will use most of their draft picks on defensive players…
1st – OLB/Pass rusher
2nd – CB
3rd – DT
4th – Safety
January 21st, 2023 at 7:01 am
We gotta keep Nacho, man!! Love that guy!!
January 21st, 2023 at 7:07 am
Back to top five draft picks and laughing stock of the league for the next 13 years.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:16 am
Marine Buc…..we don’t have a 4th round pick…….I think we will draft a CB in the first 3……but also a TE…..
As far as retention of the FAs…….you can go with quantity or quality….but not both…..David & Dean will cost big money……you can get Logan, RNR, Ryan, Neal & Nelson for less….
I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to witch way they will go.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:19 am
Licht will ask Blowes for input. Blowes will mumble through his teeth about playing better for 4 quarters and gibberish. Licht will go out and get some nice players. Blowes will coach them into cluelessness. Yay Toad let’s go.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:26 am
@ TBBF
You are correct – no 4th this year.
But we have 9 picks (3 are 7th rounders). Don’t be surprised if we end up still picking a player in round 4.
We need a TE but I was hopeful we would grab a reasonably priced FA because we need someone better than Otton.
I agree – we should sign a group of 15 or so cheap players back – guys like Nacho, Nassib, Nelson, L. Ryan, Neal, Edwards, Avery, O’Conner, Gholston and Delaney – all can be had for under $2M each…
Then we have 9 draft picks. That will get us 4-5 players away from the 53.
J. Dean will probably be our most expensive FA signing this off season.
L. David will be signed because he is still playing at a high level – plus – it will save us the $8M of dead cap space we owe him now.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:31 am
The Bucs defense will not reach its potential as long as Bowles is the leader of the team.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:44 am
Defense in prior years had an easier time getting picks, sacks, etc because they usually faced an offense 2-3 touchdowns behind. Not so much of that this past season
January 21st, 2023 at 7:49 am
A big part of being a coach is developing talent. Look at what Pete Carroll did with a roster full of rookies in Seattle this year. Our young talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball, lacks awareness, confidence, physical strength and signs of improvement. Logan Hall, Zyon McCollum, Joe Tryon Sroyinka — these were recent draft picks that we needed to see some promise and progress out of, especially with the age and cap situation of the rest of our roster. The offense has done only slightly better with Otton, Rachaad White, Hainsey…but none of them did or ever will keep a defensive coordinator up at night. Keyshawn Vaughn looked like he was building at the end of last season (under Arians) but this year he was completely MIA, even when we were desperate for someone to carry a football with some fire.
Couple this lack of development with how “off” Brady and Evans looked on option routes, how lacking in innovation the offense looked, how many busted coverages and missed assignments we had all year on defense, how many fragile injuries we suffered (hamstrings galore)…and one must ask the question: What do our practices and training look like? Are we sure they’re indicative of a hungry NFL team?
January 21st, 2023 at 8:00 am
So are you saying Bowles is the sacrificial lamb coach for the 2023 season, might as well sign Jameis for the entertainment value.
Declare that we are rebuilding this time around
We are big boys and girls and seem to be able to handle the truth better than the Front Office
January 21st, 2023 at 8:02 am
How is this D good again? They held some shat teams under 20 points but yet let up an average of 33+ to teams with winning records?
Blows net worth is approx $32M. Net bad for a HC that has lost in 3 organizations Jets, interim Miami and now Bucs. Plus his D let up over 60 points in their last two playoff games. He had 2 good playoff games in 2020 and a SB game with an opponent with a decimated oline, QB with a injured toe and a HC who’s son was arrested for DUI and manslaughter the week prior to the SB, oh he was also a assistant coach. Can you imagine if we were all shi**y at out jobs and made $32M??? Life is good Todd.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:02 am
How is this D good again? They held some shat teams under 20 points but yet let up an average of 33+ to teams with winning records?
Blows net worth is approx $32M. Net bad for a HC that has lost in 3 organizations Jets, interim Miami and now Bucs. Plus his D let up over 60 points in their last two playoff games. He had 2 good playoff games in 2020 and a SB game with an opponent with a decimated oline, QB with a injured toe and a HC who’s son was arrested for DUI and manslaughter the week prior to the SB, oh he was also a assistant coach. Can you imagine if we were all lousy at out jobs and made $32M??? Life is good Todd.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:11 am
ClwJB … I agree with you about the defense being inconsistent & the communication breakdowns (some of those were very painful to watch). Yes stats can be deceiving, but that applies equally to all teams & all years (big picture stats, ie, year-to-year comparisons, don’t really bring out the inconsistencies IMO).
Personally I’m surprised that they did as well as they did, given what I perceive as a lack of leadership in the defense & so many new bodies over 2020 & 2021. Unfortunately there’s even less to build on this year (way too many FAs on defense) and our depth is circumspect.
I’d re-sign Dean, Ryan & either Edwards or Neal (depending upon $$$) on the back end, then Nelson, Gholston & RNR on the front end (too many to replace in 1 year). Would try to find a DT like Hicks (but younger) in FA to pair with Vea (we can’t move him, but neither can anyone else). I like Marine Bucs’ draft choices, but we can’t afford any misses this year (and we’ll need the Top-3 to be major contributors). Below Rnd-4 most don’t last, although most can serve well on S/Ts.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:18 am
Defense Rules… I can’t argue your points in general.
But defense this year benefited massively from facing weak QBs. Hence any positive perception you may have by crunching those numbers. This stats honestly didn’t match my eyeball test in live game actions this season. They just didn’t. The very last game just sealed that for me… also offense was really really bad, too.
Go Bucs!
January 21st, 2023 at 8:36 am
We are old and slow! I do hope this team looks different next year.. I think anyone of you would of traded a few bad years for a superbowl trophy.
I think the people trying to run Brady off should be ashamed after what he has done for this organization.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:36 am
Trade GetLive45…before he gets any worse.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:37 am
The headline should read “Bucs defense decimated by inept head coach who doubles as defensive coordinator”
January 21st, 2023 at 8:38 am
Go Bucs@ Exactly! They were good against BAD teams. They came very close to giving away the Atlanta, Seattle, Saints & Carolina games. It’s like Brady’s a passing leader 3rd in the league but if the team still loses those stats mean nothing. This D was NOT good and the Dallas game proved it.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:38 am
Dean was hurt in college. Now he’s hurt in the pros. Shaq, hurt. Hicks, hurt. Vea, hurt. Wirfs, hurt. Jensen, hurt. Fournette, hurt. Julio Jones, hurt. Gage, hurt. Everyone is hurt.
Who is in charge of conditioning?
January 21st, 2023 at 8:47 am
The headline should read “Bucs defense decimated by inept head coach who doubles as defensive coordinator”
January 21st, 2023 at 8:47 am
I don’t buy the old & slow, how is the D old, LVD??? He actually played good against Dallas. Godwin, Gage, Evan’s, White, Lenny, Otton and Jones proved he still has something in the tank, they are not that old. Sure Brady is but mobility didn’t help Mahomes in the SB with a bad oline. This team was not discipline, not united and clearly poorly managed or coached. I would also add the lack of discipline probably led to the multiple muscle strain injuries.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:55 am
There’s no need to fear JTS is here. Logan Hall too.
Bum 1 and Bum 2.
I like Licht, but these two are busts.
January 21st, 2023 at 9:07 am
Where is the headline we are waiting for?
Where is the poll , The Elephant in the Room poll ?
January 21st, 2023 at 9:08 am
The Brady free agent effect is going
Now Jason licht drafts will be what this team will be built on
Hello first pick in the draft the next 3 years
January 21st, 2023 at 9:24 am
Go Bucs Go … ‘This stats honestly didn’t match my eyeball test in live game actions this season.’
Mine either, as I said repeatedly in comments. I thought they were considerably worse than what the stats show. Gut feel is that’s because they were so inconsistent (very good at times & horrific at other times). As far as opposing QBs go, I have no clue how you quantify that (ie, how do you demonstrate that opposing QBs in 1 year are better or worse than those in other years?). Not to mention that opposing teams ran against us MUCH MORE than in preceding years (458 in 2022 versus 366 in 2021 versus 358 in 2020) … and did so quite effectively (making it much easier on opposing QBs?). Sure does open up the pass a lot more.
January 21st, 2023 at 9:26 am
“Collapse 4 Caleb”
January 21st, 2023 at 9:30 am
“Waste for Williams”
January 21st, 2023 at 9:51 am
@Joes – why are my comments/replies being deleted?
January 21st, 2023 at 9:57 am
Marine Buc: I like the thought of the Bucs getting a edge rusher early in the draft, but I also want them to take an Offensive Tackle in the first 3 rounds.
January 21st, 2023 at 10:04 am
Time to cut bait and dump all these high priced vet contracts. Vita, Godwin and Wirfs are the only 3 that are untouchable. Everybody else better not be looking for new homes in the bay area.
January 21st, 2023 at 10:04 am
Licht got us into this mess. And it looks like the Glazers are sticking with him to get us out of this mess. I have little confidence in his abilities other than to defer payments. Beyond that he is pretty much useless. His drafts are more bad than good, his head coach is Lovie bad (again!) And his ability to attract talent will be hindered by the salary cap hell that he is responsible for. He’s got to go!
January 21st, 2023 at 10:41 am
No prob, let them all walk.
Time for a rebuild.
Get the cap under control, trade some big names (if over 30, except White, trade him, too) for picks.
Need to get a LOT younger and a LOT faster.
Bowles will help expedite that with crappy coaching so the team finishes with maybe 3 wins next year.
I am ready for it. The Bucs had their run, now it’s time to pay for it.
January 21st, 2023 at 10:47 am
Decimated literally means destroying one tenth, so… that seems highly likely. Annihilated? no.
January 21st, 2023 at 10:49 am
Bums anyway… SMB..Carlton Davis… Devin white…JTS…Mike Edward…Logan Ryan…nacho…Dean all bums it’s rebuild time plain n simple let’s move on
January 21st, 2023 at 11:12 am
After watching this team go from one of the top scoring teams in 2 years to barely able to score a TD in each game and the main difference is HC change, I not only expect free agent players to bail but that other players ask for trade and NO quality free agent to come to Tampa…
Coaches and players with any success WILL avoid Tampa like its covid!
January 21st, 2023 at 11:29 am
Decimated by free agency.. decimated by the other 31 offenses in the league..
TomAto, Tomahto
January 21st, 2023 at 11:36 am
I’m sorry, but if we continue with the madness of ONE static gameplan for every game of the season… Does it really matter who we have on defense?
By game three, every team will know how to scheme around us, regardless of talent.
January 21st, 2023 at 11:56 am
It was a decent defense. I dont see the need to pay big money to bring it back though. Bowles is a defensive guy, so let him put that experience to work on keeping it together while they restock the offense. This is a scoring and passing league. Does not matter if you hold the opposition to 20 pts a game if your offense cannot score 21. Wondering how many years Bowles is going to continue to set the franchise back by the time he is done.
January 21st, 2023 at 12:16 pm
A good pass rush covers up a LOT of deficiencies. Of course, we haven’t had one of those since the Super Bowl season
January 21st, 2023 at 12:28 pm
“Best defense is a good offense.”
Need more money on offense. Our defense did well for many games but got hosed when offense put them in bad spots with turnovers or went 3 and out so often defense was gassed by 4th quarter. If we rebuild then do it and plan to win 3-5 years from now. If Brady stays then best to augment the offense more than defense.
January 21st, 2023 at 1:12 pm
SKBucsFan
Licht got us into a real mess with Brady winning most historical Super Bowl all-time roster 2 years ago? Knocks the draft out every year with at least one player. Drafted some of the top S, OT, and NT in NFL past four years. Didn’t listen when everyone said we were f#cked in cap money this year and now you want to come after him.
January 21st, 2023 at 1:25 pm
@SOEbuc
Licht gets a SB and two division titles in last three years and people “want to come after him.” That’s crazy when a couple years ago when same people were likely saying he was a genius. Winning a SB takes money and the right talent with luck to win. Only team to do so consistently was patriots with Brady taking pay cuts. The bill comes due and people are mad. You are right that his picks have lead to some of the best players with Wirfs and Winfield. People thought he was crazy for getting Camarda but that kid had been amazing with his leg, athleticism and can tackle! All teams have good and bad years but the best years are winning a SB which happened under his management. People will say no it was brady but Licht got a team that appealed to brady and he with brady still got players. Licht has done well. Bill was always coming so don’t be mad now. Be mad if he can’t get us competitive in 2-3 years when bill is paid off and we have picks and cap space.
January 21st, 2023 at 2:08 pm
Bowles is the perfect coach to tank, without looking like a tank. Kinda Schiano-ish, but with less personality.
January 21st, 2023 at 2:11 pm
Bucs got old, slow, and brittle, and read their press clippings about how great they were.
Reality bit them in the ‘nads.
And here we are…
Thanks, Bowles, for your fantastic leadership.
January 21st, 2023 at 2:17 pm
Hey Tampa Fans. When do we stop backing the Glazers? Let’s not pretend they had anything to do with winning in 2020 – that was Brady and HIS recruiting. Are we happy with being competitive every 20 years?
January 21st, 2023 at 3:07 pm
This is the year they pay the piper. The bills are due and you can’t spend frivolously. We need to trade Devin White and unload his salary and his stupidity.
January 21st, 2023 at 3:14 pm
BashingBucs2520 Says:
January 21st, 2023 at 2:17 pm
Is there a choice? They own the team. We don’t get a vote.
Some teams have never won a Superbowl. Most teams haven’t won 2. Name the other teams that have won 2 Superbowls since 2000. The Glazers aren’t the best owners but they’re not the worst, by a long shot.
January 21st, 2023 at 3:29 pm
Well sasquash, I guess you’ll find out how good they are because they just banked the Bucs future on a coach that can’t win squat.
January 21st, 2023 at 3:35 pm
@Sasquatch
It’s not about winning two flash in a pan super bowls, it’s about being competitive each year. I would give up both super bowls if it meant we are competitive every year. And what can we do? Let the stadium fill up with opposing team fans.
January 21st, 2023 at 3:42 pm
On the bright side, we did get a Lombardi trophy after so many dismal seasons. On the dark side, Bowles isn’t the guy, the players no longer play with heart, and Bless his heart, Tom Brady was as responsible for a losing season as any coach or player. He couldn’t hit his receivers to save his life. He under threw every pass he could, short long everything. TB12 sucked in all 18 games. I don’t think it’s reload time but rebuild time. I think Bowles may still get fired in the coming weeks. Trade trade trade and pickup draft picks. None of these 3 cornerbacks are great, Dean, SMB, nor Davis. They all play well at times but are so inconsistent and get burned badly. The team is a mess. Start over.
January 21st, 2023 at 4:09 pm
Sasquatch, they’re mighty ignant in these here parts.
The Bucs never went to the playoffs 3 years in a row.
We should be grateful, but nooooooo, not here.
I’m gonna say it, thank you team glazer. Much appreciated !
January 21st, 2023 at 4:25 pm
They got punked everytime they played a legit offense. Dallas week one being the exception. Bowles is vastly overrated as a defensive coach.
January 21st, 2023 at 4:57 pm
Bye bye rebuild I done see any that stand out
January 21st, 2023 at 5:55 pm
BigMack@ joining Doc in the hate the white QB club. Bottom 3rd in wr separation, bottom 5 oline, 32nd rushing game, D overrated gave up avg of 33+ points to the teams over 500. Poor game management, predictable play calling, horrible ST’s and it’s on the QB that led in almost all categories the previous two seasons. You’re an idiot.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:12 pm
Nefan , No need for name calling because you don’t agree with someone attacking Brady.. I don’t agree with Bigmack either but you really are getting more and more aggressive.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:26 pm
Reality stinks. But the bell is tolling for the Bucs. Losing all depth. Rookies and second year players that needed to step forward this year, and probably won’t the next. Wake up fans. 3rd place in the division most likely. How fast they got so old and beat up. Maybe it is because other than Wirfs, Winfield, a punter, and a RB, no young player is contributing worth a squat. And the FA bell is ringing.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:29 pm
#99 tough to listen to the same haters week after week with no merit to back up their attack.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:40 pm
NEfan, Trust me I get it..It’s the same few bashing Brady every chance they get..they forget how irrelevant we were before he got here.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:46 pm
I agree Lefty’s play calling was inept, the o line was decimated and got manhandled at times, but watch the film NE BOY!!! Tom Brady had serious throwing arm problems. His arm was weak or injured. You don’t have to believe me, watch the games again. Why didn’t they hit long passes? Because Tom couldn’t throw it that far. He’s the greatest no doubt, but he should have retired on top and really couldn’t get it done. If you get the pass away it needs to find its target.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:46 pm
#99 There were two highlights with this team all season, the punter Camarda and R. White the rest including Brady played average at best. The entire team lacked motivation and seemed rarely prepared, that’s on COACHING in all three phases.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:53 pm
The Bucs could not have won the Lombardi without TB12, no doubt. But the Bucs wouldn’t have won it all if the defense didn’t step up as well. When the defense collapsed in the title game against the Rams, everything changed. Todd Bowles cost us the game but these CB’s that Joe loves got torched. The team stopped playing with heart and there became a serious vacuum in the leadership. My comment on Brady was a little harsh but I posted two others prior to it that got lost in the cesspool of awaiting moderation.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:55 pm
If the Bucs are smart, they’ll use 2023 as a year to clean up the cap as much as possible. So in addition to losing all those guys, they should go ahead and cut Shaq as well, no that’s he’s bad or washed up or anything, but a 3-14 team doesn’t need a $20-million pass rusher.
Just take all the hits now, Tank with Trask in 2023, and aim for a quick turnaround.
January 21st, 2023 at 7:55 pm
BigMack, tough to throw while your backing up. Look at Carolina when he had time and the pass to Jones and Evan’s in the Dallas game was pretty accurate unfortunately Evan’s never lays out for the ball so it falls off his finger tips. It’s also not his fault Godwin fumbles 3 games in a row. But I won’t blame either of them because the teams lack of desire and effort is the reason they didn’t succeed and that’s because they did not believe in their coaching staff, or at least thier HC.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:29 pm
How I would do it:
Mike Evans
Trade. He has the most value, and is costing too much. I hate to see him go, but that frees up a good chunk of cap AND can get us 1-2 first rounders.
Lavante David
Love the guy being on the team, and I do believe he has a couple more years left in the tank…that said, he has had a cost of about $10-$12m annually, and I’m afraid he is no longer worth that to a team that needs cap trimming.
Off him a 1 yr deal at maybe $7m and see if he takes it. If not? Let him walk. We’ve little choice, really.
Sean Bunting & Jamil Dean
Both have been cheap, and because they did not have great contract years, they should each re-sign for $2-$3m. They are worth that and other CBs won’t come cheaper outside of the draft. Frankly, neither is a bad player…not great, but not bad.
Julio Jones
He came at a cost of $6m in 2022. Worth it? I think so…but is he a luxery? Re-signing him depends on a couple factors:
1 Did we trade Evans?
2 Is Tom Brady coming back?
If we trade Evans, or intend to, then Julio could be worth $6-$7m…but not if Brady does not return. If we go with Trask or a rookie at QB, then we can make do with Godwin and some younger options…or cheap vets.
Breshad Perriman & Scotty Miller
Both are cheap. They may not be great, but depending on other additions, we might need th re-sign them.
Carl Nassib
I never wanted him to leave, and he was cheap at under $2m…but that was not a full contract, so he is going to cost more to bring back. Is he worth more? Probably…but we won’t have much more to offer.
William Gholston
He’s been her, like, forever. He’s a great depth player…but is depth worth $5-6m per year on a cap strapped team? (And that is the minimum he will cost with the cap increase).
I don’t think he is, but Bowels will want him back.
January 21st, 2023 at 8:44 pm
Rod, I really have to agree with you..clear out as much cap space as possible this upcoming season
January 21st, 2023 at 9:29 pm
Why would anyone in the world trade Evans? 1-2 first rounders? What planet? Not a chance and additionally it is not a smart idea to alienate the fan base anymore. That move would top the time we “cut” a player named John Lynch. Evans has a TON of mileage on his wheels and would not bring back enough to warrant that move. Bucs Mount Rushmore will have his face on it and Mike Evans is EXACTLY the type of amazing person that the community of Tampa Bay and the Bucs need around as a lifetime Bucs… a la Mike Alstott.
We should and will clean house and get younger though. Im annoyed the Bucs decided to commit to a rebuild with Bowles so I have to stomach 1 maybe 2 more years of predictable, conservative 2010 style football with no imagination and constipated playcalling. I could care less about next years new offensive coordinator because it will be a 1 year job or maybe 2 since that is the coaching expectancy of Bowles before he is given his choice to resign.
So some head coach names for the end of next year…. #1 Shane Steichen. He is our guy!!! 100 percent! DeMeco Ryan and Dan Quinn are too similar to Bowles and probably get hired this off season. A sleeper candidate would be Ken Dorsey and if we want a big splash…. Jim Harbaugh…. I guess a big factor is what QB we go with.
January 21st, 2023 at 11:30 pm
You who are pretending to be GMs, wanting to do the rebuild:
Remember who your team is.
Bucs first rebuild after Culverblows refused to pay Doug Williams even chump change took 13 years, 5 head coaches, and lots of failures too numerous to mention.
The second rebuild happened after the Glazer-sons took over from Malcolm’s stroke. They assumed they knew what they were doing. That rebuild lasted 11 years, 5 head coaches, and lots of failures too numerous to mention.
On average, it takes Bucs 12 years to do a rebuild. Like most everything else, the Bucs suck at rebuilding. What a surprise.
I actually agree with the Joes, I think Licht is good. Every GM misses some draft picks, but he has also hit quite a few. Next year will be a waste land with Blowes, but you don’t get rid of players who still produce because you want change. What change is it that you want?
Licht should be preparing his state ofmthe art head coach selection process, now, and get bust with preliminary research, now. This team has productive talent. A decent coach with a vision and the know-how to coach the players on what that is and how to get there, is what we need.
The biggest difference visible between Arians and Blowes beyond the obvious personality, Arians had three fields going. Everyone was active all practice long. Blowes had the backups standing around picking crust off their jocks and it showed.
Good luck after football in 2024, Toad.
January 22nd, 2023 at 9:09 am
Draft nothing but fat guys and let those guys walk.