Hot Seat Chatter Resumes

November 3rd, 2023

Bucs coach Todd Bowles.

Go back and listen to the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” published right before the Bucs played the Dixie Chicks two weeks ago.

Joe predicted that if the Bucs lost to the Dixie Chicks, murmurs of Bucs coach Todd Bowles being on the hot seat would bubble back to the surface.

Like clockwork, courtesy of another loss to the Bills, here we are.

Mike Jones of The Athletic typed a piece this week looking at coaches on the hot seat. Take a wild guess who is back on the list?

Todd Bowles

Bowles, in his second year as Tampa Bay’s head coach, seemed to have the Bucs headed in the right direction as they opened the season 3-1. But they’re now on a three-game losing streak in a very winnable NFC South. This seemed like a prove-it year for Bowles, who took over last offseason when Bruce Arians abruptly resigned. Bowles and Tampa brass believed this team was capable of a rebound after some retooling on the fly. But team officials could opt for a complete reset if the Bucs don’t reach the postseason.

If you think Jones may be irresponsible by pumping out something like this, consider Joe’s weekly “Todd Bowles Confidence Poll” published yesterday concerning Bowles.

Of the Bucs fans who voted, 81.63 percent had little or no confidence in Bowles. That’s worse than Lovie Smith’s confidence poll score about a week before he got fired!

If the Bucs somehow lose to the Texans on Sunday, Joe suspects that number will only grow next week. And upset fans will only holler louder.

80 Responses to “Hot Seat Chatter Resumes”

  1. HC Grover Says:

    Texans are 2.5 point faves.

  2. Lombardi Lenny Says:

    It’s gonna get so ugly for the Bucs if they lose this weekend.
    Every will start turning on each other, coaches, players, front office, etc

  3. ModHairKen Says:

    Great thing is it’s all up to Bowles. Win next two weeks — games they should easily win — and he’s back in business. Lose both, it’s over. Split and you’re below .500 and the “Bye Bye Bowles Tour” continues.

    Bowles can blame no one but himself. He never has them ready to beat inferior teams.

  4. Fansince76 Says:

    If the Bucs lose to the Texans he should be fired.

  5. Defense Rules Says:

    Winning changes everything. Win out the rest of the way & Bowles would be Coach of the Year. Lose and Sabby the Goat will look like a long lost savior.

    I’d say that Bowles fate is in his hands, but that’s only partially true. This roster is so thin that just a couple of injuries will derail the train, if it’s not already off the tracks. Plus our youngsters need to start playing like the professionals they’re getting paid to be. Patience for them to start showing improvement is running thin on some of them.

    Still think that Bowles’ major wound was self-inflicted though when he dual-hatted himself as HC-DC. As Scripture says, you can’t serve 2 masters, and Todd’s proving that. Even our latest offensive-guru himself, BA, knew better than to dual-hat himself as HC-OC.

  6. Buc4evr Says:

    Bowles is probably gone at the end of the year. I have to believe that the Glazers are already tired of his stupid press conferences and in game screw ups. I don’t see things getting better….

  7. FortMyersDave Says:

    This could get ugly if the Texans roll the Bucs. Titans will be rested for the next game and they could be favored over the Bucs too regardless of who their qb will be. After that a loss to SF and 3 dash 7. By then the Glazers will have decided to fire the coaching staff. So if Bowles wants to keep his job he better figure out a way to avoid being soft and predictable on D and tell Canales to open things up too.

  8. Hail2dabucs Says:

    Oh for the love of the football Gods , just blow it up already !

  9. Everything is just horrble! Says:

    By Golly!

    WE ARE HOUSTON READY!

    LFG!?!?!?!

  10. pewter941 Says:

    I just cant see how a coach would be on the hotseat when 1/3 of his teams salary cap is being used by players that arent even available this year. Thats like playing with 1 arm tied behind your back. The fact that weve even been close in the games that we lost is amazing.

  11. WillieG Says:

    I’ve been voting “little confidence” since last year because his teams don’t look well coached. I’d be willing to bet Brady’s second retirement was because of Bowles. Brady played against him and for him so he knows how bad he is as a head coach. I just watch the games and I know how bad he is, especially since we are only a couple of years removed from a high octane offense that could seemingly score at will under BA. Speaking of BA, I don’t think he understands how much his coaching helped overcome the deficiencies of his staff.

  12. realistic-optimistic Says:

    It doesn’t matter that Bowles is working with a bunch of dead cap. First of all, he fully knew this would happen before he was gifted the HC job. If he didn’t think he could win in this situation he should have waited for a better opportunity somewhere else.

    Second, Licht could have done more to clean up the cap this year, but for Bowles. If Licht was not trying to give Bowles a chance to win, he would not have signed Dean, and he very likely would have dealt White at the trade deadline. Giving Bowles one more chance to prove he can be a HC is the reason we’re not clearing even more dead cap this season. No excuses for Bowles.

  13. BucsFan81 Says:

    I am expecting him to be fired by the end of the year. The owners will make us suffer through the season with this idiot though and his bad choices. Can’t wait to watch the false starts and rest of the basic penalty that will occur each Sunday until he is fired. Oh don’t forget his decisions to punt from the opponents 40 yard line game after game or the fact that with time outs and 30 seconds left at the end of a half he will pack it in like the scared child playing not to lose instead of trying to win games.

  14. pewter941 Says:

    75$ mil in dead money is like 3-5 good players. Like a better safety, guard, rb, receiver, it does matter. And whatever coach that took over for Arians was going to have to deal with the same situation. Its having your team handicapped.

  15. SufferingSince76 Says:

    I thank Bruce Arians for the Super Bowl title, but he absolutely sabotaged the Bucs by leaving the way he did and, apparently, convincing the Glazers that Bowles was head coach material. All this plays out to more of the same lost years of the past. The team is cap-strung, but bad coaching is bad coaching. Everyone who can do something, anything, seems to be content with the product on the field. Ugh.

  16. realistic-optimistic Says:

    I’m not arguing that a team couldn’t improve the roster with $75 mil. My point was that the cap situation could be further along if not for the need to give Bowles a fighting chance this season. Do you think the money allocated to Dean and White is being used to good effect? Is the cap situation is making Bowles deploy soft zone defenses at a 70% rate? Is it forcing him to make poor in-game decisions? Maybe it’s the reason he refuses to bench Neal/JTS/Feiler/Davis.

  17. power sweep Says:

    Joe, are the 81.63% cult members too?

  18. Jeff Says:

    Clueless Todd will strike hard again this weekend! Todd loves to make rookie QB’s look like superstars. Todd will be sure to throw endless amounts of predictable blitzes that will be easily defeated by a true talent at QB.

    Houston 23 Yucs 13

    Bucs have 5 turnovers.

    We NEED the Yucs to lose out. It’s all about getting a QB in the 24 draft!

  19. BucsFanSince76 Says:

    How the heck did Bucs beat Saints in Nawlins-seems like a long time ago.

  20. power sweep Says:

    Bowles screwed up listening to Joe and starting perpetual bust Baker Mayfield. Now Bowles is welded to Baker – benching him would be an admission that Bowles made a huge mistake in the most important position in football. Had Bowles started Kyle Trask, then, based on Trask “outplaying” (Joe’s word) Mayfield in training and looking good in preseason games, it is likely the Bucs would have a similar record and Trask would be well into his developmental path, assuring Bowles at least one more season with the new QB and OC. But nooooo, Bowles bought into Joe’s hype about moxie and eating hot dogs at Rays games and so now Bowles is done. Kaput!

  21. pewter941 Says:

    I think the soft zone coverage is being called because of our personel. We have 2 press corners, but our (bargain) safety is getting beat alot, so they are covering for him. If we had money for another pass rusher the dbs have to cover receivers for less time, we could play more press. If we had a competent run game the offense would be way better. It would take the ball out of Bakers hands more often. So another guard, a better center and a better rb would go along ways. Saquan made 10 mil this year. We could have gotten someone like him. Gage was our 3rd receiver, and we lost him. I think Ryan Neal blew like 3 games for us already. Its not like some of our losses werent close.

  22. Bobby M. Says:

    Attendance will continue to drop, overpriced beer/food sales will fall, the Glaziers will have a hard time ignoring their wallets shrinking.

  23. Front Four Says:

    Mike Jones of the Athletic knows nothing of this team. Anybody expecting to win with this roster is brain dead. We have the team we can afford – which starts at QB and just isn’t much. We are in salary cap hell for at least one more season. Blaming Bowles is just stupid.

  24. Jeff’s grandpa Says:

    Get to school son bell rings at 735 boy

  25. Mike Johnson Says:

    The Boo birds will be giving a sellout concert if we lose on Sunday.

  26. Sly Pirate Says:

    REALITY CHECK …
    Fans like WINS and POINTS

    Strike 1: Bowles has produced horrible offenses
    Strike 2: Bowles chose Canales. He’s a rookie OC with a major learning curve.
    Strike 3: Bowles loses because he’s out coached. How many times have we heard him say, our guys were underprepared this season? That actually means the other team was better prepared.

    Bucs fans are unique. We love defense. You can win here on defense … but if you’re not winning, you better be entertaining. Bowles is neither.

  27. realistic-optimistic Says:

    @pewter941, I call BS on your soft zone take. In 2020 and 2021, when Bowles had Winfield and Whitehead at S, he called soft zone 66% and 65% of the time. The team was not eating $75 mil. This is who he is. Stop making excuses for him.

  28. adam from ny Says:

    ummmmmm……okay…….we are EXPECTED to win the next two…

    i say the seat becomes hot to the touch, if out so called defensive mastermind can’t hold 2 rookie qb’s in relative check over the next two sundays…

    it’s clearly coach’s time to shine with defensive schematics

  29. Ultra ClodHopper Says:

    Well earned. The sooner Bowles learns he’s more of a Wade Phillips than he is a Bill Belichick, the more success he will have.

  30. BigBucJoe Says:

    He’s a failure as a head coach and seems to have lost whatever ability he once had as a DC. This team is going nowhere as long as he’s the coach.

  31. Curse of Gruden Says:

    Harbaugh

  32. Lord Cornelius Says:

    He’s not as bad as Lovie but that’s a low bar lol

  33. AtlBuc Says:

    Jeff Says:
    November 3rd, 2023 at 6:57 am

    We NEED the Yucs to lose out. It’s all about getting a QB in the 24 draft!

    How do we know that Trask is not better than any of these QB’s coming up in the next draft? There’s no way the Bucs enter into the 2024 QB draft fray without seeing what they have in Trask.

  34. AtlBuc Says:

    Curse of Gruden Says:
    November 3rd, 2023 at 8:37 am
    Harbaugh

    Forget about it. Raiders got the jump!

  35. Mike S Says:

    I didn’t have any real expectations about this season except for one – get a good solid developmental work in during a cap reset year and build towards 2024. The hope was that during the second half of the season Bucs would get some real momentum going to spring them into the next season. With the state of the NFC South the division would still be in play.

    If the Glazers had confidence in Bowles the fact that this is a cap reset year should have been universally understood. He’s on a 5 year coaching deal – let’s develop our young QB and sign a backup just in case that falls apart.

    Nope – the narrative was Bowles needs wins to save his job that’s why we can’t develop our young QB. Why would ownership do that unless they were disenchanted with Bowles after year 1? They never said they didn’t like Trask – didn’t believe in him. All of a sudden its YOU NEED WINS TO KEEP YOUR JOB. In a cap reset year with no budget at QB? That’s setting Bowles up for failure.

    So the answer was to sign Baker Mayfield with a mediocre career coming off an awful season? Then add a rookie OC? What did the 10 candidates know or find out during the interview that made them shy about the job?

    Bowles and Licht: “We’re bringing in Baker Mayfield”
    Candidates: “Thanks but no thanks”

    Mayfield was the biggest egomaniac on the FA market who demands PT and the Bucs and their proxies fed us a line of BS about how great he is. He’s not great. He’s super mediocre AT BEST.

    Outside of Brady, who they couldn’t possibly get wrong about, the QB evaluation skills of this team are abysmal. The Bucs are going to be in the purgatory of mediocrity for some time to come.

  36. Pewter Power Says:

    Of the Bucs fans who voted, 81.63 percent had little or no confidence in Bowles.

    Most of you vote from week to week as long as we’re winning. Then there’s of US who never had confidence from the day he was hired.

    It’s no coincidence that the defense is good but his offenses are not

  37. Doc Says:

    Fire this Coach killer G.M. how about putting out a poll on him.

  38. Mike S Says:

    Here’s a guess from me…

    That prove it deal Baker got? 4 mil base and 4 mil incentives? All a ruse. Baker was promised a full slate to get the full 8 mil. That’s why they can’t/won’t bench him.

    After the garbage season he just had in 2022 – signing him straight up to a 8M deal and naming him the starter would have been horrific PR and would have enraged the fanbase.

    They just sucked with Tom Brady – its going to be better with Baker Mayfield? Nobody would have bought that.

    It’s been a method of trickle truthing.

    Such utter nonsense. Turns out its not all Leftwich who they all blamed the bad season on.

    Here’s a clue – if you have to lie to the fans about the QB choice – you’re lying to yourself as well.

    Fans would have accepted Kyle Trask this season (except for the Noles fans) and a cap reset narrative.

    Now what? Still got a bad team – only now we wasted half a season with a journeyman QB who isn’t the guy instead of developing our 2nd rounder a la Will Levis.

    The incompetence is frustrating.

  39. Oneilbuc Says:

    Joe and the rest of y’all still don’t understand do you? Do you really believe Todd Bowles actually cares about being fired like Joe think he do ? Think about it he’s already in his 60s with a garuteen contract that’s going to pay him millions to sit home next year. Then remember this is his second fully guaranteed contract because he got one with the Jets. He’s a Superbowl winner as a player and DC . Plus he’s fully invested with the NFL so he will have a pinching coming in for the rest of his life. And if the bucs fire him he will be making millions of dollars and spending time with his family and going to his son’s games . And this if another team don’t offer him a DC job which means the bucs will be paying him and the team he’s coaching on . He’s in a great position trust me Todd Bowles ain’t tripping about getting fired and if you were in his position you wouldn’t either!! Lol 🤣🤣 so Joe please stop telling us Todd Bowles is desperate for wins to sale us trash Baker Mayfield lol 🤣🤣!!

  40. BA’s Red Pen Says:

    Bowles is a great man and a magnificent D coordinator. Not a head coach.

  41. MelvinJunior Says:

    There are NO ‘Excuses’ in The NFL. But, the number one thing is just the “eye-test.” Then, the overall level of play and ideology/system/scheme/etc. Also, with how the way they continue to lose ‘winnable’ games that came down to coaching and some very strange, skeptical decisions/calls. And, in THIS Division, THIS Team ‘should be’ more than capable of running away with it… Absolutely, 💯!!!! They don’t even, seem to be playing the right type of Defensive Scheme for this particular roster, to me… Idk!? There’s just something missing and I believe that it is pretty apparent that it all begins with the Head Coaching.

  42. TonySoprano Says:

    Bowles simply offers no hope. It honestly doesn’t even seem like he wants to be a HC. He shows absolutely no enthusiasm for his team or his role as the leader of this team. He acts like he begrudgingly accepted a job he doesn’t want. So if the leader of this organization isn’t excited about the Bucs, why should the fans be?

  43. TonySoprano Says:

    For those defending Bowles – that he is just hamstrung due to the he $75M in dead cap space, you do realize we’ll be in the same predicament next year too, right?

    We’ve kicked a ton of dead money and void years to next year, and in the best case scenario, we’ll be lucky to re-sign our own FAs, leaving no room for any new players. Therefore, Bowles will have the same exact squad next year – is that what you want? I sure don’t.

  44. power sweep Says:

    Mike S Says: “We wasted half a season with a journeyman QB who isn’t the guy instead of developing our 2nd rounder a la Will Levis.”

    Exactly what I’ve been saying since the off season. We’re not winning anything this year so why not give our second round pick Kyle Trask his first opportunity with the starting offense in games so we know what our needs are going into the 2024 draft?

    Which raises a question I’ve had for a long time and would like an answer to (Attention: Joe): Is there any other second-round quarterback in NFL history who, after 2 full seasons plus 7 games into the third season with the team that drafted him, HAD STILL NOT TAKEN A SINGLE SNAP WITH THE STARTING OFFENSE IN A REGULAR SEASON OR EVEN PRESEASON GAME?

  45. MelvinJunior Says:

    “LISTENING.” When asked about the current roster of HIS Team… SUCH Low-Energy & ZERO Emotion. Soooo Damm Booooringgg.

  46. power sweep Says:

    Query:

    Is there any other second-round quarterback in NFL history who, after 2 full seasons plus 7 games into the third season with the team that drafted him, STILL HAD NOT TAKEN A SINGLE SNAP WITH THE STARTING OFFENSE IN A REGULAR SEASON OR EVEN PRESEASON GAME?

    I find it hard to believe any other NFL team has mismanaged a second-round quarterback like the Bucs have (deliberately?) mismanaged Trask.

  47. TonySoprano Says:

    @power sweep – great question and I’ve wondered the same thing. Has a 2nd round QB been so deplorably bad behind the scenes that the team isn’t even willing to give him as a snap? Is Trask going to go through his entire 4 year contract with zero playing time?

    And if that’s the case, shouldn’t Licht be lambasted for such a huge swing and miss? (Apparently not, as Licht can do no wrong in the eyes of the Joe’s.)

  48. power sweep Says:

    @TonySoprano

    The treatment of Trask has been so egregious and inexplicable I can’t help but wonder if One Bucs Palace is infested with virulent FSU dropouts.

  49. optimisticbucsfan Says:

    Is Trask ANOTHER 2nd round bust from Licht?

    Who wants to know?

  50. Dlavid Says:

    Now
    Les is toast ! Time to throw Trask in and see what you have! Yes, it sucks but it has come to this, but it is what it is. Mayfield is not worth signing again, we have no running game, the defense has nothing to play for every week! When you are expected to hold a team to 14 points or less just to have a chance to win that is a recipe for disaster. Coaching has failed this team for whatever reason there’s no sense in prolonging the inevitable.

  51. Bucs since 76 Says:

    Everybody says Trask looks bad in practice. However, the coach making that decision is Bowles. He sucks so bad why would anybody take his word on anything.

  52. RDF Says:

    The team could still achieve its goals this season, but they appear to be a reflection of Bowles — solid defense, little clue on offense, and overall lack of detailed attention. Bowles comments about last year about his inability to influence, much less fix, the offense spoke volumes: we have a defensive coordinator in charge, not a head coach, when it takes strength in all phases to succeed. This feels a lot like Tony Dungy part 2.

  53. Nicholas Carlson Says:

    Lovie’s career winning %: .479
    Bowles’s career winning %: .407

  54. power sweep Says:

    Bucs since 76 Says: “Everybody says Trask looks bad in practice.”

    That’s bullshït. I’ve never heard that. The coaches have had nothing but good things to say about him, and even Trask-bashing Joe stated several times this past summer that Trask “outplayed” Mayfield in training camp. By “everybody” you must mean everybody at your FSU watering hole.

  55. pewter941 Says:

    Its going to take 1-2 decent drafts to get this team on the right track. If Licht has a draft like 2020 just 1.

  56. Mostly Peaceful Trask Fan Says:

    Even Joe himself said Trask looked good in practice – was decisive and his throws had life.

    So that wasn’t true?

    So now the line is Trask can’t play?

    Nonsense.

  57. Mostly Peaceful Trask Fan Says:

    Something ain’t right here.

    Mayfield continuing to start despite terrible results on offense doesn’t pass the smell test.

    What’s going on here?

  58. Tye Says:

    Curse of Bowels!
    He deserves the HOTTEST of seats!

  59. Cobraboy Says:

    The Bucs lose to the Texans, and the season is over; in the tank they go.

    As far as the Lovie comparison, at least Lovie went to a SB as HC.

  60. Duane in Sanford Says:

    I tried to see a way where Bowles could succeed, but he is still making the same mistakes, and getting the same results. Tired of seeing him at the podium answering questions like a wooden jackass. No pass rush, No running game. Cornerbacks who thrive at man coverage playing zone. Bowles scheme is getting exposed, and playing zone with a weak pass rush is only going to make things worse.

  61. J Says:

    Draw a circle, coach Bowles…■.

  62. NYbucsfan Says:

    They should have fired him last year. It was a waste of time to keep him.

  63. Rod Munch Says:

    Lovie was better as a head coach than Bowles.
    And Bowles was better as a defensive coordinator.

    I really do hate to lose Bowles as he could have had a Monte Kiffin type run as a DC. But Bowles stinks as a headcoach and shouldn’t be within 100-miles of an offensive coaching decision. He sucks.

  64. Dwayne Cone Says:

    Fans have been hollering Fire Canada for a month. Guess what. It ain’t gonna happen. Perhaps at the end of the year but what Fans want does not determine what is.

    Bowles is in year two of a 5 year deal. 1st year wasn’t great but made the playoffs even after some departures and Injuries. 2nd year team was strapped for cash and had to make do.

    Team has not regressed but with the drafts getting better ( whether ever so slightly) every game the team should finish with the same record as 2022. Might not be enough for a playoff spot but not bad considering the need to pay the piper for the Lombardi.

    Yell all you want but Bowles will be back for at least another year of his 5 year deal. Glazer’s are not the type to act like a the Davis’ and pay a coach to sit at Home for 3 years.

  65. Day 1-76 Says:

    Why does everyone give Licht a pass? He has nothing to do with finances, can’t draft a decent RB 1 to save his life and wastes early picks on small school O-linemen that would’ve been there in the next rd. Bowles is Bowles and he will never change. I’m sure he is a nice man who will probably become the next DC for the CU Buffaloes.

  66. Rod Munch Says:

    Day 1-76 Says:
    November 3rd, 2023 at 2:27 pm
    Why does everyone give Licht a pass? He has nothing to do with finances, can’t draft a decent RB 1 to save his life and wastes early picks on small school O-lineme

    ———–

    Meanwhile he literally built a SB winning roster that year after year had one of, if not the best, offensive line in football.

    But yeah, he hasn’t drafted an elite RB1, so he’s stinks and needs to be fired.

    LOL!

    Could be one of the most tarded things I’ve read here in a while.

  67. Mostly Peaceful Trask Fan Says:

    Dwayne Cone so that’s the new narrative huh? Noticed that a couple of NFC South and Bucs beat writers repeating the same line this morning. Who’s all in that email thread?

    LOL well we’ll see how that goes when it comes time to sell season tickets and merch.

    If they bring Bowles back in 2024 with Canales and Baker it will crush the organization for years to come, never mind the empty stadium next year.

    The fans will stop caring.

    Heck, I’ll stop caring. You want to roll up in a clown car? Knock yourself out.

  68. Old fan Says:

    Bolwes is never going to do anything. Never has with any
    team and never will. His record is there for everyone to see.
    He is worthless. Why would you expect him to do anything
    when he never has. Repeating the same thing and expecting
    A different result???? HC and DC he’s even worse ar DC!!!!.
    Against the Rams in the Superbowl playoffs we tie the game with
    45 or so seconds on the clock. Much to BAs disgust, listen to
    The recordings… The idiot calls 2 blitzes and guess what 2 throws to
    Kupp gets 60 yards without costing them a timeout and they kick a field
    Goal to win and avoid extra time. BA and the goat are furious. What
    On earth was Bowles thinking… Useless DC… and here we are… 2yrs
    Later. Game is tied against the Falcons… 45 secs on the clock…what
    does Bowles the HC and DC, neither of which he’s good at do…..same
    Damn thing … 2 completed receptions and they kick a field goal to avoid
    Overtime. He needs to go!!!!!!

  69. J Says:

    @Dwaynecone… Glaziers don’t care. If Bowles has a losing season, they won’t be afraid to can him. Lovie only lasted 2 seasons on a 5 year deal. I don’t care about his context. If you’re a loser, you’re a loser.

  70. HC Grover Says:

    Bowles is a pathetic HC. Who in their right mind would hire him as a combo. HC/DC. He is unable to do it. Who did this…….???? Oh headquarters at 1 Buc did this.

  71. HC Grover Says:

    What if Cancy…Plan 9, and Trask all are busts? The 1 and 2 round picks are looking awful.

  72. 74 Bucs Fan Says:

    And somewhere a giggling man say “we do what we do”!

  73. HC Grover Says:

    Ya know Houston has a problem when the song changes from Yo Ho Ho to Ha Ha Ha.

  74. Rican Says:

    Give me Ben Johnson from the lions.

  75. Ed Says:

    There are some good players on the Bucs offense. Its up to the coaches to design plays and formations to get them the ball. Every week I watch all these other teams that are putting guys in motion, running misdirections, fake handoffs, read/options, all thise different ways of creating mismatches.

    The Bucs play stupid football. Do they not know how to copy other offenses that have similar players and get more out of them because of the system?

    The offense the Bucs put out there every week has looked like it came from a distant time. Teams move their players around likie a chessboard and have people open everywhere. The Bucs players look like they are running in quicksand. I know they have fast guys, how about fixing the offense and try and do things that don’t have to make the QB hold the ball so long.

  76. Rod Munch Says:

    Ed Says:
    November 3rd, 2023 at 5:38 pm
    There are some good players on the Bucs offense. Its up to the coaches to design plays and formations to get them the ball.

    ———–

    I see guys running open every week on tape and I see Mayfield missing them, or checking down to take the ‘easy’ play, even if it means a punt.

    Part of that is on Mayfield, he had his Checkdown Charlie nickname before he got here, but the other part is Bowles, who has flat out said the QB’s top duty is to protect the football – not to score points. So when you have that combo, a QB is most worried about his completion percentage, mixed with a head coach who doesn’t understand that you win games by scoring more points than the other team, you get an offense scoring 16.2 points a game.

  77. optimisticbucsfan Says:

    New observation. Disclaimer: I think Bowles should be fired.

    BUT, hear me out…Bowles seems to be a run first/defense & STs, play field position and try to keep it close, win in the 4th TYPE OF COACH.

    Our roster is a round peg in a square hole for what Bowles wants.

    Head coach and GM should have a similar vision.

    IMHO, that isn’t happening here.

  78. orlbucfan Says:

    Is this a Bucs fan site or just a bad joke to get a boatload of clicks cos that’s how blogs make $$? It’s beyond ridiculous. No wonder a lot of actual fans bolt. I stick it out cos I’m old, retired and probably getting senile. Texans are favored at home by a field goal? Surprised by that one.

  79. Let em Bake Says:

    A qb’s ceiling is dependent on many things. One pillar, is disciplined receivers. Baker struggled with Odell. Then Odell got hurt. Then Baker flourished with Landry. Insiders revealed Odell frequently broke off his routes, inviting interceptions ( The rams knew this anyway, using him only in “Go” and Slant routes,,hard to mess those up) Ocjhocinco went to the Patriots. Brady quickly learned he wasnt disciplined, threw a couple of picks his way…and Ocho was shown the door. Aaron Rodgers let it be known , before he got hurt his year, that no reciever would see a pass if they broke their routes. ( He HATED interceptions)Godwin is the pros pro when it comes to route running, thats why Baker is constanlty looking his way on 3rd down. What do Allen, Burrow, Mahomes, Stafford all have in common? A disciplined route runner, with many repitions to ingraine the sublties. Baker may , or may not have a great future ahead, but when he hurt his shoulder in Cleveland, it took away the possiblility of top level greatness the aforementioned qbs have.

  80. Fair to Middling Says:

    Bowles will get another year either way