Tampa Bay Buccaneers Official 2023 Off Season Thread

[Grahamburn]

Why do people care what he did on the damn Jets? We're not the Jets. That's like focusing on BB's Cleveland years.

Or bringing up Baker in Carolina? That's like Moss or Palmer's time as a Raider, both of who would play in a SB with their next teams.

I care about this regime on this team. And the hate for a 2nd year HC coming off a division title in an injury riddled year is simply ludicrous.

Are you actually trying to argue that things people have done in the past aren't indicative of what they'll do in the future?

Are you a total fucking moron?

Are you trying to argue that what people have done in the past is always indicative of what they’ll do in the future? I’ll spare the last bit.

[MJW]

Are you actually trying to argue that things people have done in the past aren't indicative of what they'll do in the future?

Are you a total fucking moron?

Are you trying to argue that what people have done in the past is always indicative of what they’ll do in the future? I’ll spare the last bit.

I'm sure as shit saying it's a major indicator, as opposed to the "What does it matter..." take from Doctor Giggles I'm responding to.

By the way...if a guy is exactly now what he was then, it does indeed matter what he was then. And with the Jets, he was the exact same coach he was last year - sloppy team, poor adjustments, bizarre game day decisions, etc.

[mdb1958]

In all fairness MJ, you should address Mr Wirfs thoughts on the matter.

[Grahamburn]

Are you trying to argue that what people have done in the past is always indicative of what they’ll do in the future? I’ll spare the last bit.

I'm sure as shit saying it's a major indicator, as opposed to the "What does it matter..." take from Doctor Giggles I'm responding to.

By the way...if a guy is exactly now what he was then, it does indeed matter what he was then. And with the Jets, he was the exact same coach he was last year - sloppy team, poor adjustments, bizarre game day decisions, etc.

And if that happens again this season you’ll get your wish. Why the rush?

[Doctor]

Boy did last season scar you. Or you still hung up on "the one play that mattered" from the rams game?

Bowles has shown us he can not only develop and field one of the best defenses, he straight up out schemed Andy Reid and Mahomes on the big stage. Why would we want to lose that? He now has his own OC who he is really in on and a healthy team. And you want to throw all that away for Caleb. Smh

[Snake]

He outschemed them so hard that it forced their key offensive linemen to miss the Super Bowl.

Bowles is on that telekinetic shit.

Anyways, being a defensive coordinator is totally different than being a head coach. How many times do you need to hear this?

[MJW]

Anyways, being a defensive coordinator is totally different than being a head coach. How many times do you need to hear this?

The fact folks are talking about Todd Bowles, DC, to defend Todd Bowles, HC, pretty much ends the argument. Dude is a lousy head coach. He's had 5+ years to prove it. Lots of better coaches than him haven't gotten half that long.

[mdb1958]

Anyways, being a defensive coordinator is totally different than being a head coach. How many times do you need to hear this?

The fact folks are talking about Todd Bowles, DC, to defend Todd Bowles, HC, pretty much ends the argument. Dude is a lousy head coach. He's had 5+ years to prove it. Lots of better coaches than him haven't gotten half that long.

So Wirfs should tone done his expectations

[MJW]

The fact folks are talking about Todd Bowles, DC, to defend Todd Bowles, HC, pretty much ends the argument. Dude is a lousy head coach. He's had 5+ years to prove it. Lots of better coaches than him haven't gotten half that long.

So Wirfs should tone done his expectations

Wirfs should expect to go 17-0. He's on the team. His expectations should be sky high.

[mdb1958]

So Wirfs should tone done his expectations

Wirfs should expect to go 17-0. He's on the team. His expectations should be sky high.

The Jets have yet to replace Bowles 2015 season - how come?

[mdb1958]

Also, please do announce who is jumping to come coach here, one month before the draft.

[kaimaru]

@MJW The fact the Jets had only 1 winning season in the last 11 and that was Bowles. He had Fitzmagic 59-87-1 (.401), Josh McCown 23-53-0 (.342), and Sam Darnold 21-34-0 (.381). He had the JETS, one of the most disfunction teams since Parcells left. Even then Parcells struggled to make the playoffs. You keep comparing situations in a vacuum which is disingenuous.

Bowles admitted he never calls plays on offense, so the crappy offense is not on him. He said he was unprepared to be a HC with the Jets. He said he learned what not to do. Do you think he's just lying? He decided what the problems were last year on offense and fired most of those coaches. He hired someone with a more modern running offense. I think that shows he's adapting and trying to fix that side of the ball. You, however, think our failure last year is all on him. The rest of us doesn't.

So fine, you can say Baker is not a better QB than those others listed above, but until we see this new scheme with him or Trask behind center, we can't assume they will be bad. Maybe watch some preseason games before you assume we will be mediocre at best.

[Obsolete]

@MJW The fact the Jets had only 1 winning season in the last 11 and that was Bowles. He had Fitzmagic 59-87-1 (.401), Josh McCown 23-53-0 (.342), and Sam Darnold 21-34-0 (.381). He had the JETS, one of the most disfunction teams since Parcells left. Even then Parcells struggled to make the playoffs. You keep comparing situations in a vacuum which is disingenuous.

Bowles admitted he never calls plays on offense, so the crappy offense is not on him. He said he was unprepared to be a HC with the Jets. He said he learned what not to do. Do you think he's just lying? He decided what the problems were last year on offense and fired most of those coaches. He hired someone with a more modern running offense. I think that shows he's adapting and trying to fix that side of the ball. You, however, think our failure last year is all on him. The rest of us doesn't.

So fine, you can say Baker is not a better QB than those others listed above, but until we see this new scheme with him or Trask behind center, we can't assume they will be bad. Maybe watch some preseason games before you assume we will be mediocre at best.

So how does the ST coach still have a job? Our return game has been abysmal, also punt/kick coverage hasn't exactly been great either.

[mdb1958]

@MJW The fact the Jets had only 1 winning season in the last 11 and that was Bowles. He had Fitzmagic 59-87-1 (.401), Josh McCown 23-53-0 (.342), and Sam Darnold 21-34-0 (.381). He had the JETS, one of the most disfunction teams since Parcells left. Even then Parcells struggled to make the playoffs. You keep comparing situations in a vacuum which is disingenuous.

Bowles admitted he never calls plays on offense, so the crappy offense is not on him. He said he was unprepared to be a HC with the Jets. He said he learned what not to do. Do you think he's just lying? He decided what the problems were last year on offense and fired most of those coaches. He hired someone with a more modern running offense. I think that shows he's adapting and trying to fix that side of the ball. You, however, think our failure last year is all on him. The rest of us doesn't.

So fine, you can say Baker is not a better QB than those others listed above, but until we see this new scheme with him or Trask behind center, we can't assume they will be bad. Maybe watch some preseason games before you assume we will be mediocre at best.

So how does the ST coach still have a job? Our return game has been abysmal, also punt/kick coverage hasn't exactly been great either.

Well in fairness, some MB named his high school Fairless High School..

[_MB_]

So how does the ST coach still have a job? Our return game has been abysmal, also punt/kick coverage hasn't exactly been great either.

Well in fairness, some MB named his high school Fairless High School..

Probably renamed from the Jefferson Davis high some mdb gave it

[kaimaru]

@MJW The fact the Jets had only 1 winning season in the last 11 and that was Bowles. He had Fitzmagic 59-87-1 (.401), Josh McCown 23-53-0 (.342), and Sam Darnold 21-34-0 (.381). He had the JETS, one of the most disfunction teams since Parcells left. Even then Parcells struggled to make the playoffs. You keep comparing situations in a vacuum which is disingenuous.

Bowles admitted he never calls plays on offense, so the crappy offense is not on him. He said he was unprepared to be a HC with the Jets. He said he learned what not to do. Do you think he's just lying? He decided what the problems were last year on offense and fired most of those coaches. He hired someone with a more modern running offense. I think that shows he's adapting and trying to fix that side of the ball. You, however, think our failure last year is all on him. The rest of us doesn't.

So fine, you can say Baker is not a better QB than those others listed above, but until we see this new scheme with him or Trask behind center, we can't assume they will be bad. Maybe watch some preseason games before you assume we will be mediocre at best.

So how does the ST coach still have a job? Our return game has been abysmal, also punt/kick coverage hasn't exactly been great either.

The Bucs were #10 in punt returns last year. We are replacing our substandard kicker. We were #5 in average punt yards. Maybe he felt our kick returner and kicker were the problems and not the coach

[Jonny]

@MJW The fact the Jets had only 1 winning season in the last 11 and that was Bowles. He had Fitzmagic 59-87-1 (.401), Josh McCown 23-53-0 (.342), and Sam Darnold 21-34-0 (.381). He had the JETS, one of the most disfunction teams since Parcells left. Even then Parcells struggled to make the playoffs. You keep comparing situations in a vacuum which is disingenuous.

Bowles admitted he never calls plays on offense, so the crappy offense is not on him. He said he was unprepared to be a HC with the Jets. He said he learned what not to do. Do you think he's just lying? He decided what the problems were last year on offense and fired most of those coaches. He hired someone with a more modern running offense. I think that shows he's adapting and trying to fix that side of the ball. You, however, think our failure last year is all on him. The rest of us doesn't.

So fine, you can say Baker is not a better QB than those others listed above, but until we see this new scheme with him or Trask behind center, we can't assume they will be bad. Maybe watch some preseason games before you assume we will be mediocre at best.

You make some good points. But it is not uncommon for bad head coaches to have a semi-decent season on a bad team, especially when there is little to no pressure to deliver. A good example is Raheem's 10 win season in 2010.

The fact that Bowles is a good DC makes him at the very least an average head coach. But I have not seen anything more than average yet and maybe it is because he's never had a real chance. That is why I'm very happy Licht drafted a bunch of impactful athletes at key positions on defense for Bowles. We all knew post-Brady Bucs were going to be a return to gloom and doom. But if the defense gets back to playing like in 2019, I have no issues with Glazers giving Bowles all of the seasons on his contract to prove himself.

[Doctor]

Anyways, being a defensive coordinator is totally different than being a head coach. How many times do you need to hear this?

The fact folks are talking about Todd Bowles, DC, to defend Todd Bowles, HC, pretty much ends the argument. Dude is a lousy head coach. He's had 5+ years to prove it. Lots of better coaches than him haven't gotten half that long.

Then how do you know they're better?

[Phantom]

Carlton Davis put the entire NFL on notice.

Carlton Davis: Bucs Will 'Wreck S--t' Without Tom Brady; NFL in for 'Rude Awakening

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis has a message for anyone who is overlooking his team after Tom Brady's retirement.

"We're about to do it to 'em," Davis said, per Tyler Dunne of Go Long (h/t Shanna McCarriston of CBS Sports). "Anybody who feels we've lost Tom—and lost something—is going to be in for a rude awakening. A rude awakening. Tom was a great addition for us, but obviously it's a team sport. Obviously, you need components to be successful. We still have those components. And I'm only getting better."

The defense will be a major part of Tampa Bay's effort to win a third straight NFC South crown, and the cornerback is not lacking confidence in his unit.

We're going to wreck s--t. Like, wreck s--t. Interceptions. Turnovers," Davis said. "Plays will be made. I will say. Plays. Will. Be. Made."

One thing working in Tampa Bay's favor is the NFC South.

It won the division last season with an 8-9 record as the only team without double-digit losses. Davis believes the level of competition will be even lower in 2023.

And our f--king division is worse than what it was before," he said. "So, we run through the division. Get to the playoffs. Run through the playoffs and it's the Super Bowl."

Despite his bravado, that might not necessarily be the case. The New Orleans Saints landed four-time Pro Bowler Derek Carr as their new quarterback, the Atlanta Falcons added dynamic rookie Bijan Robinson to an offense that already had young playmakers in Kyle Pitts and Drake London, and the Carolina Panthers have their new franchise quarterback in Bryce Young.

Those are all major additions that could lead to more wins, while Tampa Bay will be dealing with the loss of the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

All he did in three seasons with the Buccaneers was win the Super Bowl his first year and then the division his second and third years all while playing well into his 40s. Baker Mayfield has quite the shoes to fill and will likely be the difference between a successful season and a disappointing one.

Welp we’re out of Caleb Williams sweepstakes.. I kid I kid

[Snake]

Surprise offseason standouts for 32 NFL teams: Players to watch

LB SirVocea Dennis

A rookie fifth-round pick known more for his pass-rushing ability than his coverage skills at Pitt, Dennis had two pick-sixes in offseason practices -- one in rookie camp, then one off Kyle Trask in minicamp. He's battling with K.J. Britt for the third inside linebacker job behind Devin White and Lavonte David. For a defense that has struggled to get interceptions, it certainly got my attention.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/378 ... every-team



He couldn't be worse in coverage than Devin White, that's for sure.

[Phantom]

July 12th

[13F11B]

July 12th

Is LeRoys becoming Barbers?

[Grahamburn]

I think it means they're revealing the creamsicles...

[MJW]

The fact folks are talking about Todd Bowles, DC, to defend Todd Bowles, HC, pretty much ends the argument. Dude is a lousy head coach. He's had 5+ years to prove it. Lots of better coaches than him haven't gotten half that long.

Then how do you know they're better?

We could go by winning percentage or common sense. But I'm not sure you can handle math, and I already know you don't have any common sense.

[MJW]

I'm sorry Kaimaru, I respect you but this was a horrible post and I need to destroy it.

@MJW The fact the Jets had only 1 winning season in the last 11 and that was Bowles. He had Fitzmagic 59-87-1 (.401), Josh McCown 23-53-0 (.342), and Sam Darnold 21-34-0 (.381). He had the JETS, one of the most disfunction teams since Parcells left. Even then Parcells struggled to make the playoffs. You keep comparing situations in a vacuum which is disingenuous.

Translation: There should have been no expectation he elevate his team or situation, or be the HEAD COACH of the team, responsible for the growth and success of the most important player on his roster.

Bowles admitted he never calls plays on offense, so the crappy offense is not on him.

Seriously, fuck this. Fuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhk this. He's the head coach. The buck stops with him. He's not the fucking defensive coordinator. That's the point. He's the head coach.

He said he was unprepared to be a HC with the Jets. He said he learned what not to do. Do you think he's just lying?

Yes, I think he's lying. You know why? Because he's making all the same fucking mistakes here he did with the Jets. The team looks sloppy and unprepared. It plays down to it's competition. The offense looks dysfunctional. So on and so forth. So he's lying or he's an idiot who didn't actually learn anything.

He decided what the problems were last year on offense and fired most of those coaches. He hired someone with a more modern running offense. I think that shows he's adapting and trying to fix that side of the ball. You, however, think our failure last year is all on him. The rest of us doesn't.

You know what's bizarre? I'm pretty sure this is his 6th or so OC as a head coach. Hopefully, some day, science can figure out what's going on here. Why none of his teams ever manage to play complimentary football. Why every offseason the NY Papers could re-run the same, "This OC will finally let Bowles shine" stories after literally every season he coached. Every. Season. We may, eventually, ride Occam's Razor to one of two conclusions - His GMs just kept hiring horrible OC after horrible OC, time and time again...OR...

Also, again, he's the head fucking coach. He's not a member of the group. He's not one of the coaches. He's not the defensive coordinator. If he wants a pass for the offense, he should go back to doing that.

So fine, you can say Baker is not a better QB than those others listed above, but until we see this new scheme with him or Trask behind center, we can't assume they will be bad. Maybe watch some preseason games before you assume we will be mediocre at best.

Just 14 or 15 more opportunities, and we'll know for sure that Baker sucks!

EDIT - Gotta mention this. This argument basically boils down to this:

Me: Bowles is a great DC, but he's a shitty head coach and there are lots of receipts.
Bowles Defender: This is bullshit! How can you say that? His defenses when he's the head coach are great!

That's not an argument against what I'm saying, my dudes. That's proving it. And then going to some version of 'Nothing else about the team failing is really his fault' as the comeback is super-duper proving it.

[MJW]

Fun Fact: Baker Mayfield's best season was worse than Gardner Minshew's rookie season.

If this fucking guy wasn't the #1 overall pick, he'd be doing the Chase Daniel backup world tour by now, with absolutely no expectation he do anything.

[Al Bundy]

I have avoided this thread here. Bring on the 12th so I can see the creamsicles. BTW I believe Bowles will be better without Leftwich as the OC.

[Phantom]

[Phantom]

Evans!

[Cheb]

Evans!

Now that is an interesting comparison. And Mike ain't even 30 yet.

[mdb1958]

Evans!

Now that is an interesting comparison. And Mike ain't even 30 yet.

[mdb1958]

First 9 years? Now Mike just has to accept the pay rate to last 8 more years and put up 7,000 plus yards while hopefully still being a Buc.

[mdb1958]

Fitz had five winning record seasons - Mike so far has had three.

For perspective: Kelce's entire career has been a winning record.

[Grahamburn]

On pace with Larry. He’s got a ways to go.

[mdb1958]

On pace with Larry. He’s got a ways to go.

Maybe we should pack 20/30 lbs on Mike and make him a TE.