Rapid Reactions: Bucs Lose to the Colts 27-20

[13F11B]

What I see is a coach who has put together good defenses repeatedly, particularly one that picks off great QBs in big moments. The best at finding and developing DBs. One that actually has the very kind of blitz packages you want in today's NFL. But most importantly, I see a guy who still very much has the locker room. A guy who still has his players fully bought in, who come out saying "yeah, we saw the film, we saw the mistakes. The plays are there to be made, we just got to make them, it'll come". That Palmer drop changes things. That Winfield drop changes things. Those "almost" sacks change things. Those missed Baker reads change things. They know that and still believe THEY can be the change. That when they do make those plays they control their own destiny.

That kind of locker room culture is worth gold. On the other side, I appreciate his belief and handling of Canales and the offense. He isn't making any rash overrules because things aren't going well right away. He is letting Canales do this thing, and he's another coach who has players (and this fan) bought into what he's selling. We just got to get there. And yes, that maybe with be Nix or Penix or someone else.

If this was Bowles first ride at the rodeo I would agree with you. I am giving Canales that benefit of the doubt. However, Bowles has a bad record with the Jets as well. That record with the Jets was bad. I see roughly the same results. Sure, his players love the guy. I think he is a genuinely nice guy, but I do not think he is a good NFL head coach.

[Doctor]

Again, I don't care about the Jets. The biggest issue on the Jets was the OC/QB couldn't get worked out. Give McDermott Bradford and Bowles Allen and tell me everything plays out the same. We see even the GOAT BB drowning in the quicksand that is unresolved OC/QB issues.

We're working on two assumptions here. 1) Canales is the right OC for the job and 2) We will find the answer at QB here soon.

The funny thing is that EVERYONE is counting on assumption 2 no matter what your stance on anyone else is.

[Backside]

Oh my god, delusional as hell.

[Grahamburn]

We have the next to last passing defense in the NFL! We make bad offenses look adequate, adequate offenses look incredible, and good offenses look unstoppable.

Whose fault is that?!

[Phantom]

Stay away from drugs, please.

[Snake]

Again, I don't care about the Jets. The biggest issue on the Jets was the OC/QB couldn't get worked out. Give McDermott Bradford and Bowles Allen and tell me everything plays out the same. We see even the GOAT BB drowning in the quicksand that is unresolved OC/QB issues.

We're working on two assumptions here. 1) Canales is the right OC for the job and 2) We will find the answer at QB here soon.

The funny thing is that EVERYONE is counting on assumption 2 no matter what your stance on anyone else is.

How about the fact that Bowles’ defenses while being a HC have been generally mediocre to bad? Best points allowed ranking being 9th, in 2015?

2015: 9th
2016: 28th
2017: 22nd
2018: 29th
2022: 13th

[Jonny]

We have the next to last passing defense in the NFL! We make bad offenses look adequate, adequate offenses look incredible, and good offenses look unstoppable.

Whose fault is that?!

Somebody is worse than us? I wonder if they have two of the highest paid CBs.

[Backside]

You're not wrong. Fair enough. Do you want Bowles to be part of that plan?

I do not subscribe to "anyone but" dogma. If you can show you an actual genuine alternative I'll weigh it, but I think there are A LOT of options out there that would make the next few years a whole lot worse and a more than not likely chance we land one. Meanwhile, I don't let one play from a game 2 years ago overrule my judgment of what I see in front of us now.

What I see is a coach who has put together good defenses repeatedly, particularly one that picks off great QBs in big moments. The best at finding and developing DBs. One that actually has the very kind of blitz packages you want in today's NFL. But most importantly, I see a guy who still very much has the locker room. A guy who still has his players fully bought in, who come out saying "yeah, we saw the film, we saw the mistakes. The plays are there to be made, we just got to make them, it'll come". That Palmer drop changes things. That Winfield drop changes things. Those "almost" sacks change things. Those missed Baker reads change things. They know that and still believe THEY can be the change. That when they do make those plays they control their own destiny.

That kind of locker room culture is worth gold. On the other side, I appreciate his belief and handling of Canales and the offense. He isn't making any rash overrules because things aren't going well right away. He is letting Canales do this thing, and he's another coach who has players (and this fan) bought into what he's selling. We just got to get there. And yes, that maybe with be Nix or Penix or someone else.

The homerism on display here should be studied in a lab. Todd Bowles’ mother couldn’t come up with this kind of spin.

The calling cards for this coach are a defense that has blown games constantly and a locker room culture that has lost six of seven games. And that culture is worth gold! It actually went from being annoying to hilarious just like that.

Utterly insane delusion.

[Buccabeer]

Here's the simple truth, Baker cannot Win Football games unless the other Team hands it to the Bucs or somehow the Bowles led Defense gives up less than 17 points. Sitting here today, I have no idea if Trask can do the Same, Better, or Worse. At 4-7 you figure out that conundrum because Teams are not going to hand us the game and Bowles Defense sucks!

[Doctor]

I'm sorry, it's only a good culture if we're winning? That's stupid.

[mdb1958]

Has anyone pretended they can hire a coach yet?

[Grahamburn]

We have the next to last passing defense in the NFL! We make bad offenses look adequate, adequate offenses look incredible, and good offenses look unstoppable.

Whose fault is that?!

Somebody is worse than us? I wonder if they have two of the highest paid CBs.

Washington.

[Jonny]

I'm sorry, it's only a good culture if we're winning? That's stupid.

The only culture that matters is the culture of winning. The culture you seem to overvalue suggests that this team isn't a complete trainwreck. For the ultra low standards you have, that may be good enough. Not for most of us.

[Backside]

I refuse to argue. It’s objectively hilarious to say that Todd Bowles fosters a locker room culture that is ‘gold’ as a head coach.

[Bootz]

I'm sorry, it's only a good culture if we're winning? That's stupid.

Ummm explain please.

[Al Bundy]

Absolutely right. Which is why you fire lame duck personnel, and people who are no longer incentivized to do things that are good for the organization. And I’m not even referring to the act of winning, I’m referring to setting up the next 5 to 7 years of a competitive cycle. The wins in 2023 don’t mean shit.

There was absolutely zero meat on the bone with Baker Mayfield. Signing Baker Mayfield was a fucking joke. Not playing Kyle Trask at this point is a fucking joke. If you’re in higher leadership, you make Jason tell you why Kyle Trask is not getting playing time because we know Baker Mayfield is average at the absolute best. Trask has been developed for multiple years. It makes no fucking sense.

We aren’t playing for 2023. Everyone in a position of power is fighting for their life when it literally doesn’t matter what happens in 2023. And if ownership doesn’t understand that, we have way bigger problems. And you better pray that somebody like Tom Brady miraculously shows up again. Because you’re fighting something that’s rotting for the head down at that point.

Agree. There is absolutely no upside to not firing Bowles now. He's going to continue to coach safe, to save his hide instead of helping this franchise long term. Trask should be starting. Baker has proved himself to be backup worthy, slightly worse than Minshew, but a good backup nevertheless.

Good luck telling Mike Evans, Tristan Wirfs and all of the other players worth keeping that Trashk will help them win. Now when they are mathematically eliminated you might be able to pull that.

[Al Bundy]

You're not wrong. Fair enough. Do you want Bowles to be part of that plan?

I do not subscribe to "anyone but" dogma. If you can show you an actual genuine alternative I'll weigh it, but I think there are A LOT of options out there that would make the next few years a whole lot worse and a more than not likely chance we land one. Meanwhile, I don't let one play from a game 2 years ago overrule my judgment of what I see in front of us now.

What I see is a coach who has put together good defenses repeatedly, particularly one that picks off great QBs in big moments. The best at finding and developing DBs. One that actually has the very kind of blitz packages you want in today's NFL. But most importantly, I see a guy who still very much has the locker room. A guy who still has his players fully bought in, who come out saying "yeah, we saw the film, we saw the mistakes. The plays are there to be made, we just got to make them, it'll come". That Palmer drop changes things. That Winfield drop changes things. Those "almost" sacks change things. Those missed Baker reads change things. They know that and still believe THEY can be the change. That when they do make those plays they control their own destiny.

That kind of locker room culture is worth gold. On the other side, I appreciate his belief and handling of Canales and the offense. He isn't making any rash overrules because things aren't going well right away. He is letting Canales do this thing, and he's another coach who has players (and this fan) bought into what he's selling. We just got to get there. And yes, that maybe with be Nix or Penix or someone else.

Bowles defense right now is one of the worst defenses in the league.

[Kress]

I'm sorry, it's only a good culture if we're winning? That's stupid.

Ummm explain please.

Simple misunderstanding. He doesn't understand that the correlation works the other way..

[Snake]

A team like the Steelers. Supposedly the best culture in the NFL. Tomlin has never had a losing season. I tend to think teams with fantastic “culture”* are better insulated from bottoming out. It’s kind of a singular example though.

* and it begs the question of what that actually means. What are the elements that compose a winning team in the NFL? Talent, coaching/schematics/gameplanning, and effort.

The Steelers just fired their offensive coordinator…but they’re 7-4.

Is that due to coaching, or effort, or talent?

[Nobody]

We suck.

This is all very surprising.

[Doctor]

Tough time happen. Rough patches happen. How your team responds to that is a huge part of a winning culture. The idea that you "just don't have any losses" is what the culture is is just dumb. Not being able to handle losses is what made teams like the Cam Panthers a flash. How many years did we prematurely say the Pats run is over because of early season losses?

Does anyone honestly think that if this was say Year 3 Baker/Canales we don't swing 3 of these close losses? Maybe not even Baker.

We've seen this storyline play out before. See Pete Carroll, two losing seasons and haters continuing to point to his NE/NYJ HC years as "all the proof they need". But he wasn't in NE or NY, he was in Seattle. His locker room bought in, he set up his pieces, and his second year OC Darrell Bevell gets his QB without a tank, and we saw what happened.

As long as the locker room is in and you believe you picked the right OC, you let it ride.

[Snake]

Seahawks went 9-8 last season and got BTFO in the first round by a legit team (49ers).

They’re 6-5 currently, and if they somehow manage to make the playoffs, they will suffer the same fate.

Geno Smith is who he always has been. (@Bootz saw this coming before anyone btw). 12 passing touchdowns and 8 INTs.

They aren’t gonna win a Super Bowl anytime soon with this arrangement. Congratulations to Pete Carroll for not having to be absolutely awful. But until they find another great quarterback, this is their fate. Not true contention.

You have to be so freaking good everywhere if you don’t have a top 10 QB. Look at the 49ers. They’re so good everywhere. And it’s going to depend on Brock Purdy, making a giant leap in the playoffs, for them to win a Super Bowl.

[Doctor]

Gee, the ever-brave "they ain't winning it all" statement. How do you sleep living so close to the edge?

I was actually talking about Pete Carroll's arrival in Seattle. Two 7-9 seasons, but good culture that just needed that right QB. Enter Russell Wilson.

[Snake]

Gee, the ever-brave "they ain't winning it all" statement. How do you sleep living so close to the edge?

I was actually talking about Pete Carroll's arrival in Seattle. Two 7-9 seasons, but good culture that just needed that right QB. Enter Russell Wilson.

It’s not even about winning at all. It’s about being a legitimate contender. 44% of the leagues teams make the playoffs now every season. Making the playoffs is not that big of an accomplishment. How many of those 14 teams are legitimate contenders, five?

[Navybuc]

I think Doctor needs a Doctor himself. Starting to wonder if he or she is Todd Bowles’ wife or something. There’s no defending the product we’ve seen the last two years. Dude is simply a bad head coach. End of story. We need to rebuild this thing and that starts with new management.

[Snake]

The league has changed so much. Quarterback play is amplified to a ridiculous degree. If you’re not great at that position, you’re in trouble.

“When the machine breaks down, we break down.”

[Xandtar]

Things could be worse, you know.

We DID beat the Saints. We had a few moments this season when we were winners, not losers.

We're losers now.

But at least we're out of cap hell at the end of this season of woe.

Then it's all up to the owners. No one knows what they'll do.

In the meantime, there's a game next week and I hope the Bucs win it.

[BuccaNOLEer]

Meh.

It was a show up game for Dennis. He had some good plays and he got plenty picked on in others. White can walk this offseason. A few critical drops on both sides of the ball. Some guys are really coming along and you love to see it, others less so. Don't get what the deal is with this Baker-Godwin connection only working half the time. That needs to get resolved.

Bowles once again sets up his QB and new OC with an opportunity for a walk-off win.
They once again come up short.
Trask whispers are about to get real loud.

Mayfield was playing on an injured ankle. Imagine that. Bowles/Canales thought an injured Mayfield was better than Trask. The fact that they won't give Trask a shot speaks volumes. Either he really is not that good, or they are both fucking idiots. Either way, someone is getting a pink slip come the end of the season.

[13F11B]

But at least we're out of cap hell at the end of this season of woe.

The teams with the most dead cap for 2023

• Rams - 79,960,976 - 5-6
• Buccaneers - 79,176,854 - 4-7
• Packers - 66,810,576 - 5-6
• Eagles - 62,067,171 - 10-1

So, the Buccaneers are the team with the worse record of that group. Sure, only 1 game difference. The Rams and Packers have both gotten better over the course of the season. The Buccaneers... well, not so much. I understand the not having a good team due to cap issues. I also understand that young guys should be getting better. I can excuse the issues on offense as little money is there and the OC is new. On defense, supposedly Bowles strength, I am seeing the same poor play from the last two years coupled with a decline in play.

[Doctor]

The league has changed so much. Quarterback play is amplified to a ridiculous degree. If you’re not great at that position, you’re in trouble.

“When the machine breaks down, we break down.”

We've been hearing this for 30 years.

[MRM]

Davis had a good game after I was ready to package him in some kind of trade at season's end.

More critical penalties at the worst times. That's coaching.

[Grahamburn]

Davis had a good game after I was ready to package him in some kind of trade at season's end.

More critical penalties at the worst times. That's coaching.

I remember a bad holding call that killed a drive. If not for that flag and Palmer's drop we win that game. Not defending Bowles...

[Navybuc]

Meh.

It was a show up game for Dennis. He had some good plays and he got plenty picked on in others. White can walk this offseason. A few critical drops on both sides of the ball. Some guys are really coming along and you love to see it, others less so. Don't get what the deal is with this Baker-Godwin connection only working half the time. That needs to get resolved.

Bowles once again sets up his QB and new OC with an opportunity for a walk-off win.
They once again come up short.
Trask whispers are about to get real loud.

Mayfield was playing on an injured ankle. Imagine that. Bowles/Canales thought an injured Mayfield was better than Trask. The fact that they won't give Trask a shot speaks volumes. Either he really is not that good, or they are both fucking idiots. Either way, someone is getting a pink slip come the end of the season.

You have to remember that Baker is Bowles' guy. The minute they signed him and he started gloating over him you knew Trask had no chance to ever play. Bowles is going to start him even if Tom Brady said he wanted to come back and play. (In which case the Glazers would fire Bowles for refusing to start Brady.) But that's where this is headed. Bowles knows the ship is sinking, but he is going to go down starting his guy come hell or high water. As for Licht, I'm sure he wants Trask to start but he probably knows he sucks and saves face because he can simply say at the end of the year, "Baker was Bowles' guy", not mine.

[BuccaNOLEer]

Mayfield was playing on an injured ankle. Imagine that. Bowles/Canales thought an injured Mayfield was better than Trask. The fact that they won't give Trask a shot speaks volumes. Either he really is not that good, or they are both fucking idiots. Either way, someone is getting a pink slip come the end of the season.

You have to remember that Baker is Bowles' guy. The minute they signed him and he started gloating over him you knew Trask had no chance to ever play. Bowles is going to start him even if Tom Brady said he wanted to come back and play. (In which case the Glazers would fire Bowles for refusing to start Brady.) But that's where this is headed. Bowles knows the ship is sinking, but he is going to go down starting his guy come hell or high water. As for Licht, I'm sure he wants Trask to start but he probably knows he sucks and saves face because he can simply say at the end of the year, "Baker was Bowles' guy", not mine.

Maybe it's time to get rid of Bowles then. Panthers just got rid of Reich. We should be doing the same. And whoever the interim head coach is should give Trask a shot so the front office can clearly see what he is made of.

[Navybuc]

You have to remember that Baker is Bowles' guy. The minute they signed him and he started gloating over him you knew Trask had no chance to ever play. Bowles is going to start him even if Tom Brady said he wanted to come back and play. (In which case the Glazers would fire Bowles for refusing to start Brady.) But that's where this is headed. Bowles knows the ship is sinking, but he is going to go down starting his guy come hell or high water. As for Licht, I'm sure he wants Trask to start but he probably knows he sucks and saves face because he can simply say at the end of the year, "Baker was Bowles' guy", not mine.

Maybe it's time to get rid of Bowles then. Panthers just got rid of Reich. We should be doing the same. And whoever the interim head coach is should give Trask a shot so the front office can clearly see what he is made of.

If we lose to a 1-10 Panthers this week at home, you may very well see that.