“To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man!” – Wrestling legend Ric Flair “The Nature Boy”

INTRO: I’ve covered the Bucs since 1995 and I’ve had some pretty cool experiences in my nearly three decades working for Pewter Report (formerly known as Buccaneer Magazine). I’ve covered some Hall of Fame legends, including Ronde Barber, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Lee Roy Selmon. I’ve covered some legendary Tampa Bay coaches in Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, Bruce Arians and Monte Kiffin. I’ve covered other Bucs legends like Mike Alstott, Hardy Nickerson, Simeon Rice and a pair of future Hall of Famers in Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

I’ve also met plenty of other famous people along the way, including NFL Hall of Famers, such as John Riggins, the late Reggie White, Dan Marino, Brett Favre and others. And I’ve met my share of celebrities too – including Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, Jon Bon Jovi and ESPN’s Chris Berman to name a few.

Ric Flair and Scott Reynolds – Photo by: Ashley Reynolds

I don’t get star struck too easily, but this summer I had the chance to meet wrestling legend and Tampa resident Ric Flair, “The Nature Boy,” whom I grew up watching as a kid. I saw Flair at downtown restaurant and knew I had to approach him for a picture, and he happily obliged my request. Flair is an NFL fan, who has done his famous “Woooooooooo!” rally before some Bucs, 49ers and Panthers games (he’s a Charlotte native).

So as I was writing this SR’s Fab 5 column, which revolves around Tampa Bay’s desire to (finally) beat the two top teams in the NFC this year – Detroit and San Francisco, I decided to include a video montage of Flair uttering his famous “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man!” line to kick things off.

Because if the Bucs want to make it back to another Super Bowl they’ll have to beat the Lions and 49ers to do it. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Tampa Bay Has Week 2 At Detroit Circled On The Schedule

I’ve talked to a lot of Bucs players since the schedule came out and the one game that they all have circled is the Lions game in Week 2 in Detroit.

The reason is obvious. Not only did the Lions beat the Bucs twice last year, Tampa Bay suffered a defeat in Detroit in the final game of its season – a 31-23 loss in the NFC Divisional playoffs. The taste of that defeat still lingers in the mouths of the Buccaneers and hasn’t gone away.

Lions LB Derrick Barnes and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“Detroit is a great team – all the people on that team are great guys, but it does linger,” Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby said. “I can’t wait.”

Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum agrees wholeheartedly with Diaby. Both Tampa Bay defenders talked about how eager they are to play Detroit while appearing on the Pewter Report Podcast over the summer.

“The Detroit Lions game in Week 2 is one that I definitely circled just because of what happened last year and the fact that it’s so early we’re able to get that taste out of our mouths quickly,” McCollum said. “So that’s motivation to be ready and be in season-form early on. We can’t wait.”

The good news for the Bucs is that their revenge game against the Lions comes early in the season and there won’t be much of a wait as it’s Tampa Bay’s first road trip. After a 9-8 season in which Detroit just missed the playoffs in 2022, the Lions had a breakout year in 2023 with a 12-5 record and winning the NFC North division for the first time in franchise history.

Coming off a 9-8 season last year, the Bucs hope to follow in the Lions’ footsteps in 2024 and get to double-digit wins and perhaps host the NFC Divisional playoffs this season – not just a Wild Card game. The Week 2 matchup with Detroit will serve as a good measuring stick for both teams.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

“Obviously, it’s a really good test for us,” Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “But, every season is different. Even when you look at last year, we squeaked into the playoffs and anything can happen after that. It’s still a one-game-at-a-time mentality once you get to the year, but you know when you play those teams that are constantly good that you’ve got to be ready for that competition. Like I said, that Lions test early on is going to be good for us to see how quickly we’re starting how quickly our guys are learning this offense and are ready to adjust on the fly.”

While Tampa Bay’s defense will have another shot at trying to stop – or at least slow down – Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, the offense will still be getting used to Liam Coen’s new scheme and his play-calling. Week 2 will prove to be a real early season test for Mayfield and Co. versus a stellar Lions defense.

“Yeah, the Lions is a big game obviously for us,” Bucs running back Rachaad White said. “Coming off the NFC Championship Game, having a chance to go win it all – obviously beating us twice last year, that was huge. The crushing loss that we had – you don’t forget them teams or them games. Obviously, it’s early in the year, so t’s good to see where you’re at.”

Bucs pass rusher Markees Watts was inactive for the final three games of the season last year, including the playoff loss to the Lions. He’s eager to not only make the 53-man roster, but be an active contributor in every game in the 2024 season.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

“That is a circled game for us, I know it’s a circled game for me as well,” Watts said. “That was a painful game to watch because the game isn’t going the way you want it to. It’s the second round of the playoffs and we lost to them one time already and watching that second game and not being out there and really feeling like I helped – I wanted to help. I knew I could do something – in some way I wanted to help.

“So it was one of those games that hurt to watch, and one of those games that motivated me too, because if I get the chance I’m going to show you. I’m going to show you that if you put me out there I can provide help and change things. That was one of those games that was hard to watch. It’s circled for me as well because I didn’t like to go out the way we went.”

With the Bucs seeking revenge against the Lions in Week 2, the key for Bowles will be make sure his team is focused on the season-opening opponent – the Commanders – first, and not overlooking Washington.

FAB 2. Bucs Can’t Wait To Play The 49ers, Too

As much as Tampa Bay is looking forward to getting some early season revenge against Detroit, the players are also tired of getting beaten like a drum by San Francisco, too. After losing at San Fran, 35-7 in 2022 and 27-14 last year, the Bucs are excited to play the 49ers on their own turf at Raymond James Stadium in Week 10.

Bucs RG Cody Mauch and RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

“Of course, I’d say the 49ers game,” Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum said on a recent appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast. “I’m tired of San Francisco beating us. Since I’ve gotten in the league we have not beat them yet. So it’s our third year in a row playing them. We’ve been away the first two, and we finally get them at home.

“I’m just sick and tired of losing to the 49ers, and I know all the coaching staff (is too). I know there’s one person that is and it’s Coach [Todd] Bowles. I’m sure he’s already game-planning them – and that’s months in advance. So I’d say the 49ers is the team that I’m really going to be trying to go after for sure this year.”

As much of a challenge as the Lions present with quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, tight end Sam LaPorta and running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, the 49ers offense is even more explosive. Brock Purdy has gotten the best of the Bucs and he has an even more diverse arsenal of weapons at his disposal. All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey has been an all-purpose problem for the Bucs dating back to his days in Carolina. George Kittle is still one of the top tight ends in the league and Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are two of the NFL’s top playmaking wide receivers.

“I would say it’s definitely more difficult,” Bucs safety Antoine Winfield said. “It’s hard to double[-cover] everybody. You can’t double everybody when you’ve got four guys. It’s tough, but that’s just part of the game.

Former Bucs ILB Devin White and 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey – Photo by: USA Today

“They’re a good team – good offense. They’ve got weapons everywhere. They put their guys in good positions to make plays.”

Although the Bucs have to wait until November to test the 49ers again, the team needs to be on top of its game from the start.

“We have to be ready in the beginning of the season,” McCollum said. “You cannot wait. They say you get to the playoffs in November. We have to be ready in August because a lot of these big games – and in order to get a lot of the respect that everybody covets, it’s winning the division but it’s also finding ways to beat the top talent in the AFC and in the NFC that is out of our division.

“Having the Ravens, Chiefs, 49ers and Falcons all within a four-game span, I mean you have to be able to go 3-1 in stretches like that in order to prove to yourselves that you can be successful in the playoffs.”

FAB 3. Todd Bowles – The Defensive Mastermind – Must Show Up vs. Lions, 49ers

As successful as Tony Dungy was in turning the franchise around in the late 1990s and transforming the Yuccaneers into the Buccaneers, he was fired after losing back-to-back playoff games in Philadelphia during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. During that span, Dungy and the Bucs were 0-3 against the Eagles, who were among the top teams in the NFC at the time.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and Lions QB Jared Goff – Photo by: USA Today

Dungy’s inability to beat the Eagles cost him his job, and it’s worth noting that Todd Bowles is currently 0-2 versus San Francisco over the last two seasons and 0-2 against Detroit. The 49ers and Lions are currently the teams to beat in the NFC as both played each other in the NFC Championship Game with San Francisco prevailing. Tampa Bay will seek revenge as its host San Francisco this year and then travels to Detroit for an eagerly awaited rematch in Week 2.

Bowles saved his job last year by showing improvement in the team’s record from an 8-9 season in 2022 to a 9-8 finish last year while winning back-to-back NFC South titles. He also proved to the Glazers and general manager Jason Licht that he could win in the postseason, dialing up a defensive masterpiece to demolish the Eagles, 32-9, in a home Wild Card playoff win. In Bowles’ first year as head coach the Bucs lost to the Cowboys at home in the Wild Card game, 31-14.

But now it’s time for Bowles to take the next step. That means improving the team’s record by posting double-digit wins this year and making the playoffs again either as division champs or at least as a Wild Card team.

And it also means showing ownership that he can beat the Lions or the 49ers – ideally both.

Bowles has yet to solve puzzles that are Brock Purdy and Jared Goff.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

Bowles needs to devise some game plans similar to how his Bucs defense shut down Patrick Mahomes and the high-powered Chiefs offense in Super Bowl LV and neutralized Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense in last year’s Wild Card win. Bowles has been labeled a defensive mastermind and a defensive genius and it’s time for him to once again earn those labels with a command performance against the toughest teams in the NFC.

“That’s how it was when we played the Eagles,” Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby said. “He just went in his bag, as we would say. He went in his bag and dialed some really good stuff up, and it was so awesome.”

Bowles has been recovering from knee replacement surgery in June and his rehab has limited him from doing much traveling this summer during his time off. As a result, Bowles has had some additional time to think about the Lions and the 49ers, and that should benefit both he and the defense when the season starts.

Diaby and the rest of his teammates are ready for some revenge. The hope is that Bowles will switch things up and be more effective with his schemes and play-calling to change the outcome against the Lions and 49ers games this year.

In two games against the Bucs, Purdy has completed 80.4% of his passes for 518 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions while the 49ers have averaged 31.5 points in two wins over Tampa Bay. Purdy wasn’t sacked in the first game, a 35-7 win in 2022 in his first NFL start, and also rushed for a touchdown in that game, but the Bucs sacked him four times last year. Yet Purdy completed 84% of his passes in a 27-14 victory over the Bucs.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan – Photo by: USA Today

“He’s a good quarterback, he’s a good football player, he’s a smart football player,” Bowles said of Purdy. “[49ers head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] plays smart football players. He takes care of the ball, he knows where to go with the football and he can use his feet when he needs to. Other than the other weapons they have, that’s a challenge in itself with him using his feet as well.”

The Lions swept the Bucs last year with Goff completing 69% of his passes for 640 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Detroit averaged 26 points per game against Tampa Bay. Goff had nearly identical games against Bowles’ defense, completing 30-of-44 passes for 353 yards and two TDs and no interceptions in a 20-6 win in the regular season. In the 31-23 playoff win, Goff completed 30-of-43 passes for 287 yards with two scores and no picks. Goff was sacked three times in Week 6 and just twice in the NFC Divisional playoff game.

“He is the engine that makes it go over there,” Bowles said of Goff. “He has been playing great ball. As you get experience in the league – not turning the ball over, throwing touchdowns, commanding the offense. He was always very accurate. He is a competitor. He is playing great for them.”

Diaby is confident that Bowles’ fortunes will change against Purdy and Goff this year.

“I know Coach Bowles is going to dial some good stuff up playing them another time coming up this year,” Diaby said. “We’re going to be ready. The way we’re going – I feel like come that game, the revenge is going to be brutal.”

FAB 4. The Bucs Believe In Todd Bowles – Now More Than Ever

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles proved himself to the Glazers and general manager Jason Licht last year in more ways than one. Not only did Bowles show that his team could recover from the 4-7 hole it dug itself into, but the team’s 9-8 record showed that he could produce a winner as Tampa Bay captured another NFC South championship.

Bucs ILB KJ Britt and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts – Photo by: USA Today

Then Bowles proved that he and his team could win in the postseason with an impressive 32-9 Wild Card playoff victory over Philadelphia. And it wasn’t just a playoff win, it was a defensive clinic – the likes of which some of the team’s younger players, who weren’t around for Super Bowl LV, had never witnessed before.

Bowles’ game plan and play-calling against the Eagles rivaled his masterpiece against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa Bay’s 31-9 Super Bowl victory.

“Well, for one, he’s defensive genius, so we all know that,” Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum said on a recent appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast. “But in terms of just the way that he carries himself, when your team is struggling and you’re not winning games, the one thing that you don’t want is panic. Coach Bowles – I have never seen him panic. I don’t know if he even can panic – if that’s even possible.

“He goes into the team meeting with a fiery look in his eyes and he says, ‘Look – you know we’re all grown men in here, and we’re all fighting for a job and it’s all bigger than football. But right now we have to be where our feet are. We have to handle our business and go get the job done. Nobody’s coming to save us.’”

Despite showing progress from 2022 to 2023, including an appearance in last year’s NFC Divisional playoffs, Bowles hasn’t won every Bucs fan yet. Part of it is questionable game management decisions, including a reluctance to calling timeouts in the first half. Another part of it is his stoic nature, which is much more akin to Tony Dungy than the fire-and-brimstone approach of Jon Gruden and Bowles’ mentor, Bruce Arians.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles And CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

“He has a way with his words to where he makes the complicated things very, very simple, and he can motivate you in ways that you really have never been motivated before,” McCollum said. “Everybody trusts him tenfold because of everything that he does. He’s always the first one in the build and he’s last one out.”

“He just had knee surgery and he’s walking on his knee like the day after he had surgery. I mean he’s just that type of fiery-willed person. So for me, I’ll run through a brick wall for him. If he tells me that the bricks are soft as marshmallows, I trust his word for it because he just demands that type of respect.”

Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby has a lot of respect for Bowles’ creativity and the defensive mind he has for designing exotic pressure packages and disguising coverages.

“I was like, ‘Dang, there was one play where you would see me at middle linebacker, and it was like, ‘What the heck?!’” Diaby said. “It’s little stuff like that. The dude is such a genius. I’m just blessed to be in the position to be in his defense, and I’m excited to see what he has in store for me and my teammates this year.”

One of the ways that Bowles leads is by giving his offensive coordinators complete autonomy over their side of the ball. It’s a lesson Bowles learned when former head coach Bruce Arians, who oversaw the offense in Arizona and Tampa Bay and left the defense up to him.

“You know him being our defensive coordinator and being a defensive guy, of course you know I meet with him one-on-one so much. But he comes with the defense and meets with us so much and he demands excellence,” McCollum said. “There’s no drop-off – whether you’re a rookie, a second-year player, a transfer – he doesn’t really care. His standard is always high.

“And to have a head coach that is that intense and fierce and a standard as that high, it kind of just lights a fire in everybody’s butt. You’ve got to be on top of your stuff at all times. We know it’s OTAs [in the spring] but that doesn’t mean that you show up one day and not the next day. You know if you’re going to be here – be here and get better.”

It will be interesting to see how much better of a coach and game manager Bowles can become this year.

FAB 5. Todd Bowles Believes Zyon McCollum Is Destined For Stardom

Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum is as big of a supporter of Todd Bowles as the come. But Tampa Bay’s head coach is quick to return the favor.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Zyon McCollum would probably win that – as far as most improved from last year to this year,” Bowles said at the end of the 2023 season. “The versatility he showed, the toughness he showed. As mild-mannered as he is off the field, he plays like a rocket when he’s on the field. I really loved what he did this year.”

Bowles is so enamored with McCollum’s development and his potential that he agreed it was time to jettison starting cornerback Carlton Davis III in order to pave the way for McCollum to start in 2024. McCollum is ready to prove Bowles was right in his decision-making.

After a rookie season in which he struggled with the jump from Sam Houston State the NFL, McCollum improved as a tackler and in coverage last year, as well as having an overall understanding of Bowles’ defense.

“It was definitely a big jump and a big transition for me just being able to see the quarterbacks,” McCollum said. “I mean my rookie year I can’t even see the quarterbacks these O-linemen are so tall, and so getting used to that and understanding how to play like that – it helped me get a little bit more comfortable. It’s really just second-guessing and second-guessing comes into play when you’re unsure about where you’re supposed to be or you’re unsure if you’re doing the right thing. So I was taking all these learning curves and trying to get better and better, but at the same time, I was still a little bit unsure. So it was causing me to second-guess routes that I would normally just break on and drive on.

“Last year I got a little bit more comfortable, so I have more opportunities to – you know – just get off the leash and just go. No second-guessing. I was able to touch some footballs, but not officially bringing one in. So this year it’s time to just bring everything together. No second-guessing. Just go out there play with these quarterbacks heads and make some plays.”

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

Entering his third year in Tampa Bay, McCollum has yet to record his first NFL interception. He could have given himself an early Christmas present, but he dropped an easy interception in the end zone in a 30-12 win over Jacksonville on Christmas Eve. It’s a play that McCollum still hasn’t gotten over – and won’t – until he makes his first pick.

“Those things – they don’t leave you,” McCollum said. “I wake up in the middle of the night and I can still put myself there and see the ball in my hand. And that’s been the biggest thing for me this offseason – I don’t go a day without catching some type of ball whether it’s a tennis ball the football I’m going to give my catches in.”

McCollum had 15 career interceptions in five years at Sam Houston State. After being the team’s leading interceptor in the OTAs and the mini-camp this offseason, he’s ready to use his 4.33 speed, his honed instincts and the experience he got last year to lead the Bucs in picks in 2024.

“I want to play in ways to where I can force the quarterback to give me a chance – to force the quarterback into thinking something’s open and just me being comfortable and understanding my speed now and the ways that I can use it now,” McCollum said. “I know the system and I can sit back and I can read, and I can show the quarterback different things. I can give them the appearance that I’m in a deep coverage, but really I’m going underneath in coverage. Or I can give the appearance that I’m in man, but really I’m in zone – and because of that – I’ve just been able to see the ball a lot easier, see it a lot slower. And I really use my athleticism to go and make some of these big plays.”

So who does McCollum want to pick off for his first career interception?

“[Patrick] Mahomes would be amazing to intercept just because of the accolades and the type of player that he is,” McCollum said. “But that’s just a little too late in the season [in Week 9]. So Jayden Daniels [in the season opener].”

That’s the right answer, Zyon.