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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Scott, do you think Todd Bowles gets fired after the season? Or are the Glazers and Jason Licht going to give him another year because of the no Mike Evans and no Chris Godwin situation? I really hope they don’t let another offensive coordinator, especially the best one the Bucs have had in long time, walk out of the building after the season.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Todd Bowles is not only the head coach of the Bucs, but also the defensive play-caller, so he needs to be evaluated and judged on those two criteria – not just one or the other. The big problem Bowles has right now is that his defense can’t stop anyone outside of Saints rookie Spencer Rattler, who had half of New Orleans offensive line and just one real weapon on offense at his disposal back in Week 6. Tampa Bay has lost three of its last four games, and Bowles’ porous defense has allowed 36 and 31 points in losses to Atlanta and 41 points in a loss to Baltimore.

The defense is a mess and hasn’t come up with enough takeaways, evidenced by Kirk Cousins throwing for eight touchdowns and just one interception versus Tampa Bay in a season sweep by Atlanta. The Bucs’ 31-26 loss to the Falcons on Sunday had nothing to do with the offense missing Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. It was Bowles’ defense that surrendered 24 first half points that was the problem. As Bowles correctly said after the game, “26 points should be enough.”

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen did his job. Despite not having Evans and Godwin, the offense moved the ball at will against the Falcons, rushing for 102 yards and amassing 432 yards while converting 64% on third down. Baker Mayfield’s two interceptions didn’t help, but credit Atlanta Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III for making one great interception and top cornerback A.J. Terrell for making another great pick. Coen showed great creativity and innovation and his players made plays. We didn’t see enough creativity and adjustments by Bowles, and his defensive playmakers were nowhere to be found on Sunday.

The Bucs are still 4-4, but with games looming at Kansas City, which is undefeated, and a home game against San Francisco, which is 4-4 after a win over Dallas on Sunday Night Football, it feels like this team slips to 4-6 in a few weeks, doesn’t it? Unless something drastic happens – in a positive way. Not like the Bucs’ poorly executed fake punt in the second half, which led to a Falcons touchdown – Atlanta’s only score in the second half. If Bowles doesn’t fix the defense and right the ship, I could definitely see him getting fired if Tampa Bay fails to make the playoffs.

QUESTION: The head coach can’t adjust. Even being fairly healthy with a majority of guys who have played together three-plus years. It’s embarrassing. The offensive coordinator showed today he is innovative and can overcome a short week with brutal injuries. Liam Coen has to be kept even if Todd Bowles goes.

Bucs ILB KJ Britt and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: It’s astonishing how a defense full of supposed playmakers is all of a sudden not making plays for Todd Bowles. Age is finally catching up with 34-year old Lavonte David, who is not having a good year – not even close to how well he played last season. But the team still has a very good cornerback in Zyon McCollum, a pair of good defensive tackles in Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, a good pass rusher in Yaya Diaby and the league’s best defensive back a year ago in Antoine Winfield Jr. But none of those players made any plays on Sunday versus Atlanta – although Winfield came close to knocking the ball out of Kyle Pitts’ hand at the goal line.

Bowles isn’t on the field blowing coverages and failing to get to the quarterback. But as the defensive play-caller, he’s responsible for making sure his players do. He’s been slow to adjust in games and throughout the season when it comes to personnel substitutions. Bowles finally pulled Tyrek Funderburk, an undrafted free agent cornerback, who was starting in place of the injured Jamel Dean. But not until he had a hand in giving up a pair of touchdowns.

What is astonishing is that the middle of the Bucs defense – the centerfield if you will – features four key defenders in safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead and inside linebackers Lavonte David and K.J. Britt, and Winfield, Whitehead and David have played together for years in this scheme. In fact, that trio won a Super Bowl together. Britt has a working knowledge of Bowles’ scheme having been in Tampa Bay for four years now. But none of these guys can seem to make a play on the ball. Outside of benching K.J. Britt for J.J. Russell, I’m not sure Bowles knows how to fix what’s wrong defensively. And it’s obvious that David is slipping at age 34.

The Bucs are 4-4 and we’ll see if Bowles can make the necessary adjustments to turn the season around. He did that last year and righted the ship with a 5-1 finish to get to 9-8 and win another division title. We’ll see if he can do it again this year. It’s going to be a tall order with the Falcons now at 5-3 with a 4-0 record in the division. Even 10 wins may not be enough to win the division with Atlanta having the tiebreaker. If this team were to fire Bowles at the end of the season, I would think Liam Coen would get strong consideration to be a candidate for head coach if he continues the offensive production.

QUESTION: What is it about Todd Bowles that he can never seem to get momentum with his teams? He’s never been more than two games above .500. Whenever the team gets on a bit of a roll they come out with a stinker and can never seem to get to the next level.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: That’s an interesting point. The Bucs started off 3-1 last year and this year and that was the most wins over .500 that this team has achieved under Todd Bowles as a head coach in three seasons. Tampa Bay did go on a 5-1 run at the end of the 2023 season to reach 9-8 and win the division, but Bowles can’t seem to go on a run and maintain an early lead.

Barring a surprising upset at Kansas City or versus San Francisco, it certainly seems like Tampa Bay is destined to be 4-6 at the bye in Week 11. The schedule seems more favorable after the bye, but will the Falcons lose enough games for it to matter when it comes to winning the division? If the Bucs do hit 4-6, the team would need to finish 6-1 down the stretch to finish 10-7. Is that even doable considering the offense doesn’t have Mike Evans for the next two games and Chris Godwin for the rest of the year? Can the problems on defense get fixed?

And is 10-7 enough to win the NFC South again? That means the Falcons would have to finish 9-8 for the Bucs to win a fourth straight division title because they have the tiebreaker advantage over Tampa Bay due to the series sweep. I’m not sure that nine wins is enough to make the playoffs as a Wild Card in the NFC this year. All four teams in the NFC North have winning records and there are three teams in the NFC West at 4-4 right now. The NFC East has division-leading Washington at 6-2 and Philadelphia right behind at 5-2.

QUESTION: Joe Tryon-Shoyinka sucks in the most unbelievable way. Why does this coaching staff continue to run him out there? He’s a waste of a roster spot. Last I checked, he wasn’t even on the stat sheet.

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Starting outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka failed to record a single statistic for the Buccaneers in Sunday’s 31-26 loss to the Falcons. Tryon-Shoyinka played 63% of the snaps and did not record a single stat. Not an assisted tackle. Not a pass breakup. Not a quarterback hit. That’s kinda hard to do in 39 plays.

Meanwhile backup linebacker J.J. Russell was in on seven snaps yesterday and had one tackle when he subbed in for the injured Lavonte David. Reserve defensive tackle C.J. Brewer played just 13 snaps, but was even more of a factor with his first two NFL sacks and a tackle at the line of scrimmage in the run game. For JTS’ athleticism and talent, that’s inexcusable.

At the end of the day, Tryon-Shoyinka is in a contract year and he has just one sack on the season, which came in Week 1. His fifth-year option wasn’t picked up for a reason by the front office, but head coach Todd Bowles likes Tryon-Shoyinka’s versatility to play the run and drop in coverage. Regardless of whether or not Bowles returns in 2025, Tryon-Shoyinka won’t be back unless he suddenly – and surprisingly – becomes a playmaker for the Bucs defense. Bowles wanted inside linebacker Devin White back, but was overruled. The same fate seems to be coming for JTS in Tampa Bay due to a lack of production.

QUESTION: We showed we could produce points adequately against the Falcons. However, our defense looked average again. Is there anybody in the wings ready to come up and support Yaya Diaby and the guys?

Bucs DT CJ. Brewer and OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Do you mean on the practice squad? There are a couple of safeties on the practice squad who showed promise in the preseason in Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks. Who knows if they will be elevated to the active roster or not. Backup safety Kaevon Merriweather played on Sunday and gave up the first touchdown to Kyle Pitts after he was beaten badly in man coverage, which is not his strength. Then we saw backup cornerback Josh Hayes replace undrafted rookie cornerback Tyrek Funderburk after he had a hand in giving up a pair of touchdowns.

Reserve defensive tackle C.J. Brewer recorded his first two NFL sacks and had a nice third down run stuff at the line of scrimmage. Outside of those players – and maybe backup inside linebackers J.J. Russell and Antonio Grier Jr. – there aren’t many players waiting in the wings. Outside linebacker Jose Ramirez has struggled on special teams, so he’s been inactive like he was on Sunday against Atlanta.

The Bucs are playing their young players, but their young stars aren’t shining. Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby didn’t have a good game and finished with just two tackles and one quarterback hit. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey was held in check with just three tackles and one quarterback hit. And other than seven tackles and a near forced fumble at the goal line, All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. didn’t have a particularly impactful performance. Todd Bowles needs more of his players to step up the way Brewer did in Sunday’s loss for this defense to turn it around.

QUESTION: With K.J. Britt’s struggles and the injury to SirVocea Dennis, will rookie Kalen DeLoach see the field this year? Are you hearing anything? Keep doing what you are doing. You and your team, past and present are great. Go Bucs!

Bucs ILB Kalen DeLoach – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Thank you for the kudos. Bucs head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles is stubborn when it comes to making personnel adjustments and line-up changes. He’s loyal to K.J. Britt, who is currently the worst-rated inside linebacker – No. 82 out of 82 – in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Bowles knew that Britt was a liability in coverage last year when he platooned him with Devin White and he knew he was a coverage liability when he platooned him with SirVocea Dennis. Nothing has changed outside of the fact that Bowles had Britt on the field for all but three plays in Sunday’s loss to Atlanta.

To answer your question, I don’t think Kalen DeLoach is ready to see the field. He had a very lackluster training camp and preseason. The former Florida State star needs to continue to hit the weight room and gain size in order to shed blockers and take on NFL-sized linemen and running backs.

The Bucs have already elevated fellow rookie undrafted free agent linebacker Antonio Grier Jr. to the active roster to replace Dennis, who is out for the year with a shoulder injury. Russell and Grier would see the field before DeLoach would, and I think even Vi Jones, the other practice squad linebacker, would get a shot before DeLoach.

This is likely Lavonte David’s last season in the NFL, as he turns 35 in January and his play is slipping. He’ll be a free agent next year, as well Britt, who likely won’t be re-signed. So Tampa Bay will be looking for another linebacker to step up and start next to Dennis. DeLoach will be in the running as long as he makes strides to improve this year behind the scenes on the practice squad.