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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: SR, don’t you think that the body of work of Todd Bowles as defensive coordinator is actually mediocre at best – apart from the second half of the Super Bowl run? The bad defense has been covered by Jameis Winston’s interceptions, Tom Brady’s proficiency, an inept offensive coordinator in 2022, then an inexperienced offensive coordinator last year. Now, no excuses, he’s exposed.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: I think Todd Bowles’ play-calling has been a disappointment since the Week 3 when Denver head coach Sean Payton used max protect schemes to neutralize Bowles’ blitzes and take advantage of the soft zone coverage underneath. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix wasn’t sacked and chipped away at Tampa Bay’s defense and most other teams have followed suit. Bowles has not been able to adequately adjust.

He’s too afraid to play more man coverage because he doesn’t want to expose inside linebacker K.J. Britt, who can’t cover. And he doesn’t have an adequate replacement for Britt yet. Bowles says the most athletic linebacker is Vi Jones, who is on the practice squad but isn’t ready to step in and platoon with Britt on third downs. So he’s forced to play a lot of predictable zone coverage as a result and quarterbacks are carving up the middle of the field and attacking Britt and Lavonte David, who has clearly lost a step at age 34. Who knew the loss of inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis would wreck Bowles’ defense so badly?

Bowles has had some dominant defensive showings, such as in Week 1 versus Jayden Daniels and the Commanders and in Week 2 at Detroit. Dating back to last year, the Bucs’ 32-9 beatdown of the Eagles in the playoffs was impressive and the 9-0 shutout win at Carolina was necessary to win the division. There have been some times when Bowles and his defense have been incredibly good and on point. But it hasn’t been enough for Tampa Bay to emerge as a dominant team in the NFC over any of the last three years.

This year, his defense is playing worse than ever, and I attribute some of that to poor coaching, as I wrote about in my latest SR’s Fab 5 column. Not just the play-calling, but the poor job of the assistant coaches for not getting the players to play well and not have coverage and assignment busts. I can’t really disagree with the assertion made in this question.

QUESTION: How many times can Todd Bowles say, “Coach it better, play it better” and “Day one install stuff” before someone starts to him accountable for the total lack of progress? And I don’t want to hear about injuries. This has been going on for some time now.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: I’ve certainly been incredibly fair when it’s come to Todd Bowles. I’ve criticized him plenty last year and this year when he and the defense and his game management ability has let the team down, and I’ve also praised him when he and his defense have been the reason for Bucs victories over his time as head coach. When it comes to accountability, I’m not sure you’ll find more objective reporting anywhere else that is unafraid to call out Bowles’ game management and the ineptitude and poor play on defense like Pewter Report. That’s reflected in our headlines, our reporting and also on our Pewter Report Podcasts on PewterReportTV.

I’m disappointed because I thought Bowles and the Bucs defense took a major step forward in winning at Detroit in Week 2. And that’s coming off an impressive Week 1 showing against the dangerous Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. Good thing Tampa Bay played Washington in the season opener. I’m not sure Tampa Bay would fare well against a more experienced Daniels right now.

Instead, Bowles and the defense have regressed mightily this year, and games against Andy Reid and the Chiefs and Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers look even more daunting because Tampa Bay’s defense can’t stop anyone. The Bucs have given up an average of 33 points in their last three games, and Lamar Jackson and Kirk Cousins have combined to throw for nine touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Now they’re getting ready to face Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs and Brock Purdy and the 49ers. If it’s going to get better, it might get worse before it gets better. It’s hard to imagine the Bucs not being 4-6 heading into the bye week unless Tampa Bay goes on a takeaway binge and wins the next two games thanks to a lopsided turnover margin.

QUESTION: It’s halfway through the season. What’s the overall letter grade for the Bucs?

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

ANSWER: It has to be a C at best, right? I mean the Bucs are 4-4 heading into the Monday Night Football game at Kansas City against the undefeated Chiefs. They started the season 3-1 and now they’re 1-3 in their last four games. So I could even say C-minus and most fans would probably agree with that given how the Bucs are trending right now.

Digging further into your question, I would give the offense an A-minus. Tampa Bay can finally run the ball effectively, and the offense has rushed for 100 yards or more in five of the eight games prior to the Monday Night Football game versus the Chiefs. That’s quite a feat. Tampa Bay was scoring an average of 30 points per game prior to the injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, largely in part due to the creative play-calling of new coordinator Liam Coen.

Defensively, the Bucs would have to get a D grade at best. Todd Bowles’ side of the ball is clearly the weak link on this year’s Tampa Bay team, unfortunately. The secondary can’t cover effectively, inside linebacker might be the weakest position on the team without SirVocea Dennis, and the pass rush is not nearly as consistent and effective as it needs to be. I’m not a fan of the job a lot of the defensive assistants have done, either. I said as much in last week’s SR’s Fab 5 column.

Special teams gets a C grade, too. Kicker Chase McLaughlin is the bright spot. The punting situation between Jake Camarda and Trenton Gill has been less than ideal. The punt return game is stagnant, yet the kick return game has shown some signs of life when Sean Tucker gets his hands on the ball. The coverage units have been fair, but the fake punt last week against the Falcons was ill-advised and proved to be costly.

QUESTION: What do you like the most so far about this Bucs team? The offensive coordinator and the impact he has had or something else? Thanks, guys!

Bucs OC Liam Coen and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: That’s really about it, right? If this team hadn’t brought on Liam Coen as the offensive coordinator, who knows what the team’s record would be given the collapse of Todd Bowles’ defense? Coen has a great offensive mind and he’s shown how creative and adaptive he can be as a rookie play-caller, which is a great sign moving forward. To put up 24 points on offense in the first game without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin was incredibly impressive, as is the kind of season that Baker Mayfield is having alongside Coen.

And it’s not just Coen, but also the offensive coaches that he hired in offensive line coaches Kevin Carberry and Bryan Picucci, wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon and tight end coach Justin Peelle that have paid dividends, too. The fact that the Bucs finally have a legit running game is also something to be excited about going forward.

Jason Licht’s Achilles heel was drafting running backs. He had some real clunkers throughout the years with Charles Sims, Jeremy McNichols, Ronald Jones II, etc. But Licht has drafted a couple of real weapons in recent drafts with Rachaad White and Bucky Irving. Plus finding Sean Tucker in undrafted free agency has been huge. Now, all of a sudden, the Bucs have three legit running backs.

QUESTION: Is Kameron Johnson still on the team?

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Yes, wide receiver Kameron Johnson is on injured reserve. He’s been dealing with an ankle injury and the team placed him on injured reserve to give him some time to heal and perhaps have surgery. I’m not sure if he’s had a procedure or not, but the hope is that he returns along with Mike Evans after the bye week. Evans is dealing with a serious hamstring injury, but wasn’t placed on injured reserve.

The hope is that Johnson can help step in on offense and bring some speed, juice and playmaking ability upon his return. The undrafted free agent from Barton College is very elusive and dangerous after the catch. He dealt with some injuries during training camp and the preseason too, and the Bucs hope that he can get those behind him and stay healthy down the stretch.

With Sterling Shepard and Jalen McMillan also dealing with hamstring injuries, the Bucs could use as many healthy wide receivers as possible. They’ve been dropping like flies this year.