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

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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: This win was a bit more difficult than we thought, and the first half was awful. Does this make a difference in Todd Bowles’ future?

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

ANSWER: First of all, let me say that I am surprised at the questions and comments I received for this week’s Bucs Mailbag. Despite winning three straight divisional champions as Tampa Bay’s head coach, we didn’t get a single positive comment or question regarding Todd Bowles this week. I think we at Pewter Report have been very fair to Bowles during his tenure as head coach, praising him when it’s warranted and critiquing him when it’s justified.

On Friday, I wrote that losing to the Saints and finishing 9-8 while losing the NFC South would have put Bowles’ job in jeopardy in my SR’s Fab 5 column and I meant that. The Glazers wanted to see progress this year and went on the record with that notion back in March. Winning on Sunday against New Orleans got this team to 10 wins and another division title and Bowles deserves credit for the Bucs’ 6-1 finish after a 4-7 start. It’s much better optics than losing to the Saints and then backing into the playoffs at 9-8 with the Falcons also losing on Sunday.

Winning isn’t easy in the NFL. This is professional sports where athletes are paid to train and win. There is an upset or two virtually every week, which is why we haven’t seen a team go undefeated in the regular season since the Patriots did it in 2007. That said, it was disappointing to see the Bucs come out and struggle in the first half against a lesser, five-win Saints team. New Orleans had a 19:10 to 10:45 time of possession advantage and a 16-6 lead at halftime.

But credit Todd Bowles’ defense for putting the clamps down at halftime. Bowles and his defense have done a really good job with second half adjustments. After converting 3-of-8 (37.5%) on third down in the first half, Tampa Bay’s defense held New Orleans to 0-of-5 (0%) on third downs in the second half, just 61 yards and only a field goal. It also helped that Liam Coen’s offense finally got its act together and fought through penalties to outscore the Saints 21-3 in the second half.

It’s not always about how a team starts, but how a team finishes. These Bucs have done a very good job of finishing games with strong second halves, as well as a strong second half of the season after the bye week under Bowles. Give the man some credit.

QUESTION: Extremely disappointed that this team just seems to play down to the competition. The defense has been mediocre to bad all year and having to wait until the last week of the season to get into the playoffs with this level of talent just shows how incapable our head coach is.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and NCB Tykee Smith – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: First of all, I would not call Todd Bowles incapable. Let’s see how the Bucs fare in the playoffs against far better competition before passing a final judgment on Bowles. Remember, the Bucs are one of two teams that have beaten the 15-2 Lions this year, one of three teams that have beaten the 13-3 Eagles and one of five teams that have beaten the 12-5 Commanders. Bowles’ defense held Detroit to 16 points, Philadelphia to just 16 (actually 14 versus the Eagles offense) points and Washington’s offense to only 20.

The Bucs did amass a 6-1 record against teams with a combined 40-79 after the bye week. Tampa Bay did what it needed to do to win the division and that was beat lesser teams to get to 10 wins and win the NFC South. Bowles didn’t make the schedule. The NFL did. The Bucs just played the teams that were on the schedule. It’s not their fault that the back end of the schedule was full of lesser opponents.

As ugly as that 26-24 loss was at Dallas on Sunday Night Football, the 40-17 win at Los Angeles against an 11-win Chargers team was mighty beautiful, wasn’t it? I’ll agree that the defense has to play better, especially in coming up with takeaways. That’s been a source of contention all year. This defense just does not take the ball away nearly enough and will ultimately be the reason the Bucs lose in the postseason in January unless that turns around.

Yet Bowles has done a remarkable job of getting reserves ready to step in. All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has missed eight games this year with foot and knee injuries. Cornerback Jamel Dean has missed seven games with injuries. Safety Jordan Whitehead missed five games due to injury. Rookie Tykee Smith has missed four games, safety Christian Izien missed three and safety Mike Edwards has missed two. That’s 27 combined games missed due to injury in the secondary.

And don’t forget that veteran reserve cornerback Bryce Hall broke his leg in the season opener. That’s a lot to overcome and it hasn’t always looked pretty. But Bowles deserves credit for a very good season. Not a great season, but let’s see what happens in the postseason now that the Bucs are in. And let’s see if Dean and Winfield can make it back to help out.

QUESTION: Unfortunately, Todd Bowles isn’t getting fired after this season. Even if we lose the first playoff game, he’s safe. Is there any possibility the team can entice him to retire with some ceremonial position like Bruce Arians got? Or some kind of payout?

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

ANSWER: I’m not sure what the future holds for head coach Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay after this season. I actually think if the Bucs lose to the Commanders and the defense is the culprit – let’s say Bowles’ unit surrenders 30 points or more and the team goes down in a shootout – that there is a chance that the organization could move on from him. But that would only be if the Bucs were about to lose offensive coordinator Liam Coen to another team offering a head coaching opportunity.

It would be a difficult decision based on Bowles winning three straight NFC South titles, which has never been done before in franchise history. But if it came down to being able to keep just one coach – the 61-year old Bowles or the 39-year old Coen – I think the Glazers would have to choose Coen’s upside and how he built a Top 5, Super Bowl-caliber offense in just one season.

If Coen is fine sticking around as offensive coordinator for a year and gets a healthy raise to entice him to do so, then I think Bowles’ return is automatic regardless of what happens in the postseason unless he suddenly opts to retire. We don’t know how Coen would fare as an NFL head coach. He’s never been a head coach at any level. Even former Bucs offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter had years worth of head coaching experience at Arizona State to draw from when he replaced Lovie Smith in 2017 and he didn’t get Tampa Bay to the playoffs.

Bowles has some faults. He’s made some questionable game management decisions and his timeout usage can be baffling at times. Bowles’ defense can be frustrating to watch at times, especially right before halftime when teams seem to automatically drive down and get field goals at the end of the second quarter, like the Saints did on Sunday.

But he’s gone from eight wins to nine wins to 10 wins in three consecutive seasons, abruptly transitioning from an old veteran-laden team in 2022 to a much younger roster over the last two seasons. Bowles deserves some credit for his steady hand over the last two seasons as the Bucs have gone a combined 11-3 in December and January games to get into the playoffs.

QUESTION: Who plays safety for us next week or in the secondary in general? Do we have enough back there – injured or not – to stop the Commanders?

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. and CB Jamel Dean. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: I don’t like the Bucs’ chances in the postseason with Josh Hayes at cornerback and Kaevon Merriweather at safety. Whether that’s against the Commanders on Sunday night or another playoff team in the NFC Divisional round. Give Todd Bowles Jamel Dean and Antoine Winfield Jr. and I like Tampa Bay’s chances a lot more because of their ability and their experience. Both of those Bucs defensive backs have Super Bowl rings.

The Bucs have tried everything to shore up the secondary this year. Tampa Bay drafted Tykee Smith in the third round to play nickelback, moved Zyon McCollum into the starting lineup at cornerback, signed veteran cornerback Bryce Hall, re-signed veteran safety Jordan Whitehead, added more speed with veteran safety Tavierre Thomas, and then during the season, claimed Mike Edwards off waivers and re-signed safety Ryan Neal due to his experience in Bowles’ scheme from a year ago.

The Bucs also added a pair of veteran cornerbacks Troy Hill and Dallis Flowers, who have played sparingly. It’s not been for a lack of effort. But unless Dean and Winfield return to the starting lineup, the secondary will be a weakness for opponents to target, especially across the middle where the coverage by Bowles’ safeties and inside linebackers has been suspect all season.

QUESTION: This team has to avoid beating itself to make noise in the playoffs. With that in mind, is there not an established veteran punter we can sign and trust? Would be a shame to have punting cost us in a close game.

Bucs P Jack Browning – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: The Bucs committed a season-high 12 penalties for 90 yards on Sunday against the Saints. That can’t happen again or Tampa Bay will have an early exit from the postseason. I said it last week after the victory against Carolina. The only team that can truly beat the Bucs because of their high-powered offense is the Bucs themselves in the form of turnovers and penalties. Look no further than the team’s 26-24 loss at Dallas where Tampa Bay lost the turnover battle 3-0.

Another example of a self-inflicted wound showed up on Sunday in the form of poor punting. You are correct in noting that Jack Browning struggled, most obvious with a dropped punt that he wound up getting off in the form of a shanked kick that traveled just 14 yards. Browning, a rookie, had two punts that averaged 33 yards with a net of 28.5 yards.

Browning also handles kickoffs, and had six touchbacks and no returns, which was key. And he’s done a good job of holding for placements for kicker Chase McLaughlin. Yet it would be a shame if a poor punt wound up costing the Bucs in the playoffs. I don’t think the team is going to make a change now that it is in the postseason, though. Cross your fingers.