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Hey Pewter Report Staff

JC5100 — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 20:14:46 +0000

Shove your Liam Coen bias up your ass. You think Liam Coen should be the Bucs coach, we get it. He’s a great schemer. A+. But he’s an F situationally and in crucial moments. Blew the Washington game. Blew the JAX playoff game vs Buffalo. Bucs have a lot of positivity this August after everybody shitting on them all off season. Even if the Jags kicked the Bucs ass today, don’t turn the fans against Bowles again. It’s counterproductive.

The Pewter, The Problematic, and The Painful: Grading the Bucs' Preseason Week 2 vs. the Chiefs

ehinote — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:58:02 +0000

The Buccaneers are 2-0 in the preseason. The scoreboard says 16-15 and that's a great thing. But as always, Bucs fans deserve the honest breakdown, not just the celebration. Here's the full picture from Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium.

THE PEWTER (The Good)

Jalon Daniels, QB
We have officially moved past the point of calling this a pleasant surprise. Jalon Daniels is looking like a legitimate NFL quarterback. In two preseason games, the undrafted kid from Kansas has engineered five scoring drives, both coming entirely in the second half of games the Bucs were losing at halftime. He went 9 for 14 for 71 passing yards including a two-yard touchdown pass across his body to Ko Kieft, rushed for 23 yards, and his play on the move really stood out during a night when Jake Browning was pressured on 58% of his dropbacks and sacked three times. The contrast between what Daniels provides and what the backup line gave Browning all night was staggering. More on that in a moment.

The Outside Linebacker Group
Let's give this position group its proper flowers because what the Bucs' outside linebackers showed Saturday night against the Kansas City Chiefs was genuinely special. Anthony Nelson was an absolute force, totaling 1.5 sacks including a strip sack on Justin Fields in the first quarter that completely changed the complexion of the opening quarter. He then combined with Mohamed Kamara for a massive 20-yard sack on a third-down attempt that pushed the Chiefs back and forced a field goal attempt. Kamara himself was consistently disruptive throughout the night, collapsing pockets and giving Chiefs quarterbacks no comfort zone from the edge. Rueben Bain, Jr. and Yaya Diaby continued their strong camps with consistent pressure of their own. All of the outside linebackers showed up, all contributed, and all made a compelling case that this position group has genuine NFL-caliber depth.

The Cornerback Group: Steady, Physical, and Locked In
Through two preseason games, the Buccaneers' cornerbacks have been one of the most encouraging position groups on the entire roster. Zyon McCollum was physical and assignment-sound all night, doing his job quietly and consistently while the playmakers around him got the headlines. Roman Parodie delivered the game's defining play, reading the bobbled ball in the air perfectly for the fourth-quarter interception that set up the go-ahead touchdown and ultimately won the game. McCollum spoke to the media after the game and his confidence in this group's ability to execute scheme under pressure came through clearly. The corners are playing with purpose and discipline. That's exactly what Todd Bowles needs from this group heading into the regular season.

Caden Fordham, LB
Undrafted free agent linebacker, Caden Fordham, out of NC State has looked good no matter when he’s been inserted into game action. He doesn’t look out of place even playing late in the first quarter. He assignment-sound, physical, instinctive, and comfortable in space. Through two preseason games, Fordham has quietly made a compelling case that he is this team's fifth linebacker. While others around him at that depth have looked out of place at times, Fordham has looked like he belongs. Keep your eye on this one. The Buccaneers may have found a legitimate contributor hiding in plain sight.

Dean Patterson and Kam Johnson, WR
The depth receiver competition is one of the best stories of this entire preseason. Patterson led all receivers with 6 catches for 56 yards including a gorgeous 24-yard toe-tap reception that reminded everyone watching why this kid has been turning heads all camp. Johnson matched that yardage total with his own standout performance. The final few roster spots at wide receiver are now a genuine competition, and both men made it significantly harder on the coaching staff to make those decisions. That's exactly what you want to see from your depth players in preseason football.

THE PROBLEMATIC (The Bad)

Jake Browning's Night
Let's be clear about something important before we get into this: a significant portion of what happened to Jake Browning Saturday night was not on him. He completed 9 of 12 attempts for 84 yards and showed good decision-making throughout. But the circumstances around him were genuinely brutal. Browning was pressured on 58% of his dropbacks and was sacked three times. That is an indefensible rate for any quarterback to operate under, and the responsibility for that lands squarely on the offensive line, primarily the horrible tackle play. Browning did what he could. His line let him down repeatedly and badly.

Zac Robinson's Play Calling With the Starters
This one needs to be said. When Baker Mayfield wasn't handing off to a running back, he was throwing screens. Two drives. Zero points. No downfield shots. Now, the coaching staff may have simply been protecting their starting quarterback in a preseason game, and that's a defensible choice. But if that's the plan, Zac Robinson needs to find a better balance between protecting Baker and actually showing the offense something meaningful. Preseason games matter for rhythm, timing, and chemistry. Everyone knows how big of a fan I was of Liam Coen as early as Preseason, because his offense flowed immediately. A glorified walkthrough isn't helping anyone.

THE PAINFUL (The Ugly)

Dropping Bain and Diaby Into Coverage: Todd Bowles Doing Todd Bowles Things
Here is the one that had this observer genuinely shaking his head Saturday night. On the first defensive series of the game, six total plays,Todd Bowles dropped Rueben Bain Jr. and Yaya Diaby into coverage not once but twice. Let that sink in.

Rueben Bain Jr. The "Hurricane." Your first-round pick. The most terrifying pass rusher on this roster. Dropped into coverage. Twice. In six plays.

This is the Todd Bowles coaching quirk that drives fans absolutely crazy and with good reason. There is a time and a place for the occasional surprise coverage drop from a pass rusher, and that element of unpredictability has genuine value in the right situation. But Bowles doesn't use it as a surprise. He uses it as a regular part of his rotation, and that is a fundamentally different thing. A surprise is valuable precisely because it is unexpected. When you do it repeatedly, it stops being a surprise and starts being a waste of your best pass rushers.

Rueben Bain Jr. and Yaya Diaby were brought to this defense to get after the quarterback. That is what they do best. That is what they were built for. Asking them to drop into coverage instead of letting them tee off on an offensive tackle and make life miserable for a quarterback is asking a thoroughbred racehorse to pull a plow. The concept isn't wrong. The frequency is. Bowles needs to match his players to what they do best, use the coverage drop as a genuine surprise element when it matters most, and otherwise let his pass rushers rush. The league is too good at exploiting mismatched personnel for Todd Bowles to keep doing this and expect different results. It's a small sample size in a preseason game. But it's a pattern we've seen before. And it's one worth calling out early.

The bottom line: Two preseason wins. A pass rush group that is legitimately exciting. A cornerback group playing with discipline and purpose. And an undrafted rookie quarterback who keeps winning football games. But beneath the wins, the offensive line depth without Tristan Wirfs is a legitimate vulnerability, Todd Bowles' insistence on dropping his best pass rushers into coverage is a pattern that needs addressing, the special teams unit has problems that need fixing, and the clock is ticking on all of it with the regular season opener 20 days away. Win the moment. Fix the problems. Get Wirfs healthy. The rest will take care of itself.

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Bucs Pre season game 2 thoughts

Alldaway 2.0 — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 15:13:09 +0000

I am not exactly sure what they are trying to accomplish on offense so far but I do understand that they want the playmakers to make players miss in space with the short passes. Which plays to Baker's strength as point guard in this offense The worry is teams sitting on these routes in the regular season as teams were playing vanilla although KC was playing bump and run.

Daniels is one of the bright spots on offense and I think the team has to re evaluate his worth now.

Williams is a better receiver but Tucker is clearly tailor made for this zone blocking scheme. Maybe the Bucs do end up keeping four RBs afterall.

I haven't seen enough progress from Klein or Haggard to be honest. I just think Licht needs to go out and sign an OG at this point.

WR competition while interesting I think K. Johnson has too much upside and versatility and should be the six if the team keeps six WRs.

Defensively the pass rush is actually working together instead of individual battles which makes it seem like a true team effort.

Backup defenders and first string defenders look ready to play for the season.

I have zero trust that Morrison will be in football shape for the start of the season and the Bucs should sign a veteran CB.

Fordham and Bullock are perfectly fine as PS candidates.

The Pyburn Affair

Trask Force — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:08:20 +0000

The whole Pyburn thing is pretty interesting.

A freindly Louisiana judge has given Jack Pyburn his amateur status back if he wants it. This will help his home state team led by Lane Kiffin to try to improve from the 7-6 record and bring them back into the national championship picture. I'm sure there were some backroom conversations going on there. So

Pyburn does have to enter the transfer portal because he previously vacated his amateur status, so he'll technically be free to join any team.

He must enter the Portal by August 26th but he doesn't have to quit the Bucs.

He must decide by Sept. 1 whether to go back to college or remain a pro.

If the Bucs cut him he'll clear NFL waivers at 1 PM on August 31st, giving him one day to decide.

If Pyburn were to quit the Bucs to go back to college he'd have to repay his $115K training camp money, and the Bucs would retain his rights.

If he waits to get cut by the Bucs and clears NFL waivers he'll be a free agent next year for the NFL, and he's a free agent this year for the NIL.

He can go back to LSU, but he's already scheduled a visit with Texas A+M and Miami is trying to get in on the action as well.

He still will have to attend classes in a graduate program. If he fails to attend classes he can be ruled academically ineligible (pffft).

Upshot is Pyburn has a pretty sweet deal, keeping his training camp money, having a bidding war for him in college and then he'll be able to shop himself around in the NFL next year.

So I'm finding his whole "Why me - Why not me" act a bit insincere. I'm not buying it. Perhaps he has upped his game and made the most of his opportunties, but this Batawn Roooge judge has given him a pretty sweet deal just because he can't stand to see his home state team go 7-6.

Puburn is using the Bucs training camp as a scouting combine to try out for an NIL deal. He's not a Buccaneer and probably doesn't think he'll be one. He's just trying out for a sweet NIL deal in college. I'm just starting to get a bad taste in my mouth about Pyburn and the whole situation.

Best Olines in the NFL

theknees — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 01:56:40 +0000

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/bucs-cowboys-and-eagles-are-among-nfls-top-offensive-lines-a-tiered-look-at-big-men-up-front-of-all-32-teams-010530634.html

It’s weird…

Vea signs extension

TB-BucFan4Life — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 03:16:48 +0000

One year, 30 million. Glad this is over. Should bolster the D even more. Looking forward to a better season

Yaya Has Been Quiet

ehinote — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 03:14:10 +0000

With so many of our OLBs shining either against our young or injured tackles, or during the Jets practices… I’m wondering where Yaya is? Is he beating the likes of Goedeke with a bend around the outside like Bain Jr., or a spin inside Skule or Chukwuma like Walker or Muhammad? I’m not hearing anything. I’m hoping these young bulls carry this outside pressure. Maybe Yaya will pickup a few sacks when they run QBs into him?

Grading the Bucs' Preseason Opener vs. the Jets

ehinote — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:44:13 +0000

The Buccaneers won. The scoreboard says 24-16 and nobody can take that away. But a win in the preseason doesn't mean everything went smoothly, and if you watched Friday night at MetLife Stadium with honest eyes, you saw the full spectrum of what this roster is. Let's break it down.

THE PEWTER (The Good)

Jalon Daniels, QB
Let's start here because this is the conversation everyone needs to be having Monday morning. The undrafted kid from Kansas took over under center in the second half and was flat-out sensational. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 111 yards and directed two second-half touchdown drives while making plays with his legs, capping the night with a one-yard touchdown run that sealed the win. He was poised, decisive, and looked completely unintimidated by the moment.

Elijah Roberts, DE
This man was a menace all night. Roberts tallied a sack and a tackle for loss and was consistently in the Jets' backfield disrupting timing, forcing hurried throws, and creating chaos in the run game. He was one of the most consistently impactful players on the entire field from either team.

Ayden Garnes, CB
With David Walker collapsing the pocket, Garnes read Bailey Zappe's throw perfectly, jumped the route, and returned the interception 47 yards for a touchdown that completely shifted the game's momentum. For a young corner making his NFL debut under the lights, that is a play that requires instincts, confidence, and athleticism. He made it look easy.

David Walker, DE
No sack on the official stat sheet but Walker was the unsung engine of the entire defense on Friday night. Both Buccaneers interceptions were directly set up by his pocket collapse forcing hurried, off-platform throws. His pressure up front sped up the signal-caller's progression on both takeaways.

Josh Williams, RB
After everything he went through in his rookie year, Josh Williams delivered. A 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter on a decisive cut through the C-gap. Clean. Powerful. Confident. But it wasn't just the touchdown that stood out. All night long, Williams looked noticeably more explosive than Sean Tucker. His burst through the hole, his acceleration after contact, and his ability to make a defender miss in a phone booth were on a different level than what Tucker showed Friday.

THE PROBLEMATIC (The Bad)

Ayden Garnes, CB (Tackling)
Here's where we have to be honest about the full picture. Garnes is going to get a lot of well-deserved praise for that pick-six, and rightfully so. But Bucs fans need to see the other side of his game too. Throughout the game, Garnes looked like exactly what he is: a raw, undrafted rookie still figuring out the physicality of NFL football. His tackling was inconsistent. He looked hesitant in run support at times and missed assignments in his gap responsibilities. The big play instincts are real. The finishing and physicality still need significant development. Both things can be true at the same time.

Damarion Williams, CB
This is the more troubling conversation. Williams has been around long enough that the word "green" doesn't apply to him the way it does to Garnes. And yet on Braelon Allen's 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Williams whiffed on the tackle in his assigned gap in a way that was deeply concerning. Allen found a hole over the right side and sprinted past the defense for the 31-yard score with Williams in position to make the stop and coming up empty. It wasn't a case of being out of position. It wasn't a missed read. It was a cornerback who simply did not want to insert himself into a run play and make a physical tackle. That is a mentality issue, and mentality issues are harder to coach than technique issues. Against a running back with Allen's power, a miss like that at the NFL level is a score.

Connor Bazelak, QB
To be fair to Bazelak, he was thrown into a tough situation with no starters around him and Jake Browning sidelined with a back injury. But 12 of 20 for 72 yards in the first half, getting sacked on the first drive's third down, and failing to generate any real offensive momentum is not the kind of performance that locks up a roster spot. The clock is ticking on Bazelak's case, and Jalon Daniels is making it tick faster.

THE PAINFUL (The Ugly)

Kick Coverage Units
This one didn't make many headlines because the Bucs won, but it absolutely should not go unnoticed. The kick coverage units were a mess Friday night. Gaps were not filled consistently. Contain responsibilities broke down. And the directional execution that new special teams coordinator Danny Smith is supposed to be installing looked sloppy and uncoordinated at multiple points throughout the game. Remember, this was already the most scrutinized unit on the entire roster coming into 2026 after a disastrous 2025 special teams campaign under the previous regime. One preseason game is not a full verdict, but when coverage breakdowns are happening at this stage of the preseason against a Jets return unit that isn't exactly lighting the world on fire, it is absolutely something that needs to be flagged, addressed, and cleaned up before the regular season. Danny Smith has work to do.

The Vita Vea Situation
It didn't happen on the field Friday night, but it was the shadow hanging over everything. Multiple teams have reportedly called about Vea, and the Buccaneers are steadfast about not trading him. But steadfast doesn't put him on the field. Every preseason snap he misses is conditioning, chemistry, and cohesion lost. The defensive line looked serviceable Friday. But serviceable isn't what this defense needs to be in January. Fix it.

The bottom line: The Buccaneers won Friday in a way that showed real promise from several young players who could contribute meaningfully in 2026. But the tackling issues, the kick coverage breakdowns, and the gap responsibility failures are all real things that need real attention before the Chiefs arrive at Raymond James Stadium on August 22nd. Celebrate the win. Acknowledge the problems. Fix them before they become habits.

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Is the Bucs contract wizardry dead?

Trask Force — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 22:16:30 +0000

In the past the Bucs have been able to work some magic to get some team freindly deals. Not necessarily bad deals for the players, but deals that help the Bucs maneuver around cap issues. It seems that the agents have had enough of Licht's bag of tricks. Evans - pissed off, hits the road. Baker - not in the ballpark. Vea - not budging. Three is a trend.

It seems like Licht and the Bucs will have to pay the bloated market value contracts or let the players go. Kind of like every other team in the league has to do. The Bucs have Baker, Vea, Diaby and Mauch all coming up for deals and there's only one franchise tag. The Bucs will lose players because they'll get paid big contracts, but they don't want to be the big spenders to bring in first tier free agents.

I just wonder when Licht looks out the window of One Buc does he see the changing landscape? It's pretty simple. Decide who you want to keep them most, hold your nose and pay them the market value, mostly guaranteed. It may come back to bite you in the ass, but that's the way it is. The other guys you just have to let walk and hopefully get some comp picks.

Will David make the HOF?

DEBUCSOWN — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:48:20 +0000

One career pro bowl.

one career first team all pro.

two career second team all pro.

playing in Tampa certainly didn’t help.

seemed like he was a largely unknown among casuals until Tom Brady got here.

It’s close. I don’t think he gets in sadly.

will be up there with Simeon rice as far as robberies.