Vea's ability to drop into pass coverage will be sorely missed if he is traded.
Also Diaby is still on his rookie contract, as well as Walker and Bain is a rookie so 3 out of the top 5 Bucs Rushers are inexperienced. That is 100% facts. Muhammad and Nelson are the only experienced edge rushers on the roster and Braswell IF he makes the team is inexperienced and also on his rookie contract.
Quincy Black but one of those dudes was supposed to redefine the DE or LB positio
As Biggs will (not) tell you, PFF's "objective" statisticians once claimed that Quincy Black was the new Derrick Brooks
https://www.pff.com/news/secret-superstar-quincy-black-tampa-bay-buccaneers
It wasn't just PFF. If I recall correctly, it was the smug a-hole Mel Kiper lauding him as Lawrence Tayloresque.Quincy Black but one of those dudes was supposed to redefine the DE or LB positio
As Biggs will (not) tell you, PFF's "objective" statisticians once claimed that Quincy Black was the new Derrick Brooks
https://www.pff.com/news/secret-superstar-quincy-black-tampa-bay-buccaneers
It wasn't just PFF. If I recall correctly, it was the smug a-hole Mel Kiper lauding him as Lawrence Tayloresque.Quincy Black but one of those dudes was supposed to redefine the DE or LB positio
As Biggs will (not) tell you, PFF's "objective" statisticians once claimed that Quincy Black was the new Derrick Brooks
https://www.pff.com/news/secret-superstar-quincy-black-tampa-bay-buccaneers
proof of the subjective nature of player analysis!
Leave it to Kiper to make that kind of claim. What an ass.
@alldaway the best Bowles defense has looked in Tampa was during the Super Bowl run. After his defense blitzed their way into trouble with Washington in the wild card; they started rushing 4 and playing 7 in coverage. First against the Saints and Brees, then against the Packers and Rodgers, and lastly against the Chiefs and Mahomes. He let his front four work and he didn’t put his back seven in difficult coverages. This allowed him to throw in a timely blitz with success. Bowles has a hard time doing this, but we cannot put our thin group of corners in positions to lose. And like today, see a lot of Jets receivers running wide open.
It's not always bs. I just see it more in players like Tez.
Like oh... This guy can make the team and help vs Tez is Wr1 and gonna go for 1k yards.
Fans love to talk in absolutes, myself included
@alldaway the best Bowles defense has looked in Tampa was during the Super Bowl run. After his defense blitzed their way into trouble with Washington in the wild card; they started rushing 4 and playing 7 in coverage. First against the Saints and Brees, then against the Packers and Rodgers, and lastly against the Chiefs and Mahomes. He let his front four work and he didn’t put his back seven in difficult coverages. This allowed him to throw in a timely blitz with success. Bowles has a hard time doing this, but we cannot put our thin group of corners in positions to lose. And like today, see a lot of Jets receivers running wide open.
I do not remember the Bucs playing heavy zone against Brees and the Saints. But I do remember the Bucs copying what teams did during the regular season against the Chiefs which is playing cover 2 shell and forcing everything underneath against Mahomes. But you are kind of ignoring that JPP and Shaq along with Suh were all veteran rushers. Same with Gholston on that front. And LVD with White played out of their minds mid field too.
If rushing four is the easy answer then everyone would do it but most modern NFL teams do not do this. Not even the defending SB champ Seahawks do this with Mac. Mac has the personnel to do this as well rush four and sit 7 in coverage. But Mac also realizes you need to blitz and you need veteran rushers. They have Lawrence and Nwosu and they signed Fowler. Hall and Ivey are their young guys at rush and SLB.
Not even the defending SB champ Seahawks do this with Mac. Mac has the personnel to do this as well rush four and sit 7 in coverage. But Mac also realizes you need to blitz
I think they had the lowest or near lowest blitz rate and nearly 50 sacks. The Bucs had something like 35 with TWO ILBs being contributors. So, fair point you are making BUT the Seahawks did often defend team straight up. AND THEY COULD. The Bucs could not so they blitzed, a lot. Seahawks used the blitz as a change up, Bucs as a primary defensive NECESSITY
It's not always bs. I just see it more in players like Tez.
Like oh... This guy can make the team and help vs Tez is Wr1 and gonna go for 1k yards.
Fans love to talk in absolutes, myself included
Good point. Tez is a guy who is clearly improving. Could he be a stand alone for a team?? Hell no. Can he compliment the field as a dependable option who is an absolute pain in the defense’s ass?? Absolutely. This is why Tampa has a top 5 WR room in the league. Tez is on the perfect team for his skillset.
Your comparison between Seatle and Tampa isn’t a good one. Seatle was 26th in blitz rate in 2025. The Bucs were 4th. Talk about different ends of the spectrum. But it does point to Mike Macdonald utilizing a blitz at the right time. And because of that his blitzes get home at a much higher rate. It’s the difference in a DC being able to call defenses from a proactive stance, rather than a reactive stance. Meaning, Bowles’ go-to when he has no answer is “blitz”. Macdonald has other answers.
And definitely go back and look at the complete super bowl run. We almost lost the wild card game because Bowles got blitz happy against Taylor Heinicke. After that game he finally went into rush 4 mode. Yes, there were a few timely blitzes against the Saints, but they were mixed in well, after the Saints were expecting the Bucs to keep bringing 4. We followed the same blue print against the Packers and the Chiefs. Also take a look at our win against the Lions, in Detroit, in 2024. It was a copycat of the Super Bowl run. We rushed 4 and made Goff throw the ball underneath all game. It was one of our best defensive performances over the last 2 seasons. All teams blitz, but it’s how you use them that is important. And the fact that Bowles plays M2M at a low rate… especially for a team that blitzes.
Bain unlocks Bowle's defense. We will see a lot less blitzing this season. A lot more base pressure on the QB. A lot more INTs by our defense. A lot more three and outs.
We will see a lot less blitzing this season.
Not true, nor is it backed by any historical data.
If anything, it will be the exact opposite.
I am in the camp that believes the blitz rate under Bowles isn't going to change that much.
@alldaway - that’s realistic. And I can’t argue that. My comments are what he should/shouldn’t do. He has to listen to their self-scouting.
