Totally agree here. Kellen Moore had the Aints playing pretty well toward the end of the season. I think the team needs a monstrously successful draft filling in some of the holes and weaker links before I am confident the team can win more than 8 games in spite of whatever the grinning idiot on the sideline does.Sigh.
The hopium is high.
A quick look around the NFC South shows that the Bucs still have the most talented roster in the division heading into the 2026 NFL Draft and I’m not sure that’s going to change next week as each team adds a few new starters out of the college ranks.
Unless they added a ton of talent, I find it hard to believe that an 8-9 team that lost Evans, White, and David is a lock to have a more talented roster. If the coaching failed so badly that they landed at 8-9, why would I feel the result would be different? Yes, I am a jaded fan who has followed the team since before its first game. The history of the Buccaneers always gives me pause. At the same time, Todd Bowles and his history do not give me any hope that this will be different.
Tampa Bay has the best, most accomplished quarterback in the NFC South in Baker Mayfield and he plays behind the best offensive line in the division. That alone gives the Bucs an edge in the NFC South because none of the other teams in the division have a dominant defense that can neutralize Tampa Bay’s offense when healthy and at full strength.
Last season, the Falcons and Panthers had better offensive lines. Yes, I understand it was likely due to the injuries Tampa suffered. The Panthers used 11 different starting variations due to injury. The Buccaneers only used nine different starting combinations.
If the Bucs don’t rebound and reclaim the division title in 2026, it will be because of injuries (again) and Bowles holding this team back with game day coaching gaffes either as the defensive play-caller or in the realm of game management.
I expect Bowles to be the weak link. Potentially, Zach Robinson does what Canales and Coen did and bails his weak coaching ass out with brilliant offense, but I fully expect Bowles to struggle. It is what he has a history of doing, and there is no reason to think he learned to do things differently.
One of the Bucs new leaders? JC will not stand for this
"It’s a new year, right?” Barton began. “It’s a new team and you’ve got to learn to adjust, figure out where your strengths are, figure out where you need to get better and kind of go from there. Obviously, everyone who got to the chance play with [Mike Evans and Lavonte David] and chance to know them is grateful for their time and couldn’t appreciate those guys more. … New year, new team, and we got to figure out how we’re going to put this thing together.”