Licht with comments about how sometime you have to pay the bills etc... Sure everybody knows about the cap issues, but there's only one reason for Licht to try to temper expectations and that's because he wants to keep Bowles if he can. I don't think Licht sees any benefit to cleaning house with the coaching staff and starting from scratch. Bowles is popular and I doubt that Licht is itching to fire him. It will have to be clear that he's lost the faith of the players. But we have veteran players, so Licht can't pretend they are in a full rebuild. These are Licht's players and they aren't a bunch of rookies. When you fire Bowles, you are essentially firing most of the coaching staff. You are asking a new coach to come in and at that point you do have to go through a full transition to new players, new coaches.IMHO the 8-9 wins scenario will save his job. Anything less and the seat will be very hot.
Anything less than playoffs and he’s gone.
And, rightfully so.
The other factor is the rest of the division. How do we look compared to the neighbors? Everybody assumes a down division, but things usually don't work out like they were expected. I think you're going to see a couple of teams in the division outperform and have decent seasons. Perhaps we'll be one of them, but if we go 8-9 and NO and CAR go 10-6 or 11-5 then 8-9 has a different look. Licht will be reluctant to fire Bowles unless things are bad enough, because that means a house cleaning. And you know the Glazers aren't afraid to get involved in that. But he'll do it if Bowles doesn't seem to have the respect of the players.
Next question: Who would be your HC in 2024? There are no in-house candidates. You may want to keep Canales, but he doesn't have the experience at OC yet to move on up to HC. You don't just want another defensive HC because it's a tough act to follow Bowles with the defensive players he brought in. You'd like a big name and Licht had the pull to bring in Arians so he can do it, but who would that be? You almost want to bring in a guy who can work with much of the present staff other than Bowles, elevate one of the defensive coaches to DC and keep Canales, but that isn't likely to happen.
but there's only one reason for Licht to try to temper expectations and that's because he wants to keep Bowles if he can.
Or…wait for it…it’s because we may not be as good as you keep claiming we are (wE aRe eSsEnTiaLlY tHe sAmE tEaM aS lASt yEaR).
Bowles isn’t a good coach. Not so sure why you can’t see that.
Actually, disregard that last sentence.
You're opinion doesn't matter, nor does mine. Licht is the one who hired him, even if it was with the recommendation of Arians. Licht and Arians probably had the succession plan in order long before it actually happened, although the timing may have been due to Brady. Licht doesn't want to just bail out on the guy he hired unless there's no other choice. If he has any justification at all for keeping him, then he will. You may not like it, but unless you are one of the people that pops open a few beers with Licht in his back yard (I'll admit I'm not) I don't think your opinion matters much.but there's only one reason for Licht to try to temper expectations and that's because he wants to keep Bowles if he can.
Or…wait for it…it’s because we may not be as good as you keep claiming we are (wE aRe eSsEnTiaLlY tHe sAmE tEaM aS lASt yEaR).
Bowles isn’t a good coach. Not so sure why you can’t see that.
Actually, disregard that last sentence.
The other possibility is that the Glazers take things into their own hands again and do a nationwide search for a big name like they did with Gruden. But Arians came in because of Licht supposedly. And they didn't override Licht to hire Gruden. Jason Licht is in control of this team and these are his coaches, his players.
You're opinion doesn't matter, nor does mine.
I love how you say this, and then continue your usual schtick of posting in absolutes (as if consistently being wrong on historic levels hasn't been enough to deter you).
I don't think your opinion matters much.
Newsflash, kiddo. Neither does yours.
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Again, Bowles isn't a good coach.
That isn't an opinion. It's a fact.
One winning season out of 5 as a full-time head coach.
If we miss the playoffs, it shouldn't be up for debate. Show his ass the door.
And, if that means blowing it all up, then so be it.
Cigs? You want to weigh in on this? I thought we had this opinion vs. fact thing straightened out. Seems like that's an opinion, but that's nitpicking so I get your point. I'm still on the fence, but I'm not saying your wrong. I don't think anybody can objectively say they know Bowles is a good NFL head coach. I don't think Bowles got a fair shake, but as I've said before you have 32 HC jobs and if you want one you can't wait around for a perfect situation. How'd that work out for Leftwich? Bowles knew the score when he took the job. He could have said "no" but he may not get another shot. Good coaches overcome the challenges. This team is good enough to have a winning season, and if they don't then Bowles deserves to go.You're opinion doesn't matter, nor does mine.
I love how you say this, and then continue your usual schtick of posting in absolutes (as if consistently being wrong on historic levels hasn't been enough to deter you).
I don't think your opinion matters much.
Newsflash, kiddo. Neither does yours.
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Again, Bowles isn't a good coach.
That isn't an opinion. It's a fact.
One winning season out of 5 as a full-time head coach.
If we miss the playoffs, it shouldn't be up for debate. Show his ass the door.
And, if that means blowing it all up, then so be it.
But Licht doesn't want to be the guy who fires people he hires without giving them every chance. He's going to have more patience than you or I or the rest of the Bucs fans because his reputation is invested in Bowles.... unless the wheels fall off the bus. If the Bucs are pulling a TKraz and start heading to the land of 4-13 then all bets are off. Because Licht also has loyalty to his core players too, the ones he has locked up for years into the future. He can't afford to lose the respect of those guys either. If Bowles has lost the locker room, particularly guys like Evans, Vea, Winfield and Wirfs, then Licht will have to do something to show there's a plan moving forward.
Good coaches overcome the challenges. This team is good enough to have a winning season, and if they don't then Bowles deserves to go.
Last year's team was better and they didn't have a winning season. And, we watched arguably the most inept coaching staff this franchise has fielded in nearly a decade.
He should've been shown the door along with the idiot OC.
The only reason he's still here, is because Arians is.
There's a lot we don't know about last year that PR should be telling us, because SR knows more than he's telling. Why did Arians retire? Was it because of a Brady demand? What was Brady like in the locker room? SR has hinted that there was stuff going on behind the scenes where there was drama in the locker room, but hasn't elaborated. Probably some of it had to do with Leftwich and that's probably why he can't find a job, but I'd like more info. How much did the Brady drama take a toll on Brady and the team? What was the real reason we went 8-9? All questions that PR should be giving us more answers to, but instead they've completely moved on to 2023. But as you can probably agree, we haven't moved on. We have the same head coach. 2022 directly impacts 2023. That's what we've been arguing about on this board all offseason. How good is this team? Was it an overrated team propped up by a HOF QB? Or was it basically a good team but they were distracted and dysfunctional? SR could shed more light on that if he wanted to, but has chosen not to IMO.Good coaches overcome the challenges. This team is good enough to have a winning season, and if they don't then Bowles deserves to go.
Last year's team was better and they didn't have a winning season. And, we watched arguably the most inept coaching staff this franchise has fielded in nearly a decade.
He should've been shown the door along with the idiot OC.
The only reason he's still here, is because Arians is.
What was the real reason we went 8-9?
Skipping the huge TMZ laden portion of your post and addressing the only thing that matters.
The “real” reason this team posted a losing record last year was because we had arguably the most incompetent staff in the coaching staff in the NFL.
When Arians left, so did any bit of football IQ from a coaching perspective.
From personnel decisions, the inability to understand basic and elementary time/game management concepts/situations, passive/weak game plans, to plain stubbornness is their thought process and approach.
Several reports coming out, that players were showing up late to meetings, practices, and walk throughs. Players buying into their own bullshit hype (Devin White…essentially called out by everyone).
ZERO accountability in the locker room. Even Brady was reported to be over it.
An offense ranked damn near dead last in every meaningful category, while the OC stood there at pressers scoffing like a smooth-brained dipshit at anyone who brought up advanced metrics and analytics.
Wonder why Lefty never got a job this offseason? What program worth a damn would ever hire that clown after watching his pressers last season?
Hell, if it weren’t for Brady, this team would’ve won 3…maybe 4…games last year (oh, I’m sure Dalton would’ve done the same…derp).
This season, same head coach. Same head coach who didn’t know what timeouts were. Same head coach who squandered away Brady’s last year (despite playing good football with essentially one arm tied behind his back).
So, I’m not that optimistic about this season.
Only real chance we have is that Canales is the real deal. It seems that the offensive is QB friendly and schemes are skill set players open via more modern concepts.
OK. 1) How do you know about this locker room stuff about players showing up late, zero accountability and so forth? I'm not saying you're wrong. I didn't read it on this website. Why not? Is SR out of the loop, or just doesn't choose to include his readers in the loop? Or are you making up your own loop?What was the real reason we went 8-9?
Skipping the huge TMZ laden portion of your post and addressing the only thing that matters.
The “real” reason this team posted a losing record last year was because we had arguably the most incompetent staff in the coaching staff in the NFL.
When Arians left, so did any bit of football IQ from a coaching perspective.
From personnel decisions, the inability to understand basic and elementary time/game management concepts/situations, passive/weak game plans, to plain stubbornness is their thought process and approach.
Several reports coming out, that players were showing up late to meetings, practices, and walk throughs. Players buying into their own bullshit hype (Devin White…essentially called out by everyone).
ZERO accountability in the locker room. Even Brady was reported to be over it.
An offense ranked damn near dead last in every meaningful category, while the OC stood there at pressers scoffing like a smooth-brained dipshit at anyone who brought up advanced metrics and analytics.
Wonder why Lefty never got a job this offseason? What program worth a damn would ever hire that clown after watching his pressers last season?
Hell, if it weren’t for Brady, this team would’ve won 3…maybe 4…games last year (oh, I’m sure Dalton would’ve done the same…derp).
This season, same head coach. Same head coach who didn’t know what timeouts were. Same head coach who squandered away Brady’s last year (despite playing good football with essentially one arm tied behind his back).
So, I’m not that optimistic about this season.
Only real chance we have is that Canales is the real deal. It seems that the offensive is QB friendly and schemes are skill set players open via more modern concepts.
2) If Brady was "over it" as you say, why didn't he have any say? I'm not buying it. This idea that Brady was basically being held hostage by Leftwich is BS. Are you telling me that Brady, the GOAT, would tell you to be on time to a meeting, and you'd blow him off and there wouldn't be any consequences? Then Mike Evans comes over to you and says "Hey, be on time to the meetings OK?" And you blow him off too? Then Tristan Wirfs .... No. I'm not believing that part of your theory here. Sorry, that doesn't add up.
The defense wasn't the problem last year. The problem was the offense, which was led by three potential HOF/ROHs in Brady, Evans and Wirfs. However much blame you want on Leftwich, how can say people were coming late to meetings? This is what I don't get. Please elaborate.
So Donkey, let me elaborate. I don't think there are generally a lot of meetings that involve both defense and offense together. If they are they are probably stuff like internet safety and sexual harrassment and stuff like that. Football meetings are generally specific to the side of the ball. The defense didn't get many turnovers, but other than that they did a pretty good job considering the offense wasn't giving them much help. Bowles incompetent or not, was generally in charge of the defense and didn't get much involved with the offensive side.
So on the offensive side, you are saying Brady was fed up with it the lack of accountability. You have Evans and Wirfs in there as well who would presumably be demanding accountability. It makes no sense to say people didn't have accountability and that Brady was simply fed up with it. I'm going to play Columbo here and use my deductive reasoning (or is it inductive?) and say what if Brady was part of the problem? What if Brady was the one being late to meetings or missing meetings or focused on other things? What if Brady was part of the problem? I don't know. I wasn't there. I'm not saying I know. But this would make a lot more sense. Because if Brady was all-in, how can anybody not follow suit and follow him? If Brady wasn't all-in, then it could easily create a trickle down effect, particularly if you had a weak OC who was not able to deal with it, compartmentalize it like they did with Antonio Brown.
So this goes to the overall narrative of 2022, so was Brady unable to overcome the problem, or was he part of the problem? It just doesn't make sense that offensive players just fluffed off Tom Brady in meetings. I can't buy that. Can you?
NFL defense = take away opposing offense strength
NFL offense (especially the more film that is out) be well-rounded enough to win a number of different ways.
the Bucs last year were 100% one dimensional. Some of that was on OC for sure but part of it is having ZERO underneath game - no RB running or catching as a big threat, no real TE threat and for most of the season no Godwin. Defenses could just rush 4 and sit back in zone. They did all season except once. The Panthers 2nd game. Single high safety and man cover and Evans goes wild. That was DUMB defense not better play calling.
on defense you had SB hangover
add to that TWO coaching staffs
recipe for many losses only get some ourr wins because of Brady
Sorry. On defense SB hangover and no pass rush. Bowles even resorted to drop back snd cover
The defense could have been better, but they were ranked 13th (Pro Football Reference). The offense was ranked 25th. Donkey is saying stuff was happening with people being late to meetings and Brady was tired of it. Well he must be talking about the offense, because I doubt Brady attended many defensive meetings.Sorry. On defense SB hangover and no pass rush. Bowles even resorted to drop back and cover
Would you be late to a meeting with Tom Brady there? Would you be less that attentive at a meeting? Not me. Even if I was prone to be late to a few meetings, I wouldn't be late to one Brady was part of. I wouldn't be on my cell phone checking my portfolio and have Tom Brady give me the cold stare. I don't believe any player would do that. Maybe Antonio Brown.
But again, I wasn't there, so enlighten me how this all went down where players were disrespecting the wishes of Tom Brady. Feel free to explain it. It just doesn't make sense to me.
Bucs defense didn't show up vs the Cowboys in the home playoff game. Major embarrassment.
Agree. The whole year we kind of tolerated the mediocrity (we didn't have much choice) because of the possibility that they would be able to flip the switch and make a run in the playoffs. Well they flipped their switch, but nothing happened. And that was the big cherry on top of that disappointing year. It all could have been excused if they actually won a playoff game in the end, but it was just a dud.Bucs defense didn't show up vs the Cowboys in the home playoff game. Major embarrassment.
