If Baker plays like he played the last half of last season, The Bucs are in trouble.
Agreed. but if he plays like he did in the first 5 or so games of last season we maybe win the Super Bowl
My guess would be Mayfield (and the team) are somewhere bewteen those two extremes.
For me, it all hinges on the defense. If the 'new' position coaches (they were all here last year) can coach up the players, there is a small chance Bowles and his defense can do better. I still think Bowles fails with mid-game adjustments and does not adapt his scheme to fit his players.
If Baker plays like he played the last half of last season, The Bucs are in trouble.
Unless his injuries are lingering, there is no reason to think this will be the case.
Doubt it was “injuries” that caused his average play
injuries aren’t a reason for bone headed turnovers
notice the Bucs brass isn’t rushing to extend him this offseason which is the right move not too. If it was “injuries”, they likely would give him a vote of confidence
also, Evans did the opposite of Terrell Owen’s “that’s my quarterback” and jumped into the arms of just as average Brock Purdy
Mayfield has a lot of pressure on him this season to bounce back
For me, it all hinges on the defense. If the 'new' position coaches (they were all here last year) can coach up the players, there is a small chance Bowles and his defense can do better. I still think Bowles fails with mid-game adjustments and does not adapt his scheme to fit his players.
the Bucs not hiring a defensive coordinator to at least sit up in the booth was a major miscalculation
so frustrating when teams make the same mistake for an obvious move they should make
For me, it all hinges on the defense. If the 'new' position coaches (they were all here last year) can coach up the players, there is a small chance Bowles and his defense can do better. I still think Bowles fails with mid-game adjustments and does not adapt his scheme to fit his players.
Agree
For me I think just an influx of talent can help them at least be middle of the road, but the thing I worry about are players tuning Bowles and the scheme out, especially if things go south early. Even with talent a defense still has to play as a cohesive unit to succeed and that started to break down last season then fully collapsed. Can Bowles turn that part around?
For me, it all hinges on the defense. If the 'new' position coaches (they were all here last year) can coach up the players, there is a small chance Bowles and his defense can do better. I still think Bowles fails with mid-game adjustments and does not adapt his scheme to fit his players.
Agree
For me I think just an influx of talent can help them at least be middle of the road, but the thing I worry about are players tuning Bowles and the scheme out, especially if things go south early. Even with talent a defense still has to play as a cohesive unit to succeed and that started to break down last season then fully collapsed. Can Bowles turn that part around?
History with the Jets and the Buccaneers indicates that he can't.
Arians, Coen, and Canales bailed his ass out with great offensive play.
Defense saved the Lions, Panthers and Raiders games in 2024. Would have saved the playoff game with that goal line stand but the offense coughed it up.
Also defense put the Falcons game away with the INT inside the 2 minute warning after the Bucky fumble but the offense went -14 yards and only took 23 seconds off the clock.
Offense was also a disaster in the Cowboys game and that was blamed on Bowles. Waiting for Bowles to be blamed for the Strait of Hormuz next.
Would have saved the playoff game with that goal line stand but the offense coughed it up.
They still had a chance to "save the game" but instead they allowed conversion after conversion to eat all the clock and kick a game winning fg as time expired.
Weird detail to omit after the offense went and tied it up.
Offense was also a disaster in the Cowboys game and that was blamed on Bowles.
Because Bowles' defense got shredded by a trash backup
Our fanbase is super feminine.
Evans did the opposite of Terrell Owen’s “that’s my quarterback”
Probably because of all the "hospital" passes thrown his way.
Would have saved the playoff game with that goal line stand but the offense coughed it up.
They still had a chance to "save the game" but instead they allowed conversion after conversion to eat all the clock and kick a game winning fg as time expired.
Weird detail to omit after the offense went and tied it up.
Are you omitting the 2nd and 3rd down back to back errors the offense had on their last drive. It’s Bowles fault Otton didn’t know the play on 2nd down. It’s Bowles fault Barton snapped the ball early on 3rd down.
Our fanbase is super feminine.
There's two types of fans.....blind homers and cynical disgruntled fans
Post Gruden, call it 2009 to 2025 has been 17 seasons
the first 11 seasons, 2009 through 2019, we did not make the playoffs. The highest win total we recorded in a year was 10 and then we had a 9 win season; the rest were all losing seasons. Mind you, we had Jason Licht for 6 of those seasons.
the football gods graced us with Tom Brady in 2020, we won a superbowl; followed it up with a franchise high 13 win season the following year. Two great years where this franchise was on the top of the world.
then in 2022, we promoted a coach who was not qualified to be head coach, and suffered Bradys only losing season of his career. I'd arguably this was the most painful of Bowles seasons to watch, but 2025 might take the cake there.
2023 was a lackluster year that we were excited because we didnt go from Brady to Winston, Glennon, Freemnan, etc. Baker looked servicable
2024 was a great year supported by the offense
2025 was a fucking disaster
The defense has gotten progressively worse from 2023 to 2024 to 2025
So from 2022 to 2025, we made the playoffs in those 3 years but we were not competitive in the 2022 playoff game, beat a floundering eagles team in 2023 only for defense to be non existent in the next round, offense choked in 2024, and we nose dived in 2025
Given what most have seen in their lives here, i am not sure how a fan chooses "blind homer" versus cynical disgruntled fans
The Bucs made a bunch of "let's tread water" moves this offseason and if you think any different, you're a blind homer
Our fanbase is super feminine.
You think Samer Ali possesses a wealth of football knowledge.
Do better, bro.