Would be curious to know this.
I'll be your huckleberry.
What Percentage of Posters Want Us to Fail?
Probably about the same percentage that thinks predicting a mediocre season is the same thing as rooting against the team.
The title of the thread should be: "Look at me, I am an inane babbler who doesn't believe in stats, history, or anything else relevant to football."
Most fans hope the Bucs go 17-0. Some fans also recognize that's not how football analysis works. The rest apparently create imaginary enemies out of anyone who isn't forecasting a Super Bowl parade in September.
Every Sunday I live and breathe Bucs since I was 5. I’ve been around football forever, so I love football too much to not be a realist. Dungy, Gruden, Arians, were great Bucs coaches that for the most part had their teams well prepared every Sunday. I’ve been on many sidelines where success could be felt just being around each other. Little things were important and done right. It’s a tough thing to explain. Football is special. You’ve had to have experienced it multiple times to know what it is. I just don’t see that enough from this iteration of the Bucs.
People on here want the bucs to win. I think some people confuse criticism with wanting to lose for some reason. I think every one of us would be very happy with a winning season and far push in the playoffs. Win and you get love and rewarded. That's how sports works. Has never changed and never will.
Just because someone posts a comment that is critical of a player or coach doesn't mean that poster wants the team to lose. Just the opposite. Those posters want the Bucs to perform better. They just see that a player or coach is holding the team back.
I do not view it as failure if this team wins 8 or 9 games. That is in line with the talent they have on the roster and the loss of talent this off season. If Licht and Bowles can have this team win 10, 11 or 12 games with this .500 level talent they will look like the smartest men in the room.
That is exactly what happened in 2023 and 2024 where they exceeded expectations. 2025 looked like they were going to shatter those expectations with a hot start, but they came back to earth as a .500 ball club.
I believe Licht needed to do more to add talent to get this team over the .500 hump that they were stuck on talent wise. Licht and Bowles are gambling they can catching lightning in a bottle like in 2023, 2024, and half of 2025.
In my mind the team has runs its course in terms of "surprising" the rest of the NFL teams and now emerging from a post SB cap crunch they need to inject this team with more talent.
There are only 4 players left on the roster making north of $20 mil this year. Vea, Robinson, Anzalone, Bredeson, and Gainwell are on short contracts. This team has to start injecting more talent to this roster outside of the draft to be a perennial 12 win team IMVHO.
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Baker Mayfield, QB: $39.98MM
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Tristan Wirfs, LT: $36.33MM
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Chris Godwin, WR: $33.68MM
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Antoine Winfield Jr., S: $27.47MM
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Vita Vea, DT: $10.83MM
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A’Shawn Robinson, DL: $10MM
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Alex Anzalone, ILB: $9MM
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Ben Bredeson, G: $8.77MM
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Luke Goedeke, RT: $7.48MM
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Kenneth Gainwell, RB: $7MM
Just because someone posts a comment that is critical of a player or coach doesn't mean that poster wants the team to lose. Just the opposite. Those posters want the Bucs to perform better. They just see that a player or coach is holding the team back.
Spot on.
And, considering the OP is a Bowles supporter, I could just as easily make the argument that continuing to openly support such a bad HC is essentially rooting for the Bucs to fail.
It's ironic that you shit on Trump supporters but then expect Buc fans to bend the knee and not complain.
Maybe hold some consistency because if Trump said "my critics want me to fail" you would certainly push back.
So...
The bar is that low because teams like the Eagles, Rams and Seahawks make off season and mid season trades to improve their respective rosters. Licht has completely abandoned the idea of trades in general and that is a sad development given this team needs to turn over every rock it can find to add talent that is buried on depth charts on other teams.
You have Winfield Jr heroics and Mayfield heroics helping this team reach above .500. But at the end of the day if we are objective as possible this team lacks upper level talent. It is hard to obtain it even from the draft alone.
I am not sure why Licht is satisfied with being a perennial .500 ball club that might win a game or two above .500. Is that really success? Well that is how they define it as success so yes the bar is that low.
